If From the New World were brighter, sandier, and less good, it might look something like Children of the Whales. Here we have yet another old, insular esper community that employs hierarchy and stricture to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. Yet again, some children take a day trip by boat, and, yet again, they find something that changes their understanding of the world. In this case, it's another human, the lone survivor of another floating colony. When our protagonist's elders arbitrarily empty their jail in the wake of this discovery, the de facto leader of the colony's criminals kidnaps both the protagonist and the foreign girl he found, setting out on a journey with dubious intents and hazier prospects.
Children of the Whales has some interesting world-building in its first episode, as well as some really meager world-building. The writers were over-ambitious and the end result, while "cool," is more than a little nonsensical. Maybe stronger foundations will emerge over time, but in the first episode, I was a little let down—all the more so for how "cool" things seemed at first. To add to the building expectations, the art is great, with special props to whoever directed the background art. The story leaves you wanting more, and not in a bad way. Our aspiring secretary main character is quite bland, but there's room for him to grow: like in From the New World, stunted emotions seem to be a big part of his society, so his emotional development may yet drive the plot in interesting ways. Overall, there's enough here to give the series more time to prove itself, and the quality production makes that time enjoyable.
Recommend: Sure!