Kino's Journey

Kino's Journey
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キノの旅 -the Beautiful World- (Kino no Tabi -the Beautiful World-)
Genre	Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-fi
Light novel
Author	Keiichi Sigsawa
Artist	Kohaku Kuroboshi
Publisher	Dengeki Bunko
Other publishers: Kadokawa Media (Taiwan) Daewon C&I Tokyopop
Demographic	Male
Serialized in	Dengeki hp
Published	March 2000 – ongoing
Volumes	11 (currently)
TV anime
Director	Ryutaro Nakamura
Studio	Studio Wombat, Genco
Network	Animax, WOWOW
Other networks: Imaginasian Canal+ Scandinavia
Original run	April 8 2003 – July 8 2003
Episodes	13

Kino's Journey: the Beautiful World (キノの旅 -the Beautiful World-, Kino no Tabi -the Beautiful World-^?), shortened to Kino's Journey, is a Japanese light novel series, authored by Keiichi Sigsawa and first published in March 2000, which has been adapted into an anime series that premiered between April 8 2003 and July 8 2003.

Synopsis

In Kino's Journey, the protagonist, Kino, accompanied by a talking motorrad, a Brough Superior motorcycle named Hermes, travels through a mystical world of many different countries and forests, each unique in its customs and people. Kino only spends 3 days and 2 nights in every town, without exception, on the principle that three days is enough time to learn almost everything important about a place, while leaving time to explore new lands. Kino does say in The Land of Visible Pain this principle is probably a lie, specifically noting "if I stay any longer, I'm afraid I will settle down."

A phrase repeated in the anime and novels is "The world is not beautiful, therefore it is." Kino's Journey explores what the anime director Ryutaro Nakamura described as "a radical sense of 'beauty," [1] and brutality, loneliness, nonsense, oppression and tragedy are often juxtaposed against compassion and a fairy-tale atmosphere.

For protection and hunting, Kino carries a .44 single action revolver (called "the Cannon", based on Colt M1851) that uses liquid explosive in place of gunpowder and a .22 automatic pistol (named "the Woodsman", based on Colt Woodsman). Later in Kino's adventures in the novels, Kino also uses a semi-automatic sniper rifle (called "the Flute", based on Arisaka type 99) along with a variety of other tools, including knives. In the anime, she is shown to carry no less than five knives on her person, including one which can fire bullets from its hilt. Kino is an unusually quick draw and practices every day before dawn.

Technology in this world exists, sometimes to the level of science fiction, although anachronisms are common (for example, the same land that has talking robots also appears to have phonographs, yet simultaneously the world hasn't developed heavier-than-air flight). The level of technology also varies from country to country. The world is not heavily magical (the only "magical" elements include land that moves, a talking motorrad, and a possibly talking dog), although it has a certain fairy-tale quality.

Characters

Main characters

Kino (キノ, Kino^?) Voiced by: Ai Maeda (Japanese), Kelli Cousins (English)

The main protagonist in the series, Kino travels to different countries with her talking motorrad Hermes, discovering their cultures and people. In the anime, Kino's gender is ambiguous in the beginning, but is later confirmed to be female in the episode Land of Adults. Her original name is hinted to be that of a flower in the Land of Adults, and Kino is a name she adopts after meeting Hermes.

Hermes (エルメス, Erumesu^?) Voiced by: Ryuji Aigase (Japanese), Cynthia Martinez (English)

A talking motorrad, Hermes is Kino's loyal companion, and although it can be reluctant sometimes, it faithfully accompanies Kino through all their travels. The relationship between Kino and Hermes is presented as symbiotic - as explained in The Land of Adults, while Hermes provides speed, Kino provides balance. In the first couple of episodes and almost all of the episodes in the novel, it had a tendency to mispronounce words and phrases. Its name is a reference to the Greek god Hermes. Although his name is spelled 'Hermes,' in the third book he emphasizes that the 'H' in his name is silent.

Other characters

Kino (original)

Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue

Not much is known about the original Kino, only that he is a young man who traveled by the same 3-day rule that the main character Kino does. He is very calm, wears glasses, and is most likely the reason why the main character goes on her journey as she often makes statements similar to the original Kino's and even quotes him on occasion. When the main character was a child, the original Kino saved her life, but at the cost of his own. In the novels, the original Kino explains he makes a living selling medicinal herbs and unusual items he finds while traveling. In the movie "Kino's Journey: Life Goes On," Kino meets the original's mother and finds out more about him, or so she originally believes. The meeting was a set-up orchestrated by Shishou to train the young Kino in survival skills when dealing with people, and to complete a favor without leaving her forest.

Shizu (シズ, Shizu^?) Voiced by: Takashi Irie (Japanese), Clint Bickham (English)

A young man with a great talent for swordfighting. He travels in a dune buggy with Riku. In the anime he only appears in one episode but he appears in multiple stories just about him and Riku in the novels. Riku narrates all but one of these stories. Later in the novels Kino and Hermes meet up with Shizu and Riku again but Kino only seems to remember Riku's name. Shizu is the son of the hedonistic king in the episode Coliseum - Avengers.

Riku (陸, Riku^?) Voiced by: Houchu Ohtsuka

A talking dog who travels with Shizu. He is large, white, and always smiles. Apparently, Riku has only spoken to Hermes, as Kino does not believe Riku can speak when told about the discussion Hermes had with him. (It should be noted that in the Japanese dub, Riku also speaks to Shizu, but in the English dub, only barks or whimpers to him in these instances.) In the novel Riku speaks to both Kino and Hermes.

Sakura (桜, Sakura^?)

Voiced by: Aoi Yabusaki (Japanese), Hilary Haag (English)

A girl from the country Kino visited in the last episode of the anime series. She shares many similarities to Kino, such as her parents also owning an inn. In ADV's English dub of the anime series, her name is changed to Lily in order to preserve the explanation that her name, pronounced slightly differently, becomes an insult. The children call her "Silly Willy" instead of "mekura" and "dokura" in this version.

Shishou (師匠, Shishō^?)

Voiced by: Junko Midori (Japanese), Jennie Welch (English)

Kino's master, who taught her marksmanship. She lives in the forest and does not travel. Her name literally means "mentor."

In the final episode of the anime, which chronologically takes place before most other episodes, the gunsmith that made The Cannon told Kino he gave the gun to a young woman that insisted everyone call her "Shishou." She traveled between countries and stirred up trouble wherever she went. This means that Shishou was once a traveler.

Influences

In an interview with Keiichi Sigsawa done by the Anime News Network, he stated that despite the similarities that have been pointed out between The Little Prince and Kino's Journey, it was not one of his main influences. In fact he didn't even read the book until after he wrote Kino's Journey (at which point he stated that he enjoyed it and was honored that his book was being compared with the Little Prince.) His main influence was in fact a manga by the name of Galaxy Express 999. Galaxy Express 999 was written by Leiji Matsumoto and first published in 1977, when Sigsawa was a young boy, and ran until 1981 with a total of 5 volumes. Galaxy Express 999 follows the journey of Tetsuro Hoshino and the space train Galaxy Express 999 as it stops on many different planets, each with very different conditions. The story is set in the far future, where people may buy indestructible machine bodies to make themselves immortal. However, immortality comes at a price of giving up your humanity. This is similar to Kino's Journey in the fact that all the planets are extremely different which gives the story an episodic feel. It also has a great deal of the philosophy that Kino's Journey is known for.

Themes

The "beautiful world" Kino travels through almost always has its dark side. Often the countries Kino visits are places where the populace is oppressed, where a tragedy has occurred, or where the culture has become extremely strange because the rulers or people sought to do what they believed was right. The phrase "the world is not beautiful, therefore it is" symbolizes how the dark aspects of life, such as oppression and tyranny, make the good and happy parts of life all the more precious and wonderful. Though Kino may encounter such horrible people such as the king in "Coliseum" she also meets people who make the "beautiful world" what it is, such as the rebels in the Land of Books, the girl Nimya in The Land of Wizards, or the self sacrifice of the people in "A Kind Land - Tomorrow never comes."

The use of violence and whether or not it can be justified is a recurring theme in Kino's Journey, from whether animals should be killed in order to sustain the life of others to whether an entire population should be destroyed in order to save two other civilizations.

The problems inherent in communication are also a prevalent theme, for example the havoc wrought in societies by telepathy or diverging interpretations of prophecies.

Media

Main article: List of Kino's Journey episodes and books

Light novels

The ongoing light novel series, authored by Keiichi Sigsawa and illustrated by Kohaku Kuroboshi, has been serialized in MediaWorks's Dengeki hp magazine since March 2000, with 10 bunko volumes being published. The light novel series has also been translated into Chinese and Korean and is also in the process of being translated into German.

Tokyopop announced the licensing of the novels in North American, with the first volume released October 30, 2006. The chapter order of Tokyopop's English release of the first volume differed from the original Japanese release. According to TokyoPOP representatives, there are issues with the licensor that have resulted in the delay of the remaining volumes. As such, there is no release date set for the second volume.

A single volume self parody novel, Gakuen Kino, was published in 2006, which features Kino as a magical girl. It contains a collection of parodies originally published in three spinoff magazines of Degenki hp: Degenki p, Degenki h, and Degenki hpa. Gakuen Kino was translated into Chinese in January 2007 and Korean in May 2007.

Anime

Kino no Tabi was adapted into an anime series, produced by Studio Wombat and GENCO, which premiered on the WOWOW satellite television network on 8 April, 2003. It spanned a total of 13 episodes, along with a 12-minute long prologue, "Episode 0: The Tower Country -Freelance-," and a 30 minute long movie, "Kino's Journey: Life Goes On."

The anime series has been broadcast across Japan by the anime satellite television network, Animax, who have also aired the series across its worldwide networks in Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and other regions, and the WOWOW satellite network. The 13-episode anime series has been licensed for North American distribution by ADV Films; however the prologue and the movie have not been licensed for official North American distribution.

Second movie

In September 2006, there was an announcement that a new Kino film was set to premiere at Dengekibunko's Movie Festival in April 2007. The film adapts a story from volume 5 of the Kino no Tabi light novel series. [2] The film is entitled Kino no Tabi: Country of Illness -For You- (キノの旅：病気の国 -For You-). It debuted in Japanese theaters April 21st 2007.

Theme music

TV Opening theme

• all the way

Performed by: Mikuni Shimokawa

TV Ending theme

• the Beautiful World

Performed by: Ai Maeda

Movie 1 Ending theme

• Hajimari no Nichi

Performed by: Ai Maeda

Movie 2 Ending theme

• Bird

Performed by: Mikuni Shimokawa

Game

Currently, MediaWorks is planning on publishing a Kino no Tabi game for the PlayStation Portable entitled: Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World. Nothing is truly known about the game, and the release date is to-be-announced, as of right now. ^{[1][obsolete fact]}

Reception

Novels

The first novels which were published in the United States got some very positive reviews from the book market.

"The wonderful thing about traveling with Kino is exploring the terrain of the human heart with her. Tender, bittersweet, dark or lonely, no matter what land she takes you to, it's a beautiful revelation."
--Cecil Castellucci, Author of Boy Proof and The Queen of Cool^[2]

"Not since The Little Prince have I enjoyed discovering such strangely beautiful places."
--Brian James, author of Pure Sunshine^[2]

"Kino is my hero!"
--Susan Schulz, Editor-in-Chief, CosmoGIRL!^[2]

References

1. ^ Kino No Tabi: The Beautiful World. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-01-03.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Kino No Tabi. Tokyopop. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.

External links

Light novels

• Official Kino no Tabi website (Japanese)
• Official Media Works's Kino no Tabi website (Japanese)
• Official Tokyopop Kino no Tabi light novels website

Anime series

• Official Animax Kino no Tabi website (Japanese)
• Official ADV Kino's Journey anime website
• Kino's Journey (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopediaes:Los viajes de Kino

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