Kino's Journey

lagore

lagore

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Kino's Journey

Synopsis, Screenshots, Reviews, Recommendations ~ Add Your Own Recommendations

Discuss individual episodes and first impressions of this anime here. Full reviews should be posted here. Forum rules and post guidelines can be found here.
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Although we have the Kino's Journey movie, we don't seem to have the series. Well, it's time to correct that! This is one of my favorites. You get to explore all these unique, original lands. It makes you feel like some 17th century explorer!

But there'll be plenty of time to talk about how awesome this show is later.
 
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Love this series. Ryutaro Nakamura, the director brings over a couple of stylistic touches I liked from Lain - like his interest in text printed on a screen. As with that previous series he turns out something I consider absolutely superb. Which reminds me, I must get Ghost Hound one of these days...

Fun fact:

In the first movie, Kino is shown a map of the country she's in. This is an unaltered map of Ireland, even more puzzling as the country is connected to others by land.
 
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Three posts?! *staggered*

This is my favourite series to date, and definitely deserves more attention than it seems to be getting (yet, I've seen that numerous people on the forum like this one...). The exposition in regards to human nature and emotion in general is wonderfully done, and everything just seems to fit perfectly together. Even the visuals and soundtrack are all geared towards making the experience wholesome and...uh, easy to relate to. I wanted to say 'earthy', but that's not quite the right word, I feel. Kino's a really great character too, considering how little dialogue and general action there is from her in comparison to other anime. On the whole, it feels like a really cohesive project where all the elements work together to a single point, and I feel that the understated nature of the premise helps this a lot.

My inane babbling aside, I'd recommend this to more or less anyone who's capable of coherent thought (alcohol be damned!).
 
While it wasn't the first to do the stand alone stories/format, it was probably the most successful. Well until Mushishi anyways. Even so, it was an incredibly refreshing series, that didn't rely on gimmick and got over with its fans on story and character depth alone. Very good anime, indeed.
 
I asked this elsewhere but it's probably better here.
When should I watch the second movie? A set place or is it just like in King of Bandits Jing where everything petty unconnected so I'd just as well watch it as the end?
 
I recently finished watching it. It's a really good anime, just too bad I couldn't see the symbols I read about in AP. I should be more educated :baka: After being done with an episode I was touched but not thoughtful. :sweat:
 
Currently on ep 4.. so far, so good.
Kinda unpredictable, which is cool: like in ep 2 she killed those slave traders (I mean the whole situation).. I was like o_o
Or when I got to know she's a girl.. I really thought it was a guy when I started watching it. Got to like a new character and I'm definitely looking forward to find out what is there more about her.
Reminds a bit (or a lot) of Mushishi, but I don't mind it and I'm watching them both at the moment.
 
DontStay said:
Currently on ep 4.. so far, so good.
Kinda unpredictable, which is cool: like in ep 2 she killed those slave traders (I mean the whole situation).. I was like o_o
Or when I got to know she's a girl.. I really thought it was a guy when I started watching it. Got to like a new character and I'm definitely looking forward to find out what is there more about her.
Reminds a bit (or a lot) of Mushishi, but I don't mind it and I'm watching them both at the moment.
Click to expand...

Yes that bit about the
slave traders was messed up, without her they wouldn't have survived yet after she saved them they have to capture her to survive anyway... Complex situation. :frustrat:
I think it's such a tomboy because she simply took the identity of Kino in everything she could... I'll stop here if you haven't watched that part yet (I don't remember which episode it is).
 
greg975 said:
Yes that bit about the
slave traders was messed up, without her they wouldn't have survived yet after she saved them they have to capture her to survive anyway... Complex situation. :frustrat:
I think it's such a tomboy because she simply took the identity of Kino in everything she could... I'll stop here if you haven't watched that part yet (I don't remember which episode it is).
Click to expand...

Your spoiler is from episode 4
 
greg975 said:
Yes that bit about the
slave traders was messed up, without her they wouldn't have survived yet after she saved them they have to capture her to survive anyway... Complex situation. :frustrat:
I think it's such a tomboy because she simply took the identity of Kino in everything she could... I'll stop here if you haven't watched that part yet (I don't remember which episode it is).
Click to expand...

Indeed she did ;d Anyway, finished watching it today.. and really loved it, ending was also good. Which is why I wonder if that OVA and those 2 movies are worth watching? Since they're made 2-4 years later.. do they contribute to the main story or are just some random stories..?
Ahh.. sequels.. always gets me disappointed ;d
 
DontStay said:
Indeed she did ;d Anyway, finished watching it today.. and really loved it, ending was also good. Which is why I wonder if that OVA and those 2 movies are worth watching? Since they're made 2-4 years later.. do they contribute to the main story or are just some random stories..?
Ahh.. sequels.. always gets me disappointed ;d
Click to expand...

I can't answer that question, just try and you'll see, the OAV's only 1 episode of 12 minutes, there's no big risk in watching it. ;)
I don't think those should be disappointing, I bet the episodic part and general concept of Kino's Journey's simply taken into a longer version for the movies and shorter for the OAV. Still a new season of the show would have been better.
 
Episode 1:

Beautiful show. I like the animation style, it makes me think of a soothed Kaiba.

The idea of people who can read each other's minds is not new, but I think they did a delectable portrayal of it here. Sometimes we think it would be great if we could understand the others better, but is it really if taken to this extent? It doesn't matter how much we like another person, all of us are different and we're bound to have things about others that we find annoying. We can perfectly coexist without knowing all of those, otherwise conflicts would burst sooner or later. Ignorance is bliss.

In this country this concept of reading each other's minds was implemented and as a result to live together became impossible. It was sweet how the man kept taking care of the flowers in the garden, while the woman was listening to music.

I really like the show's concept so far. If every other country they visit presents an equally catchy dilemma to think about this will prove a very enjoyable and rich watch.

As for Hermes, does the motorcycle really speak? I feel it's just Kino imagining it so that she won't feel alone during her travels.
 
LinkSword said:
Episode 1:

Beautiful show. I like the animation style, it makes me think of a soothed Kaiba.

The idea of people who can read each other's minds is not new, but I think they did a delectable portrayal of it here. Sometimes we think it would be great if we could understand the others better, but is it really if taken to this extent? It doesn't matter how much we like another person, all of us are different and we're bound to have things about others that we find annoying. We can perfectly coexist without knowing all of those, otherwise conflicts would burst sooner or later. Ignorance is bliss.

In this country this concept of reading each other's minds was implemented and as a result to live together became impossible. It was sweet how the man kept taking care of the flowers in the garden, while the woman was listening to music.

I really like the show's concept so far. If every other country they visit presents an equally catchy dilemma to think about this will prove a very enjoyable and rich watch.

As for Hermes, does the motorcycle really speak? I feel it's just Kino imagining it so that she won't feel alone during her travels.
Click to expand...

Hermes really speaks. Think of it like the staff in Shigofumi (which I think tried to rip off this series).

This show is beautiful, right up there with Mushishi IMO. Enjoy.

Oh, don't forget there are a couple OVAs, including one done by Shaft with really nice char designs.
 
Episode 1:
Interesting, the only problem I had with it was that I felt it was quite pretentious in parts, especially the text on screen. I thought they repeated text on screen, as if to say, "wasn't that a clever line" was a bit unnecessary but that certainly wasn't enough to stop me enjoying this and wanting to see the rest. As for the rest of it I thought it was beautiful. It has a very nice contemplative vibe that I enjoyed. So far it has a quiet sense of cool that reminds me of Mushishi.

The first country is interesting and I thought they delt with the telepathy in an interesting and realistic way. It would suck if you every thought and emotion was shared, people need some privacy. I would imagine that it would be easier to be away from everyone in that situation despite the loneliness. At least this way the man could remember what was good about being with his wife without of the ugliness that came with the telepathy.

Kino seems to have soothing vibe with just a little bit of melancholy. This looks like it could be a very beautiful series. Although there must be some danger in this world because she is carrying a couple of guns.
 
It is pretty much the first Seinen anime I saw. i think I was like 10 years old or something.
I only saw two episodes though. They scarred me mentally.
Though I still found it to be absolutely amazing.

I recently saw the first episode, but put the anime on stall for later.
 
Episode 2:

Kino is such a badass.

I thought they were going for a different kind of story here. At first my impression was that once the three men saw themselves provided with food and water, they'd remain stagnant and become dependant on Kino instead of moving forward, and then the question would be if the sacrifice of those rabbits would be worth it. The final question was still the same, but I think they told a more interesting tale than what I was picturing.

The twist was really well done. I didn't think it would all end in a happy-go-lucky way (given the somewhat twisted nature of the first episode), but still it was pretty surprising when the men pointed their guns at Kino. Even though they seemed kind of shady, the show made and effort so that they would look like good guys, and after being saved and practically spoonfed you would think they would show some more gratitude, and not just brush it off with a 'wolf-eats-rabbit' policy. People like that do exist though, and it makes for an interesting debate on whether or not the life of someone like that is worth more than that of an animal.

Also I have to say it was pretty creepy when Kino saw the rests of the child they cannibalized. Given the nature of the men and their situation, I'm surprised they didn't try to kill each other to survive longer. Perhaps it's because all of them were armed in prevision for that, and they all remained sat like that in a stalemate until they could no longer move.

Kino is a very interesting character. She shows pragmatism through her actions but a strong respect for life as well. Every place she visits gives her new life experience, even after watching just two episodes you get this feeling that her personality is constantly changing/evolving.
 
Episode 2:
Well now we know what the guns are for. Kino is a walking armory. Of course there is plenty of violence in anime but this short dirty fight left more of an impact on me than most. Another thing this show is good at is subtley put across Kino's thoughts without words. Although I didn't like this episode quite as much as the first one I still thought it was great even though I more or less anticipated the twist at the end. Those poor rabbits ended up dying for nothing. I liked how we were given a shot of the rabbit skins at the end without an explicit exposition of the questions raised about the value of life. It's funny how an episode where very little actually happened can be so thought provoking.

Kino is alot of Ginko from Mushishi, a wise wonderer. Although Kino isn't quite as open as Ginko so she needs Hermes to get her to talk a little.

Anyway great show so far.
 
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