Forum SettingsEpisode Information
Forums
New
What did you think of this episode?
DO NOT discuss the source material beyond this episode. If you want to discuss future events or theories, please use separate threads.
DO NOT ask where to watch/download this episode or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Anime Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
Pages (3) [1] 2 3 »
Jul 16, 2008 8:19 AM
#1
Anime DB Admin
BACK FOR MORE?

Offline
Jan 2007
12683
THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
----------------------------------------
Very interesting topic, well written. Great episode.

staff.applications  
guidelines.faq 
 

report.abuse  

thx.skittles  
thx.kina 
 

[H+] ³  
Oct 2, 2008 12:04 PM
#2

Offline
Feb 2008
5396
I loved that episode.
The fact Kino thought that the book which supposedly had everything about the world written in it was boring made me laugh :]
Oct 19, 2008 8:36 PM
#3

Offline
May 2007
2114
What?

I think that whole town was nuts.
My anime list
Oct 20, 2008 3:44 AM
#4
Offline
Jul 2018
564612
okay... that's the definition of bookworms xD
Oct 24, 2008 9:20 AM
#5

Offline
May 2008
189
For some reason I really didn't get the point of this story... all other adressed some issue of society, but this one missed it somehow... or I missed it...
Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines.
Nov 5, 2008 9:22 AM
#6

Offline
Mar 2008
520
It made me think that there are people who state that there are harmful video games, it may be one of the things that this episode wanted to bring to light.
Dec 30, 2008 8:11 PM
#7

Offline
Jun 2008
857
GreatS said:
For some reason I really didn't get the point of this story... all other adressed some issue of society, but this one missed it somehow... or I missed it...


It's about the negative effects of bureaucratically controlled society.
Feb 5, 2009 10:30 AM
#8

Offline
Mar 2008
923
GreatS said:
For some reason I really didn't get the point of this story... all other adressed some issue of society, but this one missed it somehow... or I missed it...

It's the same for me, this is one of the least good episode of Kino's Journey so far, even though I like books a lot. In the beginning, it reminded me somewhere of the issue of banning certain books which happens sometimes here, but the end was just meh.
Feb 8, 2009 1:59 PM
#9

Offline
May 2008
31862
Lawl, censorship.
Also, burning books makes me sad.:(

Old avatar and sig retired for now.
Mar 19, 2009 8:27 AM

Offline
Feb 2008
1340
LOL! I got confused at this episode... XD Yeah, haven't got anything. Maybe I've missed it.
Jun 12, 2009 1:42 PM

Offline
Nov 2008
2645
An excellent episode, really love it.
I think this episode was more about the dependance created by illusionary stories like in video game, anime or books ... Somehow it show how it can bring craziness and hatred for the real life.
That's quit something to show the books like bad things :D
Aug 10, 2009 4:17 PM
Offline
Jun 2008
415
Well, for me, this was a good episode =)
Kino no Tabi is one of the most different anime I had ever heard of, but it's still very good
Sep 13, 2009 6:02 AM

Offline
Sep 2008
1700
Yeah, the only issue I could see being addressed in this episode was the effect of having a bureaucratically controlled society, where decision-making is apparently totally centralised. I couldn't really tell who was insane. Even the lady librarian looked a little crazy at one point, where she was telling Kino that the Author's books draw you in and make you think you're the character.

HooHiraiBunny said:
An excellent episode, really love it.
I think this episode was more about the dependance created by illusionary stories like in video game, anime or books ... Somehow it show how it can bring craziness and hatred for the real life.
That's quit something to show the books like bad things :D


Actually, that's a pretty interesting way to interpret the episode! :D Maybe that was it...

Either way I still liked this episode, and I am a book-lover too. :)
Oct 20, 2009 1:37 AM

Offline
Jan 2009
337
Yay, an episode about banning/censorship. Reminds me of how people try and ban "harmful" anime, books, or video games. I remember this one book, Mark Mathabane's "Kaffir Boy." that was banned from my library, because the title and one page from the book is too "harmful" They shouldn't censor the 'unpleasant stuff', etc. Especially if it's real. That one guy had a horrendous life, and he wrote about it in great detail. You shouldn't make an author change their story for you little kid. If you don't want to read that, there's kids books for you. I've watched/read a ton of corrupted stuff. It's not like I'm going to go running around killing people for fun. People should stop trying to censor/ban stuff.

Anyways, liked the episode. ^_^ but it was too harmful, so it should be banned? jk.
Nov 22, 2009 8:50 AM

Offline
Aug 2009
48
Another great episode, I liked its pitch that the whole journey was just Kino's dream while the real world was long destroyed with her and her father being the only survivors. Reminded me of a red herring moment from Perfect Blue, you know the one.
Hmm. Could she really be just reading the book?
MinorDesperaJul 6, 2016 7:28 AM
Nov 24, 2009 11:28 PM

Offline
Jun 2009
15181
Interesting episode about censorship and it's possible good or bad points. It's true that the people who read the books took it a little to literally, but I believe that that is their right. I also like how the episode took a stab at critics.
Ston3_FreeN7Nov 26, 2009 10:09 PM
"Yes, I have been deprived of emotion. But not completely. Whoever did it, botched the job."

- Geralt of Rivia
Nov 26, 2009 7:35 PM

Offline
Jun 2009
6393
interesting episode...

Cersorship...
Critic...
Reality...
Fiction...

This episode is really interesting.
Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines.
Dec 9, 2009 8:22 PM

Offline
Oct 2009
225
Can't really get my mind around this episode. A lot of different ideas about censorship and the relationship between fiction and reality, but it didn't really come together in the end. Maybe I'm missing something. I did get the Perfect Blue vibe that mirrordepth picked up on, it's not clear what was real and what was imagined in that episode.
Feb 16, 2010 6:57 PM

Offline
Aug 2008
1009
Definitely the most interesting episode so far, with much more psychological aspects than the rest. It all came together really well.
Feb 21, 2010 12:48 AM

Offline
Mar 2008
3105
JuicyBuddha said:
Can't really get my mind around this episode. A lot of different ideas about censorship and the relationship between fiction and reality, but it didn't really come together in the end. Maybe I'm missing something. I did get the Perfect Blue vibe that mirrordepth picked up on, it's not clear what was real and what was imagined in that episode.


Well said. ^^ I'm also a bit confused to say the truth @.@ Might have to rewatch and analyze it again in the future.. In the end I couldn't separate what was meant to be reality and what fiction.. xD
Mar 16, 2010 2:42 PM

Offline
Apr 2009
88
I loved this episode. There's the fact of cencorship ofcourse and always ongoing issues with bad influences by tv, games, books, the internet, whatever. Really, the student town I live in had it's trainstation removed in the mid 1900s, allegedly because the parents of the student population thought it was a bad influence on their offspring to have big cities within reach. We still suffer the consequences today... ^^

I really liked the philosophical issues in this episode. It reminded me a lot of the book Sophie's world by Jostein Gaarder, in which the question of reality is also raised. I think at some point there is even communication between the character in the book and the person reading it. And of course you as a reader hover over all that as some superbeing, while you yourself are also just another tiny part of a world that is only a reality to you for all you know. A great book I really should re-read sometime.
This episode also reminded me that I sometimes long for a certain book to read, only to remember that it was just a book I read about in another book...

To me this is the best episode so far.
IgnesMar 16, 2010 2:47 PM
May 6, 2010 11:18 AM

Offline
Feb 2010
34597
Fabulous episode!
Totally mind-boggling, the whole time I didn't really know what was real and what wasn't..
Also loved what the ofiice lady said about critics xD
I probably regret this post by now.
Jun 11, 2010 3:46 PM

Offline
Jan 2010
1526
Teddy said:
GreatS said:
For some reason I really didn't get the point of this story... all other adressed some issue of society, but this one missed it somehow... or I missed it...

It's the same for me, this is one of the least good episode of Kino's Journey so far, even though I like books a lot. In the beginning, it reminded me somewhere of the issue of banning certain books which happens sometimes here, but the end was just meh.


whew i'm not alone :)

yeah if you ask me this was the worst episode yet....maybe i was praising Kino no tabi too much :)

let's hope the rest of the episodes will be awesome :D

3/5
Sayonara,papa!


"Just how a mirror reflects you,people will also reflect your heart."
~Athena Glory,Aria

"Whatever happens,happens"
~Spike Spiegel's thoughts on dying(Cowboy Bebop)
Jul 12, 2010 2:40 PM

Offline
Aug 2008
2128
can,t really understand the part of the tank... :S
Jul 13, 2010 12:14 PM
Offline
Feb 2009
21
This was another beautiful episode, philosophical and fulfilling.
Jul 20, 2010 1:29 PM

Offline
Aug 2009
109
This episode had a lot of different themes to it. Reality and fantasy, censorship, how we perceive fiction. Very well done.
Jul 25, 2010 1:30 PM

Offline
Jan 2010
1891
I think they never really intended to separate reality and fiction, but let us make our own assumptions on which is which.
Nov 5, 2010 12:46 PM

Offline
Aug 2010
3232
clannad4ever said:
Teddy said:
GreatS said:
For some reason I really didn't get the point of this story... all other adressed some issue of society, but this one missed it somehow... or I missed it...

It's the same for me, this is one of the least good episode of Kino's Journey so far, even though I like books a lot. In the beginning, it reminded me somewhere of the issue of banning certain books which happens sometimes here, but the end was just meh.


whew i'm not alone :)

yeah if you ask me this was the worst episode yet....maybe i was praising Kino no tabi too much :)

let's hope the rest of the episodes will be awesome :D

3/5

Your brains are too weak to capture the message of this episode.

Twas an excellent episode and one of the most thought-provoking.
Nov 23, 2010 9:42 AM

Offline
Apr 2010
1807
Now I understand why the man who cried water in the middle of the desert left the land of books.
Dec 30, 2010 12:30 AM
Offline
Mar 2010
90
My favorite episode so far.
Really makes me think about life and all its concepts ^^

I liked the Author's chat with Kino, and why he's the author. How you already are the main character. His words make a lot of sense to me.

Then preview for the next episode looks good too. Hope it's as mind-boggling as this one xD
Feb 16, 2011 6:10 PM
Offline
Dec 2010
29
Kino is making up this story. The book was empty.
The author is making a lot of comments and demonstrations about his chosen profession in the mean time.

Maybe with the tank the whole story is about hating the element you are associated with most?
Mar 7, 2011 3:30 PM

Offline
Jun 2009
693
Huh, censorship is really a thing. Being a fellow bookworm and avid book-reader, I can somehow feel identified. Putting everyone’s rights to read something at bay, justifying it with the excuse that “it’s for their welfare” is not a new matter; many have banned plenty of shows, books, and anything one can think of whilst saying so. If we say “everyone who has read this book has committed murder”, we can’t just ban it and so, even if maybe, as it happens with everything, being too much into some medium can led you to confuse reality and fantasy.

The comment about the critics taking out a person’s pleasure at reading a book made me laugh at the truthfulness of those words.

No matter what, I won’t stop watching Kino no Tabi just because you’re saying it’s “bad” in it, guys. You won’t trick me into stopping me from watching you.
I think, then procrastinate.
Therefore, I am.
Dec 15, 2011 8:04 PM
Offline
Jul 2018
564612
Dammit, it was my least favorite episode because I can't wrap my head around it.

Can someone please explain in detail WTF happened? I'm so confused...
Dec 27, 2011 5:40 PM

Offline
Jan 2009
370
restore said:
Dammit, it was my least favorite episode because I can't wrap my head around it.

Can someone please explain in detail WTF happened? I'm so confused...


Have you ever seen, inception? That is the closet comparison i have on hand.

Kinoception.

"Reality and fantasy, censorship, how we perceive fiction."

Too many of you guys, only understood the censorship part but that is only a small part of the pie that is this masterpiece of an episode.
Jan 1, 2012 7:55 PM

Offline
Mar 2011
1460
The whole country was nuts.
Jan 13, 2012 7:32 AM

Offline
Dec 2011
195
Now this is what I call Bibliomania raised to the maximum.
Jan 19, 2012 4:02 AM

Offline
Nov 2011
199
Excellent episode... Provoking thought and challenging your viewers is a good thing. ^^
The censorship bit was pretty overt - I'm thankful it evolved into something greater.
Blue_MondayJan 19, 2012 12:41 PM
Jan 31, 2012 6:37 PM

Offline
Feb 2009
3436
This episode kinda brings the censorship topic to light, but I'd have to agree this was one was one of the least good episodes of Kino, but still very interesting nevertheless.
Feb 16, 2012 6:03 PM

Offline
Feb 2012
771
It wasn't the most enjoyable episode, but it was philosophically the deepest one so far, dealing not only with censorship and the nature of fiction but that of identity as well. In the previous episodes I've consistently felt that the story was something out of The Little Prince with the message that you shouldn't listen to the society but go your own way. But this had much more: Nietzschean themes (make/write your own life as you want it and you make the world) as well as postmodern metafiction play (where does the story end, who writes the story: the author or the reader?) and of course the Shakespeare references. I liked the bit where Kino and the Author talked about how people struggle with trying to see themselves as main characters of their life story while everyone else doesn't recognise you being the main character, and the only way to avoid it is to get in a position in which you're neither the main nor the supporting character. That was quite a Zen thing to say. At the same time, what that entails is something very difficult to realise because it requires quite a radical departure from the ordinary view of identity. That's what makes this episode more challenging than the earlier ones.
Dec 26, 2012 9:33 AM
Offline
Aug 2011
1165
It was about how the reality can be extremely subjective, from one's point of view. They showed this fact from various point of views you see: Author, followers of the Author, Critics, President, Kino being a disabled girl who is just imagining this whole story and most importantly the tank which cannot see itself. This episode, of course, was not about animes and games getting banned :) It is just a shallow way to interpret this episode I think. And of course, the breucratical structure, yes.

You cannot prove anything about the reality except yourselves being an entity.
Jan 5, 2013 8:40 PM
Offline
Mar 2012
50
This episode was really fantastic.

What I got from this episode, was that over-censorship has a negative effect. It reminds me of that one South Park episode where the guys read the Catcher in the Rye, hyped up about it having been banned. Yet they become disappointed in the end because it was nothing but an overreaction. Though despite this, the book was the apparent cause of a murder...

This can be viewed in real life by kids desiring games that are 18+ for the very reason that they are 18+. So when they play them, with the idea that the game is given the rating because it is supposed to delude their minds, it makes them even more susceptible to being corrupted when otherwise they probably wouldn't have cared or reacted. So the effects are caused by the censorship, sort of.

Sorry for the convoluted explanation. I'm bad with words, but you can kind of get the idea I'm trying to convey, I hope.
meh
Jan 9, 2013 7:18 PM

Offline
Dec 2012
16083
Probably one of my favorite episodes from this series. The author was a complete quack but this quote was great -

"Classification of fantasy and reality is itself a fantasy that humans created, my dear motorrad."

Since we as humans have a limited understanding of the world based on our experiences, our definition of reality is incomplete.

Another interesting thought from the author was how although we may be the main characters in our own lives, everyone else is a supporting character. This really goes to show how big the world really is and that perhaps there really is no main characters, simply everyone with a role in a bigger story called life.

There's so much to say about this episode, but I need to stop here.
Feb 25, 2013 1:31 AM
Offline
Jan 2013
14
I'm not sure what the hell I've been watching here, but the implications are a complete mindfuck. Awesome.
Mar 16, 2013 7:30 PM

Offline
May 2012
25827
Was not a fan of the episode but the concept was really interesting, if they put it better in motion it would have been one epic episode! Alas... it was still quite decent though but well lets see what he'll encounter on his journey next!
Apr 24, 2013 11:05 PM

Offline
Mar 2013
95
confusion. but i still liked the overall feeling of bizzarness if thats a thing

also imagine: we are all just critics :O
"Stop whining, all I did was chop off your stupid legs."
May 24, 2013 7:23 AM

Offline
Oct 2010
2442
One of the better episodes. Laughed at the bit with the critics, reminds me of some of the "reviewers" here on MAL.
May 25, 2013 2:53 PM

Offline
Jan 2013
11047
Alright episode
May 31, 2013 2:16 AM
Offline
Jul 2018
564612
This episode reminded me of the controversial idea about video games, movies/shows, and guns leading to violence.
This series is very good, it always has something related to the real world or psychology when you ponder about it.
Aug 1, 2013 3:19 PM

Offline
Mar 2010
1111
wow this episode...
probably the best so far
didnt excpect it to take a psychological turn
Oct 1, 2013 5:57 PM

Offline
Nov 2011
264
Anime would be illegal if that town were to criticize it.
Pages (3) [1] 2 3 »

More topics from this board

Poll: » Kino's Journey Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )

cyruz - Jul 11, 2008

127 by rainbowScarlet »»
Apr 21, 1:30 PM

Poll: » Kino's Journey Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 )

cyruz - Jul 12, 2008

85 by paul1990xco »»
Apr 9, 6:05 AM

Poll: » Kino's Journey Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 )

cyruz - Jul 16, 2008

98 by Ratris_Decision »»
Jan 13, 7:14 AM

Poll: » Kino's Journey Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )

cyruz - Jul 10, 2008

152 by 2life »»
Jan 9, 5:45 PM

Poll: » Kino's Journey Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )

cyruz - Jul 8, 2008

121 by Ratris_Decision »»
Jan 7, 6:39 AM
It’s time to ditch the text file.
Keep track of your anime easily by creating your own list.
Sign Up Login