Hajime Isayama – Page 12 – THE REVIEW MONSTER

Spoiler Free Review:

Attack on Titan just delivered its best episode of the season and one of its best episodes ever with its 44th, Wish.
This was an absolutely fantastic episode, with a brilliant action sequence and incredible character arcs.
The character arcs were the features that stuck out the most to me, with there being three standouts of the episode, Eren, Historia and Kenny’s.
These three characters’ arcs during this episode are definitely defining moments for all of them and series highlights.
As for the action sequence, it is another one of the series’ best, definitely paying off the intense cliffhanger of the previous episode.
Then there was the music, which was absolutely off the charts.
I have stated already that Attack on Titan has my favourite soundtrack of any show and the music of this episode once again shows why.
It really draws you into the scene and makes the big moments of the episode have an even bigger emotional impact.
This episode had everything, intense action, great character moments and even more explosive reveals.
It made me cheer, cry and feel horrified at some of its events.
If I had one criticism it would be that the midway title card tells us information before a character reveals it but that is avoidable if you do not read the cards.
Overall, Wish was an incredible episode and definitely in the top 10 best episodes of Attack on Titan for me.

Spoiler Review:

Right from the get-go Wish starts off exciting, picking up from the promise of action given in the previous episode, Sin.
Here we got to see the Levi Squad go up against Kenny and his goons for the second time, with a lot more dire results.
This is because it looks like Hange may have died this episode at the hands of Kenny’s assistant.
Granted, we do not actually get conformation on her death, she may just be injured (I hope) but this was a very shocking moment nonetheless.
Hange’s apparent death was not the only big moment of this action scene, however, because we got another great face off between Kenny and Levi, and the rest of the Levi Squad finally got their hands dirty.
Watching Jean, Sasha and Connie being forced to take members of the Interior Squad’s lives was a real moment of growth for them.
The best character growth, however, came from Eren, Historia and Kenny, as I mentioned.
First there is Kenny, who is revealed to have wanted to steal the Reiss family power for himself but realizes he cannot properly wield it.
Angered by this, Kenny decides to even the score by cutting Eren, giving him the opportunity to turn into a Titan.
This revealed Kenny to be a very layered and complex character who could do a lot more in the future.
As for Eren, we got to see his reaction to what his father was revealed to have done last episode and, man, is it heartbreaking.
He breaks down into tears, listing off all the lives that were lost because of his father’s actions and then begs Historia to eat him and save humanity.
This was a very touching and sad moment from him that made me cry, the third time I have done so watching Attack on Titan.
Finally, there was Historia who, inspired by Ymir’s words to her in the second season, finally chose to live for herself and refused to eat Eren and went on to free him.
This was such a powerful scene that made me cheer as Historia showed her true strength.
She is definitely becoming one of my favourite characters of the series.
The music chosen to accompany this scene was, as I stated, absolutely incredible and really drew me into the emotional scene.
This all led up to the massive cliffhanger, when Rod licked up the Titan serum from the broken injection that Historia had smashed, causing him to transform into a humongous Titan.
Along with being epic, this cliffhanger also leaves me with a number of questions as to how Rod, now supposedly just an ordinary Titan, could be so huge.
This episode also delivered some nice reveals, with the revelations that the walls were built by this “Founding Titan” that most likely made the Titans stand where the walls were and encase themselves in hardened skin.
There was also the reveal that this Founding Titan is the one with the ability to remove and alter memories.
But, the reveal I found to be the most interesting was that Rod and the members of the church view the one with this power as God.
This means that all the times we heard Pastor Nick and the other Wallist priests talk about God they were not referring to some big guy in the sky, rather they were referring to the one with the Founding Titan power.
This particular revelation shows what I love about Attack on Titan.
If you re-watch episodes after new ones, things you saw in them can take on a completely different meaning because they were hinting at something you did not even know was going to be a future revelation.
Wish was an absolutely incredible episode that has me excited for the rest of the Uprising Arc and the season.

Predictions:

Rod says in this episode, “I must not become a Titan myself.” I wonder if this has to do with why his Titan form is so huge. Maybe this will be revealed in the next episode.
It is revealed that Rod’s brother Uri, was the holder of the Titan power before Freida. It is also revealed that Kenny knew him and takes offense to Rod insulting him, suggesting the two were close. What exactly was Kenny and Uri’s relationship and how does this tie into the story? Hopefully this will be revealed later.
In the preview, the narrator says Eren will have to make a decision in order to save his friends from a cave in, mostly likely caused by Rod’s transformation. What could this decision be?
When Historia frees Eren she tells him that she now hates humanity and is probably its biggest enemy. What did this mean? Is Historia going to turn into a villain? I hope not because what we have seen of her in season three has definitely put her in my top ten favourite characters.

Warning: Major spoilers for the anime.

10. Eren vs the Armoured Titan – Season two, episode seven, Close Combat.

After the shocking reveal of Reiner and Bertholdt being Titans (more on that later) Eren faced off against Reiner, The Armoured Titan, in an epic showdown that is probably the best fight in the series.
The thing that makes this fight so good is how much thinking goes into it.
For example, when Eren fought the Female Titan there was not a big focus on the tactics of the fighting, just Eren being motivated by the deaths of his squad mates.
Here, however, Eren plans out his attack process and we get to see how this leads to him defeating the Armoured Titan… before Bertholdt jumps in of course.
Another thing that makes this fight so great is how Eren expresses his feelings about the Armoured Titan being Reiner, someone he thought of as an older brother.
This fight showed us Eren’s feelings of anger and betrayal, which go nicely with the fight itself.
The combined elements of fighting tactics and Eren’s inner thoughts turn this fight into the best of the series.

9. First appearance of the Beast Titan – Season two, episode one, Beast Titan.

Probably my biggest question after watching season two was, “who is the Beast Titan?”
Unfortunately, us anime watchers do not have an answer yet but, based on this Titan’s introduction, he looks to be a very important character and a formidable foe for the main cast.
His introduction is the best the series has given us so far as it opens up many interesting questions about the series.
What is probably most interesting about him though is that he can speak without difficulty and can also control Titan’s, although to a lesser extent than Eren I think.
We also got to see how cruel whoever is controlling the Beast Titan is because of the subsequent death of Miche Zacharius, the most gruesome death in Attack on Titan so far.
The Beast Titan just allowed the other Titans to rip him apart while he screamed for mercy and his only reaction to this was an acknowledgement that Miche could talk.
The first time I saw this scene it left me sick to my stomach.
Both gruesome and intriguing, the introduction of the Beast Titan is the best introduction of Attack on Titan.

8. Historia and Ymir’s promise – Season two, episode five, Historia.

One of the things I liked the most about season two of Attack on Titan was how it took forgettable characters from the first season and turned them into some of the best in the series.
Case and point Ymir and Historia.
I will talk about Ymir later but Historia had a great moment of character development in the fifth episode of the second season, where everything we knew about her was turned on its head.
In this flashback it is revealed that not only is her name not Christa but her entire personality has been an act.
Every time she risked her life for someone it was so she could die and be remembered as a hero.
Remember when she went to save Armin, Jean and Reiner in the Female Titan episode?
She went to help them because she wanted to die.
In the first season I saw Historia, or Christa as she was called then, as nothing more than a one note character who was just cannon fodder for the Titans.
This flashback to her and Ymir’s promise changed my entire perception of her and made her much more interesting, which, I am happy to say, it looks like they will be expanding upon in season three.
On top of this the animation in this scene is stellar and some of the best the series has given us.
This moment changed my entire perception of Historia, turning her from someone I did not care for into one of the most interesting characters.

7. Jean decides to join the Scouts – Season one, episode sixteen, What Needs to be Done Now: Eve of the Counterattack, Part 3.

I loved Jean in season one.
His character arc in that season was my favourite out of everyone’s.
He went from a coward who only wanted to join the Military Police so he could live safely in the interior, to the guy who joined the Survey Corps because it was the right thing to do.
His defining moment of the season though came in the 16th episode when he actually decided to join the Scouts.
After learning of his friend Marco’s death in the 13th episode, Jean was at a crossroads being unsure of what to do.
However, at the cremation of all the soldiers who lost their lives during the Titan invasion, Jean remembered Marco telling him he is a good leader because he knows what needs to be done.
This inspired Jean and in a heartfelt moment he declared to the other cadets that he intended to join the scouts before bursting into tears.
This is a very powerful moment for his character because we can see he is scared through how he had to grasp his shaking hand and repeat himself a few times before he could bring himself to tell the others his decision.
This moment showed that, despite his fear, Jean was willing to risk his life to do the right thing.
Jean was my favourite character of the first season and this scene really highlights why.

6. Advance!!! – Season two, episode 11, Charge.

I can distinctly remember screaming in horror when a Titan came out of nowhere and dragged Commander Erwin Smith away by the arm.
However, this screaming soon turned to cheering with one word: “ADVANCE!!!”
With a single word Erwin Smith became one of my favourite characters because he showed he was willing to sacrifice everything in order to save humanity.
I could not believe that he was putting the mission ahead of his own life like that but I thought it was an incredible way for him to die… only for him to survive.
Because a few minutes later Erwin was back fighting, with only one arm.
The he saved Eren’s life, once again, with only one arm.
If there is any moment of Attack on Titan that highlights Erwin’s character it is this one. It is one of the most awesome character moments of the entire series.

5. Eren’s reaction to Hannes’ death, Mikasa’s confession and the Coordinate reveal – Season two, episode twelve, Scream.

This scene marks a pretty huge achievement in my eyes.
I hated Eren in the first season of the show and yet this moment actually made me cry for him.
Watching Eren break down into a hysterical fit of tears and laughter, after the death of Hannes, was heartbreaking to watch and it only got better from here.
This is because, after Eren’s breakdown, Mikasa chose to confess her feelings for him.
I have never really been a fan of the idea of Eren and Mikasa getting together because Eren often acts like a jerk towards her and Mikasa seems to be obsessed with Eren rather than in love with him.
Just like the Historia scene though, this moment changed my perception of their relationship as this was a beautiful moment portrayed with great voice acting from both Yuki Kaiji and Yui Ishikawa.
If we get more scenes like this between the two of them in season three I might actually get on board with their relationship, although if they act like it never happened I will not.
Finally there is Eren’s Coordinate abilities being revealed right after Mikasa’s confession, which brings new hope to the series and combines with everything else to make this all a truly memorable moment.

4. Deaths of the Levi Squad – Season one, episode 21, Crushing Blow.

This was the first time I actually shouted at my TV screen when watching Attack on Titan.
Prior to this I had felt sad about some of the deaths in the show but none had made me feel like I had been punched in the gut afterwards.
The deaths of the Levi Squad, consisting of Oruo, Petra, Eld and Gunther, changed that with three of them dying in the span of two minutes.
First there is Gunther, killed during the ending moments of episode 20 by Annie in human form.
In the very next episode the remaining Levi Squad tried to kill the Female Titan only for her to kill Eld, Petra and Oruo in quick succession thus putting an end to the Levi Squad.
This moment had me screaming at the screen for the characters to get out of there as they were quickly killed one by one and left me feeling emotionally drained.
Their deaths were not quickly forgotten either, with the very next episode dealing with the effects their deaths would have as we got to see all of their families wait for their arrival, some with a feeling of dread and others with no idea their loved ones had been killed.
The deaths of the Levi Squad are the most gut wrenching of the series so far, but this is Attack on Titan so sadly I think we will get more of these kinds of deaths in season three.

3. Eren transforms into a Titan to fight Annie – Season one, episode 24, Mercy.

Attack on Titan has a lot of transformations but this is one of my favourites.
Everything in this scene just combines to make a truly epic moment.
In this scene, Eren was struggling to accept Annie’s identity as the Female Titan and this lead to him being crushed and impaled by rubble as Annie desperately tried to capture him.
However, remembering the deaths of his mother and the Levi Squad and Mikasa’s words to him about “a cruel world”, Eren was able to accept what needed to be done and impaled himself further on the rubble to begin his transformation.
This emotional moment lead into the epic transformation where the music exploded into a grand crescendo with the OST Attack on Titan.
The use of this OST really sold the scene and the visuals work all the better because it did not actually show the transformation, just the lightening generated by it, along with how the characters reacted to the transformation.
All of this built up and up until Eren rushed at Annie in his Titan form and punched her through a church.
This scene is the very definition of epic and never fails to get me excited every time I watch it.

2. Ymir’s backstory flashback – Season two, episode ten, Children.

I mentioned earlier, that season two did a fantastic job of turning forgettable characters into some of my favourites and a prime example of this is Ymir.
In season one she was not even a character but a trope of the typical mean girl who insults everyone.
So I was absolutely blown away with her character development in the second season and I think there could be a reasonable argument that this second second is her story.
The scene that really established her as one of my favourite characters was the flashback that revealed her backstory in episode ten, Children.
This is the greatest flashback I have ever seen.
Not only does it tell you almost everything you need to know about Ymir but it also gives major hints as to what is really going on.
I think I have actually figured out some of the things that are going to be revealed in the future of the show because of the hints given here.
I see more hints in this flashback every time I watch it.
Best of all though is what this flashback does for Ymir.
The moment when Ymir turns back into a human and realizes that she is now free to live the life she wants is the most powerful moment of the entire series and was the first time I cried during Attack on Titan.
This is helped once again by the fantastic music, with the OST Call of Silence, which is not just an amazing song but the lyrics also say a lot about Ymir as well.
This flashback made Ymir one of my favourite characters.
I am so glad it was added as this stage in the anime as I have been told this flashback comes much later in the manga.

1. Bertholdt and Reiner are revealed as the Colossal and Armoured Titans – Season two, episode six, Warrior.

If number two was my favourite flashback of all time then number one is one of my favourite, if not my absolute favourite, twist of all time.
The reveal that Reiner had been the Armoured Titan and Bertholdt was the Colossal Titan the entire time was not only shocking but incredibly handled as well.
The way it is revealed has to be the most nonchalant twist reveal of all time.
Out of the blue Reiner just confesses to Eren that they are the Titans who started all this like it is no big deal.
I had to watch this scene a second time to make sure I had not misread the subtitles.
It completely subverts expectations but in the best of ways.
The moments following this confession are also stellar as in a flashback the show pieces together all the hints of Reiner and Bertholdt being Titans from prior episodes.
What follows is the best transformation of the entire series as one of the flags atop the wall is blown away, prompting the two’s transformation.
Did I mention that Attack on Titan had some incredible OSTs?
Well, I will say it again because the OST they chose for this transformation, YouSeeBIGGIRL/T:T, is absolutely perfect for the moment.
This is not only because it is a great song but also because it is a different version of the song played when Eren’s mother was killed in the very first episode and, given that Reiner and Bertholdt are responsible for her death, this makes the placement of this OST here absolutely brilliant.
The reveal also left an amazing cliffhanger for the audience as to what would happen in episode seven.
I consider this to be the best moment in all of Attack on Titan because of how brilliantly the twist is revealed, the insane things that happen following the reveal, and the genius use of music.
The Reiner and Bertholdt twist really highlights why I love Attack on Titan.

Tag: Hajime Isayama

Attack on Titan: Season three, episode seven, Wish- Spoiler free and spoiler review: Three brilliant character arcs.