Western Zhao is my favorite manga arc of all time, and I said that when I first read it. It was always literally my favorite manga arc. I do see the criticism of switching to Yotanwa’s battlefield, that’s totally valid. But Shukai itself has Shin’s all time best moments:
-Shin one shotting Gaku Ei was the first time while reading a manga where I actually jumped to my feet and paced around the room because I couldn’t take the hype. The whole battle leading into that moment seemed like it was going disastrously wrong for Qin, and when Shin flashed back to Ouki right before one shotting Gaku Ei…man. I nearly shat myself.
-Shin vs Garyuu, in my humble opinion, was 10x better than Shin vs Rinko. It didn’t take 30 chapters and Shin as a character in Shukai was just far more enjoyable for me than he was in the past. Shukai was really where he started maturing and stopped speaking with unearned authority on behalf of all of Qin like he did when he was younger.
-The Hi Shin Unit’s awakening was another absolutely perfect moment to me. I still get chills remembering it.
-Shin vs Houken, I was one of the only people defending that fight when it happened and I’ll still defend it today. To me it really felt like Hara built up to that fight for the whole manga.
Ouhon also had great moments in Shukai Plains. Particularly him escaping from the Raigoku and that whole plot had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I didn’t want to see Gyou’Un or Ouhon lose there and Hara had me by the balls the entire time. I’ve never felt such tension reading a manga before, it was absolutely thicc.
And Western Zhao was also back when Ousen was actually interesting to read. His whole plan to fell Gyou was absolutely peak, none of Ousen’s schemes and plans since then have even sniffed Gyou’s greatness.
Kyoukai was also mostly uninvolved. This is a positive thing. Lol
So yeah Shukai Plains and Western Zhao was nearly a 10/10 arc for me, it got very close to a perfect arc imo.
Sanyou was pretty damn good but I think most Kingdom fans think more highly of Sanyou than I do. A lot of the arc felt contrived with how little of a plan Mougou actually had to deal with Rinko and Genpou. Literally the crux of the Qin’s offense against them was 3 rookie 1K man commanders. Which again just felt contrived, it just didn’t seem right that actual Generals and Great General Mougou just had no plan at all to deal with this guy, and Qin’s only hope at beating Rinko in particular was 3 rookies.
It wasn’t a huge deal since Mougou was banking on Kanki and Ousen to win, but like, damn Mougou almost got his shit kicked in in the center because he entrusted the entire center battlefield to three teenagers.
Shin vs Rinko was also way too long. I said that a few pages back but that fight didn’t have the substance to last 30 chapters imo. I would struggle to read 30 chapters of Ouki vs Houken or Moubu vs Kanmei, let alone 30 chapters of rookie Shin vs Rinko.
Dakan Plains to me was a better arc than Sanyou. Winning Dakan felt like a miracle, Hara constantly walked the line of the battle just feeling impossible to win without ever making the eventual win feel like bullshit. It felt like a Herculean struggle just for us to put those final 10 feet on top of that damn hill lol, and I mean that in a good way. The struggle was thick.
Bayou had Ouki who was just goated the entire fucking time. And thankfully Hara had the good sense to kill Ouki so he didn’t overstay his welcome. Hara gave him an utterly glorious showing at Bayou and then killed him so he never became stale. And the emotion of Ouki’s imminent death and Ouki low key knowing his death was approaching gave the whole battle a very intense air.
Anyway, I’d give Western Zhao like a 9.9/10, I’d give Dakan like a 9/10, Bayou like a 9.5, and Sanyou like an 8.
