Back to Gindokusei's Profile Gindokusei's Profile 2i2s6j

Kino's Journey is a masterpiece, and I mean it in every sense of the word. I'm currently on volume 12, and at this point, I've read over 100 Kino stories, and not one of them has been bad. Shoot, not one of them has even been mid; they all range from good to fantastic, which truly is a testament to Keiichi Sigsawa's ability as a writer. The numerous concepts and ideas he comes up with for the countries Kino travels to are incredibly impressive, and the way he executes them is equally as impressive. His prose, while simple, is effective and makes Kino a breeze ... to read through, and when he needs to pop off, he POPS OFF—volume 7 in particular had a row of lines that made my jaw drop. He’s not afraid to take risks either, so oftentimes you’ll have no clue whether a story will have a happy ending or not, which he uses to make some extremely tense stories—leaving you at the edge of your seat.

Another thing to note is his character writing, and while Kino's doesn't have very many recurring characters, all of the main 7 are very likable—from Kino's master and her short yet handsome partner, to Shizu, Riku, and Ti, who are my favorite to follow outside of the main duo. Speaking of the main duo, though, Kino and Hermes are one of the best out there. They complement each other perfectly despite being complete opposites (outside of their cold natures). Couldn't imagine them without each other. Finally that brings me to the highlight of the whole series—the titular Kino. Frankly, Kino is the perfect protagonist for this world. Just like the world itself, Kino isn't “all good,” neither is she “all bad”—she’s just Kino. She acts at her own disposition: she's cold, ruthless, badass, and really likes sweets. She's the type of protagonist that can be trying to kill two defenseless kids one chapter and eating a parfait in the next, and I love her for that—one of my favorite characters of all time.

Keiichi Sigsawa is truly a genius—the guy that puts his epilogues in the middle of the book and puts his prologues at the end wrote one of the best things I’ve ever read. At the moment, 17 Kino volumes are out in English, and after that, I'll be left without my goat, so I'm hoping the rest of the volumes get translated in the near future. If you have ANY desire to read this series, I highly, highly recommend it.

Overall, Kino's Journey gets a solid 10/10.

Okitsura really is a great example of why I appreciate watching seasonals so much. This show has like a 6.8 on MAL, and I know I shouldn’t base whether I watch something on a stupid score, but with so many “great” anime out there I want to see, it’s hard to justify watching a “6” even if it could be good.

Anyway, with all that said, I love Okitsura. I love tropical anime, and since there aren’t many of them, I was looking forward to Okitsura ever since I saw the first trailer. And i’m happy to say that, in my opinion, it hits all the ... right beats. It’s cute, just funny enough, the characters are endearing, and the production—i.e., the art and music—is solid. And all in all, it’s just a great time learning about Okinawa and it’s culture, especially since I think it’d be neat to visit one day.

If you like slice-of-life, a hint of romance, a tropical setting, and full episodes made up of mini-episodes like me, I highly recommend this show—or if you just want a chill show to have on in the background.

What a zany manga.

When it comes to adaptations, I’m usually fine whether they’re 1-to-1 or have an added spin. But if you’re going to add a spin, do it like the Kingdom Hearts manga. From cursing to pedo prostitutes to strange Japanese references, this manga is so weird—even by Kingdom Hearts standards—but man, it was so much fun to read.

I feel like every KH fan should read this because, as wacky as this manga is, I genuinely believe it provides some amazing additions to the series—whether that be through comedy, dialogue, or even extra characterization. I genuinely don’t see any fan walking away from this ... manga without a greater appreciation for the source, wherever that appreciation may take place.

And I’d be remiss not to mention the art, which is extremely charming and fits the atmosphere of KH perfectly. The only criticism I can give is that the pacing is a little too quick, which unfortunately leads to some worlds I would’ve loved to see being cut—for example, Halloween Town—and some fights or moments being simplified or skipped altogether due to time constraints.

Other than that, though, this is an amazing adaptation of the first Kingdom Hearts game. I give it a 7/10—it could’ve been an 8 if it was a tad bit longer. Can’t wait to see the rest of this adaptation.

Okay, my 1/10, appalling score is definitely overblown. In reality, this adaptation borders closer to a 6 or 7. That being said, after waiting five years for this adaptation, disappointed doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel.

Aside from the great music and voice acting, there is nothing here—no ion, no love, just a soulless adaptation that adds nothing new to the source. I’ll never recommend someone watch this instead of reading it, and it’s a shame because, personally, I prefer the medium of animation over manga.

What makes it even worse—the real salt in the wound—is that every other popular WSJ manga got an amazing ... adaptation I.e. Elusive Samurai, Undead Unluck, Mashel, Csm, Dandadan, Gachiakuta (Not Wsj but still), while Sakamoto Days is stuck with this, despite outselling over half of them. No shade to those other series, but man, it hurts. To look forward to something for so long, only to be massively disappointed... I couldn’t imagine telling myself four or five years ago that I would drop THE Sakamoto Days anime, but I can’t take it anymore. The show physically pains me to watch. Episodes 1–4 were solid enough, but after seeing what they did with the Boiled fight, I just cannot, by any means, continue.

0/10. Just read the manga.