'Attack on Titan' Episode 24: 'Mercy: Assault on Stohess Part 2'

With Annie now in her titan form, the trio have no choice but to flee into the tunnel.  We learn that the plan was to lure her in there to hinder her, but clearly things didn't work out that way.  Considering how easily she is able to break through the walls (which are said to have some of the city's stronger ones,) I don't think the tactic would have worked, even if it had gone according to plan.

On the plus side, the squad did come up with a plan B beforehand, have Eren transform and fight her.  Granted, his last showdown with her didn't go well, but it isn't like they have an abundance of options at this point.

Things are only made worse when we see that Eren is having trouble triggering the transformation.  It's strange, it seems like he has all he needs.  He bites through his finger and his objective seems pretty clear: save his friends and fight the giant monster.  Yet, even with that, nothing happens.

It turns out that the revelation has hit Eren harder than he thought and his denial is what's holding him back.  Maybe it's because my viewing has been so sporadic, but this part fell flat for me. The two didn't really come off as that close.  It gets even weirder when Mikasa suggests that Eren might have some sort of feelings for Annie.  I just didn't buy it.

The episode does occasionally go into flashback mode.  I actually thought this benefited the episode.  It allowed Armin to present more evidence of his theory and ultimately make a stronger case.  It's still an educated guess on his part at this point, but it was a lot better than the little he put forth in the last episode.  This is also where we see Eren's shock at the idea that Annie is the titan really get showcased.

True to form, the second half of the episode is one giant action showcase as Armin, Mikasa, and some other scouts (Eren had been severely injured and is unconscious and bleeding out) try to take down the female titan.  Much is said about how ill prepared this squad is, being from the most secure city, but I thought they performed fairly well.  They pulled off some rather impressive moves in their attempts to slay the beast.  They don't work, but it isn't like these guys were slouches by any stretch of the imagination.

Really, Mikasa is the only one who can even land a blow, and even she finds herself moving more into the losing end as the fight progresses.

There is a bit of false hope as it appears that a trap set by Hange manages to incapacitate the female titan, but she just breaks free.

Oddly enough, Hange came off as more unnerving than the giant person-eating monster.  The way Hange talks and acts makes it seem like there's some loss of sanity in action.  Hange seemed a little too eager to "analyze the specimen".  After all the casualties, you could say it's Hange's form of payback, but it was still chilling in its own right.

Thankfully, Eren is able to find the will to get back up and eventually transform.  Said transformation is rather glorious in its execution.  After seeing him spend a lot of time unconscious this episode, it really gave the whole thing more kick.

It also makes for a great cliffhanger as Titan-Eren sucker punches Titan-Annie, knocking her down, before charging at her for another attack.

For a penultimate episode, this worked rather well.  It's been a while and that may have undercut some of the bigger aspects of the plot, but there was still more than enough tension to carry me through to the "to be continued..." card.

Up next is the first season finale, then we finally advance into the second season (which has apparently finished already?)  I'm looking forward to it.


















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'The Mist' Episode 3: 'Show and Tell'

Where the last episode showed us escalating tension and fraying nerves, this one takes a step back to present a quieter, more introspective piece.  It's not bad, but it does seem a bit oddly placed.

On the plus side, it pays dividends on the character front as the various strangers start to bond and form stronger connections.  Still, it feels lackluster compared to what came before and I don't think this will go down as one of the show's more memorable episodes in the long run.

Between the two settings (mall group and church group) the mall sections were certainly the stronger. It just seems like there's more going on there and it gives the show more momentum.  The characters themselves are also more proactive.  They set goals and try to do things.  The church group is largely content to just sit around.  It allows for quiet character drama, but it still isn't as engaging.

They do, at least, bare witness to the first legitimate supernatural event and suggestion of otherworldy creatures.  A moth-like thing flies into a guy's ear, multiplies and rips the guy apart from the inside.  We even see said man sprout butterfly like wings.  At first, I thought he was going to turn into something, making the "humans are the monsters" concept a bit more literal, but he just dies. I'd say that would be too on the nose, but I don't think it would be that far outside the realm of possibility.

OK, random tangent, the guy who plays the priest is Dan Butler, aka Bulldog from Frasier. I really do need to pay attention to the credit scrawls, because I honestly didn't notice that. Now I'm going to be  waiting for him to break down and declare that this stinks and that it's total BS.  I'm not joking, this revelation is going to alter how I view any scene with him from here on out. I guess it's to his credit as an actor that he "disappeared" into the role the way he did, so there's that.  I don't know if I'm going to be able to "unsee" it, though.

While this is presented as a horror series, there are bits of comedy that pop up.  Some levity is good, but not all of it seems intentional.  The sight of the mall group releasing a fleet of helium filled balloons is presented as somber and serious, but it didn't come off that way to me.  Seeing as the balloons were red, my brain immediately made reference to the far more upbeat German pop song.  I don't know if they released 99 of them, though it didn't look like it.

The episode tries its hand at lore building, with one character bringing up a local fairy tale about a similar incident.  I don't know if it will go anywhere and I'm not sure on whether or not it should even tie in.  I guess we'll have to see how it plays out.

We're only three episodes in and you can already see who the highlight characters are going to be.  Natalie and the mall manager have consistently been the strongest elements.  Credit goes to Frances Conroy and Isiah Whitlock jr.  The prior is developing a creepy detachment from humanity and a fascination with what's happening.  The latter, meanwhile, is just an average guy trying to maintain some semblance of order in an incredibly chaotic situation.  You can't help but feel bad for the guy.

Overall, this episode is good, but it wasn't quite as strong as its predecessor in my opinion.  The character development will likely pay dividends down the line, but it also resulted in a slower paced episode.  We'll have to see what approach the next episode takes.

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'Dragon Ball Super' Episode 100: 'Out of Control! The Savage Beserker Awakens!'

It's hard to believe that the show has hit 100 episodes.  It doesn't seem like it started that long ago, but we've passed the two year mark.  It's kind of crazy.

As to this episode, Kale and Caulifla took center stage.  While we do see the main cast in action, it was nice to see the episode focus on some fighters outside of universe 7.

Kale, being as shy and timid as she is, doesn't fare too well early on.  Even though you know the pummeling she takes is just to set up her eventual transformation and ownage, you still can't help but feel sorry for the poor girl.

Thankfully, Caulifla has her back.  Not only does she keep her protege from getting eliminated, but she dishes out some payback to Kale's attackers, giving them but a small sample of the power of a super saiyan.

It isn't long before she targets Goku, who has no problem sparring with the female saiyan.  I did find it odd that she went to the bulky, ultimate super saiyan form when we already saw her hit super saiyan 2, but the episode does address this by having her say that she hasn't been able to replicate the effect.

Oddly enough, Goku has no problem coaching her on it.  I'm sure some will cry foul, but it is in Goku's nature to help people reach their full potential, especially if it means he gets a better fight.  It also gave them a surprisingly friendly dynamic.  Sure, Goku shot down Caulifla's hopes of hitting Blue right now, though he does say that she could hit super saiyan 3 before the tournament's up.  All things considered, that's still pretty impressive.

Despite Caulifla's encouragement, Kale can't seem to tap into her hidden power, that is until she gets the impression that Caulifla and Goku are bonding.  Just as it did with Cabba, Kale's jealousy triggers a transformation into what is now called the "Beserker" form.

While Vegeta does gawk and warn Goku to watch himself, Vegeta actually takes Kale's display of power much better than he did back in the original Broly movie.

Speaking of, from this point on, the episode gives us several nods to said movie.  Kale is reduced to repeating "Son Goku" in a seething tone, much akin to Broly's cry of "Kakkarot!"; she slams Goku into the floor and drags him through it like Broly did with his opponents in walls; and she even no sells a kamehameha wave from Goku.  Considering he was in Blue form at the time, it makes it even more awe striking than when Broly shrugged it off.

For all her power, Kale still can't control it.  Not only is this a problem for those on the receiving end of her beatings and energy blasts, but Hit notes that her killing someone would result in her being disqualified.

True to form, the Pride Troopers step in to try and keep that from happening.  The first fighter, Vuon, is unsuccessful, but Jiren effortlessly knocks her out with an energy blast.

Not only does this give us a taste of what the likely last remaining fighter to stand against Goku can do, but it allows the episode's plot to resolve.  I was glad to see that Kale wasn't knocked out of the ring.  It would have been a bit sad if she were eliminated this early.  At least now we can get to see more of her awesome might later on down the line.

It's too bad the Hit vs Jiren fight never materialized.  That would have been really cool to watch.  Alas, Goku interrupts.  It allows Hit, along with the two female saiyans, to disappear into a cloud of smoke.

All in all, the episode was solid.  It didn't really kick into high gear until Kale went all out in the second half, but it was still entertaining.  I'm torn on the Broly nods.  On the one hand, he's popular and fans will like the homages, though doing more to differentiate her from Broly would have also been nice.  Maybe that will come later on down the line.

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'The Mist' Episode 2: 'Withdrawal'

It's been a while, so I was worried that I was going to have a hard time getting into this episode.  You could say I was a little foggy on the details.  Thankfully, the episode does a good job of reminding you what's up with each batch of characters.

Even better, there is a marked improvement in the writing.  The dialogue sounds a lot more realistic and there are less cringe-inducing moments.  Even the bisexual goth kid talks like an actual human being.

With the titular mist now looming, the tension starts to escalate.  People now have enough reason to be unnerved and it only gets worse as the body count starts to rise.  As the show has more time, it's able to show the fear slowly start to set in.   The cast don't go into full panic mode and steps are taken to try to keep everybody calm.  I think it's going to work out in the long run as it seems more believable than everybody turning on each other immediately.  There's still some sniping and snap judgments, so the seeds are definitely being planted, but it isn't in full bloom yet.

The one plot development I didn't get regarded Clint.  He tries to contact "Arrowhead" and proceeds to try and kill Eve for no explicable reason.  Why didn't he just say he was in the military and trying to contact somebody when she first got suspicious as a way to allay her fears? If it's a matter of her knowing too much due to her listening in, why did he say anything to begin with?

The only thing I can think is the "ARR" that was written suggests he's connected.  However, that doesn't work either as they never clearly deciphered that.  To me it looked, oddly enough, like "AMC" anyway, so I'm surprised they did as well as they did in picking up the intent.

Still no monsters, but there is a lot of talk about something in the mist.  The causes of death also suggest something more than crazy gas or an animal.  We do also get what appears to be a hallucination of a deceased relative that, in one of the episode's big wham moments, turns out to be not so hallucinatory.  Again, though, the increased time span allows for more of a slow burn that works rather well here.

On a more trivial note, I was surprised that the drone fared as well as it did.  It gets stuck, but they never lose the feed.  In situations like this, it almost always cuts to static, usually just after hearing some ungodly noise.  I guess they figured that would be the obvious route and decided to subvert the trope.

I was also surprised that those who the episode suggests are tied to Arrowhead kill themselves so quickly.  You'd think they'd want them around to either stir up conflict or at least drop an exposition bomb or two.  This seems like a bigger missed (or mist?) opportunity in the long run, but we'll see how it plays out.

All in all, though, I thought this was a strong outing.  It worked out the kinks seen in the pilot episode and managed to get me more invested in what's coming up.  It also does a surprisingly good job of juggling a large cast of characters.  Even the one or two line background characters still feel distinct and manage to convey a lot in a short amount of time.  That's not an easy feat to achieve, so kudos for that.

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'Dragon Ball Super' Episode 99: 'Show Them! Krillin's True Power!'

Even though the clock is ticking in the tournament of power, the fighters (and the episode itself) take a few minutes to let the weight of what just happened sink in.  Sure, they all knew what the stakes were, but seeing a universe erased right in front of them really puts the dire situation into the forefront.

While the gods' attitude towards Goku has been largely negative, one of the supreme kais does note that the tournament gave at least one of the universes a chance to survive.  It's slim pickings as far as good news goes, but with something like this, I suppose you take what you can get.

Eventually, the fight does resume.  I do wonder how the Zen'o's would have handled a longer pause, though I imagine it wouldn't end well.

The first episode in the tournament gave us small glimpses of several fights, while the last episode focused on just one.  This episode kind of splits the difference, giving us a decent sized look at a couple of fights.

For the purposes of the story, this one seemed to work the best as there was just enough focus to get engaged, but we also saw the larger scope of what was happening...for the most part, but we'll get to that.

You'd think that with Goku and Vegeta taking center stage last time, that we would jump to other fighters.  We do eventually, but Vegeta gets the early focus as he tries to vie for a rematch with Hit.

It doesn't come to pass, as Vegeta's charge is interrupted by Botamo.  Considering Hit is one of the heavy hitters (ha) for Universe 6, this does make sense.  This is also the first instance where the episode shows the importance of team work and coordination.  We saw it to some extent in the Goku vs. Trio de Dangers, but this puts more emphasis on it as would be one on one fights are interrupted by others.  This also brings the "brawl" aspect into greater focus.

While Botamo had a clear achilles' heel, we see that he has prepared a counter-measure to prevent himself from being thrown out of the ring.  Granted, Vegeta is still able to just pick him up, but it shows that the same tricks aren't going to work twice against previously confronted adversaries.  It was weird seeing Vegeta try to punch Botamo.  You'd think he'd remember that direct attacks like that didn't work on him.  I'd say maybe he just forgot over time, but if the group had a strategy session, you'd think somebody would bring it up.

This carries over to Magetta, who is now impervious to insults.  Well, OK, Botamo just covers his ears so that Magetta can't hear it, but in any event, it makes things tough for the saiyan prince, suffice it to say.

The episode then jumps to Android 18, who is doing fairly well against a fighter named Shosa.  She does so well, in fact, that there's a moment where it's suggested that she pulled a Drago and killed him in the ring.

Not only would this be bad from a general moral standpoint (though Frieza's point still stands) the more immediate ramification comes from the fact that killing isn't allowed.  There is a moment of tension as 18 may be disqualified, but it turns out to be a ruse.  Playing possum may not be one of the more impressive skill sets we've seen, but it's surprisingly effective as 18 finds herself on the ropes.

On the plus side, Krillin is there to come to her aid.  Don't worry, she returns the favor later when he's on the losing end of a fight.

I was looking forward to seeing the husband/wife pair fighting side by side and this episode delivers on that front.  It makes for one of the episode's major strengths.  Not only do we get cool, coordinated attack patterns; but the bond between them is also showcased at several points, allowing for some cute, emotional moments.

They face off against a "blind monk" type character.  This poses a problem as he is able to no sell Krillin's "solar flare x 100" attack.  You'd think that at least the other fighters would be affected by this, but we never see that.

Speaking of, during this fight, we see no sign of the tournament outside of this 2 on 1 showdown.  It's a cool fight, but something would be nice.  I can understand how unrealistic it would be to animate characters fighting in the background, but show some explosions at least.  That's what the two prior episodes did and that got the job done.

I did enjoy seeing how Krillin turned the tables on the otherwise tough opponent.  I never thought I'd see the day when a Z warrior pulls a page from the Al Bundy school of fighting, but this episode managed to give us just that.  Not only was it funny, but it showed Krillin's quick clever thinking and gave him a highlight as he manages to knock the opponent out of the ring.

Alas, this highlight proves to be Krillin's undoing as his moment to gloat gives Frost a chance to sneak up and whip him out of the ring, disqualifying him from the tournament.  Given Krillin's history with Frieza, I did find it fitting that his universe 6 counterpart was the one to land the blow.

The episode ends here with the narration saying that there is still 43 minutes left in the tournament.  The five minutes went by a lot faster than on Namek, but we still have quite a bit of fight to go before it's done.

It does stink that Krillin got knocked out.  Seeing him and 18 fight alongside each other was cool.  At least we can look forward to her joining forces with her brother.  Krillin's elimination also adds some tension as universe 7 is now down a fighter and we know that they are just as likely to be eliminated.  All things considered, though, universe 7 is still doing pretty well.  The herd continued to thin here, so still having nine out of your ten fighters active is an impressive showing.

This episode was good, but not great.  It had some nice character moments, but there were more noticeable flaws that weren't present in preceding episodes.  The action was solid, so at least it delivered on that front.  It also gave us fighters who were able to hold their own due to unique individual abilities.  It helps add some variety to this big brawl and forces the characters to change their tactics each time around, which makes it more interesting to watch.

Judging by the preview for the next episode, things are going to be really kicking into high gear.  Considering it's going to be the show's 100th episode, it's fitting.  I'm really looking forward to seeing that.

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'Dragon Ball Super' Episode 98: 'Oh, Uncertainty! A Universe Despairs!'

The tournament continues.  I was worried that this episode would just feel like more of the same, but thankfully, this entry manages to differentiate itself from its predecessor in many respects.

Where the last episode took a shotgun approach, giving us small glimpses of several fights, this one focuses on Goku as he tries to fight off a gang of 5 fighters from universe 9.  The number inexplicably drops down to three, but seeing Goku try to fight off the trio de dangers was still quite an entertaining spectacle.

Normally, when you see saiyans who can transform fighting in their base forms, the tension diminishes, but here it actually seemed to increase.  The reason for why Goku and Vegeta aren't going blue is given.  I'd once again note that stamina never seemed to be a problem with the blue form before, but Whis points out that senzu beans aren't an option here.  I guess that helps explain it a little.  Either way, it means that Goku and Vegeta have to fight more conservatively here.

The trio actually put up quite an impressive fight.  It's repeatedly said that they're weak, but they each have a unique skill set and they are incredibly well coordinated.  You can see why Goku is put on the defensive the way he is.

I've said before that I'm a sucker for 2 or 3 on 1 fights.  In most cases, it's multiple heroes trying to take down one superior villain.  This episode shows that even inverting the formula can make for an entertaining watch.

Surprisingly enough, it's Vegeta that jumps to Goku's aid.  It's a far cry from the usual saiyan schpiel about fighting by yourself due to the whole warrior's honor code.  Granted, Vegeta does mock Goku a little.  Goku also notes that he was fighting them; but given the circumstances, both seem to be a bit more flexible on that front.  It's nice to see that they are being smart about things here.

Alas, Vegeta draws the attention of 5 other fighters from universe 9, meaning they each have to fight four people.  Admittedly, Vegeta doesn't adhere to that strategy, but it still seems like a case of "stop helping me".

It was cool to see Goku and Vegeta fighting along side each other for once.  The fact that universe 9 still gives them a good run for their money makes the fight that much more impressive.  It shows how coordination and skill can gain an advantage over even the most powerful of fighters.

Granted, that's undercut by the fact that the two saiyans turn the tables and manage to knock most of the universe 9 fighters out of the ring, but still.  It also gave the saiyan's status as "warrior race" a nice reaffirmation, as they knew just the right time to strike in order to get the win against 8 fighters.

One of the other universe 9 fighters was taken out by 18 while the other was tortured by Frieza to the point where he panicked and ended up unintentionally fleeing the ring.

This brings us to another way that this episode differentiated itself from its predecessor.  I said before that the herd wasn't thinned all that much in the last episode, with only two out of eighty fighters being knocked out.  Here, we see an entire team get disqualified in one go.

With disqualification, comes erasure; as we see in the episode's closing wham moment.  Having the scene set to "Earth's Fate" was oddly appropriate.  The title fits, of course, but the tune itself is ominous and really gives the scene extra emotional umph.

One of the more common "wild mass guesses" was that the zen'os were bluffing and that the erasure was just a way to get everyone to fight at their best.  We see here that that is clearly not the case.  The two omni-kings don't hesitate to erase universe 9 when all the fighters are out (even smiling when doing it.)  The gods (as well as the ten fighters) disappear and when Whis goes to check on the universe with his staff, all he sees is the same void that we saw when Future Trunks' timeline was erased.

Now, it's still possible that the omni-kings have the power to restore erased universes.  There's also the super/dragon balls, but as of now, an entire universe was wiped out.  It makes the stakes for the tournament quite real.  

All in all, this episode was really good.  The fight was intense and fast paced.  The episode also managed to make the combat feel unique from what we saw last episode.  Even if the entire episode did center on a fight, it still stood out in such a way that we never got bored.    It also had one of the franchises bigger "oh crap" scenes, which is saying something given the way this franchise works.  It seems like the tournament's really kicking into high gear and I'm excited to see how things play out from here.

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'Dragon Ball Super' Episode 97: 'Survive! The Tournament of Power Begins at Last!'

At long last, the tournament of power begins.  Not immediately, of course.  The Grand Priest takes a moment to go through the rules again.  You could see this as an instance of falling into the "as you know" writing trap, but it does give the characters some time to zero in on potential rivals as they all scan their opposition.

It was a nice way to let the tension and anticipation simmer a bit longer before the big brawl begins.  That's really what the tournament boils down to, really.  For all the talk about the need for coordination, strategy, and teamwork; most of the fighters just sort of charge in and start punching.  You'd expect that from Goku and Vegeta, but pretty much every universe does it.

Strangely enough, universe 7 is largely ignored.  You'd think that after the preliminary that everyone would be gunning for our heroes, but the other universes spend most of the time fighting among themselves.  There's one point where everybody's fighting and the universe 7 team is just standing off to the side.  I'm surprised no one suggested just sitting back and letting them fight it out.  True, Goku and Vegeta wouldn't go for it and it would only be a matter of time before attackers came, but why not let their opponents waste energy on each other?

With so many fighters, no one match up is given too much attention.  I was kind of hoping that the herd would thin and remedy this, but alas only two fighters are eliminated this episode.  I suppose it's understandable, as these are all elite warriors, but it does make it hard to follow and keep track of what's what.

Even stranger, some of the more memorable characters are almost absent.  Caulifla never gets involved and Kale is too shy to fight.  I was initially disappointed by the latter, but I'm guessing it's going to make her transformation all the more impressive when she does finally go all out.

On the plus side, though, the fighters aren't left to float in the void for all eternity after getting knocked out of the ring.  They are, instead, teleported to their team bench where they can be lectured by their deities and cheer on their teammates.

The omni-kings are impressed by the display of power from all the universes and even keep track of eliminations via their....godpads...oy.

While Universe 7 doesn't end up seeing anyone eliminated, they don't exactly get off to an auspicious start.  Gohan, Roshi, Piccolo, Krillin, and Tien try a coordinated combo attack when they get surrounded.  While the commitment to the "work as a team" plan is commendable, it does nothing as the approaching fighters seem unfazed.  You'd think that, if nothing else, the solar flare would have caused some problems, but nope.

Even Goku almost gets eliminated when one fighter gets him in a bear hug and tries to drag him out of the ring in a sort of kamikaze attack.  It "almost" works, but Beerus reminds Goku he can go blue, which he does, saving himself and knocking the other fighter out of the ring.

If nothing else, this scene confirms that you can hang off the side of the ring, pull yourself back up, and not get eliminated.

Oddly enough, Goku drops back to his base form after he frees himself.  It's weird for a variety of reasons.  He says he wants to conserve energy, but it never seemed to be a problem before.  More than that, doesn't dropping in and out of the form drain energy faster?  I'm citing the manga, which is different, but still.  Maybe this will be where they establish that.  Either way, I think Goku should have just stayed blue.  He still has the kaio-ken combo in his back pocket should he need it and his powered up form should make things easier for him when facing other fighters.  It probably would have come in handy considering he ends the episode surrounded by five other fighters.

All in all, this episode was solid.  It was nice to finally get to the tournament and the episode kicked things off rather strong.  It was all well animated and multiple characters got a highlight moment.  The one downside for me came from external distractions which constantly forced me to pause.  It really breaks up the momentum and undercuts the episode's faster pace.

It should also be noted that only one minute has passed when the narration starts up.  As such, the fight should go a while.  In some ways, it's a good thing as doing it in real time would have probably ended up being really anti-climactic.  On the other hand, all fighting doesn't lend itself to analysis.  Then again, other episodes have had "all fight" plots and we've done a good job talking about those, so it should be fine.

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