Kino's Journey
In "Kino's Journey", the protagonist, Kino, accompanied by a talking motorcycle named Hermes, travels through a mystical world of many different countries and forests, each unique in its customs and people. She only spends three days and two nights in every town, without exception, on the principle that three days is enough time to learn almost everything important about a place, while leaving time to explore new lands. Kino says in The Land of Visible Pain that this principle is probably a lie, specifically noting "if I stay any longer, I'm afraid I will settle down." The recurring theme of the anime and novels is described by the phrase, "The world is not beautiful, therefore it is." "Kino's Journey" explores what the anime director Ryūtarō Nakamura described as "a radical sense of 'beauty,'" and brutality, loneliness, nonsense, oppression and tragedy are often juxtaposed against compassion and a fairy-tale atmosphere.