Clash of the Titans
Attacking my expectations… Again
Wow. Holy shit. I don’t know how to properly start with this review, because this is by far the hardest arc to articulate my thoughts on so far. But stating that I am absolutely awe-struck by this series is a good place to start. This series is turning out to be not just everything I wanted it to be, but it’s better than that. And the Clash of the Titans arc may just be the greatest piece of the story yet. Exciting, unpredictable, and investing. This arc may be the most mind-blowing story in a story that keeps blowing my mind.
The plot thickens, and thickens, and th-
This arc opens with Titans being discovered IN THE WALLS. No explanation yet, only that the Church is involved, what a god damn opening. My mind was already blown, but that may not even be a Top 5 craziest things that happened this arc. We also NEED to talk about The Giant Monkey Titan TM. This guy is introduced as being able to speak and completely control other Titans, completely destroying any expectations I had about what Titans were like or how they worked. We see him do other shit in this arc and he probably has something to do with the titans appearing without a hole. Who is he, what does he want, is he the enemy? Oh yeah, this arc was the Titan reveal fest, where we got 3 whole Titan reveals, and a number of facts about Titans revealed.
Alright I was never gonna make it far in the review without mentioning this scene.
This scene was so damn good. I don’t remember the last time I got so hyped at a scene. I actually had to get out of my chair for a bit it was so hype. So how did it elicit such a reaction? Simply put, the execution was perfect. It starts out incredibly subtle, with it being mentioned when the characters aren’t even the focus of the scene. I knew I had just heard it, but I couldn’t believe it. Then they shift more into focus, and it starts sinking in. Part of the genius of this scene is how they completely placed the viewer into Eren’s shoes. The disbelief I felt watching was completely mimicked by Eren, and when it finally got serious, and we could no longer deny the truth as shit got real, God that made the eventual clash all the more hype.
My only complaint is Bertolt being the Colossal Titan was kind of underwhelming. I get the idea, the biggest threats can be the people we least expect/ seem the most innocent, but I just felt underwhelmed. I think if we got to know Bertolt better rather than that guy who just followed Reiner this would’ve been better, but at the very least I understand the intention, and the actual hints and foreshadowing were incredibly well placed (seriously, going back to the hints Isayama placed was mind-blowing).
The other big twist for the Titans was Ymir being a Titan. I’ll talk more about Ymir’s character in the next section, but I appreciate this twist. This was certainly the least predictable twist but I think it worked really well as a WTF moment, and it really left me awe-struck when it happened, so I’d call this yet another win.
These of course weren’t the only twist in this arc, but the rest leave more questions than answers. How did the Titans get in the wall without a hole? What the hell is the Beast Titan? What is the Titans homeland? What is Eren’s new ability? All questions I’m sure we’ll get answers to, but the way this series can answer a ton of questions, and still leave so many more is one of my favorite things about it. Even only a third into it, this is already one of the best plotted stories I’ve read in a very long time, and I can’t wait to see what is to come.
Time for some Side (Characters)
The previous arcs in the series really only focused on a couple characters, the main trio, Levi’s squad, and a couple characters. The only other character from the 104th Corps we got to focus on aside from the trio was Annie due to her role as an antagonist. Other than that the rest of the characters were all just supporting and never really had the attention shifted to them.
This arc changed that. This first example of this was Sasha, previously a character designated almost solely to comic relief, was given an episode all to herself. And it was great! Giving this one character focus and their own arc over this short story not only worked for her character, but also expanded some aspects of the world I hadn’t really thought of before. They gave her a genuinely touching, yet exciting arc with the limited time they had, which is just amazing character writing.
Connie also received some screen time. While his plot point mostly revolves around whatever happened to his mother/ village and what that reveals about the plot, he does get some attention from it. Not much, but it still fleshes out his character with the appropriate amount of screen time that he has.
Then there was Ymir and Historia. It took me some time but overall I think I like it. There’s not much to say in the beginning other than, yeah it’s really sweet. The flashback is incredible, atmospherically it’s great, and it recontextualizes Historia’s character in a brilliant way that added way more depth to this character than I thought I needed. Ymir is also great, up to this point she was without question my least favorite of the 104th Corps, but after this I understood her on a far deeper level, and while I still found her to be kind of a dick, I didn’t mind it anymore, because I knew there was more to her. One of Attack on Titan’s most interesting ideas is why we shouldn’t just give up and die in such a cruel world, and this scene is an argument, between Historia who wants to be seen as a hero, but secretly wants to die, and Ymir, who doesn’t care how she is seen, and in it finds her own purpose for living. And of course there is Ymir’s anime only flashback, which further shows us her pain and suffering over the years, and why exactly she values Historia so much. Easily one of my favorite scenes of the arc.
As for how it progressed, I’m not sure how I feel. Ymir was definitely uncomfortably controlling over Historia but it kind of felt like she was ok with that and just wanted to do what Ymir did? And the tone felt kind of weird too like I wasn’t sure if the story wanted me to root for Ymir to get Historia or not. I think I’ll save my judgement until the end but for now, the flashback scene on the hill was so good that I found myself liking it overall.
But there’s one clear star of the arc, Reiner. Bertolt was fine too, but we didn’t see his internal conflict too much aside from a couple of lines. There’s some really great ideas with him and I’m sure I’ll love him when he gets more screen time, but holy shit Reiner was just on a another level. Reiner’s internal conflict is front and center and it is glorious. Going back to THAT scene, it was Reiner’s fucked mental state that allowed that scene to be so good and bat shit confusing. Then the scene on the trees where it starts becoming increasingly obvious he’s insane was sooooo good. Every scene he is in post-reveal is immediately ten times better because he is in it. Even the action scenes, such as the best fight in the series, his MMA fight with Titan Eren, which had no right being as complex and interesting as it was. And the scene where he just started chucking Titans?! Godlike. He’s probably my second or third favorite of the series now, he just left such an impression.
WAIT EVEN BEFORE THAT. MY MAN LET A TITAN BITE HIS ARM, AND CARRIED IT UP TO THE DAMN WINDOW ON HIS BACK. WHAT A CHAMP.
As for the main trio, my opinions have not changed much. Likely because they did not have as much to do this arc since the side characters and antagonists got more focus, but overall, I still think Eren is really fascinating and his degrading morals are incredibly well written, Mikasa is great but could use more to talk about aside from Eren. Armin however looks like he could be going down an Eren-like role. He seems to be convincing himself to throw away his humanity as well, and I’m excited to see what becomes of him.
Oh and while this doesn’t fit anywhere, I’ll say it here, Eren and Mikasa’s last scene with Hannes was phenomal. What a devasting scene as Eren succumbs to his weakness yet again, leading to the untimely death of Hannes. But then there’s the scene of him and Mikasa which is so beautiful, then Eren’s awakening which is so epic. Man the range of emotions I felt during that scene was amazing. And while this might be the straw that breaks Eren’s moral compass, what a treat it was to see.
The final standout of the Season was Erwin Smith. Erwin is such a fascinating character to me. Characters who have dream that they yearn for to relentless degrees have always been some of my favorites, but Erwin combines that with the weight of leadership. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his ambition, but he’s not inhuman, and the sacrifices he has to make weigh on him, even if he doesn’t show it. And he’s just badass too. Man got his arm bitten by a Titan and still chose to show no weakness and lead.
Themes and whatnot
I don’t think this arc has any particular grand message on its own, rather its about building up older themes and establishing new ones for later in the story. If there was one big theme, it’s betrayal, and how people aren’t who they seem. It’s not just the titans, but Historia who lied to the world about who she was, and Reiner takes this double by lying to himself and the world. We see how betrayal, and lying to yourself can break you, and that only by accepting who we are can we be at peace. Ymir makes the hard choice of letting go of Historia, but even at the end is at peace with herself, and Historia is allowed to grow because she embraced who she is. And even Eren learns this, as he learns his role as not the weak boy he thought he was, but a protector who is strong and capable. Resulting in his new Titan Call power, where by devouring the Titan who represents his past trauma, we see him taking the biggest step in overcoming that, and becoming the most capable version of himself.
It also seems to be leaning more into the political aspects. I won’t talk too much about it because apparently that’s what the next arc is about, but the Church is corrupt, the government is lying, and the rich are evil. Nothing too crazy yet but it’s the build up to the topics, I don’t expect them to be. For now they only serve to add greater intrigue to the world, and I am perfectly good with that.
Manga or Anime?
The last two arcs I mentioned how I thought the anime kind of blew the manga out of the water. However here I can’t say I prefer one of the other. The mountain flashback got some material that I liked though it wasn’t really necessary, the flashback added when Hanes talks to Armin and Mikasa was not really necessary either, and the Ymir flashback that was moved earlier was also great to have and ultimately I think I like having it here. However since the manga was arguably better paced, there is an argument for it being better, but the anime does have the usual benefits of voice acting and really good animation, though the 3D Colossal Titan is another argument for the manga. Overall, they’re both great, and is the first arc the manga matches the anime’s quality.
Final Thoughts
Overall, what a fantastic arc. Filled with character depth, action, and so many plot twists, it’s an arc that is never boring. Any complaints I have feel mostly like nitpicks, so I feel no need to speak them again. Personally my favorite arc so far, and I can’t wait for what’s next. Thank you so much for reading, and next time I’ll be reviewing the first half of Season 3, The Uprising.
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