Attack on Titan Episode 37 Review: Scream

Are they going to kiss? NOPE, of course they won’t. Is that Eren’s dad at the end? After this, I highly doubt it. Episode 37, the season finale of Attack on Titan didn’t impress me greatly but it was not that bad. It included a lot of anime clichés like the hero moments, the confession, and the inspirational speeches that we have seen countless times before, but still managed to give some hints about the main plot.

Japanese Original Episode Title: 叫び

Plot

In the heat of the battle, we see Hannes going all-in to kill the Titan that devoured Eren’s mother in the beginning of the series as he tried to protect Eren and Mikasa. All the Scouts seem to be losing the battle with one falling after the other as Eren is desperately trying to transform into a Titan but with no luck since he hasn’t fully finished regenerating his arms. He and Mikasa end up witnessing the gruesome death of Hannes as the Titan eats him alive in front of them. Eren then loses it and falls into despair as Mikasa tries to comfort him, telling him that he has always been there for her.

Eren, trying to protect Mikasa, fully regenerates his body parts and punches the ‘Smilling’ Titan, awakening a power that he didn’t know he possessed, which causes all the non-sentient Titans to follow his will by attacking and eating the ‘Smilling’ Titan, avenging his mother and Hannes. The name of the gift he possesses is named the ‘Coordinate’ and is the reason why Reiner wants to get him back to his ‘hometown’ so desperately. As the remaining survivors escape, and while Eren has made all the Titans attack the Armored, Ymir decides to leave Historia and let her return behind the Walls where she can be safe.

A week after the Wall Rose incident, Hange shows up with Connie and gives her report to Levi, Erwin, and Pyxis, revealing that the Titans that appeared within Wall Rose were in fact the villagers of Connie’s village, leaving everyone in shock. Eren, knowing that a lot of lives were sacrificed in order to save him, promises to his comrades that he will use his power to save everyone and take Wall Maria back along with Commander Erwin who is determined to find out the truth behind the Titans. As a last scene, we see the creepy monkey looking at the distance from the top of Wall Maria with a blonde man wearing glasses emerging from his back.

Episode Highlights

Mikasa’s confession: Poor Mikasa… I guess she thought that they were going to die and that’s why she decided to let Eren know about her feelings BUT still she didn’t manage to actually confess to him, even though she tried to kiss him and got rejected. HE LEFT HER HANGING! That little shit! But on the other hand, OF COURSE SHE GOT REJECTED, because in NO ANIME EVER would they accept this kind of scene. *OUTRAGED* But anyway, it was sad and beautiful in its own way; the whole comparison between the hell around them and the loving feelings of Mikasa was great.

Eren’s despair & ‘Coordinate’ abilities: I have to say I got a bit emotional when he started crying and yelling that he is useless. Not only because you realize how human everyone is in this series (after this episode, even Mikasa) but also because of the amazing performance of emotion from his voice actor, Yūki Kaji. He was AMAZING. Eren’s design also reminded me, for any Yu-Gi-Oh! fans out there, of Yami Marik with the insane amount of lines and veins on his face when he was losing it. I’m referring to this. And apart from that, we finally get to understand why he is considered the chosen one and everyone wants a piece of his ass. He can control Titans at will. Nuff said.

Hohenheim? IS THAT YOU?: For anyone that doesn’t know who Hohenheim is, you should leave anything you are doing and go watch Fullmetal Alchemist, because that anime was DA BOMB! Carrying on, the last guy emerging from the creepy Ape Titan looks so similar to him, really. And on that note I think it is safe to say that the creepy monkey is not Eren’s dad after all. I’ve been almost sure that he was the one, but after this episode I don’t think so. First of all: it’s too easy and second: how could he be Eren’s father if he didn’t even know how 3D Maneuver Gear works? I was trying to make up excuses that he just didn’t care about it but as a scientist it’s weird that he doesn’t know. AND on top of all that the dude is blonde and super built, so probably not him.

Themes & Trivia

Fun facts that people who have read the manga will probably know and people that were watching the show didn’t really think about during this season:

Everything, except the final scenes of this episode, happened over the course of less than 48 hours, and was happening at the same time that they were capturing Annie.
All the events that took place in this season, excluding flashbacks etc., happened within the confines of Wall Maria. The Scouts and the whole gang have never even set foot beyond Wall Maria. Not even when they met Annie. That’s why Hange knows the map so well and was able to guess the plan of Reiner and Bertholdt when they decided to go to the forest with the Giant Trees. All this shit has been happening in order to reclaim Wall Maria and stop the Titans from invading.
All of this is happening to the South of the Walls, nothing has really happened in the North.

Also, if you pause the screen in this episode’s cut to intermission frame you will be able to read the “Unyielding Vow” of the Survey Corps.

Comments

Okay, can we all agree that we knew that Hannes was going to die? I wasn’t even shocked, to be honest. He was a drunk coward before and the moment he set his foot outside Wall Rose with all the Titans around, his chance of survival was really small. But I will give it to Isayama, that guy knows how to make more drama. It was really intense and dramatic to make Eren witness again the same scene, having a loved one devoured by the same Titan. That was really harsh. No wonder Eren lost it. And let’s just not even comment how horrible and creepy the ‘Smiling’ Titan is…

One final thing. I am very disappointed with the fact that the underground city was never mentioned before in the anime and in this episode they just talk about it like it’s no big thing. It’s something very important that has been missed completely in the show. My knowledge of it is very limited as well since I am not following the manga but guys if you really are an Attack on Titan fan you should definitely watch Levi’s backstory OVA named No Regrets. It gives you a lot of insight about the structure of the city and is super interesting.

See you in 2018!

I am glad they announced the release date of Season 3 so quickly, because seriously, waiting for another 4 years would have been a pain. But I am the kind of fan that prefers to wait as much as I have to and have quality content to watch instead of having a new season in 3 months and just making the anime a bloody mess with no matching plot.

We have plenty of time to sit down and think what is happening but to be fair I think everyone pretty much knows by now some of the facts and can speculate most of things. The only thing that no one can guess is WHY? Why the hell would someone unleash the Titans on humanity? I hope it won’t be any cheesy supernatural bullshit…

Until next time guys, keep your bodies ready and remember to avoid the spoilers! Cheers!

Also, Levi I adore you, mate!

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