There aren’t many movies that are based on series, which fit into the continuity and end up contributing to them, but I’ve finally found one: Kino no Tabi – Life goes on. It’s basically a glorified episode, clocking in at a mere thirty minutes, and it tells the story of how Kino matured from an insecure little girl to the Kino we’ve come to love in the series. It’s definitely good to see more of this series, though there are a few problems.
I hate to admit it, but it’s clear that this movie was made in a hurry: it lacks the fine-polish that you usually see in the dialogue, it’s a bit too straightforward at times, and the animation is actually worse than it was in the series; something that doesn’t happen often. If the creators just took more time to fix all these, and increase the depth of the storyline, this could have been an excellent movie. Right now, it’s just an okay episode.
This is probably my shortest review in like, ever; but apart from what I mentioned above, there’s nothing much to be said. Fans of the series should definitely check out the movie, but the only purpose of the movie is to give Kino some valuable background. Still, I’m looking forward to the next Kino no Tabi, which premiered in April and should arrive in a few months to the English-speaking community. The creators must have seen that this movie could have been better, so I’m anticipating to see how they’ve learned from this small gem.]]>
Kino no Tabi – Life Goes On Review – 75/100
They say it’s a movie, but 30 minutes sounds more like an OVA. 😡
That’s not bad, Azumanga Daioh the Movie is only 5 minutes.
Seems like you’re diggin’ for movies right now! (: If I may be so bold, I’d like to suggest you focus your attention on more of Satoshi Kon’s films, two of which remain my absolute favorite anime movies of all time. Based on your alphabetical review index, at least, it seems the only Satoshi Kon works you’ve seen thus far are Paranoia Agent (a supremely awesome show!) and Paprika (IMHO his worst movie, by quite a wide margin – though it was still worth seeing!).
This leaves you with Perfect Blue (better than Paprika, but still my second-least-favorite of his movies – and like Paprika, it’s based on someone else’s story, which may explain why I don’t like it as much as Kon’s OWN works), Tokyo Godfathers (an immensely awesome movie that is PERFECT for watching around the holidays, since Christmas miracles play such a large part in its story), and Millennium Actress (quite possibly my favorite movie of all time, animated or otherwise… basically a flawless film in every conceivable way, with Satoshi Kon’s BEST story and characters, and Susumu Hirasawa’s BEST musical score).
I’d particularly recommend that you watch Millennium Actress, obviously, as it really is just… amazing. I think if any anime movie were to break 90 on your ratings scale, Millennium Actress would be the one. (:
-Tom
Heh, I didn’t like this all that much, either. I think if they had made it a full-length movie, it would’ve had room to breathe, and things would’ve turned out better.
However, there is a second movie that was released in April; whether or not it’s been subbed yet, I’m not sure. I have yet to see it myself. But maybe there’s some hope there.
Sorry for the double-post, but I second Tom’s recommendation of Satoshi Kon’s works
The movie wasn’t rushed. The problem here was that it was handled by a completely different team. Director Ryutaro Nakamura had no say in what happenned here but he does return to the director’s seat for the second movie which I don’t think any of us have seen yet. :/
Pretty sure that it has yet to be released on DVD over in Japan and/or subbed.