First Impressions / Sidonia no Kishi

「邂逅」 (Kaiko)
“Chance Meeting”

With a chance meeting comes the penultimate episode of Sidonia’s second season, and it delivers on every front we expected it to. Twists, epic action scenes, and even more twists are the name of the game here, and this is definitely one way to ensure the series sends off in a memorable fashion. Seeing Tsumugi single handedly fend off Benisuzume was fabulous in and of itself, but the added rush of seeing Izana escape from a (seemingly) new type of humanoid Gauna just takes the cake, and that wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg here. We had Tanikaze heroics in every sense of the word to boot, and there’s nothing quite like the show he puts on—defeating a whole screen full of Gauna by himself, then laying waste to the remaining three with just a knife and a Hyggs head cannon. Talk about awesome.

All things considered though, the Tsugumori Mk. III really showcased just how different it is from its previous iterations in this fight, and it needed every single one of its new additions. Any other frame would’ve been devastated from the collisions alone, and the fact that Tanikaze’s using it for the first time without any specific tuning demonstrates just how powerful both he and his frame can get. In this sense, the whole bit about “we can still make it better” serves as a testament to human ingenuity in the Sidonia universe, and it’s a mettle that explains just how they’ve managed to scrape by in the face of what has—up until now—been superior competition.

It’s just too bad that for the time being they’re not quite there yet, and there’s a measure of irony in how part of that is due of our cast’s humanity as well. Tsumugi’s brief hesitation after seeing “Hoshijiro” crawl out of the cockpit ends up costing her big time, and the tables turn in the blink of an eye as a result, leaving us with a finale whose forecast is pretty much the usual at this point: grim with a high chance of death.

Or is it? Benisuzume’s embrace of Tanikaze’s frame and insertion of her pilot into his cockpit for some romantic one-on-one hints at the desire for more than just mindless killing, and the fact that she learns and uses Tsumugi’s phrase of “I’ll penetrate your core now” shows there might be more brewing under the surface here.

It may just be that all this time the Gauna have been trying to develop methods of their own to communicate, heralding perhaps a glimmer of hope that things might have a peaceful ending here. That being said, it could be too little too late at this point, and I for one can’t quite see an ending where Kobayashi and Ochiai would be amicable to just letting bygones be bygones at this stage. The former’s definitely too focused on the objective to do so, the latter’s obsessed with creating something superior, and neither seem like they’d welcome anything aside from total annihilation of the Gauna—a pity considering how many of the pilots would likely treasure any kind of ceasefire that’d ensure their near term survival.

And with that, we’ve arrived at the end of yet another season, and perhaps the last bit of Sidonia we’ll see in a little while. Time sure flies, but thankfully it looks like we’ll have a finale worth sending the series off with for now, and that’s probably the best thing we can ask for.

 

Preview

26 Comments

  1. My hype level for next week’s finale are as solid as benisuzume’s placenta shield.

    Also…

    https://randomc.net/image/Sidonia%20no%20Kishi/Sidonia%20no%20Kishi%20Daikyuu%20Wakusei%20Seneki%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2035.jpg

    Oh my…mayhaps it is time to rekindle that old flame? Nay, Nay I say. For there is a new interest among the horizons where man has never gone to before.

    https://randomc.net/image/Sidonia%20no%20Kishi/Sidonia%20no%20Kishi%20Daikyuu%20Wakusei%20Seneki%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2023.jpg

    MisterMarty
    Reply

  2. I was just on the edge of my seat ! That’s what anime should do !

    You are correct that there were several things going on ! Izana and squad leader trying to survive ! Their rescue and Nagates fight scenes were just so good ! Think quick and be accurate!

    Tsugumi’s battle with Benisuzume was a battle to the death! BTW I think Benisuzume is a ultimate foe . Just as Nagate is good she does her task of being vicious and tricky.

    Then the cliffhangar with Nagate ! Just so good!

    15FAN
    Reply

  3. Well, the Gauna knows that here is Sidonia best Pilot, perhaps they seek for a Way to reproduce him. Sure they could just assimilate him like they done with Hoshijiro. But i think here, that some Instincts take a little bit control over the Placenta Hishijiro in the Cockpit. And hold your horse, she is right now in front of his Knees. So no crouch jokes

    Show Spoiler ▼

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

    2. Considering both seasons have been single cours it’s not unreasonable to assume any third will be as well. Taking into consideration a 1-2 season break (likely) there should be enough material to easily flesh out 12 more episodes.

      At least there better be another season, this series is too damn good to just be dropped halfway through.

      Pancakes
      Reply

  7. I was on the edge of my seat the whole episode.

    I just wondered what happened to Izana who was suppsoed to be in the cockpit as well when Placenta Hoshijiro was assimilating it.

    Also… with the Mk. 3 wrecked, how can Tanikaze fight? Will Sidonia send out Mk. 2 along with the rest of the squads to their rescue?

    Reikakou
    Reply

  8. Make this happen:
    http://i.imgur.com/br8FNeU.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Sidonia%20no%20Kishi/Sidonia%20no%20Kishi%20Daikyuu%20Wakusei%20Seneki%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2009.jpg
    Well I don’t know where I crashed here tonight,
    I got the feeling that something ain’t right,
    It’s so hard to keep this fear from my face,
    And we’re running round all over the place,
    Gauna to the left of me,
    Tentacles to the right, here I am,
    Stuck in the middle with you.

    celebrinen
    Reply

  12. Fantastic episode, this series always gets soooo good near the end of every season, i enjoyed the fights and the intense action set-pieces a lot, plenty of tension and style, but i also enjoyed the numerous homages to other anime and otaku culture in general (even if not intentional they still work), the Tanikaze shooting scene reminded me so much of video-games, it was like a remake of Space Invaders set on Ultra difficulty (specially seeing it from inside the cockpit with all the UI elements XD, there is also fake Hoshijiro/Benisuzume invading Tanikaze’s cockpit and popping from his monitor seductively while completely naked reminded me of that iconic scene in another famous mecha anime … Macross Plus, except there she was more of a hologram than a real physical body, still … very interesting homage.

    I was also surprised by the amount of sexual innuendo here, not just the tentacles and Hoshijio’s naked invasion of Tanikaze’s cockpit but also the “I’ll penetrate your core” phrase being thrown around to mock opponents felt a little weird specially when Benisuzume used it to mock Tsumugi.

    Hunter-Wolf
    Reply

  14. Ep 12 (End) Raw:

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Beware inside the Spoiler is a bit Wall of Text, and my thoughts in how the Anime/Manga could continue. Open on your own Risk

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

    1. If i would compare this Anime to Games i played in my Past, then…
      Show Spoiler ▼

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

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