Through the grapevine I had heard rumors of this very nice little 13 episode Anime called "Kino's Journey" (Kino no tabi). Reviews seemed to be mixed, but I picked up the first volume anyway and was immediately drawn in. The next day I ordered the final three volumes and waited patiently for them to arrive. I wasn't disappointed.
Kino is a traveler. She spends her time traveling from country to country never spending more than three days in any one place. As a companion she only has Hermes, a talking "Motorrad" (German for Motorcycle). Between countries Kino and Hermes discuss philosophy and life on the road in a very Kerouac style. Interestingly, none of the insights are into the travelers lifestyle, but rather the little things that grace it almost as ornaments.
For instance, Kino. Near the beginning of the first episode: "A travelers most important asset is what helps you get back up after a struggle has left you so close to the end. I know it as luck."
These statements are scattered randomly and regularly throughout the series, while each place she visits has some statement to make on some part of society. Sometimes those statements are subtle, and other times it's like being hit on the head with a baseball bat. As a rule, Kino doesn't get involved in the situations she comes across in these countries. However, we all know about rules and their exceptions!
Stylistically, Director Ryutaro Nakamura is heavily influenced by Hayao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away", "Kiki's Delivery Service", "Castle in the Sky") and Rintaro ("Galaxy Express 999", "Captain Harlock"). However, Nakamura is best known for "Serial Experiments: Lain". (Writer Sadayuki Murai has many Anime Writing credits, including "Perfect Blue" and "Cowboy Bebop")
"Kino's Journey" doesn't have the cohesiveness of "Serial Experiments: Lain", nor does it have Lain's series wide story. Each episode of Kino can stand on it's own, even when it alludes heavily to earlier stories. Worse, 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.
This can be confusing.
My biggest complaint though is the fact that this seems to be a series with a story that has a lot of chapters missing. I don't know if this was based on a Manga, but it has that feel to it. The feel that there's more story that has been told somewhere else and that we're expected to know something about it. I consider this minor, and possibly to be corrected if more episodes are ever produced.
Some highlights I'd like to mention are the excellent animation and attention to detail. For instance Hermes, Kino's motorcycle and partner, is a very detailed and exact animation of a 1920's to 1940's Borough Superior J.A.P. engined SS100. It is correct right down to friction dampers, suspension, and saddle bags. Another example is Kino's pistol. It is a Colt Army, cap and ball black powder revolver of roughly Civil War vintage. Even when disassembled it is correctly drawn.
The characters Kino meets and the places she goes are also nicely drawn in a fashion that is very reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki's various films. Almost every place seems to be stuck in a time period somewhere between 1920 and 1960, and in a world where WWII never happened.
Kino's Journey reminds me of a mixture of a lot of things. It's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" combined with "Then Came Bronson" and "Easy Rider" and even "Kung Fu". It will not appeal to all Anime fans, but anybody that is attracted to Anime like "Serial Experiments: Lain" or "Ghost in the Shell" should appreciate this.
Kino is a traveler. She spends her time traveling from country to country never spending more than three days in any one place. As a companion she only has Hermes, a talking "Motorrad" (German for Motorcycle). Between countries Kino and Hermes discuss philosophy and life on the road in a very Kerouac style. Interestingly, none of the insights are into the travelers lifestyle, but rather the little things that grace it almost as ornaments.
For instance, Kino. Near the beginning of the first episode: "A travelers most important asset is what helps you get back up after a struggle has left you so close to the end. I know it as luck."
These statements are scattered randomly and regularly throughout the series, while each place she visits has some statement to make on some part of society. Sometimes those statements are subtle, and other times it's like being hit on the head with a baseball bat. As a rule, Kino doesn't get involved in the situations she comes across in these countries. However, we all know about rules and their exceptions!
Stylistically, Director Ryutaro Nakamura is heavily influenced by Hayao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away", "Kiki's Delivery Service", "Castle in the Sky") and Rintaro ("Galaxy Express 999", "Captain Harlock"). However, Nakamura is best known for "Serial Experiments: Lain". (Writer Sadayuki Murai has many Anime Writing credits, including "Perfect Blue" and "Cowboy Bebop")
"Kino's Journey" doesn't have the cohesiveness of "Serial Experiments: Lain", nor does it have Lain's series wide story. Each episode of Kino can stand on it's own, even when it alludes heavily to earlier stories. Worse, 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.
This can be confusing.
My biggest complaint though is the fact that this seems to be a series with a story that has a lot of chapters missing. I don't know if this was based on a Manga, but it has that feel to it. The feel that there's more story that has been told somewhere else and that we're expected to know something about it. I consider this minor, and possibly to be corrected if more episodes are ever produced.
Some highlights I'd like to mention are the excellent animation and attention to detail. For instance Hermes, Kino's motorcycle and partner, is a very detailed and exact animation of a 1920's to 1940's Borough Superior J.A.P. engined SS100. It is correct right down to friction dampers, suspension, and saddle bags. Another example is Kino's pistol. It is a Colt Army, cap and ball black powder revolver of roughly Civil War vintage. Even when disassembled it is correctly drawn.
The characters Kino meets and the places she goes are also nicely drawn in a fashion that is very reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki's various films. Almost every place seems to be stuck in a time period somewhere between 1920 and 1960, and in a world where WWII never happened.
Kino's Journey reminds me of a mixture of a lot of things. It's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" combined with "Then Came Bronson" and "Easy Rider" and even "Kung Fu". It will not appeal to all Anime fans, but anybody that is attracted to Anime like "Serial Experiments: Lain" or "Ghost in the Shell" should appreciate this.