Mad King

**The Mad King** is a character in *Ousama Ranking* and its anime adaption. He is an unnamed monarch who inhabits the forest that lies between the Bosse Kingdom and the Underworld.

Bojji briefly encountered this king while lost in the forest.

## Appearance

The Mad King is a very tall old man with grey eyes, an emaciated face, unkempt grey hair, and a large grey moustache. He wears a yellow fur tunic and darker-yellow fur boots, both of which appear to be made out of pelts. His eyes are slightly askew, giving him an air of madness.

The only thing that identifies him as a king is the solid gold crown upon his head.

## Personality

The Mad King seems to be completely mad, though his circumstances (like everything else about him) are very mysterious.

In spite of his madness, the Mad King has periodic moments of lucid wisdom. During these lucid moments the Mad King demonstrates deep knowledge of the inner workings of the forest, including the existence of a mysterious creature in the sky that collects the souls of slain animals.

Strangely, the Mad King refers to people from other kingdoms as belonging to the "secular world", hinting that he considers the forest a deeply-spiritual place. Perhaps because of this, the Mad King engages in extremely ritualistic behavior, including a Dance of Reconciliation meant to appease the mysterious sky-creature.

The notion of sacrifice seems to be extremely important to the Mad King, and to that end he doesn't differentiate between humans and animals, at one point implying that he would sacrifice Bojji.

## Plot

### Encounter in the Forest

Bojji first encountered the Mad King after becoming separated from his party and falling into one of the King's pitfall traps. Bojji narrowly avoided being skewered by its stakes. The Mad King seemed to take Bojji's presence in stride, and allowed the young prince to accompany him as he prepared his dinner on top of a nearby cliff.

While there the Mad King showed Bojji the strange creature in the sky that replenishes the forest, and taught Bojji his own Dance of Reconciliation to thank the creature for its service.

The encounter was short-lived, however, as the Mad King quickly hinted that he may sacrifice Bojji to the creature as well. Spooked, Bojji escaped the Mad King's presence and rejoined his escorts, Dormas and Hokuro.

### Possible Identity

The Mad King has not been seen since, though several flashbacks hint at a tragic history for the character, and a probable relationship with the criminal Kingbo.

## Relationships

### Kingbo

   It's heavily implied that the Mad King is Kingbo's father. While this is unconfirmed, the characters bear a striking resemblance to each other, and Kingbo's father was shown to have gone mad after abdicating and passing his kingdom to his son.
At one time Kingbo's father was the #1 ranked king in the world, and abdicated his throne to accept the title. Though he consented to pass his kingdom to his son, Kingbo's father appeared to have deep misgivings about the matter, and counseled Kingbo to have more empathy for his subjects.

   Kingbo's father entered the Divine Treasure Vault and selected his treasure: a runed sword said to be imbued with the language of the Gods. These swords are supposedly able to grant the desires of anyone who can interpret their symbols, but in reality are a cruel trick perpetrated by the Gods, and will drive their bearers insane over time. Such was the fate of Kingbo's father who, in his madness, slaughtered most of his subjects and razed his former kingdom.

## Abilities

### Forest Lore

When lucid, the Mad King is exceptionally knowledgeable about the forest, including the magical happenings within. He considers the forest a deeply intriguing, mysterious place, and appears to have studied it for a long time.

### Dance of Reconciliation

A ritual practiced by the Mad King, meant to appease the mysterious sky creature that ingests the souls of slain animals and provides new animals to the world. It is unclear if this dance has any mystical bearing, or if it's entirely superstition, but the Mad King takes it very seriously. The Mad King taught this ritual to Bojji upon their meeting.

## Trivia

There is a possibility that the Mad King was the ruler of the Bo Kingdom. This theory relies on his implied relationship to Kingbo, whose name may be a contraction of "King Bo". The name "King Bo" has been used several times in flashbacks to refer to the ruler of the Bo Kingdom.

The Mad King shares a voice actor with Kingbo's father, lending further support to the theory that they are the same character.