IMHO. 'Kino no tabi' ~ don't try to imitate, these stunts were performed by professionals

How do you know the show is good? When do you realise it is?
It took me half-an-episode to know 'Kino' is good. She comes to a city where all locals avoid her, but finally one decides to welcome her.

 

It's a story about a city where the citizens had all drank a potion enabling them to read each other's thoughts, so Kino becomes the first companion without this effect, because she's a traveller.
Wait, does the cause lie in the potion?
Each episode there's something in every city that reminds us of important things to think about in a very indirect, and stylish, way. I don't know about you, but I call this art.

How do you decide something is good?

I do a lot of comparison. And 'Kino' offers a nice chance to compare, being released as anime series twice, with different staff. If I had any doubts whether the old 'Kino' is nicely done or not, they were cleared by my attempt to watch the second installment.

How do you know the show is good? When do you realise it is?

It took me several minutes to realise what's wrong with the new 'Kino'. Everybody there sounds like I'm on a Japanese speech contest where participants have to deliver their speech in a clear, understandable way with predetermined, acceptable intonations. I was greatly disappointed to hear the new team of voice actors pronounce their lines as if they were machines following certain instructions.

My only grief is that the old 'Kino' didn't have any memorable soundtrack or theme songs, because the OPED songs were just average, Mikuni Shimokawa being just herself, and Ai Maeda having maybe just a bit better song, which, nevertheless, was not memorable, and background music mostly consisted of occasional disturbing synth chords. But if you ask me which OST created more atmosphere, my answer would be still - the old 'Kino'.

I tried, I did try to watch the new one. But there are black-and-white movies that needn't be coloured, and old cartoons that needn't be broadcast with new voice recording, and there are stories like 'Kino' that needn't be brighter than they are.

If it states that 'the world is not beautiful; therefore, it is', then it has to be not-beautiful, or this statement won't be properly conveyed.