2 replies to this topic

[Archmage Lezard]

While nothing has been explicitly said, I can't help but wonder if KNI is set in the same world as YKK. Whatever infrastructure this world has seems to require planes for transportation, rather than more economical ships and trucks. Many portions of the YKK world suffered from rising sea levels, enough to cut off highways from each other, but too shallow for real boats to navigate. 

 

Mt. Fuji and the Tokyo Tower are referred to as 'legendary places'. Although large concentrations of humanity remains, we are never shown any kind of organization higher than small-town level. In fact, although the MC flies over 'city lights', we're never actually shown the city, how large it actually is, or what kind of condition it's in.

 

The Mt. Fuji arc shows what is possibly YKK level AI-technology (they could have been trolled by a prankster, but it's equally possible that everything was as it seemed), and while the characters are surprised, they're not exactly shocked. The only kind of world I can imagine where 20th century civilian aircraft flies side by side with advanced robotic intelligences would be the YKK one.

 

Just a thought for discussion.

[Comadrin]

An interesting thought, but I didn't notice the vast distances of Kabu no Isaki while reading YKK, nor was Mt. Fuji rearing well into the stratosphere.  Alpha and the guy with the flying fishes did take a very long time to travel around Japan, but they were walking and not flying planes, so their journeys were on par with, say, Hiroshige traipsing all over Japan to paint, which would take a good while.  In the Edo period, going from Edo to Kyoto took several weeks.  As Cmattern wrote on the main comment page:

 

"Actually, no.  YKK is set in our world in the future, when humanity has gone into decline.  This is set in an alternate world. where the world is much larger than it is here, which is why Mount Fuji's peak is above the atmosphere and everybody has to fly such long distances to get anywhere.  They both have a similar feeling though, being both largely empty worlds (with amazing scenery)."

 

I think his/her comment pretty much answers that question for me (I wondered the same thing you did).  

 

Both worlds (KnI and YKK) seem to be in decline, as far as central governments, infrastructure, and mass media communication go (the communication is there, as Alpha sends and receives packages and letters, and listens to the radio, kind of on an early 20th century level).  At the same time, technology is definitely there, with both worlds having incredible airships on long range tours (the one in YKK is much more mysterious than the one in KnI), extremely advanced AI (Alpha and friends and the "pilot" of the C-130).  Repair facilities seem more limited in YKK, as Alpha was pretty lucky that Sensei was there to repair her when she was hit by lightning.  My feeling is that the lack of central government and mass media is one of the most attractive features of both worlds (as well as the lower population - I hate having hordes of people breathing down my neck, so to speak).  Both are simpler worlds, yet they still have amenities.  I also love the fact that there is a lot less sexism in both worlds than there is in our own.  Guys are still male and girls female, but Shiro-San is highly respected by both sexes.  Even the guy who grabbed Shiro's bottom in the all night cafe apologized the next day, when he was sobered up.  

 

Both worlds are attractive to me, with a dream-like existence, still dealing with real-world problems but without the frenetic, day-to-day stressful pace that characterizes our world today.  Is this "Escapism?"  Maybe so, but I tend to agree with Patrick McGoohan's line from "The Prisoner," a show back in the late 1960's, "The only people who face reality are those who are too stupid to duck when they see it coming."  To put it another way, "Will you kindly get your muddy boots off my ivory tower."  I enjoy the worlds in Ashinano Sensei's works the same way I enjoyed the Martian world in Aqua and Aria.

Edited by Comadrin, 14 November 2013 - 05:58 AM.

[Comadrin]

With chapter 45 out now (Thanks, Roselia) maybe we are going to learn more about KnI's world.  At least that's the impression I got from the last page of it.  Hopefully Shiro will explain some things for us, while she explains things to Isaki.