Knights of Sidonia - Attack on Titan IN SPAAAACE!

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Zak757

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I'm sure anyone who actually knows what Knights of Sidonia (not Cydonia which is a song by Muse) is were grinding their teeth at that title, due to the Sidonia manga being released 5 months before the Attack on Titan manga was created. I'm aware of that, I just wanted a clickbait title since it seems to work for Kotaku. Both of them can be shortened to SnK if you turn the Japanese title into an acronym, amusingly enough, but enough about that.

So is anyone watching the anime for it? Only 3 episodes on currently, the third coming out today. It'll be awhile before it comes out on Netflix, yes, Netflix, but a lot of fansubs are out for it (I use Underwater).

It's got quite a few superficial similarities to Attack on Titan in fact (other way around actually, the author of Attack on Titan is a fan of Tsutomi Nihei and it shows). You've got an enclosed community containing what is likely the last bastion of humanity alive, but instead of a series of massive walls containing a medieval-WW1-mashup community, it's a gargantuan slower-than-light generation ship that has been moving through space for hundreds of years. You've got a mysterious and powerful enemy hunting humanity, but instead of humanoid abominations called Titans, you've got more Lovecraftian eldritch abominations known as Gauna. You've got ultra specific weaponry designed to attack the enemies weak point, but instead of giant boxcutters designed to slice off through the nape of the neck, you've got spears tipped with pieces of Gauna placenta which is allowed to pass through their nigh-indestructible shells for biological reasons. And you've got mecha, but instead of shifters which can transform into flesh monsters, it's more hard sci-fi style robots. So far it hasn't been nearly as bad with tragedy and character death, but it has a similarly bleak atmosphere. The characters are more tolerable, especially the main character, if a bit lacking for personality. It is a better execution overall however, and if you didn't like AoT, don't rule it out, it isn't nearly as bad for using common shonen tropes that likely annoy you.

It's got Nihei's signature style of... Nihei-ness, that's for sure. Humans now have a third gender which can modify themselves to suit their parter (one of these is a major character which I like), a lot of humans are capable of photosynthesis which means they don't need to eat as much (our protagonist is an outcast in that he has to eat food the same way we do), and the fact that his maid looks like a god damn humanoid bear makes me think there is quite a lot of gene altering too. Sidonia itself reminds me a lot of the architecture from Blame! in that it has an industrial and vast atmosphere to it. And of course, ludicrous amounts of firepower. Sidonia made a single shot from a single cannon last episode to destroy a single Gauna (it didn't succeed), the explosion made any nuclear bomb you care to name look like particularly small firecracker in comparison.

The most controversial part and by far the biggest turn-off of course is the 3DCG. It is entirely done in 3DCG. And as far as I'm concerned, while it works just fine for the environments, the machines, and the action (the mecha action is fucking hype holy shit) it doesn't work very well for the characters. There is the problem of "sameface" in which a lot of characters are hard to tell apart, and they move very stiffly and it just doesn't look good at all and it's going to take some getting used to.

I've got some issues but it's been enjoyable so far, give it a try. Captcha: Outlook good.

 

Queen Michael

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I've just gotten my hands on the first volume of the manga, so I'll be reading that before I watch any anime.
 

Zak757

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Zak757 said:
So far it hasn't been nearly as bad with tragedy and character death, but it has a similarly bleak atmosphere.
After watching episode 3, I might have to retract this statement.
The best 4 pilots got Levi Squad'd
Also, according to someone who had read the manga, they replaced a beach barbeque scene with a bathysphere scene. That's right, they actually significantly reduced the amount of fanservice in the anime adaption. I'm ignorant but that sounds revolutionary to me.

One problem I had this episode: we're not really getting any decent portrayals of female pilots thus far. They tend to freak out and die as oppose to significantly contribute in a fight, although I'm only 3 episodes in.

I haven't mentioned how awesome the sound design is in this show, and the music is really good too.
 

InsanityRequiem

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Also, the manga goes a whole new route in character/character interaction. In space and extinction-threat, no one cares who you fuck. You can be gay, straight, ace, bi, omni, heck there's transsexual/transgender in there as well (I don't particularly remember specifically, been a long time since I read). If I remember incorrectly, there's a plant/human hybrid group in there as well.
 

RandV80

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Zak757 said:
Zak757 said:
So far it hasn't been nearly as bad with tragedy and character death, but it has a similarly bleak atmosphere.
After watching episode 3, I might have to retract this statement.
The best 4 pilots got Levi Squad'd
Also, according to someone who had read the manga, they replaced a beach barbeque scene with a bathysphere scene. That's right, they actually significantly reduced the amount of fanservice in the anime adaption. I'm ignorant but that sounds revolutionary to me.

One problem I had this episode: we're not really getting any decent portrayals of female pilots thus far. They tend to freak out and die as oppose to significantly contribute in a fight, although I'm only 3 episodes in.

I haven't mentioned how awesome the sound design is in this show, and the music is really good too.
Yeah I usually don't pay much attention to these things but having just started watching yesterday if I was a women I'd feel pretty insulted about the most recent episode. We'll see how it goes and it will probably be a minor thing in the long run, but it lost a few marks from me today when the supposed elite squad quickly break down like a bunch of amateurs.

Never really thought it comparable to Attack on Titan until I saw this thread, and while I can see the point the OP is making it still doesn't feel all that similar to me.
 

Siuki

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RandV80 said:
We'll see how it goes and it will probably be a minor thing in the long run, but it lost a few marks from me today when the supposed elite squad quickly break down like a bunch of amateurs.
To be fair, the "elite squad" had never actually fought a live Gauna until their first sortie. Their main combat experience came from a relatively outdated VR system and mock duels with other Guardian mechs. While they may have better skills at piloting their Guardians, as Gauna-fighters they're not much better than anyone else. What mattered was that they were the best Sidonia had to offer, and they died like mayflies.

OT (the one of poor female portrayal): I haven't really considered the lack of positive female roles in Sidonia, but I can see it being an issue. The manga gets pretty harem-y and the main cast of females, while competent (Midorikawa makes a capable commander, as suggested in Episode 3), still fawn over Nagate. That said,
the introduction of Tsumugi changes things up a bit. Yes, she's another member of the harem, but she's a half-breed of Gauna and human who can wipe out over sixty Gauna pretty much on her own (she has a pilot, but it's her body doing the work). Like Nagate she's an excellent fighter and is deployed as often as he is after everyone gets used to her. She's young, almost childish, but Tsugumi has an unerring loyalty to the people of Sidonia and doesn't hesitate to protect them, regardless of harm to her own body.
 

Ikasury

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so after reading your little thread i had to go check this out, of course meaning read half the manga in one sitting...

gotta, loving it so far, even the interesting art style, i'll get around to the anime, but the manga is really good... subplot-wise it does come off as harem-y but i get the feeling there's some kind of inside joke there as the only person Nagate was getting remotely interested in was legitimate and a believable development, as for what happened... honestly that made me grin... just because it was such a left turn and sets up for more crazy... plus kinda helped with my opinion that even if things start with this weird 'okay woo set up a harem' vibe... it actually blows it up pretty quick XD (currently hoping for some 'more' development between boygirl and loli *winkwink*) and the whole situation with the guana certianly makes things... interesting... :3

design-wise... i'm not a master of physics or void-space-combat, but its seeming more legit to me then gundam and that's saying something with all the techno-bs gundam pulls XD i find it interesting that while nagate IS in like the only named gaurdian its not much 'visually' different from it then the others, certainly makes it stand out less...

i dunno there's something about the entire vibe i'm reading that makes it all so oddly casual, yes the MC is magic because plot-reasons, but its not overly done nor is his skills via 'magic' (at best he has what? a higher healing factor... woo? i've only seen this come into play when he 'should be dead' or comedic effect done absolutely right) everything else about him is earned... and its endearing that he's somewhat of a genius-idiot, his reactions to things come off as someone that's generally mellow and self-sufficient, as he should be, and his bumbling is amusing... but while he pulls the expect 'berserk-combat-prowess' its not so overly off the scale as to be entirely scathing, it makes sense... and that's something i don't find often enough in a series, especially new one, they're all about the hype, this isn't and its interesting...

so thanks, for showing me this...

plus Benisuzume... omg the design there is amazing... just saying... think i'll sleep before catching up on the rest :3

but also, as it stands from what i've read so far... no, no this should not be compared to AoT... as this is doing everything right :3
 

Ikasury

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Zak757 said:
Zak757 said:
So far it hasn't been nearly as bad with tragedy and character death, but it has a similarly bleak atmosphere.
After watching episode 3, I might have to retract this statement.
The best 4 pilots got Levi Squad'd
Also, according to someone who had read the manga, they replaced a beach barbeque scene with a bathysphere scene. That's right, they actually significantly reduced the amount of fanservice in the anime adaption. I'm ignorant but that sounds revolutionary to me.

One problem I had this episode: we're not really getting any decent portrayals of female pilots thus far. They tend to freak out and die as oppose to significantly contribute in a fight, although I'm only 3 episodes in.

I haven't mentioned how awesome the sound design is in this show, and the music is really good too.
its my general experience with manga-to-anime they usually tone down fanservice...

as someone reading the manga with it fresh in my head... don't worry about female portrayal... this has a heavy female cast so far as i've read in the manga, but i think that might also be because the 'intersexes' might just be falling under 'female' in plain view, but there are some good female pilots, like Ren and Sewari (i think that's how its spelled?) you have to remember so far they've only really showed the trainees and the people hyped to be 'the best' and no one's really got any REAL experience with the gauna... but yea... they learn... everybody learns ._.

though as of this posting i'm only on chap 27... i'm sure i'll get better names by the time i catch up XD

will definitely have to watch the anime at some point when i'm done...
 

Candidus

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Thanks for bringing this up OP! I'm now catching up with both the manga and the anime. Preferring the fanservice in the manga, cautiously optimistic about the production value of the anime (the important bits with the giant robots anyway).

Edit: As an aside, 3DCG has become pretty fashionable huh? I have an inkling that it's cheaper and/or faster than quality regular animation. Correct me if I'm wrong of course.

There have been so many garbage mecha anime lately. Gargantia, Nobunaga the Fool, Dai Shogun and an entirely unnecessary second season of Valvrave to name just four. There's also Kenzen Robo... AKA, the one about the guy who has to molest a woman to generate the power he needs to pilot his mecha. Even putting the premise aside- which as someone who was totally fine with Senran Kagura's yuri groper Katsuragi, I can do- it's not even well animated! It's on a whole other level of trash.

Sidonia and Break Blade are the first decent ones since MJP, back in... was it summer last year? Either way, too long. So thanks for the reminder!
 

Grimh

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I was very apprehensive when you mentioned it being 3DCG.
Have a really hard time watching stilted "low budget" 3D animation, moreso than stilted "low budget" 2D animation.
But I checked out a couple of minutes of it and it wasn't so bad actually, I might give the anime a shot.
I'll read a few chapters of the manga first though to see if I like the story.
 

ChristopherT

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As someone who did not like the first season of the Attack on Titan anime, and has not read either manga series, I found this show to be much better thus far. It has a few things I'm not keen on, and the style takes a little getting used to (RWBY left a real sour spot for anything even slightly resembling its style, and the difference between amateur and professional shows a fair amount with Knights of Sidonia. Of course the American show should not reflect the Japanese one, but still, janky.) but I'm liking it after the first three episodes.

Thanks for the heads up OP.
 

TWRule

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Totally off topic, but when I first heard the name "Attack on Titan", I got the mental image of people living in space on the actual moon 'Titan', fighting something off. Grammatically, that would have made a lot more sense than what it turned out to be...
 

uchytjes

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TWRule said:
Totally off topic, but when I first heard the name "Attack on Titan", I got the mental image of people living in space on the actual moon 'Titan', fighting something off. Grammatically, that would have made a lot more sense than what it turned out to be...
You know, there was a part of me that wanted this so called "attack on titan in space" to actually BE a defense of the moon Titan. As it stands, however, I have to say that that description is pretty damn spot on.
 

the December King

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RandV80 said:
Zak757 said:
Zak757 said:
So far it hasn't been nearly as bad with tragedy and character death, but it has a similarly bleak atmosphere.
After watching episode 3, I might have to retract this statement.
The best 4 pilots got Levi Squad'd
Also, according to someone who had read the manga, they replaced a beach barbeque scene with a bathysphere scene. That's right, they actually significantly reduced the amount of fanservice in the anime adaption. I'm ignorant but that sounds revolutionary to me.

One problem I had this episode: we're not really getting any decent portrayals of female pilots thus far. They tend to freak out and die as oppose to significantly contribute in a fight, although I'm only 3 episodes in.

I haven't mentioned how awesome the sound design is in this show, and the music is really good too.
Yeah I usually don't pay much attention to these things but having just started watching yesterday if I was a women I'd feel pretty insulted about the most recent episode. We'll see how it goes and it will probably be a minor thing in the long run, but it lost a few marks from me today when the supposed elite squad quickly break down like a bunch of amateurs.

Never really thought it comparable to Attack on Titan until I saw this thread, and while I can see the point the OP is making it still doesn't feel all that similar to me.
It often surprises me, what bothers people in the representation of the sexes at certain levels of skillsets. After all, we watched loads of 'experienced' titan fighters lose their shit and fail during the Attack on Titan series, most of whom were men. Women can fail, too?

My suggestion, if this does bother you enough, or you really just want a character of your gender to root for in combat (which I think is fine), to remedy a lack of awesome female monster-killers in this series (if that is true) would be a dose of AoT's Mikasa, who cannot fail in combat.

If you're male, and/or would like to see a dude kicking ass, well... I can't speak for Knights of Sidonia, as I will be checking it out shortly, and in In AoT you have Levi I guess, but he doesn't do much on-screen fighting.
 

RandV80

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the December King said:
It often surprises me, what bothers people in the representation of the sexes at certain levels of skillsets. After all, we watched loads of 'experienced' titan fighters lose their shit and fail during the Attack on Titan series, most of whom were men. Women can fail, too?

My suggestion, if this does bother you enough, or you really just want a character of your gender to root for in combat (which I think is fine), to remedy a lack of awesome female monster-killers in this series (if that is true) would be a dose of AoT's Mikasa, who cannot fail in combat.

If you're male, and/or would like to see a dude kicking ass, well... I can't speak for Knights of Sidonia, as I will be checking it out shortly, and in In AoT you have Levi I guess, but he doesn't do much on-screen fighting.
Eh you're reading a little too much into it. I said I'd be annoyed by it if I was a woman, but elaborating a little what bothered me was it was a very contrived way to wipe out the unit. Consider how it all want down:

- everything's going smoothly, the elite squad is kicking the things ass
- suddenly the female pilot gets caught by the tentacles and is danger!
- suddenly the ace squad leader abandons the mission and suicidally throws himself in the way getting killed!
- the now freed woman forgets the mission, goes into a hysteric rage and suicidally flies after the beast!
- the other two pilots drop the mission to fly after her, and everyone dies!

I've never watched any of her stuff nor will I ever bother, but if she-who-must-not-be-named saw this she's probably say something like 'the show is telling us that woman shouldn't be brought into battle because they're irrational and need to be saved'. I don't think that's what the show is intending to display here, but they sure make themselves an easy target.

I know it's supposed to be the first encounter in 100 years and they've only done simulations, but doesn't this advanced humanity have any concept of psychological screening? The two were obviously in a relationship, and the moment she was in danger the guy went and killed himself to save her. That's a really, really bad setup when you're relying on a single 4 man team to save the entire colony ship. I could care less about seeing badass male/female characters kicking ass, just if a show wants to put on a mature face I'm more than happy about it but I also hold it to a higher standard.

Now don't go mistaking me that I'm angry at it and will stop watching, I'm just knit picking here. If I were rating the show out of 10 it just dropped from a 9 to a 8 for me here.
 

The Wykydtron

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Wow another anime worth watching this season? I'll give it a go. This season is starting off hella strong. What with No Game No Life turning out to be unexpectedly amazing (chess has never been so cool) and Mahouka is worth watching if only for Anime Jesus Tatsuya just being swag as fuck at all times.


Both have superb animation quality too. I'm quite hopeful for some good 25 episode series here.

I'm liking the anime threads today. Good job guys.
 

Redhawkmillenium

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I noticed this on the Netflix front page last night. Six hours later, I had watched the whole first season. Damn that was good. I never thought I would watch something branded as a "Netflix Original Series", but then they went and exclusively licensed a mature sci-fi anime. Oh, Netflix. It actually makes perfect sense for Netflix to do this, as a significant part of their viewership are anime watchers; I read an article that said some 15 of Netflix's 40 most popular series are anime. Netflix's Independent Content VP had this to say: "Netflix has a huge base of anime fans and we are thrilled to be bringing exclusively for the first time them a first-run anime series, especially one as well-plotted, humorous and beautifully animated as Knights of Sidonia." Technically, the only original parts Netflix produced were the English and Spanish dubs, but I did watch it in the English dub and it was pretty great. If Knights of Sidonia is a success, I'd love to see Netflix acquire the rights to even more anime series.

Now, about the show itself. I loved it. My dad raised me on Star Trek and Star Wars, so space opera science fiction has always sort of been my "first love" over other branches of fantasy like "swords & sorcery" or "steampunk". This show is absolutely dripping with a sleek but somewhat gritty hard sci-fi atmosphere (for all it pretends though, it's not really hard sci-fi because, you know, giant fighting mecha). The characters are likable; there are some obvious anime tropes at play here, but it's all written very well.

The plot itself is sort of similar to the popular Attack on Titan (which will likely cause quite a bit of chagrin for Knights of Sidonia fans, as AoT fans may try to accuse KoS of being derivative, when the reality is that KoS's manga debuted about half a year before AoT's manga). It also bears similarity to the science fiction classic Battlestar Galactica. Humanity is on the run from a overwhelming Lovecraftian menace called the Gauna, fleeing them in the titular "seed ship" Sidonia and seeking a new planet to call home. Defense of Sidonia rests on the pilots of fighting mecha called Gardes, which is sort of similar to the Scouts from Attack on Titan, but also similar to the fighter pilots of Battlestar Galactica. I can't too to further into the plot without spoilers, but needless to say I was enthralled. It's a traditional sci-fi setup with enough interesting twists to keep things interesting and great execution.

But past the superficial similarities to AoT, I actually like KoS better than AoT. I've only seen the dubbed episodes of AoT so far as it airs on Toonami (yay 90s nostalgia!) but it just really hasn't grabbed me. The first couple episodes are great, with an effective death to get you invested in the main characters...but it just doesn't let up from there, beating you over the head with tragedy after tragedy. It got monotonous to me quickly (Also, transparently pretending that the main character was dead for a couple episodes and acting like we should feel morosely sad for his friends pissed me off). The ironic thing is that KoS has just as high if not higher a death toll than AoT, but it just works better for me. Maybe it's because the show doesn't pretend that you should be more attached to these characters than you are, I don't know.

About the animation: yes, it's 3DCG. I like it. It took some getting used to, but I think it really works for the science-fiction setting and aesthetic.

Overall, I just loved the first season of Knights of Sidonia to bits, and I can't wait for season 2.