Thank you to NetGalley and Itoe Takemoto for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this title!

I was really drawn to the premise of "Kaina of the Great Snow Sea", which gave the vibes of a post-apocalyptic survival setting, with two distinct worlds, resource conflict, and warring between rival kingdoms. While these themes were represented in the first volume, I don't think that they have been presented in a way that is compelling enough for me to seek out the second volume. I think the art style is beautiful and the premise has the potential to be very interesting, but the presentation of characters and conflict so far has not played into something that compels me to ask more.

On further investigation, it seems that this series was an 11-episode anime and movie first, then was adapted into a manga in the last year. I would definitely give the anime/movie a try to see how the manga holds up as a comparison, as I know sometimes taking a story from one format into another can change how it is presented. I will not likely seek out the second volume of this manga without first watching the show.

The world and the magic system are fascinating and so imaginative, it felt really immersive. I liked the characters and the illustrations. This was good but wasn't really for me

This was a very enjoyable read. The plot and world building was fairly unique, the ‘snow + canopy’ is not something i’ve seen replicated much before.
The characters designs are really nice, the choice of outfits and even the art style in which this manga is drawn is different but I think pretty fitting. I only take some issue with the shading, its quite light particularly for non snow things but not something you shouldn’t pick up this book for.

Hi Brian and thank you NetGalley.

This is very much like Nausica of the Valley of the Wind! I have always said snow environment based post-apocalypse type stories are super under utilized. Very cool idea!

This first volume is a solid start to a very visual sci-fi series that teeters on a kind of natural post apocalyptic setting . The way the art shows off the world and the creatures in it is a treat, unless you dislike bugs! As I was reading. I found myself getting curious about the wider world. This volume answers very few questions, but it gets the gears going for our two leads to go on a grand adventure, and I'm curious to see where it actually goes.

I picked this up because Nausicaa is my favorite manga and this is said to have Nausicaa influence. I definitely see where Nihei pulled from Nausicaa in the post-apocalyptic world, especially with the giant insects and special gear needed to go out on the Canopy. Unlike Nausicaa, however, this was a miss for me.

Kaina is our MC who lives in the last remaining village on the Canopy. He's also the only young person left. Every other village died out due to lack of water, and this village faces extinction. We don't get a lot of worldbuilding before a second MC is introduced, Ririha. She's from a small nation in the Snow Sea and is looking for the Great Sage to save her home from an invading nation. When she discovers this sage does not live on the Canopy, she has to return home with the help of Kaina. Both characters felt very flat and underdeveloped. I feel like the author needed to spend more time on making us invested in their stories before setting them off on their adventure together.

The art is okay. I liked the clothing differences between those living on the Canopy and those living below in the Snow Sea. Unfortunately, everything is very gray, making it look like a bad scan without a lot of contrast. It would look much better if the mangaka chose to use bolder blacks and whites to make the features pop.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for the ARC.

Interesting premise and the story kept me entertained but there is nothing compelling me to find out more about their world or continue with the series. Good for those who enjoy dystopian stories with good artwork.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

My first Japanese comic! It took me a minute to get used to reading right to left, but it wasn’t hard to adjust to. The story sucked me right in! I caught on with the strange world that was built and I’m very excited to read the next part!

I recommend for fans of anime style comics and dystopian settings.

-- 1/5 Stars -- ★☆☆☆☆​

Trigger Warnings for Kaina of the Great Snow Sea 1: Death, killing, survival

Kaina of the Great Snow Sea 1 is the first volume in the series by Tsutomu Nihei and Itoe Takemoto. In this volume we meet Kaina and his village, all of which struggling to survive with a lack of water and resources. In comes Ririha, a princess from the Snow Sea, an area previously thought to be unoccupied by Kaina's village on the canopy - the only surviving village.

This upset me so much. The premise, the cover art, the description, it all made me so hyped to read this. I was even looking into watching the anime with subtitles (I'm a dub girly). Let me just say, I hated this. The art style is all grays with no real use of a stark black or a stark white. Due to this, we lose all sense of depth in this world. Beyond that, what even is this world? None of the rules were explained. This felt as if Nihei said, "hurry up and get to the love interest, we have nothing without her." This volume would have been much better served ending with the addition of Ririha, not throwing her in almost immediately.

Well, you have to try new things. I would highly recommend picking up any manga just to see if you like it. This one was sadly a bust for me. Thank you to Tsutomu Nihei, Netgalley, Vertical Comics, and Kodansha Comics for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm a Tsutomu Nihei-phile so I couldn't wait to check this out. While his works generally favor style over substance, I love his style, so I'm generally hooked. This series is a manga adaptation of an original work anime, and the artist isn't Nihei himself, but I was still happy with the first volume so far.

The story felt similar to how Children of the Whales started - a post apocalypse wasteland (desert in Children, ice in Kaina) with an isolated society of people, limited supplies, legends and mysterious technology or artifacts from the past, etc. But soon, something happens and the MC(s) learn more about the world around them. I've read complaints that the anime doesn't answer many questions, and maybe the same thing will be true for the manga, but I was definitely hooked with the mystery of the world and the world building in general. Kaina and Ririha explore the wasteland, climbing and descending the orbital spire trees, on their epic adventure. Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

I was the most wary of how the art would turn out, given I love Nihei's style so much and he wasn't the mangaka on this series. But the artist does manage to capture Nihei's style very well, albeit not quite as detailed and rich as his usual background art. There's a few violent scenes where people get shot that look quite bad, sort of like a sketchy spray of blood that seems crude in comparison.

Overall, a compelling mystery and I look forward to reading volume 2.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Kaina of the Great Snow Sea is not for folks who dislike realistic depictions of insects. The art is amazing, but I'm not entirely sure if I'm on board for the story. I feel like a prologue or a quick explainer of its fictional world would have been great. I'm curious enough about how the story would develop in a second volume.

Kaina of the Great Snow Tree

Although an interesting premise, and highly reminiscent of Nausicaä, the story over all feels very flat, as do the characters. The art style certainly pulled me into it, and honestly curiosity will probably have me seek out the next volume for certain.

I would love recommend it for a quick read and just to see something in the same vein as some older style anime.

Really promising start with some fun world building, but it's always hard to tell from just the first volume how a series is going to go as a whole with manga, since the story is just barely beginning. This was really more just setting up a story than telling a story in itself. That said, it caught my interest enough that I'll be on the lookout for future volumes.

Inhalt:
In einer Fantasywelt ist die ganze Erde unter einer dicken Schneedecke verschwunden und Menschen können nur direkt am Fuß von Riesenbäumen überleben oder in Dörfern so hoch oben in den Baumkronen, dass es eigdntlich nicht möglich ist, dazwischen hin und her zu wechseln. Zufällig findet der Junge Ksina aus den Baumkronen die Prinzessin Ririha von der Oberfläche.

Artwork:
Die Zeichnungen sind sehr künstlerisch umgesetzt und wenn auch als erstes auffällt, dass die Seiten sehr weiß gehalten sind, passt dies genau zum Thema und spiegelt das "große Schneemeer" wider. Man erwartet direkt einen White out, daher fesselt es mich persönlich mehr als der Anime auf Crunchyroll.

Sprache:
Ich würde mich jederzeit wieder für die englische Ausgabe entscheiden, da es hier nichts daran auszusetzen gibt. Auch beim Anime habe ich auf Englisch umgestellt, da die deutschen Untertitel einfach nicht gut übersetzt sind. Leider lesen sie sich so unidiomatisch als wäre nur eine Fantranslation genommen worden.

Fazit:
Hätte ich es nicht vorher schon gelesen gehabt, wäre mein erster Gedanke Nausicaa gewesen. Es erinnert wirklich stark an einen Miyazaki-Film. Die Story finde ich auch ansprechend und ich werde wohl weiterlesen. Ich würde eine 9/10 vergeben.

This story is very interesting and the art is excellent. I can't wait to read the next volume to find out what happens. The world is detailed and unusual and very unique. The one thing I found a bit weird story-wise, though, is that the problem with this snow-covered world is apparently a lack of water. At no time does the story address why the people can't just melt the snow that surrounds them. I'm sure that the author has some reasoning, but it isn't clear, and for me that is a big gap.

Thank u NetGalley for the advanced Arc of this manga

This was an OK read but I am not going to continue with the series, beautiful art but not enough to keep me going

3 stars.

I really enjoyed the art style, it was very detailed and complex, and really helped build the vision that I believe the author was trying to convey. Overall though, I didn't quite understand the plot but I can tell this manga has great potential. It being the first volume probably means that it will build, figure out how the Snow Storm originated and more into plot. I felt this first volume was a good introduction, but I think I would have liked for it to have a bit more 'oomph' and higher stakes. I think I was mostly just confused because I didn't quite understand the world building, and the beginning just really throws you in head first without preamble.

The plot is unique though and I'm interested to see where the series goes!

Kaina 1 is set in a unique fictional world of snow sea and the few remaining habitable places such as the canopy.
Kaina lives in the canopy and one day a stranger arrives, and Kaina and his fellow people learn of the truths about their world.
The art style is fantastic, Character designs and details are amazing. The story has an intriguing atmosphere, the emotion is well-delivered.
I am looking forward to the next chapter and whom Kaina will become.
4.5 stars.

I have no clue what's going on in the story really and don't really care to figure out all that much but the art is amazing and definitely makes up for it a little bit.

Book was okay. I found some parts of the story confusing and hard to follow. Otherwise I found it enjoyable