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Knights of Sidonia Season 2

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It’s time again to return to the space colony of Sidonia as it traverses the heavens in search of a new home for all humanity. The entire time they find they must fight against the alien race known as the Gauna whose mission seems to be the destruction of all mankind. This is the plot behind the series Knights of Sidonia, a show that easily won me over with its first season. Now the second season has been released but does the story keep up with the intensity it had previously?

After the events of the first season, Nagate Tanikaze is now known through all of Sidonia as an Ace Pilot. Elsewhere his rival, Kunato becomes infected with a Gauna parasite in the lab of the legendary scientist Ochiai. Under its control Kunato kidnaps the Gauna recreated Hoshigino and begins running experiments on her. The pair soon emerge as a pilot and Gauna the size of a robot who now calls herself Tsumugi. Tanikazi must continue to fight against the enemies invading outside and the growing threat inside the colony of Sidonia while learning more about the incredibly friendly giant Tsumugi.

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The second season doesn’t waste time. That summary comes from only the first two episodes of this new season. The Gauna/Human hybrid who talks like a polite young lady is introduced in the first episode in the heat of battle. The ending of the second episode alone is jaw dropping and is so intense I dare not any spoilers talking about it. We also see Isane choose a gender but considering she was set up a long time ago to be Tanikazi’s love interest this should be no surprise to anyone. There is character growth here and I am all for it.

The newest cast member to be introduced, the Hybrid, Tsumugi really steals the show. She’s a sweetheart, innocent girl who happens to be as big as a giant robot and uses a penis shaped appendage to interact with others. I know how odd that sounds but trust me she really is a fascinating character. Her innocence adds to the charm of the show and allows a much needed break from the intensity of parasites plotting a conspiracy that will affect the future of all of Sidonia.

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The show does increase its comedy incidents but the drama increases as well. I mean the moments with the ever growing love triangle can be frustrating at time but then in the next scene the Gauna are attacking and people are getting destroyed because the menace is just too great. It does feel like a roller coaster at times though with all of the up and downs that you go on as the viewer which is a negative against it.

Unfortunately, the season finally doesn’t wrap up any thing and still hints that there is a lot of story with these characters left to be told. I’m looking forward to more but sadly I don’t know when the 3rd season is coming. The series is a lot of fun and with a solid finale it could very well be one of the greatest Mecha shows in the history of anime. For now though it still has some faults and gets the same rating as the previous season. Watch it but its still missing the bump needed to call it a masterpiece.
RATING: B

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Knights of Sidonia

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Keeping up with the many different series that keep coming out in anime can be a bit difficult. I mean on top of consuming all the media, I have writing to do about it in both blogging and creative writing aspects. Still, when a great Mecha comes around, I can’t help but want to check it out. Unfortunately, there are so many titles with Giant Robots, that this is not always an easy task. Luckily I took the time to check out this new Netflix exclusive series as it was worth it.

In the bowels of the future space colony of Sidonia, Nagate Tanikaze has been in intense training. When his food supply runs out, he has no choice but to venture above and become reintroduced to society. Entered into the Guardian piloting program, it soon appears as if his training was for nothing. It is not until he is given the legendary Tsugumori robot that his skills are truly uncovered and he is able to become the hope that Sidonia needs to survive the alien menace known as the Gauna.

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One of the more appealing aspects of this anime is that it has a lot of good world building in terms of the scientific aspects of the story. Humans in this world have been altered to allow themselves to photosynthesize so they require less food and nutrients. This is a very reasonable explanation on how a space colony is able to survive despite how many people are in its population. There also was the very amusing scene with characters putting on their space suits and feeling uncomfortable as they have to adjust to the feeling of having a catheter in is just another piece of good world building.

I can’t help but point out one of the aspects of the show that I found a bit disconcerting. The character designs for Hoshijiro and Shinatose are too alike. I mean I know they say that Shinatose is some kind of Hermaphrodite that will later choose her gender but that doesn’t change the fact that the two have similar physical features and hair cuts to the point I didn’t realize they weren’t the same person until they were standing next to one another. Points off for not making the two characters stand out more from one another.

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Still, the series was addicting and I found myself binge watching it in less than a week. I’m half tempted to break down and run out and buy the manga for it. This is a lot of praise for a series as I usually don’t read much Mecha manga as I don’t think they capture the action as intensely as well as the animation does. Still, I’m trying to watch my spending so I’ll have to wait for more episodes to appear on Netflix. Unless someone out there wanted to make a sizeable donation so I can go grab some copies of the manga. HINT, HINT!

Rating: B