Forum - View topicANN Book Club -- Kino's Journey.
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aya_honda
 Posts: 920 Location: Around here |
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In spite of the fact that episode 9 is one of the most difficult ones, I also enjoyed it very much. There are many puzzling things in this episode and I would agree on the one hand with your vision on it, saying that it is almost an existentialist manner of looking at the concept of existence. There is always the existentialist, individualistic way of looking at this concept but basically it could be summarized like "your life is what you make of it " by denying the existence of any god or supreme existence. This is what Existentialist philosophers have considered. However I am a bit reluctant to talk about the exitentialist philosphy here especially because this is a very simplistic way of looking at it. They linked this individualistic approach to existence with angst, 'absurd' existence or determinism (I believe that it was Satre who had quite an interesting example on this with a soldier who doesn't want to go to war). I didn't actually see all this in this episode; it seemed more fit in my opinion for the episode with the three men. When I firstly watched this episode to tell you the truth I thought only about the books and the literary concepts related to censorship and the creative processes through which a literary work is obtained. Along the years there have been many writers that have consired the possibility to write the perfect book, the perfect novel or the perfect poem, especially the French modernists (symbolists, call them as you like) like Mallarme or Rimbaud. During the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, there have been many attempts to create this perfect literary work and the one who was preocupied the most about it was Mallarme. He had finally came up with the idea that the perfect book is actually an empty book and this is what came into my mind when seeing the first time this episode. This concept that everything is imperfect and that even language many times fails us (in reference to episode 2). It may also stand for how much do we know about the world. This is kind of funny but a couple of months ago it was the birthday of a friend of mine and I bought for him, besides the actual prsent, a book called "What do we know about women?" (I can't recall the author unfortunately). The thing is that there were 136 blank pages. I know that this example is rather silly but I want to say that sometimes an empty book stands for soemthing that we don't know or we haven't discovered yet, which is not entirely bad. There's a philosopher who considered the fact that the more the mytery of the universe is reveled the more we lose a part of ourselves and therefore we should stop looking for those mysteries and try to unsolve them. Perhaps this is why that book has also blank pages. Well, this is how I understood the episode but I think I will look at it again; I can be entirely wrong. 
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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I want to note something no one else has yet brough up about episode 8: It is the only episode not told from Kino's perspective. In all of the other episodes, we see the stories through Kino's eyes, as an emotionally detached observer, but Niimya's story is told through her own eyes, with passion and a clear goal (flight).
I suppose there are a couple other things you can draw from that episode as well. "The difference between genius and insanity is success." The people of that country were a very practical bunch. The mayor upon first meeting Kino droned on about agricultural improvement and percentages. From a land where the people originally struggled to survive to verdant pastures, it makes sense that culturally the people would shun those who acted whimsically rather than striving to improve on current methods. Kino recognized that Niimya was similar in that they were both outsiders, in a sense. While Kino may not have believed that Niimya's goals would be realized, she knew that it was better to encourage someone's dreams than crush them. As for the villagers turning around to worship Niimya as a magician after the successful flight, while it is a little sad that even her fiance didn't really believe in her, that is do to the people's lack of imagination. Because they could not understand what she was trying to do, they could not support it. This also makes it clear why the revered her so after she does achieve her goal: she achieved something that was impossible for them to even try imagining. Her creativity allows the potential of her accomplishments to greatly exceed what anyone else would ever try. Because the people cannot understand how she was successful, Niimya became to them a figure like their "founding god". Episode 10: The importance of purpose is what this episode is about. That's what I think. Happiness can be attained by fulfilling ones purpose. That is why the old woman convinced herself that she was a robot, and that the country at the bottom of the lake was ancient: by escaping her memories of how she had failed her previous goals - first her family, then the entire country - she was able to acheive contentment by becoming what she had sought to create. The robots show that life without purpose is not worth living. After the old woman's death, they continue to care for her as much as they can by burying her with the remains of her husband and son. As Kino turns to leave, the stop her and tell the story, not so much because it needs to be told (Kino had already figured out most of it), but because they no longer had a purpose and needed Kino to give them a new one. Kino, however, rejected them in any and every possible capacity, and so the robots decided that a life without purpose was not one worth living (so to speak). I found the desperation of the robots' plea to Kino unsettling. It wasn't necessarily the happiness of the human that the robots wanted, it was just a need to interact with them. |
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JacobC
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3728 Location: SoCal |
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I have about the gnarliest lack of a good internet connection at the moment, so you'll have to bear with me. I'll post my thoughts on last week and this week sometime later/soon. I really wanted to add some input on that elusive episode 9, too...Stupid wireless...blargh.
So I heard you liek next week schedule? This being the last week, discussion for it and the series as a whole will carry for a while...technically it won't really end, and nobody can hold back those spoileriffic thoughts any longer! Well, there aren't many for Kino's Journey, but if there are you don't have to worry about them! 
Episode 11-- Her Journey (Love and Bullets) Episode 12-- A Peaceful Land (Mother's Love) Episode 13-- A Kind Land (Tomorrow Never Comes) So here we have three decidedly more intense episodes, in a sense. The first is a "Hey! How many ideas did we have left over that we can squish into one episode?" kind of thing, but there are some overarcing ideas, and the title should give you a hint for those. The last two are next to episodes 2 and 5 as personal favorites of mine. The last episode should firmly establish why Kino sticks so hard to her three-day rule. Clearly it took place before the desert escapade. One of her first destinations as a traveler... Really I can't say anymore than that on the subject, but these are three VERY good episodes. (Check out the clever perspective on democracy in episode 11. That needed to be said really badly at some point. The majority is not always the wisest deciding factor, rarely in fact, should it be relied on.) |
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fullmetal biologist
 Posts: 61 Location: north carolina, usa |
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I have been meaning to post for a while, since I had a Kino marathon and finished the series. I just broke down and bought it after getting fed up waiting for it all show up from Netflix. Better late than never I guess, here's some thoughts on epis 8-10:
Episode 8: As others have mentioned, a really enjoyable episode. I loved Nimya and was rooting for her all along. I didn't want her to marry that clod. All along, I've been impressed the with the characterization of women in the series. Not just Kino, but many of the women are three dimensional, flawed, or unexpected. But always interesting. Which made me wonder about Kino's "master" who I think shows up in a later episode. I really wanted to know more about her too. Episode 9: I consider my spiritual homeland to be the library, so any series that has major action there is ok with me. I liked the censorship storyline though I would probably need to see this episode again to follow the "who's telling the story storyline". This show sort of reminded me of The Name of the Rose and the idea that there is a book so dangerous that it should be suppressed at all costs or all society will be destroyed. Episode 10: The family kind of gave me the creeps, but I could see that their relationship with Nanny was genuine. Did they have true feelings or were they just carrying out their directive? I thought that they might be able to find someone else to serve if they had tried. |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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Democracy? I thought that was the second half of Three Men on the Rails. I remember the stories in "Her Journey" being: the woman who hired her husband's murderer as a bodyguard, the woman preaching non-violence, Kino meeting her "Master" for the first time, and the wise man. I think "A Kind Land" is my favorite episode of the series, with "A Peaceful Land", "Land of Prophecies", and "Her Journey" rounding out my top four. A few comments on chronology: You notice at the end of "A Kind Land" that Hermes speedometer is broken. The old woman from "A Story of Mechanical Dolls" fixes it. Also, the provisions Kino is eating when stopping for lunch during "Three Men on the Rails" are those she received at the end of "A Kind Land". Finally, Kino is visibly shaking after defending herself from the Tatatans, implying that was the first time she ever killed someone, thus "Colloseum" and "Story of Man-Eating" must occur after that. And obviously, "Land of Adults" precedes everything. I'm a little too tired now to comment on the episodes. |
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Aromatic Grass
 Posts: 2424 Location: Raleigh, NC |
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Hey guys, just wondering if everyone forgot about this thing? I regret not watching the series with you guys, same with Haibane Renmei, but it'd still be nice to see some more discussion. (I think you guys should've started the final thoughts discussion a while ago.) Cause that way we could do some more Book Club threads...
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Dorcas_Aurelia
Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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I keep thinking about posting my thoughts regarding the final couple of episodes, but don't.
Well, here's a little something, anyway: The curator's solution to the years (centuries) of war in A Peaceful Land is horrifying. Its premise relies on some of the worst tendencies of human nature. The curator made a comment at one point about some sort of conflict being inevitable when two peoples with different religion, culture, etc come into contact (this is pretty accurate, historically when two civilizations share prolonged exposure to each other, one is generally destroyed, either intentionally by conquest, or unintentionally by adopting or being assimilated into the culture of the other). However, both countries in the episode in question apparently shared a glorification of war. While the ubiquitous monuments of misshapen tanks, missiles, and other weapons of destruction appear to rejoice in the cessation of violence, the public displays of training undermine this message, and thus the old weapons no longer present the message: "Look at what we have left behind!", but rather "Look at the power we are capable of!" The new form of war makes sport of the bloodshed. The victims, the technologically un-advanced (and therefor defenseless) Tatatans, are dehumanized to the point were the "warring" countries think of them as no more than breeding stock needed for their game. They can now experience the visceral glory of war without the risk of losing a loved one, and in doing so, the have devalued their humanity. When Kino says that the "war" looks more like a "massacre", the curator argues that far fewer people die this way, and moreover, there is no other acceptable solution. Ignoring the false dichotomy of the curator's scenario (England and France were at war off and on for centuries, but are close allies now. The countries in Kino's Journey are supposedly drastically different in culture, and thus is the source of conflict; but culture is hardly static, especially when they interact), ignoring the false dichotomy, wouldn't you rather sacrifice an unknown, faceless stranger than your friend, your child, your lover? Death is a horrible thing to wish upon a person, but better they die and their family suffer than me, right? |
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JacobC
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3728 Location: SoCal |
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I was going to write a summary on these past episodes of Kino's Journey...but they're so widespread in their ideas that I can't do it right now. I will come back to it tonight as I watch each of the last six episodes or so and come up with at least a brief thought for each.
In the meantime, to try and give this thread some life: Which episode of this show (1-13) had the most impact on you or your beliefs about human nature? Which ones were your favorite, which ones did you not agree with, whatever. Feel free to talk about any episode you've seen that you thought had the greatest effect on you. Have at it! Don't let this poor thread die in vain, now!  All of my energies for the moment went into the Haibane Renmei thread. Take a look if you're interested.
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Elfen12
 Posts: 479 Location: Bay Area |
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hell, sure why not, i could write an essay on this i think, just like i could for Mushi-shi. Hmm.
SPOILERS AHEAD for those who havn't seen the show (SORTA) I didn't know if i should put spoiler tags, i'd be possible but hard, i'd accompas much of my text since this whole post is about the episodes My favorite Kino's Journey episodes... haha see the hard part about this question is that if i were to do this without thinking too hard about it, i'd say about half of them if i were to list them. But my favorites are The Land of Books, Three Men Along the Rails, The Land of Adults, and Her Journey. Let's go Backwards... Her Journey ( I don't believe there is a summary so there are SPOILERS in this, but if i put spoiler tags, i'd take up the whole thing, so i'm not sure if i was supposed to) This episode is wonderful in an interesting way. Might i add that Kino seemed a little differnet in this episode... i'm not exaclty sure how, but she really isolated herself from everythingin this episode. But the main reason why i have such a liking for this episode is the simplicity of it. It's so simply made, and it conveys an interesting point. For starters i adore the quote in the beginning, when they're on that boat and Kino says the following lines. Kino-"Drifting along with this can lead you to ponder" Hermes-"About What" Kino-"The Meaning of life... The meaning of the journey" Hermes-"All humans share that same disease" This set of lines right here is ingenius. It sets up so many differnet things. For starters it sets the mood of the rest of the episode, so it gives you a way to interpert what they're saying, and the tone that they're saying it in. That part is truely magnificent. But what really makes the gold shine here, is the actual quote itself. "All humans share that same disease". .... God damn, talk about an interesting take on such a common thought. So many "ponder about the meaning of life", so many think - why am i here - - what am i here for- . Hearing Heremes say that, well it certianly gives me a different take on life. Thinking about that type of thing is sort of pointless one could say. You're automatically given the chance to live, why question that. Why not just take the chance that was already forced upon you for your birth (you didn't ask to be born did you), and live your life. That quote just causes so much thinking for me. Ironic isn't it? ... But yeah... that's just the first like 3 minutes of the episode. The main part is the "Wise Man" part. With the ending of the episode, it just shows how easily one can be made into a hero. When he's giving his life story, the part about the hypnotist, and then finnaly hearing what he acutally meant. It just shows, in our world, how easy it can be to walk to fame. I know that in all honesty it's not that easy, but i believe in this situation, they're talking spefically of the talent. Not the actual fame part, but the talent it takes to become one of fame (keep in mind, it's not fame and fortune, it's just fame). Lastly, the isolated parts about why kino doesn't like to deal with people on his journey. In this episode, Kino, is indeed mrs. existentialist some could say. She just lives for herself, she doesn't want anything to do with anyone, and she lives for her own wants/desires, but truely doesn't desire much. (She also shows this off in the episode with the rabbits and the guys stuck in the snow, i think episode 2 or something, and well why not say it, i think she shows it off quite a bit throughout).
The Land of Adults This is the episode that i could easily write a paper on. The things i could adress are the idea of Kino's Past, the actual country part where they try to run it all on what they would like to call "common sense", and then the bulk being how a country of that caliber could cause someone to go on such a journey and how the parents and children disagree but the parents (perhaps with the incorrect moral standards) are the ones who run the country. It poses such questions as why it is that way, and it shows perhaps the faults in that... although that's kind of far to go and probalby it isn't true, it merely suggest's it. This episode is the shadow of the entire show... it's its entity. I don't think the show would be as complete without this episode. It sets a basis of continuations of flowing ideas from the previous episodes, and it talks of Kino's past. I'll get into a little bit of the philosophy behind it, but that will be all, becuase i would perfer not to go overboard in this episode. This country i find to be one of the most interesting. The land of adults. Adults are supposed to have fully developed sense. Common sense. So perhaps a sub-message through this episode, is that it's saying "this is what would happen if a country was ran on common sense" ... (the US isn't, thats how we have come this far, with such thinkers who don't know common sense, but rather only know critical thinking hah, a controversial statement indeed). But yes, a Land of adults. There is no teenager group. That is a country without teenagers, without the natural aging. It's artificial, it's not a real adult... that's something to keep in mind. If it were a real adult, he/she would go through the teenage years... but they do that through a procedure. This country suggest so much, it shows the flaws in mankind's reliance on certian things. For one, they're relying on a procedure to run their entire country since the adults who got the procedure are the ones who run the country ( if a=b and b=c then a=c ). I don't konw if this episode is suggesting that if a country ran by adults existed, that it would be extremely flawed, but that was the message i got. If people wish to challenge me on that, please do, i wish to be informed on the subject. But yes, this aspect of the episode is rather intricate and amazing to say the least. Now perhaps the hardest part to evaluate and look back on is the reason why such a country in the end plunged her into the journey she's on. Yes it was becuase they were about to kill her. But that, i dont' believe, is the message that they're trying to give here. I think they're more talking of what a country ran by adults would do to children who - we'll say - didn't agree. It would push them away as outcasts ( yes she was already one to some extent ). The quote said by the older man kino, something like : Someone once said to me, that they saw the birds fly, and that made them want to go on a journey. I think that quote ment alot to Kino (the main character kino). It described how she lives. How she had these ideas that no one else agreed with. It shows how she was stuck there, ... it described the situation she was in. She stared at birds who were free to roam the skies, while she was stuck in that country, wishing she could go on a journey. I think there was a connection to her and that quote that they really didn't go into that far, but i believe it to be the case. ... Okay stop ranting. A Brilliant episode indeed. Three Men Along the Rails I acutally don't quite know what to make of this episode... Even when reading opinons everywhere, none of them i can agree with. Perhaps it's this mystery to me, that makes this episode shine in my eyes..... Maybe thinking about it intensly the fact that the three men are doing jobs that contradict each other sort of... well i don't know. Maybe it shows just the passage of time in a really general simple way. What with the guy polishing the tracks for a readiness to be used, and then the next guy pulling up the track and then the next guy laying a track down. It kind of shows the passage of time, and how everything humans, no... mankind does, it will all mean nothing in due time. Maybe that's an exageration, maybe it's not true i don't konw... maybe some help with this thought and the episode? The Land of Books This episode i thinks hows how mankind can be maniuplated and exploited. I see that in it becuase of the resistance group against the people who read those books to tell whether or not they're alowed. There honestly could be someone just pulling the strings at the top... it shows that how easy it could be to pull strings to maniuplate such a vast amount of people.... all with different thoughts, but all are united into one, with a single general thought. The thought coming from differnet areas, and spawned by differnet actions, all leads to the general idea that they all share: let us read what we want (to put it into colloquial english). I'll go into this episode with an edit in due time. Untill then... -Elfen12- |
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Ardlien
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I came across this book club thing far too late it appears. I'm disappointed I missed out on the discussions for this series, as it seems to have greater depth than any other series I've seen.
Rain: a metaphor for humanity? Keep in mind the prologue and epilogue, as well as when the main theme of the series is stated. The first introduction we have to the series is "The world... is not beautiful." This is the premise for the prologue, dominated by browns, high contrast, the harsh sounds of wind and then labored breath. There is no life here apart from Kino. The very first peice of dialogue is provided by a machine. There is some ambiguity in having Hermes speak first, since there is no way to tell at this point whose voice it is. For all we know it is the struggling traveler saying to themself, "It's impossible to start a journey like this." Skipping ahead a little to the line about travelers needing luck. The scene is of Kino (with a slight smile now) looking at an oncoming bank of dark clouds. There is the sound of thunder, and even though Kino has been watching the approach, as the first droplet falls she lets out a surprised "oh!". As the rain begins, a circle of green fades in around Kino, and the main story begins. The epilogue is quite short. It is basically a scene where Kino, apparently having stood still for the entire storm is soaked, still unsure of what to do. To me this links the events between prologue and epilogue to the unseen storm, with both the menace of the dark clouds and thunder, as well as the much needed water. There are undoubtedly moments in the series analagous to the negative side of a storm (previous posts have commented that a lot of the stories are sad), but Kino's attitude is never to metaphorically go back to her tent (avoid such encounters). This seems to mirror the Theme of beauty through non-beauty, where Kino sees the countries and people she meets, even those that cause her grief as part of the greeney blue melange, a better alternative than the browns and whites of hermitage. Interpretation I won't go into so much detail here, I'd have to re-watch the series too many times. Basically I think there's an ironic play on the theme of interpretation and its futility, with the innate literary depth of the series as a whole. Note that the first episode ends with a conversation about silent communication. Others in this thread have commented that this shows that telepathy is unnecessary because Kino was able to communicate with the man without speaking or gesturing. I disagree with this conclusion, since I took their expressions to mean completely different things, and since Kino, when asked whether the man accurately got the messages says, "I'm not sure." To me it seems that the misinterpretation (an impossibility with the telepathic country) is one of the non-beautiful things that make Kino's world beautiful. Being able to assume the best ("don't die" is later shown to be what she sees as most important to a traveler) from a silent conversation allows for a little more happiness, regardless of whether the man and Kino actually understand each other. This is driven home by the immediate restatement of the theme (with the audible beat with a symbol), with the added clause "And that, in a way, lends it a sort of beauty." Further along in the series, Kino often answers Hermes' questions about motives with, "I don't know." If you consider Hermes to be at least in part, similar to the ancient greek chorus (a suitable technique considering the numerous references to the greeks) his questions should mirror the audience's, and questions of motive generally come down to our own interpretation of Kino's actions. By providing no certainty, the director could be encouraging the audience to interpret (correctly or incorrectly) Kino's motives as they choose, or he could be trying to dismiss the need for intepretation. The episode with the library is very explicitly centered around interpretation and indeed critics. The irony of the series comes in here, with a contrast of audiences who analyse, and "destroy others' enjoyment" and those who lose themselves in stories. In the end the two groups are the same. I found it interesting that the dangerous books were classified as those that would in our world be considered literature. Coupled with the Poem of Sorrow story, the idea of dangerous literature again comes down to beauty in non-beauty. While quality of the book of prophecy is unquestioned, by acting on perceived messages within the text, the very place that created it was destroyed. The burning of the library in the struggle to publish all books carries a similar irony. Hidden Menace I want to draw attention to the repeated scenes of Kino practicing her draw. I remember being very surprised by it when I first saw the cold expression. Without any apparent danger around (she had been very surprised and happy about the country up to that point) she still felt the need to practice defending herself. |
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Ardlien
Posts: 59 |
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I can't seem to leave this series alone now that I've seen it in this light. In particular I've been mulling over why I find the last episode so powerful emotionally. After watching through the series around 3 more times (as well as looking at the movies/ episode 00) I've settled on this expression:
 
followed by this one: 
My reasoning is that it contrasts so strongly with everything that Kino seems to stand for through the series. Think back to the second episode, faced with monstrous inhumanity, her only sign of weakness could as easily be seen as her simply feeling the cold of the snow without her jacket on (how's that for a metaphor I'm skipping over?). She has seen so much, so many terrible things but never cried, always managed to have a determined look in her eyes or an earnest smile. Yet here we see her devastated; literally brought to her knees (an invincible warrior and simultaneously a wise man as we've come to see her) beaten by a natural disaster. I realise that chronologically Kino has likely become hardened as she has travelled more, but this is more about the emotional response of an outsider. I don't think there would have been anywhere near the effect had we begun say, at the country of adults, or here. The series builds up Kino as a kind of protector from the emotional response that a normal anime would expect of the audience. Her calm responses and insightful comments (directed to us through the chorus-like Hermes) serve to cushion the blows so to speak. The stories are told with very little compromise, so without that stoicism each episode (or at least the sadder ones) would be more draining emotionally. Instead though, Kino acts as a barrier, so that to break through such a thing, there must be a disaster even more terrible, more devastating, which is exactly what the pyroclastic flow is. Instead of just killing those nice people we knew for twenty minutes it breaks through this idolised version of Kino the rest of the series developed (of the invincible warrior, the unshakable wise man, the detached traveller) and shows us that she is weak, that not everything can be explained, or withstood or forgiven. It shows us that she is/was never perfect, but straight away we know that she went on the adventures we've seen so far, after this event. The musical montage of her and hermes travelling is the final statement that this imperfect Kino who for 12 episodes was beautiful and perfect, is still going to go through all that, that she could still see the beauty of the world. Please excuse the run-on sentences. I find it difficult to adequately express how much I respect what has been achieved in this series. This tends to result in me pontificating in what I hear as sentences that build in importance as they get longer. Anyway, that's my recent conclusion regarding the series. Last edited by Ardlien on Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:12 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Ardlien
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Something I've noticed after watching through the series so many times is that my response has changed dramatically. On my most recent way round the merry-go-round when we reached the end of "Her Journey" I laughed for a good 10 seconds at this.
"My job is to keep and eye on him, the failure, to make sure he does not go back to the way he used to be." "And if he does, I was told to kill him." Kino- "I see, then why didn't you shoot him? ... "I may go on a journey" This little dialogue is so riddled with irony I actually cracked up, maybe I'm just tired. |
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JacobC
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3728 Location: SoCal |
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*whistles* You sure had a lot to say about this great series, Ardlien. I'm sad that you arrived late, too.
I love how the series begins. You think it's going to be all adventurous and then...you get this quiet desert. Kino's sweating and thirsting, and she falls over in her tent, trying to escape the heat. Then she hears the thunder. Hermes continues to complain, but Kino faces the storm and enjoys the clouds that blot out the harsh sun and the rain that quenches her thirst. Even in painful experiences, there is beauty because without them, the good times wouldn't mean anything. It's really very beautiful, but it's so understated that you don't really think about it.
One way to explain this is that Kino's Journey, for as much as it exposes the beauty of life, also likes to point out the absurdity. I think a lot of Kino's Journey isn't so much about the meaning of life...but rather the meaninglessness of life, and how to escape it. Kino wants to escape this confusion by seeing how the world really is, person by person, country by country, never subscribing to any one, but just drinking in the varied tones of life. It's that taking in of everything that makes life beautiful, because once you're in a rut like all the citizens she visits, life seems more absurd and meaningless, until it is compared to other lives.
This is a perfect example of this. To stop searching, the show asserts, is to cease to live. The girl's conditioning has broken down, so what is she to do? She can't settle where she is anymore, so she has to take up Kino's path and journey until she can settle. What's unique about Kino is that she finds the journey to be the destination. To give up the search for meaning, the constant change and insight, is to "die." There is some truth to this, but I'll add my take on it later.
I think it's because she was LESS of an outsider to those people. As I've echoed before, she begins to question "why?" It makes no sense. Those people didn't deserve that, and they COULD have escaped it. Why did the one place she started to imagine as home have to disappear? It's the confusion, fear, and loneliness that comes with attachment to a place, a person, a belief, that she fears and flees from, but she has to face it here. That's why she crumbles, and that's why she cries. In conclusion, I can't say I agree with the basic philosophies of Kino's Journey. I believe objectivity brings out more truth in life, but I don't believe that arriving at one truth blinds you to the enjoyment of life, and that life is meaningless without continuous search. This is pretty much a Japanese ideal you see in many anime, including our current Wolf's Rain. Personally, I think the whole purpose of a journey or a hard fight is to arrive somewhere, that there is beauty in the journey, but that's not all there is to life. You should always stay open to change, yes, but I think finding your niche and stopping the constant search is what gives life its very deepest meaning. I'm a Christian, so that's to be expected, isn't it? Kino's Journey disagrees, but its many rabbit trails say so many other profound things that I don't mind. It does sadden me that Kino seems destined to wander until she breaks her greatest traveler's rule and passes on, but if it makes her happy, I suppose that's fine. The first thing I thought when I watched this series is that it perfectly embodied the Japanese ideal of mono no aware. What's that? It's the thing that makes us all gape at how perfectly bittersweet a lot of anime is, and something us Westerners should employ more in our storytelling, although, again, I don't agree with it totally in life. The concept basically states that things are only beautiful because they are transient, because they are temporary. That beauty can not be appreciated unless it is fleeting, and happiness is only happy because sadness is more common. Mono no aware is all about appreciating the things that won't last. (I think the everlasting values of life are even more beautiful, but apart from that, I agree with the philosophy, and it's a great theme for drama.) Think about how many times you see that in Kino's journey. Mono no aware = "The world is not beautiful. Therefore, it is." |
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Ardlien
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I think I chose the wrong word there. I meant to refer to our own response as an audience, having experienced episodes 1-12 before Kino.
I think I disagree here. I never really felt that Kino had a destination, or that her determination was in aiming for any particular objective (which is what I associate a search with). To me her journey seems to be the way she lives, like most people breathe to live. The epilogue had something to say about this; "Kino, what are you going to do now?" "No idea. What shall we do? Shall I keep thinking about what to do?" Hermes (who I'm relating to our own voice as an audience) seems more concerned with Kino's intentions than Kino does. The final words could be seen as a question to search for an answer for, but I personally felt Kino was dismissing the question.
I hadn't heard of this before. I think it fits very well with the episodic nature of the series, since each country visited provides a new bittersweet feeling. I also feel that the way the ending leads to the beginning of the series chronologically gives it a sense of timelessness as well. Perhaps by showing a journey filled with distinct instances of this mono no aware the series is suggesting that this beauty through transience is actually the world's enduring beauty.
In the first episode there is a line: "Hermes, I don't think I'm the kind of traveler to make a road for myself where one doesn't already exist." Is she ironically blazing new trails for people she meets? Having gone back to the first episode I'm reminded of something I left out (yes even those monsters were the tip of the iceberg). "Hey, that guy up there is thinking of turning you into lunch." "Now that you mention it, I'm pretty hungry too." (shot of bird above) I see this as part of a larger point; a 'Kino is a traveler, that is what she is' kind of thing. It's hard to explain but her complete calm, the way she instantly empathises with the bird rather than fearing it, many things come together to very quickly establish this character. Here's a question; when Kino asks Hermes "Have you ever felt jealous of birds?" Do you think she is jealous? |
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aya_honda
Posts: 920 Location: Around here |
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To me all these have also been related to the fact that in one way or another it is all connected to the subjectivity that surrounds us and that it is impossible to stop. Every perception on reality and on all the things that surround us is related to subjectivity. And the best example has been the book of prophecy: the same truth interpreted and lived in different manners (doesn't it sound very familiar?!)For one it prophesied the end of the world and then for the other it represented a threat and finally we discover that it is actually a very sad poem because a petty king ordered to a poet that never experienced sadness that he should write a sad poem (does his make sense?!) Subjectivity all of the place and I think that in a way this idea is also underline along the way in this series as well. It's not just the absurdity (pay attention: only to Kino and the ones that travel along with her - meaning us, the ones we watch- these things seem absurd, to the others they are what they are, but nonetheless full of meaning), it's the subjectivity through which every event, every happening is filtered. As for the books in the burning library... The most important books in the universal cannon haven't always been perceived like that and I think that the most interesting thing that could be done would be to have a look at the various surveys that have been made through readers: while in a top that I have seen in a documentary on Discovery "Lord of the Rings" was considered the greatest book followed by "Crime and punishment" by Dostoevsky others in other tops along the years have said other names. (too tired to remember them at this hour but I promise that if needed I will make a research). Again subjectivity. Both the critics and the ones who were fighting against them thought that the particular group had the right idea on literature. Subjectivity yet again.
Interesting but I have felt just like you. I have never been struck by the fact that Kino might be in search of a higher purpose; I always thought that this was a way of living for her. I think that the journey was for her a way of living. Now if I were to discuss from the point of view of the journey as learned at the uni, the journey has always been considered as a way of initiation of the innocent one into the ways of the world. Maybe this is what happens with Kino, although it is made rather unconsciously.
But what is absurdity for one, may be full of meaning for another, even more if that particular person has fought for it like those people did. Although, really, couldn't they just find another way to preserve their way in another place? This what I would say, but maybe for them, after so many struggles and after so many years spent there, they just couldn't find the strength to start over again. I think I will watch this episode another time. I liked the fact that Kino wanted to stay here. Somehow it made me relate more to her than in other episodes. Up to that point she has never showed true emotions (like it has been mentioned before me), but when she wanted to stay there she seemed to be for the very first time... human and I liked that. |
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Like guet said I think it's kind of obvious some of the more basic themes it was trying to present, but it was definitely more layered than that. Personally, I kind of got sort of a Buddhist/Existentialist feel from this episode. Heh, in fact it in a way kind of made me feel like I was watching Lain! 
I don't know though, I think more than anything it felt more like the way The Matrix kind of gets you to think a little bit, you know, in that "we ourselves could very well be living in The Matrix at this exact moment!" type of thing. Inevitably in the end though, I think with the blank pages example I think what it might have been trying to say was "there's all kinds of wild theories about what existence is all about, but each person has their own. And as such it's up to 
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