One particular thing I really like about this series is that the title of the individual stories often defies expectation. For example we had a country where people were allowed to kill, only instead of a hellish country filled with murderous thugs it’s instead a safe place filled with those sick of murder who only use the law to punish those who attempt to disturb their peaceful existence. Here it is the same, as it is indeed about a Bothersome Country but more that the country is bothersome because of it’s need to be constantly moving. But it’s not the only bothersome country in this episode as we have another country which blocked the plains in order to extort travelers passing through. So it’s up for debate on whether the title refers to the moving country or the other country but I at least like that they didn’t necessarily pick a side in this fight. If we are to paint things black and white then the border country is in the wrong for blocking the plains. But then again the moving country ignored all their pleas to stop and essentially tore through the country. Destroying everything in their path. As such it’s hard to balance this out as simply good or evil but I will say that the moving country did come off better than the border country.
I do laugh at the fact that for Kino this was merely a means to get past the border country without paying the big tolls. I can’t say this was the strongest story but I do like the overall message that much like how the moving country can’t help but mark the land with its caterpillar tracks, people too cannot moving through live without leaving traces. The final evidence of that is that Kino’s defense of the children’s mural will likely result in the children making her the next mural in the next hundred days or so. Hence even Kino can’t not leave traces of her in the places she leaves. This isn’t the strongest story but it is nice to have stories in Kino’s world that don’t end with some dark twist and rather just a whimsical little adventure.
I can’t say I have been fond of the way that this series appears to be selecting stories where KIno plays a more active role than a passive one. We have her breaking her established rules of non interference and her normal three day rule. As this story caps off with Kino showing off her mad sniper skills, I fear that this series may be trying to turn her into some kind of action girl. Now Kino has always been skilled but I appreciate it more when she keeps her talent under wraps. What makes Kino badass is that she doesn’t need to show off and only uses her skills when necessary. If someone started from this series instead of the 2003 version then I feel like they would have a mistaken impression who exactly Kino is and what makes her different from any old anime girl with a gun. Kino is no paragon of justice, nor is she some anti-hero. Kino is an observer who watches the world and only interferes when her hand is forced or in this case, on a whim.
I have a feeling that it’s going to be a little more action-packed this time around, for worse or otherwise. We’ll see how it goes; Kino is one of my all-time favorite characters from fiction due in no small part to her humility and hidden badassery. As somebody already acquainted with her character I don’t particularly mind the more interventionist tales, but I agree with you that it might be misleading for new viewers. One idea I have as to why Kino decided to show off her shooting skills this time was in case the moving country was prepared to fire their massive laser at the jeeps to prevent the destruction of the mural. Using lethal force to protect property is considerably less righteous than using it to defend life.
For this week’s episode, I concur about it being nice because of its whimsy. It was thought-provoking without being depressing or boring, which is something the entire franchise does quite well in my opinion. I like to wax philosophical on the internet as much as anyone, but unfortunately I can’t really watch any quantity of intense, dark, or disheartening shows. I seem to remember 2003 Kino maintaining a fine balance between slice of life adventure and pragmatic philosophy. It examined the good and bad facets of society without wallowing in angst or becoming melodramatic.
The quote at the end with the episode title caught my eye: “leave only footsteps.” It’s a common saying in both the urban exploration and camping/hiking communities to “take only pictures, leave only footprints.” I initially found the damage from the tire tracks to be pretty substantial and contrary to their claims to preserve the environment, but on further thought it really isn’t so egregious. It may take a hundred years, but all those razed trees will without fail grow back and to a forest a century or ten is but a blink. A friend of mine believes, “trees are the dominant species; they were here long before us, and they’ll be growing from our ashes when we blow ourselves up.”
I think I might drop this series and continue reading the novels, despite the first anime series being one of my favorite anime ever. The new series seems to be just going through the motions of telling each story while upping the action and rushing or omitting the introspective part of the novels and the older series. It’s too bad, if it had a stronger staff I feel like it could be adapted much better than what the new series is currentlydoing. I guess it’s been more of a “be careful what you wish for” season when it comes to sequels, at least for me.
I really appreciate you covering this series though. I’ll keep an eye on the reviews, just in case.