Attack on Titan: Episode 3 Review

After waiting two episodes, I finally get to see the characters all grown up, and the series continues to deliver.

*Spoilers*

I have been looking forward to seeing Eren and Sasha grown up, and watch them begin their training. While training episodes are somewhat of a shounen cliché, the episode handled it well in a way that reminded me more of military boot camps, which is essentially what the Survey Corp is, and therefore did not fall into the usual clichés. The character models for the young adult characters are particularly appealing and work perfectly for the series. My only problem is that a few of the minor characters' hair, like the guy on the left in the picture, looks a little out of place, but that is just a nitpick. Again, Studio Wit and Production I.G.'s animation is very impressive with its unique style and fluid animation that is almost on par with feature film animation, although the fast moving lines to make things more exciting are a tad overused, but again, that is a very minor thing.

In terms of the story, the opening scene with the drill sergeant was a lot of fun. After two episodes of death and despair, it was fun to finally see the series' lighter side with "Potato Girl," Sasha Blouse, and the positively hilarious Potato scene! "Are you asking me why people eat potatoes?" Newcomer, Ashly Burch, does an excellent job with the humor of the character, and I already know that I am going to love her character! The fun and goofy type characters, if executed well, can provide a lot of needed comic relief, and I hope Sasha has a serious side too. Also, the scene when Sasha turns red-eyed and attacks the food was hilarious! 

Now that the characters are grown up, the voice actors have changed their tone to match the age, and the performance seems better than before. Bryce Papenbrook as Eren is not the best, but he is still very good. However, the rest of the cast are the real highlight of the series in terms of acting.
My only problem with the episode is that the translation uses the same translation as the Funimation sub for the Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear by naming it "Omni-Directional Maneuver Gear." If you are not aware, the Funimation sub that was released on Netflix made a few changes to the wording of a few aspects compared to the other subtitles, and it was very controversial.
Going back to the plot, after the hilarious potato scene, Eren struggles to master the 3DMG. Despite his best effort, he cannot hold himself up, but it turns out that the 3DMG malfunctioned, thus causing it not to work for Eren. In a way, Eren's struggle was more of a side story that was present to add conflict and demonstrate Eren's determined nature; however, the main reason for the episode seemed to be to setup the Survey Corp camp, 3DMG, and introduce a few new characters, all of which worked well. The episode concludes with a small taste of the awesomeness that is to come with the 3DMG.

Overall: 8.2/10- While not as dark and dramatic as previous episodes, episode four developed Eren's character effectively, introduced a few new characters, and showed the series' lighter side with some well timed humor, which adds up to a very fun episode and entertaining episode.

For the anime fans reading this, please check back Tuesday for my review of the popular anime Baccano.

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