Hello Worst Gen, DDM here. Having been a long-time reader of Kingdom thanks to @Elder Lee Hung's introduction, I have finally mustered the motivation to post in this section as my boy Kanki's story draws to a close. To begin, I am an unapologetic Kanki dick rider, so if you're expecting a slander thread full of fraud and edgelord accusations, this ain't gonna be it. I will be releasing a three-part analysis of Great General Kanki, starting with his initial characterisation before moving on to his relationships with both main and side characters and how these serve to develop aspects of his personality and philosophy. I will then conclude with an analysis of his role in the story and the questions he poses both to historical Chinese kings and a modern international audience. Specifically, this thread will cover Kanki's characterisation up to Kokuyou Hills, being the groundwork that Hara laid for his climatic standoff with Sei
Disclaimer: I am not at all qualified to make judgements as to whether Kanki is a better general than X character or Y character, nor will I be evaluating the various successes and failures of his past or current campaigns. This thread's concerns lie exclusively with how Hara developed a complex and charismatic figure in Kanki, a man whose cunning, cruelty and daring has captivated audiences the world over.
Introduction - Sanyou vs Genpo and Haku Kisai
Kanki's introduction in the Sanyou arc established him as Qin's equivalent to Mangoku, albeit much more lucid and arguably more depraved. His seemingly senseless mutilation of enemy corpses and excessively brutal methods of dispatching his enemies were the first real impressions Hara conveyed of his character, culminating in the first Qin kill of the Four Heavenly Kings.
One of the first things we the audience are told about Kanki is the tale of Kanki the Beheader, emphasising his brutality and willingness to completely discard orthodox battlefield morality and laws. Disguising himself for an assassination attempt on the enemy HQ further cements this impression, with Kanki explicitly stating that he pays no heed to traditional strategy, choosing instead to wage psychological warfare through 'doing things that people dislike' and using his bandit experience to bypass traditional modes of warfare. It would have been easy then, for Hara to limit Kanki's character to this criminal archetype and portray him exclusively as a capricious and murderous bandit-leader-turned-general, but Hara proceeded to foreshadow Kanki's more complex characterisation at the arc's climax.
As Kanki prepares to launch an ambush on the Wei HQ, he spouts a seemingly throwaway line espousing his complete lack of nationalism, denouncing both Qin and Wei as being exactly the same. At this point, his dialogue can be easily dismissed as 'some edgy BS'; however this is but a brief glimpse into Kanki's true belief system and his preference for individuals over titles, ideologies and state borders. This scene also hints at Kanki's 'pay evil unto evil' mentality when he saws a still-living Haku Kisai in half, his last words to the defeated Wei commander acknowledging the loss of his men and the need for a scapegoat unto whom he can pay retribution. These aspects of Kanki's character would later become central to his backstory and the bloody conclusion of the Eikyuu conflict.
Coalition War arc
Despite his (relative) lack of contribution to the fighting, the Coalition War arc marks a crucial turning point in Kanki's character development, displaying many of his positive and redeeming traits through his brief relationship with Choutou. The Coalition War also paints a clearer picture of Kanki's disdain towards the vast majority of Qin society, as well as his relationship with his commanding officers and common foot soldiers.
Hara begins by depicting the friction between senior general Choutou, Qin's longest serving commander, and the young and brazen ex-bandit Kanki. Choutou repeatedly snipes at Kanki during their pre-war debriefing at Kanyou and during their initial interactions atop Kankoku Pass. Choutou and Mougou represent the traditional concept of a general's role, discussing the 'weight' behind their extensive service records and their belief in a general's responsibility to shoulder the protection of their kingdom. Kanki rejects this view in its entirety, exhibiting nothing but unbridled contempt towards the hierarchical nature of the Warring States period society. He fights for his personal satisfaction, not because he believes that the deterministic caste-based society in which he lives is worth protecting. (Despite his aversion to the old generals' mentality, Kanki does seem to happily serve under Mougou due to having a positive relationship with the old man, but that's going to have to be a topic for the next thread.) This immediately sets him apart from almost every other Qin general who'd made an appearance in the series at that point, including Shin and the previous generation of Qin's Six, all of whom entered the battlefield to chase after a beautiful dream. At first glance, this only seems to cement Kanki's irredeemably villainous first impression, but subsequent events would soon turn that portrayal on its head, revealing a more magnanimous, even heroic aspect of the character.
Realising that Choutou is truly on his last legs, Kanki leads his army through a mass of Coalition soldiers to strike down the Han commander Seikai. This not only earns him the old general's respect and acknowledgement, but also that of the audience, many of whom would have viewed Kanki as a dishonourable scoundrel overly-reliant on backstabbing unwitting opponents. In contrast to his ruthlessness towards his foes, Kanki further goes out of his way to encourage his men as they plunge deep into enemy territory, their reactions revealing their belief in his leadership and their appreciation for his support. Despite being surrounded by enemies and in danger of having their escape route cut off, Kanki also displays a startling level of respect towards the dying Choutou by staying back to listen to his parting words and holding his body upright as he falls. This is a complete reversal of the mutual scorn both generals had shown each other before, indicating that Kanki, for all his sociopathic ways, is not completely heartless and is in fact willing to convey respect where respect is due.
Kokuyou Hills arc
The Kokuyou Hills arc finally allowed Kanki to take the spotlight, both as a general and as a character. And boy did he deliver. Kokuyou Hills is widely considered one of the most entertaining and interesting arcs the series has produced, with Kanki actually managing to make Shin falter in pursuit of his goals. Kokuyou Hills propels Kanki from being merely a popular side character to a powerful internal opposition to Shin and Sei's ideals. The audience also gains deeper insight into his 'Kanki the Beheader' persona - his sadism and savagery in battle, as well as his seemingly-nihilistic worldview of humanity as a whole.
Now, I don't think anyone needs me to go into detail about the rainbow arch of friendship that Kanki gifted to Kisui, nor the fact that because of him, Shin nearly lost a GG level commander in Bihei. Instead, I'd like to point out that Kokuyou Hills is where the various aspects of Kanki's character begin to come together - his near-total detachment from any sort of patriotism to Qin, as well as the views he expressed towards Haku Kisai and Choutou about a general's role. Shin's previous ideological conflict was with Gaimou who regarded the battlefield as little more than a slaughterhouse and who scorned the idealism of Qin's Six and King Sho. Kokuyou Hills take this conflict one step further with Kanki explicitly calling out Shin and Sei's hypocrisy, particularly Shin's near-wilful blindness to the rampant slaughter unification requires. Though some members of the military (Tou, Shouheikun, Ouhon etc) either view Sei favourably or are willing to fight for his goal, Kanki makes it overwhelmingly clear that whatever his reasons for fighting, he never has or will accept Sei as anything more than a tyrant, or the Qin military as any more than a butcher's bloody instruments. Within Kanki's own context, and that of most lower and middle class citizens, he's absolutely right. In a period where the vast majority of the population is illiterate, living hand-to-mouth and but a single crop failure, bandit attack or minor epidemic away from losing their entire settlement, how much do they have to gain from unification? Even if Sei's dream came true in its entirety, with nobles and the lower class made equal through the rule of law, what good would this be when the common folk lack even the basic literacy to understand and advocate for their rights and there is no politically-neutral law enforcement body or judiciary in place to enforce and uphold the law? As an ex-bandit himself, Kanki would have known how hilariously easy it was for marauders to terrorise smaller, impoverished settlements like Jouto village, with local officials and the capital all but turning a blind eye to their plight. The Kokuyou Hills arc foreshadowed that despite developing a soft spot for Shin, Kanki would never come to embrace Sei as a truly good king. His hatred and rage simply ran too deep for any reversal of opinion.
Hara's characterisation up to Kokuyou Hills paints a picture of Kanki as a man whose existence revolves around pain - inflicting it, personally experiencing it and understanding the impact of warfare on the men that serve as its cannon fodder. Some people like to use this meme to indicate some sort of double standard in the fandom when it comes to Kanki and characters like Mangoku, and while funny, are also kind of missing the point:
It is far too reductive to state that Kanki is merely the Qin version of Mangoku. Kanki's cynicism and rage ultimately derive from a greater understanding of human nature than Mangoku's myopic obsession with Chouhei. As previously demonstrated, Kanki also possesses several redeeming traits that Mangoku was never shown to have, and his depravity (luckily) does not extend to riding around naked on a horse holding the desecrated corpses of civilian women. Kanki despises not only Qin, but most of humanity itself, and makes no excuses for his own despicable behaviour when confronted by the HSU. Hara portrays Kanki as an unapologetic villain, but leaves room for the audience to guess at the charismatic, even honourable man he could have been, had he never met with the precipitating event for his rage.
I'll be releasing parts 2 and 3 after chapter 752 officially drops on SenseScans. If you'd like to be tagged in those threads, lmk in the comments below.
Disclaimer: I am not at all qualified to make judgements as to whether Kanki is a better general than X character or Y character, nor will I be evaluating the various successes and failures of his past or current campaigns. This thread's concerns lie exclusively with how Hara developed a complex and charismatic figure in Kanki, a man whose cunning, cruelty and daring has captivated audiences the world over.
Introduction - Sanyou vs Genpo and Haku Kisai
Kanki's introduction in the Sanyou arc established him as Qin's equivalent to Mangoku, albeit much more lucid and arguably more depraved. His seemingly senseless mutilation of enemy corpses and excessively brutal methods of dispatching his enemies were the first real impressions Hara conveyed of his character, culminating in the first Qin kill of the Four Heavenly Kings.
One of the first things we the audience are told about Kanki is the tale of Kanki the Beheader, emphasising his brutality and willingness to completely discard orthodox battlefield morality and laws. Disguising himself for an assassination attempt on the enemy HQ further cements this impression, with Kanki explicitly stating that he pays no heed to traditional strategy, choosing instead to wage psychological warfare through 'doing things that people dislike' and using his bandit experience to bypass traditional modes of warfare. It would have been easy then, for Hara to limit Kanki's character to this criminal archetype and portray him exclusively as a capricious and murderous bandit-leader-turned-general, but Hara proceeded to foreshadow Kanki's more complex characterisation at the arc's climax.
As Kanki prepares to launch an ambush on the Wei HQ, he spouts a seemingly throwaway line espousing his complete lack of nationalism, denouncing both Qin and Wei as being exactly the same. At this point, his dialogue can be easily dismissed as 'some edgy BS'; however this is but a brief glimpse into Kanki's true belief system and his preference for individuals over titles, ideologies and state borders. This scene also hints at Kanki's 'pay evil unto evil' mentality when he saws a still-living Haku Kisai in half, his last words to the defeated Wei commander acknowledging the loss of his men and the need for a scapegoat unto whom he can pay retribution. These aspects of Kanki's character would later become central to his backstory and the bloody conclusion of the Eikyuu conflict.
Coalition War arc
Hara begins by depicting the friction between senior general Choutou, Qin's longest serving commander, and the young and brazen ex-bandit Kanki. Choutou repeatedly snipes at Kanki during their pre-war debriefing at Kanyou and during their initial interactions atop Kankoku Pass. Choutou and Mougou represent the traditional concept of a general's role, discussing the 'weight' behind their extensive service records and their belief in a general's responsibility to shoulder the protection of their kingdom. Kanki rejects this view in its entirety, exhibiting nothing but unbridled contempt towards the hierarchical nature of the Warring States period society. He fights for his personal satisfaction, not because he believes that the deterministic caste-based society in which he lives is worth protecting. (Despite his aversion to the old generals' mentality, Kanki does seem to happily serve under Mougou due to having a positive relationship with the old man, but that's going to have to be a topic for the next thread.) This immediately sets him apart from almost every other Qin general who'd made an appearance in the series at that point, including Shin and the previous generation of Qin's Six, all of whom entered the battlefield to chase after a beautiful dream. At first glance, this only seems to cement Kanki's irredeemably villainous first impression, but subsequent events would soon turn that portrayal on its head, revealing a more magnanimous, even heroic aspect of the character.
Realising that Choutou is truly on his last legs, Kanki leads his army through a mass of Coalition soldiers to strike down the Han commander Seikai. This not only earns him the old general's respect and acknowledgement, but also that of the audience, many of whom would have viewed Kanki as a dishonourable scoundrel overly-reliant on backstabbing unwitting opponents. In contrast to his ruthlessness towards his foes, Kanki further goes out of his way to encourage his men as they plunge deep into enemy territory, their reactions revealing their belief in his leadership and their appreciation for his support. Despite being surrounded by enemies and in danger of having their escape route cut off, Kanki also displays a startling level of respect towards the dying Choutou by staying back to listen to his parting words and holding his body upright as he falls. This is a complete reversal of the mutual scorn both generals had shown each other before, indicating that Kanki, for all his sociopathic ways, is not completely heartless and is in fact willing to convey respect where respect is due.
Kokuyou Hills arc
The Kokuyou Hills arc finally allowed Kanki to take the spotlight, both as a general and as a character. And boy did he deliver. Kokuyou Hills is widely considered one of the most entertaining and interesting arcs the series has produced, with Kanki actually managing to make Shin falter in pursuit of his goals. Kokuyou Hills propels Kanki from being merely a popular side character to a powerful internal opposition to Shin and Sei's ideals. The audience also gains deeper insight into his 'Kanki the Beheader' persona - his sadism and savagery in battle, as well as his seemingly-nihilistic worldview of humanity as a whole.
Now, I don't think anyone needs me to go into detail about the rainbow arch of friendship that Kanki gifted to Kisui, nor the fact that because of him, Shin nearly lost a GG level commander in Bihei. Instead, I'd like to point out that Kokuyou Hills is where the various aspects of Kanki's character begin to come together - his near-total detachment from any sort of patriotism to Qin, as well as the views he expressed towards Haku Kisai and Choutou about a general's role. Shin's previous ideological conflict was with Gaimou who regarded the battlefield as little more than a slaughterhouse and who scorned the idealism of Qin's Six and King Sho. Kokuyou Hills take this conflict one step further with Kanki explicitly calling out Shin and Sei's hypocrisy, particularly Shin's near-wilful blindness to the rampant slaughter unification requires. Though some members of the military (Tou, Shouheikun, Ouhon etc) either view Sei favourably or are willing to fight for his goal, Kanki makes it overwhelmingly clear that whatever his reasons for fighting, he never has or will accept Sei as anything more than a tyrant, or the Qin military as any more than a butcher's bloody instruments. Within Kanki's own context, and that of most lower and middle class citizens, he's absolutely right. In a period where the vast majority of the population is illiterate, living hand-to-mouth and but a single crop failure, bandit attack or minor epidemic away from losing their entire settlement, how much do they have to gain from unification? Even if Sei's dream came true in its entirety, with nobles and the lower class made equal through the rule of law, what good would this be when the common folk lack even the basic literacy to understand and advocate for their rights and there is no politically-neutral law enforcement body or judiciary in place to enforce and uphold the law? As an ex-bandit himself, Kanki would have known how hilariously easy it was for marauders to terrorise smaller, impoverished settlements like Jouto village, with local officials and the capital all but turning a blind eye to their plight. The Kokuyou Hills arc foreshadowed that despite developing a soft spot for Shin, Kanki would never come to embrace Sei as a truly good king. His hatred and rage simply ran too deep for any reversal of opinion.
Hara's characterisation up to Kokuyou Hills paints a picture of Kanki as a man whose existence revolves around pain - inflicting it, personally experiencing it and understanding the impact of warfare on the men that serve as its cannon fodder. Some people like to use this meme to indicate some sort of double standard in the fandom when it comes to Kanki and characters like Mangoku, and while funny, are also kind of missing the point:
It is far too reductive to state that Kanki is merely the Qin version of Mangoku. Kanki's cynicism and rage ultimately derive from a greater understanding of human nature than Mangoku's myopic obsession with Chouhei. As previously demonstrated, Kanki also possesses several redeeming traits that Mangoku was never shown to have, and his depravity (luckily) does not extend to riding around naked on a horse holding the desecrated corpses of civilian women. Kanki despises not only Qin, but most of humanity itself, and makes no excuses for his own despicable behaviour when confronted by the HSU. Hara portrays Kanki as an unapologetic villain, but leaves room for the audience to guess at the charismatic, even honourable man he could have been, had he never met with the precipitating event for his rage.
I'll be releasing parts 2 and 3 after chapter 752 officially drops on SenseScans. If you'd like to be tagged in those threads, lmk in the comments below.
@Shanks @Blackbeard @God Buggy @Xlaw @Owl Ki @MarineHQ @Monet @Greenbeard @Parker @FutureWarrior123 @TheKnightOfTheSea @Jailer @Elder Lee Hung @Beerbottle @Guan Yu @RayanOO @notAfanboy @FutureWarrior123 @Bullet @Dark Admiral @Dark Hound @Bepo @Yo Tan Wa @Topi Jerami @Rumble @Great General Kanki @FaradaySloth @Krusher1357 @Yoru @Great General Kanki @Ninjashadow0209 @Nidai_Kitetsu @Koro @Malio @kratosś @Warchief Sanji D Goat @centurion @Seth @kom5
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Your threads never fail to impress. Kanki truly is one hell of a character. Also welcome to Kingdom, looking forward to your future threads..:cheers:
