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Kino no Tabi -The Beautiful World- The Animated Series (Remake version)

If you love slice-of-life shows with a slight twist in them, this may just be the anime for you!
Kino no Tabi (Kino's Journey) is based on a hit light novel series, following a girl who took up the name "Kino" as she travels around the different countries with her revolvers as well as her partner, a talking motorrad by the name of Hermes. She stays in each country for the maximum of three days.
Each country featured in the anime has their very own characteristics and some of them are so different that you wouldn't think they belonged in the same world at all! Examples include a country where murderers are not outlawed; where children get part of their brains removed upon coming-of-age so they become 'adults'; where an entire country moves by uprooting itself and actually moving. There's much more but you really do have to watch each episode to understand what I mean.

The series is rather episodic and there is one episode which shows Kino's past, which I felt is a very good bonus to the series!

However, do note that this is a remake, which means that each episode is essentially covering the same events as the original adaptation which makes two valid questions: 'Which should I watch?' and 'If I watched the original, should I watch this too?'

So I'll like to use this post to highlight the  difference with regards to art about the two versions (which I feel is their greatest disparity) and then two other points which I like and dislike about this remake version and hopefully these will provide enough details to for you to decide if you should bother with this version, or just watch the original, or watch both.

Art
You might be thinking that there's no room for comparison here since older anime tend to have less impressive art but that is not the main idea that I'm going for with this category.

First, let's look at the original. 
The colors used are much more monochromatic and dull and if you have watched shows with a peaceful yet dark underlying theme, you would know that such a color palette really suits the atmosphere well. However, it seems that the original also dwells on a minimalist approach to furniture in rooms as well as when it comes to shading and lineart.
Due to this, everything in the original adaptation seems really simple and easy on the eyes. The newer Beautiful World remake version though, harps on keeping up with the modern way of animation with crisp lines and shading as well as vibrant colors. It also places a lot of blurry backgrounds with CGI Hermes and a traditional animation style for Kino, all into the same frame. This is especially common when Kino travels from country to country. 
You can see the difference in shading styles for Kino's white sleeves (sharper) and the luggage behind her (softer and more blended). The landscape is quite blurry and the colors are very bright, which gives a great contrast to the dark greens Kino is wearing.

Personally, this isn't really an issue and everything does look much smoother and less jarring for me with the animation instead of simply still images. However, in the case that this raises your concerns, I have several shots after this for you to better analyse if this issue affects you.


Music
I will be a little biased here and say that because Yanagi Nagi performed the opening theme for the Remake version, it is inevitable that I would prefer that to the original. The animation sequence also really adds to the song because it actually fits with the song really well.

The opening uses blue birds, which signifies flight and hence travel, which I felt was a very good theme used to tie in with this particular anime.

Seiyuu
Aoi Yuuki is the seiyuu for Kino in the remake series and is also the seiyuu for Sakura in the original. Aoi Yuuki is a seiyuu that's quite high on my watch list as she has also voiced other characters from popular shows such as Kaname Madoka from Madoka Magica, Victorique from Gosick, Natori Sayaka from Kimi no Na wa, and Tepes Krul from Owari no Seraph.

The original Kino is voiced by Maeda Ai who is well-known for her calm voice when playing Kino's role. However, she has not been voicing much since then. Hopefully one day, she will be back?

Enjoyment
My enjoyment of the remake series is about 8/10. Many of the episodes are really very beautiful and though provoking. The series generally helps point out how twisted the world and mankind can be, but still never fails to show you hope for a better tomorrow.

~ Reina-rin

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