Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - Tou no Kuni - Free Lance

Waking up from a nap, Kino is relieved to see that a certain tower from afar is still proudly standing. Located in the heart of the Tower Country, the immensely tall tower stretches high into the sky, reaching seemingly infinite heights. The tower looks like something out of a dream, but the breathtaking construction is unmistakably real. Intrigued, the traveling partners Kino and Hermes—the talking motorcycle—journey to the tower to get a closer look at the building.

Despite already being unbelievably tall, the tower is still being built by the townspeople to this day. Puzzled by the origins of the tower, Kino and Hermes ask around the town for information, but they fail to obtain any definitive answer. They continue to observe both the tower and the townspeople during their stay, hoping to understand the reasoning behind building a tower that requires so much effort. After all, there is always something to learn—even from the strangest of countries.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kino Main

Maeda, Ai Japanese

Hermes Main

Aigase, Ryuji Japanese

Sigsawa, Keiichi Original Creator

Kuroboshi, Kouhaku Original Character Design

Reviews

Aug 6, 2014

ockham

Recommended

Well, i'm a fan and suspicious to talk about this anime, but i'll try to not be tendentious. This special episode is very good, with light mistery, fast action scenes, and mainly that calm and serene atmosphere of Kino no Tabi. The dialogues are good too.

But i missed something about the end. The final question, that leaves the spectator wondering about similar meanings and things in our lifes, was not strong as usual. Also, the energy and excitement wasn't the same as we can see in the others episodes.

Overall, a good story, worth watching.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jun 19, 2014

Shimapan-chan

Recommended

I did not see a review for this so I decided to write one.

I often see people confused of what order to watch anime especially when episode 00s and prequels are involved. A good rule to follow is watch them in order of date they were released, this way you will not spoil or mess up something for yourself. This episode does not contain any possible spoilers if you watched it first but I still highly suggest following that rule.

Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - Tou no Kuni is shorter then the usual episode but the story is still welly put together, doesn't seem ... rushed, and has the charm Kino no Tabi is known to have. In this country people are constantly putting their whole life into constructing a massive tower. I can't go much into story because spoilers but I definitely feel this is one of the odder countries. This episode does not really contain action (she does pull her gun out at a point tho) and is not one of the tragic episodes. The music in this episode seems to have a more Egyptian vibe to it. Possibly trying to connect a message about the construction of the pyramids and modern day civilization? I suggest watching this and trying to decipher it's message, especially if you enjoyed the rest of the series~!

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Sep 27, 2022

VeiledEdge

Mixed Feelings

Spoiler

This second Kino's Journey special is simply your below-average episode of Kino's Journey. She visits a country. Country is weird. Kino leaves country. I don't have much more to say about this special, but there's a minimum character requirement for reviews here so I guess we go into over-analysis mode here. I'm going to throw a spoiler warning right here as I will be spoiling this special, all of it. All 14 minutes of it.

Kino rides into a country where everyone works on building a huge tower located in the heart of the country, and nothing else. It's appropriately pointed out that there are ... no inns in the country, and Kino has to sleep in a warehouse kind of small building. A young boy approaches Kino and tells her that he doesn't want to die working on the tower. He asks her to take him and make him a traveler. In Kino fashion, Kino declines.

We don't know why they're building this tower. Not until it collapses under its own weight. Then it's revealed that every time the tower collapses, the country starts building another one in an endless cycle. The boy comes once again to Kino in hopeless frustration and asks for help. Kino then suggests that if they're tired of doing the same thing, to add some flavor to the tower. She suggests t they color or make designs on the bricks. The country's mind is completely shattered by the idea and they enthusiastically start building the next tower with designs on the bricks.

The interesting thing to point out about this sociological thought experiment is how accustomed and complacent people in the country are about building that tower. It's simply what the country does. This has a huge parallel to anyone's daily life. It's a good contrast to the Centipede Dilemma:

A centipede was happy – quite!
Until a toad in fun
Said, "Pray, which leg moves after which?"
This raised her doubts to such a pitch,
She fell exhausted in the ditch
Not knowing how to run.

If one simply does something every day, like work, go to school, etc. it becomes unquestionably routine. So when it gets questioned, one's reality can be shattered. Think of The Matrix. Everyone just assumes that life and the universe are as perceived. Once we start questioning that, we have a moment of existential crisis. I know both of these examples are very different, but it's a similar effect.

This special is bad when compared to the best Kino's Journey episodes, but it's still pretty good when compared to all anime as a whole. It's interesting and thought-provoking. It's philosophical in a uniquely 'Kino's Journey' kind of way. If you liked the main series, you'll like this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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