Traveling to different societies and meeting people. Lots of philosophizing.
Galaxy Express 999 has been stated as the inspiration for Kino's Journey. Both follow a young observer who travels around. Each place visited seems to hinge on one focal point of society and the viewer is left to draw conclusions and form their own opinions.
A traveler and their companion (in Galaxy Express' case, Maetel and Tetsuro) set out on a long, seemingly endless journey, a journey that has the same destination, adulthood.
Both Tetsuro and Kino are thrust into their journey after a major event in their lives backs them into a corner. Whereas Tetsuro learns about the customs and histories of other planets, Kino learns about the customs and histories of other countries. Both get into bad situations from time to time, but one thing is consistent with all of the planets/countries, they always leave with more knowledge and thoughts about their lives than they had when they
first visited them.
Kino's Journey is focused on being philosophical, unlike Galaxy Express, which has its fair share of philosophical moments in its hundred and thirteen episodes but it's far from the focus. A few episodes of Galaxy Express actually get a lot darker than most of what happens during Kino's journey, despite the fact it's a children's show from the late 70s. I would definitely recommend Galaxy Express to anyone who enjoyed Kino's Journey, but found it ultimately unsatisfying due to its short length.
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Melancholic slice of life anime about a travelling duo. Each place they visit sets up a new allegorical story that takes place over the course of 1 or more episodes. The stories are mostly concerned with things such as war, social degradation from technology, human nature, and survival of the fittest. The protagonist considers travelling to be dangerous and always carries a handgun.
Kino's Journey and Galaxy Express 999 tell the story of a duo traveling to various places within a short span of time. Both shows offer philosophical moments that provoke contemplation. In Kino's Journey, viewers might be left to draw their own conclusions about the story's message, while in the other, the author's perspective on the story is somewhat discernible and it's quite pessimistic at times.
