Netflix's First Anime Exclusive Knights Of Sidonia Launching July 4th

Popular streaming video destination Netflix has been getting into exclusive programming in a big way for the last couple of years. At first, they were setting themselves up as competitors to the likes of HBO with high-quality drama, but they've also recently started moving into animation. They've stumped up the cash for animation both family friendly (such as Turbo Fast) and for more adult audiences (BoJack Horseman). But now they're after a whole new audience by licensing their first Japanese animation series, Knights Of Sidonia.

Netflix already hosts plenty of anime (in certain regions), but it's always been sublicensed through western distributors such as Funimation or Manga Entertainment. This time, however, they've cut out the middleman, and nabbed exclusive rights to the show themselves.

All episodes of the series will be available on all Netflix regions from July 4th 2014. With its cel-shaded visuals it seems like perhaps a strange choice for Netflix's first step into anime. But we'll reserve judgment until we've seen the final result...Netflix has just released the first official trailer, so now you can check it out for yourselves.

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.

All 12 episodes of the epic KNIGHTS OF SIDONIA series will premiere July 4 in all territories Netflix is available.