Knights of Sidonia Episode 12

In the Episode 7 and Episode 8 write-ups I talked about the show's great sense of scale and speed, and usage of camera movements and slow-motion. The scene below exemplifies all of that but what stuck out to me happened around the 00:20 mark. The camera tracks Nagate as he avoids another attack, it then pans to the rest of the platoon that are about to enter the Gauna. I thought this was a good use of camera movement to transition from out pivotal moment to another.

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Izana saving Nagate was my favorite scene in this episode. The clip below begins with a close-up of Izana's Garde. The up close view of her thrusters in full blast and the camera moving to show her Garde's head directly looking at Nagate are images that show her full commitment to risking her life to save him. Afterwards, we see a beautifully done forward tracking shot of Izana chasing after Nagate. The camera then changes angles to transition to a lateral tracking shot that focuses on Izana's hand reaching out to Nagate and finally grabbing him. This emphasis on the hands was a way to extend Izana's compassion and caring through her Garde and as they hold hands it even reaches a level of intimacy.

As humans we often use our hands to express ourselves. This episode took this notion and applied them to mechas in order to express the pilots' humanity through these machines and in essence humanizing them.

 An image of trust. Nagate holding a bullet entrusted to him by Ren to avenge her sister.

 An evocative and intimate image of Izana saving Nagate.

A balled up fist expressing the urgency to help Izana.