Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Attack on Titan
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danpmss
Posts: 777 |
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I see, I don't really follow any tumblr activities (Can you even make discussion threads in there nowadays? I don't remember seeing that back when I made a test account to be honest), so I was bound to miss this. Given their reputation with some other controversial topics, I guess I expected no less from them (twitter instead might vary a lot depending on which people and things both of us follow, no surprises in there). Anyway, sorry if I sound entitled with all of that (I'm kinda one of those who are having an absolute blast with the series and theorizing with other fellow manga readers), but I was being legit about hearing such a claim for the first time (after all, that aspect in SnK normally generates this kind of paragon, as I was saying, but this one example was pretty unexpected to me lol). Shouldn't be that surprising now that I think about it, that's the internet for us after all. What caused my reaction was the "obvious" part, which implied I was pretty much missing this quite a bit huge misinterpretation that is an apparently controversial topic in other circles. Welp, I guess I'm happy that I don't follow tumblr in this case, they may have had me upset with all this haha |
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Ethe
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Episode 55:
Another great episode. I especially like what it does with Levi. I've always said that Levi is kind of a bland character. What bothers me about him is that he always says and does the right thing. Even when he's in a situation where there's no right answer, he cleverly points out that there's no right answer. And when the show (and the OVAs) decide to shine the spotlight on him, his characterization never packs enough nuance for me to care about him. But Midnight Sun changes things up by showing Levi making a choice that wasn't necessarily the "right" one. He doesn't take the most logical course of action; instead, he lets his emotions take over him and does what's best for his friend, even if it might not be the best thing for humanity. You have to wonder at what point Erwin's dream stopped being a dream and became torture instead. Levi realises this and ultimately relieves him of that burden. He respects his wish to die alongside his soldiers and lets him rest (personally, I like to think Erwin was able to muster enough consciousness to reject the serum in his delirious state, but that's just me). Of course, he also realises that, unlike Erwin, Armin has a dream that fills him with hope and the strength to move forward. Whereas Erwin's eyes are that of a tired, tormented man, Armin's eyes are brimming with life and wonder. Makes you think about that conversation back in episode 49 and that was shown in a flashback this week, where Levi asks Erwin what he's gonna do after he reaches the basement, and Erwin doesn't know what to answer. Meanwhile, Armin has a whole world to explore out there, and it's something that's gonna push him forward even after they reach the basement. As Kenny said, you gotta be drunk on something. And it's all so wonderfully written, because you just know that now that the commander of the Survey Corps is dead, Levi's choice will have big consequences for the story and characters, particularly for Armin, who now has to shoulder the responsibility of being the new Colossal Titan and live up to the expectations of having being saved instead of Erwin (the parallels between these two are paying off once again). And of course, Levi still has a promise to fulfil, so that's one more thing to look forward to. A couple other things I liked: Bertholdt's death parallels Marco's. Both begged for help as their friends just stood there and watched them get eaten. Now listen, I don't give a damn about Marco, but if that ain't karma, I don't know what is Not a lot of back background music, which was very fitting. Instead, the episode relied on strong vocal performances. My personal favourite was Daisuke Ono's (Erwin's) "thank you". It's nice to see Kenny's death have an actual, lasting effect on Levi. The direction was once again shaky in certain parts, but at this point that's a given. The content itself is more than enough to make up for it. ---- On a (kind of) unrelated note, "Erwin" is trending on Twitter |
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consignia
Posts: 394 |
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Thanks for that, it's very well put. I've never thought as Levi as bland, but I can agree with you that at times been that he can be quite flat. Always correct and always wins. That said I do enjoy him as a cast member, especially when you see him tear through the Beast Titan as we just did. It may go against the bleak apocalyptic world, but it's makes it enjoyable to a glimmer of hope to have such a monster on humanities side. But yeah it was a great piece here. It brought so many character's arcs to a conclusion, you could almost end the series on this season. Erwin, Levi, Hange all reaching a climax. Which pushes the rest of story onto the younger characters.
Yup can't disagree here, great performance all round. I especially felt Ishikawa has come along way over the course of the series. When she started I thought she was a bit dry and generic "emotionless anime girl". But now you could feel nuance in her futile desperation.
The only part I disagree with you on. I thought the direction was spot on, with efficient use of the source's beats and enhancing where it needed to. I am a reader of the manga, but I've always preferred the anime. Early parts of this season have tested this, and has been lacklustre at times, but this was a welcome return in my mind, along side the previous episode. |
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Ethe
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Yeah, that scene where the Beast Titan gets brutally minced was one heck of a spectacle. I can't deny that seeing Levi slicing titans up is pretty damn satisfying
Trust me, after how great these past few episodes have been, my complaints about the direction are nothing but trivial (and sometimes far-fetched) nitpicks. If you asked me where I thought the direction was shaky in the latest ep, right off the top of my head I could mention a couple of transitions from one scene to another that didn't feel very cohesive, and a few odd closeups accompanied by shaky camera effects that often times feel cheap to me, but that's about it. |
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Vaisaga
Posts: 13235 |
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Hurray, Armin's alive! When they introduced that shot I wouldn't have expected him to be the one to receive it.
It's also nice to see how devastated Mikasa was too. For 99% of the show she's only been shown caring about Eren exclusively, so I liked seeing how much she cares for her other childhood friend too. |
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Lord Dcast
Posts: 644 Location: 'Straiya |
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No spoilers from the mango, but spoiler[I hope to eventually get to the point where the main three all get titan bodies and beatdown against whoever's really pulling the strings.]
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Ethe
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spoiler[Why stop there? Let the entire main cast become titans Titans! GO!] |
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A Mystery
Posts: 1888 Location: Netherlands |
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It looks like Mikasa gets to interact only with Eren and only cares about him, but that never has been true. Yes, Armin and Eren are her true friends. But. She does save the lives of other people on more than one occasion, like when she threatens the merchant to pull his cart out of the gate so other people can evacuate. She saved a nameless soldier with great risk for her own life when two slightly dumb soldiers wanted to bring their dead friend back to Karanes (after the Female Titan fight). She's willing to live and fight even after Eren seems to be dead.
It's true that she doesn't have other friends. Her interactions with Sasha are fun, but she never opens up to other people, well maybe only about her Eren worries then. Her flashback is a strong reminder why though. She's learned that she can trust Eren and has found a new family, but she also learned that the world she lives in is ruthless and cruel. She always had to put up with bullies and grown ups not doing their jobs properly or being untrustworthy people not giving a shit about your family. |
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Gina Szanboti
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So Erwin's arc is a little bit Griffith and a little bit Buffy. Interesting combo! But we already had a clue who would win the Battke of the Blonds. Erwin's middle letter is feet up, while Armin's is feet down. Still standing (or kneeling. )! And Armin wins in alphabetical order.
Stupid humor aside, excellent episode. Lots of suspension of disbelief required, but I was happy to give it. I'm not quite clear how the mule Titan got over the wall. They sealed both gates, and it doesn't have the strength of Armored or Colossal Titan to just climb over it (if it did, the walls would have always been useless). Still, they were kinda asking to have Reiner rescued (dude's got nine lives) by interrogating him outdoors. The fridge horror in this episode is that if Armin receives Bertholdt's memories and knowledge, he will not only remember his own roasting first hand, but Bertholdt's view of it as well. Sounds like a recipe for psychosis to me. It reminds me of that episode of GitS which I won't describe but you'll know if you've seen it. |
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Dicku-kun
Posts: 166 |
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Great episode. The absence of soundtrack is just so unnerving and it made me focus solely on the dialogue and the very well-acted voicing! Props to the VAs. Also RIP Erwin and hello Colossal Armin.
Now we only need Jean to inherit the Cart Titan so he can finally become the horse that he's always been portrayed to be. C'mon Isayama! |
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Ajc228
Posts: 265 |
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I get why Levi made the decision he did but I thought it kinda undercut the emotional impact of the last episode. I also don’t get why people are acting surprised by his decision. It was rather obvious.
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Merida
Posts: 1946 |
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Well, unpopular opinion here: i thought this was completely unnecessary drama for drama's sake when i read the manga and the anime did nothing to change my mind...seriously, what was the point?
If the intention was to "make the younger generation take over" why drag Erwin into it at all? He was already dead for all we knew, juswt give Armin the injection and be done with it. If it was to show that sometimes you've got to make tough decisions for the sake of the survival of humanity, it would have had much more of an impact to choose Erwin and not one of the three main characters everybody expected to survive anyhow... I even would have prefered if the two sides actually fought until the end over it which would have at least shown how far people are willing to go for their friends, even if it's "irrational". But in the end it all just kinda fizzles out and the decision comes down to some weird blend of Armin having "such a nice dream" and hey, didn't Erwin really want to "rest" (he also really wanted to see that basement, Levi... )? This series can do drama well, but this just felt incredible fabricated and pointless to me and left a bad taste in my mouth, But well, onwards to the basement... |
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Engineering Nerd
Posts: 902 Location: Southern California |
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Wow, after picturing it in my mind, I never knew I NEED this to happen so badly |
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ShatteredWorld
Posts: 265 Location: ATL |
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If you're taking it at a surface level, sure it seems like unnecessary drama. But within the context of the series (and future events), it makes perfect sense and sets up SO much for Eren's character arc. But without getting into spoilers, Levi chooses Armin over Erwin because of the scope of their dreams and how healthy it is or isn't for the both of them. Erwin's pursuit of his dream cost the lives of hundreds of Scout members and was a goal point. He wanted to see the basement and learn the truth about the world beyond the walls. To prove his father right. But after he's learned what he can from the basement, then what? Does he stop then? Does he call it quits? Meanwhile, Armin's dream is a lot more vast, has a lot more to deal with the FUTURE and is less of a curse and burden on him than Erwin fulfilling the questions of his father. |
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Ethe
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Episode 56
As expected, they really wanted to end this episode on a cliffhanger, so they prolonged the journey to the basement and added some extra scenes here and there I'm not sure that worked out all that well though. The parts that were supposed to evoke nostalgia were too protracted, so they ended up being kind of annoying instead. Maybe it worked for other people, but at one point I was just thinking "Oh come on, just go to the damn basement already." Thankfully once they got there the suspense was handled well. Also, Levi channelling the feelings of all the readers and viewers when he kicked that door down was one of the highlights of the episode. We get a glimpse of Grisha's past at the end, and James probably got a glimpse of where all the criticism of Attack on Titan comes from. Anyway, let the Discourse™ begin (and let's hope this thread doesn't turn into a bloodbath in the coming weeks) Last edited by Ethe on Sun Jun 09, 2019 4:06 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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