This adaptation had me up until episode 24. It really did. Even though it left out important scenes such as
- Eren's dream about Mikasa at the very beginning
- Eren's monologue in the forest of giant trees about not wanting to be seen as a monster
- Annie's first smile when Eren is enthused about her technique (this should have been in the training scene; if not at least episode 24, as it would have shown a deeper respect and camaraderie between Eren and Annie, further justifying his reluctance to transform)
the show was still mostly faithful to its excellent manga counterpart, with good filler, beautiful animation, and an outstanding OST. But the second half of episode 25 was just incredibly disappointing. The reasons are all related to the plot, characters, and presentation, not the design of the show itself. They are:
1. Eren losing himself to his titan - This issue goes back to episode 24, when he flies into a rage and resolves to kill Annie. This is VERY poor character development. What happened to the Eren who was maturing and learning self-control during his time with the Levi squad? The manga depicted Eren transforming in order to protect Mikasa and Armin. It was a somber, sober decision following a poignant moment with Mikasa (which was understated in the anime). He keeps control of himself throughout the fight, instead of becoming a mindless, flaming berserker. This shows an improved control over his titan form, which is CRUCIAL to his later fight with the (SPOILER) Armored Titan. He never brings himself to hate Annie, think of her as evil, or truly want to kill her; he is more confused about her motives than anything, and the tone of his monologue in the anime should have reflected that (which it didn't). Instead, the anime depicts "Raging (Fire) Eren."
Raging (Fire) Eren personifies the generic shounen "anger is power" trope. AoT has previously subverted this trope (as far back as episode 5) by showing the viewer that mindless rage gets everyone killed, but now indulges and glorifies it to pander to action-heads. This is deeply inconsistent.
Eren becomes the honey badger when it comes to civilian collateral; he just didn't give a fuck. In the manga it's clear that he tries to limit the scope of damage done to Stohess, but here he charges, throws, and tackles without the slightest regard for the buildings around him. This wanton destruction is then used as an excuse to portray Erwin as an ends-before-means extremist, exemplified by the "little girl" scene. To a similar extent, Armin is shown following in Erwin's footsteps without hesitation, making repeated and unnecessary use of the "sacrifice something to obtain something" and "become a monster to defeat monsters" quotes. The repetition of said quotes is just one example of all the useless "rooftop chatter" that occurred during this episode. (Credit goes to several other posters for pointing this out)
TL;DR - In the manga, Eren develops as a human. The reader can feel that there is a human inside his titan. In the anime, he becomes a mindless beast that causes wanton destruction. The flames on his body are not a big issue; his character certainly is. To a lesser extent, Erwin and Armin's ends-before-means extremism is over-exaggerated and sometimes used as a excuse to add unnecessary filler monologues.
2. Eren does not throw Mikasa - This is an offshoot of 1, in that the throwing action shows Eren in a rational, levelheaded, controlled state, able to listen to Armin and coordinate with Mikasa (instead of punching her like he did in Episode 11). It also explains why none of the other Scouts were able to reach Annie, and why Mikasa was able to reach her without even using the 3DMG. This scene could have been incredibly epic, iconic even, in the anime. Unfortunately, it was simply cut.
3. Mikasa, Pastor Nick, Hanji, and Armin do not see the Colossal Titan inside Wall Sina - What? THIS should have been the BIGGEST dramatic reveal in the first season. THIS was supposed to shock non-manga readers into wanting more. That moment when Mikasa stares dumbfounded at the titan's face could have been beautiful. Instead, we are given a comical few seconds after the ending credits; NOT serious, dramatic, and powerful, in order to really provoke the viewer into thinking about its implications, but COMICAL.
This isn't just a matter of presentation. (SPOILERS) What will happen to the scene where Hanji dangles Pastor Nick over the wall? What will happen to the dark secret that the Wall Cultists were created to protect, and Levi's subsequent attempt to extract information from them? What will happen to Armin's deductions, and his idea that Eren may be able to repair the walls with titan crystal? What will happen to Christa's role in this whole affair? All of it will either go to shit, or have to be ass-pulled.
4. Levi swoops in with the 3DMG (to impress the fangirls) - Really? Levi's ankle is shot! He couldn't even save Petra's body from a retarded titan, but now he has the precision to cut Eren out of his titan? There was no point to introducing Levi into that scene, other than blocking Mikasa's character development (in the manga, she resolves to take responsibility for getting Levi injured, taking a small first step away from Eren-centrism).
Besides being total bullshit from a practical point of view, IT IS NOT A COINCIDENCE that Hajime Isayama pulled Levi out of the story when he did.
It is very important that Levi be excluded at the moment, because Levi is a cathartic character. That's why he's so popular. When the reader/viewer is frustrated that no one can handle the female titan, Levi swoops in and does away with her. When the reader/viewer can't stand the corrupt military police, Levi spits insults at them and gets away with it, because he's LEVI. Levi is not and was never meant to embody morally ambiguous themes.
This is why his return in the anime is a (BIG) problem, because after Annie is revealed as the female titan, killing titans becomes MORALLY AMBIGUOUS. Even enemy titans have become humanized. If Levi is well enough to use the 3DMG already, what will happen when (SPOILER) the Armored and Colossal Titans make their 3rd appearance? How will the anime justify their escape with Eren when the Achilles of titan killing is already back in action?
These 4 points and their sub-points sum up the MAJOR character and plot issues that his episode has opened.
I really thought that WIT/IG included filler in order to do this segment of the manga full justice in the finale: no filler, just pure, good storytelling based on an award-winning manga from a talented author.
That's ALL they had to do to knock it out of the park. THEY HAD ONE JOB, AND THEY FUCKED IT UP.
In order to continue with a second season properly, the least they would need to do is remake episode 25. I, however, am in the AoT: Titanhood camp: wait until the manga nears its end, and do a faithfully adapted remake with even better production values, no pacing issues, and preservation of character development. A show like that could become the next FMAB.
As it is however, the AoT anime has just ruined what could have been one of the most epic and iconic finales of all time. |