K: Missing Kings Review

Grab some popcorn! It’s time for a movie review

Since the next season of K is about to start in a few weeks I decided why not talk about the movie since it comes after the first season and connects the second season which is really cool! Much like the Code Geass Boukoku no Akito OVA series that takes place in between the first and second seasons and for this special post I brought on Irenesharda who has impressive knowledge about the current kings!

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In a world where history took a slightly different turn, seven beings have been given the power to lay the world to waste if they so chose…and instead they use it to power a bunch of gangsters, a small (but elite) police force, and the second coming of the Hindenburg. Come on guys, don’t you have any sort of delusions of grandeur? But then again, we wouldn’t have them any other way. The world of kings was introduced to us in [K] back in 2012. Whispers of a sequel in the works went on for years, and finally this coming Fall Season, it will arrive! But before you even think about watching the premiere, the geniuses of GoHands gave you a little bit of a present to whet your appetite. This–is Missing Kings.

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Kick Ass Animation

Anna is ready for a BBQ!

It’s quite interesting to see all the hard work studio Go Hands did with K! I remember being absolutely blown away by their unique art style and camera use back in 2012 which put them against Shaft’s Nisemonogatari and Ufotable’s 2nd half of Fate/Zero as far as mind-blowing animation goes, but how did Go Hands get the kind of budgets of Shaft or Ufotable, especially with their very small backlog of anime from Madock Scramble, Coppelion and the over the top WTF ecchi-ness of SYD? I guess we can praise them for SYD getting them noticed because the first season came out in 2010, so maybe SYD sold a bunch? I mean it really is crazy that their most successful series are SYD and K, but anyway were here to talk about the movie which is fantastic to look at! Now I can’t go into as much detail as Irenesharda did below; however I really loved how the focus of the movie wasn’t spent just on Neko and Kurou searching for Shiro because that would have been really boring! And timeline wise this is a year later since Shiro went missing. For the most part the movie revolved around the eventual reveal of the new red king, who was Anna, I mean who else was so close to Mikoto when he was alive? I suppose most of us thought that Izumo would take over or maybe Misaki? Those are the only other characters I would pick from besides Anna.

Kukuri’s only appearance for the entire movie!

While we have our main cast back along with the same actors we also get new characters like Yukari Mishakuji who is in the green clan and is apparently the rival of Kurou because they shared a master I think? It was also funny to learn he was voiced by Masakazu Morita or as I know him Ichigo from Bleach and for those watching Dragon Ball Super he also voices Whis, but it’s still crazy to hear him as any villain. Then again Ichigo does have his hollow form which is just an evil version of the same character so it totally works. I forget what Yukari’s goal was in the movie I guess he was thrown in to fight any clan willing to get in his way or was he just around to stop the red king? I know he wanted to capture Anna for whatever reason? It ha been a while, but he was still a very awesome mini boss for the movie because it gave Kurou a chance to show off his fighting skills or was it more of a way for Go Hands to show off? I can’t imagine them putting all that effort into the TV series and not show off for the movie. Besides the amazing fight scenes which are the number one reason I enjoy K so much I also love how they use the special powers like Neko’s illusions, Kurou’s magic stretching hand, Izumo’s fireballs, Anna’s tracking and Misaki’s strength. I still feel that K could cross over into Railgun/Index universe somehow, but yeah I say that about any magic/super power anime…

Kool Kings

The blue king still cool~

Honestly, I wish there were more anime movies that were done as well as Missing Kings was for the K franchise. Many such movies that come after a series usually are either recaps of the entire series which is useless for those who have already seen the series, or it is a stand alone thing that really doesn’t contribute to the overall storyline and while enjoyable, you can skip it if you want.

Not so, for Missing Kings…This sequel to the 2012 series is not only a great story unto itself, but it is also necessary for you see in order to be prepared for this season’s sequel series, K: Return of Kings. So what exactly happens in it? Well, firstly, I would suggest you watch the movie yourself if you can. But if you’re not able to, and/or don’t care about spoilers, then here are the highlights:

In the first series, we learned the basic mythology behind the world, That through the power of the Dresden Slates, a scientist working for the National Socialist German Worker’s Party in 1940’s Germany, named Adolf K. Weismann was able to harness special abilities known as “aura” that garner the principles of the Earth, time, space, and reality. Decades later, these abilities fell into the hands of the Japanese, giving rise to seven incredibly superpowered beings, and through them, seven superpowered clans, not as powerful as their leaders, but dangerous all the same. These seven clans are unique from each other, each with specific traits, characteristics, and personalities. The leaders of these clans are known as kings, and it is they that control and rule the country from the shadows. Each of the kings are ranked by number and color, designating their level and type of power, the order in which their position was created, and what level of the spectrum they operate upon. These seven are:

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Knowing all this information, following the finale battle of last season, three kings disappeared that day, two are confirmed dead, and one’s status is unknown. No new kings for any of the three clans have been chosen. By the movie’s start, half a year has passed. The Red Clan a.k.a. the HOMRA gang, without any sort of leadership, fell apart. The Silver Clan has been tirelessly searching for their king, without success, not knowing if he’s actually dead, but hoping that his unofficial title as the “Immortal King” indeed rings true.

Silver clansmen, Kuroh Yatogami and Neko find themselves helping out Red clansmen, the lovely loli, Anna Kushina, and Rikio Kamamoto, who if you don’t recognise, it’s because they decided to completely change his character design from the lovable fatso to a just as lovable bishie and blame it on “weight loss”.  The two of them are on the run from members of the Green Clan known as “<jungle>”, who for some odd reason are after little red princess Anna.

Much of the movie is chases and fights between the Silver and Green Clansmen, specifically Kuroh and his ex-fellow clansman and new character to the series, Yukari Mishakuji. As a character Yukari is one of those types that everyone is familiar with, and yet not one that you quite know how to explain. He’s evil, and yet he’s so charming, he’s so despicable, and yet he’s not entirely wrong in regards to his ideals either. He left the Colorless Clan to join the Green Clan, and is now one of three characters in the series that developed the rare ability to wield two colors. He and Kuroh have major beef from back in their days as Colorless Clansmen, and much of their screentime is spent fighting each other. It’s through him and his compadres that we get to know the Green Clan for the first time and the Green King Nagare Hisui, who we never see on screen, but he definitely makes his presence known.

Dude is this JOJO?!

The Green Clan, <jungle>, is being set up for becoming the villains of this new incoming season. Their reason for kidnapping little Anna is never really explained and you quickly realize that there is much more to what’s going on than can be seen on the surface. The Green Clan is up to something sinister, they’ve become so bold that they dared to intrude on the Gold King’s territory without permission while he’s suddenly disappeared. Did I mention the Gold King disappeared? Yeah, he disappeared, and I’ll give you two guesses as to where. The Gold and Silver Kings go together like peanut butter and jam, and if one has mysteriously vanished, you can bet that the other knows something about it.

Well, it turns out the Gold King Daikaku and the, quite alive and still immortal Silver King Adolf, have been hiding away for the past months, staying out of sight and contact from anyone including their own clansmen, on Weismann’s newly rebuilt airship. Daikaku it seems, knew that the Green Clan would be coming and that they are coming after Adolf, and that’s the reason he asked him to stay hidden from them. The Silver King does what he says as a favor and also to take care of his old friend, as the man is actually in his last days. We forget that these two are the only original first generation kings still left, and Daikaku doesn’t have Adolf’s eternal youth. I’m glad that he died a rather peaceful death, though in the process, dumping everything in the Silver King’s lap.

Now for the Silver King himself, he too agrees that it’s time that he stopped hiding from the world, and with change on the horizon and an uncertain future ahead, it’s time he stepped up instead of stepping back. We don’t know what those coming changes, but it does place a foreboding shadow over this new season. You’ll notice I’ve been calling him Adolf this entire time as well, and that’s for a reason. While still in the more youthful body of Yashiro Isana, the first king seems to be looking and acting more and more like his original self with every word, while he does have a new sense of purpose now, the way he carries himself, stands, walks, talks, even his new clothing and hair style show a deeper maturity than before, which I’m actually rather glad about. I was never keen on the whole high school angle of the original series, and I can’t see them spending too much time there in the sequel. Despite his looks, our main character is actually in his late 90s to early 100s, there is a maturity of mind and nature there, and I’ll be interested in seeing him now more as the adult Adolf, more than the teenage Yashiro, in the sequel series.

Misaki-“Who the hell are these lame ass cosplayers behind me.”

But the 1st King isn’t the star of this movie, that spot actually belongs to little Anna. Her powers are misbehaving and it doesn’t get any better after she is captured and caged by the Greens for some unknown purpose. It becomes obvious what’s happening to her about midway through the movie, but the scene when she is revealed as Suoh’s successor still takes your breath away. The animation, which has been gorgeous all series, is even more amazing here. But even before her transformation into superhuman royalty, the dream sequence between her, Suoh, and Tatara is just as beautiful in its simplicity. The three of them finally being able to say goodbye, Suoh passing his mantle onto her, and acknowledges the red she loves so much is now in her. It’s just such a lovely scene, and it really puts new meaning to Mikoto and Anna’s close connection in the first series. No longer princess, Anna has become a wonderful Red Queen (I believe in keeping with a word’s gender, even if the series does not), and the Red Clan has already accepted her with open arms. She’s still young and doesn’t speak much, but then again, so was Mikoto, and she has Kusanagi and Yata to help her lead. And if you thought seeing Suoh owning every scene was awesome, pyrokinetic Queen Anna is going to blow everyone away. Suck on that Carrie! There’s a new firestarter in town! And she wears red so much better…

If that wasn’t enough plot points for a single movie, we do get some other slight advancements for our other vast supporting characters. Our psycho frenemies Yata and Fushimi are still…well, frenemies, but they are indeed much more amiable than they were in the first season. It seems that while they won’t admit it to each other, both have changed and matured a little since the battle at on the island. Speaking of SCEPTER 4, the Blues don’t do much other than sustain a perimeter on the Gold territory all movie. though what insight we have is on their king, Reisi Munakata. It’s been some time since he was forced to kill his friend and fellow king, Mikoto, and while he seems unaffected even to the point of probably being able to fool himself, his Sword of Damocles shows the truth, and that the weight of the guilt has caused a crack in his very soul. Anna comments about him having to deal with the weight, and Munakata seems content, almost accepting of the wound. Honestly, despite how affected HOMRA was, the Blue King was probably the most afflicted by Suoh’s death but as king he has no allowance to be able to display such emotion or weakness or regret over what he had to do. So, instead his emotions are staying undealt with and bottled up. I willing to bet that this fact will end up becoming a plot point in the new series. I don’t have any guesses as to how, but it will factor in somewhere.

Well, that’s about it. the movie ends once again with everything in flux. We’ve gained one Queen, but lost a King. One King has decided that it’s time for him to come out of hiding, while another is holding onto his guilt like a badge of self-flagellation. And one King is about to make his move with a rather sinister purpose. Change is coming to this world and we’re going have a front row seat as this next season begins, giving us the next chapter in the saga as the world prepares for the Return of Kings.

Extra Neko

Bored Neko is cute <3

Breast buddies forever.

Gotta love derp Neko

Castin spells yo~

Yes Neko fights a damn bird.

Neko-“Oh snap! I ran out of magic nya!”

End thoughts

Overall I loved this movie because it was more of the same from the first season or a really really really long ass episode! Again the animation, fight scenes, characters were really awesome, but this movie was more like Anna’s story and who was going to take over as the new red king. I also liked how we got some touching moments with Anna and Mikoto even though it was mostly in her head it was still nice to see Mikoto kind of give her a push in the right direction to step up and take the red king’s power for herself. That and Neko wow I didn’t realize how much I have missed that character even though most probably find her to be more annoying than actually useful, but I think she has her moments and who knows maybe we will learn more about her with the next season? Speaking of the new season I don’t really know what to say about the next season other than I hope we get to see the other kings along with new characters. So what did you like about this movie or have you not checked it out? I would assume you have or are planning on watching it soon? Either way I can’t wait for the next season to start.

I’m so excited for this new series. For me, I just started watching this series only a few weeks ago, and the movie right after, so it’s all very fresh in my memory right now. I do feel sorry for all you guys who did have to watch the first series episodically when it was first coming out, since I think the pacing issues that many mentioned are done away with if you binge watched them all together. I think it took the series a bit of time to find its stride (about to episode 6 or 7 in the series) but it eventually found its way. And the movie shows that they’ve improved much since those first toddling steps the series had to take at its start. I’m expecting them to hit the ground running with this new sequel, and I can’t wait.