Knights of Sidonia Review

Knights of Sidonia

<So I was meant to post this before last Toko…My bad!>

So I’m sitting bored one night, flicking through Netflix, and wondering what to watch. That’s when I see this pop up in the “recommended for you” section of the site. I think to myself, “Why not? I’ve been after a new anime to watch” and flick it on.

First thing that surprises me is the caption “A Netflix Original Series” by which they mean, they have exclusive distribution rights in the Western world. This does mean though that it’s available on Netflix in all its territories, and it also means that Netflix is funding Anime. These are two good things.

So the first episode starts and the intro sequence kicks in, and I’m hooked. Mechas? Check, Space Combat? Beautiful Animation, Check, awesome intro music? Check!

Now I know an Anime, like books, shouldn’t be judged on its cover, so I went in cautiously, and found myself putting on episode after episode wanting to watch more.

So let’s start with the Mechs. The entire military force is focused around them, the series taking place on a space fairing colony ship, perhaps the last surviving of such for the human race, who knows? But the point is they need protection from something out there and they do so in a set of very cool looking Mechs. Unlike other shows of similar irk though, all Mechs of a particular line look the same, and you don’t get unique models that look radically different.

This helps instill a sense of realism in how things progress through the story. You have the military cadets training to be pilots and the pilots proper. What’s interesting about the people in this world though, is that as a survival technic in deep space, humanity has developed the ability to photosynthesize. Makes for a cool plot point, but I have to wonder if it was mostly an excuse to show the females of the show in close to nothing some of the time.

The Animation I find entrancing though. A break from the traditional methods, as far as I can tell, the entire series is cell shaded 3D Models, but done so well that for the most part it doesn’t look out of place. I know that this won’t sit well with some, but I find that a lot of anime’s are doing this for the combat scenes anyway, and this blends so smoothly that I think it could be a step forward for how anime is produced in future.

The story flows well too, though certain aspects are predictable, and sometimes it’s a little bit convenient, it doesn’t take away from this being a very enjoyable and more than watchable series. Having finished the entirety of Season 1 in a day, I eagerly look forward to the second, which has already been confirmed. The bonus to it being aired on Netflix also means that we’ll get the entire season in one go.

So as always, I’ll leave you with the opening sequence to this awesome series!

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Well, I would if I could find one…instead you get the trailer!

~ Rezal