Personality
Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of Kino throughout the entire series is her personality. As one of the few female lead characters to grace this genre of anime, you would expect her to be unique to some degree, but the amount of depth to Kino's personality is absolutely amazing on many levels.
On the surface, Kino is so neutral about everything that she almost comes across as cold. When she arrives at a town, she spends as much time as possible listening and learning, but will almost never offer her own opinions on any subject. She is always willing to listen to someone's story, but won't actively give advice or help them. The reason for this is not because she is stoic or selfish however- it is because she is modest. Kino is incredibly in touch with herself and the universe, and understands that she is but one person. Her opinion is not better or worse than that of another person, and she has no right to judge the thoughts or actions of others. Because of that, she chooses to let life play out around her, rather than getting involved.
Kino: Because I'm not God.
This way of thinking is one of the most prevalent things that influence her personality. She often questions things like why humans value the lives of other humans over the lives of animals. She takes great pride in her life as a traveler, and always strives to find the answers to these questions. A lot of this comes from her admiration of the original Kino as well- he was the one who encouraged her to question things like the surgery to become adults. She learned from him never to just accept things at face value.
The thing I admire most about Kino's personality is how strong she is. She was able to rise up from adversity and become a truly remarkable human being. She doesn't get jealous or angry- she would rather try to understand a situation than get upset by it. She always does what needs to be done to protect herself and her journey, while trying not to interfere with the lives of others. If she has to shoot someone, then she shoots them. Her survival instincts, both emotionally and physically, make her an incredible force throughout the series.
However, because of this, many people view Kino as heartless or indifferent. I struggled with that myself- she seems almost too perfect, too calm at times. However, some of the best moments in the series are when she shows emotion. When she is happy or content with the world, the look of pure joy on her face is just amazing. One of my favourite scenes is when she is on a raft at night, looking up at the night sky, completely happy. Despite being so inquisitive, she is still able to take joy in the simplicity of life.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, occasionally her fears slip through the cracks and she appears genuinely scared or devastated. While she claims that she is not afraid to die, she can't hide her fright when she is attacked randomly. When Sakura's village is destroyed in episode 13, her sheer shock and devastation is one of the most powerful moments in the series. Kino is an amazingly actualized person, so it's easy to forget sometimes that she is actually just a child, and seeing those moments where her guard is down really shows a different side to her personality. These marks of "humanity" really level out her character, who almost can seem too perfect at times.
Kino's personality is wonderfully complex, and is the reason why the series is as unique as it is. I think she is the only person that could live the life she has lived and turned out to be so amazing.