Kaina of the Great Snow Sea

Episodes 6-7

One upside of the world's messiest rescue mission is that Kaina of the Great Snow Sea has finally dragged the audience to its most interesting locale yet: the mobile fortress country of Valghia. Overall, however, the series continues to be defined by the conflict between its captivating setting and snooze-inducing plotting. The narrative runs on happenstance more than determination, and the cast is too anemic to inspire despite that. I don't mean to sound too harsh right off the bat—I'm still having a good time following Kaina's journey—but the shortcomings and minor annoyances are beginning to compound as the middle of the season wears on.

I wish the rescue mission had been played for comedy because the incompetency on both sides of the equation lends itself much better to that than tension. I can forgive Kaina and Yaona for making things up as they go along; that fits their character. But not even Ririha expresses any urgency once she's freed, and the laxness of the Valghian guard clashes with their imposing appearance. That's certainly intentional, as we later learn of their hodgepodge composition, but it's frustrating to watch both parties bumble around and miss each other through sheer dumb luck. I wouldn't mind if it were funnier, and that's why humor is so important, even in otherwise serious narratives. You can get away with a lot if you know how to craft a good joke.

Generally, I wouldn't say I like to harp on the plot of any anime I review—I think it tends to be the least important part of a show. However, Kaina hasn't given me much else to work with recently. We haven't even had a real sense of direction until one of the Valghian street urchins mentioned the “core” Orbital Spire Tree. Although, again, not to sound insufferably pedantic, but if there's a tree that large and bioluminescent, it's strange that we're only hearing about it now, halfway through the cours. Doling that information out earlier could have assuaged the series' aimlessness. It could have given Kaina a destination instead of letting him drift with the tide.

Valghia is a really neat place, though. Kaina's art direction blows every other aspect of its production out of the water, and Valghia gives us the best backgrounds yet. I love the contrast between the austerity of its façade and the patchwork carpentry of its interior. It feels like someone nailed a bunch of shacks together and pushed them into the sea, which synchronizes nicely with Valghia's origins and population. It's also the largest human settlement we've seen yet, and that also adds up. Its aggression is “justified” because it has the most mouths to feed, yet we witness firsthand that those resources aren't reaching the neediest parts of its population.

Valghia's history, even the abbreviated version, strikes me as the best (i.e., direst) example of the cost of the planet's apocalyptic state. A country that began with humanitarian ambitions providing refuge to people who couldn't fend for themselves turned into a warmongering nomad state that absorbs its defeated opponents into its monstrous wooden maw. They didn't aspire to become the terror of the high snow seas, but resource scarcity creates struggle. War becomes both a product and function of what little society remains. As the snowstorms wax and wane, so too do periods of bloodshed.

I'm interested to see what the Admiral's monster will be, whether it's an actual creature or, given his propensity towards relics, a weapon from the old world. Otherwise, though, his character has evolved less than I hoped. Most of these characters feel like they've been written at an arm's length. In particular, of the street urchins we meet this week, as Chiru's brush with the executioner's axe could have been a great opportunity for the story to utilize drama to humanize the struggle of ordinary Valghians living under totalitarianism. But it resolves too neatly, quickly, and without enough human connection. When the thieves take Kaina and the others into their shelter, we don't have time to connect with them before the expository dialogue begins.

Halfway through the season, Kainaremains buoyant thanks to the promise and wonder of its setting. On the other hand, its story feels divorced from consequences, like the characters are progressing along an assembly line toward the next plot beat. This means it's still a perfectly functional anime, and its apocalyptic blend of science-fiction and fantasy helps it stand out from the crowd. But I leave every episode with the nagging sensation that this could be better. It should be better. It just needs some fire in its belly.

Rating:

Kaina of the Great Snow Sea is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Steve is on Twitter while it lasts. While he enjoys writing about cartoons, he is currently looking into becoming a post-apocalyptic bug hunter. You can also catch him chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.