Shingeki no Kyoujin - 11 & 12

"Icon - Defense of Trost 7" and "Wound - Defense of Trost 8"

Is it just me or have things slowed down a bit?

Episode 11

I can't help but notice how much longer the "Defense of Trost" arc has been compared to the relatively short arcs of the first half of the season, and though that's understandable in terms of all the complexity of this arc, I can't help but feel we're losing some steam here. Normally I'd say that's a great thing for a show like this one, which rarely stops long enough to catch its breath, but there's a difference between using time wisely for characterization and other development purposes and using that time to reiterate concepts we've constantly been seeing all along anyhow. In that sense, I don't really find this episode to be as compelling as others, and there's not much that really happens either in the way of plot or characters as it is. Maybe we're just at that point in the narrative where the series has started catching up to the manga (really? Just 11 episodes in? That probably could have been paced better if it's true), or maybe we need the breather before anything else gets out of control.

In any case, this episode features a lot of something, and that something is talking. While Pixis has decided to trust and use Eren, the rest of the soldiers awaiting commands are beginning to crack. You can't really blame them, considering how futile fighting against the Titans has seemed this whole time. It really does end up feeling like a suicide mission when it's so unlikely you'll survive fighting against monstrous enemies who show mysteriously terrifying abilities and eat your comrades up for the pure fun of it. No one wants to die, and no one especially wants to die being eaten for absolutely no discernible reason. So in that sense all the outcry makes sense. What I don't really like is that we've seen this sort of weird crowd reaction all over this series already. It's that same thing about redundancy all over again, and it takes far too much time this episode to really have a good impact.

Then there's the fact that the boulder mentioned last episode doesn't even get reached this time. True, there are bound to be complications when dealing with something as untested as a human with the power to turn into a titan, but is it really necessary to drag out the actual mission to the point where almost nothing of note really happens? The most action packed moment of the episode (outside of the victims already being caught by Titans) is really where Eren goes berserk, but it happens at the very last moment and leaves us hanging in a less than satisfying way. It isn't really a cliffhanger where you can't wait to see what happens next, and it just goes to show how much the pacing has changed for this series in just some eleven episodes. That's not to say things aren't interesting, but they're definitely taking their sweet time getting around to the big picture.

Episode 12

They do look like giant boxcutters!

With another episode as slow-paced at this, I'm finding the various spoofs across the internet somewhat more fulfilling than the actual events of the moment. It's not as though nothing happens, but for the most part we're getting the same messages thrown at us over and over again, and it's starting to feel like Eren personified here. We've already seen the terror of these people, we already know how quick to despair they are, and we know why Eren, psychotic though he is, fights. It feels rather insulting being told over and over again just what he and his hot-bloodedness stand for, and even more so when nothing else is really happening but death all around.

The fact that Eren isn't even the focus of such an Eren-like episode only makes me question the adaptation decisions further, and Armin and Mikasa's actions aren't really new insights to their characters either. Mikasa, as always, is ready to fight to the death when it comes to her family (though this is the first time I've seen her react with romantic undertones to having Eren called her boyfriend since she grew up), and though Armin gets a little gutsier with his plans, it's not a whole lot of development either. Still, I'll take what I can get, and I definitely appreciate that Armin is willing to take the risk of hurting Eren gravely compared to his earlier indecisive fears. In fact, I could make an argument that out of all the characters, Armin is the one growing the most, but that doesn't make having to stomach Eren as a lead any easier in the long run.

I realize I'm sounding harsh about these two episodes, but I don't want to give the wrong impression that I dislike this series or that I'm not having fun watching it. I just really wish this whole little boulder mission wasn't as dragged out as it has been because honestly there's not a whole lot of point in doing so narrative wise. There's still plenty of cool action here and there, and plenty of that shock factor to go around (Sweet Hylia, is Jean going to die here too?!), but is all this meandering really necessary? Couldn't the time used for all of this been used more productively? Couldn't we have fleshed the characters out more, or had some new ideas thrown around for a change? It's never good to mull over the "what ifs" of a situation, but for some reason Shingeki is making that a hell of a lot harder to ignore lately. Here's hoping Eren gets in the freaking robot carries out that boulder plan next time around.

N.B.: Thanks to Ivan for the caps!