A Note on Pronouns
Hello there! You might have noticed that I use singular "they/them" pronouns for Kino in my writing. I'm going to explain why I've made that decision.
In the canon of Kino no Tabi, the ambiguity of Kino's gender is very important. In the anime, Kino is not revealed to be designated female at birth until the fourth episode—before then, it was left undefined and up to the audience to assume or speculate. A similar occurrence happens in the novels, and this ambiguity was much easier to preserve in Japanese due to the lack of gendered third-person pronouns (in the only Kino no Tabi novel translated into English, however, it lessened the impact of this as the novel was arranged chronologically and Kino was addressed with she/her pronouns from the beginning, buuut I don't really like or agree with that localization/interpretation). Throughout the series, however, Kino tends towards androgyny in gender presentation (how they dress) and also ambiguity in how they refer to themself and how others refer to them. In the Japanese, Kino is most often addressed with gender-neutral honorifics (generally -san) and uses self-referential pronouns which are typically considered more masculine in nature (generally boku). Whenever people tend to address Kino with more gendered language (either male or female), Kino tends to correct them towards referring to them as "just Kino."
One of the OVAs marks the exact moment Kino decides to change their pronoun usage. In their youth, they used the more polite/feminine watashi, but when training with their Master, they began to realize that the more masculine boku felt more "correct." There can be a few interpretations of this, but I personally interpret it, as well as Kino's disposition and choice of clothing/presentation, as them continuing to emulate the original Kino.
So what does this mean? Well, much of the impact of Kino no Tabi comes from both how Kino reacts to the strangers that they meet and also how strangers interpret Kino. My use of gender-neutral "they/them" pronouns is a personal decision and an endeavor to best preserve the language of the original Japanese. I am not, however, demanding anyone else use these! If you wish to, that's perfectly fine, but I also encourage those who encounter Kino to interpret Kino and their gender however your character might! So she/her or he/him pronouns would also be fine.
Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to reply here!
In the canon of Kino no Tabi, the ambiguity of Kino's gender is very important. In the anime, Kino is not revealed to be designated female at birth until the fourth episode—before then, it was left undefined and up to the audience to assume or speculate. A similar occurrence happens in the novels, and this ambiguity was much easier to preserve in Japanese due to the lack of gendered third-person pronouns (in the only Kino no Tabi novel translated into English, however, it lessened the impact of this as the novel was arranged chronologically and Kino was addressed with she/her pronouns from the beginning, buuut I don't really like or agree with that localization/interpretation). Throughout the series, however, Kino tends towards androgyny in gender presentation (how they dress) and also ambiguity in how they refer to themself and how others refer to them. In the Japanese, Kino is most often addressed with gender-neutral honorifics (generally -san) and uses self-referential pronouns which are typically considered more masculine in nature (generally boku). Whenever people tend to address Kino with more gendered language (either male or female), Kino tends to correct them towards referring to them as "just Kino."
One of the OVAs marks the exact moment Kino decides to change their pronoun usage. In their youth, they used the more polite/feminine watashi, but when training with their Master, they began to realize that the more masculine boku felt more "correct." There can be a few interpretations of this, but I personally interpret it, as well as Kino's disposition and choice of clothing/presentation, as them continuing to emulate the original Kino.
So what does this mean? Well, much of the impact of Kino no Tabi comes from both how Kino reacts to the strangers that they meet and also how strangers interpret Kino. My use of gender-neutral "they/them" pronouns is a personal decision and an endeavor to best preserve the language of the original Japanese. I am not, however, demanding anyone else use these! If you wish to, that's perfectly fine, but I also encourage those who encounter Kino to interpret Kino and their gender however your character might! So she/her or he/him pronouns would also be fine.
Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to reply here!