Kino’s Journey Volume 1

I write this review after being utterly consumed by the beautiful, yet incredibly bitter world illustrated for us by Kino’s Journey; a story which follows a poetic drifter (or traveller) called Kino as she explores the distant territories of mankind, just simply because she loves to travel.
This is no cliché action anime with an explosive pay-off in the end – Kino’s Journey #1 intelligently flirts with the very brutal and unforgiving side of human nature, but also takes the time to make several telling observations on modern society, sketching an all too realistic image of the human mentality – but one which feels so surreal in its imagery that you could almost be peeking through a window into the dream of a slighted and bitter modern philosopher, turned cynical by the failings of mankind.
Kino’s Journey certainly won’t be an anime for everyone; the first four episodes are all fairly slow paced, preferring to develop connections between the viewer and certain personalities before turning all of these assumptions up-side-down.
Some will no doubt be frustrated by the author’s unwillingness to give an easy or ‘happy’ answer, but I loved its ambiguous and eclectic style, every minute of it. The story is almost completely unpredictable at every turn, revelling in its inventive but ultimately very human world.

The animation and character designs are slightly jarring for a story with as many layers as Kino’s Journey, it has a very simplistic look and manufactures an almost child-like atmosphere, giving off the impression that this is a fairly tame little series- but the viewer is quickly thrown out of this comfort zone by a series of outstanding scenes; a particular stand out being when Kino successfully hunts and then proceeds to skin a cute little rabbit.
It’s easy to get used to seeing animals romanticised in anime, often treasured and treated in a very loving way, and so it’s a bit of a shock to the system when playing witness to cute little rabbit being rubbed out in such a blunt, clinical fashion.
I immediately sat up and took proper notice of Kino’s Journey after that scene, knowing this was going to be something out of the ordinary, and suffice to say, I wasn’t let down.
Having earlier said that the animation feels slightly jarring in comparison to Kino’s mature themes, it’s easy to see why the production studio has adopted such a look. We are shown the world as Kino herself sees it, her philosophies and actions are not complicated to understand – and so as such, the world drawn around her does not need to be detailed and complex. The more you watch, the more you will understand the vivid intention of the author.

And of course, I could not let this review pass without giving mention to Kino’s sidekick, Hermes, her fast-talking motorcycle (or as it is called in the show; ‘motorrad’)!
Magnificently named after a god from Greek Mythology, Hermes is knight-rider’s intelligent older brother, and perhaps the closest thing in Kino’s Journey to comic relief. Hermes is just plain cool, and with ‘him’ being as much a philosopher as Kino, their discussions are often meaningful and interesting.
I find it interesting how we are never shown where Hermes voice is speaking from, and for all we could know, Kino could even be conversing with the heavens – indeed, this is just that type of show, constantly inviting thought and imagination.

In Summary

Kino’s Journey #1 is a heartfelt wander through the dark side of human nature; a thoughtful and intelligent anime that successfully combines brutality with beauty. The story is slow moving, and will not be for everyone – but for those people interested in checking out a compelling and thoughtful series, I just can’t recommend Kino’s Journey #1 enough.