English Dub Review: Attack on Titan “A Sound Argument”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Eren repeats his mantra of “fight, just fight” in the mirror, but Hange stops by, never taking him super seriously to begin with. But Eren brings up an important point: Now that he’s eaten the War Hammer Titan, which can create objects out of thin air, he can escape any prison, and having the Founding Titan makes him to valuable to kill, so there’s nothing left that can hold him back. Hange disrupts the tension and leaves, but it’s clear that he’s only staying put because he wants to.

In flashbacks, we see that Eldian representatives met with Yelena to welcome ambassadors from Hizuru, an Asian country that used to be allies with Eldia before the Great Titan War. It turns out that this is where Misaka’s heritage comes from and they wish to bring her with them. However, this niceness is only a cover for their real objective. Some time ago, Zeke showed them the power source for the ODM Gear, which they oddly recognize, and its power source Iceburst Stone, which can only be mined on Paradis, so they’re really after that. They also discuss Zeke’s proposed plan, which involves testing out the Rumbling that would unleash the Titans within the walls, as well as passing on Zeke’s Beast Titan powers now that he is near the end of his life. Historia offers, but Eren rejects this. Later, while the Scouts work on a railroad, the topic turns to who will take Eren’s Titan, with everyone volunteering with their own reasoning, but Eren says he wants everyone to live long happy lives instead.

In the present, Historia has become pregnant, apparently to avoid being turned into a Titan, while the Scouts mourn Sasha and are torn over what to do about Eren. Meanwhile, Zeke and Eren wait patiently in their cells.

OUR TAKE

The storm clouds continue to form over the cast, as it becomes clear that something terrible is on the horizon, though it is unclear what exactly that is. As mentioned, Eren is only in his cell because he wants to be right now, as no living force could stop him with his three combined Titan abilities and his partnership with Zeke. This then raises more questions as we see in flashbacks that Eren is vehemently against partnering with Zeke on anything AND fully prioritizes protecting his friends and comrades above all else. But as we continue to fill in the blanks of the four year timeskip, we are likely to see how Eren and Zeke came to terms and agreed on their plan. What was that turned Eren into someone who would not only stop caring about the safety of his friends, but even laugh about Sasha’s death that happened due to his actions? What has he learned that would lead him to not only completely turn around on his positions, but put a target on everyone in his country that can only be defended against with the thing they swore to never use?

There’s also the less important but worth mentioning worldbuilding shown here, with the revealing of the country that Misaka’s ancestors hail from. If Attack on Titan were a more conventional Shonen series, I imagine we probably would have spent an arc exploring the country, possibly learning more about the ODM gear and, for the heck of it, maybe facing Titans from that nation too. But instead, the story uses this to highlight a major component of the allies that would choose to help Eldia, namely that they would only be bothering to lend a hand if they got some sort of resource out of it, namely the Iceburst stone. Side note, interesting that we’re only learning now about this thing that powered the gear, when for the longest time I assumed it was just gas…but then I guess that doesn’t make much sense either because there wasn’t any source of oil there. Oh, and Historia’s pregnant. I feel like that’s going to get explored further later, so I’ll leave it for now. But still, big things are a coming. This calm can only last so long and likely will come crashing to an end soon. I don’t know about you, but I’m on the edge of my seat.