With only three episodes left, fans expected Ousama Ranking episode 20 to expose more of Miranjo’s past and Bosse’s secrets. However, the episode focused on the ongoing fight between Ouken and everyone else, and brought Bosse to the foreground, as was hinted at in the preview.
While some parts of Miranjo’s relationship with the red-skinned person have been revealed, Ousama Ranking episode 20 has raised more questions than it answered.
Ousama Ranking episode 20 focuses on Miranjo’s regrets, Bosse’s motives remain unclear
In the last episode, Miranjo stopped Kage from leaving for the afterlife and faced her and Bojji’s mothers. Her good deed and Daida’s kindness to her child-self freed the vestige that was trapped within Bosse’s memory, but before leaving, she assured Daida that someone would come to save him soon. The big four fought Ouken but failed to subdue him.
Ousama Ranking episode 20 is titled Immortal vs Invincible.
Miranjo’s confrontation
Ousama Ranking episode 20 starts in the land at the border of life and death, where Miranjo meets her mother and the First Queen of Bosse. Bojji remembers his mother and tries to call out to her, but fails to do so.
His mother condemns Miranjo for everything she has done, but reveals that she holds no grudge towards her, because the queen believes in:
“Hate the sin, not the sinner.”
The Queen tells Miranjo that her son, Bojji, is strong and will be the one to defeat her. She also correctly guesses that Miranjo can’t cross over, because she can no longer die. It is revealed that Miranjo served the red-skinned person, who was a demon and her childhood companion.
Miranjo promised him something, but betrayed him twice. After the second time, the Demon, now a gigantic figure, trapped her soul in the mirror. He also warned her that once she dies, he will devour her soul, thus denying her an afterlife.
Miranjo’s identity
Miranjo is hurt when her mother tries to tell her to lead a different life. She lashes out with her magic which returns everyone to the land of the living. While passing through, Miranjo realizes that she started to become apathetic to people when Bosse started to use others for his gain.
As she breaks down, Despa shares his memories of Miranjo’s past with Bojji, and allows him to make his own decision regarding her. Bojji is empathetic and sheds tears for the woman, and Despa realizes that he won’t be able to kill her. However, he seems to have reconciled himself to that outcome.
Daida sees Miranjo’s memory of Bosse’s passing and her determination to use him to revive the King. Daida understands that the child he helped was the same person in the mirror who doomed him. He is visibly emotional at the realization, thinking that he always wanted to know what kind of a person his “Kagami (Mirror)” was.
The fight with Ouken
Ousama Ranking episode 20 then returns to the fight with Ouken, where the Big Four have separated his body parts. But the latter reassembles himself and incapacitates all of them. Hokuro tries to hit him with his crossbow, but Ouken stabs him as well.
Despa, Bojji, and Kage return to the land of the living, but are at risk of bleeding to death. Despa asks Kage to go to the Commander of the Knights, who knows how to stop the bleeding. However, Ouken stabs him as well before Kage can get to him.
Bojji stands up to fight, despite being in no condition to do so, but he is interrupted by Bosse. The King hits Bojji with his club and berates his men for losing, but then heals them using the magic that Daida inherited from Hiling. That takes half of his energy, which gives him a new appreciation for Hiling’s power.
Bosse vs Ouken
Bosse then faces Ouken and is unable to counter his immortality at first. However, he soon comes up with an idea. He first uproots a boulder, which is nearly impossible to break for anyone but him. He then crushes Ouken into a little ball and puts him inside a hole in the boulder, immediately filling it up with similar rocks.
This prevents Ouken from returning to his full size, and his cries of agony disturb Despa immensely. The latter has always maintained that Bosse is the true mastermind behind everything that’s happened and therefore, he cannot be trusted.
Ousama Ranking episode 20 ends with Bojji challenging his father to a duel, ignoring both Despa and Kage’s warnings.
Final Thoughts
A considerable portion of Miranjo’s and Bosse’s secrets remain undisclosed. With only three more episodes to go, the series will need to pick up the pace if it is to wrap up every dangling thread.
However, Ousama Ranking episode 20 was already moving at a breakneck speed, so any faster would make the storytelling clumsy.
It seems like the makers aren’t particularly interested in resolving everything this season, which gives viewers hope that there will be a second one. With the manga still ongoing, and the series having gained relative popularity in the second cour, another season might just be on the horizon.