Sidonia no Kishi: Daikyuu Wakusei Seneki – 03
How many times have I told you not to do your abstract art on the control room walls?
Last episode, I was wondering whether we would be finally getting around to the meaning behind this season’s subtitle, and indeed, this week we do get some information in regards to the the titular “Planet Nine”. After having her Ochiai clone manservant kill the entire Immortal Council, Kobayashi performs a swift and complete coup d’état , by also abolishing parliament, and thus consolidating sole power unto herself. A bold move, but not completely unexpected considering the captain’s comments and less-than-pleasant interactions with the council last season. However, there’s something about how she’s been acting lately that has continued to make me suspicious. The fact that we also have a megalomaniacal evil scientist roaming around with the ability to take over and control whosoever he wishes, makes me suspicious of anyone acting outside of the norm.
So, whether this is Kobayashi’s will alone or she is under the “sway” of another, she has immediately made use of her absolute power in this now-autocracy, to declare war and all out genocide on all Gauna. And her first stop is in the Lem Solar System, where a group of colonists from Sidonia were settling as of last season. The colonists are on the 7th planet in the system and seem to be in the direct path of a hive of Gauna coming towards them. The captain intends to use the 9th planet as Sidonia’s vantage point. Using a preemptive attack, Kobayashi wants to attack and wipe out the Gauna swarm before they are able to attack the colonists who just found a place to call home.
Tony Stark would be so proud.
Yes, quite a noble cause…or at least it would be if I had felt any sort of sincerity to the captain’s words. I don’t think that anyone was fooled in that the captain’s main concern was not the colonists, which if you remember from last season, were more so a thorn in her side than anything else, but instead the annihilation of the Gauna. While the Gauna are indeed a constant threat to humanity, and were responsible for the destruction of the Sol Solar System and Earth in particular, there has been enough evidence seen so far that there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Nagate of course points out that while he hates the Gauna too, he has to admit that not every Gauna is the same, and there is much more to them then just being giant space tentacle monsters.
Pink or Blue, what IS the color of this dress?
No one seems to be really concerned about Kobayashi claiming power, but that’s mostly because knowledge about the council was basically on a strict need-to-know basis, and those that did know about them, probably won’t miss them. In fact, most of the population is actually more disturbed about the presence of Tsumugi and that fact that she/it is half Guana. The military doesn’t trust her, but the captain, Ochiai, and Nagate and friends don’t really care as Tsumugi is more than that to each of them.
The cutest alien blob you ever did see.
I like Tsumugi, she is the very literal definition of a “moe blob”. She is a monster born though disturbing circumstances from the mind of a madman, and yet she seems to retain that childlike wonder and innocence that allows her to become fast friends with our main cast. Nagate, Izana, and now Yuhata all seem to have taken a liking to Tsumugi, which makes sense, considering that this episode we find out exactly who her mother is. I’ll give you three guesses….
Ughhh…that looks like one uncomfortable pregnancy.
And frankly, while it’s great to know that Ochiai didn’t grind up Placental Shizuka in order to create the Chimera that is Tsumugi, what he did do, is no less disturbing. When asked as to how he actually created a Gauna/human hybrid when the project had failed so horribly a hundred years ago, the answer, was rather simple: impregnate a Gauna that happened to reshape itself to have the same inner workings of female human, and then impregnate her/it with a human seed. The ethical ramifications of such a procedure aside, this was just downright creepy. While as far as we know Placental Shizuka is not the real thing per say, we know that she is sentient and has emotions and feelings, and even has some of the memories of the original Hoshijiro. She had the mind of a baby, but it was still one that was alert and knowledgeable about it’s surroundings. Also, there’s the fact that, considering Ochiai’s personality, and the fact that Tsumugi calls him “father”, I will give you two guesses this time, as to where the “seed” that impregnated Placental Shizuka came from.
Father of the Year, people. Father of the freakin’ Year…
And from the looks of things, Ochiai is expecting his second child, and Tsumugi will soon have a sibling. I’m not sure how Nagate will take all of this when he eventually does find out, but I can bet that it won’t be pretty. Yuhata has already found out the truth, but she was never as connected to the sheGauna as Nagate was. I am very concerned about Yuhata. The young XO is stepping deeper and deeper into darker waters, and soon things are going to be over her head if she keeps poking in places where she doesn’t belong. Norio learned that lesson the hard way, and I fear that Yuhata might end up being the next on the list. It was established in the first season that she’s an excellent hacker, however, how many times have we seen a person who knows too much, especially at this juncture in the plot, end up either dying because of the secrets they uncovered, or worse? Hopefully she is more cautious later on, before somebody dangerous realizes that someone is looking where they’re not supposed to, and traces it back to her.
The episode ends, with another attack from the Gauna as Sidonia makes its intentions known of heading to the Lem system. Ochiai and Tsumugi want to take this time to show what the Chimera’s got, and the captain interestingly overrules her XO and sends them out there as a lone vanguard. The Gauna however, prove that they can and have indeed learned from experience, and have devised a way to deal with Tsumugi’s power, having actually constructed a trap for her. Nagate, Izana, and the other Garde pilots are on their way, and assemble in a beautifully orchestrated ring formation as they go out to deal with this new threat and save the Chimera, leaving us once again in a cliffhanger.
The fact that the Gauna can communicate to each other across space is something that has been hinted at throughout the series, but has not really been made self-evident until now. Even after the Gauna was destroyed by Tsumugi last episode, it was able to communicate somehow to the others about the new threat in order to allow the others to create some kind of defense against her. It actually brings to mind the communication that goes between cells in the body, and how actually cell injury or death can send a signal that warns the rest to what is going on, allowing the body to mount a defensive that is adaptable to the changing situation. But then, does that mean that the Gauna are individual beings? Or are they more like individual cells of a single being? Or somewhere in between?
A space hive or a giant cell system?
With Captain Kobayashi mounting such a large offensive against them, it’s a foregone conclusion that people are going to die. The captain has made some hard choices before, however I’m a bit concerned considering that till now, she’s been trying to do what’s best for the whole of Sidonia, avoiding fights where she can and defending the ship where it was possible. She didn’t seem to want to actively go out and look for trouble, especially dragging the entirety of Sidonia into the very midst of danger. Could it be that now that she has access to all of Ochiai’s brain and the information it holds, that she’s decided to make such a risky gambit? Or is there more to this than we’ve been allowed to see yet? This series has always known how to raise more questions than it answers with every new installment. Now let’s just hope that they can keep up the pace.
About IreneSharda
A Chicagoan biochemist, teacher, and an aspiring virologist, with a love for science only rivaled by my love for movies, animation, and anime. Both a lover of action/adventure and romance, I'm a girl who walks the entire spectrum. Mecha, Sci-Fi, Psychological Thriller, Romantic Period Piece, if it's has a good story, I'm there.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
I remember in Season 1 that Ochiai’s conciousness was imprisoned in one part of the Sidonia.
So I’m just a bit confused how Ochiai was also able to exist in a parasite in his hidden lab under Norio’s house.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Maybe parts of his mind was sealed into various things. Like the Harry Potter series where Voldemort split his own soul into seven pieces before he was able to die.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I’m thinking that perhaps he knew what was coming, and so he had several back-ups to his brain that nobody knew about. Also, I’m wondering if he purposefully deleted things out of the brain that they imprisoned since Dr. Yure does ask “Kunato”, that nothing of what was going on with Tsumugi and the research involved was in the information in Ochiai’s brain, and he just smugly laughs at her, saying that it wasn’t “worth” recording. If so, I’m wondering what else, wasn’t “worth” recording?
Also, I consider it very suspicious that it’s only after he finds himself a new body that the brain is suddenly unlocks and completely available, when it was actively resisting before. Could it be that he got rid of anything that Kobayashi could use? Or even worse, planted false information?
The fact that he’s also the one supplying the entire military with all their tech now, also concerns me.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Ochiai has had quite some time to think? So perhaps he has plans within plans. He knew something like a human-guana hybrid was possible, so perhaps this is all a big gambit to get more information? If so, Sidonia itself is a rather big poker chip.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 26 comments
Tsumugi’s squeaky sounds. I can’t decide if those are so wrong, or a perfect fit… since they seem like they’re both!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Try not to think about that.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Kobayashi’s coup d’état is otherwise a complete and utter success based on the fact that in spite the Immortal Court was previously real, their existence itself was nothing but rumors to the Sidonian people. The end result is her not having to look over her shoulder at the idea of civilians noticing the absence of officials who don’t exist to begin with. Cementing the appearance complete power was in her hands from start to finish. Indeed loose ends cleanly tied up. The one who’s a potential thorn in her side would be the cafeteria bear who usually comforts Nagate.
No need to think much on the identity of Tsumugi’s “father”. The narcissist Ochiai/Norio is, of course there’s no way of him turning down the chance to say he is responsible for her creation… provided nothing occurs to ruin her image.
That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise with certain things considered. More of another step up on the taboo ladder when these people have already gone as far as to generate a third gender of human to assure survival.