- Story. A traveler with a talking motorcycle visits different countries, hoping to someday formulate her own world views after encountering new sights, sounds, ideologies, and perspectives. The pacing is fast, but well done, thanks to the show's strong world building and storytelling elements.
- Characters. Kino is the main character and Hermes is the supporting character.
To me, Kino is complex; she’s basically an introverted extrovert. Her replies are terse, yet straightforward. She constantly initiates conversations with strangers, asking to hear their stories. Since she often tours countries accompanied by guides, I assume she is doing a fair amount of talking even if we don’t hear it directly. While Kino’s demeanor is generally calm and soft spoken, she routinely expresses her thoughts, feelings, fears, and desires. There was plenty to infer about Kino’s personality starting from the first episode. There are only a handful of moments throughout the show in which she chooses to withhold communication. Understandably, her demeanor is a byproduct of the dangerous world. At least once per episode, we see her practicing quick draw, maintaining weaponry, restocking supplies, etc. There is no question as to why Kino has survival skills, and she utilizes them during several brushes with death. Kino herself underwent a tragic backstory.
As a result, the world directly shapes Kino’s views towards violence. I wouldn't say she is apathetic at all. She values her own life and is visibly shaken when she has a near death experience. She feels empathy for other people if she witnesses violence inflicted upon them. However, she usually does not intervene if they take place within a country's borders. It is not simply that Kino sees herself a neutral observer, but rather that it is part of the rules of the world in the show. Villagers actually remind Kino that it is not her place to interfere with a country’s customs. It is simply bad etiquette. Thus, there is only one clear instance of outsider interference depicted in the show.
Hermes is a sassy foil to Kino. Through their small interactions, we are reminded that Kino is alone. At the end of the day, Hermes is a machine. Though opinionated, he doesn't actually care to learn from Kino's interactions with other people; he has no use for it. Hermes is often used as a conversation conduit, allowing us to learn more about Kino. Sometimes, the way Kino treats Hermes reminds us that she's just a kid (granted, one who has been through a lot).
- Art. The lineart is okay. It is a more dated style. I think the muted sepia colors match the mature tone of the show.
- Animation. The animation was decent for its time except for episodes 6 & 7, which have poorly animated fight scenes. I’m not sure if the issue was budget or technology, but it was not smooth. Coupled with the physics defying action, the results were hilariously bad.
- Music. The soundtrack, while not varied, is simple and gets the job done.
- Sound design. Effective when it matters most. However, there are frequently moments that are simply too quiet (and probably not intentional).
- Writing. I don't think the point of the show was to be thought provoking. The episodic plots are built around one simple lesson (it only takes one person to believe in you, the cyclical nature of oppression, etc.) Instead, I think its goal was to have you put yourself in Kino’s shoes with the hope that the feeling stays with you after the episode ends.
This show is not rated E for everyone. The plot twists are DARK. The show provides plenty of foreshadowing and then reveals a messed up twist casually so when it hits me, I sit there proclaiming “this is F’d up!” with my eyes bugging out of my head.
What could have been improved was the ratio of happy and sad episodes. Despite being dark, the tone of the show wasn’t necessarily heavy. I think an additional episode with a happy ending would have rounded out the experience. The plot of episodes 6-7 should have been condensed to one episode. They could have used a full episode dedicated to Kino’s mentor, who was briefly shown in a flashback. As the narrator, Kino briefly said her mentor was a story for another time. This was a missed opportunity!
Episodes 6-7's fight scenes were so stupid that they deserve a small rant. The tone shifted from seinen to shounen, which was frankly immersion breaking. Every other fight in the show follows some degree of realism based on Kino’s stature and training. I literally laughed out loud at how dumb the animation and impossible physics looked in episodes 6-7. There was even the classic “opponent divulging their tragic past in the middle of the match” trope. I ended episode 6 with a vow to drop the show if this were to continue for the remainder of the show (luckily, it doesn't). Unfortunately, I feel that the combat detracted from a dark twist at the end, which unexpectedly came from Kino.
- Emotional impact. Overall, the show is kind of an ephemeral piece. I don’t particularly remember Kino, Hermes, life lesson, or plot point, but I remember the feelings elicited by the show. And boy was I feeling a lot! I approached each episode with apprehension. It felt like there was always some sort of danger or messed up revelation around the corner. Or right when I let my guard down, something super sad would happen. The show achieved a creepy Twilight Zone vibe at times, and it was filled with different types of plot twists. My mouth fell open at the end of the last episode. I was sort of in shock, and I'm still thinking about it as I write this review. The show is depressing, but didn’t leave me depressed. Kino and Hermes’ discussions helped me process the horrors of what unfolded. Kino's somewhat hopeful attitude towards accepting the world, whether ugly or beautiful, takes the edge off.
P.S. In my opinion, 2003 is superior to the 2017 remake. The latter is prettier, but also devoid of emotion in comparison to 2003. I dropped 2017 after four episodes before I began 2003. Out of curiosity, I watched parts of the overlap episodes in 2017 and noticed many small changes that neutralized characters' personalities and emotional impact of scenes. I was surprised that such tiny details could make a big difference.
