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WARNING: Contains spoilers. Written from the POV of a manga reader, so anime-only viewers please beware.
The other day my aunt called me to complain about my young cousin. “All that comes out of her mouth is ‘Who cares?’,” she grumbled. She thought I should talk to her daughter, who is in middle school, and try to convince her to say something else. I told my aunt it was just a phase, that sullen adolescent phase which she’ll outgrow by the by. Very soon she’ll be shouting, “Why the fuck don’t you care? How could you stand there and do nothing?” ala Greta Thunberg. Harrumph, said my aunt.
I mentioned this convo because sometimes, despite my progress in the age arena, I regress to that sullen “Who cares?” phase when it comes to manga and anime. One day I’m crying over a fictional character, the next day I couldn’t be bothered. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to this seesawing of emotions. So I just wait it out.
Today’s Wednesday, and I finally got over my I-don’t-give-a-fuck phase and got back to my I-do-care phase. But I’ve decided to stop trying to write decent reviews, which end up being half-assed anyway. I really am incapable of being a film critique. There are hundreds of other anime reviewers out there who go at it frame by frame, giving competent technical and artistic analyses of every aspect of the episode. I’d go mad if I were to do the same thing. So I decided to just put up my favourite scenes and either rant or rave about them. I’m not even going to compare the show to the manga, because I’ll just be finding discrepancies that upset me.
Let the raving begin!
Levi “Don’t Die” Ackermann
Aww, isn’t this scene of Captain Levi leading the Scouts utterly heartwarming? It’s so good to see our precious heichou with all ten fingers and unscarred face. I miss this whole Levi so very much in the manga.
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The Sniper
Lovely Sasha! She’s so gorgeous in this scene: the expert markswoman, the crackshot, sniper extraordinaire. In her fighting form, she’s not just a pretty face but badass as they come.
Never Enough Jean
Speaking of badass, Jean had some great scenes in this episode. Like him sliding on a roof creating sparks with the thunder spear:
There are only a couple of readers who plow through these shitty reviews of mine, I know who they are and they’re both Jean stans. So in celebration of all things Jean, here’s another screencap of Jean solo:
(Cue Stevie Wonder) Isn’t he loooooovely? Isn’t he wooooonderfuuuuul? Isn’t he precioooooous?
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And another:
Sweet Jean Kirschtein. I love him so, so very much! He couldn’t bear to shoot at a child, so Falco standing in front of Pieck made him miss the shot. Deliberately. Imagine what would’ve happened if he killed both Pieck and Falco. Really glad he didn’t, though, because it’s Falco and his flying Jaw Titan that would save them at the near end of the story.
In the Airship
One of the best ever scenes in this episode is Hange with Onyankopon inside the Zeppelin. I adore the airship details that went into this frame. It’s wonderful to see Hange at last, and meet Onyan for the first time!
Down Below
Another screencap of Jean & Co, because why not? Love his dialogue here: Just in time, he says. Ahh, that voice of his!
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(Cue Michael Jackson) I just can’t stop loving yooooooou, I just can’t stop loving yooooooou, and if I stop then tell me just what will I dooooooo?
The Nutcracker
The most incredible scene in this episode, and one in which the animators really took their time to show, is the Attack Titan using the Jaw as a nutcracker to crush the Warhammer and send her spinal fluids straight into his mouth. The swallowing action was awesome, and along with the music made this moment truly memorable.
Too bad we know next to nothing about the Warhammer Titan. She was just devoured but I guess no one’s crying because we were never given her backstory. All we know is she’s a member of the Tybur family, possibly Willy’s younger sister. I wish Isayama-sensei took his time to flesh out every one of the titan shifters.
No Time to Die
Gabi and Falco scream their hearts out, begging Reiner to save Porco. He says one of his most iconic lines: “Why can’t you just leave me to die?” But he does wake up, and does transform. Along with Armin transforming into the Colossus and destroying the ports, we get several transformations in just one episode and they are all awesome.
I loved the action sequences, and was stoked to see all the other new faces. The next episode will be utterly heartbreaking, so it’s nice to be able to enjoy the battle scenes while everyone’s still alive.
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Oh, BTW, in case you’re wondering about the dog visuals I made for this review. It’s an homage to Frederick Forsythe’s 1974 spy thriller, The Dogs of War. Needless to say, he wasn’t talking about dogs in the literal sense.
Can you tell who is who amongst the cutie pie creatures? Counterclockwise from top: Queen Historia (I miss her, and she knew about the Liberio attack, so there), Eren (guarding her, of course), Armin, Jean (picked a dog with the same color hair, hehe!), Mikasa, Falco, Gabi, Levi (sitting on a red cushion like the king he is), and Hange in her trademark spectacles. What do you think? 🙂
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 8
Back – Season 4 Episode 6
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totally agree mappa did a great job with the nutcracker scene my fav devouring moment so far in the anime
Yeah, it was so badass! Poor Ms Tybur, though! I mean, if someone devoured Eren or Reiner or any of our titan shifter babies that way I’d be devastated. Maybe it was kindness on Isayama-sensei’s part to not tell us anything about her, so that her death wouldn’t be too painful xD
yep theres no such thing as too much jean love your screencaps hes gorgeous indeed
Personally, I’d have drawn him differently, but this anime version’s fine just the same. You know, every night I pray he won’t die in the manga, or that he won’t live with a broken heart. Either way’s unacceptable! Doubt prayers work but what else can we do? xD
ohhhhhh look at all those adorable doggos cuteness overload awwwwwing so much imma gonna malfunction love the eren doberman so on point
Thanks, glad you liked them<3 Had so much fun lining them up. They're too adorable, just like the anime characters! Was really stoked I found that Doberman, I mean, he's so perfect for Eren: very fierce and super protective, ready to bite off the head of anyone who tries to titanise Historia<3
ps. that little thread with photos of jean is appreciated *turn on the air conditioner*
Thanks! Jean’s so adorable in the anime. I really hope they’ll keep his manga scenes and dialogue in the upcoming episodes. To be very honest I find screencapping to be a total chore, but when it’s him I want to capture every second xD I’m really biased about this, ahaha!
these montages were my favorites! i couldn’t help but laugh when i saw them, they really made my day! xD i love that levi is a small french bulldog, with my sister we have one in córdoba and they are really adorable! 🙂
regarding the reviews, do not pressure yourself to make complex analyzes of each thing. i really like it when it is that relaxed, i feel as if i were reading a friend 😃
btw, i really liked the chapter. the scene of eren drinking lara tybur’s blood will stay in my mind for the rest of my life 🤯🤯
right now i’m getting ready for next sunday, i’ll be crying for sasha but defending gabi at the same time. call me intense but i hate it when some people mess with a twelve year old girl who was manipulated her whole life. gabi is the reflection of eren but many do not like to read that or simply do not accept it. xD
Thank you so much, myri! It was really fun making the visuals, thinking of which dog will represent who best. I’m not sure about the source, but a reader has told me there was an interview where Isayama was asked what nationalities the characters would be if they were Earthlings, and he said Jean and Levi would be French! 😀 Jean makes sense because his name is French, but Levi was a surprise for me, though I can imagine him eating macarons and escargots and other stereotypical French food and speaking fluent French and being a lady killer xD He’s appeared sitting on a red chair in Frau magazine (August 2016) and then again in a bunch of illustrations and figurines all featuring red chairs. I don’t know what it is with Levi and red chairs, but when I found that cute French bulldog with a red cushion I was thinking, OMG he’s absolutely perfect for the captain! xD
I picked the Tibetan terrier for Jean because, while he’s not zen or anything, he sometimes shows wisdom well beyond his years<3 I really love his hair in the manga and thought this shaggy cutie was just right for him. As for Mikasa, she's a Rottweiler because they're known to be devoted, calm, self-assured, aloof, fearless etc. Also the coloring was right! 😀
I'm so happy you enjoyed the visuals. I think I enjoy making them more than writing the reviews, ahaha! You're right, it's a waste of time trying to stress myself out about my inability to write "proper" reviews. I mean, I'm stressed out at work already, and if my hobby is also a source of stress then I shouldn't be doing it! From now on I'll just write casual, informal, structureless pseudo-reviews, as an excuse to put up screencaps of our beloved characters xD
I totally get you about Gabi. Remember when we were discussing child soldiers in The Stowaway story? I think lots of people don't understand the culpability and vulnerability of small children. They tend to 100% believe whatever it is they are being brainwashed with. Ever since she was little Gabi was taught to hate and to act on that hate. She grew up in a very toxic environment filled with people who praised her for the number of kills she made. She was raised to become a mindless killing machine. I don't blame her for being violent. I see her more as a victim than an evil sniper. I absolutely adore Sasha, but I'm with Mr Brauss when he forgave Gabi and refused to kill her. Gabi was a brainwashed kid and he understood that. Even Nicolo later acknowledged Mr Brauss' wisdom. It's a shame more people don't listen to the likes of Mr Brauss.
You have a totally right there. I can’t say anything but Falco is brave character,
Falco’s such an angel! At first I found it strange because his VA is the same as Tanjiro’s of Kimetsu no Yaiba, but now I’ve gotten used to it. He sounds perfect for his character. I really hope he’ll find happiness in the end, in canon.
I wish for him the same.