WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Ranking of Kings Episode 10, "The Prince's Sword," now streaming on Funimation.
Despite hailing from the lineage of giants and both his parents being the strongest among them, Prince Bojji of Ranking of Kings doesn't possess the same kind of strength or physique the race is known for. He's so feeble that he even fails to carry a bucket of water. However, there's always been one thing Bojji is good at -- evasion. While fans have witnessed Bojji's quick feet since the beginning, the recent episode reveals how the anime's cursed protagonist mastered his most useful skill.
Fans have known of Bojji's swift footwork since the first few episodes. It is the only battle-related skill that he excelled at. When Daida once challenged his older brother to a duel to prove his superior fighting ability, he wasn't even able to graze Bojji's skin. Although the deaf prince couldn't hit as strong as his brother, he still managed to gently tap his head, which the latter took in shame. However, this wasn't the first time Bojji exhibited this skill. Hokuro once witnessed Bojji skillfully and safely elude a handful of snakes coming to bite him, which earned the young knight's admiration and loyalty. Most of all, Bojji managed to gain Bebin's approval by earning a draw against one of his mightiest warriors.
Episode 10 shows a brief flashback of Mitsumata, the former three-headed snake, teaching Bojji his current best skill. As the snake's benefactor, Mitsumata not only taught the prince how to lip-read but also devised a regimen to hone his evasiveness. By throwing a barrage of rocks at Bojji, his awareness of his surroundings gradually sharpened.
Even though there was a point where Bojji could already weave through the hurled debris, the serpent advised him to rely less on his eyes and use his other senses more. According to Mitsumata, he must use his other senses to feel the movement of the air. Only then could he reach greater heights.
Indeed, Bojji's elusiveness became the building block of his greatest technique yet. The product of Despa's training was an upgrade to Bojji's most proficient skill, and this is proved during his latest win. To celebrate the success of the boy's training, Despa took the two children, Bojji and Kage, to eat outside. That's when things got a bit dodgy as three orc brothers, who Despa recognized as his previous assailants, started looking for trouble.
As Despa was getting walloped by the trio, Bojji is forced to step up. He unsheathed his newly acquired needle-like sword, and manifested his ever-useful evasion skills, not allowing his brawny opponents to land a single hit on him. This time, however, he wasn't merely running away. He also used his footwork to charge at his opponents while still dodging their strikes. And by landing a good punch on the jaw or stabbing the right nerve, Bojji could render his opponents unconscious without causing any serious injury. This skill allowed the kind-hearted boy to earn the title "the strongest."
With Bojji being considered as the strongest without receiving any deus ex machina, he proves that he has never been weak. Despa's training focused on utilizing and maximizing the skill Bojji has already mastered. The revelation of his initial acquisition of such ability also proves that, albeit few, Bojji still had allies that have never abandoned him. Bojji may realize his first master's words and be his brother's savior by using his newly-improved evasion skills in future episodes of Ranking of Kings.
