They say Christmas is a time of miracles, and there certainly were a lot of manga license miracles happening this year, including this long-requested shonen title.
KINGDOM (Kingudamu), by Yasuhisa Hara. First published in 2006 and first published in North America in 2025.
PLOT:
Over 2000 years ago, the land that would become eastern China is divided between many different warring kingdoms. Far away from all that is Xin and Piao, two young orphans in the countryside forced to slave away for the town leader. They sneak away to practice fighting whenever possible in the hopes of become great generals. Their sparring attracts the attention of a passing lord, who buys Piao's freedom and offers to train him at the royal court.
Not long thereafter, there is a revolt at court by the emperor's younger brother and Piao is slain in the process. With his dying words, he sets Xin on a mission of vengeance and a fateful meeting with the young king of Qin himself.
