Shingeki no Kyojin – 20
TIME TO PARTY!
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WHO IS THE FEMALE TITAN? We still don’t know and we’re still being mercilessly teased at the end of the episode. Will we ever know? Will they just keep dangling that juicy carrot out of reach? Part of me laments the plot for crawling forward ever so slowly, but part of me is completely satisfied by watching a Titan-killing frenzy. |
Once again, we start off at a snail’s pace with a long conversation. It gets interesting as soon as we touch upon the subject of Erwin’s leadership tactics. His ability to make sacrifices and take responsibility for his choices without feeling guilt makes him an ideal leader. He’s a lot different from Jean, who panicked when he was alone with Reiner, Armin and only one horse. Jean has been traumatized by losing companions thanks to his decisions, and is unwilling to make any choices that put anyone in danger. In other words, he doesn’t want to take responsibility for people dying under his command. He’s got some ways to go before he can be as stern as Erwin, who is as clever as a fox.
I like that although they describe Erwin as a “monster,” it’s very clear that he’s not just sacrificing soldiers willy-nilly. He calculated that his plan would not work without soldiers dying, and therefore allowed that expenditure. However, he tells them to retreat when the stampede of Titans overtakes them because he knows it’s not worth the amount of elite soldiers he’d lose in the process. He’s a smart man. He can weigh risk without bias, as if he were simply choosing watermelons at the grocery store. I’m sure he feels bad somewhere inside, but he’s learned to harden his heart to those dark thoughts. He’s an exceptional leader, and it’s become quite clear why Levi is so obedient. Obeying sketchy commands such as “refuel, goddammit” can save your life. Don’t ask questions, just obey the almighty Erwin, for he knows all.
The only thing he doesn’t know is how to crack open that Female Titan, so it seems. As expected, she escapes. I did not expect her to screech like a banshee and summon an army of Titans, however. It was pretty intense to see those Titan reinforcements suddenly screw up all their plans and just go nuts. The resulting carnage – although just a glorified slideshow of still shots – was effective at showing the bloodbath taking place. The most frightening thing about Titans is how unpredictable they are, and the fact that they can actually meet up when they hear a fellow Titan is rather unnerving. The fact that they all have variable intelligence and dexterity is also quite terrifying, as some of them actually were learning how to climb. Yes, learning. As in getting smarter. They’re already dangerous enough, we don’t need them to pick up any other techniques to help them kill humans!
It slices! It dices! It kills Titans! Get your own Levi today!
After being eaten, the Female Titan (in human form now) escapes and sets out to kill Eren and his guards. I love how even now, Erwin forms secret plans without telling anyone. Yes, even Levi isn’t told anything – presumably because someone else could be listening or to avoid making him panic. The great part about all this is you can kind of tell that the Female Titan got away somehow. You can guess it, at least. I like how subtly they hinted at it without insulting the audience’s intelligence. The Female Titan going directly after Eren should hopefully mean that NOW we get to see her face. I’m as impatient as ever and I want to know who the hell would kill fellow humans, and why. We may find out those answers very soon.
Preview: Bad stuff happens, what else is new?
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Who the hell is that *!^@#*&^@^(^!@#%&@!%@&~%^@&%^ GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ><" I hate spies and traitors. That's the worst. I hope that ^%&%^%$$$ dies a horrible death!!!!! Throw Eren't spoon inside their throat and make him take it!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA~
As everyone promises, the plot is getting more interesting. Seems like the side of the titans also contains individuals that are capable of thinking and not just mindlessly eating humans. I have a feeling that politics will be thrown in here.
I love comical moments in this show, for some reason. No chibi faces, or exaggerated reactions, which is good in this case. But that bragging imbecile… I would chop his head off if we were in the same team. GOD, that character's annoying -_-
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Whoa, such ferocity and hell bent willingness to see the guilty party meet a horrible demise. Are you like this with any character who turns out to be a traitor, regardless of the reasons behind their act of treason? 😉
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Usually, yes. I don’t care for reasoning!! 😀 N, I actually do, but most of the time double-crossing is a big no-no, no matter what. And right now, I can’t really think of a character like that whom I accepted and liked after finding out their reasoning. Maybe Gin, from Bleach? But I didn’t care for him that much either.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Interesting argument. Well, then. How about Seishin Muroi from Shiki? What’s your opinion on him after what he did in the end?
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t even remember clearly, what he did O_O I remember, that he turned into a vampire, but like Tatsumi and Natsuno. And went somewhere with that little girl. ^^”
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
What Seishin did was when the death toll in the village was going critical, instead of joining Toshio and the humans to help with their fight for survival, he willingly went to Sunako and the other vampires and let himself get bitten by Sunako because he realized he had more in common with them than he ever did with the humans. What triggered that was because he found out his own father did the same thing and he had a prior talk with Tohru with whom he sympathized with. Personally, I was very much alright with his choice.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Now I kinda recall that… but I can’t really tell you what I feel about it, because my memory of this anime is kind of vague. But I will say, that the methods Toshio used were so barbaric that I wouldn’t lift a finger to help him. Yes, the villagers were trying to save their own lives, but they became cruel, emotionless and obnoxious animals, more so than the vampires themselves.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I actually liked Gin more as a sociopath with loyalty to Aizen, I was kind of disappointed at the turn his character took.
As for double-crossing, it all depends on the circumstances to me. If it was to protect themselves or their families, then I can understand a double-cross. I especially can understand the classic, redeeming bad guy double-crossing his one-time evil comrades. However, at this point, I don’t think there’s anything that can redeem the Titan-hybrids other than a sacrificial death, and I don’t think that even that is enough for FemTitan after all the people she’s murdered.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Yes, circumstances are important. But in this situation, a person is turning their back on humanity itself. That’s definitely unforgivable.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I can’t think of a good reason for turning against humanity at all…Death by spoon sounds like an appropriate torture method!
The talk about pissing pants during the first mission was actually pretty cute. Oluo is as annoying as hell, but he’s good for setting up jokes. Every now and then this show has some surprisingly amusing scenes.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I would quote the “carve your heart out with a spoon” line from “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves“, but that would be too easy. 😛
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
No, that wouldn’t be enough. We need more blood! 😀
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Just how much of it would you need to satisfy that bloodlust of yours? Because it sounds like it would have to be a lot.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Yes, it would have to be a lot. Because she made me very mad.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I’ve been thinking about this pretty much all week. From the perspective of humanity, of course there’s no reason for the Titans. But from whoever came up with them, there obviously is. And I’m willing to accept that those reasons could possibly have some validity, we just can’t evaluate them if we don’t know them (nor from our biased viewpoint).
Additionally, how much choice did Eren have to become a convertible Titan? Zero. So why should we assume that these others had any choice, or have any choice as to what to do as a Titan?
Finally, there’s very little about the humanity depicted in the show that’s admirable. Admittedly, this is selection bias, but even the general humanity we’ve seen has been 1) willing to send thousands of people to their deaths to protect a cushier existence for themselves and 2) be more than willing to keep the best hopes for beating the Titans (the top of the military class) back to protect their asses.
I defended the neo-humans from Shin Sekai Yori to a certain degree because they self-inflicted things (albeit to a greater degree at the time than may have been warranted) on themselves that they felt were necessary for the survival of their species. The actions of the humans in SnK do not strike me the same way, even if they aren’t as brutal and awful. They’re far more craven and contemptible.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That sounds just like the Jinchuriki dilemma in the Naruto universe with each of the 9 candidates having a Tailed Beast forcibly sealed in their bodies and most used by villages as weapons of destruction. Neither of them had any choice and they suffered greatly for a fate they didn’t want. Given some thought on that, it’s not beyond understanding if they wanted to lash out at people for their despair.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
And, even if we posit that the female, armored, and colossal titans have some bit of free will as to what they’re doing, we have to assume that whatever made them be convertible titans, it wasn’t for the service of humanity (unlike Eren). So presumably they have reasons for doing what they’re doing, and it’s hard for me to consider them as any sort of ‘traitors to humanity’ given that they are in a position that isn’t really the same as humanity.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I don’t know, some parts of your argument I can see and others I could debate. I see plenty that is admirable about humanity here, especially within the main and supporting characters, within individuals in the military and the Recon Corps. They are brave and courageous people who are resilient despite their weakness. And like in real life though, there is the bad attributes about humanity that you mentioned before. Humanity has always been a mixed bag or good and bad, and it has the propensity to go to either extreme. However, because no matter what we think about it, we still belong to the same species, it will more than likely always be in our best interests to aid our fellow men against a common enemy.For even if we hate parts of humanity, to destroy it, would be to destroy ourselves.
And that’s where the Titan-hybrids come in. No, we don’t know their history, nor do we know how they got their powers. In Eren’s case, it was forced onto him unknowingly by his parent, however said parent did it to protect him as well as to give humanity hope. And though Eren did not choose to become a hybrid, he DOES choose what he does with those powers he’s been given. This is the difference between Eren and the other Titan-hybrids. Even if the hybrids are acting under orders (which I have no doubt that they are), it’s their choice to follow them. You could put up several arguments as to why they are compelled to follow them, you can even say that they are doing it under duress. However, if the FemTitan is any indication, than the list of mediating circumstances, is almost nil. FemTitan is murdering her fellow humans, she’s not simply protecting herself, she is actively and sometimes playfully killing these soldiers. Despite whatever orders she’s been given, she shows no remorse for what she’s done, and she goes out of her way to do these heinous acts.
The Titan-hybrids (sans Eren) all have the power to turn the tide and save the human race including themselves. However, they use their vast power to instead doom humanity and drive them closer and closer to extinction. And then what? Will they be the only ones left to start a new species, a new order of things? Well then the jokes on them, because the same problems they bring up today, will come again in any supposed new world they are trying set up.
Until we know the whole story, it’s really hard to know who to condemn, but as of right now, the Titan-hybrids and though they work for are swimming in blame right now.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
We’re seeing the best of humanity, and they barely cut it. To me it’s very meaningful that nearly ALL of the refugees from Wall Maria were basically cast out to their death. Basically, the rest of the people were so unwilling to sacrifice ANYTHING that they condemned, what, 1/4 to 1/3 of the population to certain death. This isn’t ‘making the best of a bad situation’, it’s refusal to even consider an alternative.
The female titan may be murdering humans, but she may be convinced of the rightness of doing so, as whoever came up with the titans thought in the first place. They aren’t “fellow humans”, because the other convertible titans may not be human in the first place. And given the way most of the humans treat Eren, the only known convertible titan, as a complete monster, what incentive would other convertible humans have to consider themselves part of humanity?
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
If she thought it was so right to kill humans, she wouldn’t really be enjoying it, she would think no more of it than we do of killing an ant. I know you’re playing devil’s advocate here and that’s fine, but I can also point out that even if she tries to delude herself that she is “no longer human”, it still does give her any right to do what she’s done. Actions have consequences, and I think FemTitan and the others will have to face theirs.
As to the whole culling thing after the fall of Wall Maria, I agree it was a horrible decision that was made. I can also say, that I can understand why it was made, and that the reasons were not all selfish. The issue of dwindling resources, land, and space all played a factor, as well as the fact that sickness and famine was wrecking havoc, and this isn’t exactly the enlightened times of today, but more similar to a post-Dark Ages period of time and culture. When I take all those variables into consideration, the more desperate the situation becomes and the more of a catch-22 it appears.
Now, that is not to let any of the higher-ups off the hook. We’ve seen there is more land and food available in other more privileged areas, and instead of sharing it, what was done to those poor civilians was monstrous.
However, I cannot and will not condemn all of humanity because of that one decision made by a few selfish men. Humanity has faced horrors of its own making before, but that does not blind me to the good that humanity can accomplish as well. I’ve seen it not just in the military of the show, but also in some of the civilians, such as the mother and daughter that thanked Mikasa for helping them.
The Titan-hybirds might think of themselves as different from humanity, they might even hate humanity, but they delude themselves if they think they are no longer human. To be a hybrid means that some part of them is still that original half, and that original part is human. You bring up how Eren has faced prejudice and hatred. Yet, you have also seen that that has never caused his loyalty to humanity to waver. Why should the other hybrids be given a free pass simply because they COULD face hatred and prejudice? Remember that before Eren, the public never even knew there were Titan-hybrids, so they couldn’t have faced what he has faced. And if Eren, the youngest and greenest of the group, can face these difficulties and still want to help humanity, are the others just that weak?
Does it give them the right to commit genocide?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Noone has a ‘right’ to commit genocide. But let’s be fair and say that both sides are interested in genocide of the other. And whoever came up with the Titans likely feels it was justified. And if the person who becomes the Female Titan succeeds in doing what she is compelled to do, then she wouldn’t really be judged by humans, but by others. And it’s not likely they’d find her wanting. The consequences would be quite different.
And I don’t know the origin of the other convertible titans. Perhaps they never were human. Was Eren’s father experimenting on others inside the walls? Were other people doing the same sort of experimentation? Maybe the others were always Titans, as seems far more likely (than parallel research / experimentation). Yes, they’re then spies, but they may have zero connection with other humans. So it’s no delusion at all, nor is it turning against humanity.
Part of this comes back to the whole premise of the show which I don’t know. How did the walls go up? And why does nobody seem to know? They know it was 100 years ago (although that could be a ruse, just tell people it was 100 years ago, but that implies a stupidity or forgetfulness), but nobody remembers how they were made? Humans have history of thousands of years, and these humans have at least a renaissance level of life, so you’d think they have the ability to keep records for that long.
I realize I’m being a bit of a wag here, but I honestly don’t feel a lot of kinship with the humans in this show, and don’t feel it’s warranted just because they are presumably human to assume they are the ‘good guys’.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
As far as we know at this point, humanity’s reasoning for eliminating titans is completely forgivable, because people are in total defense mode. The titans just storm in and raise hell for basically no reason. Not that we know any at this point. It’s not for survival, because people can’t physically do anything to harm them, and they don’t even have to eat. The only possible reasoning I see here is, as I said, politics. But that can’t be considered a righteous motivation. It’s the same as sending out thousands of people to certain death.
I don’t think it’s very likely that titan hybrids and whoever is behind all of that has the right reason to doing what they do. Humanity is defending itself, but what are titans, almost invincible, superior species trying to accomplish?
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
The reasoning for whoever the titans are and whatever they want must be very potent to be understood and accepted. So far, there’s not much motivation visible for their attacks and for eating humans. That’s probably all politics, and a very messed up form of war, but still. That doesn’t make things acceptable.
As for people who turn into titans, they probably didn’t wish to become such a creature, but either way, they’re still in control of themselves, more or less. Idk, if someone was controlling the female titan, and I don’t think this is the case here.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Even now I’m being teased with no sense of closure within reach. When was the last time I saw a series that had on edge like this? I could probably think of a few if I put some effort into it. The question is: How are things going to wrap up? There are 4, maybe five episodes left.
That Female Titan’s resilience is to be admired. She proves that there is a big difference among the Titans. It’s the first time seeing that they can defend themselves by hardening parts of their bodies to an almost crystal state. Even Eren isn’t capable of doing that so I could guess that every hybrid has a different power based on how their human body configured, depending on how they take care of themselves.
While Erwin still remains suspicious in my eyes, I can understand why he sent Levi to resupply against the short amount of time there is. The Female Titan had me going for a while with that Hara-kiri type move letting itself get eaten, thinking whoever it was wanted to make sure their identity stayed hidden. No one saw her leave the body and with the enemy rolling in the forest, it’s the worst possible time for everyone to have the traitor going into stealth mode. Sasha had the most epic “be on guard” after the Female Titan screeched like a trapped animal. That picture should have been shown. I’m really starting to press on the idea of the traitor being Annie. Not only does the Titan look like her, we haven’t seen her anywhere since the expedition began. Not to mention with her fierce combat experience shown in the earlier episodes, she’s definitely capable of taking down people in Levi’s squad protecting Eren as seen right before the ED started.
Side note: For those still hunting for the OPs of the series, here’s a torrent link. The file has both OPs “Guren no Yumiya” and “Jiyuu no Tsubasa”.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
But she joined the military police, didn’t she? I find her suspicious too, but what stops me is the fact that she wouldn’t be able to join the expedition, plus it would be hard to hide from Eren and other guys who would recognize her easily.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I have no clue how they’ll end it…with some sort of “to be continued” is my best guess since the manga isn’t over yet. I might have to start reading the manga afterwards to get my fix (which is something I always say with the full intention of following through but never actually do).
Annie is the only girl I can think of who we haven’t seen in human form on the mission…but otherwise I noticed no hints saying she was the Titan. She’s the best guess though, I’d have to say.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Suspicions point to Annie because the Female Titan looks so much like her. And like her, the Titan is adept at maneuvering around her enemies, using their tricks and bodies against them. If it is her, my question for the whole thing is: Why?
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Lol, I’m on to you BB. Hornin’ on my game, huh? We’ll see about that. 😛
Anyways, nice quotes. I thought the hardening part was interesting new feature (or old feature since it explains why the Armored Titan is “armored”), as well as that she can issue a call for help. I really hope that they let Eren have enough time to practice so that he can learn to do these things too.
As for the steam, I like that they brought that up as the way the Titan-hybrids can escape from their Titan forms and get away. However, I’ve just realized that the Colossal Titan must be different since he can disappear without leaving a corpse behind like Eren does. I’m guessing that CT is probably the most experienced and powerful of the others considering his size and that it seems that he can literally just transform back and forth with a spark (well, in his case, a bolt of lightning).
I’m 99% sure it’s Annie. If it’s anyone else, I’ll be shocked. I explained all my reasonings why a few episodes ago under a spoiler tag. However, it really just comes down to the fact that she’s really the only one it could be. She’s the only female character of the trainee group that knows Armin and isn’t already accounted for. It also doesn’t help that the Titan-hybrids resemble their original forms, and that there are not that many blond-haired blue-eyed named characters period, much less female ones. And they’re not just going to make it a brand new character we’ve never met before. So in short, it has to be Annie.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 24 comments
Nope, you’re not going to find out for at least to more episodes
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I hope that’s not the case. We’re running out of episodes.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Really? Goddammit.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 154 comments
Well for once I think more Titans died than humans. I kinda wish Eren would hurry up and learn to master his Titan powers so he can go and kill stuff again. I don’t think it would help him against the more experienced female Titan but at least it would be interesting.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Titan vs Titan battles would be AMAZING. I hope they get to the basement soon and teach Eren how to control himself too.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
If anything, they’ll get to the basement right at the end and leave us in a huge “To be continued” cliffhanger. I hope not but it might be the outcome.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
This was an interesting in between episode, where we go over the leadership skills and characterization of Cmdr. Erwin Smith for about half the episode, and then further see what’s going on with the captured FemTitan in the other half.
Now, I know what they were trying to say about Smith, that he’s a good commander that keeps his hand close to his chest and suffers as a leader because of the hard choices he has to make, but yet he is not afraid to do so. That though you may not understand his ways, he’s always working towards the greater good. I can get that.
However, I’m sorry, but something about the delivery made it fall flat. Maybe it has to do with the fact that they’ve already made these same points (and much more effectively) with Cmdr. Pixie Dust. That a commander must be ready to sacrifice himself and his subordinates at any given time and be ready to always take the blame onto himself.
I think this lesson of the burdens of leadership was better done with Pixis, simply because with him, he himself, is who states this. Unlike with Erwin, who really says nothing on his own behalf, the message isn’t literally preached at you from other characters, but is shown by the actions and words of the man himself. It’s another case of being told, rather than shown, and in the end, it really doesn’t change my mind about Erwin at all. I’m still suspicious of him and he has yet to change my mind.
I actually went back to the very first episode when we first see Erwin, before he was the leader of the Recon Corp, and you see that he’s definitely not as hardened as he is now. It also makes me wonder what happen to the his superiors, such as the one when delivered to the mother her son’s arm. Did they all die previous to this, or are we going to meet them again. Was that beginning part more important than we realized? I’m beginning to think so.
Next, the much more interesting character of the FemTitan proves that she may be down, but she’s far from out. Like famous adage says, a cornered animal is the most dangerous, and FemTitan is no exception. It turns out that the Titan-hybrids are able to control regular Titans via certain sounds and calls. This answers some questions in terms of how the Titan-hybrids are able to send Titan armies in an organized fashion. It’s much like how wolf packs can call for help, or if you watch Jurassic Park, how raptors act when hunting or needing help against prey. This also reinforces the theory that the Titans were built to be a weapon, since they can be controlled to a certain degree.
Anyway, the job is done, and the Titans prove too much for the Recon Corp and thus brings all their plans and sacrifice back to square one. The FemTitan escapes and they say that she goes out in human form to hide among the Corp in a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” fashion. However, I’m not so sure. The enemy who kills Gunther and lured and attacked Eren’s group, looks male to me, for the parts of the body we’re able to see. Now, I may be wrong since they are indicating through Erwin’s words that this is the FemTitan, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a red herring and the FemTitan hid in order to regroup, while this is one of her allies hidden in the Recon Corp, that used the chaos of the Titans rush into the forest in order to go off and continue the job.
I also took note of the shirt that this new enemy was wearing and began to compare it to all the other characters’ usual clothing. It doesn’t match that of those I’ve pinned as the FemTitan and the Armored Titan, so who could it be? A majority of the characters wear buttoned shirts, which narrows it down a little, since this enemy is not wearing a shirt like that. However, those few that the shirt does match don’t seem to fit as any of the Titan-hybrids we’ve seen so far. So either, this is a totally new enemy, or this is the FemTitan and she’s wearing male clothing that was left for her in the forest.
However, here’s a new question. Why would she need clothes anyway? We’ve seen with Eren that you don’t need to strip to transform, and when you leave your Titan form, you have the same clothes on you started with. Another thing to consider is, if the FemTitan did change into a Recon uniform, when and how did she leave the clothes and gear in the first place? She couldn’t have run far in that forest in human form, and she couldn’t have known that they had set a trap up for her at that specific area of forest. So why would she leave clothes there for herself just in case something happens? How, would she do it?
This all point to there being other traitors in the ranks that are helping her, which have this show has been pointing to for a while now. She had to have help, whether she’s the one attacking Eren’s group or not. She’s not alone in this.
Well, the mystery continues. I enjoyed this episode, though it wasn’t as good as some previous. I give it a 7.8/10.