Knights of Sidonia S2: Battle for Planet Nine review – 73/100

The second season of Sidonia makes a number of mistakes that a lot of second seasons do. That namely being that the anime slows down and introduces characters and conflicts that are often resolved in a undetermined to exist, third season. A new antagonist is introduced, whom does very little in the season and only foreshadows a future conflict. A war is started and the season ends when Sidonia takes a planet as a base of operations for future conflicts in the war. This season is really just a build up to a third season which may or may not come to be. So it can be said, undeniably, that this season is much weaker than it’s first. The biggest detractor to its enjoyment is the sudden increase of slice of life harem antics which strangely enough was started with the introduction of an inhuman character. A chimera called Tsumugi is introduced to the cast and with her introduction the plot of the series takes a massive backseat. The story puts her directly into the spotlight where more or less all events for a large amount of screentime have to do with her. Previously her role looked to be the start of a conflict with the use of Gauna based weapons and the people’s rejection of Tsumugi but this conflict is wrapped up very fast. Then she’s treated as another girl around Tanikaze despite being in no way human, in some ways it comes across as alien just how accepting these people are of a giant pink tentacle squid that talks with a cutesy girls voice.

Art for the series remains consistent and can look great but animation can take some time to get used to. There are still some uncanny valley moments with the stiffness of human characters that even went gotten used to can be distracting. It is a shame, as with just a small improvement in movement would make this a non issue. The mecha battles are fantastic and remain a highlight of the series but are more sparse in this season. Which brings me to what I consider to be the biggest failing here, that being the increase of harem antics. Sidonia’s first season also had these moments but they were broken up a lot more due to more action set pieces. The pace of the first season kept moving, never letting characters sit too long for the viewer to notice the lack of depth to them. But here the pacing comes down and when the story begins to focus on the characters it really comes to light that there isn’t much there. Tanikaze remains a typical anime protagonist, who has a huge talent for piloting and attracting female companionship despite having a lack of charisma. Izana has potential for grown but remains a role who is defined by her love for Tanikaze. Yahata has her role as a commander during action but out of that she serves the same role as Izana. Tsumugi you would think would have a much more defined role, but despite how disturbing it is, also plays mainly as love interest after her initial introduction. So it’s not hard to see that the story has veered off course when you are watching an episode dedicated to teasing a potential romantic relationship between Izana and Tanikaze. Almost as if the writer has been pushed out of his role and replaced with a shipper.

Despite now there being less of them, the action scenes are still a joy to watch and the series does have a great ending battle. Though predictably it ends with a tease for a another season and could leave viewers unsatisfied. Overall it’s a decent season held down by its slow moments. Provided you can put up with some age old harem scenarios it can be enjoyed and it never gets to the point of being insufferable to get through. What plot there is, is engaging and it does hold promise for a future season. If that comes to be. But I know this season will likely be a breaking point for some and I can see why. I just hold out hope that if there is another season, it’s doesn’t make the same mistakes this one did.