Once in a while I watch an episode of a TV series that gives me goosebumps. It either impresses me artistically or it moves me emotionally, the same way some movies do. After all, episodes of a series are, in a way, short films.
So, let’s talk Attack on Titan. A post-apocalyptic fantasy survival anime about the last remnants of human civilization being preyed upon by giant hungry zombies called titans. We follow teenagers Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, and Armin Arlert, along with their peers as they fight to save humanity and uncover the secret origins of the titans.
Today, I want to focus on season 1 episode 1: “To You, 2,000 Years in the Future -The Fall of Shiganshina, Part 1.” In a way, the premiere episode of a show is the most important one, as its goal is to persuade people to continue watching the rest of the series. Personally, I find Attack on Titan’s premiere to be one of the most impactful in the last ten years of anime. And upon review, I am surprised to find just how much is set up about the world and characters in the span of 20 minutes. So let’s begin the breakdown.
You can check out the episode here: https://www.crunchyroll.com/attack-on-titan/episode-1-to-you-2000-years-in-the-future-the-fall-of-zhiganshina-1
(Directors: Tanaka Hiroyuki and Araki Tetsuro; Writer: Kobayashi Yasuko; Original Creator: Isayama Hajime)
Here’s what I think are the important events of the episode:
- Flash-forward: Colossal Titan appears.
- The Scout Regiment takes down a titan.
- Opening Theme & Animation – “Guren no Yumiya”.
- Eren wakes up frightened, crying.
- Titans clawing at the wall. A religious Pastor preaches about the wall.
- Eren and Mikasa talk to Hannes, who is drunk.
- The Scout Regiment returns from their mission.
- Eren and Mikasa go home, and we meet Eren’s parents.
- Armin is bullied.
- Armin and Eren talk about their hopes and fears. (and Armin totally jinxes it)
- BOOM! Colossal Titan appears. Titans run amok in the city.
- Mikasa and Eren try to save Eren’s mom. Hannes takes them away to safety.
- Eren witnesses his mom be brutally devoured by a titan.
Now, let’s talk about what exact function each event plays in developing the world and characters of Attack on Titan.
But first, let’s establish what the goals of this episode are: set up the titan vs. human conflict, introduce the titan-slaying organization, introduce the characters, and create a tragedy that spurs the protagonist to take action.
The very first image we see is that of a pair of geese flying across the sky. Then, we see the Colossal Titan’s hand gripping the giant walls encircling the town of Shiganshina, and its enormous head peering down at the terrified humans below. The geese symbolize freedom. Both the walls and the oppressive monster looking over it represent oppression. The overall mood of the scene is fear. Simple-but-effective messages that communicate a lot. We learn that humans in this world are being oppressed by giant beings like this. And we learn the central theme: freedom vs oppression.
In the next scene, we see a group of soldiers in uniform working together to take down a titan using steam-powered devices that allow them to zip around the trees freely (and allow the animators to design really awesome action sequences). We later learn that these soldiers are part of a group called the “Scout Regiment.” This scene introduces us to the rebellious “monster-slaying” organization that exists in this world. Or in other words, the police or military force.
Through these two scenes we also get a vague idea of the setting: it is set in a time and place that seems medieval or rural; a little low-tech; possibly steampunk.
Then we get the opening theme song and animation. I will admit, while I was reviewing this episode, I almost ignored the opening. But then I realized it actually has a lot of critical information in it. Not only do the music and visuals set the tone for the series, but the visuals alone actually communicate a lot. We learn that the likely heroes of the show are members of the military organization we saw in the previous scene. And we learn that the show will be mainly about this military organization slaying these “titans.”
Then we meet our protagonists Eren and Mikasa. Eren wakes up frightened from a bad dream and with tears in his eyes. If you are reviewing this episode like I am, you will notice that some of the images in his nightmare come from the future. Now unless there’s some canon explanation for Eren’s precognition I don’t know about, I believe this is just foreshadowing.
Next we get two quick, but important shots. First, a shot of some titans helplessly clawing at Shiganshina’s walls. From this we learn about the purpose of the walls: to keep the titans away from humans. So now we have an idea for the kind of infrastructure that is in place to protect humanity.
The second shot we see is of a religious pastor publicly preaching about the divinity of the walls. Now we know about the kinds of religious groups that exists in this world. (This becomes important later in the series.)
In the next scene, Eren and Mikasa run into a soldier, their family friend Hannes, and his fellow peers in the “Garrison Regiment” whose duty is to guard the walls. The problem is that they are all drunk and not at all prepared for any sort of emergency, much less a titan-related one. From this scene we learn a bit about the history of titan attacks in the area: namely that there hasn’t been one in 100 years. Thus, we also learn the general attitude of the people in the town: they are complacent.
Hannes also mentions Eren’s father being a well-respected and popular physician in the area.
The Scout Regiment returns in the next scene after their mission. We learn about Eren’s dream to join the Scouts, who are his heroes, and that he’s very stubborn and hot-headed about it. This is his character flaw; aka the “lie that he believes”; that he will have to grow out of. Mikasa tries to convince him not to join the Scouts, to no avail.
According to K.M. Weiland, author of Creating Character Arcs, “In order for your character to evolve in a positive way, he has to start out with something lacking in his life, some reason that makes the change necessary. He is harboring some deeply held misconception about either himself, the world, or, probably, both.”
Next, we learn that the Scout Regiment’s mission is to travel outside the walls in order to study titans and try to unravel the mysteries behind their existence. We also learn about the attitude of these “heroes”: that even they have lost hope and have nothing to show for their journeys outside the walls and the countless soldiers’ lives that have been lost.
In the face of this, Eren is basically given an escape route: he has every reason to lose his respect for the Scouts and give up his dream of joining them. But, he decides not to give up his dream. His desire remains strong in face of the escape route. He still believes in their mission and will bonk the head of anyone who dares make fun of them.
Next, Eren and Mikasa make their way to Eren’s home. We learn they live together with Eren’s mother and father. The character Carla Jaeger, Eren’s mother, is introduced. She loves Eren, worries about him, and because of that forbids him to join the scouts. We get a hint about Mikasa’s physical strength through Carla, who implies that Mikasa always helps Eren with collecting firewood. Then, we meet Eren’s father Grisha Jaeger who supports Eren’s dream; then leaves on a business trip. But not before he teases what is inside the secret basement, the central MacGuffin for the series.
In the next scene we meet Armin Arlert, a boy who is friends with Eren and Mikasa, getting bullied. We learn from this scene that he is smart, courageous, but physically weak–and ashamed of that. We get another hint about Mikasa’s strength when the bullies run cowardly away when they see her approaching with Eren.
Then, our main trio have a conversation about their hopes and fears. Armin talks about having an interest in the outside world; which was deemed “taboo” by the royal government. Again, we understand a little more about the attitude of the general public. He and Eren share the dream of seeing the world beyond the walls. We now understand what may be the attitude of some youths in this society.
Then, Armin jinxes the whole town of Shiganshina when he insists that someday, the walls will no longer hold and the titans will breach it.
BOOM! The colossal titan appears out of nowhere and kicks open the gate, allowing titans to enter the town; then he disappears. Doomsday. The worst possible scenario occurs. This society faces its ultimate challenge. We learn that titans are creepy as hell: mindless, hungry, man-eating, humanoid giants.
Eren’s mother is crushed under their house. Eren and Mikasa try to pull her out while Hannes tries and fails to engage an approaching titan. We learn that Hannes owes some sort of debt to the Jaeger family. Hannes abandons Carla and runs away with Mikasa and Eren. They are all unable to save her; all they can do is watch her get eaten alive. They are too weak and too cowardish. This is Eren’s lowest point; his abyss, where all hope seems lost.
Carla is eaten, and Eren is devastated. His whole world is destroyed. This entire episode, Eren has been a hot-head, preaching about being a hero and claiming that he is strong and brave. But, he learns in this instant how weak, small, and helpless he is when faced with a real challenge, while being carried in the arms of the cowardish Hannes. This is Eren’s revelation.
Now let’s review:
| 1. Flash-forward: Colossal Titan appears. | Theme: Freedom vs. Oppression |
| 2. The Scout Regiment takes down a titan. | Introduce Military Organization; Rough Setting |
| 3. Opening Animation – “Guren no Yumiya”. | Series Concept: Military vs. Titans |
| 4. Eren wakes up frightened, crying. | Foreshadow Doomsday; Introduce Eren, Mikasa |
| 5. Titans clawing at the wall. A religious Pastor preaches about the wall. | Protective Infrastructure, Religious Group |
| 6. Eren and Mikasa talk to Hannes, who is drunk. | History; Attitude of Common People |
| 7. The Scout Regiment Returns from their mission. | Eren’s Dream & Flaw; Attitude of “Heroes”; Escape Route |
| 8. Eren and Mikasa go home, and we meet Eren’s parents. | Introduce Carla & Grisha; Macguffin |
| 9. Armin is bullied | Introduce Armin |
| 10. Armin and Eren talk about hopes and fears. (and Armin totally jinxes it) | Taboo; Royal Government; Attitude of Youth |
| 11. BOOM! Colossal titan appears. Titans run amok in the city. | Doomsday; Society in Face of Ultimate Challenge |
| 12. Mikasa and Eren try to save Eren’s mom. Hannes takes them away to safety. | Eren’s Abyss |
| 13. Eren witnesses his mom be brutally devoured by a titan. | Eren’s Revelation |
“To You, 2,000 Years in the Future -The Fall of Shiganshina, Part 1”: There are a lot of things established in this 20-minute pilot episode, and it’s done rather efficiently considering, with most of it communicated through visuals and dialogue rather than through expository narration.
We learn about the series concept and theme: freedom vs oppression; a rough idea of the time and place, we are introduced to the main characters, the infrastructure, the military organization, the religious groups, the attitudes of commoners, the youth, and the so-called “heroes”; societal taboos; the existence of a royal government; as well as the series’ MacGuffin.
Along with a clear character arc for the protagonist, Eren Jaeger: complete with a strong desire (join the scouts), a fatal flaw (arrogance), obstacles to his goal (Mikasa and Carla), supporters (Grisha and Armin), a true challenge (titans invade city), an abyss (watching Carla get eaten), and a revelation (realizes he’s helpless).
And we learn a smattering about several other important characters. Armin is brave, smart, yet physically weak. Mikasa is physically strong and cares deeply for Eren and Armin. Hannes was complacent and lazy, but wants to change. Grisha is supportive of his son’s dreams, is a respected physician in the city, and has kept some sort of secret in the family basement.
These solid lessons in setting up a fantasy world and its characters come together for one great episode.
Thanks for reading. Until the next episode.
My Huang Opinion 