English Dub Review: Attack on Titan “Southwestward”

Remember all those rules about the titans you learned in boot camp? That’s out the window now.

Spoilers Below

Connie and his team are in his hometown. Nobody’s alive there. Of course, nobody’s dead there either. The lack of carnage suggests the town escaped, but the massive damage to the buildings and the stables full of horses suggest otherwise. Since there’s no one to warn the team continues onward to find the breach in the wall. Just before doing so, however, Connie hears the malformed titan lying on his house say “Welcome, Back”. Creeeepyyyyyy. Meanwhile, Krista, Nananba, Hennings, and Ymir have finished with their assignment, and are also heading to search for the hole in the wall. When they run into Connie’s team during their search they realize something. There is no hole in the wall. Exhausted, they head for a nearby castle to rest for the night.

Hange quickly recaps what we’ve learned about the connection between the walls and the titans, and from this, we have a plan. Eren is going to head for Shiganshina, and learn to seal the breach with his titan form’s skin, which is the same material as the walls. Along the way, Pastor Nick witnesses the refugees pouring into the city. His heart finally moved, he cannot help but give the Scouts the only information his order will allow him to give. There is one girl they have been watching who would know everything that’s going on and is the key to everything. As he says her name, Eren recognizes her. Krista, the tiny blonde girl. But Krista is out at Wall Rose, and in danger! They head for Castle Utgard. However, they may not have the time they need to get there. For some reason, the titans have become active around the castle, even though it is the night! Titans are never active at night! To make matters worse, the beast titan has appeared, climbing atop Wall Rose. Hurry, Eren, before Krista becomes lunch!

I never really thought that I’d see an episode like this in Attack on Titan: a set-up.  Most of the time, watching through, I’ve been constantly on the edge of my seat. Action, horror, suspense. Always. This episode took a moment away, getting ready for what appears to be an amazing fight in the next episode. Not much really happens this time around, however. That’s not to say that this is a bad episode. It just wasn’t as gripping. I like that we’re taking the time to build up tension around the aberrant titans, and the mysteries of this situation. They do give you some good foreshadowing of Krista’s position of importance earlier on, having a conversation with Ymir suggest that the blonde is of an influential family. Given what we’ve seen, I wouldn’t be surprised at all these titans we’re seeing were created from the villagers from Connie’s town, and are rampaging at the behest of the Beast Titan. This would be why they move at night, and there is no hole in Wall Rose. Also, be ready. I get a sneaking suspicion that the Beast Titan is a human titan like Eren. As much as I am all about this mystery of the missing village and the unusual titans, I’m ready for some more action. This was decidedly carnage-light, and the previous episode felt rather low-key as well. I know this season is just getting its feet back into the water, but I feel that it’s still wearing kid gloves to mix some metaphors. Episode preview looks intense, so breathe while you can.

Graphically, this episode is maintaining the high standards set by the previous entries into the series. Beyond the gorgeously detailed backgrounds, I’ve fallen in love with the use of line on these characters, giving them a weight and energy. As an artist myself, I was trained to use the thickness and flow of a line like a language that you are trying to communicate with. I like what Wit Studio is saying with these lines. It gives these two-dimensional characters a sense of reality and mass that I appreciate. Further, the use of lines over the eyes to portray depression actually lends a tension to the scenes.The animation is great, as always. We are given a treat of another unit fighting off titans with cannons and 3d Gear, just to give us a bit more energy when we need it. The voice acting was just fine in this, no glaring problems, but nothing that special. Josh Grelle was not forced to scream in this episode, and the screech of Armin’s voice is not being heard. Just normal talking. I enjoyed Jessica Calvello’s Hange, and her range of passionate emotions. In total, I give this episode eight crumbling castles out of ten.