Kino’s Journey (Review)
Kino’s Journey is a Fantisful Anime with Plenty of Philosophy.
Kino’s Journey came as a complete shock to me. Now, I consider myself the sort of geek who has ventured off the beaten path to search out some really good anime in the past. Still, somehow, Kino’s Journey had, up until recently, eluded me.
Bottom line, this show is an absolute pleasure and is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Kino’s Journey follows the titular hero, Kino, a teenage girl (though at first her gender is ambiguous and several times throughout the series she is referred to as “sir”) who has spent her life traveling from city to city in an attempt to see the world. She is joined by a talking motorcycle, named Hermes. The two share a symbiotic relationship in which Hermes gives Kino speed, and she, in turn, gives Hermes balance. For years, Kino has been traveling around the world, stopping in different towns for no longer than three days and two nights, as she believes this is all the time she would need to learn everything important about a city. However, it is later revealed that she stays for such short periods of time because she is afraid of settling down. The series follows her as she visits different lands, each with its own unique characteristics and customs.
What really blew me away about the series is how subtle it is. Unlike other “intellectual” anime, it doesn’t force you to sit and listen to characters drone on and on about ideas. Rather, Kino’s Journey tries to keep the dialogue to a minimum. That’s not to say that it’s a silent anime, but it tries to present ideas, rather than fully explain them. In a way, it gives the audience enough credit to let them try to grasp the concepts on their own. It’s a respectful anime. The series is heavy on the social commentary, which is the very core of the anime. Every city Kino visits suggests intriguing philosophical concepts about society as a whole, as well as interesting ethical concepts and political philosophy. But, as I said before, it’s not heavy-handed at all. Some examples include an episode where Kino uncovers a book with everything in the world written inside of it and a city that pits people against each other in combat in the hopes of earning citizenship.
Kino’s Journey is a relatively short series, only clocking in at 13 episodes (14 if you include the rare episode 0); however, it doesn’t feel short-lived at all. This is probably a result of the mentally heavy content of the anime, though. Another reason might be that several of the episodes are made up of three or four short stories—mini-episodes if you will. The series has a unique look to it, almost like a children’s book. There is a very simplified construction to it, very to-the-point. However, this does not mean that the series isn’t full of detail. It just reflects the subject matter in its subtlety. The colors are also very vibrant throughout. Altogether, this gives the series an almost fairytale-like feel to it.
Anyone who is a true fan of anime should definitely check this series out. I would probably even suggest this to those who aren’t fans of anime. It’s a very mellow series that is quite enjoyable. Although it is accessible to children, there are a few episodes that parents might not want them to see (dealing with cannibalism and public executions, though neither of them are graphic). The only drawback to this series is because it is so heavy, it’s not something I would want to watch over and over again. Perhaps after a few months, I could manage to sit through an episode or two again, but I don’t think I could sit and watch the series again in a marathon.
