The finale for Knights of Sidonia. Does it adequately wrap up the story?
Novelty
The shift that we saw in season two, of relationships over action, continues in this movie, but there is necessary warring to be done — if only because this movie must conclude the series. I personally don’t feel as if this universe has worn out it’s welcome yet and would have preferred a full season over this form of conclusion. A backhanded compliment?
Plot
Alas, here is where things start falling apart. There were three major unfinished points in the previous season: a sub-character’s plot, the nature of the Gauna, and the state of the war. Two of these are resolved mostly satisfactorily, while another was addressed via a one-off comment. The reality is that a movie runtime couldn’t have hit every one of these plot points and do them justice. I also really despise the throwaway Izana resolution at the end. Thankfully, anime Knights diverged from manga Knights for this movie, so you can see the creator’s fleshed out take in the manga.
Design
Was anyone creeped out by the Gauna-human romance? I just went with it, but noticed that it grossed some viewers out. I suppose several years of watching anime has made me immune to tentacles. For those who haven’t seen Knights yet, picture human on Eva action. Not too weird for post-modern anime, right?
Characters
The cast is as strong as ever, with the exception of Izana disappearing down the stretch. Unfortunately, very few are satisfactorily sent off at the end of the movie. For lack of spoilers, the cast basically splits off in two and each goes their own way. Frankly, I think they all got the Game of Thrones season 8 treatment. Few characters ended up where they needed to be, and a couple landed in odd places based largely on necessity.
Passable, but ultimately a steep downgrade in quality from the series.
