With some of the deals going on as of late involving streaming services in regards to anime where they’re seeing steady growth and retention compared to some mainstream streaming sites, it’s not a surprise to see Netflix is taking an interest in the anime realm. Various reports are cropping up that the company across multiple territories will be streaming Knights of Sidonia this summer in both Japanese and English form. The series from Polygon Pictures is slated for a spring broadcast in Japan so we’re likely not getting a simulcast release through Netflix (and it remains to be seen if the show will get a simulcast through other services instead) but it does mean that Netflix will be doing what they’ve done with other original series in putting the whole show out there at once. Something that their analytics have proven has worked well with the user base.
Gauna beware! Mecha sci-fi anime show Knights of Sidonia to hit Netflix immediately after Japanese TV. Summer 2014. pic.twitter.com/53NnXpg0ur
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) December 12, 2013
The formal press release is also now out:
Only on Netflix: “Knights of Sidonia,” Based on the Popular Manga Series
Hotly-anticipated Mecha Sci-fi Series to be Available to Watch Instantly in All Netflix Territories Immediately Following the Japanese TV Release
Dec 12, 2013Beverly Hills, Calif., December 12, 2013—Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) announced today it will make available the complete first 12 episode season of Polygon Pictures’ hotly anticipated anime series “Knights of Sidonia” in all Netflix territories in Summer of 2014.
Based on the best-selling manga series by Tsutomu Nihei, published in Japan by Kodansha and in English by Vertical, “Knights of Sidonia” follows the struggle of humans to survive against the monstrous alien “Gauna” using mecha weapons called ”Garde” (Guardian Robots).
The story focuses on the ship Sidonia and young Garde pilot Nagate Tanikaze as he uses his amazing combat skills to protect what remains of human civilization.
“Netflix has a huge base of anime fans and we are thrilled to be bringing exclusively for the first time them a first-run anime series, especially one as well-plotted, humorous and beautifully animated as Knights of Sidonia,” said Erik Barmack, VP, Independent Content at Netflix.
“We are ecstatic at the opportunity to run ‘Knights of Sidonia’ firstly and exclusively on Netflix. This is an epochal deal, as we are able to deliver our beloved anime property to a wider audience in direct and timely fashion, than ever before,” said Shuzo John Shiota, CEO of Polygon.
“Knights of Sidonia” is produced by Tokyo-based Polygon Pictures, winner of multiple Daytime Emmy Awards for Hasbro’s television series “Transformers Prime” and the animators behind “Tron: Uprising” and several episodes of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” The series is directed by Kobun Shizuno, who worked on “GI Joe,” the animated series and co-directed by Hiroyuki Seshita, a veteran of the “Final Fantasy” video game series.
“Knights of Sidonia” will be available on Netflix in Japanese with the choice of subtitles or dubbed local language dialogue.
Plot Concept: Outer space, the far future.
A lone seed ship, the Sidonia, plies the void, ten centuries since the obliteration of the solar system. The massive, nearly indestructible, yet barely sentient alien life forms that destroyed humanity’s home world continue to pose an existential threat.
Nagate Tanikaze has only known life in the vessel’s bowels deep below the sparkling strata where humans have achieved photosynthesis and new genders. Not long after he emerges from the Underground, however, the youth is bequeathed a treasured legacy by the spaceship’s coolheaded female captain.
Meticulously drawn, peppered with clipped humor, but also unusually attentive to plot and structure for the international cult favorite, Knights of Sidonia may be Tsutomu Nihei’s most accessible work to date even as it hits notes of tragic grandeur as a hopeless struggle for survival unfolds.
