Sunday 14 April 2013

Attack on Titan - Episode 2

There's little time to grieve for Eren and Mikasa as we enter this second episode of Attack on Titan, as the Titan's incursion into Shinganshina means that the top priority for all concerned is a mad race to safety.

It's a race that many won't win either - as the Titans run amok in the isolated Shinganshina gate district, there are only limited boats and little time to reach the safety of the city's inner gates.  Even any attempts to slow or stop the Titans using cannons prove to be ineffective, with some of the larger creatures terrifying mankind proving to be simply too big and too fast to stop as they break through further gates and ensure that the death toll rises higher still.


Even for those that make good their escape, which includes Eren and company, there's a whole new world of problems and misery to be dealt with - the influx of surviving refugees within the higher, better fortified Wall Rose means that the already short food supply is stretched to breaking point, and with the blame for this largely foisted upon those very same refugees it is they who are effectively forced into slave labour; first being set to prepare land and forage for food, before being shipped out en masse to fight a fruitless war against the Titans in a foolish attempt to regain the territory within Wall Maria.  Of course, the children at least are spared this, meaning that we can fast forward to the start of Eren, Mikasa and Armin into the military, with Eren in particular thirsty for vengeance against the Titans.

After a great start, this was another top notch episode of Attack on Titan, which did a great job of continuing to establish the scope of its world while balancing its depiction of the horror, the violence and the very human side of the crisis at hand masterfully.  Thus, the scene is well and truly set for what is to come, and although you could argue that some potentially fascinating content in its own right has been raced through to reach this point, I'm very much hooked in to seeing what comes next in what is looking like a very strong show in a strong season.

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