English Dub Review: Attack on Titan “Warrior”

Is there anyone in this show that can’t turn into a Titan?

Spoilers Below

In the aftermath of the assault on Utgard, the Scout forces make their way up the wall to survey the damage from above. perhaps from this vantage point, they can spot the hole and plug it. In the meantime, Ymir is in bad shape, but alive and healing, steam pouring from her ruined innards. The plan is to get her back to Trost for medical treatment. Hange believes Krista-oh, sorry, Historia- when she says that Ymir is on their side, and believes that the arrival of another Shifter in their ranks is an opportunity to learn more about the enemy. A patrol returns with mystifying and terrible news. There is no hole in the wall. Those Titans must have gotten through a different way. Reiner and Bertholdt take Eren aside for a word while the rest of the gang begins the road to Trost. Nothing major, just a casual conversation about how they are the Colossal and Armored Titans, respectively. No big deal…WHAT?

Flashback to about twelve hours ago, Eren and the others are in a meeting with Hange, who has just received information that Reiner and Bertholdt both hailed from the same region as Annie, the evil Titan that was the big threat last season. These two could have been traitors, giving Annie directions as to where Eren was in the formation. The good Titan disagrees, trusting that these two are loyal to humanity. Returning to the present, the two give Eren a. He could come with them, or they continue with their mission to wipe out humanity. There is a sudden burst of the wind, which draws everyone’s attentions to the three. Reiner has removed his sling. and his arm heals instantly in a burst of steam. They transform into their Colossal and Armored forms, and abscond with Eren and Ymir. As they fall, Eren loses control of his rage, transforming into the Attack Titan, and breaking free.

Oh, it’s on now, friends. The two Titans we feared from the first episode have returned, and Eren is gonna smear them… Next episode. I just want to bring up that the two shows I dealt with today (the other being an episode of Dragon Ball Super) are big talking episodes. The difference between them is that this kept tension throughout the entire episode. That tension suddenly ramped up with the revelation of the two Titan Shifters. This was directed masterfully, by the way. While the other group walked one way, they gabbed on with a conversation that seems far more important. In the background, you hear Reiner go “Me and Bertholdt are the Colossal and Armored Titans”. That’s it, blink and you miss it.  I almost did, because of a faulty scrub bar. When I heard that, my jaw just dropped. Wait, they’re Titans, too? And they’re THOSE Titans. The remaining dialogue between the three brings up a question of what side they’re really on. Do they really want to end humanity, and why? If Ymir ate their buddy, why didn’t they just Titan from there and off the Jaws Titan? Instead, they ran away. They had so many opportunities for them to take out Eren throughout the show and didn’t take it.

I loved how the style of art is used to show a slow degradation in the willpower of Reiner to continue on their mission. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an episode in this series with sloppy art and animation, and the transformation of the two Titans didn’t start either. It was impressive and intimidating to see. There was also amazing art for the transformation of Eren. Krista’s voice actor was much easier on the ears than previous episodes, not nearly as screechy.  Reiner held a great amount of emotion in his voice. Robert McCollum did an excellent job with the character’s confession, portraying many conflicting desires at play within him. All in all, I feel this episode is worth eight secret Titan Shifters out of ten.