S01.E25: Wall: Raid on Stohess District, Part 3

[PrincessEnnui]

The Female Titan Vs. The Rogue Titan. *ding ding*

 

That's some nice blame there. Eren practically stops himself from eating Annie and at any moment any other character could have grabbed Annie and didn't. All of them suck for that. But there are mother flippin' titans in the wall y'all. The wall! How! And we still don't know what's in Grisha's damn basement!?

 

Titan isn't the only thing ending. The last episode of Bleach is on next. I suspect it will be most unsatisfying though, due to its sudden nature.

Edited November 2, 2014 by PrincessEnnui

[ZoqFotPik]

Hope everybody stayed until after the credits!

 

Eren practically stops himself from eating Annie and at any moment any other character could have grabbed Annie and didn't. All of them suck for that.

Considering that Eren was going berserk, I can't blame them for not wanting to get too close. That said it was a dick move of Armin to ask about it.

 

But there are mother flippin' titans in the wall y'all. The wall! How! And we still don't know what's in Grisha's damn basement!?

And who the Armored and Colossal titans are (I have theories about this). There's still a ton of unanswered questions. Good thing there will be a season 2.

 

Nile confronting Erwin about his acting unilaterally and causing hundreds of deaths was a great scene. It's nice to see that some MPs aren't total dick bags. Again it was also funny to see nameless MPs struggling to put on their 3DMGs quickly only to get crushed by Annie. I hope the guy that beat up Marlo was in that group. So if the Scouts are going to be responsible for guarding Annie, flushing out the, at least, two other titans within the walls and by that I mean the Armored and Colossal not the actual Wall Titan, and retake Wall Maria, they're going to need a lot more people. It would almost seem like they should form a fourth branch or break off part of the Garrison/MP for the internal aspects. Of course "The Main Characters do Everything"  Warning Tvtropes link. Well I hope everyone enjoyed the season!

Edited November 2, 2014 by ZoqFotPik

[Eri]

Aside from some ad-libbing and the ridiculous dinosaur-type noises they made from the fight scenes, I enjoyed it. The anime did well on intensifying the climax which was a lot milder in the manga. The MPs are a useless group of lackeys who benefit from a corrupt system within the inner walls. If they can support a government that did not mind voluntarily sending 20% of the human population (not trained soldiers, but refugees) to their deaths shortly after Wall Maria collapsed, then seeing a Titan up-close should have been a wake-up call. I see Erwin doing what he can for a greater good despite the massive casualties, and his regime willingly fight or die trying for the cause so I support his reasoning for trying to save humanity because no one else is actively trying to.

 

Annie being devoured would have solved nothing except have them return to square one in terms of finding out the motives of the Titan-shifters. It's a double-edged sword as Annie was clearly trained to be a child soldier on orders of her father with a mission that she knew would result in many deaths. One thing is certain, she must originate from outside the Walls but how did she develop the ability to transform? Is there a village of Titan-shifters? Is it hereditary? Or are they just a result of some genetically modified experiment? The number of theories are endless.

 

 

The wall! How! And we still don't know what's in Grisha's damn basement!?

Unfortunately, that is no answer for that because it's still an on-going debate. I fear the author may go a "Bleach" route and capitalize on spanning. the series for as long as he can to keep readers/viewers wondering.

[Mr. Simpatico]

Unfortunately, that is no answer for that because it's still an on-going debate. I fear the author may go a "Bleach" route and capitalize on spanning. the series for as long as he can to keep readers/viewers wondering.

I think Isayama (the writer) is a much better plotter than Tite Kubo (and I'm one of the few who still really like Bleach). I didn't get into the manga until I watched the subbed version on Netflix but so far AoT is pretty well plotted. No asspulls and there is a lot of foreshadowing and he says he's going to finish in three years (which considering the series is a monthly rather than weekly is not that bad). Whether that continues to be true.....

 

On one hand I'm glad that they didn't go the Bleach route and continue the series with filler (which killed that show) until it caught up with the manga and didn't go the original FMA route and create their own off-shoot storylines/ending when they went further than the original material (though in retrospect with FMA: Brotherhood which was the original manga ending, the two FMAs are an interesting experiment in storytelling with the same characters), BUT given they are just talking about producing season 2 of AoT in Japan now it may be 2016 if Toonami brings it to the US (and a lot of that depends on how the rating were this go around). So a lot of viewers who don't read the manga (and won't) are just going to be left hanging. 

 

I mean it's a pretty unsatisfying ending as it stands. Anne turns to crystal and reveals nothing and there's Titans in the walls, yo.

 

Annie has always been one of the more interesting characters to me because unlike some "villains" she never shows her hand. No James Bond speeches, no gloating or tragic soliloquys. A lot of her personality both as a human and Titan are shown through visual cues (which the anime did her no favors with - with the crazed laughing at her reveal instead of a single curt smile and mostly cutting her look of horror from the manga-in Titan form- when accidentally killing those civilians in the Wall Church, which is a big deal considering she was fairly cold-blooded and cruel in killing soldiers). Small things like the fact that it was Titan Annie and not Eren who avoided the civilian population in the Stohess fight and her fear and desperation as she's climbing the walls are the reasons many view her as anti-villain and not just a villain (that and the child soldier thing - she did enter the walls as a child back when Eren's hometown fell). The flashback to her father is the only mental clue we ever get into her thoughts and

she's still crystal as of now in the manga

even though she got a visual novel dealing with her short time in the military police it didn't tell us anything new about her motivations (and I'm not even sure its supposed to be canon).

 

Then there's the Titans in the walls which is a blink and you miss it afterscene in the credits but becomes the next great plot point/mystery in the story (and will presumably play that role in Season 2 whenever we get it).

 

Very frustrating. On the plus side, I thought the English dub was very good, and I rank it next to the Japanese version in terms of which I'd rather watch. 

Edited November 3, 2014 by Mr. Simpatico

[lathspel]

Watching the anime only, I totally missed that Annie was trying to avoid civilian casualties. So either she has strong feelings for the civilians, possibly identifying with them in some way, or she has some antipathy for the military.

In a sense it was good that she played her cards so close to her chest - it gives us a lot to speculate about in the interim. I wouldn't mind having some good filler in this universe, but not if it might step on the plans of the author.

So what was up with the Titans merging, anyway? Was that the part where Eren "couldn't help it? Or was he just referring to his momentary hesitation when he saw her crying?

[Mr. Simpatico]

Watching the anime only, I totally missed that Annie was trying to avoid civilian casualties. So either she has strong feelings for the civilians, possibly identifying with them in some way, or she has some antipathy for the military.

In a sense it was good that she played her cards so close to her chest - it gives us a lot to speculate about in the interim. I wouldn't mind having some good filler in this universe, but not if it might step on the plans of the author.

 

I've seen some speculation from fandom that as a soldier (and literally raised to be one) Annie has no problem taking out other soldiers in a war but not civilians. And even there Annie never killed any member of her fellow trainees even when she got the chance - she even avoided Mkasa. 

 

There have been 3 OVA (I think a half hour each) made to bridge the gap so before a 2nd season (all are sorta prequels - one deals with the Scouting Regiment which foreshadows future plot and two are basically filler comic shenanigans during the training period of the 104th trainee squad) and they just completed "A Choice with No Regrets" which is a 2-part prequel about how Levi joined the Scouts. None of them step on the ongoing plot but whether they ever make it to Toonami as stand alones I don't know - possibly as extra episodes if we ever see Season 2 stateside?

[Eri]

I've seen some speculation from fandom that as a soldier (and literally raised to be one) Annie has no problem taking out other soldiers in a war but not civilians. And even there Annie never killed any member of her fellow trainees even when she got the chance - she even avoided Mikasa. 

Hmm, I always strongly suspected she had a part in Marco's death as she wasn't seen that much during the Trost arc and she, Connie and Jean were the last to see Marco disappear. Her reaction to Mina's death, although not her fault,  in the aftermath was also telling, but I'd have liked to know what actually happened to him.

Edited November 4, 2014 by Eri

[Sandman87]

As soon as they showed the congregation inside that round church I knew they were doomed.

 

I'm going to guess that the "Titan in the wall" was more of a stylistic or symbolic thing than a literal thing.

 

Annie was trying to avoid civilian casualties, which suggests that whoever she's working with has a goal other than killing everyone. I suspect a coup attempt. And after what we've seen of the government and the guy at the top, I'm not entirely sure that would be a bad thing.

 

Speaking of the guy at the top (king/dictator/president-for-life/whatever): He sits there on his fat butt gulping down food that he doesn't need. Sounds kinda like the Titans, don't it? Allegorical!

[ZoqFotPik]

 

I'm going to guess that the "Titan in the wall" was more of a stylistic or symbolic thing than a literal thing.

No, I'm pretty sure that was an actual Titan in the wall.

 

 

Annie was trying to avoid civilian casualties, which suggests that whoever she's working with has a goal other than killing everyone. I suspect a coup attempt. 

Or she's simply not a total monster. As others have pointed out, she may view soldiers as legitimate targets and think "I only did to them what they were trying to do to me." She may have reservations about deliberately killing civilians. As for her, the Colossal, and Armored Titans goals, I think they were trying to do exactly what Pixis stated in episode 11, cause an even greater purge and/or trigger a civil war. 

 

 

And after what we've seen of the government and the guy at the top, I'm not entirely sure that would be a bad thing.

We've never seen the guy at the top. I think the highest we've seen is Zackly Commander in Chief of the military.

[TigerLily20]

I think Isayama (the writer) is a much better plotter than Tite Kubo (and I'm one of the few who still really like Bleach). I didn't get into the manga until I watched the subbed version on Netflix but so far AoT is pretty well plotted. No asspulls and there is a lot of foreshadowing and he says he's going to finish in three years (which considering the series is a monthly rather than weekly is not that bad). Whether that continues to be true.....

Quick question, do you mean three years from now or start to finish three years?  because if the last one is true he has already blown past that time line lol.  I watched the subbed version on netflix this past summer (not a fan of dubs) and have been reading the manga but have been a little frustrated at things left unanswered, it's not as bad as bleach but I feel it may be getting there.

[Mr. Simpatico]

Quick question, do you mean three years from now or start to finish three years?  because if the last one is true he has already blown past that time line lol.  I watched the subbed version on netflix this past summer (not a fan of dubs) and have been reading the manga but have been a little frustrated at things left unanswered, it's not as bad as bleach but I feel it may be getting there.

There was a quote from his editor this year that said they planned to wrap it up in 3 years (4 tops). That's not as long as it seems when it's a monthly rather than weekly series. And in terms of the anime it might even be a blessing since it gives the show more time to plan ahead (which it seemed like they didn't do and they ran out of material and so have to wait for a 2nd season to catch up at the height of the show's popularity).