by
WARNING: Contains spoilers. Written from the POV of a manga reader, so anime-only viewers please beware.
We’re finally meeting the grownup 104th! How lovely to see them fighting together once more. Let’s see how the animators handled this storyline:
Lord Tybur Says Goodbye
An anime-only treat, we witness Willy Tybur saying farewell to his family. I thought this was a very thoughtful and well-placed addition: we see the man behind the scenes, we get to know both the public and private personas of the VIP the Attack Titan is about to devour.
Putting his conversation in the carriage with Magat (Chapter 100) in this episode and not in the previous one was a master stroke, to remind us of the high stakes involved with their agreed-upon gamble. Magat’s self-aware, self-condemning line: “Eldians are indeed the descendants of the devil, while we [Marleyans] ourselves are devils.” Early on we see a general who knew both sides were doing evil deeds but still kept moving forward despite the fact.
I love the little details in the anime: the luxurious carriage interior, including the damask-patterned wall covering, the rich leather seats, the lights filtering through the window. Great cinematography as expected from MAPPA.
Zofia and Udo are Killed
Seeing this part of Chapter 101 animated was utterly heartbreaking. The panic feels palpable as we watch in horror Udo being trampled to death by the panicking crowds. Poor Colt, devastated by his inability to protect the warrior candidates and at the same time worried sick for his missing younger brother Falco.
We’ve seen this type of carnage before in Shiganshina, when RBA broke through the wall. Civilians dying, children dying, property destroyed. It happened in Paradis and turned the young boy Eren into a vengeful man. Now it’s payback time, a similar surprise attack is inflicted on Marley and Gabi will fashion herself into Eren 2.0.
—— AD - CONTINUE READING BELOW ——
The wheels of revenge and retribution have turned. Seeing it all unfold in anime makes the suffering feel very real and all the more tragic.
Attack Titan vs Warhammer Titan
This has got to be one of the best fight scenes in AoT. I absolutely loved the way the Warhammer transformation was animated. It was like seeing a magical tree growing rapidly from the ground up.
The Attack Titan fights valiantly, but he’s impaled high up in the sky.
When the Warhammer brings him back down in order to kill him, Eren is in tatters. He comes out of his titan, but instead of giving her his last dying words, he tells Mikasa it’s time for her to attack.
—— AD - CONTINUE READING BELOW ——
Badass 104th
They’re finally here! Badass Mikasa does what she does best, and showers the Warhammer with thunder spears. That scene of her flying upside down is simply gorgeous.
Mikasa finally gets to talk to Eren after his disappearance. I like her VA’s tone of voice here: she sounds relieved to see him and yet pissed at the same time, like a disappointed big sister reprimanding her rebellious brother.
Here’s a solo screencap of my favourite AoT character of all time:
Isn’t he adorable? Though it still feels a bit strange because I’m used to the manga versions of the grownup 104th. The character designs for the anime are a bit more roundish, for lack of a more descriptive word. Anime Jean doesn’t seem to have a long, lean face anymore, which is a bit jarring for me since those are some of his facial features that I love. But what I’m very happy about is that they didn’t remove his manga dialogue. I’ll take whatever face he is given as long as they let him speak up like in the manga.
—— AD - CONTINUE READING BELOW ——
Expert markswoman and elite sniper Sasha shoots the guards down below, infuriating Gabi. I love that anime-only scene of her snarling in anger. There are other nice small additions like this, for example: the drunk man we saw in the carnival episode being killed by falling debris, as well as one of the soldiers in Magat’s brigade watching with trembling lips as the two titans battle it out.
Eren figures out where the Warhammer holder was hiding. Louise, Connie, Jean, Sasha and the rest of the group watch with anticipation as the Attack Titan rips her out of the ground.
Meanwhile, Inside the Well
Pieck and Porco are shown being rescued by the Panzer squad. Don’t you just love this flashback scene of the titan shifter and the blushing soldier? It’s peak Pieck!
Hello Healthy Captain
Everyone waits with baited breath as Eren prepares to devour the Warhammer Titan. But the Jaw Titan won’t have it, and is ready to take back the Founder. This part was so well animated. Witnessing Porco’s thoughts as he stares in shock at the island devils in human form taking him on reminded me once more of the pleasures of the anime medium.
It’s just wonderful to see our beloved heichou uninjured and in his finest form here in the anime. The manga Levi right now is too painful to look at, as if he wants to die but he’s still being dragged—alive—through hell and back again. At least we get this anime version of him looking healthy and badass.
—— AD - CONTINUE READING BELOW ——
The episode ends here, at the first half of Chapter 102.
I very much enjoyed the animation of the battle scenes, as well as the Scouts in action. Smooth movements, great angles. Camera work and lighting were top notch as usual. The anime-only scenes were thoughtfully made. I still need to get used to the character design, but overall another very well executed episode. Two thumbs up!
Thank you so much for reading! What did you think of this anime episode? Please take a moment to share a thought or two in the comment section below. xoxo – hana
Next – Season 4 Episode 7
Back – Season 4 Episode 5
Leaving a comment is the best way to help this blog grow. If you’d much rather tip than comment, please use the jar below. Any kind of support is very much appreciated!
shorter review than usual whats really going on bitch tell me im ur friend or did u forget
Thanks, Krissy! Yeah, this one’s less than half of the other reviews I’ve written so far. Though nothing else significant has happened after the office tragedy I told you about. Guess it’s just January blues, coupled with the usual laziness and lack of motivation xD
love ur travel themed visuals miss getting to travel wherever whenever whens this fucken virus gonna die ugh
Thank you! Yeah, me, too, I miss traveling so much. Since the 104th & Co sailed all the way to Marley (which, admittedly, isn’t that far away), I thought I’d make the visuals travel-themed. Was really fun making them, especially because of the current travel restrictions. We’ll just have to travel in our minds!
anime jean doesnt look like manga jean at all very disappointing mikasa sasha eren also look prettier in the manga dunno why mappa gave the lot pug faces
Ah, ‘pug face’ sounds like an accurate description. I love Porco’s face in the anime, I think he’s the best drawn so far, along with Reiner. As for the others, I suppose it’ll take some time to get used to them. Like you, anime Jean is not what I had in mind. I’ve been hoping for something more along the lines of Pixiv’s yui or Liberte, fans who draw grownup Jean so perfectly. Oh well!
oh, regarding gabi, eren created another little eren without even realizing it.
i liked the detail of sasha reflected in gabi’s eyes, that was a big red flag for the anime only like get ready because there will be no more sasha! *breaks down in tears because she misses sasha too much*
OMG I hadn’t noticed! Thanks for pointing it out. Gabi’s face is always so expressive. I love the little details they add to the anime!
I miss Sasha, too. She’ll always have a place in my food-loving heart<3
omg i thought you weren’t going to post any more reviews about the anime so it was a surprise to see this post! i have the same feelings as you regarding the design of the characters within the anime. to be honest, if i hadn’t read the manga i’m sure i would be yelling at mappa jean to fuck me against the wall, but if i had the chance i would yell it at him anyway, but not with the same effusiveness as the jean from the manga xD
well putting the horny shit aside (sorry xD), it was really heartwarming to see the 104 members again. i was shocked by this new deep voice from sasha, but i liked it so much! connie really had a glow up and it was so cute to see how now he’s taller than sasha <3
now, talking about the ackermans, i think even Isayama could hear the two screams that i gave when i saw mikasa and levi appear in action respectively. i always had this fascination for the two of them and seeing them again after more than a year without an anime season was really exciting! i love seeing this healthy, strong and athletic levi because the levi from the manga right now is hanging by a thread and it’s just depressing to me </3
on the other hand, the scene of willy saying goodbye to his family really broke my heart and left me devastated. those poor children asking his father incessantly to take them with him, but for obvious reasons he couldn’t do it. willy telling his older daughter to take care of her little siblings and finally that goodbye kiss with his beloved wife, just heartbreaking.
and finally! the fight between eren and the warhammer titan, my favorite fight scene in the whole series, definitely!
i really have no complaints with the latest adaptations and it annoys me so much that some people are attacking the poor staff members on social media when they are simply doing the best they can. i hate how the SNK fandom was filled with damn incels!!!! *pulls hair*
I totally get what you mean! Timeskip manga Jean is super hot, while S4 anime Jean is more of the cutie patootie kind. Eren, too, feels hotter in the manga than in this new anime. Just my personal opinion, of course. I don’t know how long it will take for me to get used to the new character designs. Honestly speaking, I wish the animators stuck as close as possible to the manga versions.
But really, the important thing is that they don’t mess up the narrative by removing too much dialogue. As long as they stick close to the original story then I’m willing to give them leeway with the character design.
Don’t apologise for being horny, at least not on this blog! I mean you’ve read all my smut fanfics, so you know how horny we are here 😉 “A blog for horny people by a horny writer” xD
Anyway, anime aside, how have you been, Myri? Have you been studying for your upcoming exams? Are you still on summer vacation?
The winter weather’s been great here in Tokyo. No snow yet, but it hardly snows here in the first place. COVID-19 cases are on the rise, and the only ‘good’ thing about that is I get to work a few days from home after a couple of days in the office. Always nicer not to have to commute!
There’ve been lots of new official AoT merch thanks to the anime, but I haven’t been out shopping. I should go buy a towel or something xD Maybe next month! I don’t know why but January makes me feel so lazy. At the start I’m like all excited about the earth revolving around the sun once again, thinking it means new beginnings. And then I wake up and notice nothing has changed. What a letdown, ahaha!
Anyway, I’m currently trying to write a story about Sasha x Nicolo, but it’s centered on food and writing about it makes me hungry. So I write a paragraph, then I go find something to eat, but then something else comes up and the writing’s abandoned. At the rate I’m going, I’ll never be able to finish the story in time for the anime sashanico episode! 🙁
hi hana! since the last days of december i have been on a roller coaster of emotions, two days before christmas a neighbor’s dog attacked one of my kittens, the dog injured her little paw with a very deep wound and until a week ago we both had constant trips to the vet. it hurt to see her so uncomfortable and sore with that elizabethan collar but luckily now she’s better, without that damn collar and now she can play freely with her little brother! 😀 i see my kittens as my children, my babies, so it hurts to see them when they are having a hard time.
now the COVID-19 situation has gotten a little worse, we have 8000 cases or more daily! anyway, that will not prevent the return to classes. when i returned to my hometown i thought i was going to be here until august (because the first semester was going to be with virtual classes), but no! the governor of Córdoba and the dean of my university decreed the return to classes (for now xD)
regarding my exams, well… i haven’t touched a single book yet, i always find something to do at home xD the weather here is humid and hot now that doesn’t really make me go into that study mode, but i’ll have i have to force myself to do it otherwise i’ll be crying while i do my exams hahaha
oh!!! i am eager to read that niccosasha, i will look forward to it! and i understand you completely! i have like three one shots in my drafts because i always find something else to do and stop writing xD
and how have you been?
Aww, poor little kitty! Good to hear she’s healing well. Did you name her after an AoT character? 🙂
When I was a student I was also the cramming type, so I can’t reprimand you about your study habits xD I totally understand about the weather, though. When it’s too cold/hot/humid I never felt like studying either.
Do you prefer virtual classes to real-world classroom ones? I’m tired of online meetings but they’re still much better for me than sitting in a room wondering who amongst my colleagues has been infected by the virus but is asymptomatic xD I’ll have to go to the office next week for a couple of days, though, because I need to print stuff etc, things that can only get done with the right machines.
Last night I decided to edit the first two chapters of the nicosasha story I’ve written so far, but fell asleep in the middle. Imagine that, a story so boring the writer herself dozed off while editing, ahaha! Dunno if this story will ever see the light of day xD
my brother was ahead of me with the names and named the kittens after boxers xD but if i had the opportunity, be sure they were going to be named after some SNK character 🙂 one of them is gray and white so i would named her rico or nanaba and her brother is black so maybe levi or eren but he is so soft and cuddly so i’m not sure hehe xD
regarding virtual classes, to be honest i am sure that i will miss getting up 20/15 minutes before class starts and having breakfast while i take notes and all that still in my pajamas!!! xD but i also miss going to class. i miss walking on the way to my university listening to music, having a 25-pesos coffee in the canteen with my friends for breakfast, mid-morning snacks in the garden and more hahaha. yup just remembering it makes me feel nostalgic xD (fun fact: last year i only had one face-to-face class, a couple of days later the president decreed the quarantine)
and about the sashanicco, please don’t be that hard on yourself!!! i’m sure that this fanfic will end up being as cool and hot as all the ones you wrote!! keep going!!🥺❣️
Boxers! xD I used to date this guy who was into boxing and MMA, and through him I got to know some of the fighters. There was this hottie I had a crush on named Gilberto Ramírez, a Mexican boxer. He’s tall and handsome like Jean 😀 If I had a face as attractive as his I wouldn’t want anyone to be punching it, however xD
What’re you talking about? Levi’s cuddly! xD Ahaha! I think the cuddliest Levi was the one in the OVA. I wanted to hug him so hard, and tell him everything’s gonna be alright, and that I’d protect him for life! xD He was so cute back then. Now that he’s injured I want to take him to a good hospital with a superstar orthopedic surgeon or something 🙂
As for Eren, for me his cuddliest stage was when he was with Original Squad Levi. He was extra adorable back then. Now he’s just really scary, but I feel so much pity for him. It must truly be painful to be doing something you don’t want to do because you feel you don’t have any other choice. I do want to hug him and tell him Armin will find a better way.
Aww, your uni memories are lovely! I know what you mean, one of the best things about being on campus is hanging out with friends. I do hope we’ll all get the vaccine someday soon, and be able to carry on as before.
Thank you so much! I finished about 85% of the nicosasha story! Just a little bit more writing and I can move on to the final editing stage. Really hoping I’ll be able to publish it in time for the cemetery scene in the anime.