Anime Season 2 discussion and expectations (there will obviously be anime spoilers)

[AndyTheAMPanda]

So, with the release of the second season of the anime getting closer (hopefully) I felt it would be neat to discuss it. What are your expectations? Which parts of the manga are you most excited to see adapted? What changes would you like to see being made in the anime? Would you like to see more OVAs being released?

My two cents on changes I'd like to see:
-Mike and Nanaba's death being acknowledged. I mean, they were among the soldiers who had stayed for the longest on the SL (not to mention that Mike was their second strongest soldier) and yet no one mentions them dying. WTF?

-Give Sasha and Connie more relevance, specially Sasha, whose characterization is only done via food-related jokes. I feel the part where Levi's new squad is formed and they're hiding in the cabin is a good opportunity to have more interactions among the characters.

-Make Mikasa have a different reaction to finding out she's related to Levi and to Grisha's death. I know she's not the most emotional type but I thought her being that stoic was a bit unrealistic.

-Improvement of the pacing in the uprising arch. I feel there are better ways to provide answers to the viewers other than via large info dumps.

-This is of course not unnecessary, but it would be cool if they extended the titan Grisha vs Frieda fight. Perhaps they could give a hint to what was the power she couldn't master that Rod mentioned.

-This isn't necessary either, but it would also be pretty neat if they gave us just a little more insight into Ymir's past.

Changes I would dislike:
-Eren's Berserk fire titan mode appears again.

-Reiner and Bertholdt are made out to be more villainous than their manga counterparts, just like the did with Annie.

-Replace the Hange scenes with Levi, just like they did in the Stohess operation.

-Tone down Hannes death (though I expect that will be inevitable).

-I don't know how to feel about Zackley's "art", perhaps it will have an impact later in the story but so far it just felt to me like cheap shock value.

After season 2 is finish, I imagine they might make an OVA adaptation of Wall Sina, Goodbye.

Of course I don't expect to get everything I want, but I wanted to know your opinions and discuss this while season 2 arrives

 

[vanihba2000]

Re: Season 2 discussion and expectations (there will obviously be spoilers)

1) Yep some more screen time to Sasha would be nice. I heard she was supposed to be killed off in chapter 36 before Isayama changed his mind. That's probably why she hasn't had too much of a relevance to the story after that chapter. Of course, we'll be seeing major character development for Historia, Ymir and Levi, but some focus on the secondary characters would be nice. I liked how they added a bit more about Marlo in the first season, so something along those lines would be nice for Sasha, and maybe Connie and Jean as well.

2) We won't be seeing Annie for almost the entirety of season 2 (except in those Mikasa/Annie fight flashbacks) - but I hope there'd be an OVA focusing on her, while she was a trainee - adding a bit more depth to her character and showing us how she's been influenced by them.

3) I can pretty much see that the first part up till the Reiner, Ymir and Bertholdt fight is going to be impactful. After which the uprising arc might see a bit of a slowdown, but they should definitely be careful not to bore the viewers with too many details and a slow-moving pace. (For example, in the first season, they could have spent a lot of time explaining the long-range scouting formation during the 57th mission, but thankfully they paced it up and avoided much superfluity)

4) That being said, I think the story is pretty awesome and they should follow the manga without any major deviation. Their selling point would be to maintain the anime fluidity, music and pacing.

 

[Eigengrau]

Re: Season 2 discussion and expectations (there will obviously be spoilers)

My two cents on changes I'd like to see:
-Mike and Nanaba's death being acknowledged. I mean, they were among the soldiers who had stayed for the longest on the SL (not to mention that Mike was their second strongest soldier) and yet no one mentions them dying. WTF?

Mike's death fucking sucked. I loved his character, and the way he went down... I'm not saying it was "bad", only that I felt really bad for him. To be perfectly honest, now that I think about it, his death bothered me way more than the death of Levi's squad, maybe because Mike was alone and the encounter with the Monkey Titan was definitely weird for him, something that neither him or the reader was expecting... I can only hope they do him justice.

-Give Sasha and Connie more relevance, specially Sasha, whose characterization is only done via food-related jokes. I feel the part where Levi's new squad is formed and they're hiding in the cabin is a good opportunity to have more interactions among the characters.

Hopefully we get some good "acting" out of Connie when he finds his mother :X...

-Make Mikasa have a different reaction to finding out she's related to Levi and to Grisha's death. I know she's not the most emotional type but I thought her being that stoic was a bit unrealistic.

This could be due to plot, y'know, how Mikasa probably knows about things/is making others (like Eren?) forget about them by messing with their memories, etc... Maybe.

-Improvement of the pacing in the uprising arch. I feel there are better ways to provide answers to the viewers other than via large info dumps.

Well, if the first half is going to be Castle Utgard+Eren/Reiner/Bert, and the latter half will be about the uprising, I think the first part will be the one with the most action, although with this being the anime I think the uprising will be cool, hell maybe we'll even get to see Rod's Titan, maybe that'll be the final episode, Historia killing him, which would make the beginning of Season 3 the retaking of Wall Maria. Somehow, that sounds rather fitting.

-This is of course not unnecessary, but it would be cool if they extended the titan Grisha vs Frieda fight. Perhaps they could give a hint to what was the power she couldn't master that Rod mentioned.

With this, I have to disagree. Why? I'll just quote what you said:

Changes I would dislike:
-Eren's Berserk fire titan mode appears again.

They should just stick with what appears in the manga. If they start adding abilities and whatnot we'll never hear the end of it, we'll never have confirmation on anything and people will keep mentioning that stuff as "canon". Don't want to see "colorful auras" or berserk modes or whatever... They're just trying to make it more op for no reason.

-Reiner and Bertholdt are made out to be more villainous than their manga counterparts, just like the did with Annie.

I think they took more liberty with Annie because her personality always seemed cold and not that fleshed out, and I don't think the same can be said for both Bert and Reiner, so I don't think we should be worried about that, but I agree.

-I don't know how to feel about Zackley's "art", perhaps it will have an impact later in the story but so far it just felt to me like cheap shock value.

I don't really agree with the "cheap shock value" bit. Was it a bit random, out of place for SnK? Maybe, but I also think it bears a lot of resemblance to our politics and politicians nowadays. They only care about themselves/their well-being, they literally only do/cause/say shit, so why not make them taste their own medicine? If I could, I would put a few certain people through that same process as well... It will be censored, most likely, but I still hope it's very explicit.

I mean, those guys were ready to hand 1/3 of what's left of Humanity on a silver platter to the Titans because they were only worried about them. Death would've been an undeserving gift for the lot of them.

What are your expectations?

I have good expectations. I can't believe it's been 3 years since the first season... Damn :/.
I can only hope they'll be doing a serious job, and stick close to the source material. Really hope Isayama learned from the terrible live-action movies, and won't have any new "ideas" to explore in the anime...

Which parts of the manga are you most excited to see adapted?

Those that I can think of right away:

- the Bert/Reiner reveal. I hope they do it exactly as it was done in the manga; in such a random, out of the blue way. They're in the background, and they just start saying that stuff to Eren. The first time I read it was a total mindfuck;
"Wait... what is he saying.. What the.. What? Just like that? What the shi-"

Of course, I had read previously theories about Reiner and such, but still, it came as a total shock/mindfuck, and I hope the anime manages to deliver this same feeling to all the viewers who haven't been spoiled yet!

- obviously, the fight that comes after that, but more than that...

- retrieving Eren, Erwin losing an arm and still kicking ass! FORWARDDDDDD!!!

- Eren's power reveal: I really hope they do it justice, so we can forget about his "flaming berserk"...

- The Scounting Legion Vs. Kenny's Squad: I hope they also keep it all real and don't censor any of that, like the bit where Levi and the others were ambushed (and all killed), it's a very important turn in the series, killing other humans, and I really hope they don't throw that aside, it's a pretty big deal, and I hope they really stick to it. It really needs to deliver a kick to the gut.

Would you like to see more OVAs being released?

If it's going be more fillers, then no. Even though I watched them all, they were a waste of time.
If they want to make fillers, they should wisen up and adapt "Before The Fall", or any of the other spin-offs, because making filler stories (like the Jean/Sasha cooking contest... seriously :/..?) is just a waste of characters and time...

 

[ufnovaes]

Re: Season 2 discussion and expectations (there will obviously be spoilers)

Mike's death fucking sucked. I loved his character, and the way he went down... I'm not saying it was "bad", only that I felt really bad for him. To be perfectly honest, now that I think about it, his death bothered me way more than the death of Levi's squad, maybe because Mike was alone and the encounter with the Monkey Titan was definitely weird for him, something that neither him or the reader was expecting... I can only hope they do him justice.

This is something I wish too.

Mike was also my favorite and his death was completely ignored.
He dispatched don't now how many titans, to be killed like that.
He was for sure not a coward, he stayed to fight all the titans so the rest of the Corps could flee, but Isayama choose to depict his death that way, in my opinion, to prove a point. That everyone has fear, even the strongest.
I would love if they find a way to make him justice.
But see his death in the anime will be heartbroken... again.
I would say that this was my worst death to read.
And also Gerger with the wine bottle on Utgard. That sucked big time.

 

[AndyTheAMPanda]

Re: Season 2 discussion and expectations (there will obviously be spoilers)

2) We won't be seeing Annie for almost the entirety of season 2 (except in those Mikasa/Annie fight flashbacks) - but I hope there'd be an OVA focusing on her, while she was a trainee - adding a bit more depth to her character and showing us how she's been influenced by them.

Well, depending on how well received is season 2 (which lets be honest it will probably be) and if there's some hiatus between it and season three, they might animate Wall Sina, Goodbye. I haven't read it, but from what I understand it's a visual novel (now being adapted into a manga) which focuses on the month Annie was in the Military Police and her relationship with her father. It would be a good way to help Annie fans endure all the time she's been MIA.

If it's going be more fillers, then no. Even though I watched them all, they were a waste of time.
If they want to make fillers, they should wisen up and adapt "Before The Fall", or any of the other spin-offs, because making filler stories (like the Jean/Sasha cooking contest... seriously :/..?) is just a waste of characters and time...

I agree OVA2 and OVA 3 were nothing to write home about, though I did like Ilse's notebook (though that was probably because it was based on a part of the manga) and ACWNR was alright. The main anime is obviously better but I thought the OVAs were better than nothing, specially when you're a content starved fan =/ Hopefully we won't have to wait so long for season 3 when season 2 ends.

Well, if the first half is going to be Castle Utgard+Eren/Reiner/Bert, and the latter half will be about the uprising, I think the first part will be the one with the most action, although with this being the anime I think the uprising will be cool, hell maybe we'll even get to see Rod's Titan, maybe that'll be the final episode, Historia killing him, which would make the beginning of Season 3 the retaking of Wall Maria. Somehow, that sounds rather fitting.

Season 1 covered around two archs so I also tend to think season 2 will end with Historia's coronation and season 3 will start with the basement expedition.

Those that I can think of right away:

- the Bert/Reiner reveal. I hope they do it exactly as it was done in the manga; in such a random, out of the blue way. They're in the background, and they just start saying that stuff to Eren. The first time I read it was a total mindfuck;
"Wait... what is he saying.. What the.. What? Just like that? What the shi-"

Of course, I had read previously theories about Reiner and such, but still, it came as a total shock/mindfuck, and I hope the anime manages to deliver this same feeling to all the viewers who haven't been spoiled yet!

Yup, I hope they don't make them have an overdramatic reaction like they did with Annie. I know Isayama requested that change to be made, and for some reason it didn't bother me because it didn't seem so inappropriate coming from Annie, but if Reiner of Bertholdt do that it will feel to OOC for any of them.

Gerger with the wine bottle on Utgard. That sucked big time.

It's even harsher when you look in hindsight and realize Reiner didn't even need the wine to get his bite wound treated =/

 

[teioh]

The only thing I expect is an AWESOME, UNBELIEVABLE, BREATHLESS Reiner & Berthold revelation episode.

PLEASE DON'T MAKE THEM THIS WAY:

 

[Eigengrau]

Another question for y'all, but I think I know what answers to expect...

Will you watch the 2nd season weekly/every day a new episode is released, or will you wait until the season is over to watch everything back to back?

During the 1st I can't say I watched it religiously due to time constraints (university), but around the end of the 1st season I got to watch episodes 19-22 (or something like that) in one go and it was a real treat. I was already reading the manga at that point, but still, it was pretty cool to see how some things were animated, and how everyone was reacting to it and losing their minds until the next week.

I can say I liked that, watching the episode, reading comments, see how others reacted to it, etc., but this time around I don't know. Granted, if I watched it weekly, it would last longer than if I decided to watch everything over a day or two, and those epic cliffhangers just wouldn't have the same effect... And because we're bound to haver another ginormous hiatus until season 3... Dunno, just want to really "take it all in" the best way possible, if that makes any sense to you.

Such a dilemma for me x). I guess it'll depend if I have the time for it or not.

I'm guessing everyone here will be watching the episodes as soon as they're out

 

[AndyTheAMPanda]

Oh, that is such a good question! I was introduced to the anime when all the episodes had aired, so I binge-watched it and enjoyed it greatly, so it did puzzle me when people complained that the pacing was slow (I noted the majority of people who had this issue had watched the episode once a week). I'd like to watch the second season in a single run, but I've been waiting for it for such a long time that I probably won't be able to restrain myself and watch the first episode as soon as it gets streamed XD.

 

[Haze]

The only thing I expect them to do is to stick as closely to the manga as possible. I really don't want another Deadman wonderland tbh.

As for the scenes, pretty much what Eigengrau mentioned. All those scenes absolutely got to be exactly the way they were in the manga! I wouldn't have it any other way. And additionally, I'd like to add the scene where Berthold lashes out emotionally. That moment when Mikasa calls them a plague on humanity, and Bert's reaction that follows thereafter absolutely needs to be depicted the way it was originally done, and I really want it to deliver the same feel it did back when I read it. Also, looking forward to Armin's expression in the Anime. That evil face was just priceless.

 

[Eigengrau]

The only thing I expect them to do is to stick as closely to the manga as possible. I really don't want another Deadman wonderland tbh.

As for the scenes, pretty much what Eigengrau mentioned. All those scenes absolutely got to be exactly the way they were in the manga! I wouldn't have it any other way. And additionally, I'd like to add the scene where Berthold lashes out emotionally. That moment when Mikasa calls them a plague on humanity, and Bert's reaction that follows thereafter absolutely needs to be depicted the way it was originally done, and I really want it to deliver the same feel it did back when I read it. Also, looking forward to Armin's expression in the Anime. That evil face was just priceless.

Yeah, about Bert... I know that it's just "manga" and we're only "reading", but that scene you spoke about, whenI read it, man...
I really heard him shouting, and he sounded so desperate, and everyone else just shut their damn pie-holes because the truth remains that they don't know a single damn thing about the bigger picture! That just goes to show how some writing can be very powerful.

I know this is off-topic, but what was your beef with Deadman Wonderland? The manga ended very abruptly for me, same as Future Diary... dafuq.

 

[Haze]

Was referring to Deadman wonderland's anime, where they strayed away from the source material so much so that they couldn't continue onto the next season. It's a pity as the anime was put a whole lot of effort into. AoT works best just the way it is imo, and any deviation from the source material may drastically change what follows.

 

[leiatte]

I think the anime will have a much better reception for the whole Political arc, where they are finding out about the Corruption of the Military police. Honestly during the beginning of that arc I was started to fall out of love with Attack on Titan. Luckily It ended pretty well, I really didn't enjoy it too much other than the action scenes, but I think not having to wait month to month for the arc, and having the cinematic of a show. I think it will be great and I predict the 2nd season to end at the end of that arc.

I've got HUGE expectations for the arc where we first meet the Beast Titan, and the conflict with Reiner and Bertholt was very exciting. Some of the biggest character development for Eren should happen, and It'll be exciting to watch to say the least.