Sidonia no Kishi

Knights of Sidonia has some good stuff going for it, but I find the animation distracting from the story at times. Sometimes it's incredible, even beautiful; other times you can tell that this a 'three-dimensional imitation' of traditional cel-animation and the look still hasn't grown on me yet. It's difficult to describe how exactly I feel about the animation style: the fight sequences look great, but everything outside of that still feels oddly alien to me (the jerky CGI at play here is not a substitute for that traditional animation look). With that said, there is stuff to enjoy here. It's a legit space-opera with some good music and stories to tell, but it's far from perfect.

'Knights' gets 3.5/5 stars.

I have watched some mecha anime and although I'm not a guru in this field, I've come across this plot of "humanity is under threat from some creatures" in anime so many times. Going into Sidonia no kishi, I had no expectations but the anime proved me wrong. Season 1 was pure gold. There is weight behind the series as your favourite character can die anytime soon. The drama among the humans was so good as equally as the action against the monsters. Like all series, there are flaws. For instance, the main character might come off as the generic shy guy but by a little into the series, he gains a 3 dimensional growth.

Season 1 was a good introduction to the series but Season 2 was just unacceptable. First of all, they exchanged the beautiful serious plot for a lighthearted harem like fan service. I'm not a fan of harem or fan service but that is not the reason alone why I did not like the second season. The first season was dark, mature, psychological and sad. As a result, the transition into this bright romance like harem sequel was just weird and executed wrongly. Imagine an alternate Attack on Titan season 2 turning from a seinen into an anime where Sasha, Mikasa and Historia are after Eren. Silly right after that beautiful and serious first season? In knights of Sidonia, the second season did not further the entire story anywhere. It became repetitive and dull. I just hope the 3rd season will be far better than what we have now.

So i found this show because i had off on the 4th of July 2014, and i decided to dedicate the entire day to Netflix. As soon as i went on Netflix it showed me this newly released title "Knights of Sidonia" and i wasn't that interested by the description or the images because i saw mecha type anime(robots). That immediately discouraged me because i hate mecha type anime, but for some reason something inside me just couldn't resist watching one episode.

So i start episode 1 and my first reaction was the picture quality, it was so strange and 3-D-ish. At first i wasn't sure if i even liked it but i finished episode 1 and thought it was decent. I decided to give one more episode a try before i decided if i was gonna watch it or drop it and boy am i glad i did! After episode 2 i got use to the strange animation and the story really picked up from there. Every single episode left you in suspense for the next, its been along time since a show caught my eye like this show did! This show has a very unique concept on the human race and how they've changed in the future this is one thing that really caught my attention. And the action and mystery were very nice too. Both opening and ending are very good in my opinion.

This show has post-apocalyptic, romance, action, and mystery. I'm really excited for season two and i'm very happy that this was English dubed the same time as japans release.

Overall: 4/5. Why not 5/5? The animation basically. I think if they would have used what ever effects they did on the animation during specific parts in the show rather than the entire thing it would have looked better. Don't get me wrong though even with the strange or different animation style this show is really good. The story is a 5/5 for me, theirs just so much suspense and mystery and cool concepts i love it all. And don't forget i don't even like mecha genre anime and i loved this, that basically says it all!

Edit: Just finished season 2 and i have to say i think it was even slightly better than the first, for me it kept the same suspense at the end of every episode. It had its adorable moments along with epic action and some unraveling of the shows mystery's. The opening theme wasn't as memorable as the first season but if you listen past the first few seconds its actually pretty decent. I enjoyed the ending theme very much, it gave me the old eerie feeling of paint peeling. And i have to say my judgment of the animation has changed since my first viewing, just because the style is different from the mainstream isn't a bad thing and i think this is one of the few shows that can be done the way it was and come out well. 4/5 for season 2, its completely consistent with season 1 quality and for me i think i enjoyed it slightly more, cant wait for season 3! If you were a fan of season 1 you will absolutely love season 2, i promise!

This series has what it takes to become one of the best animes in recent memory. Haven't been into anime for a very long time (wife and 2 kids will do that), but I saw the Netflix trailer and decided to give it a try over the 4th of July weekend.

In a word: Awesome.

The story, animation and the backdrop are all top notch. The plot is bleak but offers glimmers of hope and the action scenes are absolutely stunning. Very interesting developments going on between the characters and I really loved the way that Season 1 wrapped up. The fact that the story deals with mature themes and the trademark anime goofy moments are kept to a bare minimum is a big plus to me personally.

I highly recommend it if you're looking for an excellent new series to get into and if you're into anime especially of the mecha variety, it's an absolute no-brainer.

I'm highly anticipating Season 2 this fall.

Growing up on Robotech (Macross) and the Gundam franchise, I have a tender spot in my core for mech anime. If you grew up on said anime, then you have to immediately view this series. It's not for you that I need to make the case. You'll already be willing to finish the series in one sitting.

For those of you, maybe a younger generation, without the mech background, give this a chance. My girlfriend is of the Hunter x Hunter, Kill la Kill, Blue Exorcist generation. But, Knights of Sidonia has your emotional character development, cutesy facial expression (heavy blushing) and the artwork will hold the new generation. I've tried in vain to get my girlfriend to watch many of the late 80's early 90's classics. She loved Ninja Scroll and Armitage, but still admits to not watching older anime for the dated animation. Knights of Sidonia is the perfect oldschool mech vs alien anime with an updated appearance.