LogFAQs > #969013514

62. Knights of Sidonia
https://myanimelist.net/anime/19775/Sidonia_no_Kishi
Spring 2014 (12 episodes), Spring 2015 (12 episodes)
My Score: 7/10, MAL Score: 7.65/10 S1, 7.73/10 S2
Best Character: Hoshijiro Shizuka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_zn1a-dOvg

Premise: Earth has been destroyed by the alien Gauna, and the last remnants of humanity are fleeing across the galaxy. Tanikaze Nagate has lived his whole life hidden in the depths of the spaceship Sidonia, but when he finally emerges he might just be the hero humanity needs.

The Good: Knights of Sidonia is a mecha anime. It uses CGI, but I thought it looked really stylish and cool. It also allowed for dynamic battles. I love everything about the setting. Sidonia itself is gargantuan, full of hidden areas and competing factions. I love how desperately they're clinging to survival too, doing things like taking sharp turns when necessary even though the shift in gravity is incredibly dangerous. The Gauna are also really cool. They have such a mysterious, alien feel to them, and they're everywhere almost as if they've infested the galaxy. Since they have what's effectively shapeshifting, regenerating armor, and they can only be killed by one specific material stabbing their core, battling even a single Gauna as a huge challenge. I liked how carefully the heroes needed to plan, and usually there were still massive casualties. The characters in KoS were all fine too, especially Hoshijiro. Still, it was the desperate struggle for survival against an unknowable foe that really resonated with me.

The Bad: The second season definitely wasn't bad, but I felt like it lost focus of the aspects that had appealed to me most. A constant need to escalate things meant there were way more Gauna, which robbed each individual one of its sense of mystery and danger, at least for me. The heroes still struggled just as much, sure, but struggling against one has a much different feel than struggling against ten, if that makes sense. Otherwise, there were a few plot points that went in an unsatisfying direction, but I can't talk about those much without spoilers.

Overall: Knights of Sidonia is tied for the second anime I ever watched. I saw Death Note, then a decade later I watched this and Haruhi at around the same time. I thought it was epic at the time, and KoS being so great was a big part of why I started watching more anime. It's still good, full of neat mecha battles in an interesting setting. I just felt the second season wasn't as focused on the things I liked most, which kept this from reaching my true favorites.