Forum - View topicLooking for opinions about Kino no Tabi novel...
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Steve Berry
Posts: 522 Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA |
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Hi,
So, this last year or two they've started releasing some of the novels that anime shows were based on-- I'm interested in getting some reader reviews and opinions on them. I'm most interested in checking out these titles-- Kino no Tabi Twelve Kingdoms Vampire Hunter D Sekai novels From some of the threads that have gone through here, it seems like some of these are being read. What are peoples opinions? For the ones you've read, are they well written-- in terms of plot, or imagery, or dialogue, or interesting metaphors? Pretty simplistic? Do they have things about them that make them better/different from the anime? I've seen all of these shows, and liked all of them in various ways-- which is, I guess, why I'm interested in picking up the novels. Just looking for more personal opinions on whether they were a good read or not. Thanks. *** Note-- I now recognize that I can get all the info I want on Twelve Kingdoms and the Sekai novels in the other two threads. I guess I'll focus on the Kino no Tabi novels for this thread instead. Last edited by Steve Berry on Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:45 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Not a Jellyfish
 Posts: 539 Location: Boston, MA |
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I absolutely recommend Kino no Tabi. I bought it and I couldn't stop reading it. I skipped class to read it. It was incredible. It is one of the deepest and most unique reflections of the human spirit (good and bad) that I have ever read. It is beautifully put together and an incredibly unique work of literature. I truly can't wait for the next volume and am very upset that its release has been pushed back.
Also, I read The Twelve Kingdoms. There's already a thread if you don't mind reading some spoilers. But if you haven't seen the anime (like I hadn't), be prepared for a long trudge through the beginning of the novel. It really doesn't get good until about page 300. I can't say how worth it the series will be, but I do plan to at least pick up the next volume to see if it improves. From what I hear, it only gets better. I haven't read any of the others. There are a few on my list. I did hear good things about the Vampire Hunter D novels. Plus, you get the Yoshitaka Amano artwork on the cover. 
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Brand
 Posts: 1029 |
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I agree Kino no Tabi is awesome. I really like the short story nature of each chapter. Makes it nice to read one and go to bed.
I've read a few of the VHD novels, and if you like the movies or pulp sci-fi I recommend them. What I really like about the books is they get more involved in the setting, which I think is a totally awesome setting. It would be perfect for a game of DnD for me. I bought Twelve Kingdoms, but I haven't read it yet, it's next on my list. |
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CloverKuroba
 Posts: 506 |
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I've read Kino no Tabi and it's really great. The stories are thoughtful and sometimes poignant and it's a page turner.
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Treetastic
 Posts: 164 Location: Canada |
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Well as far as readability goes, it's not the greatest. And I adore Kino no Tabi.
What bothered me was the writing style, which did feel translated. I have no idea whether it read better in Japanese. The stories are as interesting as the anime, thoughtful and intelligent without being self-righteous. I suppose how much you enjoy them will depend on whether you can stand the writing style. |
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Brand
Posts: 1029 |
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A friend who had read the book in Japanese and then in English said it was pretty close. Though they played around a lot more with wither Kino was a girl or a boy in the Japanese version, but it's not something that would work well with the English language. |
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Not a Jellyfish
Posts: 539 Location: Boston, MA |
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Personally, I didn't have any problems with the readability. I thought it was very well written and beautiful.
I was actually wondering about her femininity. In the anime she's very androgynous, but in the novels, she's straight-up a girl, just merely a tomboy. |
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slickwataris
 Posts: 1334 Location: Carol Stream, Illinois |
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I've read Kino no Tabi. I've seen the anime previously and it kind of "lessoned the blow" when I read it if you know what I mean. They didn't exactly try to make the anime stand apart from the book. I'll wait for judgement until I start to read the unanimated stories which may not occur until volume 3...hopefully no later than next year.
I have Vampire Hunter D on my shelf but have not had time yet. |
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Iritscen
 Subscriber Posts: 910 |
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I just finished the first novel last week. Well, if you've seen the anime, you certainly don't need to get the book. Everything is pretty much the same, even to the exact wording sometimes (was there some cooperation between the dubber and the translator of the novel?)
I still am glad to have it. It's a pretty book and it represents my support for all things Kino. It's thin, with only about eight "worlds" in it (I think of them more like parallel universes than towns on the same planet), so there's a lot left to cover in the other books not yet released in the U.S. I'd say that the price makes it worth getting even if it is deja vu after seeing the anime. And frankly I recommend watching the anime first because it's usually better to read an original work after seeing the adaptation as long as the adaptation is decent. That way you get some little details filled in when you read the novels -- they still have something to offer, in other words. The anime also manages to throw a great twist at you that the novel just comes right out and says in the first story. In other words, the spoiler[gender issue] that is only revealed in episode 4 of the anime (the Land of Adults) is the first story told in the novel. I doubt there's a point to putting that in spoiler tags, though, since previous posters already spoiled it for those who have yet to see the anime. |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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We can thank spoiler[gender specific pronouns] for this. I believe the first chapter in the English version, which is the story that apparently reveals this, was originally a later chapter, but they made it the first chapter for that reason. Otherwise, they would have had to spoiler[use awkward wording to hide it which would have probably given it away anyway.] While I never saw the anime, I intend to pick up the Kino no Tabi novels at some point, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. |
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blind_assassin
 Posts: 755 |
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Kino no Tabi is a great book. The writing is rather mild in my opinion though. It never really gets into Tolkien level descriptions that go on for half of a chapter but it always makes sure to give enough information to at least form a sketch in your mind. The language is also rather teen level. Not a bad thing but I like to see lots of fancy and esoteric words that really say a lot. Instead of "the wide green field filled with lots of plants" I like to read "The expansive plains engorged with lush verdancy". If the translation from Japanese is pretty close then I suppose that the book series is generally under my reading level. Regardless, I found the book entertaining and engrossing. Worth picking up for an entertaining few hours of casual reading.
Twelve Kingdoms has more evolved language than Kino no Tabi but is not on a hugely different plateau. As Not A Jellyfish said, the first few hundred pages are something of a chore (even if you've seen the anime because they're quite similar despite a few changes in the anime) but it is a rewarding finish. I believe the anime covers the first four(?) novels of the series so it will be some time before the books start getting into the unanimated material. |
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Iritscen
Subscriber Posts: 910 |
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Really? That's interesting. I think the twist works better anyway in animated form because, watching Kino onscreen, you are more likely to think spoiler[she is a he.] Blind_assassin, regarding the simple language of the book, I just assumed the point was to depict a fairy-tale world where not all is well. In other words, I thought of the simplicity as intentional. Have you ever read The Little Prince? The writing is kid-level, but there's a lot more going on under the surface.
OK, I'm lost. Are you talking about 12 Kingdoms here or Kino? |
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Monochrome
 Posts: 2 Location: Oregon |
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I love Kino and saw all the anime first which blew me away with their complex messages. The book is exactly the same as someone mentioned above, word for word, scene for scene. The only story that really varies is Coliseum and that's not much. The writing is very elementary, the sentences are short, the vocabulary basic, it's definately a young adult novel in that sense. Of course the messages are still there in the novel which naturally has less of an impact having seen the anime first.
I was a bit disappointed by the simplicity of the writing and I wondered if it were merely a translation result or if it really was written like that. In contrast, the Twelve Kingdoms novel, while not complex writing either, is not anywhere near as simplistic as Kino. Somehow the scenery, characters and story still get explained well in Kino however. It's not much more than a couple hours of reading though. I am trying to read the Little Prince in French, although I haven't gotten very far, as my French is very basic. I have heard that the English translation of it is very poor and many people denounce it for a much older translation that is out of print or for the original in French. Apparenlty much of the poetic language has been removed. That may have something to do with comment above? See the reviews on Amazon. |
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Iritscen
Subscriber Posts: 910 |
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Edit: Actually, looking back, I probably read the now out-of-print edition. It looks like the new translation only came out in 2003. I read it around '96-'98. Last edited by Iritscen on Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:43 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Not a Jellyfish
Posts: 539 Location: Boston, MA |
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I never got the impression that Kino no Tabi was simplistic. I thought it was largely detailed and deep. However, that's what I took away from it. I found it was the interactions with the other people and the towns that made it complex. There's more to a novel than just how the words are written. It's the picture those words paint that make it what it is. And in my opinion, Kino was beautiful.
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