Whirlwind tour.
What They Say:
Episode #9: “Various Countries”
On top of a mountain, an old bandit stands on lookout with a teenage boy. Together, they carefully size up their prey: a dark-haired man in a buggy with a girl and a dog, a single rider on a motorrad, and… In addition, Kino drinks tea and makes a meal.
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Breaking from form and tradition, this episode is broken up into short anecdotes about different countries that Kino and her fellow travelers visited.
We learn a few new things about our travelers. Kino is a fan of hot and spicy food. Ti always has a grenade, always. What happens in the Unforgettable country stays in the Unforgettable country. Ultimately, these anecdotes are a mix of both funny and melancholy. I wonder if the trio will ever find a place to settle down, as it appears that good city-states are hard to come by. When you do find them, as Kino finds out, the chance to become a settler is often snatched away by the unique circumstances of their existence.
Ultimately, I enjoy these short stories but they are hard to write about at length because their substance is their punchlines. When batch watching this series this episode makes a lovely pallet cleanser for what’s about to come in episode 10.
Episode Grade: B
Heavy Spoilers for Episode 10 on the next page.
