After the events of season one, the authority of Sidonia plans on turning the tables and strike at the enemy’s heart. Ace Pilot Nagate Tanikaze and company again must put their lives in the line protecting Sidonia, but now in company of an unexpected ally; a sentient Garde-Gauna hybrid.
Source: ANN
Novelty
In season two of Knights, the show takes a slight shift away from its largely action focus to wrestling with hybrid creatures – half human, half Gauna (the series’ alien villains). I suppose the novelty is usually going to wear down a bit in a show’s second season. There is a real Macross Plus vibe at some points in this season, with the varying battle styles of the two lead characters feeling like the rivalry between human Isamu and the human/Zentradi hybrid, Guld Bowman.
Plot
With the character and race elements taking hold further along in the series, Knights drops its Evangelion vibe and picks up some Orson Scott Card. That is, until we realize that the series hangs. We just keep expecting that there’s going to be some real complexity to the Gauna race. Maybe in the sequel movie?
Design
Solid designs again. Yeah, the Gauna use typical anime tentacles, there’s little to repel someone who may not be a traditional anime fan. Side note:as we get more city (Sidonia) scenes, though, the colors make the CG-nature of the animation seem quite a bit more glaring. The computer animation was much easier to stomach in the light grey and black and black of space.
Characters
The main character, as is the seeming norm, is a relative non-entity this season. For anything representing a personality, you’re going to have to look to the supporting cast. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to find someone to like. Getting twelve episodes further into the series helps flesh out some standouts, like Midorikawa, Izana, Kouichi, and Samari.
Knights hangs strong in season 2, though the domestic focus reveals some cracks in the CG animation.
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