Kino's Journey - Simulwatch!

Professor Irony

Professor Irony

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Just a heads up that the start date for the new simulwatch will be tomorrow, June 15th. As always, the schedule will be one episode per day (unless mutual agreement dictates otherwise) and spoilers for the day's episode should be kept tagged until midnight.

The show this time is Kino's Journey and, as it's not one I've seen before, I'll have to defer to ANN for a synopsis:

"The story follows the travels of Kino, a young adventurer who rides a talking motorcycle named Hermes. They explore the people and cultures of different places throughout their adventures, spending only three days at each location."

And just for good measure, here's the OP:

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I’m assuming we’re all starting with episode 1. Also, I love the opening (All the Way by Mikuni Shimokawa) and ending themes (The Beautiful World by Ai Maeda). Every time I hear them my heart skips a bit.

Land of Visible Pain

A great first episode that establishes the tone of the series and preps the viewer for the type of stories that will appear – simple sounding but with very dark undertones. It introduced Kino and Hermes, their respective natures and their relationships. Loved the character designs and the voice acting…

Existential questions are handled neatly:

“Everyone and everything has its place in life.”
“A traveller’s purpose is to travel.”

However there’s always a layer of uncertainty. The shifting nature of the world and Kino’s relations to it and the feelings of Kino's own identity as a traveller can be felt.

Plus we get hints of Kino’s background with glimpses of faces and names that are handled later (or not in the TV series). Again, the soundtrack is awesome.
 
Genkina Hito said:
Existential questions are handled neatly:

“Everyone and everything has its place in life.”
“A traveller’s purpose is to travel.”
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Vacuous balderdash! Those sentences don't even have question marks.
 
I quite like the idea of civilisations trying to attain some God-like ability/attribute but that very thing is what leads to the downfall of that civilisation. It's one of my favourite themes in fiction. I suspected the theme of this episode would be something along those lines when Kino entered the town as well. Even so, I liked the tone of the episode, and the world and settings have the potential to be really interesting.

I'm not so keen on the art and character designs. They have that cheap early 2000s look about them. The music is nice though, and I especially like the ED.

I can tell it's going to be a solid show, so I'll be looking forward to watching this each day.
 
I've been waiting for this to begin! I've only seen 1 or 2 episodes of this before, and I most certainly have no immediate recollection of it. So i'm pretty much going into this one blind! I bought it years ago and it went into my giant backlog, so this is my great reason to finally watch it. So without further ado:

*as a note, I had to temporarily stop watching at about 7 minutes in, which took me out of the immersion somewhat. So if the tone shifts in my post then that's why*

Episode 1 - Land of Visible Pain -I see you-

What an interesting starting premise. A traveller named Kino, travelling with a talking bike. It certainly asked some philosophical questions early on with Kino asking the bike Hermes whether it felt jealous of birds, with the motorrad(?) giving an almost robotic answer.

We got a good glimpse of the world and the setting behind it. The technology used throughout was interesting, with robotic contraptions and obviously talking motorbikes. And yet the world has an old feeling to it. The show itself has an interesting tone, with the early journey parts feeling quite light and yet Kino having a gun and practicing with it seemed a lot more grave.

I found it interesting that everyone seemed happy to just drink this liquid that gives them telepathic powers with no objections. The situation it created was certainly horrific, but as shown by Kino arriving couldn't they have just moved away to a place with people without the ability to share telepathic thoughts? It's a bleak picture painted with all the different situations and the prediction that the country would just burn out.

I do quite like the style of this, including the intentional "interlacing lines" that are emblazed on the picture. It feels quite colourful and yet the colours don't stand out or are too vibrant. It all sort of blends together nicely.

I quite enjoyed that first episode and this certainly seems like a show that I will enjoy.
 
MaxonTreik said:
So is 00 the first episode, or is it 01?
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My bad, I hadn't noticed there was an episode 00. As it seems to be a prologue, I'd take 01 as the official start point, but if anyone wants to post about 00, feel free to do so.

I'd really meant to be more prepared for the start of this one - in hindsight, picking a friday as the start date probably wasn't such a good idea. 'Stagger on...

Ep 01

Not having any clear idea what to expect from the series, I was quietly rather impressed by that ep. It reminded me very much of Galaxy Express 999 - it's got that slightly melancholic, almost fable-like quality about it. Even Kino's revolver looks a lot like Tetsuro's laser gun.

Thought it was nicely played as well, in that they didn't take the easy route and reunite the couple at the end. The setting is interesting too - check out those Nazi scientists...

I would agree that the art is rather underwhelming though. It seems very basic and generic-shonen-esque, given the subject matter. I know GE999 was never the best looking show either, but I think it mostly got away with it, due to the designs being so stylised. Here, it does just feel very under-funded. Not entirely keen on those pull-quote things that keep popping up either. I can remember what the last line of dialogue was on my own, thanks all the same...

Not trying to be too critical - I'm looking forward to the next one and I think this was a good choice for the thread :)

animefreak17 said:
whats a Simulwatch!
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Basically we all agree to watch the same show at the same time, making it easier to discuss it as we go along.
 
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Before we begin I should probably reveal my bias in that Kino's Journey is one of my favourite shows ever, although I haven't watched it for a long time. As such, all of my posts are probably going to be rather gushing.

I: Land of Visible Hikikomori

And I remember almost instantly why I love it so much. Thoughtful musing about natural human drive and whether to "make a new road where one doesn't already exist" segues nicely into a story on those themes. Kino finds herself enjoying the convenience, value and efficiency machine operation brings (as most of us do) but the question of what cost the removal of the human element from society has brought is ever present.

When Kino first observes the way people live in this Country the viewer might be forgiven for thinking the citizens have come to the conclusion that prevalent automation has lessened the need for interaction with others, rendering every last one of them shut-ins who live solitary lives tended to by machines. The truth of the situation proves to be somewhat darker than that, but no more or less relevant. It is at it's core still a story about people who have become the absolute outward expressions of their individual selves to the point where they are unable to function in or tolerate the company of others (though as we see at the end, they do still crave it). They are unable to be anything than absolutely, brutally honest with each other but they have also found they cannot cope with other people expressing their honest opinions of/to them. That itself is an interesting observation of humanity's ability to behave in a contradictory manner, and certainly something which was overlooked by the developers of that drink.

Perhaps the greatest thing about Kino's Journey is that it presents us with so many questions, questions which are not easy to answer: Is our pretence to civilisation a façade? Is it right to hide or to express our true feelings, and does one cause more harm than the other? Are other people's images of someone drastically different from that person's self image? Are we, when all's said and done, truly alone? Most importantly though, through Kino's character it does not attempt to provide answers to these questions or make judgements about those characters who have decided one way or another. Content to travel, observe and learn, Kino has to be one of the least judgemental, most non-interventionist protagonists ever.

I also love the art style. It's simple but subtle stylised look really clicks with what I appreciate in aesthetics. The natural colour palette lends itself well to the thoughtful subject matter in a similar way to shows such as Mushi-Shi and Haibane Renmei. The effects it uses like the bleached out colour of the desert being reinvigorated by rain at the beginning, lighting effects realistically obscuring the image and the overall video look make it a joy to watch and holds my attention almost as much as the stories themselves.
 
Episode 2 A Tale of Feeding Off Others - I Want to Live

A pretty chilling episode where we see the precarious nature of being a traveller and having to deal with the worser parts of humanity. I found the rabbit killing tough to take when I first watched this - I guess I underestimated the anime and expected something softer.

I never liked the guys on the truck - they were suspicious looking but when the revelation of how they kept themselves alive came I was disturbed - great imagery in contrast to the purity of the snow.

Kino has no desire to kill people or animals unless there is a purpose. I loved the bit at the end where she's staring down the barrel of the gun at the slaver. I also liked the conversation after the fight where Kino opens up her emotions for the first time by admitting she was scared.

Also,Kino stops off for three days in a country and that is counted by the three rabbit skins - nice touch.
 
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I only have the episodes which ADV managed to release so I have no opinion on the extra material if this discussion eventually covers it.

Episode 1

It's been a long time since I watched Kino No Tabi, so I'd forgotten most of the detail of episode one. The art, while nowhere near as beautiful as the soft artwork which accompanied the source material and packaging, still looks great to me, despite the very subdued use of colour which I associate with this anime.

In terms of the actual show, it's my favourite type of series with its episodic format and introspective themes. I love Kino's quiet, mature personality. At first I'd forgotten the plot of episode one entirely, but I remembered it before it was eventually revealed so things weren't so fresh this time around. That's not to say that it wasn't still a pleasant watch, but it's a shame that the element of surprise is gone forever on a second viewing.

I already remember episode two from the preview alone, because it left a strong impression on me at the time (more so than any of the other stories later on, for some reason).

Professor Irony said:
Not entirely keen on those pull-quote things that keep popping up either. I can remember what the last line of dialogue was on my own, thanks all the same...
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In Japanese, the precise way things are written does carry some additional weight which is rather lost in translation, so I didn't find this jarring. While you can certainly argue that a visual medium such as anime should focus on visual storytelling, with this series having its origins in prose I think it's ok for them to emphasise things like this occasionally.

R
 
Rui said:
In Japanese, the precise way things are written does carry some additional weight which is rather lost in translation, so I didn't find this jarring. While you can certainly argue that a visual medium such as anime should focus on visual storytelling, with this series having its origins in prose I think it's ok for them to emphasise things like this occasionally.
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That's a fair point about the choice of characters, but (without going back to check) were they not mostly written in Hiragana? I thought that would only apply for Kanji. It's not a big deal though - there were fewer of them in this episode, so I didn't find it as intrusive.

Ep2 - Where are the rabbits, George?

That was certainly a bit more graphic than I'd expected. Comparing it to GE999 again, I think it tended to allude to the nature of the nastier events rather than showing them so explicitly. Although saying that, I suppose we never actually see the men engaging in cannibalism; we're just shown the results.

It is interesting that the series should be so upfront about tackling the issues of keeping yourself alive in extreme situations though. I can't think of any other series that's even really approached the topic, so it feels quite original.

Seeing Kino feed the men nutrient pills in addition to the rabbit was a nice touch too. I seem to remember from QI that it's actually possible to starve from eating rabbit alone, due to the body consuming vitamins during its digestion, so that seems like good attention to detail.

I'm enjoying the slow drip-feeding of details about Kino's character as well. That extensive collection of weaponry certainly raises a few questions.
 
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That certainly was a darker episode compared to the first one, and I enjoyed it a lot more too. I kind of guessed early on that the men would turn on Kino since they were drawn to be those types of people. Their suspicious way of acting led me to believe that too. Kino's expressions throughout the episode led me to believe she sort of knew it would happen too. Having her expression reflect the viewer's suspicion was well done. I was impressed by Kino's survival skills and found the number of knives she had rather amusing. For some reason that scene reminded me of Crocodile Dundee.

I also found the episode a bit more graphic than what I was expecting from this series. The dark nature of this show has caught me by surprise, much like Mushishi (which I am also watching right now). I was expecting something more light hearted before I started watching it.
 
Episode 2 - A Tale of Feeding Off Others -I Want to Live.-

This episode certainly opened darkly with Kino shooting a rabbit and the visual image we got of it falling to the ground, even the sound of bone being cut was somewhat unnerving. Kino is very rational reasoning as to why they killed the rabbit. I'm enjoying the rather philosophical debates between Kino and Hermes.

But of course the big twist is that the guys who Kino was helping turn out to be slave traders. Not only that, but the even bigger and more disturbing revelation was of how they survived. For the style of the show and the way it presents itself it sure can be disturbing and shocking. The way it presented the scene was nicely done, with the background being mostly light, before shifting to dark when Kino looked in the truck. I wonder if Kino felt regret about killing the rabbits at the end.

This episode certainly threw my mind into a mix about what I thought the series might be like. I think it's going to be a lot edgier then I initially expected...
 
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Professor Irony said:
That's a fair point about the choice of characters, but (without going back to check) were they not mostly written in Hiragana? I thought that would only apply for Kanji. It's not a big deal though - there were fewer of them in this episode, so I didn't find it as intrusive.
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I went back to check.

The World is not beautiful: therefore it is.
世界はうつくしくなんかない　そして　それ故に　美しい

It's deliberately written to give a poignant, poetic weighting which the translation seems to grasp at too (note that adding the spaces like that reads unnaturally in Japanese). The second use of "beautiful" is rendered in its kanji but the first is written phonetically instead.

Sometimes choosing not to use kanji (or hiragana/katakana where it would generally be preferred) can be interesting.

I'm no literary scholar but I trust the original author carefully considered how to present the trailing thought for this particular story, so I like that they brought that into the anime version.

Anyway, enough boring rambling from me and back to the harrowing rabbits :s

R
 
I'm not using spoiler tags because we're all watching the show. It feels a bit redundant. If you read the episode title and haven't watched that ep yet, don't read the post.

II: The Tale of (Feeding Off) Peter Rabbit

Some might have found the killing and preparation of the rabbits for food a little graphic or unsettling, but I've long been of the opinion that if you want to eat other animals you should be willing and able to cause their deaths yourself - However such an act effects you emotionally is probably a good indicator of whether you should actually be doing it or not. Kino is comfortable with killing to survive but also treats the animals' sacrifice with respect by making sure no part of them goes to waste, which is similar to the beliefs of some Native American tribes - I don't know if that's also something which would have also been the case in Japanese history or not.

Something which does seem rather old-fashioned Japanese about Kino is that respect for others seems to be a major part of her character. As well as the rabbits, she maintains her respectful attitude towards the men even when she begins to suspect they might not be the innocents they first seemed. Even after their betrayal, revelation of an occupation very disrespectful to human life and death at her own hands, she maintains respect for them by honouring her end of the bargain. Some might say her attitude in killing the men was somewhat merciless, others might say they didn't deserve the respect she showed them after death. What's interesting about Kino is that neither of those thoughts seem to cross her mind. Her relationship to the men was entirely separate from whatever they might have done before and a deal was a deal. Not to say that she's mercenary, but that she only intervenes in a situation when she feels she has to.

I wonder if Kino felt regret about killing the rabbits at the end.
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An interesting thought. Kino points out to Hermes that while she's being altruistic to the men and doesn't entirely understand the impulses which drove her to do so, it's not doing the rabbits any favours. It was the decision of the men themselves in their dealings with Kino which contributed to their fate - had they never met her, their fate would have been the same. So ultimately the only thing which changed through Kino's involvement was the death of the three rabbits.
 

Episode III - Land of Prophecies - We No the Future

A tale about how people willingly adopt other people's interpretations and traditions without thinking about them. Very beautiful and melanccholy. Nice ending. I loved Kino's ability to take advantage of the situations - free shopping!

Favourite quotes:

"If the world doesn't end, how am I supposed to go on living?"
"It was not written how much constitutes smashing the green plate!"
 
ayase said:
I'm not using spoiler tags because we're all watching the show. It feels a bit redundant. If you read the episode title and haven't watched that ep yet, don't read the post.
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The spoiler tag idea was just aimed at anyone who's watched the show before or is watching significantly further ahead of the group. If it's detailing the current episode, I'm sure it's not necessary to tag spoilers, but I've just been doing it out of courtesy anyway.

Ep3 - No thy self

Don't know how much I can add to GH's summary, really.

The structure of the episode surprised me, being split into three vignettes like that, but it made sense that they would be grouped into one episode. It was certainly intriguing to see that the narrative wasn't completely dismissive of the apocalyptic prophecy either - even after learning its origins, Kino still passes no judgement on it.

Interesting that it's Hermes who shows more inclination to intervene too - even if it's only questioning the scale of the army's reaction.
 
Episode 3 - Land of Prophecies -We NO The Future

Yet again an intriguing and interesting premise, one of the world that is about to end. All of the residents didn't want money as the notion of the end of the world meant that material was meaningless - This left some interesting reactions from Kino, especially the reaction to the old couple asking to pray. I found it quite funny that Kino pounced on the opportunity to get some extra rounds from the gunsmith!

The prophecy was always fishy from the beginning, with just the one man preaching it having "decyphered it." Kino's logic about the world not ending was solid and sensible, but again I wonder about why everyone suddenly believed it. The whole situation reminded me somewhat of the opening of Full Metal Alchemist, just without the alchemy.

The second half was another reminded of how suddenly the show can delve into darker realms, with the story of the poet who had to write a poem of sorrow and his wife who killed herself for him. The repercussions carrying on for years to come with the daughter now singing the poem. It's interesting that country decided to turn it into a tradition every 10 years that it would get recited, almost as if to constantly remind them about previous sins. And of course it came full circle as the poets worlds were the prophecy in the early part of the episode. I should have expected something like that, but I did enjoy how the anime brought it back around.

However, yet again there was an air of depression as the same book was used to annihilate the country. This is something that I'm really enjoying about Kino's Journey, it leaves such an impressionable mark on you without trying to go overboard with dramatics or melodrama.

It's interesting, I didn't think I'd type much about this episode and whilst I've regurgitated some of what happend I'm actually left with deep impressions and thoughts. Kino comes across as a complex character and the relationship with Hermes only helps to further that image. Kino seems sometimes unassuming and it feels like the journey and experiences are the most important aspects of it.
 
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