Netflix Original Anime Knights of Sidonia License Expiring Soon

With Netflix releasing original series both animated and live action, sometimes some of their older endeavors can get lost in the shuffle. Knights of Sidonia was the first anime series licensed by Netflix and it looks like it may not be returning to the streaming service when all is said and done. With the license expiring, fans of Sidonia may not have as much time as they’d think to watch the series on Netflix one last time.

Twitter User WTK noted that the anime series will no longer be available to watch on Netflix starting on July 3rd of this year:

This fact was also confirmed by Reddit User Kalirion, with other users commenting on the loss of this anime series:

Fans should take note of a few things before falling into despair. First, there is the possibility, however slim, that Netflix “re-ups” their license of the series and eventually adds to the initial two series. Also, even if the series falls from Netflix entirely, Knights of Sidonia could continue airing on a different streaming service or television channel for fans.

Netflix themselves didn’t produce the series, rather the company had simply bought the rights to the license in order to air the anime. King Record Company was the original producers of the anime itself, essentially giving Netflix exclusivity when it came to airing Sidonia. The first season of the anime aired in 2014, with the proceeding season dropping the following year in 2015. News of a third season has been bouncing around for some time, but whether or not it will drop this year, or at all, is still anyone’s guess.

There is certainly enough material for a third season to be made, with the manga that inspired the anime running for 15 volumes. Originally debuting in 2009, the manga ended in 2015 and was published by Kodansha Comics.

What do you think of Knights of Sidonia leaving Netflix? Would you like to see it continue into a third season? Let us know in the comments or feel free to hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Sidonia.

The first Netflix original anime series, Knights of Sidonia, based on the popular manga series of the same name, follows Nagate, a low-born youth in a society of genetically engineered refugees who escaped the destruction of Earth one thousand years earlier and now occupy the massive ship Sidonia. When Nagate’s talent as a pilot is revealed he becomes one of Sidonia’s elite defenders against the Guana, shapeshifting aliens bent on eliminating humans from existence.