Kino's Journey:Not Without Reservatio

Rating:
Summary: Consistently Good
Review: "Kino's Journey" is an introspective show of the highest quality, though one does have to get used to the peculiar 'fairy-tale' quality of the stories, which involve modern technology and engage some very modern issues, but somehow seem to have taken place long ago in a far country. The story as a whole has no plot and I think the disks could actually be watched in any order, but it's best to start the series with disk 1, because having gone through all that, by the time you get to this disk you'll be so primed for the sort of things that happen in Kino stories, that you'll be on the edge of your seat for the entire last episode, waiting for the axe to drop. Due the highly ambiguous style of the Japanese dialogue, the dub and subtitled translations differ significantly from each other and are somewhat like watching two different variations of the same story, like different performances of the same music. Definitely a show worth watching multiple times.

Rating:
Summary: Consistently Good
Review: "Kino's Journey" is an introspective show of the highest quality, though one does have to get used to the peculiar 'fairy-tale' quality of the stories, which involve modern technology and engage some very modern issues, but somehow seem to have taken place long ago in a far country. The story as a whole has no plot and I think the disks could actually be watched in any order, but it's best to start the series with disk 1, because having gone through all that, by the time you get to this disk you'll be so primed for the sort of things that happen in Kino stories, that you'll be on the edge of your seat for the entire last episode, waiting for the axe to drop. Due the highly ambiguous style of the Japanese dialogue, the dub and subtitled translations differ significantly from each other and are somewhat like watching two different variations of the same story, like different performances of the same music. Definitely a show worth watching multiple times.

Rating:
Summary: i wish this was not the last dvd
Review: i have really enjoyed this series so far and this dvd is no exception. i'd had a thought earlier in the series that the stories weren't being told chronological order. with the last episode i'm almost sure of it.

there is an episode early in the series where hermes and kino are talking about why she only stays in a country for three days and how there was one country that she did try to stay longer in but it ended up being three days anyway. the last episode was that story and, incidentially, my favourite one on this dvd. it's the first time you see kino lose her cool.

if you've liked the series thus far you won't be disappointed. i just wish there were more episodes to this wonderful series.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Anime's I have ever seen!
Review: Kino's Journey is definitly one those series that completely changes you in a way. I read an article about it just before the first volume came out, and it wasn't one of those gotta have right now type of anime, and the review was modest and mellow. But I kept thinking about it, like I had this feeling that it would be special. Then a month later a love of mine bought volumes one and two as a gift for me. I guessed at that point I was ment to watch this series.
Then I watched the whole series and was struck hard with emotion and intrigue. The writer of this series was amazing in the way she tells the stories of these people and countries that passes through Kino's journey, and how it drips with irony. Kino and Hermes themselves work beautifully together, as Kino keeps your mind in the clouds and Hermes brings you back to the sad truth of human life.
I was one of those people who was caught off guard by the series ending so soon, but it ended soooo... good! I can admit that I cryed because you never want it to end.

Rating:
Summary: Fulfilling Ending
Review: Kino's Journey seems to split its viewers pretty cleanly--either you enjoy the subtlety and laid-back attitude, or you don't. This last disc follows the same formula as its predecessors, so if you didn't like the others, you probably won't find anything new to love here, but if you've watched and enjoyed the other three volumes, this one should suit you just fine.

There isn't much else to say about this volume. No doubt fans will wish the series were longer, and given the episodic format, it easily could have been done that way. But the creators seem to have recognized when they'd produced just enough of a good thing before it gave out. Kino's Journey, the series, like its protagonist, is a master of the balance between exposition and understatement, telling and showing, staying...and moving on.

~

Rating:
Summary: I'm Taking My Journey Consciously...
Review: The final installment of Kino's Journey is a beautiful close to what has been a wonderful journey.
The first episode is a set of tales on the road. We meet a man who has served a long prison sentence for murder, and wants to make amends to the woman whose fiance he killed. But is redemption through survivors of your violence just, or selfish. We meet a woman who preaches pacifism after her lover was slain by a gun, and her traveling companion who secretly slays any who would dare harm her. We meet "The Master" who taught Kino to live on the road. We meet a wise man who is the first to tell you that he is nothing of the sort. Is self-consciousness the cause of human evil, or is desire? What does it mean to be without desire?
The second episode takes us to a country that claims to be utterly peaceful. Kino soon learns that the peace has come at a monstrous price. Two nations on the verge of annihilation had concocted a twisted resolution to their problem. Rather than kill each other, they would kill an unarmed innocent race, and tally the score for the war. Is the sacrifice of the innocent justifiable when it saves the lives of others?
The final episode of Kino's Journey is set before the first. We had heard of a country where Kino had wanted to stay longer than the normal three days. In this episode, we find Kino journeying to that land. She had heard of a country where the people were inhospitable to travelers, and wanted to see for herself why that was. There, she encounters a nation of kind people, and meets a young girl who is not that different from herself before her travels began. Kino and Sakura become fast friends. But the country has a sad secret, and when the three days are over, Kino learns that it was the pride of the people that made them what they were. Kino vows to continue the journey, and we leave where we came in, with Kino and Hermes in the desert, silently waiting in the rain.

Rating:
Summary: "Just don't get yourself killed."
Review: This is the last DVD is this series, based on the novels of Keichi Sigsawa. They feature Kino, an anomalous traveler and Hermes, the motorcycle that doubles as a companion. This pair follows the road, moving from place to place and never staying for more than three days. Each story finds Kino confronting many of the mysteries that make up human nature. Some are sarcastic, some chilling, some humorous, but all are views of the human condition, seen as a faceted gem, and from a distance.

The three-day limit is Kino's way of avoiding entrenched complications. While we never do learn why Kino avoids extended relationships (other than with Hermes), the traveler is very much in control of her fate. Kino never goes somewhere by accident, she can take care of herself, and she is doing what she wants to do. The mystery that surrounds this figure becomes part of the atmospherics of the series, rather than a story arc of any consequence.

The final stories are all very strong ones. The first episode is a pastiche of a disquieting tale of revenge and atonement that seques into a visit with a wise mane who has somehow relinquished and clinging to the world. When we discover that appearances are not quite what they seem we have to decide what is the nature of this kind of 'wisdom' when it serves an unexpected purpose.

The second episode tells of how two countries avoid the continuance of a 200-hundred-year war. Or rather, how they avoid having that war take their own lives. This is a dark story, one that turns on the unwillingness of people to take any but the easy route. For some people, change is simply not an option.

This is the bleakest DVD of the collection, and the third tale is what makes it so. Kino decides to visit the country with the unfriendliest reputation to travelers, only to discover that everyone is going out of their way to be friendly. Naturally, nothing is as it seems, but the twist in this tale is a double one. This isn't an easy ending for the series and viewers will find more to think about than they bargained for.

This series gets an 'A' for going into emotional nooks and crannies that are most often avoided by both life and animated film. Sometimes there is a strong lesson behind the episodes, but often we are just left with a poignant feeling and a question or two. I like this sort of thing, but many may prefer stronger story arcs and solider conclusions. One thing you can count on, though is thoughtful work and many unexpected twists.

One last note - as another reviewer has mentioned, the Japanese is more ambiguous than the norm. In this last DVD this surfaces as a large number of glaring differences between the subtitles and the dubbing. Since neither is completely wrong this is one of those cases where it is best to experience both.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Conclusion
Review: Though the third disc of the series was rather a drop in caliber and cohearence, the fourth and final disc of the series does not, in any way, disappoint. The first episode was interesting in its theory.. but it was not especially spectacular. The second episode is a magnificent example of the more disturbing qualities of this show. Something is very very wrong... and no one sees it but the traveller. The last episode will have you suspicious for the first half, expecting the "other shoe to drop" so to speak, but it will make you cry. One, because it's that sad, two.. because it's over! *sniffle*

Kino's Journey was a magnificent, deep, and altogether too short, series. The last disc gives some more hints into Kino's past, with the "master" being seen for the first time. However, nothing is truly revealed -- it's up to the viewer to invent the rest of the story. If you have liked the series thus far, this disc is an absolute must, showcasing two of the best episodes since the first disc. Definitely worth watching over and over again.
...Kino's Journey is still continuing on.....