「左腕の行方 ―トロスト区攻防戦⑤―」 (Sawan no Yukue ―Torosuto Ku Kobo Sen ⑤―)
“The Left Arm’s Whereabouts ―Defense of Trost (5)―”

The train of suffering just keeps rolling along in Shingeki no Kyojin―though in a notably different manner this week, as rather than open things off naturally, the episode does a kind of flashback to start things off. Admittedly, I was a bit caught off guard here (especially considering some of the recycled footage) and was slightly worried they were going to spend most of the episode recapping, but it turns out my worries were for naught…

…because the way this episode ended up being done really just highlights how the producers know how they’re doing. Indeed, the additional insight into some of the elite Recon Legion members (Captain Erwin, Corporal Levi etc.) was quite well done in the time span given, and it gives us a nice unofficial introduction to characters that will likely play a big part in the future. Perhaps the most notable thing though is how they ended up tying Levi with Eren―both via their similar demeanor towards the Titans and the subsequent literal shift from Levi to Eren’s time spent inside the Titan. Needless to say, the link (and transition) between the two was just superb, and highlighted especially by the scene where we see Eren floating around in Titan stomach juice with dozens of maimed allies along with him. I guess it’s just par for the course in the end―considering the insanity of this series―but even then, I couldn’t help but just go “WTFBBQ” at that moment… and I’d think many of you likely ended up doing the same.

Either way though, all of the above ends up notably paling in comparison to the major developments toward the end, where Eren finds himself on the cusp of execution due to his supposed potential to transform into a Titan and devour all the others from within the wall itself. As it turns out, that fear ends up being warranted for the most part―in terms of Eren being able to transform seemingly at will now―and it just really makes you feel for the commander in charge there. I mean, sure, it’s easy to say it from our viewpoint that Eren shouldn’t be executed… but if you really look at it from a military standpoint, it’s an insanely big risk to shoulder if they chose to keep Eren around. There’s just too little you know about what this phenomenon is to believe he won’t just go berserk on everyone, and the commander’s really stuck in between a rock and a hard place having to decide what to do here―especially when Mikasa’s (she’s worth a hundred ordinary soldiers you know!) also in the line of fire AND you’re expending valuable time and manpower every second you spend sitting there. Just not a nice place to be in, and really, there’s no real right or wrong answer here.

Ultimately though, it looks like things will really blow up with the coming of the next episode, and I’m admittedly wondering how things are going to work out from here. Armin looks like he’ll play some part in resolving this impasse next week, but it doesn’t really look good for Eren. There’s just nothing like saving all your friends and then being looked upon like some monster―even if it’s to a degree warranted―and it just hammers in how the suffering just never ends with this show. Just when you think you get a breather, the suffering just returns in another form, and it just all comes tumbling down… tumbling down… tumbling down…

Author’s Note: As usual, there will be a zero tolerance policy on spoilers. Spoilers should generally not be written in general if it can be avoided and any spoilers should have a comment detailing what kind of spoiler it is and should be in response to a query. Those found violating this will find their comment deleted and multiple violations (in the form of comment deletions) will lead to bans. Note though, when deletions of the offending comment are removed, so will accompanying replies. This does not mean that those whose accompanying replies are at risk of being banned, unless they also violate the rule in some way.

 

Preview

186 Comments

      1. I happen to agree, after seeing Armins face I was dying of laughter. Seriously. I really couldn’t decided if I should be serious or not, it was just perfect timing.

        Solara
      1. Levi Cleaning INC, offers the world’s best cleaning, too hard to clean your corpse? your blood? the titan? your neighbor? please call 1-999-999-9999 to purchase the super LEVI cleaning service!! if you call in the first 30 min, you will be receive levi’s personal super cute cleaning photo album, it’s limit time only! come once in a long time!! don’t miss your chance!!!

        justin
  1. So…judging by the voice, Hanji is female eh? Or is it yet another trap laid out to us viewers…Romi Park got a history of voicing ambiguous characters such as Naoto Shirogane in Persona 4 (both game and animation)

    Levi makes his debut this week, and we can hear the theme from the end of episode 3 (when Eren successfully passed the 3DMG test and become a soldier) played again.

    Milla
      1. FINALLY everybody was going gaga for sasha even though she is funny I was like you have seen nothing yet hanji is awesome her voice and mannerisms were exactly how imagined when reading the manga. literally has some some of weird orgasmic impulse when dealing with titans as shown in te small feature today. her and levi (prefer revaille tbh) were MADE FOR EACH OTHER

        glad i got that off my chest

        Amina
  2. Now seriously… it was very faithful to the manga… scene by scene… undoubtedly flawless adaptation.

    Rivaille, the best soldier in the world, was simply perfect in this episode. I really liked his seiyuu, Mikasa badass as always. These two will be always my fav characters.

    The OST, so perfect.. every episode this OST kills me with excitement… is all very well done and perfect.

    Shingeki no Kyojin deserves the hype.

    vane
  3. Hiroshi Kamiya voice is perfect with corporal Levi character.The second perfect character after Mikasa.But this story does not have mobile phones.Fan of Hiroshi kamiya will know what the meaning of this thing.

    lyncpin
  4. I’d say that this episode was perfect etc etc., but imo the animation was a bit worse than in previous episodes. ( Eren had sometimes weird faces ) Am I the only one who thinks that?

    Shirocat
    1. there’s a difference between having a character make weird expressions and having a character’s expression look weirdly animated. All Eren did was make weird expressions (not at the cost of animation), so I don’t see how you could say its a drop in animation. Shoot, its one thing if they decided to go all Naruto vs. Pain on us and make Eren’s face look like that, but nope, still “A” quality animation being used in this ep.

      SDFSDG
  5. Did anyone else laugh when Eren replied – “I’m human”
    For some reason I did.

    Oh my! That was certainly a cliff hanger I will not forget
    in a LOOONNNG time.

    Nolueur
    1. ah, you beat me to it. (Anime only, as it wasn’t in the manga if I remember correctly) Freddie Mercury titan~~~! It was an obvious-homage, which Japanese manga/anime is known to do from time to time, for the late singer.

      Zephyr, how can you miss that on the screencaps, eh?? ha ha.

      deathtogeneric/formulaicshows
      1. Haha, sorry. But yes, i do believe that part was anime original. I can’t remember it too well, it’s been too long since i read the manga. Oh well, we got Freddy Titan, and that’s way cool.

        Wuz
    2. Haha I noticed that titan too, but other than Freddie, he kind of reminds me of Overly Manly Man.

      Scouting Region? You mean appetizers. Blades? You mean toothpicks?

      Zelos
    3. Proposed celebrity titans:
      1)Homer Simpson titan: Capable of saying only 3 words(D’oh, Mmmm, Why you little!…)

      2)Peter Griffin titan: Identifiable from its mating call(Heheheehehehheehhe…)

      Can anyone come up with any more?

      zztop
    1. He’s being a genocidal maniac in plenty of series.

      Guilty Crown – Became Herr Fuehrer.
      Shinsekai Yori – As Satoru, a mole-rat exterminator.
      Valvrave – Got first blood of a named character.
      Attack on Titan – Murdered 2 slave traders at the age of 9.

    2. I just realised some of the characters that Yuki Kaji voices will always lose their arms, whether the left or right arm. Whats up with his luck voicing those characters…

      Ashkem
  6. When Hanji killed that Freddy Mercury titan, I noticed the blood stain on her cloak started smoking and disappeared. :O

    I also found this, a translation of the text on the inside cover in every Shingeki volume… a reward for the observant readers.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    And thanks for the writeup Zephyr, I know you were tired but you got the post out fast. \o/

    1. It’s easy to hate him, yes, but at the same time, as Armin had said, everyone else there, especially considering everything that just happened (and had happened up until then) and now being confronted by something they had never seen before, is completely controlled by their fear and such behavior really isn’t surprising in such situations, where logic, reasoning, and clear-headed thinking goes right out the window and the first thing on your mind is (your) survival against whatever you perceive as a danger.

      As much as people may like to think so, unless it already happened to them in some way, they cannot say with one hundred percent certainty that they would not have done a similar thing if they were confronted with such a situation.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      1. Granted, his position for this episode was understandable, but the part about ditching cadets even after screaming that escaping from the titans is a treason, AND saying that anyone who dares to stop him will be charged for treason (Seriously?). Yeah he should go to hell for that.

        Londo
  7. Badass episode. Levi is impressive as are the 3D gear animations they were using.

    So, uh, is that an incomplete Titan transformation of Eren? Looks creepy.
    I wonder if he’ll know what he’s doing instead of rampaging, since it isn’t against Titans this time.
    There has yet to be an episode of this series that disappoints me.

    boingman
  8. Kamiya Hiroshi as Levi is simply badass! 2 Titans or 1 Titan? Noooo, Levi goes for 2 Titans! What a drastic difference in characters between Levi and Hibiki (same VA) from DS2!

    Lozenge
  9. I don’t know what to say, I was just relieved Erin is alive, and now the ‘key’ holds the answer to everything. We know the 3 of them will go back home to the basement to sort things out, the needle his dad gave him, makes sense… he gave something to Erin so he would keep on living, something he obtained from a titan, or was Erin a titan to begin with that he’d found? Many of my conclusions don’t make sense, but so far this show has defied my sense. Where is his dad anyway? You would think he would have found his son in 5 years, at least. Thanks for your review! M.

    Mi-Chan
  10. This episode really shows the difference between the Recon Squad and the Stationary Guards. The last few episodes had officers from the Stationary Guards panicking and ditching cadets, or just simply getting owned in an instant. Compare that to the Recon Squad where u have soldiers just standing there chatting (if u can call it a chat) happily to Titans, or simply crazy enough to take on 2 Titans at once (and successfully doing it). They really are the elite soldiers of humanity.

    Londo
  11. Levi is so graceful with the 3D gear. Kamiya Hiroshi is doing great with him, and seems to be going for a deeper voice (frickin’ love it).

    Guess it’s confirmed that Eren’s dad with the shot had to do with Eren’s titan form, since we had that flashback and all.

    Gah… can’t wait for some frequent Levi scenes. Been anticipating it for a couple weeks.

    Jel
  12. Wow. Just wow.

    Had expected a rather slow episode with mostly general debating on what to do with Eren while throwing phrases like “enemy of mankind” and “useful weapon” around – and instead I got THIS! ♥

    Awesome Recon Squad, that really shows off the difference (in attitude as well as in capability), awesome new characters (Hanji!) with especially Levi surprising me quite a bit. He came off as pretty arrogant at first with his “filthy”-tick and all… but that moment when he grabbed the the blood-soaked hand of that soldier was really powerful! Not to mention his honest worry whether he might have heard all of his words afterwards.
    Then the shift to Eren, Mikasa being awesome, Eren being confused… and then suddenly realizing the truth after seeing his arm and the key…
    Not to mention that absolutely breathtaking final scene that just left me completely speechless at how intense it was in all of its macabre glory.

    This series really never seizes to amaze and impress me and I’m really glad that I’ve successfully resisted the temptation of reading the manga so far and can thus enjoy this ride unspoiled! ♥
    (though I do have to admit it really gets harder to resist every week…)

    L-a-i-n-a
  13. Did anyone find the old man who kept yelling at Eren and co so frikin annoying?! Holy, my ears were bleeding as I listened to the guy’s voice using my earphones. I know he’s practically a bg or extra character, but damn does he get into your nerves.

    Anyways they finally showed Levi, Kamiya is the perfect VA for his character.

    Ryner
    1. voice actor sounds literly as annoying as a good-for-nothing-brainless squad leader voice, too much noise, not much backbone. The way he yells is like the ringing of a phone that won’t shut up when you’re trying to take a nap during the afternoon. I agree with you on this one, totally annoying..

      Mi-Chan
  14. Well, they brought back the “money-shot” (https://randomc.net/image/Shingeki%20no%20Kyojin/Shingeki%20no%20Kyojin%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2017.jpg) Titan in this episode which I was kind of surprised about.

    Not to mention the biggest money shot this episode (https://randomc.net/image/Shingeki%20no%20Kyojin/Shingeki%20no%20Kyojin%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2036.jpg). Love all the detail and muscle definition topped by the atmospheric lighting.

    *note: when I say money-shot, it usually denotes a scene or still that is much more higher quality than what averages an episode. These are usually inserted to create impact and focus. The name “money-shot” was given due to these taking up quite a bit of the budget for what they are.

    On another note, Shingeki No Kyojin has made some of the most bad-ass advents I’ve seen in anime. The advent of both Eren’s abnormal Titan form and Levi (can we get an official confirmation on that name?) were just entrances of epic proportions. The music, the contrast in lighting and tone, plus the extra detail added to their animation creates an unforgettable impact.

    Goodwill.Wright
  15. The despair and grief from losing his wife made him experiment on his only son. If that isnt the no 1 dad in the world i dont know who is! 🙂 Reminds me of Gendo Ikari in a way.

    The Atomic Dwarf
    1. Hm i considered that his father had actually done this a long time ago, before his wife dad, but I never saw it like that. If you are right, then where did his father dissappear to? so he found Erin after that incident, but where? On the ship? There has been no mention of that at all. Good point.

      Mi-Chan
      1. Well, quite frankly, yes. So far there doesn’t really seem to be any real negative side-effects. Except for his organization hating on him but we can all see that issue being resolved.

        And it isn’t like a deformation nor is it a transformation either so Eren doesn’t go through any excruciating pain during the “summoning” stages by the looks of it.

        If anything, that serum has saved his life and in turn will save those of his comrades. I honestly think Dr Jaeger cares about his family a lot.

        So far, I really wouldn’t compare Jaeger to Gendo and if it takes only a little semblance to compare them, then there is a plethora of characters with similar traits from other fictions. But of course we will need to wait until the series is finished to make an honest justification. But to me, Jaeger has much more father points than Gendo. At least he is willing to share the answers with his son which Gendo never did. Big difference there.

        Goodwill.Wright
      2. My bad, I overlooked the whole subconscious thing. Well, at least so far (correct me if I’m wrong) he hasn’t hurt anyone he wasn’t suppose to. Now, it would be a downside if Eren did attack indiscriminately but that seems to be well in check.

        Goodwill.Wright
      3. It’s only a matter of time until he hurts someone. And if he succeeds or not may be the difference between life and death for him and all his human friends.

        The Atomic Dwarf
      4. Well, sure. i think in his Battle Mode he only Cares first. Kill Titans, then it comes to his 2 Nakamas, then perhaps the rest of his Battalion. But i think here rule 1+2 is only absolute to him

        Germanguy
      5. Now that I think about it you might be right! But that might also be post-traumatic shock from killing the bandits when he was younger. Things like that stick with you for the rest of your life.

        The Atomic Dwarf
  16. Holy shit, that’s Susanoo! Eren, when have you acquired the Mangekyou Sharingan? (Right, I’ll shut up now. To think I would invoke my long dormant inner-Narutard just to crack a joke like this. )

    Anonymous
  17. Eren’s dad is such an enigma, he seemed to know a hell of a lot about this crap, I’m wondering why he didn’t feel the need to share this knowledge with hmmmmm I don’t know… the soldiers maybe. Can’t wait to see where all this goes.

    Jani
      1. Dude, SAO was not shitty. It was not the best and greatest obviously, but it has its own worth. Yeah, compared to SnK in these grounds it wouldn’t stand a chance; SAO focused more on romance and had failures at pacing with a tad of reality-bending story(technically dead but avoided its instance) from the author itself– but still, it was a satisfying watch. I personally liked it, but hey, people have their own opinions.. just try not to let your hatred for an anime that got burned down by society for being the hype-that-never-delivered-the-expectations-for-half-of-the-fanbase take over in these situations. SnK is great, SAO is good. P.S. My top anime is the Monogatari series. Sharing!

        Senjougahara Hitagi
  18. That moron of a commander needs to be stomped or decapitated. If you already going to ignore any answer and go ahead with your predetermined response, why asking the fuc*ing question?

    Having such a moron in charge is going to get more people killed in the long run.

    Zaku_Fan
    1. well, all others are afraid. So they follow him. Even the Class girl, look calm, dont ask his actions. They are Feared to death, and want this obstacle dead. Reason? Fear weights heavier

      Germanguy
      1. That is the reason why not everyone in a RL army is an officer. If you’re going to be an officer on the frontlines, you’re not supposed to be a idiot ruled by fear. More so if you’re the commanding officer of that region. It seems more likely that he wasn’t appointed by Pixis but by some noble whose boots he licked.

        Zaku_Fan
      2. You really need to stop looking at this from an idealized position of what you think an officer “should be.” The reality is that most officers are at the foremost still human and thus prone to human fears and all the things it entails. Considering the desperate nature of their fight, even some of the most elite will have fear, and it’s something you need to accept, or you’re just denying a facet of human nature—a big concept of Shingeki and Muv-Luv Alternative (of which is borrows concepts from).

        I won’t say the commander is ideal at all or that you shouldn’t ponder keeping Eren alive… but really, you’ve gotta be kidding me if you’d automatically just accept Eren and all the risk he presents like it’s nothing.

        In addition, the question might’ve yielded a pre-determined result either way, but it’s anything but insignificant. Because if Eren answers he’s a Titan, then he’s obviously a threat and there could be resistance if they tried to kill him (thus more preparation could be needed). If he responds that he’s human though, then you can argue that Eren should know that it’s too risky for him to stay alive, and as a soldier, he should know to expect and submit to his execution for the good of the rest of mankind. Because while it’s important to stay alive, your military duty obliges that you put all of humanity and their needs ahead of your own survival if the time comes. Thus the commander should be able to rest assured there won’t be any resistance to him killing him. Obviously, it didn’t turn out that way and the reason for him asking wasn’t motivated by the right motives, but the event itself isn’t insignificant at all.

        Generally, I don’t know if it’s because you’re not familiar much with things of this nature (such as the Muv-Luv VN), but you’re really missing out on the significance of a lot of the potential meanings here.

      3. @Zaku_Fan

        Remember the commander doesn’t know what we know, keep that in mind. Hell, I don’t even think he knows who Eren is, he didn’t even know Mikasa until advised about her. To him, Eren is just a rookie soldier nobody. Plus, he didn’t see Eren slaughter the Titans let alone acknowledge that he wasn’t interested in harming humans. At that point, I could understand if he thought Eren to be an abomination, anomaly, abnormal if you will. A wolf in sheep skin.

        Sure, I don’t like the commander, but what he did (was going to do) was justified given his position and dilemma.

        Goodwill.Wright
      4. In the military, you are trained to respond to situations. That training is hammered in when you’re exhausted just so it will become automatic. Something new and out of things learnt training? Send it up the chain of command for instructions.

        If you’re at the top of the chain of command, you had better not be a complete moron because if you are, someone fuc*ed up big time in promoting you

        As for asking that moronic question,
        i) It does nothing to shed light on the situation which other methods would have been way way more effective
        ii) If you want to kill him, kill him straight away when he is delirious. Being a undecided flip flopper looks bad to your own subordinates and increases your own danger. What if he comes out of his stupor and changes to a titan. There were what? 50 soldiers there?

        Zaku_Fan
      5. Lol what, dude. There’s a difference between training for a war and fighting the real thing. This goes for real life, and especially so in Shingeki-verse. Why? Because real-life training at least has some semblance of simulation and live-human vs. human training for experience. Even then, most people aren’t necessarily prepared for their first fight, especially if it’s one that looks damn grim. Most people also usually survive first combat to gain experience and willpower to go on.

        Shingeki though, has no equivalent. You’re never actually facing a Titan at any point during your training. Only a dummy. Basically, all of the training is virtually all theoretical. Most people with actual exp have either died or still experienced fear regardless. Just cause you see people like Levi and Mikasa flying around doesn’t mean everyone is like them. Only 1% of the population can react like they do.

        Basically, it’s completely different. Stop pointing out real-life military equivalents to something that is completely different scenario wise. There’s no manual to a lot of these situations, and a lot of these situations also feature times where the chain of command is in disarray and not readily accessible.

        As for your point, the question is moronic in ways, but is no where near as insignificant as you think it is. I figured I hinted at this enough before, but seems like you didn’t get it. The question is as much as a test for Eren symbolically, as it is a reassurance for the Commander that shit isn’t about to go down and end up killing them all. He wants to know/feel that everything will be okay, and he’s obviously contemplating the pros/cons too. Sure, he’s panicking, but really, there’s a lot there that you just seem to refuse to see.

        Also, really, kill him right away? What, Mikasa’s just chopped liver or something? Cause you seem to have forgotten she stood in the way and made the commander visibly hesitate as a result. He shot anyway after he realized he had no choice, but yeah, even he obviously understood the value of Mikasa enough to hesitate, which gave Eren the time he needed to recover consciousness.

      6. Also, just to clarify. Don’t misconstrue this as me thinking the Commander ISN’T incompetent. He is. But even then, there’s a line to be drawn between calling him incompetent because he is, and trying to compare real-life equivalents where they have no place.

        And again, you’re looking at this from way too biased of a standpoint as a viewer that knows everything, despite my post mentioning the difference between potential viewpoints and how when you look at it a certain way, it does makes you feel for the commander.

        I mean, sure, it’s easy to say it from our viewpoint that Eren shouldn’t be executed… but if you really look at it from a military standpoint, it’s an insanely big risk to shoulder if they chose to keep Eren around. There’s just too little you know about what this phenomenon is to believe he won’t just go berserk on everyone, and the commander’s really stuck in between a rock and a hard place having to decide what to do here―especially when Mikasa’s (she’s worth a hundred ordinary soldiers you know!) also in the line of fire AND you’re expending valuable time and manpower every second you spend sitting there.

        I don’t know why you and AngryKoala are just ignoring that blurb I wrote there.

      7. Tell me again that Mikasa + Armin can hold off 20 (more?) men enough that no one can reach Eren and have 1 second to cut his throat…

        That stand off was a useless and dangerous waste of time if it was just to ask a moronic question and ignoring the answer

        As for personal symbolic reasons, symbolic reasons just to assuage your own guilt make 0 sense in a war zone. It only makes your subordinates and onlookers doubt whether you have any decision making capability. All hierarchies operate the same. Have the authority? Make the decision and implement it. Don’t know, don’t have the authority? Ask the next higher up.

        Zaku_Fan
      8. The point is not risking any injury to your own soldiers if you can help it. Hence why he launched a bloody cannon ball at the end instead. Oh yeah, and there was the bit where you know, he tried to get Mikasa to leave the position so he’d get a free shot on Eren.

        As for the rest, please stop applying real-life military views to something with completely different scenarios. Different scenarios = different views. If you’re such a military buff, you should know that much. You’re applying real-life military techniques/views to a military in a fantasy story. Doesn’t that seem off to you?

        And really, I keep typing the same thing over and over, but you just ignore everything. So it’s like, really, there’s just no point to this. Most of your points have already been pre-emptively answered.

      9. Eh yeah, you let a guy who can change to titan form wake up so you can ask a question then fire a cannon ball at him (which doesn’t kill titans except for that special type cannonball).

        As for ignoring your points (which were already addressed if you actually read the implications of what i wrote. did not know i had to spell out everything. Will do so next time) and comparing to RL militaries, don’t be dumb. Unless you’re saying snk’s military has no structure and is like a playground then sure. OK! Got it.

        Zaku_Fan
      10. Lol it’s not even about structure. You’re just totally overlooking the circumstances that make it impossible for it to be exactly the same as a real-life military. Militarys in general have slight similarities no matter what they are, but there are key differences that arise depending on where they are and the enemy they face. You seem to think no matter what, they’re all the same, which is just not true.

        But hey, if you think that fighting Titans is the same as fighting humans, that their apocalyptic scenario is the same as our world now, and thus you can readily transfer everything you know about the military into the Shingeki world, then be my guest. You ain’t gonna be making good points either way though.

        And you seem to be completely overlooking the intent of me bringing up things about the commander in general, which is that either way, you have to admit he’s in a shitty spot. I don’t know how you’re all crazy on military beliefs, yet don’t see how any commander would be hard pressed to react sanely or decide properly in a situation like this. You make it look like epic emotionless commanders grow on trees or something, and/or start out like that to begin with instead of you know, going through many trials/battles to get there (which I might add, Shingeki leaders don’t have the opportunity to do, by the way).

        Gotta say, if you don’t feel a thing for this commander, I sure wouldn’t wanna join your army at all. No sympathy whatsoever, no leeway for emotional performance, everyone has to be a robotic, emotionless tool. There’s a line you draw to maintain order/structure, and dang you sure passed it.

      11. @Zaku_Fan

        Congrats on finding a bunch of your friends (or you, yourself using multiple sources) to downvote my comments and upvote your own. If only you know, it wasn’t that obvious from the other comments having not received any where similar number of votes, and the fact that my comments were almost all upvotes and yours almost all downvotes just a few hours ago.

        Either way, I’ll tolerate this this time around, but now that you’ve gone into intentional abuse of the downvote/upvote system, I’m putting my foot down here. I tried to have a fairly civilized discussion and leave the verdict out to other viewers who might want to add their words, but you don’t seem to care much for that. So from this point forward, any future abuse of the upvote/downvote system of a similar nature will lead to your comments being removed.

        If you don’t agree with something, fine. Just don’t cross the line into childish behavior by abusing a system that has worked well to combat spoilers. Because the second you do, you undermine the system, and it might be taken off as a result if people like you abuse it too much. In that context, don’t blame me if you accidentally stumble upon some epic spoiler that you normally wouldn’t have seen in the future because of what you did here today. Get pissed at me all you want, but don’t go dragging things that could influence many others viewing this page into the equation. Be a mature person and deal with disagreements like one.

    2. Let me just humor another argument here. I would like to bring up a line that Annie said in a previous episode, “how do you think it got to be such a farce?”. This was said while she was enlightening Eren on the contradictions of the recruitment system.

      I’m not going to detail much here but with that, I do believe that the military does want to employ some level of incompetence. I obviously can’t say why or whether Annie is right or not, but it certainly was something to think on.

      Goodwill.Wright
  19. Mm perhaps Erin is not the only one “Gunia Pig” here. I get the feeling that would explain some Giants appearing out of thin Air… But is the Subconscious is driving them, then Revenge is driving them.

    Germanguy
  20. Although I read the manga, the “smoke” was never explained. Maybe the anime version can explain the smoke, as I noticed the anime version explained a lot more details on everything, such as 3D maneuver gear’s design and stuff.

    thenewhorde
    1. what ‘smoke’? when the titan dies? or from the 3D maneuver gear?
      * if it’s from 3D maneuver gear, it is an emission gas.
      * if it’s from titan’s boby, i think it was explained in episode 5 that titan’s body was extremely hot. That’s why the were reduce in no time when they were dead.

      yukishina
  21. Feel for the commander, really? You must be a bad judge of character.

    You finally see something (a human that can transform into a titan) that could potentially be the best weapon you’ve ever had against the titans, and you want to take it out along with one of the best fighters? He’s an idiot who makes rash decisions.

    AngryKoala
    1. Except, that from the understanding of the commander said titan-transforming human said that he will kill the commander and all of humanity. He would be an idiot if he would not kill such a treat.

      Eucalyptus
      1. No, that commander is an idiot for not observing the circumstances and thinking of a secondary plan other than “kill the titan” especially
        i) When you don’t even know if you can kill him.

        ii) You have someone who tells you that that girl standing there is the equivalent of a hundred common troops

        iii) Eren was obviously disoriented thus what he says at that time should take that condition into account.

        iv) Testimony of whoever survived that gas supply base fiasco that the eren titan did not bother with them (hence does not conform to standard titan behavior). At least if that moron bothered to ask…

        v) Testimony of the squad survivors such as Sasha on Eren attacking the colossal titan. Sure it could be a trick but it is another fact to consider

        vi) The dumbness of a titan attacking when there is ALREADY a hole in the wall. A high level officer should be able to see that it makes no tactical sense. If he MADE that hole in the wall then yes, it makes sense. Otherwise, it would be obvious that to inflict maximum damage, you kill the leaders such as the king, pixis, etc. You have titan ability, intellect (thus can prevent others from attacking your neck), and you have human form. Easy assassin scenario right there.

        As for handling Eren, a simple plan would be to to transport eren to another of those bait towns which jut out from the main wall (hence only the bait town would be lost if eren attacks).

        Bait town too far? Stick him on the freaking top of the wall. Aim cannons at him so it will knock him off the wall if he transforms. He’s no colossal titan so he’ll fall down the wall and probably go splat.

        Those are just 2 ideas that are obvious to me by thinking about it for a minute and that officer has had way more than a minute to think (if he ever bothered to think)

        Zaku_Fan
      2. We have here someone where Fear, blocks all Logical Reason. Humans in Fear or Panic situation just act on instinct. i can kill it, so i dont need to fear!!!

        Looks like he is not the Type to fight the Fear or Panic state, to gain a clear thought. Hope someone higher up will soon save them

        Germanguy
      3. and i am afraid, that the Guardians of the 3rd Wall, will cry for Mama, when the real threat appear. “This is not a Drill!”…. “What? MAMA!!!!!!!”. So i think these Guardians are just Nobles with Titles to look good

        Germanguy
    2. It’s more like I’m actually taking the time to consider things from his perspective more than anything and not taking an emotional/biased viewer view to the situation.

      Eren is a double edged sword at this point. He could be your greatest weapon or the final nail in the coffin for humanity. You don’t know if he has control of his Titan form, you don’t know if the Titan form will end up controlling him and taking over even if he has some demonstration of control, and thus the thing is now that he’s inside the wall itself, he could cause an insane amount of damage/deaths of key personnel. And sure, you could just send him out at some outer town as bait, but damage will still be damage if he ends up causing it (or inviting the Titans to attack sooner than they normally would’ve).

      As for ZakuFan’s other points, you can point out testimony all you want, but no one knows for sure what exactly happened. The fact there’s even some risk is more than what killing him would accomplish, which essentially reduces the risk to zero. As for the point about the assassination scenario, that’s a terrible point because Eren was surrounded the second he came up the wall. There was never a chance for him to kill anyone off even if he wanted to.

      Ultimately, keeping Eren is an insane risk no matter how great of a weapon he MIGHT be, and despite how great of a soldier Mikasa is. Sure, the commander is powered in many ways by fear and emotion, but you can’t say you wouldn’t ponder that either. Or at least, if you didn’t consider it, I’d have to say you’d make a terrible general because you can’t just seize on any chance just cause you’re desperate—especially some chance with such risks involved. You need to consider the general risk you’re placing on the remainder of humanity (hundreds of thousands of lives) by keeping alive just a select few (even if Mikasa = 100 soldier = a thousand civilian lives or so).

      1. Let me ask this.
        i) Did anyone know Eren was a titan before the hole in the wall was made?
        ii) Could Eren visit the interior, go in as part of the servants, change to a titan and stomp the king?

        Is that a more tactically sound plan than “The colossal titan made a hole in the wall so now i’ll let everyone know i’m a titan just for giggles!”

        Zaku_Fan
      2. @Zaku_Fan

        Well, when you consider that humanity was suddenly facing brand new Titans, FAR beyond even abnormal types, appearing out of nowhere instantly in flashes of lightning and able to disappear just as quickly, I think trying to somehow justify Eren with his time of appearance before/after the hole was made is moot.

        You seem to be completely disregarding how things are and have been going in-universe. It’s very easy to judge and say, “I’d never act like/do/respond like/etc that”, when we’re viewing from the outside in in the safety of our homes or wherever and not actually there in that situation, but the reason why a number of people, while not exactly “defending” the commander, can at least understand his and the other soldiers’ feelings, is because they’re looking deeper beyond just liking/hating characters or whatever. They’re looking at things from an in-universe perspective, from their points of view based on their experiences up to the present point.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
      3. @Zaku_Fan – Uhhh, what? What’s your point exactly?

        You’re pointing out stuff that has happened AFTER he was surrounded and BEFORE he could do anything (assuming he wanted to do anything). It’s pretty obvious that people knew he wasn’t a Titan before the Titan attack and were reacting now like this because they knew he was one and Mikasa/Armin just bought him into territory the Titans haven’t reached yet. Eren did not manually climb that wall and was unconscious until he woke up surrounded. There was no way for him to visit anyone or kill anyone before he was immediately surrounded so, uhhh… there’s no tactical significance to be thought up of regarding this, because all people know is the above and nothing else.

        Also, his reaction of becoming a Titan happened at the end of the episode and was forced in order to protect Mikasa and Armin. Wasn’t some “for shits and giggles” kind of thing.

        And if you mean he could’ve snuck into the territory to assassinate people during the commotion of the initial fight (before he was found by Mikasa), yeah, doesn’t quite work either cause the gates were closed by then either way to soldiers and civilians alike, and chances are someone would’ve saw his transformation and reported it before hand. Also, no normal soldier would be allowed within a mile of the King, so the second he tried to bust, he’d get owned. Also, the elite of the elite that we know of were mostly in the Recon squad outside the city, or in the rear guard in a drastically different area, so there wasn’t really much of a chance of assassination in that short span, even if he did somehow infiltrate the gates (which again, was closed to begin with, and he was swallowed by the Titan, so he likely wouldn’t have had working equipment to jump over the walls. Oh yes, he’d have to know exactly where high value people were, all during this short few hour time span).

        Also, did I mention, you’re overlooking the fact that no one knows if he can control the Titan form? Cause damn, he could be on the humans side all you want, but the fact he could transform is weird as is. What proof do you have he’d be able to control the power and not just spontaneously transform and kill people around him? If you’ve watched other similar series, going berserk is something that happens alot, and it’s something that could’ve happened here, even if by some chance he had an assassination attempt and decided not to take it to prove innocence (again though, the attempt would be virtually impossible given the time/location/moving parts involved).

        **Also, note that the wall penetration only happened in the Trost outpost, not Wall Rose itself. So there was no hole in Wall Rose to infiltrate, in case you thought the hole punched was in Wall Rose.

      4. The point is simple. It makes no tactical sense to reveal yourself for NO BENEFIT if you are an covert agent. If eren is on the titan’s side, he could easily have visited the interior BEFORE the colossal titan made that hole.

        Hell, if both the colossal and eren were in cahoots, he could have made sure he took a leave of absence or went AWOL and was near his target when the colossal titan made his hole. Wait for the messenger to arrive then go in disguised as servant/guard (he has the uniform after all) when there is some chaos, change to titan form and stomp his target. Change back and run away to stomp a secondary target. Repeat to continue stomping out everyone in authority.

        Sure as the commander you don’t know if he is a titan or human, you however know this
        i) this guy can change into a titan and hence has 2 forms.
        ii) His titan form attacked other titans which other intelligent titans such as colossal and armored have not done.
        iii) His titan form has ignored humans (backed up by connie/jean/whoever saw him ignore jean and punch 2 titans, if armin and mikasa’s statements are construed as biased
        iv) He is currently delirious or unconscious
        v) He is a new graduate from training

        You gauge on what is on the ground and what does not make sense, keeping in mind there is minimal information on how a titan is created.

        Hell, need more time to think or for the higher levels in the chain of command to respond to your message? Tie him up and hang him by his 3D gear harness outside the walls. He can’t climb the wall. He is safe from the titans and if he attempts to change form, he breaks the harness and falls. Simple, efficient and takes little effort

        Zaku_Fan
      5. Uh, no, he actually didn’t have much time to visit the interior, considering he has no business there. The cadets are pretty much strictly restricted to particular areas, and even if he somehow breached a sensitive zone, he would’ve never gotten close to any VIPs in human form, assuming he knew where they were in the first place. It’s logically improbable for him to have visited the interior before the hole as a result. I made like 5 points on this before, and you seemed to have skipped it.

        As for your second point, you really have to be joking if you don’t see that scenario as reaching for straws, highly improbable to enact (assuming you even found where people were), and just comical. Walk, transform, stomp, walk, transform, stomp? Is this a comedy routine?

        And your last paragraph, other commenters have already pointed out that the commander himself didn’t see him trashing other Titans, so that testimony only holds so much ground. The basic point is Eren is an aberration, and one that lends more credence to the possibility of him going bonkers/out of control at any time, hence high risk.

        You say the commander isn’t gauging on the ground, yet he is. He knows that titans that attack other titans have never appeared. He knows this is odd. And thus he knows that even if this might be true, the risk is still insanely high, especially if the fact he’s an aberration makes it questionable that he’d have control of the Titan form even if he didn’t willingly want to attack humans at a later time. You gauge on the stuff you put the most credit on, which is that by all means, he’s a bigger risk than he is a potential reward, because it’s just never happened and too risky to believe in something that has never happened previously. It’s like saying you’d believe in someone who wins 1/1000000000th of the time or something, or believing something with 1 scientific paper for it versus 99000 other papers that were against it.

        And really, again, you’re gonna spare time to tie him up and hang him? No. They’re spending enough time as is. Killing him is the fastest way to rid yourself of a potential high risk in a time sensitive situation. Oh right, Mikasa was also preventing anyone else from touching him, so really, they weren’t gonna get close even if they tried that plan. Also, if he could transform, tying him up wouldn’t help cause midway he could transform and break whatever restraint they had. So… yeah.

      6. Ok just so you keep saying that your points are ignored

        “Uh, no, he actually didn’t have much time to visit the interior, considering he has no business there. The cadets are pretty much strictly restricted to particular areas, and even if he somehow breached a sensitive zone, he would’ve never gotten close to any VIPs in human form, assuming he knew where they were in the first place. It’s logically improbable for him to have visited the interior before the hole as a result. I made like 5 points on this before, and you seemed to have skipped it.”

        Can civilians travel from 1 place to another past the wall? Can you stuff your uniform into a bag?

        “As for your second point, you really have to be joking if you don’t see that scenario as reaching for straws, highly improbable to enact (assuming you even found where people were), and just comical. Walk, transform, stomp, walk, transform, stomp? Is this a comedy routine?”

        If you think its a comedy routine, then point out how the target is going to resist. If Eren gets asked by guards, he just responds he’s carry a message from the front line for XXX. With the chaos generated by the first messenger who informs people on the wall breach, no one knowing that humans can change to titans, how exactly are you going to defend against it? Precognition? Ass pull? Okabe Rintarou appearing to stop you?

        “And your last paragraph, other commenters have already pointed out that the commander himself didn’t see him trashing other Titans, so that testimony only holds so much ground. The basic point is Eren is an aberration, and one that lends more credence to the possibility of him going bonkers/out of control at any time, hence high risk.”

        So kill him or not. Dallying just to asking a moronic question that adds 0 to what you already know is something you think a person in a military structure will do?

        “You say the commander isn’t gauging on the ground, yet he is. He knows that titans that attack other titans have never appeared. He knows this is odd. And thus he knows that even if this might be true, the risk is still insanely high, especially if the fact he’s an aberration makes it questionable that he’d have control of the Titan form even if he didn’t willingly want to attack humans at a later time. You gauge on the stuff you put the most credit on, which is that by all means, he’s a bigger risk than he is a potential reward, because it’s just never happened and too risky to believe in something that has never happened previously. It’s like saying you’d believe in someone who wins 1/1000000000th of the time or something, or believing something with 1 scientific paper for it versus 99000 other papers that were against it.”

        Back to the answer KILL HIM OR NOT. I’m not even considering whether he can be used as a weapon. I’m considering the dumbness of allowing someone (who can change form) to wake up just so you can ask a dumb question. Read that again and tell me that make perfect sense.

        “And really, again, you’re gonna spare time to tie him up and hang him? No. They’re spending enough time as is. Killing him is the fastest way to rid yourself of a potential high risk in a time sensitive situation. Oh right, Mikasa was also preventing anyone else from touching him, so really, they weren’t gonna get close even if they tried that plan. Also, if he could transform, tying him up wouldn’t help cause midway he could transform and break whatever restraint they had. So… yeah.”

        Spare time? You mean it will take more time than having 20 guns + 1 cannon crew stand around for unknown amounts of time surrounding 3 people so you can ask a dumb question? Really? Also, any non-brain dead guy would see that not killing Eren is the best way to sway both Mikasa and Armin. Hanging him up there does not kill him. Its not even painful since he’s hung by his harness. Titans can’t reach him. Need more persuasion? Tell the both of them that they can stay at the top of the wall where he is being hung.

        Zaku_Fan
      7. I don’t even.

        Man, your first part is already off the mark. If even fellow army officers can’t reach the VIP’s, how the heck are CIVILIANS going to get close? It’s like saying civilians can get to the President when some Secret Service members aren’t even allowed near him.

        Second, it’s a comedy routine because you’re thinking of some insane scenario where a guy’s just freely hopping around transforming into some epic 10m tall thing, stomping a guy, somehow arousing no suspision, then magically transforming back in the blink of an eye and resuming. Again, where the heck are you even gonna FIND the VIPs? 90% of the citizens likely don’t know where the exact locales of many vips are and oh yeah, back to point one, how the heck you gonna get past the walls in the first place?

        Third, yes yes just kill him because suddenly it because acceptable to kill Mikasa without a moments hesitation. He might be incompetent, but he still obviously recognizes Mikasa’s skill and values it. Really, >Military structure argument. Have you heard of the, “highest ranking officer in area” argument?

        Sigh. The list goes on. All the above I mentioned already. At this point it’s like I’m repeating things time and time again.

        See the last reply to the other comment chain. I’m done. There’s no point to this discussion. If you’re gonna freely make equal things that shouldn’t be, be my guest. I’ll let up/downvotes and other comments go from here.

      8. @Zaku_Fan

        Congrats on finding a bunch of your friends (or you, yourself using multiple sources) to downvote my comments and upvote your own. If only you know, it wasn’t that obvious from the other comments having not received any where similar number of votes, and the fact that my comments were almost all upvotes and yours almost all downvotes just a few hours ago.

        Either way, I’ll tolerate this this time around, but now that you’ve gone into intentional abuse of the downvote/upvote system, I’m putting my foot down here. I tried to have a fairly civilized discussion and leave the verdict out to other viewers who might want to add their words, but you don’t seem to care much for that. So from this point forward, any future abuse of the upvote/downvote system of a similar nature will lead to your comments being removed.

        If you don’t agree with something, fine. Just don’t cross the line into childish behavior by abusing a system that has worked well to combat spoilers. Because the second you do, you undermine the system, and it might be taken off as a result if people like you abuse it too much. In that context, don’t blame me if you accidentally stumble upon some epic spoiler that you normally wouldn’t have seen in the future because of what you did here today. Get pissed at me all you want, but don’t go dragging things that could influence many others viewing this page into the equation. Be a mature person and deal with disagreements like one.

      9. Oh wait who said this
        “If you’re gonna freely make equal things that shouldn’t be, be my guest. I’ll let up/downvotes and other comments go from here.”

        Yeah wasn’t me that was hinting to people to down vote someone. Don’t like it when things don’t go the way you want? Too bad. Want to rally more support by insinuating threats? Try harder. Frankly, i care. I’m outta here. Too bad, site was good when Omni was around.

        Zaku_Fan
      10. >Up/downvotes as a threat.
        >Thinking I can make people downvote you (or would intentionally do so artificially like you did).

        Someone obviously doesn’t understand that normal viewers reading will up/downvote typically based on strength of argument. I freely accepted the chances my replies would get downvoted. I guess you didn’t.

        >I’m outta here. Too bad, site was good when Omni was around.

        The only thing that’s for sure is that the site is better without systematic abusers like yourself.

    3. @AngryKoala and Zaku_Fan:

      How much do these soldiers actually know about Titans? Their origins? For all those soldiers know, Eren is the Armored Titan. After all, the situation is similar to when Wall Maria fell just five years ago: Colossal Titan destroys the outer wall and Titans swarm in. The only thing missing is the Armored Titan breaking through the gates– and the Garrison is anticipating that.

      Then we have Eren stating “I’ll kill you all” with that grin on his face…

      Granted, us viewers (and readers) know that Kitz is an incompetent coward because of a conveniently placed scene. His fears aren’t unfounded, though.

      Can you say with 100% certainty that Eren was in control of his Titan form? Before this episode, what did you think was the trigger for Eren’s transformation? Does he “Titan Up” when he gets angry?

      In the Garrison’s mind, some random nobody suddenly turned into a Titan. A few people may have even seen Eren’s rampage– normal Titans don’t hold a candle to him. Now, Eren is inside their walls.

      The following is a hypothetical scenario– the closest analogy I could make, seeing as there are no Titans in the real world.

      What would you do if you entered your living room only to find a suspected mass murderer staring at you? You don’t know him personally but you’ve seen his picture and heard reports on TV, and while he looks weakened, there’s an agitated look in his eyes and an assault rifle in his hands with his fingers dangerously close to the trigger.

      Your family is upstairs. You’ve trained yourself how to shoot and your handgun is nearby. You have one shot to bring him down. Will you take the shot? Will you try reasoning with him?

      Shooting him means killing another human being but you will have the assurance that your family is safe. Trying to reason means you might die if things turn sour, and your family might die as well. If you’re able to reason with him, then your family is safe and you wouldn’t have killed anyone.

      You have seconds to decide because he is already regaining his breath and you have absolutely no idea what he’s thinking, only that he is still staring at you.

      Lastly, I’d like to point out that most of the true elites– and even the true soldiers— are all in the Scouting Legion. That should be very obvious in the opening scene when random legionnaire #x is literally in the jaws of death and, instead of begging for his life like every mook we’ve seen so far, threatens the Titan.

      Even the so-called ‘elites’ guarding the King aren’t that great– which is why there is so much disdain for them. Bear in mind that, unlike the Scouting Legion that regularly throws themselves in front of Titans, the Garrison and the Police remain inside the walls. In the past 100 years when humanity was living safely inside the walls, it was only the Scouting Legion that regularly engaged the Titans. Everyone else was busy drinking as Hannes can attest to.

      Beedle
  22. warning! a tiny part of this episode is a bit of a spoiler SO PLEASE DON’T CLICK SHOW SPOILER unless you want to be spoiled/already know a bit of what happens in the manga. you’ve been warned!

    Show Spoiler ▼

    deerling
  23. Eren is obviously a time traveler from a future in which the humans lost… hence why he was crying in the first episode after being sent back and seeing Mikasa again… either that is how the series will end or Mikasa will turn into a Magical Girl and save us all.

    1. sure, and his father was the scientific genius to make this bend logic work. Like, “I’ll just give you a serum to surpress your memories and send you back in time.” Nice generic bullshit.

      The concept behind this show? Sacrifice logic for drama and epicness.
      Just funny to see how many fags already get an orgasm by being fooled with epic trainwreck.
      Oh yeah, thumbs down so I can count shounen fags.

      1. I guess you probably a) don’t like anime, or b) too blind to grasp simple concepts of fiction, c) a troll.

        Just to justify, name one anime or game that doesn’t sacrifice logic? That is the whole point why fictions are created, so we can sacrifice logic and science in favor of entertainment.

        Anon
      1. Stating “serum = Titan” is jumping the gun quite a bit, considering we only have one case to go by. =o

        I do wish the author would explain the Titans’ origins already, though, so that all the speculations can be laid to rest. The recent manga rumor/spoiler, if true, is simply frustrating.

        Beedle
  24. An amazing episode.

    Sir Levy truly a gentlemen and scholar.

    Loved the way he showed up to massacred titan killing the poor recon scout. Scout was ok you f#$% kicked my butt, i m still going to hurt you and like my big brother Levi is going to kill ya! He going to get ya and all ur bros!!! and pow Big Bro Levi delivers.

    He gave good clear orders to the survivors of his squad.

    Then wipes the floor with two of titans by himself.

    And being Big Bro comforts his nakama despite his dirt OCD thingie. No hesitation on grabbing dying scout’s bloody hand.

    Finally gave push to his upline when he thought his men died for naught. Backed down when there was a reason.

    That my friends is an officer to follow. You know he’s going to give you good orders and if he has to spend ya like a cheap pawn, he’ll tell ya and you know it was for a good reason.

    I assume he’s going to be Eren’s commanding officer. 🙂

    Eren meanwhile with a very badly timed wet dream wakeup.

    T-Man
  25. This was my one pick of the spring season, I don’t have as much free time as I used to =( But I just started watching it and felt it was forced and way overboard. Any suggestions for an alternative? Either spring or summer 2013 series. Thanks

    RevolutionaryBum
    1. Monogatari is always something to look forward to, but I’m also anticipating Gatchaman Crowds. Highschool DxD New, on the other hand, will be my guilty pleasure.

      Beedle
  26. I decided to wait till the definitive version of fansubs for this anime, Evetaku, came out because I can’t stand GG or Commie subs.WTF is an Eoten…

    The debut of two of my fav characters, Rivaille and Zoe <3

    Speaking of Rivaille, Show Spoiler ▼

    Magoiichi
      1. Show Spoiler ▼

        Magoiichi
    1. Could you please elaborate on why you are against the spelling of “Levi”? I understand not using Eoten for Titan but… even Kodansha USA translates it as Levi and that’s the Japanese publisher’s US English branch, which would be the closest connection to the mangaka as possible, and the company always ask how the mangaka wants the character to be romanized anyway.

      Jel

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