English Dub Review: Attack on Titan “First Battle: Battle of Trost District Part 1”

Oh, man, the big and ugly Titan is back!

Well, the Colossal Titan decided to make a second appearance in the series. One thing I wanted to touch on, is how did Eren not see it when he looked over the wall? I think he will need some really good glasses after this battle is over.

Eren goes in right after the Colossal Titan, who is just wrecking shit on top of the wall. Eren realizes that the Titan has intelligence, and he needs to take him down. Unfortunately, it looks like none of Eren’s attacks are doing anything. He goes for another attack, but the Colossal Titan just disappeared. Eren is just freaking out after this. Meanwhile, the city is in a panic, because the Titans are coming. Back at the barracks, Armin is freaking out, because of the breach. Eren gets him to snap out of it, while Mikasa is just standing there. The first of the Titans make it through the wall, while this lord is in their cozy castle in the middle of a lake. The news about the Colossal Titan makes it back to Lord Bart, who wants Pyxis to use every available resource to make sure he is living after this attack. In a very polite manner, Pyxis tells Bart to piss off, that his duty is to the people.

Every person in service is getting ready for the attack, because the advanced guard is dead. They are broken down into three groups: Vanguard, Middle Guard, and Rear Guard. Jean finally gets his hand onto Eren, because he was one day away from the interior. Eren goes back, saying he was trained for this. To me, Jean is just a grade-A asshole. Mikasa is assigned to the rear guard, but she wants to stay with Eren. She wants Eren to find her when things turn to shit, but they are on two different guards. Eren takes offense, because she wants to protect him.

We go back to their training, and Eren thinks that their training was wrong. They show intelligence, and possible communication between the two. Titans are not eating humans for survival, just for the kill. They also have regenerative properties, even with their heads severed. But if the back of their necks are cut, they will not regenerate. The vanguard needs Squad 24’s help, so Eren and Armin go in. As they go into battle, a Titan gets one of them. This sends Eren into a frenzy after the Titan. Unfortunately, he gets knocked down, and another gets eaten. Armin sees that Eren got a leg bitten off, and he is losing it again. Armin is swallowed whole, whole Eren is close to dying. After the daydreaming, Eren jumps in to save Armin. Armin is saved, but in a strange Game of Thrones type of twist, Eren is eaten. Mikasa looks back, with a look of dread, as the episode ends.

This is what I was waiting for. I love watching people die in anime, especially when they get eaten right in front of their best friends. The series finally seems to be getting going after a bunch of garbage that went nowhere. We finally got some background on the Titans besides: they’re big, they eat humans, and they will destroy everything. We even got a look into the upper hierarchy with Lord Bart. This dude is the usual rich man who shits on the peons. He wants Pyxis and his troops to protect him and only him, because he has money and a castle.

I really enjoyed this episode. Hopefully, we get more into the psychology of the Titans, and how they work. Eren’s discovery that he was trained wrong was funny, because no one spent enough time fighting them to actually figure out how things roll with the Titans. Eren’s discovery is sure to stem the tide a little in the coming episodes.