AMINE AND MANGA

Kino's Journey: the Beautiful World (キノの旅 -the Beautiful World-, Kino no Tabi -the Beautiful World-?), shortened to Kino's Journey, is a Japanese light novel series written by Keiichi Sigsawa, with illustrations by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. The series originally started serialization in volume five of MediaWorks' now-defunct light novel magazine Dengeki hp on March 17, 2000. The first bound volume of the series was published on July 10, 2000 by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko publishing label. As of October 10, 2008, twelve volumes have been published, and over 5.6 million copies of the novels have been sold in Japan.[1] In Kino's Journey, the protagonist, Kino, accompanied by a talking Brough Superior motorcycle named Hermes, travels through a mystical world of many different countries and forests, each unique in its customs and people.
A thirteen-episode anime adaptation produced by A.C.G.T and Genco aired between April and July 2003 on WOWOW in Japan. Two visual novels for the PlayStation 2 were released by ASCII Media Works, the first in July 2003, and the second in December 2005. There have also been two thirty-minute animated films produced, the first in February 2005, and the second in April 2007. An additional light novel was only released as a promotional gift for the second animated movie. Additional merchandise includes an art book, three picture books, and a drama CD. A spin-off of the regular series under the title Gakuen Kino was also created.