Sidonia no Kishi
- Thread starter MangaDex
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Phew, finally got around to actually finishing this series.
And damn son was that a rare treat.
I mean, just the fact that it's a series with a proper conclusion and epilogue is rare enough.
Plus, the combination of genres was just incredibly unique and interesting.
Honestly, kind of made all of Nihei's previous works feel like practice sessions for this one, haha.
Definitely marking this as one of my all time favorites!
And damn son was that a rare treat.
I mean, just the fact that it's a series with a proper conclusion and epilogue is rare enough.
Plus, the combination of genres was just incredibly unique and interesting.
Honestly, kind of made all of Nihei's previous works feel like practice sessions for this one, haha.
Definitely marking this as one of my all time favorites!
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Dumb final chapter(s), but the ride is definitely worth it
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Nihei yet again proves that hes a hack,he never was good at writing (entirely of BLAME which is considered to be his best work, was copy pasted from 2 books,even then you left wondering the fuck did I just read) but his art was always good which saved all his works BUT he dropped the ball on this one and dropped it beyond saving point.
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1337
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this was really good and the ending was fine
everyone complaining about the ending is a salty shipper
everyone complaining about the ending is a salty shipper
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I don't know about you but I cried for twenty minutes after reading this manga, the anime was the first anime I've ever watched so when I got around to reading this I absolutely loved it
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- Mar 26, 2020
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@Synically what 2 books? Name them.
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XDDDDD
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Came here after watching both seasons on Netflix. Story's good in this manga, but the action is easier to follow with full color and 3d movement. Can't wait for Netflix to air the final story arc movie. Even if it's released elsewhere first, it'll probably end up on Netflix eventually.
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- Oct 11, 2019
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Damn people here (and I guess everywhere) seriously overrating this mess.
I had two thoughts / feelings that recurred throughout the series: "What the hell is going on?" and "I couldn't care less."
There are many elements to the "what the hell is going on?" issues. This mangaka seems to give many characters the same face and only mild differences in haircut. You even see some of the same faces in his other manga. Add onto that similar / same uniforms for many characters, and it was difficult at times to tell who was speaking / acting. The visuals were further complicated by a sort of washed out look, like a photo that has been over-exposed and lost some of its details. This made quite a few panels, especially in the beginning (but even so occasionally on through the end) hard to visually parse.
To further add to this problem, the mangaka often made little or no attempt to clearly set up scenes / situations for the audience. This was especially problematic in the final couple battles where there was little to no establishing discussion among the characters of battle plans or who was part of which unit or visuals of the entire battlefield to give the reader a clear idea of what was going on. A thing happened and then another thing happened, on and on. There was no dramatic tension when I had no sense of the context for some new twist occurring.
Speaking of things just happening, repeatedly throughout the manga, but again especially leading up to and during the final battle, new technology was introduced, things were built, characters said suggestive things, did things, had random personality changes, all out of the blue with little justification beyond "the plot said so".
Finally (though I am sure I could explain more how much of a mess this felt like to me if I took more time) the tonal shifts throughout, from teased (but never explored) political intrigue to space action to romantic drama to comedy, felt all over the place. The pacing was random.
As for "I couldn't care less", well, it's hard to care about characters who, for the most part, are one dimensional at best. Each character could be boiled down to one, perhaps two, traits. They never really develop, though some of them do have abrupt, lurching personality changes or revelations. There were a few characters that I did find really interesting (Lala the space bear, Kobayashi the commander, Ochiai), but they were never really explored significantly.
In fact, little was explored in this manga. It had a lot of potential in terms of setting up a really interesting and provocative situation where you had the potential for tensions between humans and aliens they could not communicate with and between different political and social factions of humans. There are a handful of moments where some clash of ideas or philosophy is teased, but nothing ever comes of it. Even the romantic subplot(s) seems to exist just to take up space. We never see characters really wrangling with their feelings and coming to any kinds of conclusions. It just sort of gets sorted off screen without explanation or discussion.
The best I can give this is a 6 / 10, mainly for visual design (loved the look of Sidonia inside and out, and slightly less so the guardians and gauna), potential and teased ideas that never get paid off, and a few exciting battles.
I had two thoughts / feelings that recurred throughout the series: "What the hell is going on?" and "I couldn't care less."
There are many elements to the "what the hell is going on?" issues. This mangaka seems to give many characters the same face and only mild differences in haircut. You even see some of the same faces in his other manga. Add onto that similar / same uniforms for many characters, and it was difficult at times to tell who was speaking / acting. The visuals were further complicated by a sort of washed out look, like a photo that has been over-exposed and lost some of its details. This made quite a few panels, especially in the beginning (but even so occasionally on through the end) hard to visually parse.
To further add to this problem, the mangaka often made little or no attempt to clearly set up scenes / situations for the audience. This was especially problematic in the final couple battles where there was little to no establishing discussion among the characters of battle plans or who was part of which unit or visuals of the entire battlefield to give the reader a clear idea of what was going on. A thing happened and then another thing happened, on and on. There was no dramatic tension when I had no sense of the context for some new twist occurring.
Speaking of things just happening, repeatedly throughout the manga, but again especially leading up to and during the final battle, new technology was introduced, things were built, characters said suggestive things, did things, had random personality changes, all out of the blue with little justification beyond "the plot said so".
Finally (though I am sure I could explain more how much of a mess this felt like to me if I took more time) the tonal shifts throughout, from teased (but never explored) political intrigue to space action to romantic drama to comedy, felt all over the place. The pacing was random.
As for "I couldn't care less", well, it's hard to care about characters who, for the most part, are one dimensional at best. Each character could be boiled down to one, perhaps two, traits. They never really develop, though some of them do have abrupt, lurching personality changes or revelations. There were a few characters that I did find really interesting (Lala the space bear, Kobayashi the commander, Ochiai), but they were never really explored significantly.
In fact, little was explored in this manga. It had a lot of potential in terms of setting up a really interesting and provocative situation where you had the potential for tensions between humans and aliens they could not communicate with and between different political and social factions of humans. There are a handful of moments where some clash of ideas or philosophy is teased, but nothing ever comes of it. Even the romantic subplot(s) seems to exist just to take up space. We never see characters really wrangling with their feelings and coming to any kinds of conclusions. It just sort of gets sorted off screen without explanation or discussion.
The best I can give this is a 6 / 10, mainly for visual design (loved the look of Sidonia inside and out, and slightly less so the guardians and gauna), potential and teased ideas that never get paid off, and a few exciting battles.
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Well, Nihei himself said in an interview that he is more into “world building” than into “narrating characters’ development”… and guess what? It is true.
The world that he builds (Sidonia) is layered and complex and has a somehow decadent aura. TBH it is not as extremely original cause it borrows plenty of elements from Macross (maybe unconsciously)… but the result is truly enjoable.
On the other hand, when it come to the characters you have either no development or a very rushed development with very little justification. One perfect example of this is the way the immortal council ends. But, you could also quote Nagate’s confession, the Captain’s one-night-stand or Yuhata’s final change. But, at least you still get some very interesting charaters. Like a no gender photosyntesizing teenager with robotic limbs that turns into a girl because she is in love with the MC. Or an immortal shut-in who has to leave his basement in order not to die of starvation and becomes a hero.
Lastly, the ending suffers from the same “rush” problem but at a massive scale… plus a Disney-like (“Frozen”- like) plot twist.
To sum up, this manga could have been great… but it turns out barely OK-ish.
The world that he builds (Sidonia) is layered and complex and has a somehow decadent aura. TBH it is not as extremely original cause it borrows plenty of elements from Macross (maybe unconsciously)… but the result is truly enjoable.
On the other hand, when it come to the characters you have either no development or a very rushed development with very little justification. One perfect example of this is the way the immortal council ends. But, you could also quote Nagate’s confession, the Captain’s one-night-stand or Yuhata’s final change. But, at least you still get some very interesting charaters. Like a no gender photosyntesizing teenager with robotic limbs that turns into a girl because she is in love with the MC. Or an immortal shut-in who has to leave his basement in order not to die of starvation and becomes a hero.
Lastly, the ending suffers from the same “rush” problem but at a massive scale… plus a Disney-like (“Frozen”- like) plot twist.
To sum up, this manga could have been great… but it turns out barely OK-ish.
It's not perfetct, but it's excentricity and the great drawing makes it really good. As mentionend below there's some imperfection with the storytelling (namely character developement) however I think it's the style of the author to not enforce this developement onto us. In turn it let's us have some intresting iterpretation. What's more, th drawing are completely part of the storytelling especially facial expression and nuance ( they do look bland a lot of the time but how do you look yourself a lot of the time, huh?) which makes it a lot more realistic than other manga with the same style of drawing.
Its a good manga despite parts of it leaves you wanting more conclusion in some parts particular characters and thier relations but its also coldly realistic in that aspect; people come and go and things left unsaid is common IRL... Nihei does things his own way and his work is unique unlike the 85% of the manga out there. That said its hard for some people to cope with his style and just label his work "trash" sadly. He can be hard to follow at first but his work is a big step above most others I have read in my 40 years of following manga and its author's/artists. His most well known manga Blame! series is said to be his best among his fans but Sidonia no Kishi to me is my most favorite of his work.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi3QmAmrG6M
Mangadex really should have a way to vote on tags, like SadPanda. The action and drama is there in the over arching world, but as others have commented, individuals and their relationships go nowhere.
This manga is not a harem manga. Sure there are lots of girls that try to confess to the main hero, but literally nothing happens.
In that same vein, the romance tag really should go too. This blockhead has girls constantly trying to get involved, and the only response he ever gives is "i like all the people of Sidonia, that's why I protect it".
This manga is not a harem manga. Sure there are lots of girls that try to confess to the main hero, but literally nothing happens.
In that same vein, the romance tag really should go too. This blockhead has girls constantly trying to get involved, and the only response he ever gives is "i like all the people of Sidonia, that's why I protect it".
That is, until he falls in love with the artificial WMD. How the hell? "You know what's sexy, 17 meter tall pulsating globs of fleshy tentacles. Fuck the cute androgynous tsundere, I want to be with cthulu.", said no one ever.
I am very pleasantly surprised it was this good. I remember liking the setting for Blame, not really being able to follow his latest work with it's wack story. This one is different though, despite it's seriousness it really just gives of Girls Last Tour vibes but without 70% of the bleakness. Overall a relaxing and enjoyable read. Haven't read many manga that could retain it's appeal when spaced out over weeks (read a few chaps most nights). Highly recommend, wonderful story and cool setting. 10/10
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- Mar 13, 2023
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The anime enhanced my experience with the Manga after watching it and rereading, would totally recommend to do so.
The ending well... I gave the Manga a 9 because I liked one of the girls more, and their relationship with the Mc crashed out of nowhere in the later half, still satisfied with his choice though and the others made it out alive and with relationships of their own.
Haven't read the mangaka's other Mangas yet but the author's world building is master class, I wish the best to him.
The ending well... I gave the Manga a 9 because I liked one of the girls more, and their relationship with the Mc crashed out of nowhere in the later half, still satisfied with his choice though and the others made it out alive and with relationships of their own.
Haven't read the mangaka's other Mangas yet but the author's world building is master class, I wish the best to him.
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