Anime: Kino no Tabi: Nanika o Suru Tame ni - Life Goes On.

This is definitely not a bad movie/addition to the kino travel's series but alone it doesn't stand too good. Compared to the series you didn't really get the sense of the "travels" part of the story. I mean they do kinda show her go around a very little bit but not alot. On the otherhand this is a very informative movie which fills in alot of gaps that the series does not explain. The major focus of this series was to explain the gap between before Kino started travelling and after she escaped from her hometown. Personally I think the movie is a better watch after you have seen the series, but you could definitely watch it on its own.

Animation
The animation is the exact same style as the series. You have the old western look to all the scenes and Kino and the "master" look like characters taken out of a cowboy show. I personally enjoyed this style since it is quite different from most anime. Some may say it made it look like low quality video but I didn't really get that impression. Although the only thing that lacked in the movie was fast paced action scenes. They would of been out of place if they had them though.

Sound
The sound is also almost the same as the series. They use the same opening and very similiar ost to the series. They also have the same voice actors of course :p. I liked all the aspects so it all worked out well. Although during the series at least in the beginning you didn't know if Kino was a boy or girl... It is quite clear in the movie he IS a girl. The one thing I found weird was Kino's voice sounded more masculine with short hair then long... I'm not sure if it's because I wanted to think he was a boy or if they actually did something there.

Story
The story wasn't too groundbreaking. Since like I've already said it just fills in gaps not much is developped. Although during the series you never found a real main plot but still it was more effective then the movie. The short stories in the series all had little lessons and twists to them. Whereas in the movie you didn't really find too big of a plot twist. I guess it was rather simple and straightforward.

Character
There is definitely character development during this movie. More so then the series at least, in the movie you actually see a change in Kino between the beginning and the end. I guess you get to watch him grow into the character he becomes in the series. This I liked about the movie more then the series. In the series Kino seemed pretty heartless/emotionless in most situations. Or he never showed his emotions. On the otherhand you didn't get a good cast of side characters in the movie. You didn't actually really have any important side characters at all.

Value and Enjoyment
You definitely learn a small little lesson after seeing this series, although I won't ruin it. Unfortunately it doesn't have much rewatch value. Its more of a one time sit through to get that extra bit of the series. I would rather rewatch the series then the movie. I did enjoy the movie though. I was in the blue about some things during the series that were cleared up nicely in the movie. I also found it fun to watch more of Kino's travels in general since I liked it very much. This movie is geared more towards people into adventure/fantasy. Even more so to people that have enjoyed the series. So watch it if it suits you!

This is a movie based on "Kino no Tabi ~the Beautiful World~." It honestly doesn't matter whether you watch this before or after you watch the series mentioned, but if you haven't watched the series yet, I would highly recommend it.


Animation

The animation of "Kino no Tabi ~the Beautiful World~ -life goes on-" is alright, in my opinion. I thought it was very creative to make "interlaced" video, same as the the series. That's something that I've never seen before, but it's nothing outstanding.
Toward the end of the movie, it had a strange, twisted flashback scene that that I was not particularly fond of.


Sound[/u]

All the voices are done well, but nothing exceptional. I enjoy the OP though, and the ED is alright.Much the same as the series, the background music is very subliminal, unmemorable, but still adding to the anime in a positive tone.


Story, Character[/u]

The story is about Kino's past, the time that she stayed with the person mentioned only as "Shishou," Kino's teacher. There's three main characters: Kino, Hermes (the motorrad), and Shishou.
There isn't much more to say about the story or the characters without giving away the plot, Kino and Hermes are the same as those from the anime series mentioned at the beginning of this review, if you wish to know more about them, you can watch that.


Value, Enjoyment[/u]

I do not really see the value of this movie, but I didn't find it displeasing to watch. There isn't much violence (not that this matters to me), It's a little shorter than I thought it would be, seeing as how it's called a movie. It's only half an hour long.
There's no major twist of fate or suddenly revealed fact at the end, nothing to really say that would make this movie outstanding.

I would recommend this movie to watch, but not as a purchase. Relish's version is the only version that I could find in english, you can find it by following their link to their site.