Back to shadowcat2323's Profile shadowcat2323's Profile

Kino's Journey can pretty much be divided into two shows, one that is an entirely episodic travel anime with light philosophic content and a second that has a much stronger emphasis on philosophy and underlying whispers of a overreaching storyline. Kino's Journey: Life Goes On falls pretty solidly into the second category and does a good job of representing exactly what I liked about the main series.

Story 10: This is the story I wanted to hear since about episode 3 of the show, and it never disappointed. The plotline of "Life Goes On" does a wonderful job of showing how Kino's writers are able to ... seamlessly integrate Lain-style philosophy into a story without interfering with its pacing. That being said, it contains a similar level of spoilers as watching any prequel before the main series, I would certainly suggest watching the show first.

Art 9: Just about the same as Kino's Journey, along with the subtly annoying horizontal lines throughout. I really liked the darker moments of this OVA, the art in those parts were a very welcome supplement to the already established art style. And what can I say? I just love Kino's character design <3

Sound 9: I really enjoyed the voice-acting in the show and in this OVA it was maybe even better. Still don't really care for the OP or ED though, but neither are like gratingly bad. The BGM isn't spectacular or anything but contributes well to the pace and feel.

Character 10: A surprising amount of character development in this OVA, without messing up the series's, which was awesome to see. Also, many of the side-characters in "Life Goes On" were fairly unique, which was nice coming from a series where one of my few complaints was their reuse of stock characters.

Enjoyment 10: A very stellar OVA, if you liked Kino's Journey but always wanted to know more about Kino's past this is perfect for you. Even if that wasn't really the draw of the series for you, I personally believe some of the series's best moments are in this OVA so I'd check it out anyway.

Overall 10: If you didn't like Kino, this probably won't change your mind. If you liked Kino but didn't like its ending (as in- what ending?) this OVA could fix your opinion of the show, as it did mine. I find myself wishing this were the canonical last episode, because I fear some people will miss it. Please don't let yourself be one of those people! If you finished Kino's Journey promptly go watch this OVA.

Let me start by saying I consider Saikano to be the best manga I have ever read. A nearly perfect blend of seinen and shoujo, sci-fi and drama, I picked Saikano up on a whim with fairly low expectations and was honestly consistantly stunned by its quality.

Story 10: Most of the negative reviews I've read of Saikano seem to revolve around this category. Saikano is a war drama, it is a sci-fi, but by far its focus is romance. And this is where it really succeeds. Rarely do you see a true romance epic, but I cannot think of a better term for Saikano. From ... the summary I was worried this was just another "Magical Girlfriend manga", but in a similar way that Evangelion isn't just a mecha anime, Saikano really surpasses all of the standard cliches and stereotypes.

Art 9: Personally, I really love Takahashi's art style, but I can see how it could not be some people's thing. (If you liked the art in the FLCL manga, chances are you'll like it). Specific to this series however, I would like to applaud him for two things. Chise's weaponry is not only fascinating and more than slightly disturbing, it is also very visually appealing. Also, the sex scenes were tasteful, romantic, and never seemed gratuitous, all of which seem to be rare qualities for a series that includes several.

Character 10: This is definately where Saikano exceeds other great works of the genre; with a normal grasp of character Saikano would be fairly similar to shows such as "This Ugly Yet Beautiful World". But Saikano's characters are almost unarguably (and increasingly) realistic, sometimes painfully so. They don't beg us to like them; they aren't flawed to make them interesting characters. They are all real people, examined more honestly than most people ever get to see more than a handful of people.

Enjoyment 10: I cried at some point during each volume of this series. Saikano is SAD. I'm not even sure what to say beyond that. I think it really speaks for itself; go into Saikano with an open heart and I promise you you'll feel something.

Overall 10: Saikano is an ultimate underappretiated work, matching and at points exceeding much of the medium's finest works. If you are looking for a mature, heart-rending love story, I really don't think you'll be disappointed.

Good if you like... romance especially tragic romance; immaculately detailed plots and characterization; stories with a slow, thoughtful pace; Apocalypse stories; humor used to highten tragedy; slice-of-life school dramas; flawlessly imployed literary techniques (especially symbolism and foreshadowing).