Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World

I simply can't think of anything wrong with Kino's Journey. Every single episode was just a joy to watch. The way the story is structured with each episode being completely dependent of the rest (except for 2 of the episodes) means that even if you dislike an episode, you can just cut it out next time you watch the show. Lots of great themes are brought up each episode, and every single episode (minus one or two) will leave you with something to ponder about humanity and human nature. Kino's motivations are very clear and as the audience you are never left wondering why she did something. You also never think that she makes decisions for the sake of the plot. Each episode feels like some different test for Kino, and as the audience you quickly come to grow attached to Kino's relate able personality and morals. (as well as her cool gun slinging)

The world is not beautiful. Therefore it is. This anime doesn't appeal to all Anime fans and it can be quit boring and difficult to watch if you are not into stuff like Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy, literature and even poetry. Kino's journey is about a girl travelling across a mystical world and spending three days in each of the countries with a talking motorcycle named Hermes Between countries Kino and Hermes discuss life and human nature on the road and Almost every place seems to be stuck in a time period somewhere between 1920 and 1960, and in a world where WWII never This can be confusing. * However Each episode of Kino can stand on it's own, even when it alludes heavily to earlier stories, all the episodes seem to have no real order. Many of them are shown simply as a series of flashbacks, while others are obviously earlier in her life even though they are at the end of the series. My only problem with this anime is the main character "kino" she's not interesting at all you cant care about her There is no emotions whatsoever. It is as if she is a robot.. She has no personality or Facial Expressions, disgustingly overconfident for a young girl she has the body of a 10 year old ! yet she dodge bullets like its nothing and beat everyone that stand in her way I care so deeply about characters in anime and i was disappointed. overall This deep exploration of the meaning of life and human nature may prove to be too abstract and a turn off for some, however i think its still enjoyable I would describe Kino's Journey as contemplative rather than normative. I.e. it poses questions instead of giving answers.

Kino's Journey is an episodic story about a traveller and her motorrad (a talking motorcycle). Usually in a series of this nature, the main characters would travel around the world getting involved in each town/city along the way attempting to help the people there. The most obvious example that should come to mind here is Mushishi. Kino's Journey is different though. Kino acknowledges her place in the world. She knows she is not God and that she cannot fix everything in the world and so she is happy to be an observer and to only act when necessary. This makes for some remarkable storytelling. The most interesting aspect of Kino's Journey is its settings. In most episodes, Kino will travel to a new country where she will stay there for three days before moving on to a new country. Each country has its own story that would be based on a simple concept or theme, but taken to the extreme, for example; a country where everyone could read each other's minds. Since Kino is mostly passive, it allows the story of the country to be the focus of the episode. Nevertheless, we still see each country affect Kino in certain subtle ways. This slowly connects the episodes together as we learn more about Kino. Be warned though, Kino's Journey is not for the faint of heart. Each episode will depict both the best and worst aspects of humanity, and, when the show is focusing on the worst aspects, it is incredibly brutal. By depicting all the characteristics of humanity, this series will leave you feeling that, as the title suggests, the world is beautiful. Kino's Journey portrays the complexity of life and it is set at a pace which allows you to reflect on what is happening. It is thought-provoking and may help you understand real world tragedies such as war, famine or tyranny, or just help you understand how diverse humans are and that some bad things will happen due to that diversity. Nevertheless, Kino's Journey manages to remind its audience that it's important to cherish the good times. One thing Kino's Journey lacks is detail in the design of its characters. Most characters, while somewhat unique in appearance, aren't drawn in detail and hence feel a bit plain. The countries have similar designs that have been influenced by old European towns. This choice of art style did give a feel that we were travelling with Kino, but in comparison to other animes made around the same time, they should have put more detail into the characters. The soundtrack to Kino's Journey is high quality. While there aren't many different songs, the ones that are used are brilliant. The OP and ED for the show are great, especially the ED since it is sung by the voice actor of Kino. The show also has many moments of complete silence, usually to emphasize the feeling of loneliness. Since the characters aren't the focal point of the show, there aren't any recurring characters outside of Kino and Hermes. Both of these characters are very accurately voice acted. Kino is neither feminine nor masculine and she is neither an adult nor a child. This makes her quite a unique character, one that isn't seen in many animes. Hermes, the motorrad, is more naive and child-like, usually asking questions that can sometimes be awkward without realising it. The duo is great to watch as they complement each other well. Over the series Hermes doesn't change much at all, but that's not really expected. Kino, on the other hand, goes through slight changes and reflects on her experiences often, but there isn't a fully fleshed out arc to her story. The most prominent flaw to Kino's Journey is that the series doesn't feel complete. There are hints to a story developing around Kino, but the show ends before that can progress further. This makes the ending feel too sudden. The series could also have continued just for the sake of exploring more themes and ideas by traveling to more countries. Nevertheless, this series is mostly successful for what it aims to accomplish within the short number of episodes. Watching Kino's Journey is a wonderful experience involving many thought-provoking themes and it will leave you wanting more. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys thematically driven shows, but if you want something more character driven, this probably won't be satisfying.

I feel I may have dove into this anime with too high of expectations. I won't say this was a particularly bad watch, in fact I found it to be quite enjoyable, but it felt as if it lacked any real emotion. The story is about a traveler named Kino, who drives his talking motorrad (motorcycle) to country to country, all of which vary in many different ways. Each country holds some sort of lesson to be learned, and the viewers job is to dig out those lessons from each journey. Kino's Journey actually doesn't follow any real sequence aside from episode 6 and 7, you could pretty much start anywhere and still receive the full experience of the series. Throughout watching the series, I've come to recognize Kino to be like the viewer, she observes her surroundings and takes in the situation, but very rarely/never gets involved. Just like the viewer of the series, she can only sit back and watch the events that transpire before her eyes, but never can actually experience it or try to change the outcome. I feel some viewers will have mixed feelings on this. While some may be able to sympathize with Kino, some may just get frustrated at her, angry that she allows such events to happen when she could clearly change them. I was somewhere in the middle with this, because though I could sympathize with Kino, I also felt her lack of emotion to be somewhat displeasing. I felt the series could have used some more inner conflict. Despite some of the more disturbing scenes in the show, I felt Kino's Journey was very laid-back and light. Even some of the scenes that I felt should have made me angry or upset gave me hardly any reaction, for the series presents each issue rather indifferently, and as a result, my emotions seemed to follow in the pace of the series rather than allowing myself to actually take in the severity of some of the events. I feel this series is actually quite solid though, everything in it flows together and matches one another. The art, the sound, the events, the feel, everything feels as it should be there. Though in saying this, I wish their could have been more to it. I wanted more conflicts, more drama, it was just way to relaxing, and having the same emotion throughout the whole series though is alright, it can only go so far and be so good in my opinion. I feel most people can find some sort of enjoyment in this series, just as long as they don't expect to experience some high-action show that gives them 'the feels'. It's something you have to take for what it is from the very start, for their will be little to no variation from beginning to end. If you like the first episode, you'll like the series, if you didn't really enjoy the first episode, drop it cause your mind will not change later on.

Deciding to watch Kino no Tabi was a great thing. This, for me, is one of the animes that I can talk about with others, despite the fact that they have or have not seen it. It's an anime that you can tell anyone as a story, because it's beauty lies within the story and how it's handled. That's the reason I decided to write this short review and share my experiences with you. When I first started watching this amazing show, I didn't have much expectations. Like usual, I finished the series and felt satisfied, that once more I had watched a great series, full of new experiences and brand new feelings. But unexpectedly, it started popping up in my mind again and again as a nice and refreshing memory that I could think about before I went to sleep or after I encountered something inspiring. This is because the show itself involves much more fields of experiences than meets the eye. Many situations can be connected to various episodes, although these connections often don't seem to be easy to detect. I also want to talk a little about the main character, Kino. Kino, for me, didn't appear to be a character you could grow close to or get attached to in some special way. She is the type of character you will be very glad to encounter, but won't have any hard feelings of letting go and that's her beauty. Talking machine, Hermes, is also important to me as something very special to Kino and it also made me remember my childhood, time of couple of imaginary friends. I want to end my short review (if you can call it that) with me recommending it to everybody. For me, it wasn't the series that would hook you up with your computer but rather a set of very interesting lessons and surprising characters. You might not be able to remember everyone's names, but story behind each and every character will stay with you for a very long time.

“The world is not beautiful: And that, in a way, lends it a sort of beauty”. 'Kino's Journey' is a 13-episode long TV series based on a series of light novels and directed by Ryutaro Nakamura, who is famous for his work on 'Serial Experiments Lain'. The show is episodic by nature, and it follows Kino and her motorrad, Hermes, as they travel from one country to the next in a fictional world, all the while learning of different countries' cultures and customs. 'Kino's Journey' is generally slower paced and contains lots of philosophical dialogue, so for that reason I recommend watching this alongside another anime with an ongoing storyline. Given that 'Kino's Journey' is an episodic TV series, there isn't necessarily a plot or story, per se. Generally, each episode follows Kino as she goes to a different country and stays there for three days. Each country has its own different culture and customs that reflect certain societal traits in the real world. 'Kino's Journey' deals with fairly mature themes and ideas, such as censorship, war, religion and the advancement of technology and its effects. As such, 'Kino's Journey' is a rather pessimistic TV series. These themes and ideas are explored through the exaggeration of certain societies. For example, in one country an emperor had made a rule whereby for someone to become a first class citizen, they must fight other lower class individuals in a coliseum setting, where bloodthirsty first class citizens would watch for their amusement. Otherwise, the lower class would have to live under ground in a sewer setting while the first class citizens could live above ground. To me, this was an exaggeration of the social division and class exploitation that is common in many areas of the world today. Irony is also common throughout 'Kino's Journey', and it is comical in a dark, disturbing sort of way. Heck, the fact that the series is called 'Kino's Journey: The Beautiful World' is ironic in itself. In way of characters, the only two recurring characters are Hermes and Kino. Hermes is a talking motorrad that accompanies Kino on her journey, and the reason why or how he is able to talk isn't addressed in the TV series. However, since it is common for inanimate objects and even animals to be able to use the human language in this show, we can assume that it's just a facet of their world. Hermes is definitely the less interesting of the two, and while his interactions with Kino are often thought-provoking and sometimes comical, his character lacks depth. Be that as it may, Hermes' purpose in the series is to aide the viewers in understanding or reflecting on a certain concept, so the lack of character development doesn't really hinder him as a character. On the other hand, Kino is a wonderful character and every second of screen time that she had was a joy to watch. One reason that Kino is a great lead is that she remains largely neutral towards certain topics for the majority of the TV series. For example, unlike your typical shounen lead, Kino is reluctant to involve herself in other people's affairs, which enforces her neutrality. As 'Kino's Journey' is a series largely focused on philosophy, her approach is not only appropriate, but favourable. A second reason is because of her inquisitive nature. Kino consistently shows a keen interest in understanding the actions of others. She asks the questions that you as a viewer desire to know, which aides you in formulating an opinion regarding a topic. Lastly, Kino is a very calm and composed character. She is rarely seen as being anything other than reserved, even in dire situations, which makes her a very cool and likable character. The only criticism I have of her character is that she lacks a bit of character development. While she does benefit from a few flashbacks, especially in the prequel 'Life Goes On', and she becomes increasingly one-sided towards the end of the series, it does leave a lot to be desired. I have mixed feelings regarding the art in 'Kino's Journey'. On the one hand, it's dark and makes great use of scanlines as to enhance its already gloomy atmosphere. However, with the exception of Kino, I didn't like how the characters were drawn at all. There was very little attention to detail on the characters' facial features, and many of the characters looked the same as each other. Even the background objects, such as houses or the interior of buildings, had very little attention to detail and were very basic. The animation, with the exception of the action scenes which were fairly well done, was about what you'd expect from a typical anime with its budget at the time. In contrast, the sound for 'Kino's Journey' is very impressive. The OP and ED songs suit the overall mood of the anime, and are good tracks in their own right. The background music isn't overused, and is placed appropriately to add mood or tension to a scene. Ambient sounds, such as the sounds of footsteps or cocking a gun are done particularly well. Kino's VA in the original Japanese audio also suits her character well as the tone of her voice largely remains the same throughout the series, which is important for a cool, reserved character like Kino. I suppose my only real gripe is that Hermes' voice in the original Japanese audio is quite high pitched and annoying, and somewhat detracts from the show. Overall, 'Kino's Journey' was an interesting and enjoyable watch that I would recommend to anyone that is interested in philosophy or can appreciate slower paced anime. Due to the somewhat pretentious first episode, unsatisfactory amount of character development for Kino and pretty poor art, I think an 8/10 is a fair score. All constructive criticism is not only welcome, but appreciated, thank you.

I will try to put as few spoilers in here as possible. Story This is perhaps the strongest point of Kino's Journey. It does a great job juggling many diverse themes while also substantiating their impact and emotional influence, and it does so using no more than two and usually one episode per country that Kino explores. This is certainly praiseworthy: I have heretofore not encountered an "epic journey/adventure" themed anime with a plot that is memorable, but Kino's Journey changed this. I clearly recall the themes of each country that Kino explored and their powerful, universalizable messages. The pace was perhaps perfect, allowing me to contemplate each episode thoroughly and absorb its themes. Art The art perfectly suits an anime like this: The scenery was fantastic and I still remember the beauty of Kino's world as conveyed by the lush grasses, gorgeous mountains, and vast sky. The buildings were drawn nicely as well and convey different architectural styles with ease. The character art is rather lacking, however, and I will address this more in that section. Sound The music is calm and soothing, and again, it perfectly suits a peaceful anime like this. Character This is what I consider to be the weakest point of Kino's Journey. While the themes are memorable, I cannot say the same for Kino herself: I found nothing spectacular about her, and her few emotions are dulled by her usually insufficiently robust features. This is true for the rest of the many characters: I wasn't too enticed by their largely stoic expressions. They all looked seemingly alike to me, clouding a profound story and beautiful scenery with vapidity. This greatly detracted from the rest of the anime, especially the story's power, as, instead of appreciating its power and poignancy, I sat back in my chair, sometimes sleepy, having to push myself a bit to get through the mainly character-driven anime. Enjoyment As previously mentioned, I didn't enjoy this anime as much as I could have due to the passive characters. While I acknowledge Kino's Journey as a mainly peaceful anime, I shouldn't have been having to push myself to get through it. My satisfaction mainly comes from the vivid art, wonderful music, and influential themes, which were unfortunately downshifted by the lackluster characters. Overall Kino's Journey is unequivocally a series for contemplation. The themes are indeed potent and the show certainly deserves acclaim for being able to squeeze many of them together in a short series. I wouldn't recommend watching it for enjoyment, as you will be disappointed over its emphasizing of themes over action. While it does make a legitimate attempt to keep the viewer interested, it wasn't enough for me. Had there been more upheavals and more malleable characters to account for them, I would surely call this a masterpiece and add it to my favorites. But, I unfortunately cannot, as the presentation was simply too lacking.

What an awesome anime! This anime is very different from others because after every episode, Kino tells us what she thinks and then they let us think and decide about people, like: "Are they doing the right thing or the wrong thing? Do they have any other choice? And why are they doing this?" And also, "Is the world as beautiful as we think?" (We have to accept the people of the world no matter what, then the world is more beautiful.) But in reality or in fantasy, we can't do anything about it or majorly change the world (or some people can change it just a little by helping anyone who needs our help and doing good things to protect nature) because some won't listen to reason and we are just travellers who pass through who can't stay forever. I think this anime takes us on a journey through our own morals. Everything is brilliantly executed in this anime. All I can say is that this is a must-watch masterpiece.

Kino no Tabi is an absolutely incredible show, and definitely one of the best I've ever seen. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it, but I really loved it. The overall tone of the series was fairly dark, which goes well with the theme "The world is not beautiful; therefore it is". That said, there were a few moments of brilliant achievement, and for all of the darkness they seemed that much better. Although the series ends on a note that could be called bittersweet at best, it was consistently thoughtful and imaginative, and every episode had an underlying philosophy that provoked a truly difficult question; I felt this to be especially true for the finale. Looking back, I can't remember a single thing about this show that I would change; even the discovery that Kino was actually a girl (which I didn't find out until halfway through) was a kind of neat surprise. This is probably my second favorite anime, after Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve). 10/10 all around. (To be honest, the art probably doesn't deserve a 10 - I'd probably but it around a 7 - but the rest of the show is so good that it doesn't matter in the slightest). ;)

Story – 9 Kino’s Journey is an episodic drama that chronicles Kino’s visit to each country. Along the way, you discover peoples’ outward appearances clashing with their inner characters. Some will shock you and disturb you, others will leave you in disbelief, but all will touch your heart. Pacing wise, Kino’s Journey is a slow moving anime in a good way. Animation – 8 The animation is rather simple, yet it is not without its charm. With a few faults here or there (minor nitpicking), the character designs and backgrounds are done well enough. Further, Kino’s childlike stature is part of a bigger purpose: to have you guessing about Kino’s gender. Characters – 8 Kino and Hermes: a human and a motorrad; the show revolves around these two characters. The characters neither change nor grow for the better after each struggle, but they are still nonetheless worthwhile characters in the show. Perhaps as you watch each episode, you will begin to understand why Kino’s demeanor never changes. Sound – 9 The OP and ED of this show are great. I would highly recommend watching this one with the Japanese voice actors and English subs; if anything to avoid getting spoilt on Kino’s gender. Kino’s English voice actor gives it away too easily. Anyways, the voice acting is good for both characters. Enjoyment – 9 Overall this show is excellent and I enjoyed it. With just 13 episodes, the show manages to depict a lot of the characteristics in the world (happiness, sadness, pain, violence – including some disturbing things, beauty, wisdom, etc.). If you like or don’t mind the slow moving paced animes, I recommend you watch Kino’s Journey. Like the world that the show is portraying is beautiful, the anime manages to hold itself in a similar regard. Average Series Rating: 8.6/10 – Very Very Good

This is the kinda anime that proved me that "Love at first episode" really exists. The episodes are mostly unconnected (only one story is split in 2 episodes), so they can be viewed in random order. The story reminds me of Antoine de Saint Exupéry`s "The Little Prince" . The protagonist travells to random countries and gets acquainted with the world he`s in. The worlds are quite bizzare , and mostly are build on some utopian answer of specific "What if.." question. The characters are well developped , each one of them holds different oppinion of the world , and life in general. In the end most all of the episodes pose an interesting question , and inspire thinking. From the artistic side, the worlds are very colorful and vary in the enviroment setting. Although most of the action is dialogue and minimal movement , the action segments are well done. I recommend it strongly.

Kino's Journey is one of the most beautiful animes out in the world. It was able to describe how beautiful the world really is by stating it's imperfection. I thought is was very impressive how imprefection lead up to beauty. Kino's Journey is probably more of an older teen anime because of the blood and violence in some scenes and it requires pretty high level thinking. Overall, there wasn't nessarily a happy ending or sad ending to each episode but a lesson that is taught in the ever end. I would definatly reccomend this anime to anyone seeking aventure and something that would speak to the viewer's heart

This was in general a very enjoyable anime. The enticing portion was of course the story itself, featuring Kino and her journey to different countries. Initially, I thought that the stories were not that fantastic afterall. But after completing the series, I must say that the mangaka has a well-focused theme in mind. The idea or moral behind each arc all revolves around extremely warped human behaviour that lets its audiences step back and give some serious thought about it. Despite so, I must say that Mushishi is a level higher than Kino no Tabi. The reason I'm afraid I have difficulties putting them down in words. I'm sure after watching both, some with share my sentiments. Nonetheless, this is a definitely must watch.

Oof. I normally love slow psychological or philosophical shows, but this was so poorly executed it took away most of the charm. To start with what I liked - I loved Kino's character (although superfical, with a personality that's only hinted at) and their character design. The aesthetic, animation, style. Music, voice acting. Loved the slow pacing and atypical format of the episodes. I absolutely adored some of the characters that Kino met, as well as a few of the show's character focused stories (episodes 2, 10, 11). Overall, since I love slow atmospheric shows so much, I actually did enjoy it despite my strong criticisms. However, the worldbuilding is either so shallow or unrealistic that most of the stories and visited countries have absolutely no effect on the viewer. For a show wholly centered around visiting countries, it makes it impossible to feel invested in the plot or message. This is worsened by the fact that the philosophy and politics are oversimplified and stereotyped to the point where they're borderline childish. Many other works have shown similar stories, with similar messages, but much better execution. The show tries to make some point that humanity is both ugly and beautiful no matter what, and tries to show that both sides are equally bad or good, but that simply is not true. It makes a joke out of the real life situations it showcases, like genocide, war, and fascist regimes. Kino has this non-involvement policy where they don't intervene to improve others' lives no matter how easy it could be, and this could be fine as it makes sense for the character, but it really ironically reflects how this whole show refuses to truly engage with its own stories. Overall, meh.

First, i watch the new version first so i already know most of the plot like 25%-ish and the other one were forgotten by myself so, its kinda new experience but also the feeling of nostagia of something i cant remember. The style of the story and the narration kinda feels like Experimental Lain and when i checked, the animation studio were the same. It gives you a feeling of chill and question just by word and not even a narration of voice. The story itself also feels much more darker and sadder than the new version in which much more brighter. The Soliloquies of the main character also much more somber than the new version. That being said, i like this one, but doesnt mean that the new version bad but just different approach on the story.

Honestly I don't think this series deserves the score it has, I think 7 would be the perfect score, I don't know if it's because the anime is old and lacked very good things at the time, but I think that thought would be very flawed, since there are many much older works (not necessarily anime) that remain masterpieces. The characters in the anime are not bad (main and secondary) but they often lacked emotion, such as Kino and Hermes, many times they were just elements being used to tell the story of the cities, and in the end I couldn't sympathize with the Kino and not Hermes, although I would be distressed if something happened to them, so I would say they are in between, neither good nor bad. And although all the stories about the cities had a philosophical tone, I believe that many of them were even too fanciful, they lacked similarities with reality, this is important for the viewer not to think that something is very impossible to happen even if something is taken to fantasy. The pace of the anime was kind of boring, there are several animes that explore these themes in much smarter ways and it's not boring at that level, for example mushishi. I think this anime only received this grade for the "intellectual" atmosphere it has without taking into account the rest, and people who noticed this and commented on it, suffer hate. My score is 7/10, I think the anime didn't manage to have a very good linearity and the pace was too slow, the anime was more episodic and couldn't tell a connected and linear story. PT-BR Sinceramente eu não acho que essa serie mereça ter a pontuação que tem, acho que 7 seria a pontuação perfeita, não sei se é porque o anime é antigo e carecia de coisas muito boas na época, mas eu acho que esse pensamento seria muito falho, visto que tem muitas obras muito mais antigas (não necessariamente animes) que continuam sendo obras primas. Os personagens do anime não são ruins (principais e secundários) mas muitas vezes careciam de emoção como por exemplo a Kino e o Hermes muitas vezes eles eram só elementos sendo usados para contar a história das cidades, e no final eu não consegui simpatizar com a Kino e nem com o Hermes, embora eu ficasse aflito se acontecesse algo com eles, então eu diria que eles são meio termo, nem bom, nem ruins. E embora todas as histórias sobre as cidades tivessem um tom filosófico, acredito que muitas delas eram fantasiosas até de mais, careciam de semelhanças com a realidade, isso é importante para o telespectador não pensar que algo é muito impossível de acontecer mesmo sendo algo levado para fantasia. O ritmo do anime era meio maçante de mais, existe vários animes que exploram esses temas de formas muito mais inteligentes e não chega a ser maçante nesse nível, por exemplo mushishi. Acho que esse anime só recebeu essa nota pela atmosfera “intelectual” que ele tem sem levar em consideração o resto, e as pessoas que perceberam isso e comentam sobre, sofrem hate. Minha pontuação fica 7/10, acho que o anime não conseguiu ter uma linearidade muito boa e o ritmo foi muito lento também, o anime foi mais episódico e não conseguiu contar uma historia conexa e linear.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask the stars?" Kino no Tabi is a lazy show, occasionally to its detriment. For the most part however, it delivers its parables with enough eloquence to last for the series' duration. The titular Kino is effortlessly cool, a protagonist whose disposition and marksmanship would fit right into a western. This is where the magic of Kino no Tabi lies: it pivots immediately into speculative fiction, and never falls into any degree of “normal” too comfortably. My primary issue of Kino lies in its episodic nature: Kino as a character rarely does any narrative heavy lifting, spare one certain arc. As such, it is up to the episode's plot at whenever given moment to carry the show. The result is a series that struggles at first to provide interest, and then succeeds after some growing pains. I found the first third of the series to be particularly egregious in this regard, with some twists bordering on comically obvious and others falling into derivative territory. The following episodes improved tenfold, and by episode seven the tone, energy, and world of Kino no Tabi felt fully formed. Each episode afterwards felt like a strong exploration of behavior and ideology, with the messages being open-ended enough to provide some food for thought. The world in particular deserves praise, as almost every country is fleshed out with specific distinctions which keep them fresh. The visuals are a strong aid here: the subdued palette is effective in producing a novelistic effect, as the shades of brown and yellow keep each episode restrained yet stylistic in their own ways. I would point to episode nine as a standout in this regard. In truth, I can’t speak on much of the animation itself: it’s well utilized and always services the world and plot, and the overall fluidity can be remarkable at times. Perhaps not the most memorable, but definitely commendable. Kino no Tabi is at its best when its narrative is in complete cohesion with its protagonist and visuals – it’s a tenuous intersection that brings some truly amazing stories, even if such a result is rare. The characters admittedly took some time to rub off on me: Kino's noncommittal nature and dialogue proved off-putting for me at first, and episodes two and three led me to believe that she was thoughtless rather than the observant traveler she’s frequently touted as. You can only hear a VA dully intone “oh, yeah” or “I don’t know...” so many times before annoyance sets in. Hermes on the other hand is a delightful foil to Kino, and keeps episodes from turning too dry in the early stages. I feel like the duo definitely improved in their niches over time, with each becoming slowly more natural in their roles. The static nature of Kino is both a blessing and a curse: when she breaks out of her shell to enact change, the consequences are direct and make the story gripping. This is a rare occurrence, but makes the show better-rounded as a whole. The ‘curse’ part is perhaps exclusive to me - I find Kino’s neutrality to waver a very thin line between dull and intriguing within most episodes, and the times where the former applies are truly excruciating. Despite this, I feel that the characters were adequate. Misgivings aside, I’d like to conclude with recommending Kino no Tabi. Its appeal as a cozy adventure show is universal, and its charming presentation is additionally alluring. It’s a show that dares to explore a unique concept to its fullest, and treads more ground in 13 episodes than similar shows do in hundreds. In the off chance that someone reading this has not seen the show, I would advise against starting it with any expectations or particular notions: Kino no Tabi isn’t TNG or Rawhide. Don’t expect diplomacy, the exploration of strange new landscapes, gunfights, etc. – rather, just keep an open mind and soak the atmosphere in. It’s Kino no Tabi, and it compromises for nothing.

“Based on a light novel series by Keiichi Sigsawa, the philosophical Kino no Tabi employs the time-honored motif of the road trip as a vehicle for self-discovery and universal truth. Deeply meditative and cooler than zero, the series follows the existential adventures of the apt markswoman Kino along with talking motorcycle Hermes as they travel the world and learn much about themselves in the process. Imaginative, thought-provoking, and sometimes disturbing, Kino's journey is documented in an episodic style with an emphasis on atmosphere rather than action or plot, though still prevalent.” By: My Anime List. Kino is the main character, as can you know, she is a quite, calm, and a realistic person, who only act against a individual when she need to. Usually she has a neutral expression and having the habit of being neutral because she doesn’t want obstacles to interfere with her journey as a traveler. About the others characters. There is a lot of character that Kino had met, but most of them are unilateral, some are nice, and a pinch of them are charismatic. One that stand out from the rest is Sakura, a person who Kino got empathize with for having similarities with her. She grew with parents who worked in a hotel. She was introduced in a similar way when we saw Kino’s past, standing in a barrel and bothered by other kids. Both of their original name was related with a flower. And both of them guide a traveler to their parent’s hotel and the city. A lot of characters, including the protagonist. Kino, is someone cold with a neutral expression that gives the thought of “they are not human”. Feels like is made in purpose to give a plus to the sinister, loneliness, and inhuman atmosphere to show how the world is from a point of view of a 15 years old kid for the most of the episodes. The anime is a short stories serie where each episode count a different event that teach the people a lesson. In episode 1, kino and Hermes visited a city where machines live in the main areas, later she noticed that far away, there are people living individually far each other. Both unable to understand the situation, they went into one of the houses, where both were not well received, until 1 person received Kino and Hermes to his house after he realized both of them can’t read mind. The 2 of them wanted to know the situation of the land, the man explained that the government created a liquid that makes everyone able to read mind for the sake for the people were able empathize more easily with others people and have a more equal mind. Unfortunately, the people and weirdly the own government were ignorant of the consequences of having such power, having everyone being able to know every casual thoughts or hidden secrets of each individuals led to a complete isolation. I wonder what happened to the kids. In my opinion, the lesson of episode 1 is knowing too much from someone will alternate the relationship. It’s like when a person discover that his/her partner that knew for so many years, is interested more on other person than the actual partner. To make more relative, like when a close friend have a contrasting opinion about a taste or idea. It gives the sense of “you betrayed me”. Every time when Kino visit a country, it leaves more questions than answers. In the episode I mentioned before, it left me a question: What would happens if a entire country know how to read minds? And the answer was: isolation. And some unanswered questions: What was the intention for creating the liquid? How did the people got the liquid? Did they paid it? How did they made the liquid? What was the benefit of creating the liquid? Did they distribute it to others country? Shouldn’t they have made experiments centered on the psychological effects on the people after consuming the liquid before it’s massed distributed? If the government had done experiments before the distribution, what was the result? Answer: I don’t know. The events that is occur throughout the anime doesn’t have a linear chronology. Is like when the grandparents tells their younger years to their grandchildren, about how the grandpa got introduced the army and involved to a war, how was grandma at school, or how they met for the first time. Not always the grandparents tells their stories in a chronology way, they just tells random stories to entertain their grandchildren. That’s how I feel like the episodes are. Also, the events is based on the perspective of Kino. How do I know that? Because the story is centered on Kino, the main character. That’s why in episode 4, in a flashback, it feels like the people act so weird after they noticed that a male traveler named: Kino infected the protagonist with ideas of outside the city. Because it's a flashback, a background context told in the eyes of a kid of 11 years old. Probably it’s just a exaggeration or that never happened in that way. Let’s talk about the cities and the society. Each cities has their own cultures and uniques identity to differentiate from others. Like in episode 3, a Venice-style country where Kino arrives called: the “Sad Land”, where she finds that a poet of a family of a wife and a daughter was commissioned by the king to write a sad poem, frustrated for many years, he couldn’t do it until he saw his wife committing suicide. In the moment the King heard the poem, he got depressed and died from a disease. The poet kept recite the sad poem until his death and same thing happened to her daughter. Those words influenced became the people more pessimistic. Later on, it become a tradition. Arranging a young girl to recite the sad poem every day. As Kino leaves, the border officer tells her that the poem was written down and a nearby country acquired it, calling it the Book of Prophecy. In the same episode, Kino and Hermes arrive in a city named: “Land of Prophecy”. Where everyone believes the world will end the next day according to their “Book of Prophecy” as interpreted by the southern priest, but the end never occurred, and people confused wanted a reason, the northern priest declares that his interpretation predicts that the event will occur in 30 years. Also in the same episode, another event, Kuni was camping overnight under the stars, until she was interrupted by an army from the Land of Prophecies invading another country. When she asks why, a soldier responds that a new interpretation of the “Book of Prophecy” indicated that the next country, “Sad Land”, is responsible for their world coming to an end. And episode 1, Kino and Hermes find themselves in a city that seems like it’s inhabited by servile machines and outside the city, she notices people living alone in the countryside. Kino met a man in a cottage who tells her that the entire population drank a special liquid which enabled them to understand each other's thoughts with the aim of creating harmony across the country. However being able to read each other's minds only brought chaos to society through being aware of the unfiltered thoughts of every other person, even between the man and his wife. The only solution for the population was to live a short distance from each other. The man asks Kino to stay, but she declines and continues on her way, passing by the cottage of his wife living nearby. Next: the society. In every country, the people is different. The people from the country full of robots in episode 1, they are isolated. In episode 3, a country where the people are emotionally manipulated by a sad poem, or a country where the people’s schedule are manipulated by their church based from a sad poem. In episode 4, kino’s flashback, the people was controlled by the government as I can know, where the kids to be able to turn into a adult, they need to do a operation at age of 12 where everyone will be happy no matter of their job or situation. And episode 13, Kino decided to visit a land where travelers are shunned to experience the people’s attitude, but by some reason when she sa…

Kino’s journey is an anime about things just happening throughout the world as kino travels from country to country, and only stays in one place or country for three days max. This leads to the anime being mostly episodic with each story being self contained within one or two episodes with no real effect to the other episodes. The show presents many ideas and questions throughout the show such as ethics, religion, culture, technology,life’s purpose, and so on. However since the series is episodic in nature; the anime only has time to explore within one episode before moving on to the next one. The world of the anime is never properly explored or explained as the technology and life styles of one country differ greatly from another such as one country only learning how to use flight while another country already having self serving machines. While the world as a whole is never properly explored each country is, at least as much as it can for the duration of the episode, while not the grandest of world building it still fulfills its task. The world of kino’s is also not a kind one as bad things always happens in places she goes to, but because of how bad the world is can it now show how beautiful it is. When it comes for the episodes themselves, about three fourths of the episodes are actually good while the rest are mediocre but there not bad. Each episodes has proper pacing and has a easy flow to it, the way the episodes play out are intriguing, and the anime mostly comes full circle each episode and once in another episode. The main characters in the anime are kino and Hermes. Kino is a traveler going from country to country, and just traveling across the world in order to see what interesting things it has in store for her. She mostly has a stoic attitude about herself, but more is shown about her as each episode goes along by her actions and interactions with other people, as well as her backstory of how she became who she is now. Nonetheless she isn’t much of a character serving more as an analog for the viewers due to being more of an observer rather than a doer to the events around her. She plays more of the role of the ask man since she know little about the countries that she is going to which is the mode in which ideas are explored. She does have the ability to stop things from occurring, but doesn’t do so since it would cause troubles for her and any other traveler in the long run. However despite doing little her mere presence is like a small cog in the machine that is essential to start the events, Hermes is her companion who is a talking motorrad and kinos means of travel throughout the story. Despite being a motorbike he is very reluctant of people and places and is more comfortable not going to many places as kino wants to. The rest of the characters in the story vary in terms of character, but all them mostly play a role as a mouthpiece to the ideas that each country represents to the people both the good and the bad, but never placed in the gray area. The production value for the show is decent to say the least. All the characters in the anime have an interesting design to them, most countries are always given a different look to one another. The coloring and lighting of the show gives it a rather calm and dry feeling to it, but other times it has a fantasy feeling. The animation for the show is also ok since the pacing of the show is rather slow there is never much in terms of action or movement, but when it happens the show does a good job most of the time. There’s not much in terms of music when it comes to the show as it uses silence more, but the music it does have is good. Overall the show is an OK watch if you're looking for a show that has a nice flow that takes its time as well as being a bit thought provoking. there's also a side story and two movies, but due to their length they're more or less just extra episodes and are a decent watch as well

With an intimidating, ever-expanding backlog piled high with releases from the past year, the recent influx of over-stimulation has been overwhelming. Modern anime has its focus placed on glaringly bright and pretty animation, clichéd character tropes and archetypes, and blatant fanservice using “cute anime girls” in exchange for a shallow plot lacking any substance. As a much-needed break, I have taken the initiative to venture back in time in search of hidden classics to reinvigorate my interest in the medium. Luckily, this obscure show caught my attention. Hailing from the year 2003 and produced by studio A.C.G.T, the adventure, fantasy anime Kino’s Journey: The Beautiful World presents a collection of episodic narratives revolving around the aimless journey of an androgynous traveler named Kino and her sentient motorrad Hermes. For a seemingly simple travel story with aged visuals reminiscent of Mushishi, expectations before marathoning through each subsequent episode were rather moderate. However, the general atmosphere and aesthetic tied neatly into the overall narrative sparked my instant immersion and investment into the story. Despite being a short series consisting of thirteen distinct episodes, each chapter is able to weave a sequence of cohesive mini-storylines that leaves underlying, compelling philosophical messages that addresses concerns regarding society and basic human nature. Ethical issues are raised and veiled over a cloud of ambiguity, being harder to discern within the context of this show in comparison to the clear lines drawn between the heroic, morally justified protagonists and the one-dimensional evil villains within modern anime. Along with the character dynamics of the many denizens from foreign countries Kino visits, the show had left a lasting impression on me. And for those aspects alone, the brilliance of this show has already proven to be well above the norm. To delve deeper in depth and give a brief overview of the over-arching plot of the entire anime, the term episodic is seemingly the most fitting word available. Alongside a continuous, albeit meandering, storyline of Kino’s existential and aimless journey across vast expanses of empty land, there are individual episodes that consist of observing the often-exaggerated culture, traditions, and behaviors of each country that she visits. These societies are exaggerated on purpose however, as an astute viewer would recognize how each fictional country within the context of the show satirizes real life concepts such as religion, democracy, capitalism, war, censorship, and so on. The various settings may even seem to contradict the “Beautiful World” of the show’s title. (Spoilers Ahead) Take for example the Land of Prophecies in episode 3 that worships a Holy Book and interpreted an impending apocalypse, and yet another unnamed country receives that same Holy Book where they interpreted that they needed to destroy the Land of Prophecies to prevent that said apocalypse. Ironically it was revealed that the Holy Book was written by a depressed, widowed poet from the Land of Sadness who simply wrote it for no other reason than to express his grief. There is also the Country of One in episode 5, where the last remaining civilian explained how his country depopulated itself over disagreements through Direct Democracy with a death penalty based on strictly majority vote. Far from what one would consider a utopia, these are some examples of the glaring issues associated with every country. These imperfections may pose as morally questionable or alarming to the viewer. But as the subtitle of the show would put it, “The world is not beautiful; and that, in a way, lends it a sort of beauty.” With a self-imposed and emphasized time limit of three days, Kino passively peruses through the culture of each country while aiming not to involve herself the affairs of the townsmen. For this reason, she does not become too attached and bound to any one location as to maintain her title as a “Traveler”. Nevertheless, it should be stressed that the focal point of the show revolves around the various countries, Kino is merely a medium through which the viewer is able to witness these countries. Providing a suitable self-insert for the viewer, Kino herself displays a detached attitude. As a result, she enables herself to remain completely objective and neutral in relation towards everyone and everything. Unlike other films, Kino’s Journey does not take a moral high-ground. There is no sense of “othering” and condescension towards the cultures that would seem ridiculous by real life standards. From Kino’s perspective, the traditions and practices that would seem strange and unorthodox are not inherently right or wrong, but merely normal for the residents within that country and must be respected. Regarding this moral dilemma addressed through anti-ethnocentrism and multiculturalism, the show spends time analyzing this issue. (Spoilers Ahead) Expanding on the aforementioned Land of Prophecies, Hermes asks “Hey Kino. Which do you think it is? Was the prophecy right or wrong?” To which she replies “I’m not sure… Why don’t we ask the stars or something?” This shows Kino is not quick to discredit the beliefs other people hold, deciding to remain impartial. Another notable example is when Kino finds herself trapped within the confines of a barbaric kingdom ruled by a tyrant. She is forced to participate in coliseum death matches where the winner is granted first-class citizenship and the ability to add one new law to the country; refusing leads to confinement as a slave. Surrounded by first-class citizens and the king spectating her match demanding for blood, she gunned down the tyrant from his throne, leaving the audience stunned. As a new law, Kino declares an optional death match between every first-class citizen to decide the new king, granting the lower hierarchies and slaves protection. Despite being an over-the-top portion in a rather down-to-Earth series, this also illustrates my point clearly. In respect of not drastically altering the tradition within the kingdom, the citizens may continue their senseless killing to satiate their bloodlust without involving the innocent. Whether this quality ethical ambiguity improves or detracts from the show as a whole, the uniqueness of the concept by itself makes Kino’s Journey a notable title among the vast soirée of anime from decades past that have fallen into obscurity. Also mentioned in passing and to reiterate, Kino’s Journey provides influential and powerful social commentary as an element residing within the underlying subtext of the show. The sake of parables presented to the viewer through a series of episodes serves not as mere entertainment value, but the philosophical messages tied to each parable yields a platform for which the viewer is able to ponder and derive their own interpretations regarding existentialism. Simply put, it makes you think. You could think about the flaws regarding human morality, think and suffer from an existential crisis, or think about why things are the way they are. This characteristic built into the core facets of the show was a welcoming surprise after having sifted through copious amounts of mindless anime dedicated solely for entertainment value. To stop beating around the bush and go into specifics, the tidbits of philosophy derived from the show comes with their accompanying “what-if” scenario in the form of a hypothetical, fictional country as discussed previously. The manner in which each country is constructed revolves around a central idea ranging from “a country where no one ever has to work” to “a country that is basically Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.” (Spoilers Ahead) To illustrate the former example, a country is presented in episode 5 that is completely self-sufficient through technological advancements. Such an idealized, utopian society however contradicts itself and the citizens are fo…