Kingdom (2019 film)

Kingdom (キングダム) is a 2019 Japanese film directed by Shinsuke Sato and produced by Sony Pictures Japan. It is an adaptation of the manga series of the same name, created by Yasuhisa Hara and published by Shueisha. The screenplay was written by Tsutomu Kuroiwa, Shinsuke Sato and Yasuhisa Hara. Kento Yamazaki, who starred in a 3-minute short of the same name released in 2016, reprises his role as the film's protagonist with a supporting cast that includes Ryo Yoshizawa, Kanna Hashimoto, Masami Nagasawa, Kanata Hongō and Takao Osawa. The film portrays the life of Li Xin, a general of Qin, from his childhood as an orphan through his military career during the Warring States period of ancient China.

Kingdom was released nationwide on April 19, 2019, and it was screened in North America by Funimation in Q3 2019. Three sequels have been released: Kingdom 2: Far and Away (2022), Kingdom 3: The Flame of Destiny (2023) and Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General (2024).

Plot
Orphaned by war, Xin is sold as a slave to a small village, where he befriends Piao, another slave. Growing up, Xin and Piao train together, dreaming of escaping their low statuses and eventually becoming great generals. One day, Chang Wen Jun visits their village in search of soldiers to aid the king Ying Zheng, but he will only accept Piao. Some time later, a mortally wounded Piao appears at Xin's house, warning him that Ying Zheng's brother, Cheng Jiao, has started a power struggle and urging him to go to a point marked on a map he gives him. Xin sets directly off, not knowing that his village is set on fire and all the villagers are murdered by Cheng Jiao's army.

At the meet-up point, Xin finds Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, where they are ambushed by a skilled assassin. Xin realizes that Piao was accepted into the army to serve as Ying Zheng's double due bearing a resemblance to him. Xin kills the assassin and the two escape through a mountain path with help from He Liao Diao, a Mountain Tribe child who had accompanied the bandits who had previously ambushed Xin. As the three reach the bamboo forest, they are attacked by another assassin. Despite blaming Ying Zheng for Piao's death, Xin defeats the assassin, but he is poisoned by one of his darts. The three take refuge at an ancient summer resort to help Xin recuperate, while Xin learns Piao had voluntarily sacrificed himself to serve Ying Zheng and about Ying Zheng's bitter rivalry with Cheng Jiao, his brother.

Ying Zheng's remaining army finally arrive at the summer resort, including Chang Wen Jun, who was previously assumed to have been killed by Wang Qi. The army is outnumbered by Cheng Jiao's army of 80,000 soldiers, while Ying Zheng admits that Lü Buwei, the only person who can outmatch him, is also after the throne. Ying Zheng's chooses to seek out help from the Mountain Tribe, a former ally of the Qin royal family that had been betrayed centuries ago. As they rise into the mountains, they are captured by the Mountain Tribe and brought forth to the chieftain, Yang Duan He. Yang Duan He orders Xin to be beheaded to test Ying Zheng's loyalty, but Xin's dedication to Ying Zheng's goal and mannerisms impress her, after which she announces that the Mountain Tribe will be affiliated with the Qin royalty again.

Ying Zheng's army arrives at the royal palace disguised as part of the Mountain Tribe, under the pretense of helping Cheng Jiao fight against Lü Buwei. Jie Shi, Cheng Jiao's advisor, allows only 50 people inside, and 10 of them to meet with Cheng Jiao. Just inside the gates, Ying Zheng initiates an attack, while Xin, Diao, and Bi use the underground passageway to reach the throne room and assassinate Cheng Jiao. Xin's group is intercepted by Zuo Ci, Ying Zheng's former general, who sends Lang Kai the Executioner after them. Xin kills Lang Kai with the help of the Mountain Tribe, and when they reach Cheng Jiao's room, Zuo Ci defeats Xin's group. Xin's memory of Piao and belief in his own dreams pushes him to continue and he kills Zuo Ci. Cheng Jiao's council flees, but Diao gouges out Jie Shi's eye with a dart and is stabbed by him before he dies. While Diao is safe thanks to wearing armor, Cheng Jiao uses their distraction to escape.

In the courtyard, Cheng Jiao confronts Ying Zheng, but is quickly defeated. Ying Zheng spares him, but he beats him down to punish him for the suffering he caused. In the midst of this, Wang Qi and his army appear in the courtyard, where he asks Ying Zheng what he will do as king, under the condition that he will behead him if he does not provide a satisfactory answer. Ying Zheng vows that he plans to unite China under the Warring States period, even using force as a means to ensure that there would be peace in the future. Satisfied with his answer, Wang Qi allies with Ying Zheng and orders Cheng Jiao's remaining army to retreat. With the battle won, Xin revels in the glory of making both his and Piao's dreams come true.

Cast

 * Kento Yamazaki as Xin
 * Riku Ōnishi as young Xin
 * Ryo Yoshizawa as Piao and Ying Zheng
 * Ryōka Minamide as young Piao
 * Kanna Hashimoto as He Liao Diao
 * Masami Nagasawa as Yang Duan He
 * Kanata Hongō as Cheng Jiao
 * Shinnosuke Mitsushima as Bi
 * Masahiro Takashima as Lord Changwen
 * Jun Kaname as Teng
 * Shinnosuke Abe as Ba Jiō
 * Wataru Ichinose as Ta Jifu
 * Tak Sakaguchi as Zuo Ci
 * Ami 201 as Lang Kai
 * Yuhei Ouchida as Dun
 * Jun Hashimoto as Muta
 * Naomasa Musaka as village chief
 * Motoki Fukami as Vicious Scarlet
 * Takashi Ukaji as Wei Xing
 * Masaya Kato as Si Shi
 * Renji Ishibashi as Jie Shi
 * Takao Osawa as Wang Qi

Production
Production took place in Japan, and the filming occurred in China and Japan during April 2018.

On April 18, 2018, Hara tweeted a movie-ized cover illustration promoting the manga's move to the big screen. A trailer was released by Sony Pictures on January 16, 2019. The film was released nationwide on April 19, 2019.

An English-subtitled trailer was screened at SXSW 2019 in March, where lead actor Kento Yamazaki had paid a courtesy call to the vice president of Sony Pictures International. Funimation later announced that they were holding screenings of the film during the second quarter of 2019.

Box office
The film earned 729 million Yen (US$6.17 million) in its opening three day weekend, selling over 500,000 tickets. As of June 16, 2019, the film earned ¥5.47 billion (US$50.4 million)

Home media
An English-language subtitled trailer was released by Toho in March to promote a North American release. Funimation Films announced that it acquired the license for an American and Canadian release in the summer. The film is expected to be released in North America on August 16.

Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of based on reviews from  critics.

Awards and nominations
The first film opened in Japan on April 2019, and eventually earned a cumulative total of ¥5.73B or roughly $53.2M USD.

Sequels
On May 28, 2020, a sequel film was announced to be in production. Shinsuke Sato is returning as director; Kento Yamazaki, Ryō Yoshizawa, and Kanna Hashimoto are returning cast members. Titled Kingdom 2: Far and Away, it was released in Japan on July 15, 2022, and generated 5.16 billion yen in box office revenue within Japan.

A third film, with the director and much of the cast returning, titled Kingdom 3: The Flame of Destiny (キングダム 運命の炎), was released on July 28, 2023.

The fourth installment, Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General (キングダム 大将軍の帰還), was released in Japan on July 12, 2024.