Knights of Sidonia Master Edition 1

シドニアの騎士 [Sidonia no Kishi] #1

by Tsutomu Nihei

Knights of Sidonia Master Edition manga volume 1 features story and art by Tsutomu Nihei. The Master Editions feature larger print, colored inserts and omibused volumes which compiles 2.5 volumes of the original manga. 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 cool-headed captain.

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction, Fiction, Comics, Space, Dystopia, Graphic Novels Manga

400 pages, Paperback

Published April 9, 2019

About the author

See also 弐瓶 勉.

Tsutomu Nihei (弐瓶 勉 Nihei Tsutomu, born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist. His cyberpunk-influenced artwork has gained a strong cult following. He has a relatively large community of fans in Germany where his manga Blame!, NOiSE and Biomega were published by Ehapa. Blame! was also published in France and Spain by Glénat, in the US by Tokyopop and in Italy by Panini Comics.

At first he studied architecture and later it is shown up in his manga works with drawing huge structures. This became one of his general theme that makes his manga unique. His works are usually in black and white. He is also an avid fan of the video game series Halo, as he mentions in his commentary section in the Halo Graphic Novel.

Taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsutomu_...

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is four stars, but I have a have a really hard time following the action sequences. Deducting stars for that.

[Michaela Weiß · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dystopische SciFi-Story mit viel Action und Tiefgang

Die Welt steht am Abgrund und die letzten Menschen haben sich ins Weltall gerettet. So auch ein Raumschiff, das wir auf seiner Reise begleiten. Wir lernen die Crew kennen und ihren Kampf ums Überleben. Denn sie müssen sich vor den Gauna in Acht nehmen, Kreaturen, die Jagd auf die letzten Menschen machen. Die dystopische Story ist voll von actionreichen Kämpfen, Überleben im All und interessanten Charakteren. Alles wirkt zuerst etwas undurchsichtig, aber bis zum Ende des ersten Teils bekommt man immer mehr Infos und die Zusammenhänge werden etwas klarer. Das finde ich auch völlig okay so, denn bei einer dichten Story ist es auch interessant, sich die Zusammenhänge erst mit der Zeit "erarbeiten" zu können. Hier sollte man auf jeden Fall bei der Sache sein und nicht nur eben-mal-so durchblättern.
Zum Haptischen: Das Hardcover ist für einen Manga sehr groß und wertig, lässt sich angenehm lesen. Zwischen den gut 400 Seiten gibt’s auch immer mal wieder Farbseiten, die ein echter Hingucker sind und super gut in Szene gesetzt wurden. Insgesamt gefällt mir der Zeichenstil sehr gut, er ist etwas düsterer und auch erwachsener, als man es so durchschnittlich gewohnt ist. Der typische Manga-Charme kommt aber auch hier nicht zu kurz, immer mal wieder ein paar witzige Szenen und leicht bekleidete Damen eingestreut, aber auch das war ganz nett, um die sonst sehr ernste und bedrohliche Stimmung aufzulockern. Zwischen den actionreichen Kämpfen kommt auch die Romanze nicht zu kurz, denn es gibt ein paar wirklich schöne Szenen zwischen Tanikaze und Hoshijiro.
Insgesamt ist die düstere Sci-Fi Story wirklich interessant und obwohl sie ein wenig verworren scheint und ich mir gewünscht hätte, noch mehr über die Charaktere zu erfahren, bin ich mir sicher, dass die folgende Teile da noch mehr Licht ins Dunkle bringen.

[Othy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first of Nihei's series, and I really fell in love with his style. I think his series need a little more exposition than he gives, but his focus is not always in plot or character; it's about world and Nihei's unique art style. I think that in Knights of Sidonia, Nihei's world building and the sense of a huge, mysterious universe is magnificently done.

Also, these Master Editions don't give much besides their large format (which is kinda nice, but I was hoping for a little more)

[SageQRtet · Rating 5 out of 5]

After previous works of Tsutomu Nihei this manga feels very refreshing.

I was skeptical about mecha, fan service, harem and other anime/manga cliche, but in my opinion it's executed really well, and love interest of the main protagonist actually serves the plot in last chapters of the volume. (Panty-shots and nudity don't serve the plot, but there are only few occasions in this volume, and I actually enjoyed it more than I thought).
Drawing style is typical for Nihei, but now it looks more clean, more refined.
There are some cool ideas, like a new gender that can breed with both males and females, as well as give birth; or people being able to feed by photosynthesis to reduce actual food consumption etc.
I also liked the presence of variety of characters compared to other works of Mr. Nihei. And with that many volumes ahead there is more space to do character development, but time will tell how it goes (I haven't read this manga yet, waiting for Master Edition to be released, but I've seen the anime years ago). Also despite the amount of pages, the story is progressing quite fast, sometimes jumping ahead, but it's realistic to keep up from the first read (also reading ABARA before is helpful). Compared to previous works of author, there is a lot more explanation, so for now reading it feels a bit easy.

In my opinion this is the most accessible work of Tsutomu Nihei. It might repel his hardcore fans looking for darker themes and harder science fiction, but I can see new people picking up this author for the first time.
Volume ending is very intriguing, and I'm curious how author proceeds.

P.S. I would guess that this manga was Nihei's attempt for commercial success, and I wouldn't be surprised if its elements were added in order to appeal to its target audience. But, again, it feels refreshing compared to his previous works, and overall it's a well executed science fiction.
P.P.S. Humanity leaving Earth and genetic stuff reminds me a little bit of Seveneves by Neal Stephenson.
P.P.P.S. Hundred views of Sidonia posters are a reference to Hundred Views of Edo by Hiroshige.

[Lilith Lamprecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Knights of Sidonia begleiten wir Nagate, einen jungen Mann, der im UNterdeck eines riesigen Raumschiffs, der Sidonia, lebt. Als er keinen Reis mehr hat und welchen steheln will, wird er von der Bevölkerung entdeckt und erstmal vermöbelt. Der Kapitän, eine rätselhafte Frau mit einer No-Maske, erkennt ihn ihm anscheinend aber mehr und schickt ihn in die Ausbildung zum Mecha-Piloten. Die Mecha- Anwärter begegnen ihm ersteinmal mit vielen Vorurteilen, es gelingt Nagate aber dennoch, Freundschaften zu knüpfen, vor allem zu Izana Shinatose, einem Mann und Frau in einem (es gibt nämlich oft keine getrennten Geschlechter mehr) und Shizuka Hoshijiro, für die er schließlich Gefühle entwickelt. Die größte Bedrohung des vor 1000 Jahren gestarteten Raumschiffes Sidonia von der zerstörten Erde, sind die Gauna, merkwürdige, riesige "Dinger", bestehend aus Hauptteil und Plazenta, die durch das All fliegen und die Sidonia immer wieder angreifen wollen. Nur die Mechas können die Gauna abhalten, oft aber mit hohen Verlusten.

Als Nagate bei einem Manöver einen Fehler begeht, stirbt Hoshijiro (scheinbar). Die Frage bleibt offen, was die Gauna eigentlich wollen. Der Band endet mit einem heftigen Cliffhanger...

Fazit: Der Manga ist außergewöhnlich groß und im Hardcover. Die Aufmachung ist wundershön, es gibt auch einige bunte Seiten. Die Story an sich ist anfangs leider sehr verwirrend. Man wird sofort in das Geschehen hineingeworfen und erst viel später wird erklärt, wieso eigentlich alle auf dem Schiff sind und was mit der Erde geschehen ist. Manchmal fiel es mir schwer, der Handlung zu folgen, da es zu groben Sprüngen kam und somit der rote Faden etwas verloren ging. Auch sind die Hauptfiguren alle ähnlich gezeichnet, dass es mir manchmal nur sehr schwer möglich war, zu erkennen, um wen es sich gerade gehandelt hat.

Was aber besonders positiv ist, sind die vielen kleinen Details, mit denen der Mangaka seine Geschichte auffrischt. ZB die Tatsache, dass es keine typischen Geschlechter mehr gibt, Klongeburten normal sind oder Menschen Photosynthese beherrschen und somit weniger essen müssen.

Alles in allem eine schöne Geschichte, für Leser, die auf Sci-Fi stehen.

[Karissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Series Info/Source: This is the first volume in the Knights of Sidonia: Master Edition omnibus collection. I got this as a Christmas gift.

Thoughts: I had been wanting to read Knights of Sidonia for a while. Unfortunately, I just wasn't a huge fan of this one. Basically, humanity is surviving on space ships fleeing giant alien lifeforms that devour humans. Our main protagonist ends up joining the Knights that protect these colonies in giant mecha-like suits. Very typical manga themes, nothing all that new or interesting here.

The story jumps forward in time intermittently without notice and this results in a story that's hard to follow. The drawing is only so-so; alternating between amazing scenes and scenes with very little detail. It's very inconsistent.

I found the characters a bit hard to keep track of as well and didn't really enjoy any of them much. They all just seem so shallow and one dimensional.

In the end this felt like an outline or sketch of a story rather than a fleshed out story. I think the premise is somewhat interesting, but also follows a lot of other manga.

My Summary (3/5): Overall I was disappointed and won’t be continuing the series. It was an okay typical science fiction manga, but everything felt subpar. The story didn’t have enough depth, the characters felt shallow, and the drawing alternated between amazing and just so-so. I don’t understand why this series is so popular and don’t plan on continuing it.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of little things that annoy me about this manga, but I remain interested enough to want to continue reading. I like the attempt to utilize real physics at times, and am intrigued by the developments at the end of the book. And much of my annoyance was how hard it was to get oriented: the action jumps around at times, especially in the earlier chapters; many of the characters are initially hard to tell apart; conversely, they all have given and family names which are used with almost equal frequency (in personal and formal settings) which adds to the difficulty of figuring out who is who; and the action scenes, featuring nearly identical mechs and shape-changing monsters, can be difficult to parse, though I feel like it improved near the end of the volume, or else I got better at following it. It is also hampered a bit by the usual shonen manga tropes of dumb scatological humor and fan service, though it isn't too excessive.

[Mars Dorian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark and compelling take on the space mecha genre where humanity lives on a giant mothership fueled by bodies (seriously).

Kids who are fit enough get trained to be mech pilots, fighting the organic space creatures that keep mutating.

The black and white story is filled with horror elements, intense, albeit confusing, space combat action and an ongoing mystery.

Nihei is magnificent at using only black and white to create a creepy and oppressive atmosphere. Even when the human crews eats inside the mothership, having a good time, there's uneasy feeling oozing from the panels.

Characters are flat though and sometimes hard to differentiate. Especially the women look alike apart from their hair styles.

Still, a recommended manga read for space mech action fans.

[Matthew Gasperoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this more! The master's edition was huge, with beautiful printing (and incredibly heavy stock)! The genre was right in my main scope of interest, with sci-fi and some post-apocalyptic stuff, but I just couldn’t get into it. There was way too much action and not enough story. Some ideas about what the future would look like were a bit too bizarre for me as well. It was just ok.

[Jay Vazquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that I watched the anime when it came out on Netflix in 2014 or so. It's my first space manga that I read, and even though I remembered certain things, I managed to stick with it. I really liked it, but as a negative point I had to go over the combat scenes again since they are a little difficult to follow. Other than that, for me it is a very good manga and I could recommend it.

[Sean DeLauder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a guilty pleasure that I’ve read before and find the story so compelling I’m reading it again. I rate the opening really highly, despite some absurd fan service and the fact the second half of the tale goes into a bizarre, still-imaginative-but-semi-serious tailspin.

[Ethan Knierim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather simple but intriguing story. I have completely forgotten the plot from when I watched the anime adaptation so I am eager to see what comes of the various seeded intrigues. The panels can be a bit hard to follow at times bit the overall artistic effect is clear. I usually consume series with more distinct character designs, however, so I had to slow down at some points to figure out who was doing what. (The sometimes awkward paneling mixed with the mild character confusion makes for a more methodical read, though, which is an effect I quite enjoy because it reminds me of the art associated with the story and I feel I can appreciate the illustrations more.)

[Mikey The Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 story / 5 star art. This one was a weird sci-fi story and I like something’s but often throughout this story I have no idea what’s going on. I feel like perhaps this book has a weak traslation. Overall it’s ultra aesthetic! If you love old school SMUPS you’ll love it

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting. You sort of have go along, because explanations don't happen until deep into the book.

Sadly the artist has one facial structure in their arsenal so confusion about who is who happened to me a lot.

[Ocean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bumpy start, but once it gets going, it's really cool. Can't wait to read the next one!

[Armando Di Natale · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Doppelgang3r · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are expecting to experience that Nihei signature style - Blame-esque, Biomega-ish manga - be very cautious.

Knights of Sidonia only has slivers of the original Nihei artworks and I have a gut feeling that Nihei is participating very little in the process, while most work is being done by his assistants (Check out Dorohedoro manga, one from his assistants – very unique and awesome art and story).

Some subjective highs and lows of the entire series in my opinion:

Pros
- Cool mech designs
- Action packed
- Simple story, interesting world concept
- First half of manga has many amazing panels, but other half – less
- Panels that used black color are usually amazing
- Nice architecture and scenery

Cons
- Bland protagonist, has two gimmicks, follows the same pattern as other Nihei works
- Harem elements can get annoying
- Juvenile humor sometimes
- The 2nd half of manga is drawn using new method (digital?), making everything look low effort art
- Most character interactions and dialog feels like a filler outside main plotline
- Protagonist is a Mary Sue
- No more black color is used about midway of manga

Overall, surprisingly I started to enjoy this manga about halfway, looking past all its flaws and downfalls. But that could be because I’m a massive Tsutomu Nihei fan, read all his works and kind of love his art direction most of the time. So take that with grain of salt.

For new readers – if you are ok with Harem elements and sometimes a bit juvenile humor, Knights of Sidonia is worth the time and the Master Editions are very nice in physical format.