As mentioned above, Kaina of the Great Snow Sea is an adaptation of a manga that is newly published in 2022, written and drawn by the one and only Tsutomu Nihei. For those of you who might not know who he is, Tsutomu Nihei is the man behind some of the most iconic series that ever grace the medium, namely Blame! and Knights of Sidonia.

Tsutomu Nihei’s works rarely become a mainstream success right away, but it always manages to be a cult classic that has countless dedicated fans as time goes by. You could even say that his works are often underappreciated, despite being so good. So if you’re a fan of Blame! or Knights of Sidonia, then you should watch Kaina of the Great Snow Sea.

One of the biggest characteristics of Tsutomu Nihei’s works is stellar world-building. From the dark and claustrophobic world of Blame! to the threatening and suffocating world of Knights of Sidonia, the man knows how to create a captivating world. And that is certainly true for this new series as well.

In Kaina of the Great Snow Sea, the world is covered with a translucent canopy that comes from countless colossal orbital trees that stand tall all over the planet. As if that’s not strange enough, the surface of the planet, i.e. the base of the orbital trees, is blanketed with pure white snow for as far as the eyes can see. Seeing the characters exploring the breathtaking world at the canopy and the stunning snow sea is one of the best parts of this series.

In Kaina of the Great Snow Sea, most human settlements are built at the base of the orbital tree. The reason is simply that that is the best place to find fresh water, which is pretty much the most valuable commodity in the world.

Unfortunately, the water supply that used to be abundant has now become quite depleted. Some countries try their best to find a way to solve this water supply problem, but there is also a country that decided to invade other countries and take their water instead.

Although this series is a work of fiction, maintaining a steady supply of fresh water is a real problem in some parts of the world. Additionally, depleted natural resources and war over said resources have always been one of humanity's biggest issues. So in a way, Kaina of the Great Snow Sea uses real-life issues as the main conflict of the stories, which is why the story feels so relatable.

When this article was written, there were only six episodes of Kaina of the Great Snow Sea that had been aired. But even with such a limited amount of screen time, we can already see great character development happening to some of the main casts, especially the titular character, a boy named Kaina.

As somebody who was born and lives in the only village left in the canopy, Kaina has been living his life free of human conflict. After all, the only people left in his village are the elders who are willing to share their wisdom, skills, and knowledge with Kaina. So imagine his surprise when he sees the bloody conflict that happens at the Snow Sea.

Kaina never knew that humanity can be so cruel to one another. And that is the beginning of his character development. A journey that will shape and mold his mind forever. An adventure that will turn an innocent boy into a thoughtful adult. That is character development at its finest.

This one is actually an extension of the third point above. As mentioned in that section, the main conflict in Kaina of the Great Snow Sea is fueled by the diminishing supply of fresh water. This is not merely a conflict between good and bad. Both sides of this conflict simply want to survive. Sure, you can argue that one side is willing to go down a bloody path in order to achieve its objective, but the other party is not a bunch of saints either. They too are willing to do everything that is necessary for their survival.
More often than not, a conflict in anime happens between the forces of good vs the army of evil. It’s clear who it is that we are supposed to root for in such a conflict. But that is often not the case in the real world. A conflict happens not because one side is good and the other is bad, but usually, because both parties have opposing ideologies, and objectives, or sometimes, they merely want to survive. And that is what Kaina of the Great Snow Seas tries to portray.