Kino's Journey

A strange philosophical anime about Kino, a boyish traveller and Hermes, her talking motorbike. Together they journey through a mystical land full of unique countries of all kinds of traditions. In all these lands Kino appreciates the beauty of the world in both it's brutality and oppression and it's compassion and generosity. Kino only stays in each place for three days and with the variety of the lands Kino visits there's an episodic feel. Kino past and character development don't mean much and the fact that Hermes talks isn't explained and it isn't really plot based. But all the unique countries and curious morals lead to an exciting anime regardless. I especially liked the land of books where a library of all the books of the world were kept, but they only keep books that are deemed as safe reading -Children's books or How to books. But a vigilante group are at work publishing 'illegal' books by the Author. "What if the reality is that this is the world of the book" think about that!

The only consistent characters are Hermes and Kino. Even them two don't develop at all either. But that doesn't change the fact that they are cool! Kino's quick draw on her gun is so impressive and her open-mindedness to all the countries she encounters. She never judges any one, she just goes around looking for the beauty of it all. Then Hermes is the King of snide remarks, bringing out a more light-hearted side in the anime. A bit more negative on things, but he does bring up some interesting points.
The art is something spectacular too! All the various contraptions and weapons have a rustic feel to them. With the goggles as well, it's really rather steam punk; definitely pretty! Everything's drawn with such detail -the flowers, the stars -and it really works. A visual delight!
Mix the appealing aesthetics with the evocative countries. Bob's your uncle! Marvellous anime without the need for complex plot or in depth characters! I mean that in a good way too. It's nice to just be forced into deep philosophical thoughts, having to worry about plot and characters too would just be troublesome. Oh, and did I mention the beautiful soundtrack? Everything works if it has a nice soundtrack! So, go watch it! It rocks and with only 13 episodes, you can watch it right now.

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