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EP. REVIEW: Attack on Titan

Well, then I guess maybe we don't frequent the same corners of the internet or we have a very different perception of how out of hand this controversy grew. No problem! I envy you for having been spared from experiencing that. All I can say is that it first blew-up on Tumblr and then it more recently blew-up on Twitter around the the month of February, when the trailer for Part 2 came out. And from time to time, when I look the comments in some SnK posts, I still stumble on some people claming that it is spoiler[nazi/pro-war/fascist propaganda]. For me it's the biggest, most recent controversy that involves SnK so my guess is that it must be how it has reached him and I don't really know of any other controversy he could be reffering to in the context of what he wrote in this review and the past 2 reviews ("I hear the show's handling of its allegorical politics might be getting messy before long" and "messy revelations of future chapters"). But if it's not actually that, then good!

That being said, I agree with all your points of course. I think these interpretations come from a place of misunderstanding and ignorance, but also as I said, misinformation being spread by those very same people who grossly oversimplify the context and the way the story portrays things, leaving out all nuance, when they are not outright saying things that are completely wrong because they haven't bothered reading past the anime and just repeating things they read somewhere else.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.]

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!

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...