The first episode did a great job of presenting some of the interesting story elements of the series, such as the main characters, the life and dangers at the orbital trees, and also the current conflict that happens on the Snow Sea. Hopefully, the second episode will move the story along while keeping things as interesting as the first one.
Princess of The Snow Sea
After Kaina rescues Ririha, he takes her to the village where the elders nourish her back to health. Once she wakes up, Ririha talks to the elders about the people who live at the snow sea, the ongoing water crisis, the current conflict with Alghian, and also her plans to find the legendary sage who lives at the top of the orbital trees.
Needless to say, Kaina and the elders are shocked to know about the fact that there are people who live at the Snow Sea. But they are certainly not as surprised as Ririha when she finds out that there’s no such thing as a wise sage in the village, or any other village that has already doomed due to the same lack of water problem that happened in the Snow Sea.
Since her journey to the world’s canopy turns out to be a wasted effort, Ririha decided to go back to her country, Atland. Since she wouldn’t be able to do this journey alone, the elders told Kaina to help Ririha. This is also a way to grant a better future for Kaina, because that is something that he won’t find on the canopy. After that, the sign bearer gives them a laser cutter tool that can carve a hole into the bark of the orbital tree, along with other climbing gears and a newly-crafted set of ropes. So begins Kaina and Ririha’s descent to the Snow Sea.
Life At The Snow Sea
This episode and the previous one has shown us what is the life at the canopy looks like. But though Ririha’s story, we also get to see a glimpse into the life at the Snow Sea. As expected, people built settlements, that seems to grow larger overtime, at the base of the orbital tree. The reason why they specifically chose this spot is because the trees provide the water that they severely need in order to survive.
From Ririha’s story, we also know that there are a couple of settlements, some even as large as a kingdom/country, exist all over the vast Snow Sea. And every single one of them are currently facing the same issue as the village at the canopy, which is the lack of water. For some unknown reason, the orbital trees produce less and less water every day, and it has become a huge problem for everybody.
However, rather than cooperating to find the source of the problem and a possible solution for everybody, the Alghian decided to create a massive moving fortress, and mercilessly attacked every settlement and snatched their water supply. Those things are merely expositions at this point, but at least we get a nice world-building going on in the second episode.
Three Possible Directions For The Story
Based on what we know so far, the story can basically go into three different directions. First, our main characters are thrown right in the middle of a full-blown war. There might be some negotiation attempts happening, maybe a covert operation that allowed them to visit the Alghian, or maybe they can make some of the influential people in the enemy’s ranks to see things their way and help end the conflict.
The second possible direction is exploration. After all, the source of the problem is the decrease in water supply, so it’s only natural to look into it if they want to solve the problem. Since Kaina is basically a hunter and an explorer who is skilled at trekking and climbing, exploring the depth of the orbital trees to find the root of the water supply problem seems like something that is right at his alley.
The last possible direction is actually the mix of the first and second one. After all, the story can technically pursue both objectives at the same time, the conflict route and the exploration route. So basically Kaina will try to find the cause of the water supply issue, while the war is still ongoing between the two countries. Depending on how well they depict both storylines, this direction can certainly be the best approach out of the three.
Episode 2 of Kaina of the Great Snow Sea is a great set up for what seems to be a great adventure ahead. After all, Kaina descending the orbital tree is pretty much the symbol for the young man leaving the limited things that he knew thus far, in order to pursue a much greater knowledge and experience. The story can develop into quite a few different paths, each can be interesting if done right. The only way to know is to watch the next episode.
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