Onto the last of the double digits of the Top 12 Countdown for 2022 and it’s the anime community who will be entering the stage for the list. Only two anime series have made the countdown for this year. You all can pretty much guess who’s the other series that made it. So coming in at number 10 in the Top 12 Countdown of 2022 is Attack on Titan with “The Dawn of Humanity”.
Coming out on the same day as the WonderCon panel for The Bob’s Burgers Movie, knowing Attack on Titan, the show knows how to entertain the audience with the ride the anime is going through. Every Sunday when the series aired, you always see the hashtag trending out of the blue whenever you log in on Twitter. I try to avoid spoilers mostly because I am an anime-only person who sees it whenever a new episode is dropped. And man, oh man, Season 4, both Parts 1 and 2 of the season, no cap...it’s out the walls amaze-balls. Sure, people were mixed over the change of studios going from Studio WIT to Studio Mappa, the use of CG for the titans in Part 1 of the season, and the change of specific scenes that people often can’t stop bitching over. Remember that? People throwing up a firestorm over whatever Mappa is doing to the anime ever since gaining the rights to produce the anime’s fourth and final season. Yeah...I remember that. We all remember that. And that was Part 1 of the fourth season. When we get to Part 2 is when opinions change and bam! This is what people are calling it “peak fiction” when it comes to the second part of the fourth and final season of Attack on Titan. So much so that it made the decision process when making the list somewhat difficult from a wild season that was Season 4, the second part that is with Part 3 wrapping the show’s current season set for 2023.
The episode to close out the second portion of the season is as simple as this. It’s a flashback episode but it gave out two perspectives leading up to the final minutes going back into the present to serve as a cliffhanger. The first half shows Mikasa’s perspective in a flashback with the Scouts infiltrating Marley as travelers to meet with Onyankopon and the Azumabito. Questioning what went wrong for Eren that led to him to where we are now. And of course, in the second half with Eren’s perspective from his meeting with Zeke in Liberio to telling Historia about what is about to go down while showing him infiltrating Marley on his own to set up the start of the show’s fourth season. And of course...that ending though.
So with Mikasa’s side of things for this episode, as I said, you have the Scouts infiltrating Marley. Trying to blend into the crowd without having their cover blown while experiencing the stuff that they haven’t seen. Mind you that comparing Paradis to Marley is the technology and...pretty much everything else with Marley being advanced and Paradis Island being a few years...probably a few hundred years behind. They try to blend in while not getting their cover blown and whether it’s seeing a car for the first time, trying out ice cream, or if you’re Levi, having a street performer creeping up behind him, at least the mission so far is going as well as planned. Well, until a pickpocketing incident happened and ends up creating a scene with the scouts trying to defend a random kid by convincing the crowd that it’s a simple misunderstanding. But that’s not going to stop the Marleyans from brewing up a storm and throwing in accusations of the boy being an Eldian, a subject of Ymir. Luckily for the Scouts, they did save the boy from possible persecution, though got pickpocketed once more before arriving at the estate where Kiyomi is at. That’s one domino that has fallen. The idea of unleashing a small-scale rumbling and Historia becoming a sacrifice by inheriting the Beast Titan from Zeke is still fresh in everyone’s minds. Especially with Eren, who is 100% against the idea of having Historia to take the Beast Titan and put her safety at risk.
The first half of the episode boils down to what went wrong. What was the moment that made Eren tick to the point where we are now with him wanting to get revenge on Marley for their treatment of the Eldians as the scouts, alongside what’s left of the Warrior unit of the Marleeyan army, mostly Reiner, Annie, Pieck, Falco, and Gabi, as well as Onyankopon and Yelena make their way to where Eren is heading to stop the rumbling to reach the shores of Marley. We already had a few domino pieces fallen leading up to where we are right now with him learning about his father Grisha’s past and of course, him being in the minority of not wanting to let Historia to inherit the Beast Titan and start a small-scale rumbling for Paradis to play catch up while getting Marley to get off of their backs. And the dominos continue to fall as the first half progresses.
This is pretty much the last time you see Eren ever cracking a smile on his face when he and Mikasa, and later the rest of the scouts, Armin, Jean, Conny, and Sasha come across a refugee camp and despite not knowing the language of the refugees, that didn’t stop them from pulling an all-nighter with food and drinks with the migrants being hospitable to the scouts. Also, a bit of a kick in the nads for the Eren and Mikasa shippers when Mikasa gives her answer to Eren’s question at the hill by the refugee camp. Him telling her why is she always around him. Why does she care for him? Her response? It’s because they’re family while being flustered when answering Eren’s question. And I say that because I don’t get into the shipping aspect of the show. That’s all I have to say.
But once the new day arrives and the scouts are at the forum when the proposition to the refugees who are the Subjects of Ymir had been struck down by the Marleyan parliament, of course, showing their prejudice towards the Eldians with everyone but the scouts applaud and that right there...became the final domino to fall for Eren as he walks out. And thus, everything changes with Mikasa wondering if things would’ve been prevented if she would’ve changed her answer. Yeah, like a simple love confession would prevent Eren from committing a potential mass genocide by using the powers of the Founding. But that’s the first half of the episode from Mikasa’s perspective. And now we get to Eren’s flashback. Setting up shop for him infiltrating Marley at the start of the season as an injured soldier. And...it’s no surprise with how the season panned out when it comes to Eren as a character.
From the boy who wanted to explore outside the walls and saw his mom being eaten by a titan when the wall was breached, to becoming a soldier while carrying the thing that he originally want to destroy in his arsenal, to now... learning about the prejudice against his race after going through his father’s memories, of course, worrying about Historia’s safety when bringing up the idea of her taking the Beast Titan from Zeke once his term is up to start a small-scale rumbling with Historia agreeing to do the work. And uh...oh yeah, still not going to forgive Marley for that little stunt they pulled with three members of the Warrior unit as kids, well two because Annie was knocked out by Reiner leading up to the breach, that led to his mom Carla being eaten by the Smiling Titan, i.e. Dina in her pure titan form. And the trip to Marley, him hearing the proposition to send aid to the Eldian refugees being denied, and of course, their hatred towards the Subjects of Ymir was pretty much the straw that broke the camel’s back for Eren. Enough for him to step away from the group and I guess doing matters into his own hands. And that’s where the second half comes into play.
Starting with Eren’s private meeting with Yelena with her telling Eren about Zeke’s euthanization plan with him ending the said meeting by joining hands in hopes for the bloodshed to end. Only for Eren to come up with an idea by pretending to go along with Zeke’s plan with Floch on his side for no obvious reason. But it would make sense for Eren to bring Floch along and tell him to play pretend in agreeing to join Zeke in his plan. That of course became the stepping stone of the Jaegerist movement and holding the military hostage with the tainted wine that contains Zeke’s spinal fluid. I mean, we know if this were Armin or Mikasa, they would 100% be against going with the idea. But Eren only agrees with the plan in hopes to end the bloodshed, but the pretend part is solely due to him not liking the part about taking out his race. Because the plan can’t be enacted without someone with royal blood like Zeke to meet up with someone who has the Founding Titan like Eren. The two brothers want the cycle to end, but with two different goals.
With Historia while having her conversation with Eren in the next scene is against what Eren is planning on doing. Thinking that it would put Paradis in a pretty bad position if Eren were to enact his revenge on the world. But that’s not going to stop Eren from doing his best to do something drastic to protect his home. He’s not going to put Historia’s life at risk. He wants to have her live a long life because getting the Beast Titan from Zeke once his term is up would lower her expectancy by thirteen years. And if Eren were to follow along with his plan to play pretend with Zeke to get his way, Historia would probably not be able to live with herself in her failure to stop him from enacting revenge on Marley. And also talks about her having the possibility of her having a child, which we saw her being pregnant in Part 1 of the season.
And got some questions about how Eren even made it to Marley without being noticed. Him in the battlefield during the war with him chopping off his leg and not using his titan ability to heal to make sure his cover is not blown. As well as stabbing his own eye with a bullet. This is commitment to the act to the max for Eren when infiltrating the Marleyan military by pretending to be an injured soldier. And him playing pretend when infiltrating Marley once the war is over at the start of the fourth season of the series, of course, led up to the Paradis invasion and siege at Liberio to pick up Eren and Zeke, as well as weakening the military power for the nation. And holy shit, when watching this both in the sub and dub when it came out a few weeks out, no matter how I watched it, it was an intense scene leading up to what is about to come in the final few minutes of the episode. And this is just the appetizer. The main course is about to come. Oh yeah and there’s also the conversation with Eren and Zeke about the ability of the Ackermans when talking about Mikasa’s headache and why she is always in Eren’s business. Showing that it’s because of her devotion to him because of her liking the guy. The person who wrapped his scarf around after being saved. He just wants everyone to have long lives once the bloodshed is over. Even if it means going behind their backs.
And then...we get to the present timeframe with the Grand Fleet stationed in the waters by the shores of Marley, awaiting Eren and his herd of Colossal Titans to make their grand entrance to the nation. Firing their cannons at the Colossal Titans who are underwater and think that it would be enough to stop them...only for them to suffer just a scratch while swimming their way to the shore. Coming out of the water, using their steam ability to wipe out the entire fleet like they were nothing. The rest of the army gives everything they got to stop the Rumbling from reaching land with anti-titan cannons but ends up running away and the looks...the look at their faces when seeing what is about to come from the background when running on top of the hill and sees Eren in his titan form leading the command...what else to say but holy fucking shit. The animation, the visuals, the music choice for the fleet to fire the cannons, the look at the soldiers’ faces...this is movie freaking fracking quality. Studio Mappa did not hold any punches with this scene to close out the episode. And the shot with Eren at our first look at his new titan form, as well as the shot of the Colossal Titans coming into Marley from an aerial view as the camera pans out...what else to say but a chef’s kiss. This is peak Attack on Titan right there. I know there’s one other moment from this portion of the season that to me would be peak fiction later in the countdown, Part 2 of Attack on Titan’s fourth season did not disappoint, and man...Part 3 come 2023...oh boy.
I know that there’s going to be some disagreement on why I put this episode at the number 10 slot of the countdown despite how I stated about the episode is as great as it is. Mind you that Season 4, especially in the second part of the season in the year 2022 has been downright nuts. Whether it’s Eren coming into Marley with the Rumbling making ashore, him manipulating his father to take the Founding, the start of the Rumbling, Annie’s return, or everyone turning into Titans...Part 2 of Season 4 had been fucking mental that you can’t possibly pick which moment is considered your favorite without being one-upped by another in the future.
And what a way to wrap up the second part of the season with this episode. Sure, the cause of what made Eren tick and resulted in him doing drastic measures from Mikasa’s side of the episode during the visit to Marley got some questions answered about Eren’s sudden departure from the scouts being served as the domino effect for Eren to enact his revenge towards Marley for their prejudice towards the Subjects of Ymir, but it’s the second half to me that stole the episode. Especially with the final few minutes as we shifted from the past with Eren telling his side of the story with him coming out from his meeting with Yelena about Zeke’s plan and playing pretend in agreeing to the notion alongside Floch and his talk with Historia to him arriving at the shores of Marley with the herd of Colossal Titans making landfall...what else to say but god fucking damn. And I say that on a positive note.
And that concludes the Number 10 spot in the Top 12 Countdown of 2022. What do you think about this episode? Should it be higher, lower, or stay put on your list? Put it in the comments below as we transition into the single digits with the number 9 spot on the list. Which episode and series will be taking that position? Find and see sometime tomorrow. Follow me on Tumblr, Twitter, Mastodon, and Instagram for updates and behind-the-scenes stuff. And y’all should know the drill by now...
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