Kino's Journey is the tale of one boy and his bike and the road ahead.

And that's it. No mechs, no schoolgirls, no spaceships, no fanservice, no vampires. There are a few slight fantasy elements to Kino's Journey - he has a companion in the form of a talking bike and it's clear that the world they travel is not our own - but otherwise this is a strangely subdued story void of the usual telltale anime cliches. Kino travels from country to country, visiting the towns and cities, meeting the various people. He stays no longer than three days in the fear that he might settle down and cease to be a traveller, yet he stays long enough to better understand his surroundings and its inhabitants. However, Kino is not a wandering hero in the vein of Fist of the North Star or King of Bandit Jing; he rarely strives to solve all the problems of the people he meets or rescue the humble villagers from the local tyrant, he simply moves on to the next place and the next story. Perhaps it will transpire that Kino was in fact helping these people in some mysterious fashion, but for now this remains a refreshing, invigorating

approach to a timeworn method of anime storytelling.

With each new place Kino visits comes a fresh set of characters and a new story, giving Kino's Journey a stable if slightly predictable structure. This obviously means that some episodes will be more successful than others, although the standard on this disc is reassuringly high. One episode in particular caught my eye. Under the cover of heavy snow, Kino comes across three weary campers on the brink of starvation. Understanding of their plight, Kino sets about hunting down the local rabbits waking from their winter hibernation to provide the campers with some much needed sustenance. As the campers grow stronger, Kino's guilt for having slain the rabbits for someone else's benefit preys large on his mind, yet Kino finds reward in helping his fellow man and preservers regardless of the ethical implications. It's a beautiful, almost poignant story that develops at a pedestrian yet peculiarly involving pace. At first you're shocked at the brutality of Kino mercilessly slaying a defenceless rabbit (it has shades of Watership Down in its execution), but you soon begin to sympathise with the character as they describe their own concerns in facing such a moral dilemma.

Kino is a strangely dour central

character. He appears to be quite young and very worldy-wise for such an age, perhaps a result of the experience gained from his constant travels (we join Kino's journey at an arbitrary point in time). Despite Kino's perceived wisdom and expertise with weapons of all kinds he's never smug, never heroic and never cracks a joke. Yet I found myself quickly warming to Kino's unassuming charms because he's so perfectly suited for a gentle tale such as this. His talking bike, an unexpected addition considering the tone of the series, is no less an integral part of Kino's Journey than Kino himself. A constant companion, the banter between Kino and his bike constitutes most of the dialogue during these early episodes.

However, neither Kino nor his bike Hermes offer much in the way of comic relief. Whilst Kino's Journey is not utterly devoid of humour it is a world apart from the likes of King of Bandit Jing's light-hearted antics (incidently, Kino's Journey shares many similarities with this particular show...but that's for another review). Besides, you'll be far too enamoured with the beauty of Kino's surroundings to really take much notice of such trivialities. Broadly painted with thick lines and pastel hues, the varied locations

of Kino's Journey perfectly complement the distinctively chunky character designs. The art direction is bold and creative, making good use of monotone colour palettes and over exposed lighting to create a relaxed, peaceful atmosphere. When the warm winter's sun hits the bright white snow we're treated to a dazzling display of subtle colours that sets the mood perfectly. Kino's Journey may not be the most technically accomplished series to be released in recent years but it's certainly one of the most beautiful.

I really hope Kino's Journey goes on to attain the popularity it deserves. Sadly I'm not too sure if this will be the case; it's a series of real quality but it lacks any easily definable selling point. No mechs, no schoolgirls, no spaceships, no fanservice, no vampires. I'll admit that the relaxed atmosphere of Kino's Journey won't appeal to everyone, but if you fancy something a little out of the ordinary, why not give this a try? You won't regret it.

*NOTE to readers who've already watched the first volume Kino's Journey - you may notice a certain discrepancy in the above review. This is included here because I didn't want to spoil the surprise. You know what I'm talking about!*