Ooyukiumi no Kaina: Kaina of the Great Snow Sea

[MFauli]

A world blanketed in an endless and ever-growing ocean of snow. The people eke out a living, either huddled around the roots of enormous trees dotting the surface, or high in the canopy, which spreads over the planet's atmosphere.

A chance meeting between Kaina, a youth from the canopy, and Liliha, a young woman from the surface, sets off a chain of events that will change the fate of the world.

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Episode 1:

Yeah, this was great. Probably the most intriguing world setting in a long time, a world that I want to explore and find out more. What a visually pleasing, exciting setting.

The story is told perfectly paced, too, so far, neither rushed nor slow, and we got our hero and heroine introduced. The creativity is off the charts. Only downside I guess is the choppy cgi animation of the characters, but the art itself is great and makes up for it. I like the cleanliness of the cgi, too.

This is absolutely my #1 hope for the season now and I can't wait to see more.

Edit: Oh, I just read this is from Tsutomu Nihei, the BLAME1-mangaka. That explains why I love this ^^

[MFauli]

Oh, and I just found out from an old trailer that this has Hiroyuki Sawano-music, too! Anime of the season confirmed ^^

[DarthEnderX]

That thread title is unnecessary...

[shinta|hikari]

Especially because this doesn't resemble Made in Abyss at all.

[MFauli]

Especially because this doesn't resemble Made in Abyss at all.

I wonder what you watched Made in Abyss for to make that statement .... The exciting, adventurous world and the survival aspect are totally comparable.

[shinta|hikari]

Because having two general aspects common to a lot of stories within a genre (Adventure, Survival) is not a good enough reason to call them similar.

[MFauli]

Because having two general aspects common to a lot of stories within a genre (Adventure, Survival) is not a good enough reason to call them similar.

It is for me and I'd be glad if someone told me "hey yo, you liked Made in Abyss, but didn't like the child heroes much? This is for you!"

Btw how did you find episode 1?

[shinta|hikari]

It was okay. I am really turned off by the CG. This would've been so much better if animated normally.

[MFauli]

Episode 2:

Man, this anime gives me anxiety from heights lol. I'd never be able to climb down such a tall wall. My best bet would be:

- catch a bug, attach a rope and have it fly me downwards
- build a parachute
- catch a floater, because apparently they also go down sometimes. Or maybe chop off part of it like removing balloons from a large group of balloons

Pacing continues to be good, but the wait between episodes will be frustrating.

Oh, didn't expect the laser tool at the end there. That was such a "ok, this is a Nihei Tsutomu-story, alright" moment :D

[MFauli]

Episode 3:

I WANT A VIDEO GAME OF THIS ANIME!!1 :D

The climb was fun. Actually a bit short, but on the other hand I wouldn't wanna spend more episodes just watching the climb.

Worried how much they can tell with only 11 episodes (and a movie?).

[shinta|hikari]

I like Kaina. He is decisive yet kind.

The princess is also cute with her dere antics.

The archers of the black country are fucking snipers...

[MFauli]

Episode 4:

Okay episode. What I really disliked this week is how nobody seems to give a shit about people getting killed. Be it heroes or villains, people just drop dead and the scene continues without any emotional reaction. If that isn't further explained, it could be one of those details that make and break a truly great story.

[shinta|hikari]

If death is common, people stop reacting to it.

[MFauli]

If death is common, people stop reacting to it.

That'd be an explanation, yeah, but we haven't been given it yet.

What I could see: People are actually relieved when others die, because it means less consumption of their limited water resources.

[shinta|hikari]

I mean, they even do that blade ritual to honor the dead. It's not like they don't feel or do anything. They just don't have the leisure to mope about it.

I don't think they are happy with their friends dying just because it'll mean one less mouth to feed.

[David75]

You can't spare time on the battefield for sadness, grievance. Survive first, try to accomplish your objectives, comeback uninjured.

[MFauli]

episode 6:

Unfortunately, this series hasn't lived up to my initial hype. Did we really need an entire episode about moving the princess from a cage to a hiding place on the same boat? Should have been half the episode at most. Also way too many lucky moments where they're about be found out, but some other guard calls the guard next to them off, so he stops opening the box.

I really hope that some day, Tsutomu Nihei's BLAME gets an opulent, modern anime adaptation, because this mangaka deserves to see his best brought to life. It's unfair that instead they picked this children's story. And I'm using "children's story" not as a derogative, but as an on-the-nose "this story was written for children" as opposed to something like BLAME or Knights of Sidonia.

[shinta|hikari]

I'm ok with lucky breaks since those happen in reality quite often. Low-ranking soldiers are also pretty incompetent generally.

The thing that broke my suspension of disbelief was when 2 normal doods just lifted and transported a big wooden box with 3 humans inside with just their bare hands holding on the sides of the box. Impossible.

[David75]

Will Amélothée, one of the few named characters, ally with our crew like Tea'lc at some point ?
I feel like it was no coïncidence that prince had red hair in the flashback. He could be Amélothée's brother or relative.
She's strong, she has a revenge to live for, she finds an out of the norm efficient team.

[shinta|hikari]

Oh shit I didn't realize the red hair. That gives sexy knight a good reason to betray that mothercucker.

[MFauli]

Episode 11 - Final:

CAN WE HAVE A BLAME! ADAPTATION NOW?!

Dat molecule gun, lol :D

All in all, a disappointing anime. Feels like "Tsutomu Nihei for Babies". Shidonia no Kishi is much better, as is Blame!. Still an okay watch, as long as you don't go in with the usual expectations.