Tag: Kino’s Journey

The road goes ever on

No, I’m not about to break into Hobbit song; via Don, the new Kino’s Journey movie (The Beautiful World: Byouki no Kuni – For You) is set to be released this Saturday in Japan. I assume that fansubs and then a dubbed English version will follow soon. It’s nice to actually have something to look forward to; along with The Girl who Leapt Through Time I actually have items of substance on my To Watch list.

Kino rides again

I finally tracked down the “Episode 0” fansub of Kino, named “The Tower Country”, on YouTube (after unsuccessfully looking on BitTorrent). The episode is about 12 minutes long and broken into two pieces. It was a fascinating episode, much more faithful to the original series than the “Life Goes On” prequel. I feel like Kino is an addiction of sorts – like Zen koans, they don’t ultimately have any meaning or lesson you can consciously absorb, but seem laden with symbolism nevertheless, and I find myself wanting more. Ask and ye shall receive… there will actually be a new Kino series released in 2007, featuring Kino as a young woman. The title will be “Kino No Tabi: Nanika Wosurutameni” (or, “In order to do what?”).

There’s more info about the new Kino series here and at the official site here but it will take a Japanese-speaking otaku to decipher. One thing is clear though – the manga covers upon which the new series is based demonstrate that Kino won’t be mistaken for a male anymore.

Older Kino Kino new series

Kino’s Journey: The Tower Country videos via YouTube below the fold: Continue reading “Kino rides again”

Kino: life goes on (fansub)

I have finished the Kino series, and my overall thoughts are that it was a fascinating and evocative story. I wasn’t bothered by the episodic format and actually feel like I did come to know Hermes and Kino by journey’s end. I think that rewatchability in my case is probably high, especially given the near-mythic quality to some of the episodes (three men on a rail line comes to mind).

I also took Don’s and astro’s advice and watched the fansub of “Life Goes On”, a brief Kino story that fills part of the gap between “Land of Adults” and the rest of the series. In general, I agree with the concensus that the story was mediocre, though still essential.

Some thoughts on Life Goes on below the fold… Continue reading “Kino: life goes on (fansub)”