[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Kino’s Journey: Life Goes On
After being wowed by the TV series but left wondering about the character of Kino herself, I was really interested in seeing the prequel movie. It doesn’t deliver the same amount of philosophical questioning that the TV show did but gives some fascinating insights into Kino’s early life. This ‘lost episode’ (in that it still isn’t licenced and, unless it joins the new movie on DVD, never will be) sees a very young Kino prior to her days on the road when she was still living with ‘Shishou’, her teacher.
The film is the same length as one of the TV episodes and mostly concerns itself with the day-to-day activities of Kino and her inner search for her own identity. It is important I think to point out that the particular version I saw colour-coded the text when Kino was speaking; the word ‘I’ was displayed pink when she used the feminine form and blue when she used the masculine. Quite why she would describe herself using both forms of this expression is interesting in itself and I can only guess that it is somehow related to the character she took the name Kino from, who was a male traveller. Whether or not an official release would use this approach I don’t know, but the fansubbers have obviously understood its significance and drawn attention to it. As always, the series makes you think!
It is fair to say that Life Goes On is the Kino character development episode: at the beginning she is the cheery and innocent little girl wearing a cute pink dress and whose character design has wide rounded eyes; by the end those eyes have the now-familiar serene and almost careworn look and she is wearing her green and brown traveller’s clothes. It’s quite a feat to portray the little girl becoming the character fans are more familiar with, and highlights an important event in her inner journey - I was pleasantly surprised at how the transition from child to adult was done quickly yet smoothly. In that sense, I felt as if I was going through this very important stage in her life along with her.
Unfortunately this episode doesn’t explain everything and, while it explores her past more than the TV run did, still leaves many questions unanswered (perhaps leaving some material for the new film…?). Perhaps inevitably, Kino’s Journey is still a show that leaves much to the viewer to decide. If nothing else, it shows that Shishou is largely responsible for honing Kino’s already-impressive abilities with a persuader and her early attempts at operating Hermes are quite fun to watch; even this early on the dynamic between the two of them works brilliantly.
Summary
The prequel of Life Goes On is an absolute must for Kino fans because it contains so many key elements that made her the character she is at the time of the TV series. There is still much about her character to be explained however, although it deals with the origins of her name and the mental and emotional conflict that ensued. Is this the reason why she set out on her journey? To be honest, it doesn’t make this clear but that’s one thing in Kino’s world that is always the same: nothing ever is cut-and dried! Those of you who haven’t seen the DVDs ought to set that right before watching this episode though if they want to get the most out of it.
Leave a Reply