Creative Staff
Story and Art: Tsutomu Nihei
Translation/Adaptation: Kumar Sivasubramanian
What They Say
“Did that hurt?”
Get to know a new character who may be this futuristic series’ most traditionally virtuous female. Drawing on deep wells of filial piety and perseverance, unfailingly modest, she is Tsumugi.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
In the midst of battling the latest Gauna attack, Tanikaze and his fellow nights are suddenly confronted by another strangely pink-colored Guana that came out of nowhere. But this time, it isn’t the Hawk Moth Guana, but a completely new Guana with an almost humanoid form. Before any of the Knights can make a move, the new Guana attacks the massive Guana ship!
Through this chaotic battle we learn that this new Guana is named Tsumugi, has sentient intelligence and is the Sidonia’s newest weapon. This new twist creates both possibilities for the Sidonia’s survival and for its downfall. Tsumugi is a further extension of the traitor Dr. Ochiai’s experiment that nearly destroyed the Sidonia a generation ago. Tsumugi is the culmination of Kunato’s dastardly actions through the last few volumes, as Tsumugi is a hybrid between a Guana and a human. But oddly enough, Kunato can still enter Tsumugi’s body and sort of ‘pilot’ her in battle. Sort of the ultimate bio-weapon vehicle.
All this puts the Sidonia at odds with itself; creating two camps, the pro and anti-Tsumugi groups. The pro-Tsumugi group sees her as a means of survival against the Guana, while the anti-Tsumugi group is largely the older population that remembers the near destruction of the Sidonia at the hands of Dr. Ochiai’s original Guana hybrid. The introduction of Tsumugi is a great move by the author. Not only does the reader get a new character and angle on Guana battles, but also on the potential to possibly one day communicate with Guana, and Tsumugi is a great dividing force among the crew of the Sidonia. Such a dividing force, that Tsumugi may even cause a sort of civil war or mutiny within the Sidonia.
In Summary
Just when the story started to get a little redundant, Nihei tosses in a doozy of a plot twist. The introduction of a Guana/Human hybrid really forces some of the characters to rethink not only their space battle plans, but also their beliefs in what the Guana actually are. This causes a big rift between two factions on the Sidonia; the group that hates all Guana and the group that sees the utility of using a Guana/Human hybrid. Use a monster to fight a monster.
I’m really glad to see this new angle on the Knights of Sidonia story. It does a great job of refreshing the story and creating a completely new attack plan for the Sidonia, and potentially all of humankind. And don’t forget to keep an eye out for the Netflix-exclusive Knights of Sidonia anime out this summer!
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Vertical, Inc
Release Date: February 2014
MSRP: $12.95
