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ANIME THREAD OVER HERE Knights of Sidonia is the most recent manga by Tsutomu Nihei (he of Blame!, Biomega, so on). It is I feel his most well done work yet, and is, as one may expect from Nihei, rather bizarre. Earth has been destroyed by shape-shifting alien monsters called Gauna, virtually indestructible creatures that adapt at incredible rates. In the midst of Earth's destruction, various nations produced massive spaceships from the remains of the planet, which fled the Earth. Sidonia is one of those ships, with a unique culture based on Japan. In order to deal with the challenges of space life, Sidonia has embraced transhumanism full on: human cloning, genetic alteration, cybernetics, human / animal hybrids, and asexual reproduction are relatively common place, and nearly the entire human population now has replaced the majority of their feeding needs with photosynthesis.  Sidonia has been out of contact with other human ships for millennia now, and they can only believe they're now the last remnant of humanity. Even now, Gauna pursue the vessel. The only things they have to defend them are "Guardians", mechanized weapons powered by Higgs particles. Even still, the Guardians are no match against the Gauna, whose regenerating and impenetrable placentas protect their vital core which can only be destroyed via exposure to a strange material that reacts only to the Gauna. The story itself follows Nagate Tanikaze, a young man who has spend his life "underground" in Sidonia since birth, raised by his grandfather and trained in an old Guardian similator every day. After his grandfather's death, he is found by the rest of the population in Sidonia, and is recruited as a new Guardian pilot in hopes that he'll be able to help turn the tide.  So, Knights of Sidonia is really weird in a REALLY good way. Nihei is known for his love of transhumanist characters and narratives (as well as really great landscapes / architecture) and this has a looad of that. It's probably his most coherent and solidly written story (I've always had an issue following Nihei's works but that's not a problem here), following the Sidonia's desperate attempt to stay alive while facing an utterly impossible foe. The cast is pretty great and unique. The primary cast includes Nagate's intersex best friend, a number of identical clones, a cyborg bear-woman (Nihei looooves him some bear people), and the cutest little girl you've ever met. It's also pretty hosed up, given the subject matter, but that's a lot the charm; the work is about humanity adapting to horrible, hosed up circumstances by getting really creative. Accompanying it is a fair bit of political intrigue within Sidonia, culture whiplash, cool mecha battling, and some romance drama. Also, a fair bit of body horror. The work gets continually better as it goes on, as Nihei really gets his legs with the work.  It also looks pretty amazing. If there's one thing Nihei can do, it's draw his rear end off. The first seven volumes (of eleven) are already in print in English from Vertical, with the rest following in a few months. Check 'em out on Amazon. You can find scanned volumes as they come out on Batoto. Additionally, there's going to be an anime adaptation this Spring. Read this manga, trust me. Having trouble remembering the cast? Autonomous Monster did a write up of the cast! Be careful about the spoiler tags / scrolling too far! Zorak fucked around with this message at 16:37 on Apr 12, 2014 |
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Jan 7, 2014 08:59
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THE FIRST PERSON TO MAKE A MUSE JOKE 
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Jan 7, 2014 09:00
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Zorak posted:THE FIRST PERSON TO MAKE A MUSE JOKE I actually had it the other way. Someone asked me if I knew about "Knights of Cydonia", and I responded, "you read that manga?" Then I went and looked it up and found the band out. I only have 3 volumes so far (they're hard to find in these parts) but it's great.
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Jan 7, 2014 09:22
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Zorak posted:THE FIRST PERSON TO MAKE A MUSE JOKE I really thought I'd be first on that. This looks cool though. I'm going to check it out.
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Jan 7, 2014 09:47
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This manga is fantastic. It's horrible and terrible but in a good way. Humanity has seen better moments and you seriously wonder if there is any point to their struggles at one point. I stopped reading at ch39 because that's where the scans were done up to but it seems it has been updated after checking it now. Sweet.
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Jan 7, 2014 10:15
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One of the few stories I felt compelled to pick up in print so I can show it off to friends: it takes the best part of the shonen style battle story mixed with the best parts of a slice of life romance and filters it through a weird transhumanist future to become at times horrific, at times fist pumping exciting, at times melancholic, but always compelling.
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Jan 7, 2014 12:00
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I should start reading this series now that there are more chapters out. I remember liking the series when it first started out, but scanlations took forever.
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Jan 7, 2014 16:08
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I am actually a huge fan of Nihei. I own all of Biomega on paperback. Sidonia is vastly different from Blame! and Biomega but still very good. Also Nihei never disappoints on background porn and character design. The chapter of him going to Vienna is really cute as well; if I am not mistaken, it happens at the end of volume 6.
Oh Snapalope fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Jan 7, 2014 |
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Jan 7, 2014 16:59
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I love Knights of Sidonia because it has Nihei art combined with a story I can mostly follow. It feels like he's finally hit his stride as a storyteller with the series.
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Jan 7, 2014 18:41
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I love it, but if I remember sometimes trying to follow the fight sequences is... difficult.
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Jan 7, 2014 21:35
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Mango Polo posted:I love it, but if I remember sometimes trying to follow the fight sequences is... difficult. Yeah, Blame had very detailed fight sequences often with multiple shots of the projectile/beam so that you really got a feel for the spatial layout of the fight. Knights of Sidonia, not so much. Still, I really like it.
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Jan 7, 2014 21:43
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Well, the last manga you recommended and I started reading was Attack on Titan, so I'll give this a go. Sounds like an interesting setting at least. fake edit: read a couple of chapters, I'll admit I was expecting AoT in space, but it's different enough that it doesn't just feel like a rehash. Think I'll be carrying on with this. Although I'm not sure I have a strong enough stomach for it seeing as my reaction to him just messing his hand up in the first chapter was a bit overzealous. Also I like the bear lady and I hope she's in it a lot.  oh no the perfect Muse joke just came to me
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Jan 7, 2014 21:45
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McDragon posted:Well, the last manga you recommended and I started reading was Attack on Titan, so I'll give this a go. Sounds like an interesting setting at least. It is really not at all like Attack on Titan; AoT is shounen through and through, while Knights of Sidonia is pretty seinen. Plus they came out the same year so "rehash" isn't a thing, and Nihei is a big industry veteran. Mango Polo posted:I love it, but if I remember sometimes trying to follow the fight sequences is... difficult. It gets better as time goes on in that regard.
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Jan 7, 2014 23:42
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Funnily enough, both show's japanese names are abbreviated as SnK. Well, they both have a very similar atmosphere at first, with an entire society forced into a siege mentality. The two series do diverge alot: as I've said before, KoS gets into a steady "attack-of-the-week" rhythm, while AoT prides itself on unpredictability and just letting the chips fall as they may. So it may be better considered that AoT is a particularly dark shounen that revels in the humiliation of the main character, while KoS is a slightly goofy seinen which steadily power creeps forward. KoS does love to do some visually interesting things and use some bizarre imagery, but that's just Nihei's style. And I have no idea how deliberate it is, but KoS takes elements from harem shows.
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Jan 8, 2014 00:10
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The slice of life shenanigans that happen at least once a volume always end with tanikaze taking a horrific injury, so I'd say it's pretty intentional since it calls up the normal harem slapstick and translates it to broken arms.
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Jan 8, 2014 00:13
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Really enjoying KoS, was a huge Blame/Biomega fan and it took me a while to come around to the idea of a Nihei work where the protagonist utters more than 2 lines of dialogue every chapter. The art style change is really refreshing actually, I love how he has kept the detailed backgrounds and then went with super clean character designs in that I think it really supports the characterization of the main cast. These are not gritty veterans completely jaded with the world (see  Denji from Abara),they are fairly naive and fairly optimistic, and the idiotic expression of Nagate whenever he is chomping down (which is always) works out pretty well:  I don't know if I really get the harem stuff though, I get that it's hilarious example: tsumugi in a dress but it feels like it just builds up this romantic drama which Nihei almost certainly has no interest in resolving, nor could possibly have any satisfying conclusion.
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Jan 8, 2014 01:48
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I love the weird gender stuff and the slice of life parts the most. I am a bad person.
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Jan 8, 2014 01:53
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gobbledygoat posted:I love the weird gender stuff and the slice of life parts the most. I am a bad person. The whole slice of life stuff has really got me thinking what would Nihei have done if he followed up Blame! with fun times with papa Killy instead of Blame 2!
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Jan 8, 2014 02:01
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Wookie Bouquet posted:The whole slice of life stuff has really got me thinking what would Nihei have done if he followed up Blame! with fun times with papa Killy instead of Blame 2! Blame! Academy was better.
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Jan 8, 2014 02:04
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gobbledygoat posted:I love the weird gender stuff and the slice of life parts the most. I am a bad person.
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Jan 8, 2014 02:26
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Phobophilia posted:Well, they both have a very similar atmosphere at first, with an entire society forced into a siege mentality. The two series do diverge alot: as I've said before, KoS gets into a steady "attack-of-the-week" rhythm, while AoT prides itself on unpredictability and just letting the chips fall as they may. So it may be better considered that AoT is a particularly dark shounen that revels in the humiliation of the main character, while KoS is a slightly goofy seinen which steadily power creeps forward. KoS does love to do some visually interesting things and use some bizarre imagery, but that's just Nihei's style. I don't think that's fair because The Knights of Sidonia siege is such that short of people dying (which they do, a lot), the entire system will fall apart if the ship gets pierced. It's not like Attack on Titan where they've lost / regained walls. The Giants are relatively easy obstacles compared to the Guana. Further, Knights has a lot more angles going on than just the combat, while AoT pretty much has one primary plotline really going on. There's definitely a mild harem element, except the protagonist has (or had) eyes for the one love interest anyways. Also, everything Ochiai.
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Jan 8, 2014 02:31
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Since no one posted them yet, here's the two anime trailers currently out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I31QP4SE3Gw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBQopurdkr8 The Official site is promising two more trailers but doesn't say when. Anime is confirmed for 12 and episodes will be available on netflix in the summer. Op is not by Muse, but there is still hope for the ED. Pensive fucked around with this message at 06:23 on Jan 8, 2014 |
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Jan 8, 2014 06:18
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I saw this linked from the AoT thread, and i am reading the first volume. It is good.
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Jan 8, 2014 06:56
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Volume 10, Chapter 49 pfftttt at Izana's grandma basically realizing the only way the two of them were going to get together was if she literally sent them on a date as a mission. Because awkward military teens. Tsugumi having her tentacle against the glass on the last page is hysterical. I really enjoy in general how they handle Tsugumi. Rather than the immediate reaction to OH GOD HORRIFIC HUMAN HYBRID OH NOOO, it's instead skepticism transitioning to praise / acceptance once all things are said and done. Tanikaze and Izana immediately going IM GOING TO BEFRIEND HER was pretty great. It's a nice subversion of the normal outcome for these sorts of things. That being said I can only imagine this will eventually end in tears. Ochiai
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Jan 8, 2014 07:00
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Zorak posted:It gets better as time goes on in that regard. I will have to pick it back up if the one part I was a bit annoyed with improved.
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Jan 8, 2014 07:03
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Zorak posted:Volume 10, Chapter 49 pfftttt at Izana's grandma basically realizing the only way the two of them were going to get together was if she literally sent them on a date as a mission. Because awkward military teens. Tsugumi having her tentacle against the glass on the last page is hysterical. RE: Chapter 49 Ugh the date mission, also one of the most frustrating cliffhangers in the series so far. Somehow I feel we are not going to have any relationship closure until Hoshijiro comes back in some form, and I can't imagine that being a form pleasant to anyone, or even really plausible now that Benisizumi is gone and the cast off Hoshijiros clones seem to have been Ochiaied. Pensive posted:The Official site is promising two more trailers but doesn't say when. Anime is confirmed for 12 and episodes will be available on netflix in the summer. Op is not by Muse, but there is still hope for the ED. Tanikaze's design look pretty hapless in the images they have up there of him, gives a better impression than the trailers, which made him look kind of weird from the 1 second clip you see of him.
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Jan 8, 2014 07:54
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Wookie Bouquet posted:RE: Chapter 49 Ugh the date mission, also one of the most frustrating cliffhangers in the series so far. Somehow I feel we are not going to have any relationship closure until Hoshijiro comes back in some form, and I can't imagine that being a form pleasant to anyone, or even really plausible now that Benisizumi is gone and the cast off Hoshijiros clones seem to have been Ochiaied. I dunno, I got the impression that they've been pushing pretty heavily that he is attracted to Izana and is reciprocating, which is basically a first after Hoshijiro. I'm more curious where they are going with Ochiai at this point. I mean, he's on his way to getting his perfect body, except now his proxy body is in a coma; his his servant going to try transferring his parasite to a new body now? Along those lines, I wonder if the Captain really hasn't caught on that clearly Ochiai is back.
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Jan 8, 2014 07:59
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Zorak posted:I dunno, I got the impression that they've been pushing pretty heavily that he is attracted to Izana and is reciprocating, which is basically a first after Hoshijiro. Yeah Ochiai is going to be interesting once we figure out what he has been up to. I am pretty sure the Captain doesn't know, and she will almost certainly play right into his hands. Especially with her willingness to take any power that might be useful to win the battle vs. the Gauna. Thinking about Izana and Tanigaze I agree with you, which actually leads me to think if the battle with Benisizumi was that closure point in the Hoshijiro storyline. Out of curiosity are there any goons reading the Japanese version or the Chinese scanlated version?
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Jan 8, 2014 08:21
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Waiting on volume 11 to come out is suffering. I'm pre-ordering that as soon as it's available.
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Jan 8, 2014 08:26
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One of my favourite things about this series is that the less breakneck and more open plot seems to have given Nihei the room to stretch out and really fill the world with incidental details and fun stuff, something Blame! et al didn't really let him do.Wookie Bouquet posted:Yeah Ochiai is going to be interesting once we figure out what he has been up to.. Something I can definitely see happening is the Captain banning further hybrid creation after this latest disaster and/or destroying the new one, forcing Ochiai to use the only vessel available to him; Tsugumi. 
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Jan 8, 2014 12:02
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Zorak posted:It is really not at all like Attack on Titan; AoT is shounen through and through, while Knights of Sidonia is pretty seinen. Plus they came out the same year so "rehash" isn't a thing, and Nihei is a big industry veteran. Wasn't quite sure what word to go for there. Rehash wasn't exactly the best one. Was more along the lines of humanity being accosted by huge unbeatable monsters that want to eat them being a thing in both. It's been pretty good so far, going to keep reading.
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Jan 8, 2014 12:12
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I read upto chapter 12 last night. Please tell me the relationship stuff stops  Also i re-read the earlier chapters and i simply do not understand somethings: - That dude with the long hair, really hates Tanikaze because Tanikaze was given something that should have been his? What did Tanikaze get? - I thought the chick with black hair died (Izuna)? But she magically reappears like 3 pages afterwords and nobody bats an eyelash. Which to me is extremely creepy. - Can anyone explain the part where Tanikaze failed his mission? I know he screwed up, but i couldn't figure out what he did wrong. - Did i read this right, but is there only a small handful of the weapons that kill the monsters (the spearish thing) left, and they can't make more?
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Jan 8, 2014 18:10
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UberJumper posted:I read upto chapter 12 last night. It doesn't  - his family designed that model Tanikaze uses, and he was wanting to pilot it all his life; but his family's company no longer is the lead in designing stuff sooo - you're confusing them. Izuna is his intersex friend that's been hanging out with him since chapter 1. Houjirou was the one that died; she was the girl hanging out with long haired dude in chapter one. - didn't time the explosions properly, getting her killed and his rear end got knocked out. - correct; only the "kabi" spears can destroy true bodies, and they can't make them.
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Jan 8, 2014 18:20
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UberJumper posted:I read upto chapter 12 last night. 1. The Tsugumori. Norio was engineered to be the next ace pilot, but Nagate is better than him and is getting specal treatment that he never did. This makes Norio "the boy who was born with everything" very angry, since nobody has ever been able to challenge him before. 2. Izana didn't die, Hoshi did. And Izana is not a girl. Though I guess female pronouns are the most suited for her. She's generally more feminine than masculine. 3. Norio gave Nagate fake orders that made him attack out of synchronization with the rest of the group. 4. Kabi, how it works, where it came from and why they have so little of it will be explained in a few chapters. But yes, they currently have a severely limited supply of it. Pensive fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Jan 8, 2014 |
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Jan 8, 2014 18:25
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UberJumper posted:Please tell me the relationship stuff stops Pierson posted:Something I can definitely see happening is the Captain banning further hybrid creation after this latest disaster and/or destroying the new one, forcing Ochiai to use the only vessel available to him; Tsugumi.
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Jan 8, 2014 18:59
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The parts I look forward to most in this are the weird relationship poo poo and bear-mom.
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Jan 8, 2014 19:09
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Zorak posted:It doesn't Pensive posted:1. Thanks to both of you. One question about the Tsugumori, to me it just looks like the same as the other mechs? Also didn't Nagate do extremely awful during the flight simulator? I seem to recall he got a rank so bad he was "unranked". If the Tsugumori is so valuable and powerful why did they give it to him?
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Jan 8, 2014 20:04
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UberJumper posted:
The simulators Nagate was training in all his life where for the old Type-16 model. The ones the trainees where using where Type-17's. Nagate ranked badly because he was not used to the Type-17's controls. Tsugumori is a heavily modified Type-16 that has equivalent performance to a Type-17 despite being much older. (I may have the model numbers wrong) Pensive fucked around with this message at 20:27 on Jan 8, 2014 |
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Jan 8, 2014 20:14
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As far as kabi goes, Recently they discovered a way to make artificial kabi weapons. It's one of the big reasons the ship's been going on the offensive lately. Before there was no reason to make more mechs since they didn't have weapons, but now they do.
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Jan 8, 2014 20:15
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Well poo poo I blew through the entire series in one day. I hate when that happens!
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Jan 8, 2014 21:35
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