First Impressions / Shingeki no Kyojin

「傷 ―トロスト区攻防戦⑧―」 (Kizu ―Torosuto Ku Kobo Sen ⑧―)
“Wound ―Defense of Trost (8)―”

“Despite avoiding combat as much as possible, we lost a fifth of our men.”

A FIFTH OF OUR MEN. A FIFTH! Gosh darn, talk about suffering. Really, when you’re losing a fifth of your men in an operation that’s had arguably the least fighting of any you’ve been a part of so far… that’s some grim stuff.

Either way though, this episode continues the spotlight on Pixis and his general personality. Indeed, his comment that the aforementioned soldiers weren’t “just lost, but sent to their deaths by his orders” just gives us a view into the kind of person he is… and it’s quite something. I mean, there are few greater mixes than a leader whose both idealistic in terms of being the leader you’d want to follow and realistic in terms of how much power he wields as a person in his condition. All in all, it’s a testament to how he understands the responsibility of his position—and this week continues a string of episodes that demonstrate just how much of a boss Pixis is.

In any case, the main highlight of this week ends up being the failure of Eren to complete his portion of the operation, and his failure brings us to the question of whether or not everything that was sacrificed was a waste or not. Again though, it’s here where Pixis shines again with his quotes (“We cannot allow the death of our comrades be in vain. Giving up so easily is unacceptable.”)… and via his pick of Ian as the elite squad leader. Because what this does is ultimately set the stage for Ian to show just why he’s such a capable leader: as in the end, he realizes that even though this operation failed, Eren still represents a key hope of mankind. They might’ve failed this time, but he could very well still help next time. You can’t be too quick to just toss something out because it didn’t work on the first try, and you can’t run now when so many sacrifices have already been made. In many ways, that’s what a soldier’s about: recognizing the limits of what you can do alone, thinking on your feet, making your death count if you need to, and fighting for those who have fallen before you. And in essence, that’s what the elite squad stands for as well—the ideals of what a soldier should be and humanity’s potential.

Ultimately though, the episode is a tale of two halves, and the latter half involves Armin trying to forcefully extract Eren from the Titan body. Combine that with Jean’s own share of heroics… and I have to say, they’ve all really come a long way since the start of the series. There really ain’t nothing like the pressure cooker known as “imminent and brutal death” to push one to maturation. Still, things are pretty darn grim regardless—but then again, when aren’t they?—and as always, the suffering just continues. In general, it’s more of a character development episode than anything, and nothing really progressed here per se… but it was definitely a solid episode regardless, and one that reinforces the fact that Eren’s resolve needs to be tried and true if he wants to succeed in his mission.

Looking forward, things look like they’ll only get better from here, and it’ll be quite something to see how things develop as we get ready to enter the second cour. One wonders if we’ll ever see such a great number of Mikasa focused shots ever again though…

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.

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    Preview

    96 Comments

      1. Really, I thought it was improved in areas. Eren’s Titan form was defined, a lot of atmospheric lighting and shading, also character expressions were well animated.

        All in all, I highly disagree.

        Goodwill.Wright
        Reply

    2. Sometimes you gotta put in all your chips on the monster-shapeshifting newcomer if it means breaking a cycle of perpetual human loss and imminent extinction. I feel for Riko and others who want to pull back, because basing a whole mission on Eren’s success does feel like a losing cause. But Ian and Pixis look for the long-range goal, and a guy like Eren on their side is an instant gamechanger that they wanna cultivate.

      Too bad a lot of things went wrong just to make one thing right.

      The Truth is in the Axe
      Reply

      1. Sorry? Mikasa was going to murder the other guy. The scene was better portrayed in the manga if you thought that. Ian saved the day by avoiding another tragedy there, he saved his comrade’s lives from Misaka’s wrath. That’s why she thanks him so much afterwards too.

        Ebisu
        Reply

        1. Edios: Call up Mythbusters and tell them that you saw an anime where there is a giant with a human grafted to its backbone and in one episode it punches itself in the face and crushes its hand and face – even though it was a massive anime-sourced giant, could a human actually do that to itself? 🙂

          7godeohs
          Reply

    7. I was wondering why the soldiers rarely ducked inside of buildings rather than trying to run down the streets away from the Titans (which are kind of hard to outpace). Sure the Titans can smash through the walls but not as quickly as you can run through the doors (provided they aren’t all locked) or jump through windows. Jean finally did that at the end at least.

      Absaroka
      Reply

      1. Because they can’t use their 3DM gear if they need to, and that is frankly one of the things that keep them alive. Another reason is that the Titan may lose interest and give up pursuit which was not the mission objective.

        Plus as you said, what if a door was locked? Or what happened if the window was barred? Plus it isn’t like most of the cadets can just jump through a window and get back up.

        Goodwill.Wright
        Reply

      2. The way I saw it was that the soldiers needed the open space to use their 3D gear to move around. Mobility above all seems to be the key in killing the titans. Notice how they don’t wear any armor. Anything that slows them down will kill them. Jean only hid in the building because he had no choice.

        sands76
        Reply

        1. Quite frankly, even if they wear armor, one hit from a Titan will still fracture or break bones. Not to mention that a Titan could still easily bite through the armor. So I’d say it is less about mobility and more about the fact it is downright useless for both reasons.

          Goodwill.Wright
          Reply

        1. Yes, the good ol’ Endless Eight. I don’t blame you though, cause it was a heck of a ride. But on the bright side, it was a setting stage for the epic Disappearance movie.. totally loved it.

          Back to the topic.. I think SnK is moving at a smoother pace than other real slow paced shows. not gonna mention any though.

          PS ~~~ LOVED THE BLUSHING MIKASA <3

          Senjougahara Hitagi
          Reply

    9. After the fact, yeah, good episode and all but…
      During the show I was livid that there really was no progression. This show has taken such a slow pace that I was angry. Good story-telling and all that, right? But it felt like they had been holding that eff-ing carrot on a string in front of me for waaaaay too long.
      I feel like next episode they will concentrate on other characters and their plights for half the show and in the other half Eren-titan will stand up, brush himself off, and say ‘ok, let’s get too work’ only to end again with a -to be continued. I love the show but the progression of the story feels way to slow too me.

      igniteous
      Reply

      1. Well, personal suggestion but maybe next cour, you may just want to wait until the entire cour is out before you decide to watch it. At least the “slow” episodes will feel better.

        However, I like the pacing and each and every episode gives you insight to the characters. I can assure you that if it weren’t for these character development episodes, it will just make whatever future tribulations fall flat, and then people will be complaining that there wasn’t enough character development.

        All in all, if you are complaining about how not every episode is filled to the brim with action, just imagine when you marathon this series when it is complete. You would barely notice the “slow” pace. To me, what is slow is not the pacing of the anime, but how long it takes for 168 hours to pass by.

        Goodwill.Wright
        Reply

        1. The slow pace wouldn’t bother me at all if this was a 50+ episode show. The fact that it’s only 24 (As far as I know?) and we still haven’t gotten through what is essentially the “First battle” greatly worries me because there is SO MUCH ground to be covered yet. For example;

          1) Who are the titans? Are they people, or an alien race? What is their true nature?

          2) What exactly happened to Eren that allows him to transform into a titan? Why is he sometimes unable to ‘control’ himself as a titan?

          3) What is in the cellar in Eren’s home? What is the deal with Eren’s dad?

          4) What exactly exists far beyond where Wall Rose once stood? What secrets of the titans lie beyond there?

          The fact that we’ve been pussyfooting for 12 episodes and none of these questions have been answered severely worries me. I love this show so much but that’s why I wish it’d either pick up the pace or be much longer.

          Daramue
          Reply

    10. I keep wondering why they show Eren’s titan eyes as glowing green, but the other titans all have regular eyes. Is it just stylistic effect or is there something going on here?

      Also, all these revelations about Eren being a titan pilot makes me think that all the titans have humans in them. That means the “sudden appearance/disappearance” of the intelligent colossal titan, coupled with the fact that there were people last episode talking about a “spy” for the titans in their ranks, AND the conversation last episode talking about using the titans as a way to unite humanity all points in one direction.

      That colossal titan’s gotta be a titan-shifter just like Eren.

      sands76
      Reply

      1. I don’t think other possible Titan Shifters would have had the shot of the Jaeger special. So that may be why Eren is different.

        My guess on other Titan Shifters:
        Show Spoiler ▼

        Goodwill.Wright
        Reply

        1. All the memes & fan-made vids are better than the actual show itself if you ask me,at least for the time being.Seriously now,instead of asking myself “I wonder what will happen in this episode of Attack on Titan?” it’s more like “I wonder if ANYTHING NEW will happen in this episode of Attack on Titan?”

          Pick up the damn pace Shingeki!

          MgMaster
          Reply

    12. The pacing of these last few episodes reminds me of a high school student who would bullshit the length of his essays by messing with the margins and increasing the font size of periods. It’s obvious that they are padding for time management and trying to mask it, but it is so blatant it’s not even funny.

      I read the manga, and its taken 12 episodes to get through about 14 chapters. That is really really slow. The almost 2 minutes of recap at the start of the episode doesn’t help.

      That said…..Erin/Armin OTP.

      BaronMunchausen
      Reply

      1. So you would prefer for them to do it fast? Then risk complaints about the characters being flat or the pacing too fast?

        Personally, I wouldn’t insult the screen director by analyzing this to a common essay because directing an adaptation with strict guidelines and budget is very, very, very very freakin’ hard. Not to mention when you also have the expectations of the manga readers who are usually the first ones to complain about when scenes are taken out.

        Being a director, it is all about finding balance, and this balance works the best for Shingeki No Kyojin.

        Goodwill.Wright
        Reply

        2. Derprito, that’s a plain lie. This episode consists of 2½ chapters, whereas one chapter consists of 40 pages, so in total 90-100 pages or half a volume. Considering this is a rather fast pacing for an adaption.

          Otl
          Reply

      2. I thought the recap was a little long this episode, but ultimately

        I kind of liked the “padding” they added this episode though. It added a little more depth to the characters involved, and ultimately I trust the director in trying to keep the “filler” on the lite side to make sure they never catch up. A couple of minutes an episode is better than a fan service episode in the middle of no where. It appears they are trying to cater to the people that complain about those other manga based shows, and that means this guy.

        Nobody
        Reply

        1. I guess I would agree with the recap this episode. But we should think of it like the people in Japan who don’t have the luxury of simply tracing back on their hard drive to watch the previous episode.

          Goodwill.Wright
          Reply

        1. You do realize it’s always been 25 episodes from the start right? They’ve already gotten their “second season” theoretically, so that doesn’t make much sense unless you mean trying for even more episodes aside from that. And even then, that would’ve happened regardless because it was selling like bonkers to start, and the source material is ongoing.

          Zephyr
          Reply

    13. <%Xumbra> Damn I wish Shingeki had Dumbledore in it
      <LightnDark> snape dies too
      <LightnDark> >_>
      <Kyosuke^> lol
      <@Ghost_X_Zephyr> everybody dies
      <%Xumbra> He’d own everyone
      <LightnDark> dobby die
      <%Xumbra> and there would be wizards too
      <@Ghost_X_Zephyr> YOU’RE A WIZARD
      <@Ghost_X_Zephyr> eren
      <Luxor> also Rico </3
      <@Ghost_X_Zephyr> wut
      <%Xumbra> and they wouldn’t need their 3D gear because they can throw fireballs
      <acekicker> ha
      <Kyosuke^> can’t killa titan without cutting their napes!
      <Kyosuke^> 😮
      <Luxor> eren be throwin firebawls
      <%Xumbra> and they go to hogwarts, which is really the training camp for killing titans
      <Kyosuke^> fireballs DO NOTHING!
      <%Xumbra> AND THEY HAVE PET DRAGONS
      <%Xumbra> OMG THAT WOULD BE AWESOME
      <Luxor> Xumbra: no.
      <%Xumbra> DUDE. BUCKBEAK.
      <Luxor> RIP
      <%Xumbra> …not that he’s a dragon
      <%Xumbra> BUT STILL
      <LightnDark> ..
      <LightnDark> them fantasies getting out of control
      <Luxor> Xumbra: YO SPOILERS
      <%Xumbra> I want to see Shingeki x Harry Potter doujins now
      <acekicker> oh god
      <Kyosuke^> lol
      <Luxor> I want shingeki x railgun pics
      <@Ghost_X_Zephyr> attack on hogwarts
      <LightnDark> I want shingeki x vvv pics
      <Luxor> they even have flying equipment at hogwarts
      <%Xumbra> I can’t stop laughing, send help

      Everyone, make Shingeki x Harry Potter doujins. It’ll be awesome, promise.

      Xumbra
      Reply

    16. the ending scene was fucking awesome, but i feel like this series as a whole caters more to the manga readers than anything. it really tries to make all the events feel powerful, and i love it. from armin putting his everything on the line to convince the army of eren’s usefulness, to eren’s illusions bursting into flames… these scenes didn’t hold the same weight as they do now that they are animated. this is why for me, this is a really beautiful adaptation.

      bolton
      Reply

    23. Huh, the pacing has slowed down compared to the first few episodes. Are they aiming for the second season? I always wondered how would this one end…

      And I must say, despite being a manga reader (lol, I gave up a few weeks ago and read all the chapters in one go…), the episodes still give me shivers. Awesome stuff, especially that ending.

      Misk
      Reply

      2. Judging by how they choose to end a 13 episode arc, I can’t help but feel that episode 25 is going to be a really painful cliffhanger; and that they’ll leave themselves enough material from the manga for the next 13 episodes after the first 2 cours while waiting for more content from the source material.

        Vagrant
        Reply

      2. I personally think the end card is the best part for this week’s episode lol

        Hajime Isayama’s comment on the end card from his blog (sorry for my terrible translation, I tried):
        “PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE END CARD. At the end, I feel this one really can’t lose. What kind of image can be so shocking that it would stay in one’s memory? If there is a picture that is impossible to be ignored, what would it be? This is the answer.”

        Kaka
        Reply

    31. That last segment between Armin and Eren had me thinking, the whole thing came across as some dark symbolism and foreshadowing. Note that in Eren’s “sheltered home”, he includes Mikasa in his mind, and yet we have Armin on the outside, representing the very same dreams that Eren had adopted in regards to his true feelings and desire to traverse the outside world. The burning of his own household and how he views his family as some sort of a burden leads me to think this will be touched on as the series progresses. Consider how Mikasa thinks that she is the closest person to Eren in this episode, assuming because Eren wouldn’t answer her, he wouldn’t do the same for Armin. And yet, proven wrong, he actually starts responding to him in his mind, contrary to what Mikasa had thought. Also, recall how in the episode where Eren was swallowed, his last words reflected on the very same dream that he and Armin shared together.

      I’d be curious (and fearful) of how the dynamic between the three will be explored as we go deeper into this series, because that scene with the burning house really caught my eye, and the blatant showcasing of Mikasa as being part of Eren’s vision of things holding him back seems rather indicative of his true mindset.

      ronri
      Reply

    32. I really appreciate the character development in this episode. Sure there wasn’t any action, and the main plot of the boulder is still in progress, but the amount of character development was astounding.

      -Mikasa was still trying to talk some sense into Eren. Not surprising. Lol.
      -Jean saving Connie instead of just watching or running away.
      -The whole scene with Armin trying to talk to Eren, talking about going to the outside world, joining the recon corps
      -The house burning down in Eren’s dream, hmmm…

      Also, Mikasa looked so beautiful there. Whoa.

      Jel
      Reply

    33. Eren is gay so he love Levi and Armin and he leaves Mikasa friendzone ,I have nothing against homosexual yeah it’s cool , so can I get my Mikasa now?! (homo is good for something) XD

      PeTdo
      Reply

      1. I actually thought the stills in this episodes were quite fitting, especially at the end when Armin was trying to talk to Eren while stills of everyone fighting were shown. AND DAT SOUNDTRACK.

        Misk
        Reply

    36. For some weird reason I don’t want to see Ian, Mitabi and Rico die and after I saw next weeks preview and Rico cry I am sure people will die. I am not an manga reader so I don’t know what is going to happen but I kind of liked Ian this episode and I already started liking Rico last episode so I cross my fingers for them to survive all those titans.

      santino
      Reply

    37. Here is one theory I’ve heard from someone in another comments section. Whenever Eren transforms whatever he is feeling/thinking about is directed to how his titan will act. When he was swallowed he was only thinking about killing the titans. When they fired canons at him he was thinking about protecting his friends. However before Eren transformed this time not to long before this he was angry at mikasa for babying him so much. Could this be the explanation for the reason he attacked mikasa? He wasn’t interested in attacking anyone else at the time if you notice. Since this was never properly explained in the episode i think this theory is pretty good atm.

      leatherhead333
      Reply

    38. man…fuck rico…first she exerts all dat pressure on eren with how he’s solely responsible for the lives of his comrades (you don’t talk shit like that right before a mission to save humanity)…and at the first sign of trouble…she tries to duck out?? leaving the person of more strategic value and significance than all of their lives combined?? srsly…yes i understand pixis was reckless in calling this mission in the first place…but given the urgency of the situation, he had to make a gamble…but these supposedly elites of the elites he’s so proud of are mostly nothing but pansies…you wanna call someone elite? give armin a medal for having a brain…the rest of these useless muscles belong in the MP…not where they could ditch what could potentially unlock the secret of titans for the mere lives of a few…

      NierTevra
      Reply

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