Kino's Journey: Idle Adventurer Vol-1 (2003)
Production: Keiichi Sigsawa/Media Works
Released by: ADV Films
Episodes: 1-4
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

What exactly is Kino’s Journey about? A simple story about the adventures of a young explorer and his motorcycle? An experiment in poetic imagery and storytelling? Or a profound study of the human condition, society, and the natural world?

I have to admit in no way was I prepared for this series. What I thought would be a simple story of adventure and travel, turned out to be one of the most thought provoking experiences I’ve had in quite some time. Simply put, I have never seen anything so deeply layered and complex in as simple a package as Kino’s Journey.

The Story

“Destination is a state of mind. Travelers not only find themselves in a variety of locations and geographic phenomena, but they also bear witness to the whims of culture and the skewed effects of subtle circumstance. Kino is such a traveler. Sitting astride Hermes, an internal combustion companion, Kino searches for life’s answers, life’s questions, and the myriad of interpretations connected to them. A wielder of cutlery, firepower and a piercing tongue, Kino is ready to embark on a journey unlike any other. Drift along for the ride. .” -- ADV's Kino's Journey Page

Review

The premise for this show is fairly simple, Kino and Hermes (his motorcycle) are world travelers, who journey from country to country for nothing more than the simple pleasure of exploring and learning about the world. There are only two particular rules that they travel by: they never stay in one place for more than three days and they always abide by the particular rules and customs of they countries they visit, even if they disagree with them or find them to be strange.

In these first episodes our Travelers visit four different countries/locations, each with its own unique way of life, such as the country where everything is run by machines and people live completely isolated from each other because they have gained the ability to telepathically communicate their feelings, which needless to say resulted in many mishaps.

In each of the stories in this volume the series attempts to explore some very philosophical themes that deal with many different facets of life, nature, and humanity, such as our relationship with animals, human selfishness, free will, etc. This by itself is not what made the show thought-provoking though, as many series and movies have already done a great job handling these, it was the way in which these themes were developed and presented to us visually that really captivated me.

The way I interpreted it, the presentation and theme developments of Kino's Journey, where at odds with each other, living up to one of the series' initial themes, "The world is not beautiful, therefore it is". A great example of this is the animation itself and the way in which they video was transferred. This is a bautifully realized anime, but atop of the video footage there are what seems like scanlines. Initially I thought this was a defect on my copy of it, but upon researching it online I found out that this was in fact an intentional choice by the director. Many other themes in the story are developed to great effect like this and really add a layer of depth to the series that I'd never run accross before.

Overall it's almost impossible to really convey how beatiful Kino's Journey is and what an amazing grip it has. When I started the DVD late last night I only intended to watch half of it, saving the other two for today, but once I started the DVD I literally could not stop watching it. Honestly, it's that good.

The animation itself as I mentioned above is rather good and is up to today's higher standards for anime. The frame rate is smooth and the backgrounds are rendered with nice, soft colors that blend in perfectly with the story's mood. The music like the rest of this anime is laid back and for the most part faded into the background perfectly.

The DVD package itself is great and includes:

Episode 1 - "Land of Visible Pain"
Episode 2 - "A Tale of Feeding Off Others"
Episode 3 - "Land of Prophecies"
Episode 4 - "Land of Adults"

Extras include clean copies of the opening and closing sequences, production sketches, and previews for other ADV products. Soundtrack is available in both Japanese and English soundtracks. There is also a nice insert with some poetry that goes along with the content of the DVD.

Conclusion

Kino's Journey is a radically different type of anime experience. This one is not for the anime fan looking for an action series or an adventure show, this is for those people who are interested in seein something with depth and that will make them think.

Kino's Journey is a masterpiece, I'm really glad to have seen it.

Jeffrey Couto