Kino's Journey, surprise, surprise is an anime about Kino traveling on a motrorad traveling through out an odd world with many different lands. It has somewhat of a western feel to it ,though some of the lands have advanced Technology, our heroine rids into to "town" at the beginning, discovers how the isolated land works and rides out again at the end.

First I just describe a motorad. Basically, a motorad is talking motorcycle, that has a symbiotic relationship with it's rider. The motorad gives the rider speed, but it needs a rider to give keep it balanced, (an acquire fuel and spare parts). Kino's motorad is named Hermes, naturally after to winged messenger of the Greek gods.

We learn Kino's a little about Kino's past, basically she was an unhappy child in her strict homeland, but an encounter with a traveler changed his destiny and sent off on her nomadic path. Our Heroine is basically pretty solitary and refuses to acquire the normal crew of companions that you see in most tales. They would distract from the focus of the story which is primarily the odd lands that Kino visits, most of which she is but an observer moving from place to place.

And they are interesting lands ranging from a Dystopia where travelers fight in a Colosseum, to a land where a girl realizes her dreams of flight, an encounter with starving, snowbound men. This would have been a good anime to blog each episode, though I fear I am far to lazy to do such a thing.

Conclusion: This was a good anime that is different from the normal fair. I enjoyed creative lands and the almost western feel of the anime. The ending in some many ways was sad, but the not the cliche end of a certain unnamed anime, where the main character dies. I do wonder a bit about Kino's time when she was traveling with her master but that wasn't covered in the anime. Our heroine was very strong willed and certainly knows her calling. This anime has acquired my seal of approval.