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I’m still not convinced Kino is that unbiased because she already has a set moral understanding that does not waver. This is seen where she helps the slave trades. The decision to help those three men was an easy one, though she did spend time thinking why she did decide to help. She always judges the world, but Kino is committed to non-action. What made the coliseum episodes so interesting wasn’t the fact that she judged the King to be morally reprehensible, but she felt an obligation to do something about it. She didn’t act when those two countries used the genocide of an indigenous people as a sport to prevent war between them. She tried to avoid participating in anything in the country that had every book.

The asterisk that needs to go with all this is the fact that there is no clear evidence that proves I’m right or wrong so your interpretation is still valid. One of the challenges with stoic characters is that the watcher begins to paint what they want to see because there is little else there.

Thanks for the support.

For your first point:

There is no basis in the anime that supports my perspective. It is an interesting explanation that is able to explain why the world appears like it does. The anime may just be a collection of her memories compiled in a memoir. While Kino tries to be objective, no human is without bias; you even see Kino intervene in some episodes and change the outcome based on what she sees as right. If you assume my perspective is right, then it completely changes the entire anime in a very interesting way.

For your second point:

For questions of morality, it is not important for what the answer is, but how you reach it. For an evil man can choose to do good for an evil reason. I will admit that Kino rarely passes judgment on what happens, but the events of the story do. Kino never said absolute democracy is bad, but what happened to that country sure did. Few of the stories in that anime provided an ambiguous ended.

I will end that in terms of storytelling, Kino’s Journey is very impressive.

Happy I added u ya damn nigger, wait u ain't black it one of the palest kids I know! And not my fault it didn't tell me I had a friend request or maybe it did n I just forgot :D

Well actually, let me correct myself, it is actually the only american show I watched and I live here lol But It got me hooked.

I was never into any animation until The Avatar, followed by my first anime series Death Note which I only just watched last yr, so I pretty much feel cheated, I didn't know what I was missing.

Hiii. That was some heated discussion you were having in the Forums on regards to Avatar: The Last Airbender. Lol At the end I just could'nt get myself to read anymore, but just wanted to say I Love The Avatar!!!!!! I think for "me" is one of the best cartoon shows america has made.

I finished the second season of Natsume Yuujinchou and you were right suggesting to continue watching it. Pretty much all of the criticism I had for the first one was done better and I'm now looking forward to the next season. I especially liked that the episodic "cases" were turned down in favor of general progression and character development. Seeing him becoming closer to his foster familiy and the new girl was very nice.

I actually enjoyed the episodes showing some of his past the most. The last one was especially nice, because he was just a side character there. That represented pretty good that even without Ginko the episodes worked and he was not your typical main protagonist.

While the quality level throughout the series wasn't super high all the times, I still think even the weaker stories never bored me at all. At least the charming storytelling and immersive atmosphere were reason enough to embrace every episode and almost everytime the end titles rolled over and the music kicked in I felt touched. And I'm probably mistaken, but on the first credits screen it says "Thanks" between the japanese characters, as if the creators were thanking me for taking the time to watch their work. :)

The only thing I would've wished for, were some kind of background plot spanning over the episodes. I was slightly underwhelmed to see even the finale was just another episode. So you realy could watch the whole series in random order.

I also think a bit of romance now and then would've been appropriate. For example when he meets the siblings living alone in the snowy mountains and stays there for an unusual long time, somehow filling in the father role. The sister grabed his arm in the end, and I expected at least a goodbye kiss for the lonely wanderer.

Argh, I always misspell Hermes.

Oh I don't mind at all. I appreciate your interest in the conversation. And while you probably can't change my opionion completly, you might turn my view to details I overlooked.

Concerning Kino I do like the kind of approach they used and I prefer shows that don't force their morality on the viewer. That's the reason I just can't watch the typical shounen stuff. Having shades of grey and interesting characters instead of obvious good and evil is what makes a great show for me.
They get my props for trying that on Kino but it only worked on the minority of episodes.

They show us socieites that seem to work, but even without telling us who the bad guys are, I felt it was too obvious most the time. When Kino arrived in the country with the preacher telling the world ends tommorow it was foreseeable how this turns out. It's not like they show us some alternative with it's own pros and cons but instead build countries around typical human weaknesses to exaggerate and put them on display. But that alone wasn't enough to keep me thinking.

The finale managed to be the kind of episode that leaves you with no right answer. Would you stay with your beloved ones and die or go away and be forever alone but alive. The 3 workers, raising questions about money and labour. The slavers, questioning how to approach strangers after experiencing something like that, etc.

I can't see that in the Colosseum. While Kino respects the country's conventions and they show us some of the daily lives, it ultimately focuses on the fighting and the kings past. So eventually this was about escaping the kings grasp and ending his tyranny and less about the country and it's system. If they want to show me alternative societies then they need to flesh them out, display the pros they offer etc. As I said, portraying the guards not just as brainless thugs was a good start.

Maybe focusing more on Kino's and Hermise' conversations would've made this show work for me. Too often it was reduced to stating the obvious.


I'm still curious what made you rank Mushishi an eight.

I'd say you maybe interpret too much into Mikuru's role. I think the writers intended her to cater to the audience that likes to see boobs with a flimsy voice. As long as Haruhi is not around she is a nice character though. Unlike similiar shows, they at least provide a good reason why everyone bears Haruhi's behaviour.


On Kino we probably agree to disagree. For me if it's black&white fairytale style, then I want the clear cut moral of the story. I didn't see it in the Colosseum and just to have 2 episodes of fighting wasn't worth the hassle.
But they bothered to show some of there background from the guards, living in the sewers and being a victim themself.

I also liked the 3 workers. In this episode they manged to keep a good balance between vague and obvious. It keeps you thinking and leaves room for interpretation.

First thanks for taking your time to answer. I agree with you on comparing shows with one another. They all have their own feel and personality. The reason I did is because I think most of the things I found weak about Natsume can be seen done better on Mushishi and Holic.

I agree with you that the way they approached the character design is very honest and authentic. But then I wonder why introduce side characters, if all they do is greet each other in the hallway or in case of the glasses girl create some odd comic relief when left behind (I felt bad for her).
Mushishi consistently didn't try to support side characters at all, instead they are shown as what they realy are, faceless bystanders that only represent random people. The viewer can relate to their problems and motivations but more is not necessary. In Natsume on the other hand it always seemed as if the recurring guys had some meaning, but eventually they didn't.

They also focus on Natsume as the main protagonist and make me care for him but then don't go deeper and let him progress. We get to see some of Ginko's past too, but he never comes along as more then an observer that tries to help out. I think this mainly due to Ginko showing up randomly, while we follow Natsume around all the time.
The cat companion also feels half-assed. It doesn't act as counterweight, other then helping him out with it's superpowers now and then. But it's not like anything the cat said made Natsume change his mind or left him pondering (like Yuuko or Holo would). So it seems like a comic relief sidekick that tries to be cute, and that didn't work to well for me, especially having seen Watanuki's pipe fox before.

I still get your point of the show conveying a nice feeling and it worked well on the episodes I mentioned, like when the bird girl reached for his hand and he just gently grabed it (without getting a nosebleed) and despite the cat telling him how childish it looks. But overall it was too much of the same "not so bright but rather cute monster" stuff. Maybe the 2nd season does a better job.


I also liked "Someday in the rain". This is one of the episodes I kept along with the movie and I agree that it creates a nice mood. It works kind of like the lonely feeling you get when watching 5cm/sec.
What bothered me about Haruhi was the way she bullied Asahina around. Making her wear a maid custume and playing the waitress. Of course the other club members didn't object and enjoyed their tea instead.


Calling Kino's Journey's morality a sledge was meant more like it being super obvious at times and not so much as in your face extremely deep. Take the episode with Kino's past, when she meets the actual Kino. She is the lovely child, getting bullied by the boys and then suddently everyone including her parents went crazy, and only the wanderer stepping into the blade can stop the madness. This is so super black&white that it's boring.

And then you have episodes like the Colosseum where they fight so long just to have everyone shrug and walk away at the end. If shooting the king was so easy, I wonder why she didn't do it sooner. And this guy is the pure evil again, slaying his family and watching the slaughter for his amuement.
But there were some nice episdoes, like the slavers or the finale.


I watched the Eve no Jikan movie so maybe they differ, but yes I felt they were sitting around the cafe too long without something meaningful happening and then rushing the end a bit. Didn't knew there's supposed to be a 2nd season. I'll look forward to it.


Phew, I hope you don't mind me wrting so much.

The people rambling on about LOGH are full of shit, it's not that deep or that intellectual.
I think the top reviewer (santetjan) accurately sums up why it's amazing, without being elitist about it.

the question you ask on the forum about life is the same assignment i have to do for philosophy

you wouldn't happen to go to a school in york region canada would you?