First Impressions / Sidonia no Kishi

「眼差」 (Me Sa)
“Gaze”

It’s often been noted how fickle humans are—with one’s opinions subject to change at the blink of an eye. It’s a great representation of our ability to make our own decisions and to be able to take into account new perspectives, but it doesn’t change the fact that it makes for some pretty tough times when things ain’t going right, and it looks like things might just take a turn for the worse in the near future. We got Benisuzume looming on the horizon itching for the Kabizashi, Ochiai making prophetic statements about his power being needed in the near future, and the absence of any overtly negative events in this episode just reeks of impending doom.

For now though, things are suddenly looking up for Tanikaze, with Kunato’s self-imposed absence playing a key part. Combo that with Seii supporting Tanikaze on the front lines and the return of Hoshijiro—at least, a Gauna resembling her—and it’s really like a cloud nine experience for our main character at this point, even if it’s required more sorties to make up for it.

In the blink of an eye, Tanikaze’s star’s shooting back up, and it’s quite fitting to note how his return to the top gets compared to Doctor Yure’s previously controversial plan to drastically increase the Sidonia’s population despite a lack of resources. There’s something to be said about the flip in reception now that everything’s worked out fine for both Yure and Tanikaze, and while it’s great to actually see them not getting the short end of the stick for once, it’s exactly this lull in overall negativity that ensures this upswing’ll be short lived.

Ultimately, it must be noted that Hoshijiro we’re seeing here isn’t her at all, and the fact that Tanikaze’s using his interactions with her as a springboard for his positive rise is just one of many elements here that don’t bode well for the future. The last thing the Sidonia needs is someone potentially sympathizing with the enemy—unless of course, they aren’t what they seem or he ends up actually establishing communications with them—and it goes without saying that this sample’s presence on the Sidonia itself may just be the kind of entrance the Gauna need to finish them off once and for all. That is, if it’s not already starting to play it’s part, as the increased amount of sorties seem far too coordinated with her presence on the ship to be a coincidence. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s the one calling them in an effort to set up for Benisuzume and her apparent desire to obtain a Kabizashi, and it just doesn’t look good considering the emigration fleet’s imminent departure as well.

To say the least, there’s a lot going on here along multiple fronts—there’s also the Captain’s auxillary brain stuff with Ochiai and Kunato looming over that like an evil specter—and the Sidonia is gearing up to be an even bigger powder keg than it was before. Slowly but surely, history’s starting to repeat itself in some shape or form—with Saitou coming back via Tanikaze, a new form of Gauna appearing once again, and Kunato slowly turning into this generation’s Ochiai—and it makes you wonder whether or not the other remnants of the previous defense war will be able to use their prior experiences to guide Sidonia out of what seems to be a near-guaranteed apocalyptic scenario.

Author’s Note:

  • Apologies for the delay! It’s been a busy week with examinations and the such, but that should be it for a while.
  • As usual, please refrain from spoilers, especially if they’re not in response to a query of some sort. If you must, please remember to use spoiler tags.

    • Full-length images: 27.

     

    Preview

    54 Comments

    1. Not a mention about Nagate’s ever-growing harem? Or Izana becoming a pilot? Although they glossed over this fact in the episode too…
      But it’s great to see Nagate getting the recognition he deserves, and other people (Samari’s squad, for example) wanting to interact with him.

      Placenta Hoshijiro makes me shudder. I saw people referring to her as cute, but I just can’t see it. An adult with a toddler’s mind and behavior… Uh. Creepy.

      Reite
      Reply

      2. Actually, try to refrain from reading anything about Sidonia on MAL. I came to a thread about Izana’s gender pronouns expecting a nice linguistic discussion and got spoiled horribly, since people cannot use spoiler tags properly.

        Hoshijiro’s return was spoiled in the main thread too, since someone answered “Is she really dead?” question with “Hoshijiro is *spoiler tag*, since she is *spoiler tag*”, leaving no doubt whatsoever as to what the tag contained.

        Please, people, learn to phrase your spoilers. Or just tag the whole sentence.

        Reite
        Reply

      3. If you’re referring to the one about Nagate then yeah I saw that one and had to groan. Trying to avoid reading the MAL episode threads now just for this reason so I don’t chance upon any Gauna spoilers.

        Pancakes
        Reply

      1. They’ve done such a great job adapting it so far I’m quite worried about possible deviations from the plot at this point. An anime only end could mean no second cour.

        celebrinen
        Reply

      2. I sincerely doubt it, seems like Izana is still a trainee for the time being, though looking in the preview images it seems like the figure in the black uniform could possibly be Izana.

        Show Spoiler ▼

        Echo
        Reply

        1. I beluga it is, if u look at the preview that person is wearing shorts(intersex) not pants(male) or a skirt(female) & I believe that the only intersex character is Izana.

          Reaper
          Reply

        1. Welp, I was horribly wrong about what little has changed (Hint: there’s a lot changed and skipped up til now)

          manga location – spoiler alert:
          Show Spoiler ▼

          At least I’m not that far off from my (first) initial guess of where this is stopping. Though now I’m more concerned on what shape the anime is going to finish in.

          info600
          Reply

        2. I agree with your guess. It seems that they’re skipping some harmless scenes and they’re going to mix several chapters into one to add drama. Probably a combination of Izana’s First Sortie, Asteroid’s Impact and, of course, Kunato Norio’s Emotional Turmoil to add a nice stinger if they wish to continue the series afterwards.

          If that’s the plan, I definitely approve. Few dramatic space battles are better than telling every detail about every minor battle in-between.

          (Beware those who only follow the anime: don’t try to look for those manga chapters or you will spoil yourself many amazing developments).

          Mistic
          Reply

        2. Mozuku: “The writers who altered your character are being killed as we speak Norio sama”

          Numi: “I’m Tahiro Numi, the inventor of the chest mounted silicone shock absorber”

          celebrinen
          Reply

    6. Quite funny that both characters and some commenters have alluded to the Gauna deliberately targeting the Kabizashi (the scientist mentioned something about Hoshijiro being a drone scout I believe) when it seems more likely that they are simply attracted to the Kabizashi. The implication being that both the Gauna and Kabizashi are related to one another and that the spears may not have been intended as a weapon in the first place.

      Really hoping for a season 2 announcement by the time episode 12 rolls around, this show is getting some awesome Dead Space vibes now.

      Pancakes
      Reply

    7. The second I saw the Gauna frame I had a feeling they’d be bringing back a Gauna Hoshijiro clone… Zombie ship rises from the grave lol! I had to laugh at Izana this episode, his face was something along the lines of “why do women keep literally throwing themselves into this guys arms?!” and “why can’t I have big bouncies like these?” Now, the very cynical side of me still thinks that the only reason Izana’s a non-gender is so they can draw in yaoi fangirls without repulsing straight guys, but so far there seems to be more to him than that. And it does make the “dense main character doesn’t notice best friend has feelings for him” trope much more plausible as I’m not sure Nagate even thinks of Izana as a potential woman.

      Very interested in how the Gauna can apparently sense the Kabizashi. Maybe there actually is something to the peacenik faction’s ideals after all. The Gauna were hostile long before humanity got the Kabizashi, but if keeping them around makes Sidonia easier to track then chucking them might be better after all. However, given that they’ve left Sidonia alone for a hundred some years I suspect that the range the Gauna can pick up on them is limited. Still, it sets up a nice conundrum for our heroes, and possibly could develop the protesters beyond being naive strawmen.

      On a related note, anyone else suspect that this “settlement plan” will end with a whole bunch of hippies dumped into the biothermal reactor?

      Hochmeister
      Reply

    9. zombie ship indeed O.o!

      soo is gonna be a 4-ways? square? err we got Izana , Yuhata and Guana-Hoshijiro : one “it” ..a female and one .. undefined? o.O!

      what would be creepy would be if Benizusume also has Hoshijiro’s memories and is actually trying to get back to Tanikaze ! …. but dunno : Benizusume’s eyes are really different from Guana-Hoshijiro.

      and yeah seems the pacifists are onto something .. the Guana seem to “feel” the kabizashi … now the question would be if the captain will learn of it and will be willing to drop her weapons… i dont think so… it wouldn’t surprise me if she already knows!

      now the question is WHY are the guana atracted by the kabizashi? i would say those are part guana…BUT the shape doesnt lean to that possibility.

      man now i really wanna see Benizusume!

      inanis
      Reply

    10. Is this blond person from Samari’s squad an intersex?
      I’m always looking closely at the people in the group shots, hoping to see another shorts-clad figure, but so far there was none. It’s like the animators forgot this was even an option (the same was in AoT with all filler soldiers).

      Reite
      Reply

        1. Ah, no. I don’t mean Tsuruuchi, he’s ostensibly male. The blond feminine-looking person on the right in the group photo, in front of Honoka. I compared their figure to Samari’s and Izana’s and it’s definitely closer to the latter. And since all females seem to have the same body model… But it’s hard to say in the flightsuits.

          Reite
          Reply

        2. Compare the Flight suits of Woman and Men. The Men have extra Pockets on their Legs. Woman dont have anyone. So you have it

          She or she(he is definitely not a Men

          Germanguy
          Reply

        4. Sorry, wrong blonde. That one I’m not to sure on. My impression that it’s male but now that you mention it intersex is a possibility. S/he hardly gets any lines in the manga so it’s hard to figure out if s/he uses the masculine or feminine forms of Japanese (at the start Izana uses “boku” which is masculine).

          Come to think about it, it is rather odd that Izana is the only confirmed person of that gender.

          celebrinen
          Reply

      2. Not sure if this needs to be spoilered or not, but…
        Show Spoiler ▼

        Alhazred23
        Reply

        1. Not sure if the guy who told me this was actually refering to official sources or not but, about Izana’s Gender:
          Show Spoiler ▼

          Also, I won’t spoiler this, since this is pure speculation, but a lot of people seem to think Kunato’s assistant Mozuku is or was intersex.

          Zannafar
          Reply

        2. Hmm…
          Show Spoiler ▼

          Alhazred23
          Reply

        1. You have to remember that age wise Tanikaze is a lot younger than he looks. I think from looking at the timelines he’s only 15, plus he was brought up with only a dying old man as a role model. It’s not surprising that he’s clumsy around the opposite/undefined sex!

          Scruffy
          Reply

    13. Makes me wonder if the spears were created by an alien race to communicate with the Gauna then found by Humans, which leads me to the mental image of someone beating on a mute with a hand held texting device while screaming “Why wont you talk to me!!!”

      Rune
      Reply

        1. Maybe but it does feel like they are skipping a lot of the non-action scenes. It has been a while since I read the older chapters but I remember there being a lot more shenanigans by this point in the manga.

          deVaras
          Reply

    17. Some random thoughts on this ep:
      I am suddenly feeling those wishing to evacuate from Sidonia and settle on some planet might be not such fools as I have thought.
      I still dont rate their odds of survival very high, but theres a proof that Gauna are attracted by Kabizashi.
      Makes me remember how no one in Evangelion asked why exactly angels kept attacking Tokyo3?
      Oh and cute Gaunajiro is cute.
      LOL at the female pilot: “I wouldnt photosynthetize with you even if you got million kills!”
      So photosynthesing together have become a codeword for other activities as in our world sleeping together is… 😛
      Oh, and that captive scientist guy… I am CURIOUS what did he do to deserve his sentence!
      (enters Chitanda mode)
      Oh and did anyone get the “Auriga” vibes from the “placenta containment facility”? Still waiting for the Gaunajiro to make breakout from those “failsafe” controls, walls etc.
      That ditzy scientist girl has HUUUGE deathflag over her.

      ewok40k
      Reply

      1. It could be breakout, or it could be the other Gauna coming to grab her I guess. It’s possible they are still in communication.

        The sensing of the spears is pretty spooky .. hope they reveal some of the connection here before the anime ends.

        Far Horizon
        Reply

    20. Ep 10:

      Good Episode, some little secrets revealed. Yes this Episode was nice

      And if you wonder why Nagate get pushed from left to right in his Seat. The G Force that is pushing him is the Backpack Propulsion system

      Germanguy
      Reply

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