No question about it, Ousama Ranking is fully back in sixth gear.  This show was never in a slump by any means, but the overall level did drop from its ridiculously high water mark for a couple of episodes.  Having Bojji back in the spotlight has certainly helped, but Death-Har (I’ve gone back and forth on that Romanization and based on the katakana and pronunciation, I really think this way is correct) has added another layer I’ve really enjoyed.  It a cast stuffed full of conflicted characters, he’s one of the most nuanced and interesting.

As I noted last week, if Death-Har is here to take down Miranjo, I don’t see any good reason why Bojji (or anyone else with a shred of decency) should oppose him.  Domas and Hakuro may not know who Miranjo is, but Bojji certainly does, as it turns out.  He’s heard (well, lip-read) that name before – coming from his mother on the day Miranjo had her brutally murdered.  Shiina gave her life protecting Bojji, and the trauma of that tragedy (which ended with Miranjo being betrayed herself, I suppose leading to her current en-mirrorment) clearly scarred him deeply.

There’s more “shades of grey” than Peter Tork would know what to do with where this cast is concerned, but I don’t feel a lot of sympathy for Miranjo, even after the scenes with Daida wherever those two are.  She needs to be ended, and if Death-Har wants to do it and can, I’d step aside gladly if I were Bojji.  The problem is those prisoners the king wants to take back to the Underworld – one of the them is Gigan, who’s now a vassal of Bojji.  Bojji would be loyal to him no matter what Gigan had done – that’s just how Bojji is.  But like almost everyone else, Gigan has a past it’t not easy to categorize into good and evil, or even right and wrong.

Gigan, it turns out, is a “gigantes” – a race of giants that’s perhaps cousin to Bosse and Shiina’s species.  He was hired by Death-Har during the war with his father for control of the Underworld – a war which looks like a crucial moment in this story’s timeline, in which his two younger brothers Death-Par and Ouken fought with Death-Har.  Death-Har’s mercenaries committed atrocities – including torturing a gigantes child in order to lure the enemy gigantes into a trap. Death-Par and Ouken were both sickened by this, though Ouken expressed support.  Whether it was the karmic debt of this incident that pushed Ouken to his current state we don’t know, but it’s certainly fair to say he’s changed.

In his own mind at least, Death-Har was justified in what he did because of how evil his father was.  Gigan turned on the king’s men, killing many, and was branded a criminal – but even Death-Har knows he’s responsible for driving him to do what he did.  His compromise is to enlist Gigan into the Order of the Underworld, which Gigan eventually acquiesces to in order to avoid any bloodshed between Bojji and Death-Har.  Death-Har turns to Death-Par (one senses that really galls him) for advice on confronting Bojji, and Death-Par tells him Bojji is already stronger than either his brother or Bosse.  Death-Par’s plan – let Bojji confront Bosse, freeing Death-Har to take out Miranjo without interference.

The other major emotional crescendo of the episode – and the biggest one in the series in quite a while – comes immediately after Death-Har decides to take his brother’s advice and return to the Underworld.  Domas and Hokuro tearfully throw themselves on his mercy (though of course Hokuro has done absolutely nothing wrong).  Kage is begrudgingly willing to forgive based on his dismayingly contrite Domas is, but it isn’t so straightforward for Bojji.  I don’t think he’s afraid of Domas over what happened – at this point Bojji has to feel pretty confident in his ability to take care of himself.  Rather. the depth of Domas’ betrayal is the issue – how gravely it wounded Bojji emotionally, and how it makes him feel something he’s never felt before, hatred.

I’m glad Bojji didn’t immediately let Domas off the hook – it’s more realistic that way, and frankly Domas doesn’t deserve to get off that easily.  And the scene where Kage and Bojji race up the stairs is truly wonderful – Kage is truly the wind at Bojji’s back, protecting it at the same time.  Their friendship is the most black and white thing in Ousama Ranking – it’s essentially good and pure on every level, and I think it’s the series backstop against going too far into the darkness.  But that darkness is never vanquished, as witness the revival of Ouken – whose own story is surely one of the most dark and terrible in the series.  It looks like even Death-Par is going to have his hands full dealing with that one.