Knights of Sidonia 1.11

Collision

Gauna 542, the enormous mass which is 8000 times the size of Sidonia, is headed straight for Sidonia. Yuhata, receives permission and has Sidonia change course but the Gauna changes course too and is once again on course to collide with Sidonia. Yuhata orders the preparation of an interplanetary missile to be used against the giant Gauna. She also orders all the Gardes to be equipped with the new weapons that Nagate tested out last episode. Everyone scrambles as they only have a matter of hours before the giant mass will be upon them.

The missile is launched and the Gardes are launched too. Forty-eight Gardes join in a massive circular formation and head straight for Gauna 542. They have not had a chance to train with the new weapons which will allow them to destroy Gauna from a much greater distance. Kunato is not among them. He ignored the deployment order but Izana is there. Nagate flashes back on the voyage toward Gauna 542, to a talk he had with Captain Kobayashi. He pledged to do what he could to save Sidonia, which pleased her.

The formation of Gardes arrives at the Gauna cluster and splits into two groups. Squad One creates a distraction near the front of the Gauna cluster while Squad Two goes after the propulsion core. Armed with the new weapons they fire lots of shots into the Gauna cluster and eventually Heigus cannons start firing back at them. Samari leads her squad down to the surface in the hopes that is will be safer down there. Her squad is forced to ditch their gun barrels. 

Things get much hotter very quickly. Squad Two looks like it is making progress in the effort to destroy the propulsion core of Gauna 542 but then the Crimson Hawksmoth shows up. It destroys what is left of Squad Two. Squad One suffers a lot of losses too. It is down from 24 to just 14 Gardes when Yuhata announces the new plan. Sidonia is going to fire its Heigus cannon at Gauna 542 in an effort to expose its Ena. The remainder of Squad one will have to enter the giant Gauna and destroy it from within.

Squad One clears out in advance of the blast from the Heigus cannon. Sidonia powers up the cannon and fires.

Thoughts

The animation is this episode is unbelievable. It has been up to this point but but the battle scenes are just spectacular.

The leader of Squad One is never identified. All characters who are pilots and are on the mission to destroy Gauna 542 and who have been named up to this point in the series are part of Squad Two and still alive.

There isn't much time for character moments in this episode. It is all out action.

Things aren't looking good for the remaining Garde pilots but there is going to be a second season. I don't recall how this season ends despite the fact that I watched it before. I'm pretty sure that there is going to be some sort of cliffhanger.