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Ranking of Kings Anime's 2 Main Leads Minami Hinata, Ayumu Murase Diagnosed With COVID-19
posted on by Egan Loo
The talent agency Axl One announced on Thursday that the Ranking of Kings anime's lead voice actress Minami Hinata (Boji) had tested positive for COVID-19 after feeling unwell with a fever. As a result, she canceled her appearance on the anime's "Special Event ~Summer Festival" on Sunday.
The agency VIMS then reported on Friday that the anime's lead voice actor Ayumu Murase (Kage) had also tested positive for COVID-19. Murase had close contact with a person with COVID-19 during a recording session on Wednesday.
Hinata and Murase are separately undergoing treatment on the guidance of medical professionals. As a result, the organizers of Sunday's event announced on Saturday that they canceled the event entirely. The anime's website and Twitter account (as well as the Rakuten Ticket service) will notify ticket holders of refund procedures as soon as they are decided.
The anime of Sōsuke Tōka's manga premiered on October 14 and ran for two continuous cours (quarters of the year). Funimation and Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired in Japan and also streamed an English dub.
The web manga centers around Bojji, a deaf, powerless prince who cannot even wield a children's sword. As the firstborn son, he strives hard and dreams of becoming the world's greatest king. However, people mutter about him behind his back as "a good-for-nothing prince" and "no way he can be king."
Bojji is able to make his first ever friend, "Kage" (shadow) — a literal shadow on the ground who somehow understands Bojji well. (Kage is a survivor of the Kage assassin clan that was all but wiped out. No longer a killer, Kage now makes ends meet by stealing.) The story follows Bojji's coming-of-age as he meets various people in his life, starting with his fateful encounter with Kage.
Tōka has been serializing the manga on the user-submitted manga website Manga Hack and other venues since May 2017.
