KNIGHTS OF SIDONIA/SIDONIA NO KISHI

La historia transcurre en un futuro distante, mil años luego de la destrucción de la Tierra a manos de unas gigantescas criaturas alienígenas llamadas Gauna, donde los humanos han escapado a bordo de naves espaciales masivas construidas a partir de los restos del planeta. Uno de dichos buques espaciales es Sidonia, que ha desarrollado su propia cultura humana basada en la japonesa donde, además, la clonación humana, reproducción asexual e ingeniería genética humana (como humanos fotosintéticos) son prácticas normales. Con una población superior a 500.000 personas, Sidonia es posiblemente el último de los refugios humanos, pues se desconoce el paradero de las otras embarcaciones. La trama principal se centra en el joven Nagate Tanikaze, que vivía en los túneles subterráneos de Sidonia, criado allí por su abuelo desde que nació, y que al estar aislado, nunca le permitió conocer a otro ser humano. Nagate entrena diariamente en un antiguo simulador de pilotaje para Guardián. Luego de la muerte de su abuelo, el muchacho se queda sin comida por lo que se ve forzado a salir a la superficie, donde es capturado y seleccionado como piloto Guardián, con la esperanza de defender Sidonia de los Gauna usando sus conocimientos perfeccionados en el simulador.

The story is set in the year 3394, a thousand years after humans flee from Earth, after it was destroyed by shapeshifting gigantic alien monsters called Gauna, aboard massive spaceships created from the remains of the planet. One such ship is the "Sidonia", which has developed its own human culture closely based on that of Japan, where human cloning, asexual reproduction, and human genetic engineering, such as granting humans photosynthesis, are commonplace. It is also revealed that the top echelons of this society have secretly been granted immortality. With a population of over 500,000 people, Sidonia is possibly the last human settlement remaining as the fates of the other ships are unknown. Sidonia is defended by large mechanized weapons called Gardes whose weaponry and mobility is powered by "Heigus particles"  armed with a high-output cannon for long range assaults and a special spear known as "Kabizashi" for close combat. The tip of the kabizashi is made of a rare and little-understood material which has the unique property of being able to destroy a Gauna's core. Later the Guardians are also equipped with firearms whose ammo have the same material of the Kabizashi after a means to artificially mass-produce it is discovered. Most people in the surviving human population are screened and drafted as Guardian pilots at a young age, if they are shown to be capable of piloting them.