First Impressions / Sidonia no Kishi

「針路」 (Shinro)
“Course”

Let the Kobayashi Revolution begin. The Captain’s in the haus house now, and it’s all about using everything at humanity’s disposal to take the fight to the Gauna. The course is set to the Lem System and the fight for Planet Nine is set to begin earnest. Armed with brand new upgrades and Tsumugi coming along as a one women/chimera/hybrid army, things look more optimistic than ever before for the Sidonia crew—that is, if it weren’t for those meddling Gauna and their inability to let our plans get off without a hitch.

Murphy’s Law is king in the Sidonia universe after all, and things start rolling earlier than expected due to a surprise attack. The fact that it used to be one of the Sidonia’s own colony ships gives it a topping of irony to boot, and there’s much to be said about how capable the Gauna are to be able to develop a countermeasure for Tsumugi in the relatively short time they’ve seen her. Granted, the amount of time that’s actually passed in between their first combat might’ve been much larger than we as viewers see, but there’s no denying the intelligence of the Gauna or the threat that they pose.

The interesting question that results though, is whether or not that intelligence makes them sentiment creatures capable of actual communication. The fact that they’ve already attempted to emulate humans by creating life-forms in their visage supports the notion that communication is possible (and maybe has already been attempted), but it doesn’t change the fact that for now, it’s certainly too risky of an endeavor to try on any grand scale, especially given the past interactions between both sides. Indeed, it could very well be that their attempts to communicate might be more of an attempt to understand humanity better so they can annihilate them for good, and it’s here where many different viewpoints become apparent in the Sidonia universe.

None of the “alternative views” will ultimately win out while Kobayashi and Kunato/Ochiai are leading the fray, but it is important to note how as of this moment, there are at least four major viewpoints: those who believe they should avoid combat at all costs, those that pray/hope to avoid it, those that believe fighting is the only option, and those that believe communication is possible. Needless to say, the introduction of each viewpoint serves as an important reminder of the differences inherently present in humanity despite the obvious genetic similarities between them these days, and it goes to show how being put on the same boat doesn’t necessarily mean everyone’ll still be on the same page. Put it all together and it makes you wonder if Kobayashi herself might end up running into issues and rebellions herself in the near future, even if it could just be a red herring to make us think there’s more on the horizon in this angle.

Either way, it’s time to rock and roll with the 96 Gardes Formation, and the future promises to be filled with action packed, adrenaline rush inducing combat. I just hope that amid all the fighting however, the people of the Sidonia universe don’t stop forgetting the essentials of everyday life. And by that, I mean the courtesy of knocking on doors before entering, the value of rice balls (and food in general), and the necessity of receiving some quality R&R in between. Trashing doors into people’s faces does not count, by the way. I swear, you can never really go wrong with the more light-hearted moments in this show…

 

Preview

34 Comments

  3. Welp, Tsumugi’s going to be in the limelight for a few more episodes.

    Why? they probably used the budget for the protagonists’ side to animate all of her motions (whether it’s her extension or her original 15-feet tall self). Thus we aren’t seeing any new mechs til the mech in the ED shows up…probably.

    /self-assurance

    OTOH, nice minute details (to the right):

    https://randomc.net/image/Sidonia%20no%20Kishi/Sidonia%20no%20Kishi%20Daikyuu%20Wakusei%20Seneki%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2032.jpg

    info600
    Reply

    2. OTOH, nice minute details (to the right):

      Never paid attention to it, but I just realized how simplistic the monitoring system is. You’d think with their highly advanced technology, they’d have, like, some 3D representation of all the units, but nope; simple geometric shapes and fonts.

      frubam
      Reply

      1. Simple is sometimes best. Walk into any most any commercial or military radar station and most of the radar is simple monochrome representations of the radar returns. They might have some icon representative of the return type but for the most point it’s simple dots with a transponder tag if available. When you’re monitoring dozens (if not hundreds of targets) you want things as minimalist as possible. Important stuff front and center, the rest at a bare minimum.

        smokex365
        Reply

  4. This is the next Evangelion, and Kunatochiai is the new Gendo. What he did to the Hoshijiro placenta…. as intelligently realistic an option it is, still SICKENS my soul >=0[!!! Now I see why Tsumugi calls him “Father”. His comeuppance won’t come soon enough >=01

    I don’t see anything severely bad happening to the Nagate Four; they did the handshake after all, so I’m sure that’ll give them plot armor for at least a couple more episodes.

    frubam
    Reply

    1. Oookay…since Tsumugi was made by impregnating GaunaHoshijiro with Human Genetic material…whose one was used in the insemination process?

      Are we looking on a Cosmic-Level tangential NTR by proxy?

      kittyraider
      Reply

    2. I respectfully disagree with your comparison to Eva. In particular, Gendo had a plan from the very start to screw everyone over and to get what he wanted. You’re giving Norio far too much credit, he’s just a spoiled prick who got overwhelmed by events and isn’t even in control of his own body now.

      celebrinen
      Reply

    3. Oh, but of course You wouldn’t attribute magnificent bastardry to the Puppet; You’ll give that to the Puppetmaster himself.

      Ochiai deserves that, its true. Not Kunato.

      kittyraider
      Reply

  6. I am more than happy with season 2 ! A lot was covered in this episode from major to minor points! I will make it brief ! Was nice to see En back after that disaster in S 1. BTW doors are nothing to her as the Honakas sisters are like 20 times stronger than normal humans! She jumped around better than Spiderman!

    And Yuhata with her models! The hand clasp represents the Guardians Halo formation!

    So this show is in my Top 5 which is special because all of then are ongoing or second cours , No new spring show is on there

    15FAN
    Reply

      2. That door was totally not up to code if someone can kick it out into the hall like that.
        On the other hand it’s been way too long since we got some Tanikaze physical comedy, that was one of the things I really liked about the first episode of S1.
        Also Yuhata collects models!
        But the Gauna countering Tsumugi so easily was kind of boring, she didn’t put up any resistance (although maybe they ran out of money and time for that).

        Riktol
        Reply

  9. Granted, the amount of time that’s actually passed in between their first combat might’ve been much larger than we as viewers see

    Although it’s never indicated, I think time actually passes by a lot in the background judging from how characters converse and interact.

    Serapita
    Reply

  10. https://randomc.net/image/Sidonia%20no%20Kishi/Sidonia%20no%20Kishi%20Daikyuu%20Wakusei%20Seneki%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2014.jpg

    Two weeks ago some people were speculating about the fate of Gaunajiro. This is why I don’t ask that question when it comes to Nihei.
    I don’t sense malice towards his characters like some of Urobutchers works where Gen tries his best to drag his characters through broken glass. But Nihei is very unsentimental. When characters cease to progress the story they are removed (though not always killed).

    celebrinen
    Reply

  11. Tsumugi’s Seiyus is given her a Human Conscious Mind, with her Voice. i am very pleasant with that. Even if she look like an Human Gauna Hybrid, if you close your Eyes and just hear the Voice, there are no difference in imagine her in a Human Body. Of course we have here only Human Seiyus. But her way of talking with the Cast is refreshing innocent. Yes, Tsumugi has a Soul

    And looks like Tsumugi’s Human instinct is merging with Gauna Rage. I hope she do not lost her Human Soul side

    Sidonia no Kishi, i applaud you

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

  12. I honestly don’t know how they are going to top this episode for the rest of the season.

    – a holographic strategy session worthy of Star Trek: Generations or Macross Frontier (episode 14 “Mother’s Lullaby”)
    – tsundere girl clones and the stereotypical protagonist taking a lucky encounter on the chin (or nose, in this case)
    – the catchy new intro (“Kishi Kōshinkyoku”) has been subtitled (and is due out on 29 April)
    – bad guys (murderers) among the good guys and good guys (innocent Tsumugi) among the bad guys
    – electromagnetic launch sequence
    – new technology in the form of the advanced armor derived from Guana placenta
    – 96 Gardes formation
    – low-gravity free running (street jumping)
    – Yuhata at work as the Captain’s XO as well as at home with her assembly models
    – Lala in the episode

    All said, 5 out of 5 stars. A terrific episode.

    Tsumugi’s going to be okay – after all, she did the hand-clasp with Nagate, Izana, and Yuhata, didn’t she?

    jhpace1
    Reply

    1. Show Spoiler ▼

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

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