The Ramparts of Ice – Episode 1

What’s it about? Koyuki Hikawa has difficulties engaging with anyone, and as such, tends to keep her distance. However, when she meets someone new, her world starts to defrost and she finds herself with a friend who wants to close the distance she’s established…

Episode 1 begins with three students approaching Koyuki and asking her who’s the cutest. It’s clearly an effort to upset her, and the gasps that fill the scene make it clear that fear and discomfort for the short-statured Koyuki is a fact of life, even if her peers keep telling her to stand up for herself. It’s immediately intimately relatable as our lead tries to understand why she must be minimized in a world where everyone else’s feels feel as explosive as a bonfire.

As a result, Koyuki is perceived as both target and too intense: she’s terrifying in her projected coldness, known as the Ice Queen by other students because she doesn’t comply with traditional social standards. It immediately sets the foundation for a story about a young woman who is keenly misunderstood and in pain but seemingly unreachable due to the trauma of her middle school years.

What ensues is a fantastic character study of a freshman student who, without expecting it, gets friends, finds joy, and opens up her world.

The Ramparts of Ice is genuinely engaging because you get a holistic look of who Koyuki is: from the outside, it looks like anyone who talks to her is getting past the infamous Ice Queen’s barrier, but in truth, she’s just a girl. Paired with her friend Miki, who’s the high school beauty, we get a study about what happens when others decide who we are versus us getting to declare who we want to be.

What also makes this interesting is Koyuki’s keen awareness of her situation: she’s reduced her feelings about being perceived but is still very human in her desire to be understood. She doesn’t get why she’s perceived as frightening when, in her mind, she’s just kind of neutrally moving through life. But she has a strong foundation of ethics: Koyuki would rather be alone than fake who she is, even if that’s not the best way forward. It’s definitely relatable if you’ve ever struggled with masking.

All of this comes together into a premiere that really, really works and makes me wish I could snag some physical editions of the manga—that said, it’s available digitally through MangaPlaza which makes me happy enough. That said, it’s going to be hard to wait until the next Thursday so I can get my fill of this show again.

I really liked this premiere. It’s the exact kind of exploration of life that I enjoy, coupled with nice animation and an interesting lead character. I don’t know if this is going to go full-on romance quickly, but if it does, I don’t mind, though I’d rather see this have a more season long build up. Still, what’s more engaging is seeing Koyuki find her ability to open up to others again and be her radiant self, inclusive of the intense bullying she endured in middle school.

Basically, this has got to be on your radar this season: it’s a fantastic show already and can only go up from here. Make time each Thursday for The Ramparts of Ice and you’ll be duly rewarded with a really solid series well-worth investing your heart and mind into.