Knights of Sidonia - Episode 4

The subjugation squad designated to take out the Gauna has been utterly obliterated - so what next for Sidonia to avoid this unwanted visitor from turning up on their doorstep?

With their attempt to deflect the alien using an HMD also failing, the answer that comes from Sidonia's captain is a surprisingly brutal one - a manoeuvre that will far exceed the ability of the craft's internal workings to normalise gravity within it, which is likely to cause insurmountable damage and loss of life.  With other options limited however, there's nothing for it than to create a mad rush of personnel trying to tether themselves to the ship before the turn is made and chaos ensues - chaos that involves massive structural damage, huge loss of life and one major headache for whoever is going to have to clean the blood splatter off the ship's structures.

Even this desperate move is only enough to keep the Gauna at bay temporarily, as it soon moves back towards a collison course with Sidonia - however, this delay gives those on-board time to assemble a vast defensive squad, while a quartet of brave young things (Tanikaze included) are tasked with retrieving the subjugation squad's lost Kabizashi before it drifts out of range.  However, it seems that this activity has brought them to the attention of the Gauna, who makes straight for them... oh, and the creature seems to have learned how to use a Hyggs Particle Cannon for itself too.  In the chaos that ensues, escape seems to be the only option - except that is within Tanikaze's head, as he grabs the retrieved Kabizashi and takes on the Gauna head-to-head in suitably impressive fashion.

It's had an inconsistent and occasionally downright ropy start, but this week's episode of Knights of Sidonia made for a great example of what the series is capable of - its space action turned disaster movie was terrific and a rare case of the show's CG animation working in its favour, and events as they unfolded were well-paced and built dramatic tension expertly.  Whether this energy can carry over into whatever the series needs to do next remains to be seen, but regardless this was a terrific instalment that has increased my interest in the series markedly.