Studio Pierrot dropped a new trailer for its anime adaptation of Yasuhisa Hara's iconic manga Kingdom, providing fans a preview of what to expect in the second half of Season 3.
The third season of Kingdom covers the manga's Coalition Army Arc, and the trailer showcases some of the arc's brutal combat. Season 3 originally premiered in April 2020 on NHK General in Japan; however, the broadcast was delayed after the fourth episode because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the declaration of Japan's first state of emergency. NHK General resumed airing Kingdom's third season on April 4 in Japan, and Funimation has been simulcasting the anime in other regions as it airs.
While Studio Pierrot, the company behind anime mainstays like Naruto, Bleach, Black Clover, Divine Gate and Tokyo Ghoul, directly handled the production of Kingdom for Season 1 and 2, Studio Signpost (Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō, Chō Kuse ni Narisō, Beelzebub, Magical Girl Ore), a subsidiary of Studio Pierrot, took over animation duties for Season 3. The new production team includes Kenichi Imaizumi (Reborn!, Brynhildr in the Darkness, After School Dice Club) as the chief director, Noboru Takagi (The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These, Baccano!, Altair: A Record of Battles) as the script director and Hisashi Abe (Sorcerer Hunters, 2016's Berserk, Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System) as the character designer.
Many of the voice actors from Kingdom's first two seasons returned for Season 3, including Masakazu Morita as Shin (Xin), Jun Fukuyama as Ei Sei (Yin Zheng), Rie Kugimiya as Karyō Ten (He Liao Diao), Hirofumi Nojima as Mōten, Kentaro Ito as Huan Ji, Shiro Saito as Biao Gong (Hyou Ko), Yoshimasa Hosoya as Ōhon, Kenyuu Horiuchi as Wang Jian (Ōsen) and Akio Kato as Tō.
Moreover, the idol group BiSH also returned to perform the anime's new opening theme song "STACKING." Japanese singer Emiko Suzuki performed the new ending theme song "kIng," which was composed by Hiroyuki Sawano.
Set during the Warring States period of Chinese history, Kingdom tells the stories of Xin, a slave boy who dreams of becoming a great general, and Ying Zheng, the young Qin king who wishes to unify the country. The original manga launched in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump in 2006 and went on to inspire not only Studio Pierrot's anime adaptation, but also Shinsuke Satō's live-action film adaptation that was released in Japan in April 2019.
The first season of Kingdom premiered in 2012 with 38 episodes and was followed by the second season in 2013 with 39 episodes. Both seasons can be streamed on Funimation, with new episodes from Season 3 premiering on the service every Sunday.
Source: YouTube, via Funimation
