The original work is a Sengoku battle manga by Yasuhisa Hara. It began serialization in Weekly Young Jump in 2006, with the first anime season airing in 2012, the second in 2013, and the third in 2020. A PlayStation Portable game was released in 2010, and a live-action film was released in 2019, making it a popular work that has been adapted into various media. The story is set in China during the Spring and Autumn Warring States period. The protagonist, Shin, a war orphan, and Sei, who would later become the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, strive to achieve something no one has ever accomplished before: unify China. While the story is based on historical facts, the personalities and appearances of the characters, as well as the war situations of the various countries, have been adapted to make the manga easy to follow and interesting. Because "Kingdom" is based on Chinese historical facts, the characters' names can be difficult to understand, and many characters' names are difficult to read. This time, we'll introduce the main characters, so you can learn their characteristics and how to read them.
Shin
The protagonist of this story, a young slave, Shin dreams of becoming a great general alongside his best friend, Piao. After Piao's death, he helps Sei reclaim the throne, and his path to becoming a great general becomes a reality. He is brave and caring towards his comrades. Though not the cleverest, he possesses resourcefulness on the battlefield. He achieves great military success in his first battle against the Wei state, achieving an unprecedented promotion from infantry to commander of a hundred men. Lian Po says he cannot surpass the Six Great Generals or the Three Great Heavens, but says that if he unifies China, it will prove that he has surpassed them. Thus, Shin begins to pursue the same goal as Sei: the unification of China.
Bihei
Like Shin, he hails from the same village of Kohi. He fought alongside Shin in the battle against Wei, and thereafter became a member of Shin's unit. He is a cowardly and playful character. While not very strong, he serves as the mood maker of the Hi Shin Unit.
Bitou
Ohei's younger brother. After fighting alongside Shin in the battle against Wei, he joined Shin's unit. Unlike his older brother, he was earnest and powerful, but he died protecting Shin in the battle against Zhao.
Taku Kei
The corporal during Shin's first battle. The unpopular Corporal Taku always led a corporal made from leftovers, but with Shin, Kyou Kai, and others, he now leads a corporal made from an incredible amount of leftovers. Corporal Taku, who is aware of his own weakness, leads a unit that is not strong, but no one has died so far. After Shin became a commander of 100 men, he joined the Hi Shin Unit.
Flao (Hyo)
Shin's best friend, Hyo was the one who inspired Shin to aim for the title of Great General. He was intelligent and skilled in swordsmanship. Because he looked exactly like King Sei of the Qin Dynasty, he served as Sei's double at the royal palace. Hei said that when he fled from Sei's pursuit, he was not a slave double, but the king himself. It was thanks to Hyo's efforts that Shobun-kun and Hei managed to escape. Although Piao's life was cut short during the rebellion of Sei Kyou, he entrusted everything to Shin.
Ying Zheng
The great king of the Qin state, later to become the first emperor of Qin. Sei was forced to flee the palace due to the rebellion of his younger brother Sei Kyou, but having heard about Shin from Piao, Sei joined forces with Shin to attempt to reclaim the throne. Despite being a king, he is also skilled in swordsmanship, as evidenced by his ability to defend himself against Shukyo's attack. After reclaiming the throne, he aims to unify China. Despite their different social status, he trusts Shin and Diao as friends.
Shika
A black market merchant hired by the Qin state to help Sei escape from Zhao, he is Sei's savior. Unable to leave Sei alone, who is the object of Zhao's hatred, he risks his life to deliver Sei to Qin. Without Shika, it would certainly have been impossible to get through the Zhao checkpoint.
Shobunkun
Masa's most trusted general and the one who made Hyo his double. While not one of the Six Great Generals, he fought alongside Ou Ki and is a skilled general. After regaining the throne, he will focus on politics as a civil servant.
Heki
A general serving Sei, he has an extremely serious personality. He is the one who told Shin about Hyo's end, and Shin nicknames him "Big Brother of the Wall." After regaining the throne, he leaves politics to Shobunkun and aims to become a great general, the pinnacle of military skill.
Karyo Ten (Karyo Ten)
A descendant of the mountain people, she cooperates with Shin and Masa for money. As they travel, she begins to see Shin and Masa as allies. Shin is completely unaware of this until halfway through, but she is a girl, and there are several scenes throughout their journey and life with Shin that hint at this. After reclaiming the throne, she attends the military academy established by Shohei-kun in order to become a military strategist, and later becomes the strategist of the Hi Shin Unit.
Kyou Kai (Kyou Kai)
A survivor of the Chiyou Incident, her fighting style is so inhuman that it's said to be inhuman. After teaming up with Shin in the battle against Wei, she joined the Hi Shin Unit and served as its vice-commander. Quiet and unsociable, Kyou Kai's sole purpose in life is to avenge her sister's death, but her encounter with Shin helps her find her place in the world. Even though she pretends to be a man on the battlefield, Kyou Kai's true face is incredibly cute, and Shin often compliments her, saying, "She's so cute!" When the Hi Shin Unit discovered her true identity, they were also amazed by her cuteness.
Yang Duanwa (Yō Tanwa)
The king of the mountain people, a warrior tribe with a strange mask. Although the mountain people do not belong to any country or power, Shin and Sei persuade them to form a cooperative relationship with the Qin state. Although she is a woman, her strength is such that she was the king of a warrior tribe, wiping out the Qin army. She is so beautiful when she removes her mask that Kabe falls in love with her at first sight.
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Bajiou
A mountain warrior serving Yang Duanhe. She is an excellent person who can speak the language of the Qin, but she is also a survivor of the fierce-tempered Baji tribe. When she unleashes her instincts, her fighting power skyrockets, but she fights like an animal.
Tajihu
A mountain warrior serving Yang Duanhe. A large man who fights with an iron ball, he recognizes Shin as a warrior after his good fight with him. He can speak a little Qin language, but it's broken and seems to be making mistakes.
Seikyou (Seikyo)
Zheng's half-brother and the one who attempted to usurp the throne from Zheng. He has a ruthless personality and believes that anyone outside of the royal family is nothing more than an insect. After Zheng regained the throne, he was imprisoned in the royal palace. However, in order to counter the power struggle with Lü Buwei, Zheng released Seikyou to use his connections.
Ketsu
He was the Chief Minister of the Qin state. He served under Seikyo to defeat Lü Buwei and led the Qin rebellion. After Shin and his allies defeated Lan Kai, he was the first to flee, but was defeated by Bajio and his allies.
Lü Buwei
Lü Buwei was the Right Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty, and he secretly manipulated the young Zheng to control the country. During the rebellion of the Cheng Kyou clan, he refused to return from his expedition until Zheng was dead, and he even sent Zhu Xiang assassins after Zheng, leading to the boss of Zheng's enemies who were seeking the throne as the new king. His power was so overwhelming that he confessed to assassinating Zheng and brushed it off as a joke. He was the fiance of Zheng's mother, the Empress Dowager, and it was Lü Buwei who left Zheng and his mother behind in Zhao.
Changping Jun
He is a military strategist on Lü Buwei's side and Meng Yi's teacher. During the battle with Zhao, he chose Wang Qi as commander-in-chief instead of Meng Wu, his close friend and fellow Lü Buwei camp member, and thinks rationally, not emotionally. He hopes to turn Shin, who played a key role in Sei's recapture of the throne and rose from slave to commander of a hundred men, into a pawn.
Meng Mougou
A great general of the Qin state, nicknamed "The White Old Man," he is the father of Meng Wu. Meng Mougou's strength lies in his ability to win easily with mediocre fighting techniques. While he finds it difficult to defeat strong opponents, he never loses to weaker opponents. Although Meng Ao was a reliable general, he had been losing to Lian Po for many years. After receiving a pep talk from Shin, he challenged him to a duel, showing his true emotions.
Meng Wu
A general in Lü Buwei's camp, he is the son of Meng Ao. He is said to be the best offensive commander in the Qin state, but he is also said to be incapable of defensive combat. He adores his father, and when Shin is appointed commander of a thousand men by Meng Ao, he says it's no problem because his father, who has a keen eye for people, chose him.
Mou Tian
The son of Meng Wu, he is beloved by his grandfather, Meng Ao. Despite holding the rank of commander of a thousand men, he serves as the commander of a hundred-man unit. He has a laid-back personality and acts as a mediator between Shin and Wang Ben. He likes Shin and often offers him advice.
Mou Yi
Mou Yi is the son of Meng Wu and a disciple of Changping Jun. He studies military strategy with Diao. His older brother, Meng Tian, asks him to become the Hi Shin Unit's strategist, but out of consideration, he leaves the role to Diao. Unlike his brother, he is serious and not easily swayed by his emotions.
Hyoko (Hyoko)
This great general served as the commander-in-chief of the Qin state in Shin's first battle against Wei. He has an aggressive personality and fights by leading the charge, often aiming to take on the commander-in-chief. After killing the commander-in-chief, he orders his troops to return home after seeing their condition deteriorate. He also appears to be able to make calm decisions.
Ouki
The only active general of the Six Great Generals of the Qin Dynasty. He speaks in a effeminate manner and often cracks jokes, but his talent as a general is overwhelming. When Ouki speaks, the morale of his soldiers soars, overwhelming those around him. Furthermore, the Ouki Corps, led by Ouki, is said to be transformed into demons, making it truly the strongest unit. He seems to like Shin, offering to challenge him and, if he overcomes them, offering to train him himself. Unfortunately, he was killed in battle before he could complete his training, but in the end, he handed over his great spear to Shin, entrusting everything to him.
Teng
Wang Qi's trusted aide-de-camp, Teng became a general and then a great general after Wang Qi's death. His Nordic features make him instantly recognizable even among the other generals, despite the large cast of characters in this series. As Wang Qi himself acknowledges, Teng's fighting prowess is among the best in the Qin Dynasty.
Wang Ben
Although he comes from the same royal family as Ou Ki, Wang Ben is a member of the main royal family. Serious and proud, Wang Ben takes pride in being an aristocrat, and he is fiercely competitive with Shin, a former slave.
Li Mu
One of the new Three Great Generals of Zhao. While he may seem frivolous at first glance, he is a skilled strategist, and it was Riboku's achievements that led to the defeat of Wang Qi. After defeating Wang Qi, he became the Prime Minister of Zhao due to his achievements. Riboku is a former warrior, and is a formidable opponent, possessing not only intelligence but also the martial arts to defeat enemy generals himself.
Kaine
A female swordsman serving Li Mu. During the war with Zhao, Li Mu and Kaine visit Meng Yi and Diao while they are observing the battlefield, and they become friendly with each other. Although they end up treating the two as enemies, they are released after the war. Even when they meet again, they are still enemies, but it seems that Kaine still cares about Diao.
Houken
One of the new Three Great Generals of Zhao. A war god with a divine presence within him, his fighting style transcends that of humans. He is not the type to lead an army; he seeks only strength, and is the type of general who can singlehandedly annihilate enemy camps. He killed Gyou, one of the Six Great Generals of the Qin Dynasty, who was to become Wang Qi's wife, and has a fateful relationship with Wang Qi. Knowing this, Li Mu appointed Houken as commander-in-chief to lure Wang Qi into battle.
Lian Po
One of the three great generals of the former Zhao state. Unable to accept the Zhao state's methods, Lian Po rebelled and fled to Wei. After his exile, he did not take part in battle for three years, and his existence was largely forgotten. However, he was tasked with leading the Wei army against the Qin state's invasion of Wei. Although the commander-in-chief was Bai Guixi, Lian Po held real power, forcing the Qin state into a difficult situation. After meeting Shin and hearing about Wang Qi's death, Lian Po realizes that a new era is upon us and that his own time has come to an end. He orders the Wei army to retreat and flees to Chu.
Watch This! Introducing the Main Characters! Summary
What did you think? There are so many characters in "Kingdom" that it would be extremely difficult to remember them all. It's a work based on historical fact, so perhaps it's inevitable, but it's hard to match faces with names after just one read (lol). This time, I've only briefly introduced the main characters, but if you're interested, I think it would be interesting to dig deeper. It might also be fun to research related figures!
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