Bertholdt realises everything is lost.

“Reiner, are we doing it here? Right now?” he asks.

Reiner replies in the affirmative and marches to grab Eren. Mikasa appears out of nowhere, slashing both Reiner and Bertholdt in one quick movement. Reiner pushes her out of the way and as he and Bertholdt transforms, the Vogel im Käfig starts playing in the background.

This scene was one of the best, or perhaps the best scene I’ve seen in recent anime. Every second of this anime scene – from Eren’s questions to his transformation – was directed by Tetsuro Araki in an epic mind blowing way, that you replay this scene over and over again.

To help out my friendly titan fans, today I’ll break down what elements helped this scene to become one of the best moments in modern anime history.

Voice Acting and Facial Expressions

Voice acting and facial expressions are the core features of creating emotion in anime. In live action movies, the impact of the scene is determined by the talent of the actors, but in anything that is animated, the job lands on the skill of the animators and the voice actors. Rather than moving onto each character’s facial expression in this scene, I’ll take on the most climactic moment of the scenario – the betrayal.

Reiner’s expression at the moment of his betrayal is so well drawn and it fits his voice perfectly. There’s guilt, pressure and even pain in that expression of Reiner. Bertholdt is no different. Rather than guilt and pressure, he has fear and anxiety. It also manages to show an important aspect of his character, which is later developed in his character arc – he relies on Reiner. Rather than being the first one to take the decision, he looks at Reiner, and the doubt and fear in his face is clearly shown in the animations, and his voice is filled with genuine fear and these two amalgamate to give the viewer a thrilling experience making them feel as if they are in pressure as well.

Mikasa

That single word is enough. It’s our Yandere, our Ereh, who manages to propel the scene to a whole new level. Once Dan Brown, the famous thriller writer said a good scene of a thriller book is made when the reader has to constantly transition between emotions. This makes them busy, and makes them scroll forwards and by the time the transitions end the reader should ask “What the hell did I read?“

This scene of Attack on Titan follows the same principal. After seeing a guilt filled Reiner and wondering what was going on, we aren’t given time to dwell on options. We burst into a quick action scene where Mikasa slashes the two Marley Soldiers in swift movement. There’s blood, there’s confusion, there’s rage and this quick action manages to transition the scene from a slow, revelation tone to a fast paced, action tone.

The Soundtrack

I’ve praised Vogel Im Kafig as the best soundtrack of Attack on Titan, with its rhetorical lyrics and slow tone. But what’s the point of a good soundtrack if it isn’t utilised correctly? But in this case, the soundtrack starts playing at the best moment, where we are at the climax of the scene, the moment Reiner and Bertholdt transform into the two titans that destroyed Eren’s hometown. For first time viewers, there’s the surprise of the plot twist, and for fans who watch it for the second time, you can feast your eyes with the skills of the animators and CGI artists about how well the scene was conducted.

Vogel Im Kafig, composed by Hiroyuki Sawano, is the ideal soundtrack for betrayal.

With sadness and decisions in our hearts

We show our will to go further

No one can be arbitrarily deprived of his life

Emotion

The objective of any scene – either its in an anime, movie or a novel – is to evoke a certain type of emotion within the viewer – pride, love, patriotism, sadness, loneliness, rage, depression….

What this scene of Attack on Titan evokes is rage and betrayal. But what matters is not the emotion, but what built up to it. You can still watch Naruto and cry at the death of Jiraya, and that’s not because of the scene, but the entire story that was built around the character.

Eren’s betrayed for the second time, by the very person he followed and respected the most. And us as viewers, take pity on him. First Annie, and now Reiner and Bertholdt. Each time Eren advances and learns more about the titans, there’s always people to backstab him. And when he feels rage, we feel it too.

These elements help to build this scene into something with much greater impact on the viewer, and rather than the action packed scenes of the first season, this scene manages to deliver that same thrilled feeling in a more emotional way.

Therefore, this is by far (until Chapter 100 gets animated), the best scene of Attack on Titan.

Sasageyo,

Naveen

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