Knights of Sidonia – 12 [INTERMISSION]
mfw season 2 announcement
That wasn’t really much of a finale. Fortunately, that’s because it’s not the end just yet.
Not The End
The truth is, to do this show justice I’d have to spam you all with tons of .gifs. But instead I will settle for one 13.7 MB .gif below.
Knights of Sidonia sure pulled a fast one on us there. The battle wraps up with the heroes barely pulling through by the skin of their teeth. Then comes the return to Sidonia and… that’s it. Normally it is at this point where we throw our arms up in anger and disappointment at the show ending so abruptly with so many loose ends left unresolved. But all is not lost, because there’s going to be a second season! Phew, you really saved yourself there, Knights of Sidonia. And you also saved me from having a heart attack at the prospect of one of my favorite shows this season completely dropping the ball and pulling a Mahou Sensou ending.
Norio’s Return?
Emo days.
With that said, let me go on to some of the specifics of the episode. The battle stands for what it is and I really don’t have to say much about it beyond the same praise I had last week for the excellent display of scifi action. So I think it more appropriate to discuss the few brief developments in the wake of the conflict. The first matter to address is, of course, Norio. His devolution from arrogant elite to emotional wreck makes him particularly disagreeable to most. But he has the potential to become one of the more complex characters of the cast, and I think there’s a very good chance we’ll see him become a better person come the second half. Fundamentally, he’s not that bad a person. He worked hard to get to where he was, even if he did have a bit of a head start as the heir to one of Sidonia‘s largest corporations. And all he ever wanted was to be recognized for the effort he put in.
Maybe he’ll turn over a new leaf?
It’s just that somewhere along the line he started resorting to some pretty despicable tactics to try and steal the spotlight back from Nagate. And also his selfish ego and narcissism needed a bit of working on. Thankfully, the grave consequences of his attempts to surpass Nagate helped address the latter issues at the cost of reducing him to a bitter, withdrawn, and disillusioned mess. But now that he’s gone through his emo phase, surely he can rise again to become an even better man than before? All he needs is a pick-me-up, and I get the feeling Nagate’s honest confession of his love for all of Sidonia as well as his earnest plea for Norio to fight beside him again provided exactly the wake-up call that he needed. I’d much rather see him back again fighting the Gauna as Nagate’s rival (no dirty tricks this time please) than moping around at home. So let’s make that happen, Knights of Sidonia!
Shizuka No More?
One 13.7 MB ROCKET PAWNCH, as promised!
The next big deal is the matter of Gauna Shizuka. I was wondering what the show was going to do with her, and it looks like after the battle she simply disappeared? This could possibly be explained by the demise of Hawk Moth, as they might be connected in some way thanks to the mysterious nature of the Gauna. But that doesn’t convince me because those two came from distinctly different Gardes imitations with separate cores of their own. So the only other explanation I can think of is that she just ran out of time. As I recall, it was stated that the placenta of the Gauna cannot survive for too long after the core has been destroyed. So that would make it inevitable for her to be no more one day since Nagate technically destroyed her core a while ago.
Where has Gauna Shizuka gone?
Whatever the case, I am a bit saddened by her departure. There was a lot of potential development to be had from her, like investigating the nature of the Gauna and even exploring her relationship with Nagate and the implications it might have on future interactions between both species. So it’s a bit of a waste to throw all that away as if it never mattered. Or perhaps it’s not over just yet? The epilogue does reveal a humanoid Gauna that calls Nagate’s name. Perhaps this is another Gauna Shizuka that the Sidonia crew have yet to come across? If this is the case, that’s excellent news for the possibility of continuing the story down the path of opening a dialogue between humans and the Gauna one day.
Izana’s Troubles
I know Izana is more famous for her derpy expressions, but this one was pretty touching.
As a last note before I wrap up the first half of Knights of Sidonia, I should mention the relationship between Nagate and Izana since I haven’t really talked about those two at all. I think it’s obvious that Izana is very interested in Nagate given her jealous reactions to other girls so much as glancing his way. Oh, and also her desperately and stubbornly hanging on to saving him during the battle might be a not-so-subtle hint. Anyway, now that Shizuka might finally be out of the picture thanks to the apparent departure of her Gauna version (at least, until another Gauna Shizuka shows up), it might be possible that Nagate will move on from her and look at Izana as more than just a good friend. Especially since the only remaining competition will be Yuhata and he doesn’t appear to be very interested in her advances.
So now that Knights of Sidonia is going on break for a bit, what did you all think of the show so far? I’ve made it clear that I find it to be one of the best shows I’ve seen in more recent times, and I really hope you all enjoyed it as much as I have. I know there are some who are still turned away by the CG nature of the show, but if they can just get past the atypical animation style and recognize the engrossing world-building, great writing, and brilliant execution behind the show, perhaps they can see it for what it is. Which is, a scifi masterpiece. At any rate, I’ve rambled on for long enough and it’s time for me to say goodbye to the show for the time being. See you all in fall for my coverage of the second half!
9/10
Shizuka, is that you?
About Sumairii
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Glad to know this is not kicking the bucket just yet. Also, Izana seems pretty cute to me, whenever she makes that pouty face www
Btw I have to give it to Nagate, he sure went out of his way to schmooz Kunato. Totally unexpected.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
At least her pouty face is not like that of Cristiano Ronaldo. Forever pouting.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Bye without any goal. Tsk tsk. He can go pout all he wants.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
No, he had one, and an assist.
*unabashed CR7 fan*
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
And where is he now? No doubt drowning his sorrows with his ex, Rooney. 😛
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Not a direct goal so doesn’t count. 😛
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Did you forget his goal against Ghana? Sure, it was pretty much a charity goal from the GK, but he scored it himself.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I was a little (lot) worried about this show after the first episode, because the character animations were (are) so bad. They didn’t really get any better, but a combination of getting used to them and the show minimizing what they’re doing just as people walking around and doing stuff helped put that in the shadow of the great action and compelling story.
I’m glad they backed off on explaining the differences between Sidonia and the earth of the people watching the show. I know a lot of people were all “I want to know more about 3 (which aren’t really 3, just fluid 2) genders / photosynthesis / buzzwordy stuff” but to me that stuff was just kinda thrown in to show “Hey, this world is different from your world, viewer”, not as some important plot point. The photosynthesis did come in handy for fanservice, “I’m not just randomly floating around naked, I’m photosynthesizing!” but that’s it.
One thing I found a lot more interesting than it might have been was Honoka coming to make amends with Nagate. She was / they were a much more interesting to me side character, and I thought the show used them fairly well as kind of a Greek chorus to represent the general mood of Sidonia.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I think Spammy has chewed up my comment and refuses to give it back.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The feeling’s mutual. In fact, I think the comment I made got deleted.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I have a feeling it has sadly. Apologies but our spam has gotten into 100,000 in a week so we are pulling our hair for this too. >>;
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Well, I got lucky this time. The comment I made not too long ago was saved up on a Microsoft Word file of mine so it’s not a big deal. Good luck to you all resolving this problem.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Yeah, I can just try to re-post it again.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
First and foremost, like Arpeggio of Blue Steel, the CG animation was distracting at the start so it took some getting used to before moving on to understanding and enjoying the story. And it was excellent and compelling. What the refugees have done with civilization called Sidonia shows what measures humanity is willing to accept for survival’s sake.
Like always, the battles were epic with countless casualties pushing the envelope for added drama. Nagate is a force to reckoned with when the situation becomes dire. My curiosity for the most part is revolving around the Gauna Shizuka who managed to escape her containment cell. Odds are she’s not far so I wonder if she’s gained enough intelligence not to haphazardly engage anyone who crossed her path. As she was looking in the direction of the weapons specialized to kill her kind, that’ll be her destination for sure.
My pet peeve was Nagate going over to Kunato to cheer him up and give a vote of confidence. His kindness is wasted on that jerk who should suffer a bit before any leniency is warranted.
Glad to know there’s more to come since Knights of Sidonia made a hell of an impression on me who went in with no expectations whatsoever. For the advance screenings of the first two episodes of the second half to be scheduled on November 23rd, we most likely won’t see Sidonia again until Winter 2015. See you all there.