It’s time to give your hearts one more time, as the uber popular anime, Attack on Titan, is finally coming to a close, as Part 2 of the final season will be debuting on January 9th. It has been an exciting (and stressful!) ride ever since the anime debuted all the way back in 2013, and Attack On Titan Season 4, Part 1 didn’t do anything to lessen said excitement. In fact, if anything, the anticipation is through the roof to see how this all ends (And to see if the ending to the anime is any different from the conclusion to the manga, which ended back in April of 2021).
We got so much in Part 1 of Season 4 that it was kind of hard to narrow it down to just 5 of the best moments, but I think I’ve done a pretty good job of highlighting the most harrowing segments of the season. One thing I want to note is just how awesome the intro theme and visuals were for Season 4, Part 1, and I’m really hoping that the theme to Part 2 will be just as epic and intense. You can currently watch the first season of Attack on Titan on Netflix, but if you want to catch up, you’ll have to watch the rest of the seasons on Hulu, Crunchyroll, or Funimation. So, now, here are the 5 best moments from Season 4: Part 1.
Oh, and MAJOR spoilers up ahead. You’ve been warned.
The War Against The Mid-East Allied Forces (“The Other Side of the Sea”)
The first episode of Season 4 is a disorienting one as we were introduced to the brand-new characters of Falco Grice, his older brother, Colt, Gabi Bruan, and others. They are just children, but they are engaged in warfare against a seemingly new threat. We later learn that Gabi and Falco are actually candidates to become the next titans once the Beast and Armored Titans die, which is a great honor. But, while we see that Gabi is perfectly up to the “honor” of becoming a titan, that isn’t the case for everybody. What follows is an enthralling battle that looks grim for the Marleyans until Gabi goes on a successful suicide run. After that, Zeke and Reiner come to the party.
The coolest part of the episode—besides seeing the Jaw Titan and the Cart Titan in full battle mode—was watching people drop from a plane like bombs only for Zeke to do the call and transform them into the mindless titans, causing them to either splat down upon tanks, or to get back up and run amok. In the end, Zeke turns into the Beast Titan and chucks rocks at the Mid-East Allied Fleet, successfully ending the war. Now THAT’S how you start off a season!
Eren Takes On The War Hammer Titan (“The War Hammer Titan”)
A while back, I ranked the titans on how terrifying they are. But here’s the thing. When I wrote that article, we had not been introduced to the War Hammer Titan yet. And while the War Hammer Titan isn’t really scary (She’s more interesting than terrifying), I definitely love the fact that the show, even in its penultimate season, didn’t stop introducing brand new titans.
In this exciting episode, we find Eren taking on the War Hammer Titan. His purpose in doing this is so that he can eat her and inherit her abilities. He looks to be on the cusp of victory when the Jaw Titan intervenes before Eren can defeat the War Hammer Titan. But good ‘ol Levi leaps into action and cuts off the Jaw Titan’s, er, jaw, allowing Eren to win in the next episode, “Assault”. Honestly, once the battle started, I found myself on my feet the entire time. It was that intense.
Sasha’s Death (“Assassin’s Bullet”)
I’ve loved a lot of anime in my day, both old and new, but Attack on Titan is my all-time favorite, and mostly because I’ve never been more invested in the scenarios and the characters than I am with this show. Case in point, Sasha, who was probably the only actual comic relief in the entire, dour series. Sasha was kind-hearted and only fought to help her friends and community, not for selfish purposes.
So, when Gabi found a way onto one of the Survey Corps. airships, she also snuck on a gun and shot Sasha to death. Even worse was the fact that her dearest friends, Connie and Jean, were there to watch her die. All the while, Eren laughs in the bathroom after he thinks of Sasha’s last word, which was “meat”. We get a sense that the laugh was bitter and sardonic, but I couldn’t help but think of the scene in Breaking Bad when Walt was laughing on his back in the basement. And any show that reminds me of my favorite show, Breaking Bad, has to be doing something right.
Levi Vs. The Beast Titan, Part 2 (“Savagery”)
My all-time favorite moment of Attack on Titan is when Levi took on the Beast Titan all by himself…and nearly won. It was a moment that pretty much solidified Levi as the toughest member of the Survey Corps., and undoubtedly the toughest character in this entire series. His aloof manner just makes him even cooler, as he’s not in charge, and only follows orders. This all comes to a head when we find out that Zeke and Eren have actually been working together. It’s at that moment that Levi realizes that he may have bet on the wrong horse by supporting Eren.
Zeke, who has always been sort of a strategist, has put his spinal fluid into wine that was given to members of the Survey Corps. Levi finds out too late, as his crew has already drunk the wine, and Zeke screams, initiating the transformation of the Survey Corps. into the mindless titans. Levi is stuck killing off his friends, who are now titans, in an effort to get to Zeke. Zeke, noticing that Levi is catching up, transforms into the Beast Titan, and Levi stops him yet AGAIN. It’s an amazing battle, and it just proves that Levi will always be the toughest character on this show.
Eren’s Heel Turn (“Savagery”)
In the same episode that we see Levi take on Zeke, we also learn that we’ve been following the wrong character all along. In what again makes me make comparisons to Breaking Bad, Eren, who we’ve been rooting for the entire time, turns out to be the bad guy. He beats up his friends, and commits to the idea of genocide in order to make the world a “safer” place. That’s right. The Marleyans, while bad, are not the “enemy” of this series. Or at least, they’re not as big of an enemy as Eren, who wants to initiate “the Rumbling” so that all the titans within the walls come to life and destroy the world.
This moment was by far the most shocking in the series, and anime fans have been debating whether Eren really is as evil as he seems, or, if there is some kind of ulterior motive in mind. Either way, it blew me away, and made me so excited for this final part that I can’t take it!
Honestly, I have no idea how this anime is going to end (Unless it ends exactly like the manga, to which I will be rather upset if I’m being completely honest), and January 9th can’t get here soon enough. So, yeah, Attack on Titan is great.
See the 2022 TV premiere schedule for the latest on upcoming TV premiere dates.
