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of his attempts to surpass Nagate helped address the latter issues at the cost of reducing him to a bitter, withdrawn, and disillusioned mess.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?