Kino's Journey

[Xelis]

Can someone give me a fairly good description of what this series is about, I keep getting mixed views on this title, Im hoping it is a little like Mushishi, can anyone clarify this?

Edit: Sorry for putting it in the wrong forum.

 

[Ushio]

A 'fairly good description' I can't do. Sorry I've never seen it!

From what I've heard it's really good, not really an action show at all with a bit of philosophy in it. I've also heard that volume 1 has a graphic scene of a rabbit being skinned... @_@

There. I tried to make it vague and I think I did ok. hehehe

(it's quite high on my 'to buy' list though. Also, check out the review section on this site as it's got pretty good reviews throughout the whole series!)

 

[Ramadahl]

The comparison of Kinos Journey to Mushishi is a good one for the most part, but there is a definite difference between them.

Kinos Journey consists of standalone episodes (with one exception) that basically involve Kino visiting one of the many towns and cities in that world, finding out about it, and then leaving after 3 days. Like Mushishi, the quality of the series relies heavily on how well-done the various cities are - however, the stories behind the places she visits are very different from Mushishi.
While Mushishi is set in a consistent world, with fairytale stories in each village that Ginko visits, the world of Kinos Journey is much more surreal. The cities vary greatly, with one having robots that do all the work needed, to a village that has only progressed to using wind or watermills. The stories themselves tend to be darker than Mushishi, but are also much deeper and more philosophical.
The true strength of Kinos Journey is in it's portrayl of different aspects of humanity. It could depress you, but it'll certainly make you think.

From what I've heard it's really good, not really an action show at all with a bit of philosophy in it. I've also heard that volume 1 has a graphic scene of a rabbit being skinned... @_@

It's not really an action show, although there are maybe 2 - 3 action episodes. The rabbit being skinned is in ep2, but that's far from the most disturbing thing on the disk... or the episode for that matter.

 

[Miaka-chan]

I think the use of Philosophical is overused when referring to Kino's Journey. It all depends on how you perceive it as an individual!
My personal take on it is it's more like a revamped version of Aesops tales and while it is trying to get across a message about human nature, it's much simpler than a lot of people are trying to make out.
There is a fairytale quality to the deeper episodes, but unless you feel you must spend hours trying to decipher the messages in Kino's Journey, you should be able to enjoy it as a set of fables and fairytales, much like Mushishi.

 

[Ramadahl]

I think the use of Philosophical is overused when referring to Kino's Journey. It all depends on how you perceive it as an individual!
My personal take on it is it's more like a revamped version of Aesops tales and while it is trying to get across a message about human nature, it's much simpler than a lot of people are trying to make out.
There is a fairytale quality to the deeper episodes, but unless you feel you must spend hours trying to decipher the messages in Kino's Journey, you should be able to enjoy it as a set of fables and fairytales, much like Mushishi.

Eheh, I guess I could be overanalysing it... but I'd still say it's a deeper series than Mushishi.

 

[Miaka-chan]

but I'd still say it's a deeper series than Mushishi.

I saw Mushi-shi as a series of fables and folklore and Kino's Journey as a series of fables and fairytales and when trying to decide if someone who enjoyed Mushi-shi would also like Kino's Journey, this is the best way to go about it!
Mushi-shi has a more ethereal feel to it, whereas Kino's Journey has a more ephemeral feel to it. You felt that Ginko changed the lives of the people he met, whereas Kino was merely an onlooker. The only episodes where I felt Kino's presence adversely affected the people she came into contact with were the mad king and the coliseum and the girl who wanted to fly - even those guys she's saves from startvation didn't actually have their fate altered, as they die anyway.
You can spend ages trying to decide whether there are deeper meanings to the tales in Kino's Journey, but to be honest that would only mean you were trying to emulate Aesop, who himself was reputed to have wanted to out-philosophise the philisopher who owned him (he was a slave in the 6th century B.C.) ^__^

 

[Ramadahl]

but I'd still say it's a deeper series than Mushishi.

I saw Mushi-shi as a series of fables and folklore and Kino's Journey as a series of fables and fairytales and when trying to decide if someone who enjoyed Mushi-shi would also like Kino's Journey, this is the best way to go about it!

OK, I guess I was trying to emphasize the main difference between them, but was a bit rushed... Although I felt that Mushishi was more in the fairytale mould than Kinos Journey.

Mushi-shi has a more ethereal feel to it, whereas Kino's Journey has a more ephemeral feel to it.

That's an excellent way of putting it.

You felt that Ginko changed the lives of the people he met, whereas Kino was merely an onlooker.

Agreed, and it's here that Kinos Journey deviates from the norm. So while the stories in Mushishi proceed in a relatively normal fashion with Ginko as the hero, each episode of Kinos Journey is more an observation through the eyes of a dissociated observer (Kino). The result of this, IMO, is that Kinos Journey gives more insight, more social commentary than Mushishi, which is why I said that Kinos Journey was deeper. If you saw this in Mushishi please let me know, and I'll stand corrected.

You can spend ages trying to decide whether there are deeper meanings to the tales in Kino's Journey, but to be honest that would only mean you were trying to emulate Aesop, who himself was reputed to have wanted to out-philosophise the philisopher who owned him (he was a slave in the 6th century B.C.) ^__^

Lol, I'm the kind of person who may well spend hours considering whether or not deeper meanings exist, but I don't know about trying to "out-philosophise" anyone. It's just for my own amusement :roll: .
After all, sometimes a cigar is only a cigar .