Television series
Kingdom
Other titles called Kingdom: the 2014 series (Audience Network), the 2019 series (Netflix), the 2020 series (Mnet).
Kingdom is a sweeping anime about ambition and warfare in ancient China's Qin state. It follows Shin, a war orphan, as he rises from nothing toward military glory while entangled with the young king who will become history's first emperor. Gorgeously animated, violent, and genuinely moving—a show that treats its characters' hunger for greatness as both noble and tragic.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you want epic battle sequences built around loyalty, ambition and a slow-burning friendship between two underdogs, the kind of history-soaked war saga where strategy matters as much as swordplay.
Skip it if the sheer length, 155 episodes and counting across six seasons, means you need real stamina, and long stretches of court intrigue can feel slow between the battles.
What it asks of you: Settle in for the long haul: episodes run about twenty-five minutes, and the pace is patient, like a history lesson that rewards weeks of attention.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Attack on Titan2013
Underdogs with nothing become soldiers fighting impossible odds. The same engine of desperation and growth, the same willingness to kill off beloved characters, matching animation that makes violence feel consequential and earned.
But The plot gets genuinely convoluted in later seasons, and some arcs feel like they're treading water before the ending lands.
Vinland Saga2019
Another historical anime about a young man seeking glory through violence, then learning what that costs. Supremely well-written, with a moral seriousness and animation that rivals Kingdom's best moments. Also slower to start than you'd expect—which is the point.
But The pacing is deliberate to the point of glacial in places. If you want constant combat, you'll spend episodes waiting.
Demon Slayer2019
A teenager with nothing becomes a warrior in a world that's actively hostile to his existence. The action sequences are extraordinary, and the character work beneath the spectacle is genuinely thoughtful. It knows when to be quiet.
But The early episodes are fairly straightforward shonen material before the show finds its depth. Some people bounce off before it clicks.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Kingdom
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Basilisk2006
Both are historical or pseudo-historical anime about young people caught between individual ambition and the machinery of state power, where victory often feels hollow.
A historical anime about two ninja clans ordered to war against each other, with characters who are devastating in different ways. It shares Kingdom's conviction that ambition and loyalty can be forces that destroy you, but it's far more willing to devastate its cast. The aesthetic is darker, moodier—less about triumph and more about the cost.
But It's extremely violent and death-focused, and the pacing in the middle sags under the weight of its own body count. Not everyone wants an anime that grim.
More like this (8)
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood2009
Two brothers pursuing knowledge and power across a vast empire, becoming entangled in politics and warfare. It shares Kingdom's scope, its willingness to spend time on character, and its conviction that great ambition can be both beautiful and ruinous.
But It's long—64 episodes—and the early pacing assumes you know nothing about alchemy. Some consider it slower than necessary to earn its payoff.
Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch2006
A brilliant young man uses strategy and supernatural power to reshape an empire from within. It has Kingdom's interest in how individuals navigate massive historical forces, with more schemer's energy and less martial honor.
But The writing gets increasingly unhinged as it goes, and the finale divides people sharply. Some see it as audacious; others see it as having lost the thread.
The Apothecary Diaries2023
A mystery anime set in a quasi-historical empire, with gorgeous animation and a protagonist who's competent in ways that feel earned. It has Kingdom's attention to period detail and its refusal to make violence decorative.
But It's slower and more cerebral than Kingdom—less about armies and more about poison and politics. If you came for spectacle, you may feel the pacing is precious.
Golden Kamuy2018
Two men from opposing sides of a war chase fortune and purpose across dangerous terrain. It's funny, violent, and genuinely weird in ways that sneak up on you. The animation captures exhaustion and landscape as vividly as Kingdom captures battle.
But The tonal shifts between comedy and brutality can feel jarring, and the plot becomes increasingly baroque as it unfolds. Commitment is required.
Record of Ragnarok2021
Humanity's greatest warriors fight for the species' survival against the gods themselves. It's operatic, unapologetically pulpy, and the fight choreography is inventive. Kingdom fans who want less nuance and more spectacle should start here.
But The character work is thinner than Kingdom's, and the writing can feel corny. It knows what it is—a fighting manga with philosophy on top—but that's not for everyone.
Fate/Zero2011
Ambitious men and women fight for power in a magical war, each believing their vision is righteous. The animation is superb and it treats its characters as tragic rather than heroes. A thinking person's battle anime.
But It's deliberately bleak and nobody gets a happy ending. If you need hope or warmth in your entertainment, this will feel punishing rather than cathartic.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes1988
Both treat military history and strategy as genuinely interesting, and both believe that how a young leader navigates massive historical forces matters more than whether they win.
The definitive space opera about two military strategists on opposite sides of a vast galactic war, playing chess with millions of lives. It's 110 episodes of political intrigue, naval warfare, and genuine philosophy. If Kingdom made you hungry for scope, this is what scope looks like when you stop pretending it's small.
But It's old animation, slow, and demands that you care about military strategy the way Kingdom does. The early episodes are deliberately dry. Many people will not make it past episode five.
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu2016
Both are about mastery—how you achieve it, what it costs you, and what you pass on. Both believe that a single person's skill and vision can reshape the world around them.
Not a battle anime at all—it's about the transmission of art and tradition in post-war Japan, told across decades through a master and his disciples. It has Kingdom's conviction that ambition and legacy matter, and its willingness to spend time on quiet character moments. Animated with such clarity and grace that watching someone perform becomes genuinely thrilling.
But There is no combat. No empire. No strategy beyond how to move an audience. If you came to Kingdom for war and spectacle, this will feel like a betrayal of genre entirely.
