Knights of Sidonia is a space opera and mecha anime series which has been derived from the manga of the same name. It has been animated by Kodansha and had aired in 2014 and 2015. The story follows Nagate Tanizake who is an “under-dweller” who is destined to be a Garde Pilot. These pilots are entrusted with the mission to defend the huge spaceship Sidonia from an alien race known as Gauna. The series ran from April to June 2014 and its second season aired from April to June 2015.
Characters and Plot
The story takes place in 3394, which is a thousand years after mankind has fled the earth after the Gauna laid waste to it. The Gauna continues to wreak havoc on the humans after converting remains of the earth into spaceships.
In this futuristic Japan, many new things such as human cloning, asexual reproduction and human genetic engineering are being conducted and follows a settlement of 500,000 who live aboard the Sidonia airship. The people living on the Sidonia are unaware of ships similar to them exist or not.
Gardes are giant mechanised weapons who act as the guardians of Sidonia. They are manned by humans similar to a mobile suit in the Gundam series.
And the story is about a Garde Pilot Nagate Tanikaze who lives in the underground layer of Sidonia with his grandfather. He never had much interaction so he spent his time training himself on an old Guardian pilot simulator till he became an expert at it. Later, he goes to the surface and becomes a Guardian pilot.
When Sidonia comes under attack by the Gauna, Tanikaze and his comrades become himanity’s last hope for survival and fights for their freedom. The story will follow how Tanikaze becomes Sidonia’s hero.