327th G-View: Attack on Titan 2

I briefly posted a Yuri Quickie on the first season but did not really go into much detail on what I thought of the show. At first I planned on this being another Yuri Quickie but then I realized I have quite a bit to say about the overall show. It is just not in my regular G-View style…so let us say this is a hybrid of a G-View and a Yuri Quickie. Cool? Here is my take on Attack on Titan 2 and a Yuri quickie on YumiKuri.

WARNING! The overview contains some spoilers

Genres: Action, Drama, Horror, Suspense.

Themes: War, Violence, Survival

Number of episodes: 12

G-Rating: N/A

The show’s story takes place a little bit after the events of the first season.

First up my thoughts on the show. I think it is a solid mainstream shounen series. To me the show is like a “zombie apocalypse meets war story” but replace the zombies with giants ranging from 14 to 140 feet and beyond. The show has the elements I am familiar with in the described subgenres.

• The zombie apocalypse elements of survival, lots of people dying, corrupt higher ups, moles in the group etc.There’s also the added element of a “backdoor conspiracy” brewing and “are the zombies actually mindless and rely solely on instinct?”.
• The war story elements come in the camaraderie between soldiers and also their sanity slowly being shattered the longer the war goes on. Even the most hardened of could snap at a moment’s notice. There is also the “slacker officers” and “war is heel” stuff. The “backdoor conspiracy” can also be applied here.

The animation also reminds me of zombie and war flicks where there is a strong use of “brown, gray and black” shading and the music is nice orchestral fare during epic and tense moments.

I enjoy the Titan fights and the special ones featuring Eren has are like wrestling matches so that is a plus for me.

I liked the second season more than the first because there was a stronger emphasis on the side characters I like. As far as how I watch the show, I have a “go with the flow” approach, meaning I roll with the plot twists and the like, enjoy the titan battles and pay more attention to the characters.

Favorite female characters are:

War Machine. Yes. War Machine’s obsession with Eren at first glance is puzzling (as Levi brought up at one point) but, like it or not, it makes sense because Eren is pretty much the last person in her life she can consider family. She looks great in combat. Also her figure, that is VERY BRIEFLY shown in the anime but can be seen in scans, is magnificent. Annie Oakley’s is also revealed to be captivating but War Machine’s is best.

Potato Power. No big surprise here. Potato Power makes me laugh and is energetic. I also enjoyed her backstory where she struggled with “living la vida loca”/survival of the fittest and thinking about the less fortunate. Good stuff.

Dr Hange. Yes Hange is ambiguous but the English dub favors Hange being female and at one point while recuperating I saw Hange without the Scout jacket on and…yeah. If Hange is male, whatever. Hange then goes in male category. Point is Hange is a cool eccentric case whose “patience button” should not be pushed, which is often the case with eccentric characters who often act goofy. Also one of my favorite parts of the 2nd season is when Hange “lived the dream”. Viewers of the show will know what I am talking about.

Of course the main event ladies are also on the list but I will discuss them in a bit.

Favorite males:

Armindo. Armindo, Arrrrmindoooo. Little Armindo with his big brain and semi “never say die” attitude.

Sad Badger. Is it because he was considered badass in season 1? No. Is it because he is a seen as a handsome devil in the fanbase? No. Is it because he is memetastic? No. It is because whenever I look at his face he reminds me of both Shikamaru and a sad badger. That is all. Sad Badger hardly did anything in season 2 but his sadness was as strong as ever and was amused each time he got screen time.

While Erwin is not a favorite of mine his performance during the climax of the season was nothing short of hilariously epic and I could not stop smiling. Truly one of 2017’s greatest anime moments was Erwin on the battlefield. It was both epic and lol worthy in a good way.

A for Eren, while he is one my least liked “revenge driven protagonists” in media I will give him credit for two things:

1. His battles against the Titans are great stuff.
2. I find him more tolerable than Kratos from God of War.

And now for what everyone really came here to read about.

Ymir and Krista.

This is what I was looking forward to most from the season, these two getting more than around 5 minutes of screen time together like last season. So Ymir and Krista…well I will say I was pleased with what I saw. Their drama was what one would expect from the show but it was still very touching. Both ladies found a kindred spirit in each other, both felt like they were castaways from worlds that shunned them, both are fighting desperately to find personal value on the miserable world they currently live in…however, both ultimately go down different paths to find this happiness where one grows stronger because of their love while the other continues to struggle yet keeps on fighting for their love. That is the most I can say without spoiling more than I already have. Suffice to say I enjoyed it. I did not get teary eyed but I certainly was invested in their development and was ESPECIALLY pleased that they were promoted from background characters to two of the most important figures of the season despite still being side-characters. Oh and do not worry about guys. They tried to shatter dreams but thankfully failed. If for no other reason I would recommend checking the second season out primarily for YumiKuri.

Overall Attack on Titan is a solid shounen anime/mainstream sweetheart whose 2nd season I personally enjoyed more than its first. Viewers who enjoyed the first season will most likely like this one too. I could not give this show a rating because I do not consider myself an adequate of mainstream shounen media. I, who am not a huge fan of the series still found enjoyment in it so take that for what it is worth. Of course the series is very violent and full of drama so it is not for the squeamish. The enjoyment also heavily depends on whether the viewer can get themselves to care about the cast. Keep all of this mind.

PS: Yes some of the Titans look goofy but I would poop my pants in fear if a giant 100 ft tall naked Santa Claus came running towards and tried to eat me.