While I'm not really an expert on art, as a reader, I did think that your character was moving in a more horizontal direction. Like when you're running, or in a vehicle. Your second iteration also shows horizontal motion. That was my immediate impression.
The example posted by @IdiotWithPencil hit home with me though. A tremble in the form of an outline around the character and closely packed vertical lines in disarray. I know you mentioned somewhere above that they just kind of blend in with the trees? I'm not sure how you would fix that. But my two cents as someone who reads a lot of manga/manhwa/comics. 