At Brotoro's recommendation I've begun watching "Kino's Journey" (Kino no tabi), a 2003 anime series. It's about a young woman who travels by motorcycle through a strange, almost fairty-tale-like world of different countries, staying in each place for only three days before she moves on. I'm attracted to the story by the idea of journey-as-metaphor. It's doubly appropriate that the protagonist uses a motorcycle, the ultimate personal vehicle, as her transportation. It sounds a lot like a fantasy/sci-fi version of the old "Then Came Bronson" TV series.

Kino's bike, Hermes, talks. He/she/it (apparently Hermes is called "he", but the bike has a woman's voice) is not in any way anthropomorphic in appearance. Instead you just hear this voice when Kino and the machine converse. The voice has a harsh, vaguely machine-like quality that seems appropriate in the context. Thankfully it is NOT an old-fashioned computer/robot/Dalek voice of the-kind-that-is-punc-tu-a-ted-like-this. Since Hermes seems to speak mostly just to Kino you get the impression that maybe it's all in her head--that the dialog is taking place within Kino. But I've already seen indications that we're meant to understand Hermes' voice and consciousness as objectively real.

The series' wikipedia entry describes Hermes as a British Brough-Superior motorcycle, of the sort that T.E. Lawrence was famous for riding (You see him killed on it at the beginning of "Lawrence of Arabia"). The bike does indeed look like a Brough-Superior model, but it's interesting to note that the V-twin engine appears more modern in close-ups.

BTW, I do talk to my own motorcycles while riding them, when I'm not singing. Mostly I just tell them what a good job they're doing and exhort them to keep going until I get back home. So far neither of them has ever talked back. I'd be kind of worried if they did....

Anyway, on to the first episode review!

The Land of Visible Pain Kino visits a country that appears to be run by machines. Are there no human inhabitants? Or do they have a good reason for hiding?

I loved this episode, from the opening song and riding montage up through the end. Most of the episode had a quiet, meditative mood that I like to see onscreen now and then (And so seldom get a chance to see). The episode makes great use of ambient sound and carefully-observed details to place the viewer in Kino's world. It's absorbing viewing, despite having little "action" in the usual sense.

In all honesty I found certain arty touches, like the titles that periodically repeat certain dialog that's apparently supposed to be significant, rather pretentious. Still, there are what look to be truly thoughtful scenes in among the pretentious bits. The depiction of a society that is rich in technology and machines but increasingly poor in human relationships looks very much like a commentary on modern society.

I'm already wondering where Kino is coming from and where she thinks she's going. It will be interesting to see what we learn about that. She is apparently coming from somebody called "the Master."

This reminds me of Porco Rosso talking to his airplane's engine when he's trying to keep it running at critical moments in the movie. "Come on, Engine-chan! You can do it."

That reminds me of one of the few episodes of "Duck Tales" I ever saw, where Launchpad was attempting to take off from a mountaintop in a ridiculously undersized airplane. As he taxied toward the edge of the cliff he said "Come on, little guy, you can do it!" Then the plane plunged over the edge and out of sight, and he said "Well, maybe not...."

A Tale of Feeding Off Others Kino assists three men she finds stranded in a snowbound wilderness--and then has cause to wish she hadn't.

Well...I didn't see that coming. For most of the episode I enjoyed the way they use images and sounds to immerse the viewer in the snowy environment. You could almost feel the chill--and then the warmth of the sun when it came out as spring approached. Plotwise there was a lot of Kino musing about whether it was right to shoot rabbits to feed the starving men she aids (She evidently hunts regularly for her own needs--but has qualms about doing so on others' behalf? Not at all the attitude I see around here, where sharing one's game is considered a cheerful display of friendship). Then suddenly there are horrific revelations and a very nasty denoument. Suddenly this show is looking less like "Then Came Bronson" and more like "Mad Max." Kino's not just a traveler. She's a hardcore survivalist.

Not all situations Kino gets into are pretty.

The Land of Prophecies Kino finds that several countries share the same book of prophecies--but there are many different interpretations of what it means.

Along the way there's also a rather funny interlude in a country where the people keep trying to invent new rituals to impress their visitors. I guess this one's a takeoff on the way the cultural tourism industry works. And also a commentary on the way social and political change leads to a loss of authentic traditions.

The prophetic texts which figure in most of the episode are couched in verse that sounds rather like translated Nostradamus. The episode made me think about the difference between biblical prophecy and quack stuff like Nostradamus (And also quack interpretations of biblical prophecy of the sort that gets headlines now and then). Contrary to popular belief, biblical prophecy isn't about trying to decipher the date for the end of the world or other events (Something that the New Testament itself warns against, BTW). Strictly speaking it's not really about foretelling the future at all. Biblical prophets often did foretell future events, but their primary purpose was to jolt people out of our usual self-centered complacency and get us to considering how we need to change our lives in the here and now. Prophecy isn't about fortunetelling--it's about being awakened to the fact that it's not all about you, that there are more important things that need attention.

Land of Adults The origin of Kino, and how she became a traveler.

This episode disappointed me in two respects. First, it’s the third one in a row that has featured a scene of quite nasty violence. It’s not just bloody—it’s creepy too. Twelve-year-old Kino’s own parents try to knife her in the street! It’s especially bad coming as it does after the very charming scenes of young Kino at the visiting traveler, also named Kino. None of the reviews of the show I consulted when trying to decide whether to order the DVD mentioned this aspect of it. Two actually made a point of saying that the show did NOT have a lot of violence. I’d hate to see these reviewers’ idea of one that DID….

Second, the episode’s big premise—that Kino’s society makes every youth undergo a surgery on their birthday that will turn him or her into a compliant zombie—is egregiously ripped off from John Christopher’s “tripods” sci-fi trilogy. It’s not the borrowing I dislike so much as the over-the-top way they go about it. When someone refuses to undergo the operation they don’t attempt persuasion or pressure or anything—they just go straight for attempted murder!

My guess would be that this is all a commentary on the severe social pressures that Japanese society places on its young people. I’ve read in several places that this pressure is so great that some youth give up completely and become hikkikomori—shut-ins who shun all human contact. I’ve read that in some cases hikkikomori have gotten out by leaving the country altogether. Apparently the challenges of dealing with different languages and cultures are less scary than dealing with the neighbors next door. Given this cultural context, the depiction of a society that either reduces its young to conformity, destroys them, or drives them out starts to make sense.

We see Hermes’ origin as well. He is not, strictly speaking, a motorcycle, but a “motorrad”—a sentient vehicle whose operator enters into a mutually-dependent relationship with him. This fantasy notion actually gets as something about the relationship between real motorcyclists and their machines. You don’t drive a motorcycle by sitting in it and manipulating controls. You RIDE it with your whole body, of which it functions as an extension.

This kinesthetic quality of the riding experience is a big part of the joy of riding. It’s part of what makes many riders want to sing when they’re on the road. It’s also why bikers like to pit their skills and their machines against notoriously curvy sections of road like Deal’s Gap and the Pig Trail.

Are you watching the anime with the English or Japanese sound track?

I enjoy the way Daphne writes - it's rather soothing, somehow.

English first, then going back and watching the Japanese version. At any given time I'm usually a couple ahead on the sub.

Thanks, Hugh. I'm glad you felt like dropping in on this thread.

A Country Where People Don't Have to Work Visits to several lands, including one where machines do all productive work--but people find ways to stay busy anyway.

Actually people in the title country seem to be workaholics. It's just that they don't have any productive work to do. But they still feel the need to allocate society's rewards based on how much job stress one experiences. Kino spends much of the episode following a set of railroad tracks. She meets in turn a man polishing the unused tracks, a man who is following some miles behind taking up the tracks, and a man laying down fresh tracks behind the first two. All have been at it for half a century, sending their paychecks to family members they haven't seen in decades whom they have to support; none knows of the others' existence.

I suppose this is all a commentary on the existential meaninglessness of so much of the work that people do in contemporary society. Of course the Japanese have a reputation for having a workaholic culture, which is no doubt part of what's being commented upon here. I've also read that a lot of employees who at American companies or government agencies would have been laid off are kept on in Japan doing make-work tasks. Last year I read about a Japanese police force so overstaffed it had 14 people working a single speed trap! At least the workers we meet in the episode all seem fairly cheerful and accepting of their lot. They're not that pleased with their jobs, but they're not miserable either.

Late in the episode there's a sudden wild switch in theme when Kino finds a devastated city whose population once had a revolution against a despotic monarch. Then they gradually wiped each other out through a long series of political wrangles in which the losers were invariably executed. Sounds not unlike the French Revolution. It's a good thing there are counterexamples like the American Revolution (came out of a bloody war for independence, but the true revolution in the way government was conducted was actually bloodless) and the 1989 "Velvet revolutions" in most of Eastern Europe. One sincerely hopes that the Arab Spring countries will end up following the latter model in the long run and not the French example of 1789.

I'll confess to being Jor-El, but I'm pretty sure I'm not Hugh.

Wow, how did that happen? Sorry about that, Simon. I guess I was thinking about how Hugh commented so much in the "Battle of the Planets" thread a while back.

I am glad to see you commenting here as well!

It's a great thread, Daphne - and not to worry, I wasn't upset (it was funny!).

If I ever come across these on DVD I'll pick them up. They sound like more my type of thing than the usual Japanese stuff, which usually puts me off. The only fairly recent thing from Japan that I enjoyed was the re-worked version of Bubblegum Crisis, although that had more to do with the fact that the main characters often fought giant Kirbyesque monsters. Rose and I both liked that, and I think we'd both like Kino as well.

Coliseum A deranged king makes visitors to his country participate in gladiatorial games for his own enjoyment and that of a hedonistic upper class.

This is a two-part story. Naturally there's lots of fighting in the gladiatorial arena depicted. I really don't much care for that sort of stuff. I will say this about this particular treatment of it--there's a lot less bloodshed than one might have expected. The rules allow for non-fatal outcomes to combats, and Kino makes a point of overcoming her opponents without killing them. She's also not the only contestant who shows such scruples.

Kino manifests superhero-level fighting skills here. Given that she's a philosophical traveler, not a superhero, this revelation actually made her less interesting to me. It seems as out of place as an episode where Jim Bronson is suddenly shown turning into a kung-fu fighter taking down a smuggling ring or something. At least she is shown acting more like a superhero than a supervillain.

Speaking of supervillains, the deranged king looks and acts not unlike Batman's Joker. If you've ever wondered what it would look like if the Joker had his own country to rule, this probably gives you a pretty fair idea. Fortunately things are looking up for the place by the end. Kino finally breaks her noninterference rule and shows signs of having a higher purpose in life than just wandering around.

In previous episodes others have tended to treat Hermes as if he were Kino's companion and not just her vehicle. But this is the first time I think I've seen anyone besides Kino actually have a conversation with him. One of his other interlocutors gives Hermes a run for his money in terms of unusualness.

Glad you're enjoying it, Simon. I think you probably would like it. If nothing else it isn't your regular cartoon show. Despite the use of certain well-worn sci-fi cliches it's not like any other show I've ever seen. Though I'm disappointed by the amount of violence, I've enjoyed the food for thought some of the episodes have given.

If somebody rode up on an intelligent talking motorcycle, I might find it more interesting to talk to the motorcycle, just for the novelty of it.

Let's see...what would different motorcycles sound like if they could talk? The average Harley looks like it would probably be pretty down-to-earth, but also rather salty and full of itself. A Kawasaki Ninja's speech would probably be nonstop "Like Dude! Like that last run was like, you know, so kewl!", etc. A BMW or Ducati would be interesting to listen to--I'm pretty sure the Euro accent wouldn't give me too much trouble. Honda Rebels and the average dirt bike would be like adorable kids who just wanted to get out and play. I'd probably be intimidated to introduce myself to a Moto Guzzi, but I bet it would probably be very polite and classy. Ditto with a Triumph.

The most interesting bikes to talk to for me would be a Gold Wing or a Kawasaki KLR. They'll have toured a lot of different places. The Gold Wing would probably sound like an old couple with a motor home who've seen all the national parks. The KLR would be regaling you with stories about the time it met those rough customers in Kashmir or Bolivia and bluffed its way out of trouble.

If motorcycles could talk I guess scooters could too. But the little ones would probably just want to talk about unicorns and princess stuff, and the bigger scooters would go on and on about guys and clothes.

Land of Magic Kino aids a young woman in pursuing her lifelong dream--to become the first person in their world to fly.

The story is told mostly from the point-of-view of the would-be aviatrix; Kino is almost relegated to the status of a supporting character here. This one is light years away from the gladiator death match stuff of the past two episodes. It's funny, warm, and there are really no villains (Well, there is the greedy aunt. But we see very little of her).

It's kind of hard to believe that a world where most communities have early- to mid-20th century technology like trucks and tanks (And in some cases much more advanced stuff like computers) would never have had anybody who developed aviation. Then again, it's hard to see how a civilization where people live in small, isolated city states could have ANY industrial-level technology. You just have to overlook such things and accept the world of the story on its own terms. It's obviously meant to be a fairy-tale-ish environment where pretty much anything can happen.

This is as good a place as any to observe that most of the towns Kino visits have an idealized, vaguely European look to them. They have squares, cobblestoned streets, picturesque houses, sometimes surrounding walls, and are usually set amid pastoral and woodland surroundings. Cars and trucks are not unknown, but usually scarce. It's almost as though Kino is traveling through the prettier parts of the Austrian Empire shortly before World War I. Then again, the sci-fi trappings of some episodes make one wonder whether this isn't taking place some generations after World War III instead.