KJ is structured much like Aesop's Fables. Each episode is a simplified cautionary tale of the foibles of human nature, particularly mankind's tendency to go to extremes. Kino inhabits a sparsely populated world - most likely a post-apocalyptic world, though that information is not divulged. Staying at each place for 3 days, she is exploring various lands with her talking 🏍, Hermes. Her first stop is a country in which the inhabitants thought they could eliminate pain if they all understood eachother better, so they all drank an elixir that would enable them to read eachother 's minds. Obviously, people separated, grew apart, isolated themselves, and now the population is dying out. No children are born as nobody can tolerate another's presence. Yes, it should have been obvious. The motif ends with non-verbal communication via expression alone that is eerily like mind reading.
KJ is a 2003 release that is rated 8.29 on MAL. It is 1 season consisting of 13 24-minute English dubbed episodes with CC available. Several sources say it is 12 episodes. Hidive, on Prime, has 13 episodes to watch. There are offshoot productions that do not appear available for streaming currently: Sequel Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - Byouki no Kuni - For You; PrequelKino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - Nanika wo Suru Tame ni - Life Goes On; Alternative VersionKino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - The Animated Series; Side StoryKino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - Tou no Kuni - Free Lance; and CharacterDengeki Bunko 2007 Movie Festival Special.
Episode 2 is bad@$$. In ep4 we get her backstory, and it's rough. The show feels ancient as these "countries" are much like ancient walled off cities. Every country/town she visits has people with foolish notions. Due to isolation, each country comes up with rather extreme and mostly untenable solutions to problems. Quite often these countries are somewhat ruthless and harsh. (Like a fable, it's not entirely make-believe, it mirrors reality). We'll see a threatening inspector explain through gritted teeth that every country has its customs and it's no outsider's business. Yet a traveler does step in to save the life of a girl, leaving the residents befuddled. In one country machines do all the work. Since resources are limited, they created useless jobs as a measure to divvy out these scarce resources: Those with the highest stress (useless) jobs get the most resources. And around and around we go. In a land where books are banned because 📚 cause readers to get lost in illusions, we hear that "All people exist in the illusion that °they° are the main character." People get trapped in irony's cruel grip because nature always denies them the ability to truly be the main 🎭. The solution? Escape by becoming an author. "All I know is that no one sane would become an author," says Kino. My favorite philosophical discussion is Kino discussing man's-obligation-to-man with Hermes.
The art supports the simplicity of the show. People are drawn at a 3/10 reality scale with little detail and some exaggeration, all fitting in with the fable setting. Backgrounds are closer to a 4/10 with simplified, minimized and stylized realism. Though simple, the art is plenty expressive, reinforcing the sounds and verbiage that increase the sense of wonder. Wonder as she wanders 🏍
QUOTES📢
A traveler's most important asset is what helps you get back up after a struggle's left you so close to the end.
The Critics: "All they do is expound their store of knowledge. They excite themselves with their ranting. Their disapproval excites them with a feeling of importance and sick victory. They thrive on spoiling the pleasure and trashing the creativity of others."
〰🖍 IMHO
📣7 📝7.5 🎭7.5 🌞6 🎨7⚡5 🎵/🔊7 😅3 😭5 😱7 😯3 😖2 🤔6.5 💤3 🔚7
Age 14+
We see a 🐰 shot in the head, fall, bleed out in the snow. The episode is called: "I want to live." Kino says she has an obligation to the rabbit. Rabbit is skinned and fed to homeless people.
Violence and blood. Cannibalism
Rated R-17+
Re-📺? Probably not, but once was great
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