--Story & Characters--
Continuing from where the first season left off, we once again delve into Sidonia's epic struggle for survival against the ever so frightening and mysterious Gauna. The theme and overall plot progression is generally just more of the same as the first season, but there are some differences.
For one, we have a new main character in the form of Shiraui Tsumugi, a human/Gauna hybrid called a Chimaera who joins Sidonia's side as their new trump card. She's basically a child put inside an infinitely powerful body, and the interaction between her and the other characters is very interesting to watch. Most of the people of Sidonia are afraid of her and fears that she'll turn on them, whereas Nagate and Izana try their best to make friends with her and teach her about the world.
The scale is also ramped up even more. Some of the battles of this anime, be it in space or inside a planet's atmosphere are simply epic. The guns and mechs are bigger but so are the Gauna. You can really feel the power behind every strike and just how dangerous everything truly is. As a result, Sidonia no Kishi provides the viewer with an incredible sense of urgency and sometimes also makes you feel like you're actually there yourself. There is also a lot more going on behind the scenes in this season as the Gauna have successfully infiltrated Sidonia in secrecy and are causing all sorts of havoc on the inside while the fighting is going on outside.
In contrast though, there are also a lot more slice of life-esque elements in this season in-between its momentary peaks of hyperactivity. This is partially because of the addition of Tsumugi of course since quite a lot of the time is spent on her character development, but also this season has a lot more romantic progression between Nagate and Izana. There are even some stereotypical romcom clichés used a few times over the course of the anime (just a little bit though) which arguably felt somewhat out of place but I didn't particularly mind too much.
--Animation & Sound--
Like I said before, I almost never see anyone say anything negative about Sidonia, but if there is one complaint I do in fact see every so often, it's about the CGI. Case in point, Sidonia's animation uses lots and lots of CGI. That much is a fact. Many people don't like this at all, and in fact I generally don't like CGI either but in this particular case... I don't really mind at all. First of all, the CGI is *way* better in this season than in the first one, and it honestly feels like it just keeps getting better and better the longer the season goes on. And in terms of the fight scenes, it looks simply amazing. Truly. It just feels like it fits the tone of the series like a glove.
And then... there's the audio. Oh boy...
I'm not even sure how to best put this, but I want to give sound director Iwanami Yoshikazu some sort of award for his contribution to this anime. Simply put, Sidonia's second season has without a doubt the absolute best sound directing I have ever heard in my anime career. It sounds *amazing*. I have gone back and rewatched certain scenes from this anime for the sole reason of listening to some of the battles' sound effects one more time. I have *never* done that before for any other show. Every punch, every blast, every crash into a solid object makes me feel like I'm having an eargasm. The amount of intensity and just pure power is enough to give you goosebumps. Ironic given that space is supposed be the one location where sound doesn't exist to begin with, but let's ignore that part.
And as the cherry on top, believe it or not but the soundtrack itself is just as epic. The opening theme alone is by far the best OP of 2015 thus far in my opinion, but also the usage of music throughout the anime is close to perfect. When the show wants to appear creepy, then the music is incredibly creepy. When the show wants to appear epic, then the music is incredibly epic. It always compliments the atmosphere of the visuals more or less perfectly, and thus it enriches the overall impression and experience tremendously. The timing of the music is also spot on, and as a result it makes every scene transition feel so much more intense, energizing and dramatic.
--Enjoyment & Overall--
Sidonia no Kishi: Daikyuu Wakusei Seneki is without a doubt one of the best anime of the year thus far, and one I find almost impossible to dislike unless you have some serious issues with the excessive CGI usage. I find it very reminiscent of Shingeki no Kyojin except that it's sci-fi instead of fantasy, which only makes it even stranger to me that so few people have tried watching Sidonia given how popular Shingeki no Kyojin is. Anyway, the point is that Sidonia is one of the most captivating and just plain impressive series I've seen in a long time and I have almost nothing negative to say about it at all. Yes, the pacing is a bit uneven and yes, the CGI will turn off a lot of people but other than that... it's truly an excellent anime from start to finish. Especially episode 11 is probably the best episode of the year thus far.
Sidonia is a true space opera with an epic scale and outstanding directing. It draws you in, captivates you and never ceases to impress you with what it can do. The only problem is that now we have to impatiently roll our thumbs while we're waiting for the fateful day when season three finally comes around...
