Pascoite gets bored and reviews anime, vol. 70 · 12:12am June 26th
In the middle of the spring 2024 shows concluding, so I've got several today. Featured items are a darkly ironic kinda travelogue thingy from 2003, and its remake from 2017, Kino's Journey, and an... I don't know how to classify it, Train to the End of the World, which finished yesterday. Those plus a few more freshly completed series, a pretty good older one, and some more YouTube shorts, after the break.
Of the new shows this season, several did something I've rarely seen done before, which is lampshade the unnatural hair colors and have the characters explicitly say they dyed it that way instead of just acting like it's natural. I appreciate the touch of realism there. To the features!
Kino's Journey was recommended by a friend, and he only said it was mostly slice of life. In a way, I agree, but that's kind of misleading, too. It's more like an anthology than a continuous narrative, which can create a slice of life feel since the drama is confined to a per-episode basis, but that genre also tends to be lighthearted, and that's where it differs a lot. I don't know that I've used this combination of genre tags before, but I'd call this both slice of life and dark.
It reminds me of The Twilight Zone, in a way, where each episode is a one-off tale, often in some quirky setting, that has a darkly ironic twist in store. And once you get settled in, it's not too hard to predict those twists. For an anime reference, I found this a lot like Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, but this one is more consistent in tone. It also starts right off in anthology mode, whereas Elaina's first two episodes felt like they were setting up an actual overarching plot.
So what happens in it? Kino is a traveler, and in this show, that's treated like it's a profession. Only once in the most recent series does Kino ever hint at how she makes any income to support her travels, but everywhere she goes, she's received as if it's an honored status. Yet everywhere also has convenient lodging options, which seems odd, if nobody much travels, and no examples are given why anyone within each country would need to use those. Which seems like a strange thing to say, because countries are large, normally, but here, they're more like city-states: not that big, surrounded by a wall, and Kino encounters the same type of guard post outside each that allows her access.
She travels by motorcycle, and it's just something you have to accept as given that all motorcycles, by their very nature, are intelligent and can speak. So goes her traveling companion Hermes.
Most episodes are one-shots, but a couple are two-episode arcs, and a number are a collection of several mini-arcs. The original series, sometimes with a subtitle added (Kino's Journey—The Beautiful World—), came out in 2003, along with a half-length special. There wasn't a dud in the bunch, and the one that really stands out shows you Kino's origin, where she took on the identity of another traveler she met. Other than that, her background is vague, as she does refer to someone she calls "master," and in the first episode, Hermes suggests maybe they shouldn't have left this person. For her young age, she's a very accomplished marksman and fighter, due to her master's training.
In 2005, a movie was released, but I'm only calling it that because they do—it's barely longer than a standard episode. It's called Kino's Journey: In Order to Do Something—Life Goes On.—, and it finally does fill in the bits about Kino living with her master and initially setting out on her journey. It's not as impactful, but it's still nice to have that background. Then in 2007, another of these short movies came out, Kino's Journey: Country of Illness—For You. It goes back to the same formula of storytelling as the main series, so it's essentially another episode.
Finally, in 2017, another series came out, Kino's Journey—The Beautiful World—The Animated Series. At first, it wasn't clear whether this was a continuation or a remake, as it was new material, but eventually, it did replicate three of the original series' standout episodes, so it is a remake. Overall, I did like this series just as much, though I think the repeated episodes weren't as good as the originals. The pacing was quite different and felt like they weren't as focused on the key moments. Similarly, one of those episodes simultaneously short-changes an interaction Kino has with one of the one-off characters, only to give him a very prominent role in several of the other episodes. Apparently the novels do follow him some, so at least it's consistent with that. His talking dog and the little girl he befriends were very enjoyable characters.
And speaking of little girl... I watched both series as dubs, but the special and movies were only subtitled, and in the first movie, they made a particular point of emphasizing how Kino starts to waver between using the normally feminine pronoun for I (watashi) and the masculine/neutral one (boku) as she takes on her traveler identity. There's a whole lot that can be said about how that choice evolves in Japanese culture—it's not necessarily indicative of gender identity when they go against the expected one and often just reflects the speaker's current mood. But it was still interesting to see.
Art was standard for its time in both cases. The original reminded me of things like Noir or Tenchi Muyo!, while the remake looked similar to Sword Art Online. Music was good. Nothing I'd call a banger, but still very enjoyable and atmospheric.
Rating: very good.
Kino no Tabi, 13 episodes + 1 special + 2 short movies (original), 12 episodes (remake), relevant genres: slice of life, dark, drama.
Train to the End of the World just finished yesterday... well, it should have finished last week, but they slipped in a recap episode then. Not sure if that was planned all along or they needed a delay.
A teenage girl is shown entering a store, and balloons and confetti start raining as if she's the millionth customer or something. She's ushered up to a press conference on the roof and given the honor of pressing the ceremonial button. To what? Japan is frustrated that it wasn't on the leading edge of 5G communications technology or 6G, so they've decided that dammit, they're going to lead the charge to 7G. But when the girl pushes the button, things go weird. Really weird. All across Japan, if not the entire world.
Flash forward a while, to the town this girl Yoka is originally from. In what'll become a running theme, each town had something different happen to it when the world warped. In this town, Agano, the people have changed to animals. They still have human intelligence and speech, but they do gradually devolve. But the transformation doesn't kick in until a particular age, and Yoka's friend Shizuru catches wind that Yoka is alive and well in Ikebukuro, so she commandeers a train to go after her. (The series was conceived somewhat as a tribute to a Nice Round Number Anniversary of train systems in Japan.) It's even a real-life train.
I got a little lost on this point. Shizuru particularly wants to reunite with Yoka because they had a falling out the last time they saw each other, with both criticizing the other's dreams, but either they were vague about what those dreams were or it got mentioned early on then glossed over enough later that it didn't stick with me. That could have been made a stronger motive element.
Their other three friends tag along as well, and while they do stay focused on the goal, it takes on an anthology feel for most of it. It's conspicuously said at the end of the first episode that there are 30 stops along the way, but it was known to be a 12-episode run, so naturally some get dealt with in groups. But there's an interesting different quirk each town has. Most are a little on the spooky side, but some are amusing, and some are just plain strange. It never failed to entertain. It was kind of set up like Doctor Who or Star Trek where you get a unique and imaginative setting every time. A couple even have them set up something with a lot of lore, like a manga series they have to be familiar with to understand what's happening in one of the towns. Seriously, you have to pause it to read all the info on it. Someone did a lot of work that got glossed over. The whole show is a very literal case of the journey being as interesting as the destination. They'd most like to reconcile with their friend, and if they can set the world back as it should be, then more's the better.
Complaints? Not many. To echo one from last time, why the hell do they keep drawing a very prominent butthole on the dog? It also plays to the tropes where a group of girls will each be a different point along the possible ranges of skirt length and bust size. And the trope of the straight man to the humor being the short girl with bangs cut straight across. The ending, while climactic enough, doesn't do anything unexpected.
As has happened with several series I've seen recently, the dialogue writing was really good, as well as how that translates into characterization, which is also dependent on the voice talent delivering a good performance. It's a nice depiction of close friendships, too. Can you read shipping into it? Sure, if you want to. I didn't see anything that hinted at it, though, so it scratched the platonic yuri itch well.
Art was pretty conspicuous CGI, more so for the backgrounds and setting than the characters, yet still in a high-quality style. As to music, I rarely noticed much during the show, so maybe it just kept things subtle most of the time, but the opening and closing songs were both really good. This was my favorite new show of the spring 2024 season. I just wish it had delivered some surprises at the end so it could go out with a bang. That would have pushed it over the line to my top rating. Speaking of which, viewer ratings seem to be significantly back up this season after dipping for a while, and oddly (to me, anyway), this one still didn't get that high a score at MyAnimeList. A solid number, but not outstanding, even though it didn't get any "not recommended" reviews. I wavered on whether to rate it excellent, but the ending was just a little by the numbers.
Rating: very good, and right at the top of that range.
Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku?, "Where Does the Doomsday Train Go?", 12 episodes + 1 recap special, relevant genres: drama, mystery, comedy, sci-fi, random, horror, yuri.
I've got a ton of these other reviews stacked up for completed shows, but I like to favor things that just finished so I'm getting to them while they're current, so back in the closet they go.
A Condition Called Love (Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai, "Hananoi-kun and Lovesickness," 12 episodes)—sometimes called I'm Addicted to You, just completed from the spring 2024 season. I wanted to like this more than I did. Everyone in class finds Hananoi impossibly attractive, yet they also find him unapproachable. He can't keep a girlfriend very long, and kindhearted classmate Hotaru overhears him getting dumped in a restaurant. She encounters him a short time later and offers him an umbrella, since it's started snowing. Touched by her gesture, he decides to ask her out, but she's never experienced any romantic interest before and is doubtful she can. But she agrees to give it a try and see what happens. The good: Hotaru is incredibly cute and very easy to root for. Hananoi has a connection to her that goes back a long way, and maybe his relationships have all failed because they didn't measure up to the ideal he sees in her. From her perspective, trying to give love a fair shot and her awakening to her own feelings was the show's strong point. The bad: Presumably he'll eventually tell her what that connection is, and as she's been portrayed, I think she would be supportive, but we never get to see that. And for all that her half of the relationship is sweet, he comes across as a controlling jerk. He tries to intimidate a childhood guy friend of hers from interacting with her. He does have a little reason to, but he still overreacts without consequence. And when Hotaru tries to say that if the love thing doesn't work out, she'd still enjoy his company and would want to be friends, he tells her it's all or nothing, which is a pretty dick move to force her into agreeing to date him. She's got a few emotional scars from her past, and though it's at least realistic that such a thing could come to light without it resolving at all, it still felt a little unsatisfying not to from a storytelling perspective. And ultimately, despite its good points, that's what I'd call the show: unsatisfying, which is a shame, given its strong start. Art is a bit heavy-lined but still pretty good. The music was average. Rating: good, but low in that range. Relevant genres: romance, drama.
Astro Note (12 episodes)—another just finished from the spring 2024 season. Takumi is a skilled young chef, but the hotel he worked at went out of business, so while looking for a new job, he takes on the position of a live-in breakfast cook at a boarding house, mostly because he instantly fell in love with Mira, who's the caretaker (and had been doing the cooking, but she's terrible at it, so that the residents were happy to bring on an actual cook). But she's an alien. And unlike a couple of shows from last year (A Galaxy Next Door and Stardust Telepath, both previously reviewed), it actually matters that she's an alien. She's been sent to retrieve an artifact that will cement her claim as heir to the throne on her world. It's mostly random comedy, and it starts slowly at that. Eventually the humor gets fairly good, but the early episodes were mostly using overblown poses and meme faces to convince you things are funny that really aren't. For me, the main draw was the side characters. All the other residents are done in a variety of art styles, though I don't know if they're actually referential. The overall art style looks kind of throwback, and the main characters resembled Gundam ones to me. You have the girl trying to make it as an idol but is on the old side for it, the creepy loner who cleans up well, the boy who decides he likes wearing skirts, to name a few. They did some pretty out-there things to make them memorable. Music was okay, though there's a cute little dance sequence during the opening credits. Rating: decent, relevant genres: drama, romance, comedy, sci-fi.
Bartender (11 episodes)—from 2006, this is kind of a strange beast. The synopsis talks about a mysterious bar that only appears to those who need it, and where the bartender always knows the perfect drink for the situation. That kind of makes it sound like a mystery series, but it really isn't. The part about it being somewhat supernatural doesn't come into play at all. That the bartender knows what drink to make is a running theme. Each episode, someone comes in with a back story, and the cast piles up, all of them helping narrate by the end. The problem with this as entertainment is that the back stories aren't consistently interesting. It just doesn't have the time to develop many of them. Then the focus becomes the drinks themselves, and that kind of educational aspect was interesting at times. Several specific drinks might get mentioned and given a historical perspective, but one will be singled out to show the recipe, and during the closing credits, a live-action bartender is shown making it. And they use the actual brand names of all the liquors. Some of the mixed drinks are well-known, some rather obscure. This was more enjoyable as an informational series than a storytelling one. Art is a standard but good style for the time, and the music was pretty good. Rating: decent, but may give you ideas on drinks to try, relevant genres: drama, mystery, slice of life, food/drink, educational.
Bartender: Kami no Glass (Bartender: Glass of God, 12 episodes)—just finished from the spring season, this starts out as a direct remake. The art is updated, but the first three episodes are virtually identical. Then the emphasis comes away from the mechanics and history of the drinks featured and more about the people. The main bartender is being recruited to work at a new hotel, and a grandfather/granddaughter from the original are reimagined as the hotel owner and a staffer who, among other things, is tasked with finding someone to work at the much-hyped bar there. Several other bartenders around the city also get involved, and their back stories get some exploration. Between the two, which one you'd like better will depend on your mindset. Want more of a story? This one will suit you better, as it does me. A drink enthusiast who wants the background of the drinks themselves as more of an informative piece? Then the original is for you. Art was a standard current type, but still good, and the music was good but understated; it blended in well, even if there wasn't any of it I wanted to keep. Rating: good, relevant genres: drama, slice of life, food/drink, educational.
And some YouTube shorts:
Menschen (short film)—this appears to be a graduation project for a school, but I can't tell which one. The society here reminds me of ancient Egypt. There are slaves using meager resources to grow flowers, watched over by brutal guards wearing outfits that make them look like anthropomorphic gods, wielding flame-enchanted hammers. The point of the flowers is simply to make a lovely bath for the guy in charge. One of the slaves had been secretly growing one of his own flowers for reasons. The slaves decide to revolt, and only the fate of one is shown. He may be the only survivor. He finds an oasis, and... that's it. If there's some deeper meaning, it went over my head. I got the gist of what I think it's supposed to be, anyway, in an allegorical way, given the quote presented at the end. It's from a German poem and translates as: "Where books are burned, in the end, people will also be burned." Atmosphere was good, and the simple music suited that well. The art is also fairly simplistic but well done. Rating: decent, but high in that range, relevant genres: drama.
Siblings (short film)—a final thesis from the ArtCenter College of Design. Doesn't really come to a conclusion, and it's unclear whether the supernatural stuff was real or a dream/hallucination, but it makes a nice point about kids learning behavior from their parents. Two kids whose parents always fight also get into a fight, but then the big sister realizes her little brother is important to her. Art looked quite a bit like Steven Universe, and the music was fine. Rating: good, relevant genres: drama.
Unfolded (short film)—from Sheridan College animation students. A young girl likes origami and wants to put some on the shrine to her late father, but she knocks the cup of tea for him off, and her mother lashes out at her, so she goes running off to her secret place. Cute, but not really anything new. I suppose that's to be expected, as these projects are probably more about the art and production than the story. Art was simple but nice, and the music was pretty good. Rating: good, relevant genres: drama.
Seen any of these? Did I convince you to try any of them? I'd like to hear about it in the comments.
Last 10:
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vol. 61 here
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vol. 63 here
vol. 64 here
vol. 65 here
vol. 66 here
vol. 67 here
vol. 68 here
vol. 69 here
I'm pretty sure I have the first Kino's Journey series on my hard drive full of 20 year old anime I still have yet to watch. :O
5788516
Get to it! It's good!
5788526
I haven't gotten to it since 2004, it's unlikely that will change any time soon x_x
Oh man, I remember getting a disc from Newtype USA with an episode of Kino's Journey on it. The one about the town of isolationists iirc Cute series but very NSFF ^^;
Astro Note has a lot of Arakawa Under the Bridge vibes to it on that description.
5788599
With how dark most of Kino’s twists are, yeah, it’s not suitable for ferrets.
Now that you mention it, Astro Note does have a number of similarities with Arakawa. Arakawa is much funnier, but if you really liked its vibe, Astro Note might work well for you. It’s good enough once it hits its stride and gets all the characters developed.
5788600
Yeah... I found that out the hard way ><
And neat! I recall enjoying Arakawa but fell off for some reason, but I should definitely give it another shot sometime. And Astro Note sounds fun too.
Currently I'm busy getting excited over the Ranma 1/2 reboot cuz that was one of if not the first anime I ever watched, knowing what anime even was. I don't count Sailor Moon cuz it was just a different cartoon to me ^^;
Train:
I remember Yoka wanted to be an astrophysicist or some other space-related profession. I don't remember if Shizuru had a dream or if her dream was just to stay home. Either way, agreed that it could have been better utilized in the plot.
I thought the early episodes hinted yuri on several occasions, though it seemed to taper off after a while.
I liked the show, and would recommend it, but I felt that it could have been about more. Despite the bizarre journey along the way, ultimately the central plot is pretty simple and limited. It didn't need to be about more, but with everything else the show did so well, it would have been nice.