Knights Of Sidonia: The Star Where Love Is Spun - What We Know So Far

Manga artist and author Tsutomu Nihei has impressed many anime fans with his sci-fi and cyberpunk-influenced work. The creator burst into the scene with his unmistakable style with the debut manga "Blame!" which eventually became adapted into an anime series and also a film (via Anime News Network). However, Nihei's most famous work is arguably "Knights of Sidonia," a seinen series that soon received an anime adaptation like "Blame!" As one Kotaku review highlighted, "Knights of Sidonia" is a space opera that aims to deconstruct some of the genre's elements made popular by other series before it, such as "Macross." It has earned worthy praise from fans and critics such as Den Of Geek, which deemed it as one of the best shows for any sci-fi fan.

Even celebrated "Metal Gear" creator Hideo Kojima christened the anime as the knight that could save the "cool" factor in Japanese pop culture (via Anime News Network). When the anime's second season wrapped up in 2015, fans waited on word on a possible third season for a while. Well, the bad news is that there currently are no plans for a third season. However, the good news is that the anime series will get a proper conclusion in the upcoming movie, "Knights of Sidonia: The Star Where Love is Spun."

Here's everything we know so far.

"Knights of Sidonia: The Star Where Love is Spun" was first announced when the official website for the film launched in 2020. Via the official movie website, the anime film had a release date for May 14, 2021, in Japan, but it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Its date then shifted to June 21, 2021 for Japanese audiences. Luckily, there's also a scheduled date for Western fans, and it isn't too long a wait. 

According to Deadline, "Knights of Sidonia: The Star Where Love is Spun" will have a limited theatrical release on Sept. 13, 2021. Funimation is teaming with Polygon Pictures for the release, which includes an English dub version and one in Japanese with English subtitles. This is surprising for fans who have been so used to seeing the series on Netflix and might have figured it would be an exclusive on the streaming platform. However, Funimation is ultimately going all-in with the "Knights of Sidonia" series, acquiring the TV rights for the first and second seasons.

"Knights of Sidonia: The Star Where Love is Spun" takes place ten years after the conclusion of the second season of the anime series, but it will feature many returning characters. Most notably, the main character of the "Sidonia" series, Nagate Tanikaze, will star in the film. Voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch in the English dub, the talented mecha pilot has become more mature thanks to his fierce battles with the Guana. Joining him is the human and Guana hybrid Tsumugi Shiraui voiced by Alex Shi and his best friend Izana Shinatose, who is voiced by Melissa Fahn (via Anime News Network).

Still, even with the returning faces, the upcoming film will also showcase some new characters not featured in the anime series. A number of these new characters are rookie Garde pilots. Notably, according to the official film website, this includes Tōtarō Yamano, who is also the younger brother of Eiko Yamano. Eiko died during a Guana attack in the anime series, so her younger brother becomes a pilot to avenge her and is skilled enough to rival veterans.

The "Knights of Sidonia" anime series is mainly about the adventures of Nagate Tanikaze. He rises to become a strong mecha pilot for the huge spacecraft colony Sidonia, which has a population of 500,000. Set in 3394, humanity has had to flee Earth thanks to a terrifying alien species known as the Guana. Sidonia's defense is thanks to mecha known as Gardes, which provides the framework for the series' most impressive battles. Seasons 1 and 2 (via Funimation) saw Nagate rise in the ranks as the ace of Sidonia through a series of fights. But while the anime series might have closely followed the manga, the movie's concluding story is supposed to differ.

As Monsters And Critics has noted, the anime series adapted to volume 9 of the 15 volume manga. The movie could have used the rest of the manga as its plot material, but according to Anime News Network, it will offer a brand new story — complete with its own ending. Fans don't need to be worried too much, however, since series creator Tsutomu Nihei supervised the story for the new film. And given some of the responses to the original manga ending on Reddit, fans may be curious to see if the film can deliver a stronger conclusion to the story.