Attack on Titan: Part 2

Once again we headed into Towson on a Thursday night to watch a movie. This time, it was Part 2 of Attack on Titan. We were not expecting much in terms of quality and many young anime fans talking throughout the entire movie. During the previews, I heard whispers of people complaining about the amount of people talking during the first movie. This time, the theater remembered to turn down the lights just as the movie started. That gave me some hope.

There was less talking but I think it was because the movie was three times better than the first. It was not a great movie, but just okay. Several of the characters that were not in the anime had died off and there were now only a few known characters left. Captain Shikishiki must have been an amalgamation of several characters. He was a mess of one and came off more effeminate and crushing on Eren than having an affair with Mikasa. Mikasa's and Armin's characters finally formed into the beloved characters we see in the show.

Part of me wonders if the movie went beyond Season 1 of the anime, which is all that is out, and continued with where the manga goes since it is much further along. I hope it did not spoil much for us. I would rather they have come up with a different storyline although the climax of the movie was decent. It ended how you would think an anime ends, people who you think are dead show up, reveal their evil plan, go "rar", and are defeated easily by a deus ex machina.

One scene in particular stood out and that was when Eren wakes up in a white room. There is a jukebox in the corner playing The End of the World by Skeeter Davis. It is a well-known song to American audiences.

Captain Shikishiki shows up with champagne and two glasses, explaining that the song is about no one knowing that the world is ending because they are ignorant of the corruption around them.

There is a bit of a language barrier.

Shikishiki goes on a flamboyant tirade about the government and being fabulous. He could have kissed Eren at any time and it would have fit the scene.

The movie's saving grace was the woman who played Zoe Hanji, the eccentric Titan scientist. She was lovable to the end and every time her character came on screen, we knew we were in for a laugh. If only we could go through life like her.