Space monsters versus space knights in mighty mechs. It would seem that this motive is already chewed by pop culture to the limit. But not when it takes for him Tsutomu Nihei, author of the cult BLAME! 'A .
I don’t read many manga. There are several series I follow, but I have had limited exposure to the mech genre. The only work I had the opportunity to learn that would fit in with this theme is Neon Genesis Evangelion . Luckily I came across the Knights of Sidonia , who have many lines converging with Hideaki Anna’s magnum opus and I must admit that the atmosphere, the ubiquitous terror and dramas of the heroes of this title immediately convinced me.
Where is mankind going?
But let’s start from the beginning. Knights of Sidoniaby Tsutomu Nihei present the fate of probably the last refuge of mankind – the title ship traversing the endless space. We get to know the world primarily from the perspective of a young boy, Nagate Tanikaze. He becomes the pilot of the so-called guard, the mech being the survivors’ only hope from hermits – monsters that destroyed the Earth. This description does not seem confusing, but at first the reader may feel overwhelmed by the number of side characters, political and historical threads, and getting into reality “on the run”. The first volume of the manga throws you into the deep end, but the next two light up the plot and attract the viewer’s attention. Nihei is known for his enigmatic scriptwriting, but in this title the threads start to form a coherent and satisfying whole quite quickly.
The same, and the cosmos between us
As for the graphic design, I had a problem with it. The way of drawing men and women is specific – all characters are similar to each other and differ only in small details, e.g. the length of the fringe. Their facial expressions are also very limited and static. An identical appearance may be justified for the clones that appear on the Knights’ pages. However, the protagonists should be more recognizable. At first, it was difficult for me to distinguish between the two main female cadets. More than once, I had to turn the pages of a manga to make sure that Shizuka or Izana were speaking. When reading the second and third volumes, I got used to this line and I must admit that the very unusual design of the Sidonia ark ship, the designs of mechs and monsters, and the dynamics of frames, especially fights, deserve a big plus.
The service is not for every fan
The fanservice was also problematic for me, it was extremely painful in the first two volumes. While there are various scenes with “panty shots” to swallow, where various curves of the characters are emphasized – such a specificity of the market – sometimes the limits of good taste are exceeded. The most striking example is the fragment in which the hermit takes the form of a just killed cadet. Instead of showing respect for the fallen, Nihei uses this scene to show nudity in a very violent version. It is possible that all of this fanservice is intended to take out the drama and hopelessness one feels in this world, but it does so in an inept manner.
The highlands of translation
The translation page is a separate issue. Tomasz Molski did a great job! As I have translation roots myself, before writing this review, I compared the translation of the manga and the anime available on Netfix. At first glance, you can see that the animation is translated with much less panache. Often times, proper names are left in their original form, without much thought or even explanation. Tomasz Molski, on the other hand, carefully analyzed the source material and it can be felt that he had an idea for numerous neologisms from the beginning to the end, so that their meaning would be as faithful to Japanese as possible and at the same time sophisticated.
An example would be the translation of the pilot’s weapons, in the original kabizashi , into a shark , as it owes its name to the “chaff” which is the arrowhead at the end of the lance. As the translator writes: “ […] the name was indeed inspired by the rice chaff. The second part of its name comes from the verb [sasu] or “to pierce”. So I decided […] to call it a sharp hair, which preserves its “plant” origin, giving it also its function as a stabbing weapon . ” In the anime, the translator does not go into such complexities and does not translate the term.
Edition
I also appreciate the Polish edition. Some will appreciate the colorful dust jacket added to each volume. For me, however, a nice flavor is a few colorful pages in each of the comics. I still remember the times when the original color illustrations in the Dragon Ball manga were reprinted in black and white, which made them unreadable. A few words from the translator at the end of each volume also pamper me as a reader. Especially that this is how I found out that the title of the series has nothing to do with the song by Muse . Sadness.
All in all
Taking all these elements into account, I must say that the Knights of Sidonia is a manga worth reading. Not only for fans of mechs and robots (whose trend is a successful reactivation), but also for fans of SF interested in the vision of a society in space, heading into the unknown. From volume to volume, the action and the relations between the characters develop and attract the reader more and more. And this is just the beginning of the series.
