Mu Li

Kingdom is a war story set in ancient China, more than 2,200 years ago, in a time called the Warring States period. Seven states fought each other for many years, until the king of Qin joined them all into one country in 221 BC. The manga by Yasuhisa Hara has run in Weekly Young Jump since 2006. It won the Grand Prize of the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2013, and by early 2026 it had more than 120 million copies in print. The third anime season was made by Studio Pierrot and Studio Signpost, with Kenichi Imaizumi as director, and it is fully hand-drawn rather than computer graphics like the first two seasons. It began in April 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic stopped it after only a few episodes. It came back on April 5, 2021, and finished on October 18, 2021, with 26 episodes. The two leads are Xin and Ying Zheng. Xin was once a poor orphan boy who dreamed of becoming the greatest general under heaven. Ying Zheng is the young king of Qin, a calm and strong-willed ruler who wants to end the wars by uniting all of China. Their friendship is the core of the whole series. By this point, Xin leads a unit of one thousand soldiers, and he has grown from a reckless fighter into a real officer who must keep his men alive. Season 3 adapts the arc that fans call the Coalition Invasion. After Qin wins land in the state of Wei, the other states grow afraid of it. The key figure on the other side is Li Mu, a brilliant general who now holds great power in the state of Zhao. He is one of the main enemies of the series, a man who wins with his mind as much as with his army. While Qin thinks Zhao is quiet, Li Mu brings the other kingdoms together. Soon, armies from many states march on Qin at the same time. Qin must now fight for its very survival, and Zheng and his advisers must find a way to stop an attack far bigger than anything they have faced. The show is full of huge battle scenes, with thousands of soldiers, horses, and banners. Just as much of it is about planning. Generals read the land, guess what the enemy will do, and set traps. There are also court politics, since the king must deal with rivals inside his own government. The cast is mostly adult men, and the tone is serious, with real loss on every side. Many fans see this season as the point where Kingdom's anime got much better looking. It is a must for viewers who enjoyed the first two seasons and for anyone who likes history, war strategy, and stories about loyal friends with a giant dream.