Kino's Journey: The Beautiful World
Directed by: Ryutaru Nakamura
Studio: Studio Wombat, Genco
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Drama, Progressive
Format: 13 TV Episodes
Live Action Anime Rating: ****
Kino's Journey: The Beautiful World is one of the most brilliant anime of the decade so far. This piece of genius is based on a series of novels by Keiichi Sigsawa. It was directed by Ryutaru Nakamura (director of Serial Experiments Lain) and the screenplay was written by Sadayuki Murai (co-writer of Millennium Actress and Perfect Blue).
Explaining what the series is about is very simple: a journey. A journey with no destination. A journey that you don't know where you'll end, you just know that you'll see and learn new things as you keep going with the journey.
The traveler in this show is named Kino (although, that's not his/her real name, we also are kept in the dark about Kino's gender until episode 4). Kino's only companion is a motorrad (talking motorcycle) called Hermes. Kino and Hermes travel around a fictional world, where countries are as small as towns, and seem to be distant from each other not only by space, but also by time. Each of these countries has its own traditions, history and laws. They all have something that identifies them and make them unique. Kino's only rule is to stay in each country no more and no less than three days.
As for the plot, well, each episode has its own unique plot. Kino might pass by a few countries in just one episode, or you might see Kino in one single country for two episodes, or Kino might just spend an episode telling stories about the countries visited so far. This series has a very episodic structure, but it is worked extremely well. This show is not about what will happen in the end, but about everything that happens along the way. It really teaches a lot of truths about human nature with every episode.
In the novels, Kino travels to a lot more countries than in the show. I don't like to spoil things, but I'll give you some examples of the countries that appear in the anime:
SPOILERS START HERE
In the first episode, Kino finds a country where people live isolated from each other in order to avoid being hurt. The people in this country all drank a liquid that would allow them to read each other's minds. They did this because they thought that the only reason humans hurt each other was because they couldn't fully understand the pain of others. They thought that words were imperfect ways of communication, and that humans couldn't express themselves correctly by using words. However, knowing every single thought that other people had was a lot worse, it caused tension among citizens and everyone ended up living by themselves.
In the second episode (one of the best in the series), Kino finds a group of men whose truck is trapped in the snow due to a terrible storm. These men are starving, and Kino decides to help them. However, Kino can only save them by taking the lives of other living beings. Kino is forced to kill rabbits in order to save the lives of other humans. Kino ponders about the reason why he/she decided that the lives of the humans were more worthy than those of the rabbits. Hermes states that it wasn't wrong for Kino to help his/her fellow humans, but Kino says that maybe he/she only did it because if he/she was in the same situation, he/she would like someone to save him/her, and only a human could do that. However, near the end of the episode we learn something terrible about these humans, and Kino's last words in this episode are "These things will always happen, because we are only human".
In the fourth episode, we'll learn about the Land of Adults. In this country, everyone does their job with a big smile. A little girl tells Kino that you are only an adult if you work, and that a job can't be a job if you like it. In that country, children turn into adults at the age of 12. At this age, they undergo a medical operation that extracts "the children" from within their brains. It's after this operation that they are able to always smile even if they're doing a job they hate, and that they forget how to rightfully express themselves, that they forget about their dreams, and forget about a joyful life.
SPOILERS END HERE
It's impossible to compare Kino's Journey to any other series out there. There is absolutely nothing like it. I can't find enough good things to say about this series. It still isn't for everyone though. If you are one of those dummies that can only watch action series, then you might not appreciate the brilliance of Kino's Journey. If you are looking for fan service, mecha, or silly humor this isn't for you. Although there is some violence in the show (which is few and far between), all the appeal in Kino's Journey comes from the brilliant stories, the characters, and the GREAT dialogue. I too couldn't believe at first that a series which is mostly based on dialogue between two characters would keep me as interested from start to finish. I just couldn't take my eyes from it. The writing, the animation, the music, and yes...even the English dub are great in this series. In fact, I think this is one of the best (if not the best) dubs made by ADV Films.
In conclusion, this is a truly must-see show for those who like some deep philosophy to go along with their entertainment. What's even better about Kino's Journey, is that it's deep without being nearly incomprehensible, which allows for basically anyone to get into the story and be able to be drawn by its philosophy. If you have the chance to watch this show, don't let it pass!
Rating System:
*= Horrible
*½= Very Bad
**= Bad
**½= Good
***= Very Good
***½= Excellent
****= Masterpiece
By: rjxsapri®
