Why do we have to watch the anime Kaina, the spiritual heir of Nausicaä Miyazaki?
news culture Why do we have to watch the anime Kaina, the spiritual heir of Nausicaä Miyazaki?
Launching January 11 on Crunchyroll, the Kaina of the Great Snow Sea anime is already a must-watch staple for anyone who appreciates the BLAME!, Aposimz and Knights of Sidonia manga, or has been marked by the immortality of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
Summary
- A new project by manga author BLAME!
- Nausicaä’s heir from the Valley of the Winds?
- The first episode is full of promise
- Kaina: a manga is already in the works and a movie is about to be made?
Complete your Miyazaki movie collection
A new project by manga author BLAME!
Arriving quietly in the catalog of Crunchyroll’s animated series, Kaina of the Great Snow Sea remains awaited by knowledgeable audiences. Because it’s a new creation from Tsutomu Nihei, the author of a shocking manga BLAME!, Sidonian Knights or Aposimz, Planet of the Puppets. Launched last year, this project is the result of a partnership between Crunchyroll, Fuji TV, and Slow Curve as well coincided with the celebration of the studio’s fortieth anniversary Polygon Image Animation. This is not the first time the mangaka has collaborated with studio Polygon Pictures because they have worked together on adaptation projects from BLAME! and Sidonian Knights in animation. Title Kaina of the Great Snow Sea (Oyukiumi no Kaina in the original version), the series name denotes an ambitious and exotic work set in a vast sea of snow. Kaina is the main character’s name as we know, through the first trailer, that she will cross paths with a young girl from a tribe living in a completely different neighborhood, on the other side of the cloud.
Directed by Hiroaki Ando (Ajin, Listener) in animation studio Polygon Pictures, the anime Kaina of the Great Snow Sea written by Sadayuki Murai and Tetsuya Yamada, supported by duo Kohta Yamamoto / Misaki Umase on the score. Scheduled in Japan from January 11, 2023 on Fuji TV (+ Ultra), the series is streaming alongside us on the Crunchyroll platform. Note that the first 4 episodes are presented for the first time as part of the final Crunchyroll Expo (CRX) convention in 2022.
Nausicaa’s heir to the Valley of the Winds?
Kaina of the Great Snow Sea is a work halfway between fantasy and science fiction, but its striking visuals especially reference Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpieces: Nausicaä from the Valley of the Winds. If the last one was from 1984, it still depends very similar artistic directions and ecological concerns. In the background, these are questions about human impact on nature and ways to preserve the environment, and subsequently all the living things that inhabit it.
Therefore, the project created by Tsutomu Nihei has the feel of a post-apocalyptic fantasy, presenting humanity trying to survive as best it can in the face of a nature that has become dangerous and no longer hesitates to regain its rights. In the Kaina of the Great Snow Sea, there were no deadly spores from vegetation but an immense sea of snow that stretched as far as the eye could see and that cursed every movement on dry land. Humans have no other choice but to take shelter in the roots of giant trees or in the canopy covering the planet’s atmosphere. In here also, isolated individuals will try to find peaceful solutions to their differences in a world divided into two very different populations who have established themselves on both sides of the gigantic orbital tree. On one side: the people from the Celestial Membrane where Kaina was located, located high above Canopy. On the other hand: the denizens of the sea of snow living on the surface and his young Liliha will become a princess who is wanted by a rival clan. Their encounter risks upsetting their planet’s destiny and might even offer him a chance at survival. But they must also overcome their differences if they are to protect the environment from the cataclysms that threaten to threaten it.
The world is enveloped in an ever-growing endless sea of snow. Humans led their existence either huddled in the roots of giant trees on the surface or high in the canopy that stretched across the planet’s atmosphere. The unexpected encounter between the youth from Kanopi, Kaina, and the young woman from the surface, Liliha, will trigger a chain of events that will change the fate of the world. – Synopsis of Kaina of the Great Snow Sea on Crunchyroll
The first episode is full of promise
Since January 11, 2023, subscribers of the Crunchyroll platform have access to the first episode of the series. Kaina of the Great Snow Sea. Titled “The Boy from the Canopy”, it depicts the contours of the universe at the world’s intersection between SF and fantasy. Following in the footsteps of young Kaina, we discovered that a wide variety of exotic fauna had developed in Canopy (giant caddisflies, treetop grinders). But the most important thing is that these fauna play a very specific role in the natural world of this planet, filling the regularly formed holes in the Canopy. Realizing their importance, Kaina made sure to hunt just one of these insects to collect its eggs to feed her tribe sufficiently. A tribe consisting only of parents who worry about the future of youth in a land that is very unfavorable for life. According to the words of the elders who know the past where life was easier and the population was more numerous, the village of Kaina today is the only one that still exists.
The series relies a bold artistic direction that strikes the imagination by presenting two very different sides of the same planet. The canopy appears to be made up of giant bubbles that form like a solid, translucent surface on which you can walk but it’s also possible to wade across to descend into the tree branches. It is here that humans take refuge to find breathable air and survive against all odds. The danger is permanent and also lies in the risk of falling into a bigger and bigger hole which has recently been multiplying. But not only. Water was also becoming scarcer, causing the surrounding trees that supported the village to wither and dry out.
Elsewhere, beyond the white sea, there are a handful of humans who have evolved according to a completely different way of life, traversing the vast sea of snow on a very strange mountain. It was here that Princess Liliha would find herself brutally separated from her troops, escaping on a balloon that will take him to a place unknown to him : it’s from Kanopi…
Kaina: a manga is already in the works and a movie is about to be made?
Launched February 26, 2022 in Kodansha’s pre-published Monthly Shonen Sirius magazine and available in hardcover (tankobon) format since December 8 manga predates the run of anime and has even benefited from English language publication. It was drawn by Itoe Takemoto (Animal Player) from the original story by Tsutomu Nihei, but it is unknown whether the manga will have the honor of being published in French. The following video gives us an interesting overview.
Multi-faceted, project Kaina of the Great Snow Sea should also be in the form of a feature film, according to the latest information published on the official Crunchyroll website. Some elements are spot on for now, but strong signals from Japan indicating that a sequel is already planned in theaters. This information was indeed revealed during the screening of the announcement of the end of filming which was held at TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku in Tokyo a few days ago.
anime Kaina of the Great Snow Sea is to follow Crunchyroll.
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