Now you've gauna done it
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| "It's nice to meet you everyone. My name is Tsumugi Shiraui." |
One of my favourite anime and manga series of the last few years, Knights of Sidonia is an old-school space opera brimming with action, adventure, romance and giant transforming biological monsters. It finds vaunted manga creator Tsutomu Nihei leave behind the rambling, widescreen cyberpunk that fuelled his earlier creations Blame! and Biomega, for something altogether more palatable. While I miss that sense of ambiguity and Cyclopean scope that fuelled Blame!, Knights of Sidonia's focus on characterisation and plotting helps it stand apart from Nihei's other works, showing an unexpected willingness to experiment with form, structure and storytelling techniques.
With its romantic sub-plots, straightforward storytelling, and pulpy '70s/'80s sci-fi aesthetic, KoS is inarguably Nihei's most mainstream series to date, but, true to form, he has enlivened this familiar formula with a healthy dose of mystery and intrigue, as well as elements of body horror and hard science fiction. I caught the series on Netflix last year and was instantly hooked. Luckily, I won't have long to wait for my next fix, as Netflix has just released a new English (sort of) trailer that confirms the series will soon return.
Knights of Sidonia's second series, dubbed Battle for Planet Nine, will hit the streaming service on July 3, which gives those of you who have yet to see the first series ample time to get all caught up.
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