The series may have a few redeeming qualities, but overall, it falls short of what it could have been. The plot is too convoluted and relies too heavily on cheap plot twists and overly dramatic fight scenes. The characters are one-dimensional and lack any real development. The animation may be nice to look at, but it's not enough to make up for the lackluster story and characters. "Knights of Sidonia" had potential, but it was squandered by the need to appeal to a certain audience, resulting in mediocrity.
Story: 2/10
Characters: 2/10
Sound 4/10
Art: 7/10
Overall:4
Real review:
There are a few moments when the series exceeds its own boundary with its utterly nonsensical plot, and outlandishly underdeveloped characters. Essentially, the series seems to cut corners in developing its cast of characters, making the storylines seem arbitrarily drawn. A story that should have thrived as the new type of big bang story built on sets of intriguing principles and methods allowing for great suspense and surprise, Sidonia reveals its true need for surprise instead of straightforward plot development by altering the entire story around and repeating mystery arcs with basic alterations and one dimensional special effects.
Don't get me wrong, a lot of the shots of the are breathtaking. The animation and story set-up dragged me in from episode #1, and so for like the first 5 episodes, I couldn't stop, but once it suddenly decided to throw regular anime harem statistics into the mix 6 episodes in, the series lost it - pure and simple. Fight Scenes occasionally outshine the surprise moments with some peril, but then I notice the use of bands and orchestra to make everything seem so much more epic and stupid. I honestly believe that it'd be just as scary without the choirs blaring in the background. Okay some of the choir bits are reasonably nice, but nothing memorable. For the series to have such an ambitiously dramatic set of elements, the story really needs to remain politically complex and astoundingly mysterious. It doesn't.
I really don't think there was much intelligent thought here when developing this series because it's just a litany of bad plot choices to be a great space epic. This series really doesn't reach the required standing. Instead, you'll find yourself thinking only one constant. "Sidonia is good at being entertainment, but not much else."
