Overview:
I think everyone knows the story but in case you have somehow managed to avoid it, humanity is living in fear behind three walls and in season 1 the titans broke through one of the walls and chaos ensued. Then they found out some people can turn into titans and now they are super paranoid about spies. Season 2 picks up right after the final fight of season 1 so watch season 1 first if you haven’t.
Review:
Everyone in this show continues to yell or be super dramatic or completely defeatist. And while we get that humanity is on the brink of extinction and tension is high, it is very hard at times to want to see the human race saved when watching this show. Actually, the best moments come when they are losing horribly to the titans. That said, if this had come out immediately on the heels of season 1, it would have fared better. It is interesting and a good continuation of where the story was, but this episode doesn’t have a lot of bang in it so if they were hoping to recapture that sense of wow that hit us with season 1 it kind of failed.
The second half of the episode delivers a good fight and a really interesting encounter with a new kind of titan (with predictable results but if you are in the show for the gore you’ll be happy) but again, it didn’t have quite the same impact of that first titan peering over the wall. Speaking of, and I know I made this criticism about My Hero Academia as well, what is with the opening theme? I remember how blown away I was by the music in season 1 and how hyped just hearing it could make me. This one… I’m not even sure the visuals go with it.
Anyway, I enjoyed this episode and it is entertaining enough (though a lot of the main characters had very little to do this episode). The show crippled itself with the long delay and I’m thinking they better build this quickly if they don’t want people to be over it, but if you actually enjoyed the story of season 1, this nicely picks up from where we left off.
Attack on Titan is available on AnimeLab.
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I like season 2 better than season 1 I like the new titans
The titans are definitely more interesting this season than last (though not as terrifying). It will be interesting to see where they take this.
yeah
I love season 2 of Attack on Titan
Ahh I’m glad I saw your post! I didn’t know season 2 was out yet. I can’t wait to read this review later. I’ll be watching via Crunchyroll.
Hope you enjoy it.
Watched Season 2 Episode 1 last night and I agree with your review of it. It was good. Other characters where in the spotlight more than the main cast which was so-so for me for the first episode. But this episode did transition well from the end of S1. I thought the opening music was awesome but didn’t pay too much attention to the visuals. That poor horse, though! And yes the titan that breaches the wall in the pilot is more intimidating and fiercer looking than this new titan in S2 E1 but I’m hoping the new titan’s existence amplifies as the season goes on.
They did not disappoint me with this episode. I watched it twice. It was just good to see the show was back on.
I share your disappointment with the OP. It has nothing on either of the first season’s opening themes and that’s a crying shame.
I guess this does lack the wow factor of the first season but I liked this better, maybe because I knew what was coming and was eager to see a couple of scenes animated.
True. People who’ve read ahead know what they are hoping to see whereas the rest of just want the story to continue with the excitement that drew us in the first place. This episode does pick up the story well it just didn’t quite hit the excitement in its first half. Looking forward to what it does though.
I can’t wait to watch s2. Yes! It’s finally here. It’s been a while. I’ll just wait until all episodes are released before watching it. Ah, I’m so excited.
I wonder how Attack on Titan will be week to week given the first season came out when I still didn’t watch shows until they were done airing. Thinking about it, I kind of feel that I might get frustrated when they end episodes mid-fight or mid-dramatic moment because with season 1 I could just skip straight to the next episode.
Exactly. One of the reasons I don’t watch airing episodes. It would just be torture to wait for the next episode Although it can also be exciting.
Usually I find it exciting though with some shows I know it kills their momentum so I put them on hold and then just watch them once they are done. For some types of shows it works better.
That’s so true. For episodic anime like Conan, they’re more enjoyable on a weekly basis. If you marathon this type of anime, it kind of gets tiring to have different stories per episode.
“Everyone in this show continues to yell or be super dramatic or completely defeatist.”
ah yes, attack on titan
solid return for this series, id say. nice point on not wanting to see humanity saved. i agree that watching humanity lose is pretty entertaining. given that ive read the manga, that statement stands out because im not sure i agree with how they decided to remedy that…
i was definitely less focused on the opening song for this show…it sounded basically the same as the first season’s opening. i can understand the argument that it has less impact, though, but overall i dont have anything to really say about it. the ending song on the hand…
The ending song was a bit of a train wreck too but I didn’t listen to the whole thing (skipped to see if there was a preview or just anything post credits). I very rarely pay attention to ending themes unless I like them because unlike the opening I almost always skip the ending.
As a manga reader I knew this episode was coming. It actually wasn’t so jarring because it happened right after the big battle in Trost. I have to think about what to spoil and what not to. I suppose minor spoilers this season will focus heavily and conspiracy and political intrigue and less on Titans. At least it appeared that way in the manga. My guess is we will continue to get Titan action for another episode or two before it focuses more on that. It’s still very good, perhaps some of the best have ever seen in the story. However yes you will have to sit through the setup which can be a slower burn than the simpler Titans eating people in the first season. It’s very much worth it though as much of the world and lore is explored. And it all starts here with a Titan in a wall and the search for the truth and the hard price to pay for reaching it.
Really excited for the new season!
Interesting views. The opening like most of the AOT openings are bad. REALLY BAD. I agree when you say that the episode couldn’t match up with the hype of when the titan peered over the wall. Still, can’t wait for future episodes!
For a change this is the first Animeseries that I am watching while it has not finished yet. (I usually wait for series/seasons to finish), but that said I pretty much enjoyed the first episode. While I agree with opening music, I absolutely hated the music that accompanied the ending credits. What on Earth were they thinking? Was this episode great? I really enjoyed it for what it was, and felt it introduced us to quite a few new questions. But ofcourse it is a continuation of what came before, and doesn’t do anything really new. If I could compare it to something I would say the Walking Dead. A show that I still highly enjoy, even though at certain points it has become pretty predictable. I’m wondering where they are going to be taking this, but I guess we will find out soon enough 😊
It will be interesting to see how they develop this in season 2. Hopefully it is awesome but even if it isn’t it should still be watchable enough.
I also feel the yelling and screaming needs to be toned down. I wasn’t impressed with the level of graphics, or the premiere itself very much at all. It’s been, what, 4 years since the first season? I feel that at the very least the first episode of the new season should’ve had something more–better graphics, or plot thingymajig–to really make the fans feel the wait has been worth it. It felt so mediocre to me and I was disappointed.
I think that’s the real issue. Fans have waited a long time so it really needed to just be more than okay. It isn’t a bad first episode for a new season but it also wasn’g amazing.
I DON’T THINK THEY’RE THAT BAD. BUT IMEAN, IF I DONT’ SCREAM HOW WILL THE TITANS HEAR US?
It would just be nice to see this show expand on how humans emote beyond cliche pep talks, screaming or crying.
Well, wasn’t there that one momen… oh never mind. How about that other… oh never mind. You know what? Hurry up and find that mcguffin Erin. I mean box. Or die. I’ll take either, and be happy. But yeah, it would be nice but I doubt we’ll get it.
It would be nice to see the whole key and basement plot line go somewhere.
Amidst the gore fest, that’s all I want really.
Really feels a bit like season 1s finale. An actual cliffhanger with the talking titan that would’ve had people eagerly awaiting for the s2 premiere. Instead it is that premiere, and when you’ve been waiting for so long for something like this it lessens the impact and intrigue. I want to see titans eating people goddamit!
That’s more or less what everyone wants from this show. Hopefully it will deliver.