Kino's Journey Vol. 1: Idle Adventure 2003   ADV Films Official US Website Buy It Now Official Japanese Website

Over the past few months, I've seen the same types of anime getting released in the United States. That's not really something that I find to be troublesome in the least, and for the most part, there have been some very good series released. RahXephon, Noir, Chobits, and so on, but every so often, there's a title that comes along that just defies any sort of preconceptions that you might have had about it, and manages to transcend just about everything that you might have though would possibly be done with the genre. Kino's Journey actually happens to be one of those series, and what I had expected the series to be, and what it really is are two entirely different things, and this is a case where that is quite a blessing.

In some ways, the series harkens back to some of the road trip films of the late 60's and early 70's. Kino is our main character; a traveler that is going from place to place to more or less experience what life has to offer. Kino also has Hermes along for the journey, a motorcycle, or motorrad in this world, a bike that talks and manages to provide a good source of company, and even advice, in some of those more lonely locations. Kino however has very certain rules, and the main one is that each place that they visit, they only stay three days and then they are on the road again.

The plot may not seem to be anything spectacular, but this isn't an anime that basis itself on action, but more on morose drama with an occasional bit of dark, occasionally very dark, humor thrown in for good measure. Just looking at images from the series, it somewhat belies the true nature of the story. The animation looks very vibrant, very beautiful, and is extraordinarily eye catching. It compares very well to other animation such as RahXephon or perhaps even Someday's Dreamers, but the emotional atmosphere that is present through each and every episode overshadows the beauty in Kino's Journey.

As Kino and Hermes make their way from location to location, they experience what could be considered the darker aspects of humanity. This isn't necessarily presented in a negative way, but instead the approach is to take some of the quirks and longings that mankind has always had and show that there may very well be a negative side to them. Kino and Hermes run across a society for example, that has managed to achieve one of mans dreams: that of having ESP and being able to know everything that their friends, lovers, or even enemies are thinking. However, the results where less than pleasant, and after knowing much more about people than they had ever wanted or needed to, these people chose to isolate themselves from one. This is just one of the bleak sides of humanity that Kino and Hermes run across in their travels. Cannibalism, forced conversion, and even slave trading all are experienced at one point or another.

Of the four episodes, my particular favorite has to be one where the two runs across a society that believes that the world will be ending, all because of an alleged prophecy that they have found and translated. But, when the world doesn't end, then the decision is that they miscalculated, and then come up with yet another date. It's Kino however that finds the truth to what this prophecy really is, and it's one of the darkly humorous moments of the series. This episode, above all the others, has a very good moral to it if you just pay attention, and is a perfect reflection of society at large, and not just with modern times. For centuries, man has always predicted the end of the world, but it's never come to pass. Y2K came and went without a problem, as did the new millennium. Planetary alignments haven't ever brought any disaster, and the predictions of Nosterdamus are open to interpretation. Kino's Journey mimics and almost lampoons these same things in grand form, even with the dark overtones.

While watching these first few episodes, my wife came to a realization about the Japanese dialog. Most anime will have speaking patterns and wording that is very similar to what you might hear in everyday conversation, but Kino's Journey is much different. According to what she heard, the dialog is more or less like hearing someone read straight out of a book. It's something that I wouldn't have caught on to, especially since I'm still learning Japanese, but it makes for a more interesting sound and style, and it definitely isn't the sort of thing that you would hear in other anime series.

Also one thing that you might note here, and it's been very difficult, is that I haven't really given any specifics to Kino's gender, but there's a good reason for that, but it's something that I'm not going to let the cat out of the bag on. Kino does in fact have a secret, and it's one that while I had my suspicions on, mainly due to who the Japanese seiyuu was, it wasn't until the fourth episode that my suspicions were finally confirmed.

There isn't too much on the disc in the way of extras, which really is rather sad considering how unique this anime really is. The only added features are clean versions of both the open and closing, which both are more things that really do a good job of not letting on how bleak this series is, and then production sketches from the series. ADV has a website established for the series that features some of the ore interesting items that have been released in Japan to promote Kino's Journey, and it would have been nice to have at least seen these included as a bonus on the disc. This is also a series that I would love to have interviews from the Japanese staff included.

If you're looking for an action packed series or something that has a comedic punch to it, this isn't going to be the thing that will satisfy that need. Kino's Journey however will fit the bill for those that are fans of series such as Serial Experiments Lain or even Haibane Renmei are going to appreciate this series a great deal. In some ways, Kino's Journey is a bit of a depressing series, though not to the degree of something like Grave of the Fireflies, but the dark wit helps to alleviate that a great deal, creating a very elegant noir piece of anime that comes along very rarely. This is a journey that I would urge any anime fan to take, as it is gloomily beautiful and there's nothing else quite like it.

Episode 1 - Land of Visible Pain

Kino and Hermes stop in a town that seems to have only robots as the inhabitants. Upon closer examination however, they discover that there are people that live in this seemingly abandoned hamlet, but they are afraid of any human they come in contact with, save for one man who tells Kino the sad and tragic history of the town.

Episode 2 - The Tale of Feeding Off Others

Kino runs across a group of men, traders they say, that have been stranded and snow in for days in the mountains. Kino decides to help the men get back on their feet and finds them food, but when they finally recover and are able to free their truck, Kino learns the truth. The mean arte actually slave traders, and they see Kino as their next sale.

Episode 3 - Land of Prophecies

The end is coming, or so claim the inhabitants of the next town that Kino and Hermes visit. The good news for Kino though, is that with the end coming by the next morning, everything is free, but when the world doesn't end, the local priests claim there was an error in the translation of the prophecy. Kino discovers though that the prophecy is actually a tragic and sad poem for another city that has been mistakenly been believed as a truth by the neighboring city.

Episode 4 - Land of Adults

The tale of how Kino and Hermes first met each other, back when Kino lived in a city where children where forced to become adults far too early. While Kino would have been a part of this ritual, a traveler risks his life and sets Kino and Hermes on their way.

-mike-