Before reading, know that there will be brief spoilers.
Just when you think Attack on Titan can’t get darker, the writer Hajime Isayama pops up and says, “Wait, there’s more.” When season 3 part 2 ended with a time jump and we see Eren and his scout regiment comrades more than ready to accomplish their goal. The mission that remained is to infiltrate Marley, the kingdom beyond the sea and understand the reason behind centuries of torture.
Hunter becomes the hunted
Everything boils down to what’s going to happen after this four-year time jump. We see episode 1 starting with the Eldian army fighting yet another war. The camera focuses on a young boy named Falco, who is confused as to why this fight is happening, but determined to prove his worth to the Marleyan army. After all, Falco is one among many new children of Eldian heritage who has been selected for the warrior programme – the one that picks the worthy fighters as titan shifters.
We see no familiar characters in the episode except Reiner and Zeke, who, along with hundreds of innocent people injected with the spinal fluid that turns them into titans, lay waste to the Eldian army. We see Falco and his friends, who are all small children with guns, try to prove their mettle by killing as many Eldians as possible.
Another interesting change in the anime is the studio change. WIT Studios did a fantastic job with the first three seasons, but now, the project is helmed by Studio MAPPA. There are some who still need to adjust to the new artstyles, but there is no denying that the quality remains top tier as always.
Overall, the episode earns a solid 4 out of 5 stars.
(Cover: Twitter)