Creative Staff
Story/Art: Tsutomu Nihei
Translation/Adaptation: Kumar Sivasubramanian
What They Say
“THEIR NEST”
As though dissatisfied that the war against the Gauna is entering a lull, humanity struggles with monsters of its own making.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
A tentacle monster is loose on the ship and invading the women’s Photosynthesis Rooms!
Well, this series is Japanese, so why not explore a stereotype? Regardless, some of the girls won’t have this, and they are going to track down this tentacle monster no matter what. Those closest to Tsumugi worry that she is the culprit, despite her protestations that she has nothing to do with the sightings. Tanikaze believes Tsumugi, but Shinatose and Yuhata aren’t so sure.
This proves to be a humorous beginning to a volume that slows down and takes a breath. I appreciate this slower paced volume, considering every volume until now has had one or two major battles and less time for character development. This volume even has Shinatose’s grandmother playing matchmaker from behind the scenes for her and Tanikaze. For good or bad, Tanikaze is completely clueless about women, so he doesn’t even realize that his “secret mission” to explore an old part of the ship with Shinatose is just a ploy to get them together and away from everyone else. Will this work out for Shinatose, or will Tanikaze manage to screw it up again?
Every light-hearted chapter needs a darker subtext to keep things interesting. A second and much more powerful hybrid has been created, Hybrid Kanata. I find the interactions between Hybrid Kanata and “his” human creators down right creepy. Whereas Tsumugi was allowed to be a child and learn about things around her, Hybrid Kanata is put to sleep anytime he starts to act up. That level of control is more amplified when Kunato hooks himself up to a control system allowing him to take complete control of Hybrid Kanata’s consciousness and manipulate him like a marionette. The whole situation is creepy, and it isn’t surprising when Hybrid Kanata lashes out against his creators and blows a hole in the side of the Sidonia!
Hybrid Kanata is so powerful that he could be the final weapon in defeating the Gauna. However, he has proven uncontrollable and almost completely destroyed the ship. Considering the Sidonia may be the last bastion of the human race, the problems with Hybrid Kanata is nothing to take lightly. Will the captain of the Sidonia have Hybrid Kanata destroyed, or demand his keepers make him fully operational, even at the risk of destroying themselves?
In Summary
Previously, I have discussed my concern for Tsumugi’s apparent crush for Tanikaze. While it is an interesting avenue to explore, and turns this story’s love triangle between Tanikaze, Shinatose, and Yuhata into a love pyramid with a clueless Tanikaze at the top, it still makes me nervous. Tsumugi’s affection for Tanikaze could become detrimental, and the way Hybrid Kanata is unstable with his emotions certainly foreshadows a potential future for Tsumugi. Only time will tell, but I really like Tsumugi’s character, so it would be a shame to have her end up destroying mankind because of unrequited love.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Vertical
Release Date: August 5th, 2014
MSRP: $12.95
