Don't be fooled into thinking this is some kind of Chinese history book drama. This is a blood and guts epic hero war manga from start to finish. The "historical" elements really just help give context to whats happening and help set up the world.

The manga is almost a perfect combination of war strategy and one-on-one battles which keeps things interesting. The story does have shounen elements but it still feels realistic and no one is going super saiyan (yet).

This is the best war manga I've read thus far, and it's a historic manga so it's amazing reading on how the author storytelling weaves actual facts with some imaginary ones to fill in the blanks and the results are just great. And since the events are real the strategy employed in the battles are solid too, not just some ridiculous crap that makes no sense as it often happens. Man this is how I would have liked to learn history in my school haha.
The main flaw of the manga is the MC as others say but fortunately the mangaka routes this in a good direction with Karyo Ten and the "instinctive generals" notion, little by little he stops being just an impulsive idiot.
For anyone into war stories, don't miss this. And for those who give up because of the main char, give it some times (long time), he grows up.

Also, reading this always makes me want to play civilization haha.

... Last updated on September 13th, 2016, 3:19am

At first glance, this manga might seem to be just another shounen battle manga but with a lot more blood. I cannot fully deny that claim but I can at least say that this manga tries to address the political, social and economic factors of war. This fact alone is what elevates Kingdom above all the typical shounen drivel to me. Numbers matter, politics matter, strategy and tactics matter, geography matters, history matters, there are important characters besides the protagonist, his friends, and his enemies. Finally! In a sea of "war" series where war is used mostly as an interesting back-drop to the main characters' personal problems, finally there is a manga that focuses on the actual war!

If you want to give this manga a chance, wait until Shin's first campaign (from ~ch48 to ~ch73) to decide whether or not to keep it. The first 47ish chapters are basically a prologue. It introduces the setting, the main characters and their motivations and provides enough intrigue and combat to keep you from getting bored. However, the true showpiece of this manga: war, begins with Shin's first campaign. I think Yotanwha (mountain tribe leader in the manga) said it best: it's a "carnival of blood." And as Shin (as a rank and file foot soldier) is tossed to and fro in a massive battle, it truly feels that way. Each of the different parts of the battle feels like a different, perverted ride in Murder World. Have you ever wondered what it was like to be in the first row of an human wave infantry charge into a wall of shields and spears? How about being in the path of huge war chariots as they plow through your comrades like a lawn mower? What about being part of a desperate charge at a group of archers that are killing everyone around you? If Shin's first campaign doesn't grab you, then nothing in this manga will.

To back up an earlier point: numbers matter in this manga and this is one of the primary characteristics that separate this from so many other shounen manga. Granted, there are plenty of hot-blooded duels (of both the mental and physical variety) between officers, but there are no one-man-armies except for one guy (and screw him). The manga makes a point in saying that although the general may head the charge, the strength of the charge comes from the men who are charging with him. I still find that personal strength holds undue weight on the battlefield but the mere fact that people besides the named characters effect wars is such a refreshing step up from other "war" series that I can hardly complain.

The fact that numbers matter also adds some new dimensions to the traditional shounen bag. Most shounen battle manga have only one way of measuring effectiveness in battle: combat power. If a character's combat power is higher than their opponent's, (or they have a "final form" that is more powerful) they win. Simple. In this manga, at least, there are three ways of measuring effectiveness in battle: strength, knowledge, and leadership. Thus, a character with high knowledge but low strength might be able to outsmart a physically stronger opponent and defeat them (and this happens often) or vice versa (this also happens often). Simply having more than one way to measure battle effectiveness adds much needed variety in the battles. It also gives Kingdom a leg up on other shounen battle manga where you basically wait until everyone is out of final forms and such to find out the victor.

As for the characters, they are fairly good. It's particularly refreshing to have grown men as important characters, even if the teenagers steal the show. Shin is your typical, hot-blooded, big-dreaming, shounen protagonist with the exception that he's okay with killing people. Maybe his character type is over-used, but it does the trick for me. He's also incredibly manly. Kingdom also has a secondary protagonist in Sei. This is the guy who eventually unites all of China. The author wanted to make Sei the main protagonist but he was afraid that Sei wouldn't appeal to mainstream audiences. I don't know if the author does Sei justice, but he's at least not like other characters. He tends to play Spock to Shin's Kirk (as rare as they interact) but he is also extremely motivated and holds a rather unique position in the manga. Also, I don't want to spoil too much, but there's a female character in this manga who is pretty kick-ass. I especially like that the kick-ass female character isn't out to avenge her father (or something) for once.

The story is good. It features plenty of political intrigue to you keep you engaged if Shin's story doesn't grab you. The art is also good. You don't notice it in the page-to-page manga, but the spreads are amazing and brutal. Also, maps! I actually know what's going on in the battles! Amazing!

TL;DR: What appears to be yet another shounen manga with blood is actually much more. Give it a try.

... Last updated on August 15th, 2015, 3:08am

This author knows what he is doing. The story is consistently great and it's incredibly refreshin to have a weekly SEINEN battle manga to look forward to. It's amazing. A grand mixture of War, Strategy and Politics with new friendships being formed and enemies made all the time.

The main character is the most light-hearted aspect of the story in my opinion. If he weren't so upbeat most of the time, it would give me more of a Berserk type of vibe. But don't be discouraged. He is no cliche Shounen protagonist even tough it may seem that way at the beginning. He has some of those qualities it's true such as his silliness and occasional naivety but he will just as soon hack you apart as he will drink with you.

The characters are a huge part of this story's greatness. The main protagonists in general as very likable and there are strong female leads, not half-witted weaklings that depend on others. And the antagonists are simply excellent. It's not even easy to tell who the main antagonist is. As far as I'm concerned there are multiple at any given time.

The Kingdom story spans several years with all the main characters developing beautifully and many antagonists doing the same as the prominent ones typically are not 1 Arc wonders. I highly highly recommend this manga.

For the first few volumes this manga maybe good. But going further, it becomes similar to your average fighting shounen manga. Your main character will start to act like a teenager with too much time in his hand. They believe their companions undefeatable and themselves immortal. They challenge impossible hurdle and get out of it alive. Some will be demigod manifested, killing people like a death machine virtually unscathed. Their troops, is the Gary Stu, embodying their indomitable commanders. Bleed and dying left-and-right they are, but victorious they will always.

Furthermore, older characters slowly suffer mental regression as they started to react like teenagers. They throws 'witty' comments, initiates soapy drama, and being surprised overused plot device numerous times. After a while, you'll realize that this manga is straight-man comedy/highschool romance repackaged.

Initially, I have a great expectation in this title. With so many death involved, characters become deeper emotionally, and some simply don't care. The generals depicted as paragon of military might, fully grasp his own army dynamic if not the whole battle. Losing general, the scattered army act clumsily, something that I actually like. Early volumes is an enjoyable ride, save some shortcoming. However, since vulgar arrogance that is Kankoku Pass battle, everything is thrown out of the windows. Characters now become clowns. Story simply must go on, there's no need to care for its integrity. Employed tactic gradually become simplistic. Aspects of war, abandoned.

The art also turned horrible. Characters' head is drawn like an egg. Horse butt like a beach ball with a patch of long hair. It's basic shape with texture pasted on it! Clash is always cavalrymen already swinging their glaives at colapsing infantry line. No longer to be found epic moment of ensuing chaos. Not exist from the very begining the rigorous discipline and cunning of statesmen. What an epic fail!

... Last updated on June 24th, 2015, 1:01pm

I stumble upon this manga 2 years ago. What caught my attention was the 3 to 6 chapter release each week.
It was a discovery, the MC is great, everyone can die ( yes even the stronger one ). The story make sense and its still able to surprise you.
If you are looking for a good figthing manga without people shooting theyre move go for this one, you wont regret it !

the first volume immediately caught my attention. The above average writing of the plot at least in the first volume should speak of the authors competence. It reads like a shounen though.

you said that Xin is idiot for not finding out that 2 of his friends are girls.now lets check some facts.this is china,and that means that women arent so busty and wide in hips like western women,next there are lot of males in china that look girlish,and if girl dress as man you will have harder time seeing trough it plus they are just girls didn't even grow fully.also i get you never heard of Hue Mulan,she managed to hide the fact that she is women while being in army for 12 fucking years,and returned home after wars were over with noone finding out,her best friends and comrades only find out about her being women was after they visited her home and they saw her in dress.and you call him an idiot.

The main character, Xin, is the most realistic shounen main character I've seen and loved. Though at the start he seems to be riding purely on the waves of luck and plot device, we see his character emerge from a socially-conscious background. We cannot relate with him in a way that he has insecurities in skills, in being alienated, or in lacking loyal and loving relationships to support his character. Through and through, he was a young man who started out as a clueless servant boy chasing after a dream left behind by someone he once shared it with. The conditions and violent, volatile way of life in the Warring States Era is not something we who could freely access the Internet or purchase manga can relate to, yet Xin's story welcomes us to dive into his arduous journey of fighting and finding meaning behind it in the grander scheme of things that Zheng is opening to.

Xin has started off as a laughing stock. His antics at the start of the manga has always made me laugh and I enjoyed going back to those moments. But he became such a dynamic character who would provide insight that no eloquent speech or status could deliver. We're spared from “instant genius-change” and sees that Xin will always be the lower-class person that he'll always be. But while he may never be able to map complex strategies in his head, experience shapes him emotionally and mentally. We see him mature. We see him provide the king himself insight a great man like him would overlook.

What I love about Xin the most is that he knows how to deal with people. The way he had Qiang Lei open up to him was not some sort of random talk. We see this with his interaction with Zheng too. I feel like a lot of people overlook that strength is not just about qualities related to popularity or ability. There are a lot of strengths relating to social wellness. This is the one point why I have stamped Xin as a shounen character that is unlike any other. He behaves like how an ordinary person would. His simplicity should not be scorned at, but be admired for its tenacity. Time and time again, those that leave him behind are people who have inspired light in his eyes. Perhaps this is one thing we can relate with him. There are people in our lives who inspire us to dream...and we want to continue living with what they taught us so that their memory will continue to smile with us.

Xin himself understands that thinking is not his greatest strength. We expect our protagonist to emerge from this obstacle by gaining new strength. In Xin, he attains this by relying on others. How often do we see this in manga? Xin even acknowledges this early on in the manga. He is not quite as bright, so he wishes things to be spelled out for him. There is no shame in this. Could you really blame him? He who grew up nothing but as a servant, chasing after Piao's brilliance?

And I like this. I love how it makes sense. I love how logical the facts are. Servants don't just become smarter, and education is not something open for everyone – or something to have time with. Piao was clearly an exception. A one in a one thousand. Xin knew that Piao would have been someone who would be better than him. But he's dead. Xin has buried his memories of Piao in the village until he could achieve their dream. He could not keep on mourning or wallow in insecurity about Piao's death. The only way is forward.

This is a manga not for everyone's taste. I've recommended this to friends who liked it for the grander battles and gore. Me? I loved it because of its characters, particularly Xin. I love the intricacies of politics, the historical setting in China, and the deaths and impacts that leave me to tears and cheering on for Xin. He's not a character who has an ambition to save the world, to take vengeance on a rival or villain, or to find the truth behind some dark secret. Xin dared to chase after a dream to leave a mark on the world and to rise above the social conditions imposed on him as a servant. As Piao once told Xin, they were left with nothing but able bodies. As long as they had the sword, they could do anything.

As a side note, I'd like to point out that the Qin Dynasty and its unification is an era of class struggles. Xin is a symbol of the lower class who is struggling tooth and nail to get to the top. Fellow peasants in the Fei Xin Force who could not achieve or even dare to dream such big goals pin their hopes in Xin. Just as Piao had inspired Xin, Xin had inspired his people. To them, his victory is their victory too. The blaze he leaves as he works toward his dream is an ignition in their life too.

Do not judge Xin on face value. I suppose this manga is not for readers who can only grasp things from the surface. Kokoko. Those who scorn and ridicule Xin's intelligence obviously can't read beyond text.

... Last updated on August 19th, 2014, 10:53am

This is amazing manga but i know the mangaka is trying to make the main character a general , after reading this manga , i say he doesn't have the characteristics of being a general , he is a just a soldier, nothing more , that's where he must be , trusting him of thousands of people's lives in the hands of this naive kid is making me to drop this manga but what i read is for the political and the war and other characters , i just try my best to ignore him at all .

... Last updated on June 27th, 2014, 11:05am