Attack on Titan: Junior High

Episode 7

Welcome to another mediocre week of Attack on Titan: Junior High. This time we have a simple parable, delivered with all the subtlety of an afterschool special about learning to see eye-to-eye. It's a basic plot, good for a comedy like this that tends to rely on its bombastic cast anyway, but this week's series of caricatures didn't wow me.

When the first-years and their seniors have one difference of opinion after another, they decide to settle it once and for all with a field day competition. This would be slightly more exciting if we hadn't just had a dodgeball competition a few episodes ago, but it is aided slightly by the inclusion of the upperclassmen, who haven't gotten as much screentime. It seems like sports is the best school-life parallel to the violent events of the original Attack on Titan. Everyone is suitably gung-ho for the competition, because the penalty for the losers will be cleaning the Titans' gargantuan side of the school. Fittingly, one of the most memorable parts of the tournament comes when Hanji rides Sonny and Bean like broncos, barely controlling them as they attempt to devour the other competitors. I know this is the kind of show where you need to turn your brain off to have a good time, but what kind of role do the Titans actually play at school? What do they learn? Do they eat people or don't they? And finally, how is Hanji allowed to keep two Titans—her fellow classmates—shackled and confined to her clubroom?

Anyway, the episode gets most of its entertainment value out of micro-interactions between the characters. A small, solemn Mikasa wants nothing more than to give Eren a high-five, but she keeps getting hindered. Jean is a loud, awful show-off, and the show continues to make fun of him. Krista is an adorable cheerleader, and Annie is even cuter with her totally out-of-character timidity. Ymir and Reiner are vying for Krista's affections, and Ymir is totally winning. But mostly, it's the same old jokes. Levi loves to clean things, ha ha! Sasha's hungry again, ho ho! And Oluo bit his tongue at least twice in this episode alone.

The climax of the episode is a shoulder race that will keep you doing double-takes with its many references to the original show. They range from the overt—like Mikasa's speech to the first years, a near-exact replica of her speech in Attack on Titan Episode 7—to the extremely subtle, like a fatigued Marco wearing the exact same facial expression as he does in his Attack on Titan death scene. This will truly test your memory for the original show, and if you're the kind of person who loves catching references, it's the most interesting part.

In the end, of course, the story is simple. The upperclassmen were freshmen once too, so maybe we should all get along. Maybe it falls flat because it's exactly the kind of thing that wouldn't fly in Attack on Titan—it would probably end with somebody getting killed instead. It's another reminder that when the plot is this different, maybe the jokes should be too.

Rating: B-

Attack on Titan: Junior High is currently streaming on Funimation.

Lauren writes about anime and journalism at Otaku Journalist.