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In a far distant future, humanity has been attacked by strange creatures referred to as Gauna and the massive spaceship Sidonia, the hull to which was built from an asteroid, travels through space with much of what remains of humanity as its cargo. Protagonist Tanikaze Nagate embarks to battle the Gauna, who’ve appeared before and continue to do so, by piloting Tsugumori, a Guardian otherwise known as a large weaponized and armored high-functioning mecha machine.
The Tsugumori takeoff scene as seen in the anime can now be experienced using the latest virtual reality Oculus Rift headset. From Aug. 12, visitors can take part in the experience at Animation Festa in Tokorozawa 2014 being held at the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum in Tokorozawa of Saitama prefecture.
The theme of the Animation Festa in Tokorozawa is “Space, Science, and Technology.” The event, which is being held from July 26 to Sept. 28, features a great number of popular anime including Psycho-Pass, Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing, and A Certain Scientific Railgun S. All are works that boost the dreams for space, science, and technology. The showpiece of the event is the Knights of Sidonia Tsugumori takeoff experience and the technology behind it. Visitors can use the Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 (Oculus Rift DK2) hardware and experience firsthand the Tsugumori takeoff as if in the world of the work.
Oculus Rift is gathering great attention as the headset display created by Oculus VR, a company that specializes in virtual reality technology. The high-precision head-tracking technology uses a gyro sensor/infrared ray sensor. The full virtual reality immersion is made possible by the horizontal 110° and vertical 90° field of vision. The Oculus Rift DK2 useable at the event has also spurred discussion due to it just being released for use by developers.
Furthermore, the 3D model data for the cockpit has been used without change and the atmospheric sounds have been compiled on a Blu-ray with 5.1-channel surround sound to faithfully recreate the intensity of the first time Nagate takes off with Tsugumori as seen in the anime, which is of a new era of digital animation. The combination of such cutting-edge virtual reality technology and anime on the forefront of its industry allows one to “enter the world of the anime” as never before.
In regards to the TV anime, due to overwhelming support of the first season which aired from April to July 2014, the second season, Knights of Sidonia: War of the Ninth Planet, has been planned. Two short commercials announcing the decision have already been released and the broadcast schedule should follow. The first CM depicts Nagate and fellow peers engaging in new battles with Gauna. Tsumugi Shiraui, who has played an important role in the series thus far, is shown in the second CM.
[Experience the Knights of Sidonia Tsugumori Takeoff]
Event Name: Animation Festa in Tokorozawa 2014
Location: Tokorozawa Aviation Museum (Knights of Sidonia Booth)
Duration: Aug. 13 (Wed.) - Sep. 28 (Sun.)
Source: animeanime
© Nihei Tsutomu, Kodansha Ltd. / TOA Heavy Industries Video Production Department
