Common Name: Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World
Alternative Names: Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - The Animated Series; Kino no Tabi (2017); Kino's Journey: The Beautiful World
Score: 6/10, 2/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Adventure, Action, Psychological, Slice of Life
Summary: There are a number of reasons a person might go on a journey. Some seek to find a new home. Some hope to learn something along the way. Others might even do so to make the world a better place. For the traveler known as Kino, the reason is simultaneously simple and difficult to determine. All that can be said for certain is that they simply wish to travel and, because they can, they do. So with the talking motorad, Hermes, and two guns used for protection and hunting alike, Kino sets off on a journey to see everything this beautiful world has to offer.
Review: Appealing to a fandom is always a dangerous endeavor for a franchise. It is through this mentality that we get OVAs, movies, and even whole sequels to shows that were assumed dead for a long time. Like with remakes, there is a danger that the new product won't live up to the original product--becoming that can just be ignored in the best case scenario. When done well though, these kinds of products can revive a fan base and bring them back to the days when they watched a show religiously and make some money on the side. Want to sell a Blu-Ray? Make it a special edition with a never-before-seen episode. For good or bad, love or greed, it almost goes without saying that these kinds of continuations need to be handled with delicate care, else that negative best case scenario will end up being an impossible dream. And so here we are, with a show that came with "Handle with Care" written all over it that was simply given over to a mob with the instruction to "make a new show out of this." OK, maybe it wasn't that bad exactly, but the decision to build this show from a poll of the fans' favorite stories has to be the stupidest one I've heard to date.
Now, were this the original Kino no Tabi, I'd say such a decision was meant to serve as some kind of
commentary, but this remake is so chaotic and soulless that I can't even try to make that argument.
Now, to make myself perfectly clear, I don't hate this show. It has some good moments and a few episodes out of the 12 offered are absolutely amazing, but it isn't perfect either. In particular, this newer edition of the Kino no Tabi franchise shines above the original in one particular aspect: it draws attention to characters other than the titular figure of Kino. For example, we are given a number of episodes with Kino's more masculine counterpart, Shizu, who was only seen in a single arc in the original series. Because we got more episodes with Shizu, we also got to finally meet his traveling companions, the adorable, grenade-loving Tifana, or Tii for short, and his talking dog Riku. Rather than leaving any real mention of Kino's mysterious "Master" to a movie this time around, we get an entire episode and some scenes scattered throughout the series dedicated wholly to the woman who made Kino into the person they are today. And I'd be remiss to not mention the introduction of the slave turned traveler, Photo, who was featured in one of the best episodes of this show. With all these fan-favorite characters we never got to meet outside of the original light novels, it's easy to see why this "series by committee" had some legitimate good to offer.
Not to mention the updated visuals did add quite a bit of eye candy to a series that,
while it still holds up, lacked the same kind of visual quality seen in shows today.
Unfortunately, it also isn't hard to see why this decision was a horrible failure that, while it was meant to appeal to fans, ended up driving those same fans away from the show. Particularly, this failure can be seen in the destruction of Kino as an interesting and likable main character. In the original series, Kino existed in a role that was equal parts scholar/philosopher and killer. While Kino seemed to dislike killing, it was a necessary component of survival in a world that was just as horrible as it is beautiful. Since it simply couldn't be avoided, Kino typically opted to handle these matters with ruthless efficiency. Yet, at the end of the day, Kino's actions did leave a question as to whether or not killing something or someone, in that moment, was really as justified. Being neither overly aggressive nor overly passive, Kino showed that there was just as much good in this world and in human hearts as their was evil. Through Kino's eyes, we saw something of an unbiased and typically neutral look at the world and those that lived in it--a world that was, in spite of it's inhabitant, ultimately a beautiful world. Yet, with this new series, that kind of mentality is utterly lost, giving way to Kino existing as nothing more a fickle killer.
All we see of Kino in this series are moments where they do nothing but exhibit that ruthless efficiency
in a world that keeps turning and remains beautiful IN SPITE of Kino's violent behavior.
Because this show doesn't take time to think or dwell on the repercussions of Kino's actions or the thought behind them, we never get to really understand the titular character of this show. Here Kino just goes from scenario to scenario that demand they take action to survive, with far fewer moments that show off that rational observer we grew to love in the original series. Of course, that kind of development is to be expected when you let fans choose which stories make the cut for the show. After all, what fan wouldn't want to see their favorite character acting like a badass all the time? Who wouldn't want to see scene after scene of the hero railing against a cruel world? Heck, I would have probably loved it myself, had they done so in moderation. Yet, because we get nothing but action scenes and comedy with Kino in this series, the Kino's character is warped into that of a sociopathic killer, someone who holds no connection to the world, rather than being deeply curious about it.
See a problem? Shoot that problem. That's about as deep as Kino gets in this show.
This warping of Kino's character doesn't only affect their scenes though. In losing sight of who Kino is, we also are put in a position where some of these other characters are discolored due to their similarities to Kino. Most notably, many of Shizu's episodes feature a similar kind of violent proclivity. Add that on top of the fact that he can be described as a katana-wielding stand-in for Kino and it isn't hard to see how his character could be seen as similarly unappealing. The only reason he's eventually saved from Kino's negative influence is because Shizu actively states that he has a goal: find a new home, preferably one where he won't need to be its king. More than that, he's saved from Kino-syndrome because he actively cares for other people, as can be seen in his interactions with Tii and Riku. Where, previously, Shizu's character exists only in one arc as an avatar of cyclical vengeance, he is given a far more deep and thoughtful this time around. As far as the other characters introduced in this show are concerned though, Kino is basically a nonentity and, strangely enough, that's part of what makes them the jewels of this series. Because their stories are few, far between, and insular we are given simple and amazing tales that speak to the quality of what Kino used to be. Through their eyes, we see the cruelty, injustice, and beauty in the world in the same way Kino's used to because that is all they are meant to do.
Well, that and pull on our heartstrings a little.
To be clear though, Kino does get a few moments to shine in that old, nostalgic glow throughout the show, but these moments are few and brief. When contrasted to how Kino acts in the rest of the show, they come across as uncharacteristic and that's what bothers me most of all. No matter how good the few episode we get with the new characters are, no matter how good the show looks, and no matter how rarely we glimpse the real Kino this show ended up butchering a property I am many others dared to call a masterpiece. Is it unwatchable? No. So long as you know who Kino was before this show and what the original intent of this series was, I'd be willing to call it passable at the very least. For anyone new to the franchise though, I will pity those for whom this was their first look into the word of Kino no Tabi because this is just an incomprehensible mess in its own right. It lacks any kind of consistent tone, theme, or through line to tie it all together, but that's what happens when you let your fans tell you what needs to be in a show. So, if something can be taken away from this rant of mine, let it be this: go watch the original Kino's Journey then come back to this mess. At least then you'll have a solid reason to care about anything that happens over the course of this chaotic nostalgiafest.