「オルブド区外壁」 (Orubudo-ku Gaiheki)
“Outside the Walls of Orvud District”

While probably not the explosive ending most were likely expecting from the aftermath of last week’s cliffhanger, SnK isn’t one to quickly let go of the momentum so wonderfully built up. Having further fleshed out the mystery of the Founding Titan power (even while leaving quite a bit to ponder), attention is now back on good old Titan wrangling and the one secret always sitting out in plain sight. That’s right boys and girls, it’s bottom dwelling basement time.

Considering the vital importance Eren holds to both correcting the issue of Titans occupying a good chunk of human real estate and now discerning the truth of his stolen power it’s not all too shocking the kid wound up quickly reverting to form, but I’m pleasantly surprised how speedy his recovery was. As with some earlier arcs Eren’s self-professed guilt could have easily dragged itself out over several weeks, a gangrenous wound inflaming already tense situations and adding unneeded drama to a well-structured story. Instead though? We not only got Eren understanding a legitimate reason existed for his father’s actions, but finding the strength to push through his debilitating miasma and actually, for once, succeed in a desired objective. Sure finally turning into crystal with a little pharmaceutical assistance not be to the level of Goku going Super Saiyan through sheer mental will, but considering where the kid is coming from, that’s a feat worthy of a bit of praise.

The real fun though lies with the next course of action for Scouts and Eren both, as Rod Reiss is still a major (if not entirely conscious) threat, the military is not assured control over government for long, and no one has any idea how to safely get back to Wall Maria yet. Eliminating Rod in the short term shouldn’t be too difficult of course, between his hilariously fitting Titan form and Historia’s determination to throw off her shackles everyone is more or less committed to removing the last traces of humanity’s original leadership. Might run into casualty issues considering Erwin’s refusal to evacuate anyone from Rod’s path, but when you remember the need to quickly install Historia as queen things start making a little more sense. Need a bit of extra legitimacy? Simply have the new ruler prove her worth by eliminating a real threat in front of the general populace. Nothing says a committal to Titan killing like actually killing Titans after all. As for getting to Wall Maria and exploring Eren’s basement, well, you can likely guess the path forward for that secondary goal.

Once dear Rod has been reunited with his lost family it’s time for another time honoured Scout expedition into enemy territory, and this time failure isn’t on the table. The going will be difficult and some may have to make the ultimate sacrifice, but the one giant secret waiting for its debut is about ready to throw the lid off on everything we thought we knew. Prepare yourselves boys and girls, the next arc is going to be wild.

 

Preview

12 Comments

  1. Seeing Rod Reiess wriggling in animated form sends shivers like the way you see a centipede just squirming around ew

    I’m glad that Eren was able to get out of his self-guilt and take control. I wish there were more Mikasa and Eren interaction. Sad to see how Mikasa is just on the side trying to talk to the guy

    Akai
      1. First off, animation quality isn’t necessarily correlated with budget and money. It’s more or less connected with the talent involved and time as well as concurrently running productions. Imai spent *a month* key animating the chase scene in Ep39 by himself, so you can’t say there’s less effort being put into the production.

        It’s probably a result of the direction and content of the Uprising arc involving less flashy 3DMG combat as well as the apparent artistic decision to not render the 3DMG cables with as much detail as the previous seasons. The animation seems to have taken up a more “webgen” feel and less emphasis is placed on the thick brushstroke outlines. This can probably be explained by the rendering artists being diverted to the Kabaneri film’s production, as Season 2 had an entire “make-up” animation team that is conspicuously absent this season.

        Also, Season 3 is adapting the Return to Shiganshina arc, which will involve a lot of extensive animation judging by the manga.

        Starkness
  2. Once all the dust of this arc has settled I dearly want Eren to get angry over all the futile training he did to try and learn Titan hardening, when every other sentient Titan just has a simple pharmaceutical solution.

    PurpleBomber
  3. I love the small moment in which Kenny actually shows concern for Caven. We’ve seen lots of his people get killed but the moment she came to rush to his side he was concerned about her safety. I guess having her as his second in command does say something. I doubt Kenny truly trusts many people.

  4. Great that everyone acknowledged that Eren had achieved bare minimum in the past. Still riding big plans on his shoulders but hopefully this time he’ll be a bit more efficient.

    Flesh looking nightwalker in the background while Erwin give out orders was quite hilarious..

    Bambi

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