ANIME MONDAY: Attack on Titan – “Wall – Raid on the Stohess District Pt. 3” Review


Previously on Attack on Titan:

Annie is revealed to be the Female Titan and begins a rampage in the capital in order to get to Eren. Eren is unable to transform and fight Annie and is buried under rubble from the underground tunnel during the chaos. Remembering why he joined the Military in the 1st place, Eren finally transforms and starts his rematch with Annie. Spoilers Ahead!

Eren steps out of his funk and once again engages in battle with Annie in the streets of the Stohess District. The Military and the civilians look on in both terror and awe as the two monsters wage war in the streets. Erwin is still being held up by Nile and officers from the Military Police but when they realize just how far Erwin will go to capture Annie they relent and let him go. Eren & Annie eventually make it to the wall with Annie trying to climb over it to get away but is thwarted. Just when Eren is about to rip her body out of the nape of her Titan neck, Annie encases herself in crystal.

Here we are, the final episode of Attack on Titan, and it is basically everything a last episode should be. Everything that has transpired over the past 25 episodes has come to a head and damn is it a satisfying watch, but let me stop gushing and get to the review.

Picking up right where episode 24 left off, Eren & Annie start their long awaited rematch. The battle takes up the whole 90% of the episode and the time is not wasted. The brawl takes place through the entire Stohess District destroying tons of buildings in the process, we even get brief scenes when they destroy a church with people inside as well as a little girl with blood on her walking the destroyed streets. Eren manages to hit Annie a few times but he is ultimately felled by her superior fighting skills. Just when all hope seems lost Eren once again loses himself and attacks Annie from behind.

Annie & her father

Here is another moment where we see a moment of genuine fear from Annie as she realizes that Eren is willing to go all out if it means taking her down. The same realization comes to Nile as he and his men still have their guns pointed at Erwin. Even when Nile threatens to kill him for the supposed “treason” of letting two titans run loose in the capital, Erwin says he will gladly accept death if Nile picks up where he left off and coordinates the capture of Annie. This is another moment that shows just how dedicated Erwin is to defeating the Titans.

Back to the battle, it is intercut with scenes from Annie’s past as she reminisces about her father and it is interesting to see just how these scenes shape her somewhat. With Eren’s body burning out due to regenerating so much he lunges at Annie once more, however she manages to kick him off and starts to climb the wall. Just when shes about to escape Mikasa swings in and cuts off her fingers, this results in one the most badass moments I’ve ever seen in which Mikasa stands on Annie’s face and tells her to fall as Annie falls back to earth.

This allows Eren to gain the advantage once again as he hops on top of Annie and punches her head off, leaving her neck exposed. Still consumed with rage he bites off the nape of her neck revealing Annie’s body. Hanji and the others fear that Eren is going to kill Annie but when he sees her crying he hesitates allowing her to encase her body in crystal using her hardening ability. Eren himself is in danger of fusing with Annie and becoming frozen himself until Levi makes a last minute save and cuts him out of his Titan’s neck, with Eren safe and Annie frozen, the battle is finally over.

Eren later wakes up in a bed being watched by Mikasa, Armin, & Jean. When he asks where Annie is Armin tells him that she’s still frozen and is being held underground until they can figure out how to get information out of her. Erwin is shown being questioned by the Governor about the operation and if it was really worth. Erwin states that even though they didn’t get any imformation out of Annie, they have found out that she is not the only shifter, and that they have a chance to counterattack. Armin & Jean leave Eren & Mikasa when they are called for questioning and have a talk about if becoming a monster is the only way to win. Armin puts his faith in Eren but he knows it won’t be easy.

Annie frozen

Eren & Mikasa have another moment when Eren begins to talk about his fight with Annie. He says that he was actually enjoying being beat up to an extent and that he probably wouldn’t have minded dying, this scares Mikasa but he reassures her that he doesn’t feel that way anymore. Although she does make him promise to return to her alive next time they fight. This is a pretty key moment since Eren is not the most open person about his feelings and it is important that he confided in Mikasa (can anyone say OTP?).

Eren & Mikasa

Things then break into a mini montage of what is going on after the battle. Annie is being kept underground, Mikasa & Eren are sitting in his room and talking a bit, Armin & Jean continue to walk towards questioning, we even see Reiner, Sasha, Bertholdt, Ymir, Krista, & Connie riding on horses to an unknown location. We also see a piece of the wall where Annie tried to climb break off, indicating that the mystery of the Titans is nowhere near solved, and the war is far from over.

To be continued…?

“Wall” is definitely a fitting finale to what has certainly been the standout show of the summer season. The action hits all cylinders and the animation and music certainly keep up with it. Not a moment is wasted and every scene has a purpose it fills wonderfully. The drama is real and you actually feel sorry for Annie at some points, you also begin to feel just what Eren is going to have to go through in order to succeed in his goal. The ending also leaves more than enough room for a second season (which hasn’t been announced yet). In short Attack on Titan is an amazing series and definitely worth a watch. Hopefully a second season will come soon (fingers crossed).

5/5