Attack on Titan – Episode 39 (Review)

By: ThunderheavyarmMiss my review last week? You can find it here!

Spoilers ahead!

Summary

Last week, the Scouts come under intense scrutiny by the Military Police. Erwin is taken into custody and the Scout’s lead into the deeper mysteries is lost with the murder of Pastor Nick. Traveling to Trost district to elude their captors, they are beset by an enemy from Levi’s past. Forcing a race against time - not to survive, but to protect Eren and Historia.

Levi comes under attack by his old mentor Kenny, who quickly dispatches with the squad members given to him from Hange. Equipped with an ODM and two devastating guns, as well as a squad of his own, Levi is forced to fight in an extremely one sided fight. Dragging them through the streets in an acrobatic duel, ultimately leading to a shoot out in a western style bar.Ultimately, they fail to save Eren and Historia at the last second, and so the squad must regroup and recover from their ordeal. Taking Djel Sannes captive with the help of the merchant that kidnapped Armin and Berner as they torture him for information. With questions building, their enemies growing and the odds becoming insurmountable surviving against humans is proving to be more difficult than against titans.

Review

A stark contrast from the series thus far - though you may argue it's right on time. Fans of the series may have felt that titan combat was starting to become somewhat stale. The idea of adding humans as an enemy seemed like something that shouldn’t be a problem given the world has guns, but adding in the abilities of the ODM gear turns them into a formidable threat. Kenny's introduction as a foil to Levi also serves to keep the latter in check, as opposed to just running rough shod over any enemies that he comes across.

What stands out most from this episode, which is really hard to do given the amazing action sequences that dominate the episode, is Armin coming to terms with killing humans. There have been plenty of series out there that deal with the idea of having to kill for survival, Fullmetal Alchemist is one that immediately comes to mind. However, seeing Armin go through a near mental collapse from it really humanizes the series. Followed up with the advice from Levi, I'm looking forward to just how Armin’s character advances moving forward this season.