Kaina of the Great Snow Sea – First Impression

Have you ever imagined walking in the sky and you see the clouds below? In Ooyukiumi no Kaina, the whole world is covered in snow and became unfit to live in. A type of tree called the orbital spire tree grew tall enough to reach the stratosphere, on top of which people started living and an ecosystem formed. Different kinds of bugs are the only lifeform and also livestock there, no animals or birds. The Caddis flies build cocoons from one tree to another as if they are covering the earth. That is strong enough for humans to walk on and travel. In this isolated world, Kaina, a boy from Canopy, tries to make the most of it.

Isolation & loneliness

There’s this looming dread that follows everywhere, the sense of loneliness. In this massive, empty world, you can only wonder if there are any other people left alive. Kaina, living with some old folks, doing the physical work for them. In return, they keep Kaina company, share knowledge & memories, and teach to read from some signboards found in nowhere. In secret, they fear that Kaina will be lonely when they pass on and how his life will be since the orbital spire tree is dying and the water is waning. The bugs seem to gather less to fix holes in the cocoon. Many other groups have suffered their fate as their tree died.

World Building

All we’ve seen raises a lot of questions like what happened to the earth, or whether this is even earth or not. Are they descendants of astronauts who were in space when the catastrophe happened? The next part sheds some light on it a bit as we see some people below the cocoon, on the great snow sea. So, there might be countries of which’s people trying to survive, pirates who scorn the sea, and the use of technology. Much to come later on.

Closing Thoughts

You can never be disappointed by Tsutomu Nihei, the manga author of Blame! which is known for its insane monumental art. It’s always full of awe & wonders how much detail is put into the world. The CG aspect kind of captures that sense well enough. The music and the animation are also decent by Polygon Pictures, which is known for Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ajin, and some others. Give this show a watch if you are looking for something unique.