Forum - View topicKino's Journey - Good or not?
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Darknight55
 Posts: 53 |
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I was looking at Kino's Journey recently and the initial premise sounds interesting, but I was wondering if it was really worth it. The box set is super cheap now and for a 13 episode series it doesn't seem bad at all, but I don't know. Something about a talking motorcycle named Hermes puts me off a bit. And no real plot to boot, just travelling around different countries. I saw some of the names connected with it, and they are from various animes that I like (Serial Experiments Lain, Boogiepop Phantom, etc.) My main question I guess is, is this series anything like those shows or even worth checking out? The encyclopedia says its great but I still have reservations....
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Keonyn
 Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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It's a very thought provoking series, every episode is pretty much a commentary of sorts on certain aspects of humanity and society, many often representing an extreme of certain ideals. It's actually quite interesting and the talking motorcycle doesn't take away from it at all or make it seem kiddy. To the contrary I don't think it's really a series that a younger audience could fully understand or appreciate. I definitely recommend it.
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Cloe
Moderator
 Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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You have absolutely no reason to hesitate checking out Kino's Journey if you like thought-provoking fare like Lain. I'm not suggesting that the shows are necessarily similar. On the contrary, they are incomparable in terms of story, character, and almost every aspect. However, I'd say Kino has just as much philosophical content as Lain (probably more). Kino's Journey was a blind purchase for me when I bought it a year ago, and I have absolutely no regrets. It is one of the finest series I have had the pleasure of viewing. Shouldn't its user ratings speak for itself?
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Neilworms
 Posts: 155 Location: Chicago IL |
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No surprise that Kino does have a lot in common with lain... its only from the same director ;)
The writer also was the guy who wrote Boogiepop Phantom and Perfect Blue, its a match made in heaven, and consequently the show is very very good. I think its better than the most recient show from the same director, Rec, which while stylish kind of falls too much into the nerdy guy falls in love with (in this case looks like) prepubscent young girl genre *cough *cough Moe *cough *cough. Is it just me or does the motorrad in the english dub of Kino by ADV sound like a creepy pedophile? |
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v1cious
 Posts: 6203 Location: Houston, TX |
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i thought it was a great series. the main problem with this series however, is it doesn't really go anywhere. in the end you feel letdown.
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logboy
Posts: 72 |
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great series, best in small doses rather than watching it all too quickly. some of the episodes are indredibly tightly written. nice ideas and good adult philosophising... interesting stuff.
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TAKAVAR
 Posts: 138 Location: Canada |
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as everyone said, its a philasophical series, also there is a bit of mystery around kino, reason for the journey and what happened in past that you might enjoy it. but yea , i admit , its not that big of a plot, but its just another layer of this series you can enjoy.
Also, comparing to lain , its more straightforward and somehow... lighter, i would say. |
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adonais
Posts: 302 |
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But as with life, it's not the destination, it's the journey itself that matters.. I loved Kino's Journey, it's definitely one of my absolute favorites, and I think a landmark of beautiful anime. It does have a philosophical aspect to it, but nowhere near as cerebral or psychological as Lain - much easier to digest than that  I would rather compare it to Haibane Renmei, in terms of the overall viewing experience.
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opaquescum
Posts: 235 |
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This series is actually quite close in my humble oppinion to the likes of the outer limits. Personally I am not a fan of the outerlimits. Why, because invariably the characters in that series are almost always doomed to failure. Bleak tales conveying deep philosophical, and social questions can go to far.
I bought this series, and while I can appreciate what they were trying to do the series actually made me sick. Now if your a person with a thick hide, and a bit of a Nihlist. You will probabally love the series, because in a way you get your joy out of the human suffering portrayed. Now if your a bit more on the sensitive side like me. This series will have you shakeing. Quite frankly this is the scariest anime I have ever seen. Now if you are bipolar, or even the slightest bit depressed do not watch this series. I guarantee you that that this series will make worse. Personally I bought the series, and while I never did finish it, because I admit it I could not handle it. I did go through the first disc. Maybe some day I will watch the others, but I doubt it. So my oppinion is its really a question of who you are as a person. Now do you want to watch a series that is just a chain of bleak commentaries on human stupidity. Can you handle a totally not happy series. Can you handle very shallow character developement. Remember everyone in this show other then Kino is nothing more then a characture expressing one form of human stupidity. Do not misunderstand me this is a very good series. This series accomplishes what it is out to do. Pointing out stupid behavior, and why it is stupid. The only shame is that the people who need to see this series never will. Which makes it feal like preaching to the choir. My best advice is think of kino as kind of a animated Outer Limits. Now if you have not seen any Outer Limits take the time to go watch a episode or two. The original is on the Scifi Channel, and the new one was syndicated last time I checked. Some people really love the Outer Limits. So take the time and watch a few episodes of this series. This will give you a good feal for Kino. That way you know if you will want to spend the money on it. Personally I prefer the lighter, and more ironic touch of the Twilight Zone Myself. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6872 Location: Kazune City |
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I've had Kino's Journey sitting around unwatched for a few months now, having picked up the thinpack for around $30 or so. (From what I've heard, the original DVDs didn't have very many extras, so this thinpack is a good deal.) Most of what I've read of KJ on forums and reviews is quite good, so I'm looking forward to watching it one of these days. |
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adonais
Posts: 302 |
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Blimey. I agree that there are some sad stories in Kino's Journey, but, gosh, it's not all depressive. There is happiness and beautiful moments too; I recall e.g. the episode with spoiler[the girl who built the da-vinci-esque flying machine, thus vindicating herself and winning the respect of the entire village.] I forget which episode that was, maybe the Land of Mages - but that was certainly a happy episode! But in any case, why should you need to feel depressed about it when Kino takes it all in stride??? 
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Fui
 Posts: 339 |
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I bought Kino's Journey on a whim because it had a cool artbox. I thought it had some pretty good storytelling, but somehow I felt some of the stuff was overdone and somewhat cliche. Nobody probably agrees with me on that, but I never really get moved by things like Fahrenheit 451 or 1984, with these "alternate world" scenarios. Nonetheless, it was pretty well told and the stories were quite interesting.
As far as Lain goes...I got that too a few months ago but I'm still on the second DVD. It's just not my thing. |
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Ramadahl
Posts: 325 Location: MK, UK |
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Admittedly if you find dystopian (is that the right word?) societies like 1984 and Brave New World very disturbing then Kino's Journey could well have an effect on you, but, like those books, it also gives an insightful portrayl of humanity. Personally, I really like Kino's Journey - but then I tend to prefer deeper, more though-provoking series, as aversed to "Rah! Release Bankai!"  . Not that there's anything wrong with series like that, of course... Oh, and don't be misled by the talking motorcycle or the PG certificate, Kino's Journey isn't a children's series.
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Darknight55
Posts: 53 |
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Well then, thank you everyone for your insightful responses. I definitely will check this series out. A wanderer’s philosophizing eh..?
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Instead of Lain, people (myself included) had noticed its similarity to Le Petit Prince, and Sigsawa-sensei himself felt honored:
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