So uhhhhhhh funny story I guess. I had an entire review written out and was finishing the last few sentences this morning when I accidentally hit reload on my laptop and deleted the entire thing. Safe to say I'll be using Google Docs to write my reviews and then I'll copy and paste it on my AniList review because I do not want to go through that again. Anyways, here I present to you a review of Attack On Titan Season 2, (attempt 2)

Attack On Titan Season 2 is the most overlooked and underappreciated season of Attack On Titan. I believe there are 3 reasons as to why that is. The first reason is that it took 4 years to come out, so fans had really high expectations. It is also very different from the extremely successful season one. And finally, a lot of fans perceive it as boring.

First off, we need to talk about why season 2 had such big expectations. Season one of Attack On Titan was released in 2013 and season 2 came out 4 years later in 2017. This set up the huge expectations for season 2 because of how wildly successful and popular season one was. So why did it take four years for season two? Well, when season one finished, the anime was already almost caught up with the manga. This is because the manga chapters came out on a monthly release schedule, so Wit Studio had to wait for the manga to get ahead. Wit Studio was also really busy during those four years, animating shows like Seraph of the End, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, The Ancient Magus' Bride, etc. Essentially season two was doomed from the start because it had impossibly big shoes to fill from season one.

Season two is also quite a bit different from season one. Season one was pretty simple. There were two big plot twists, but the story was very straightforward and maybe even a little bit predictable (not in a bad way). Season two, however, is the true beginning of Attack On Titan’s complicated overarching story and it introduces the audiences to all of these mysteries and questions. “What are Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir’s motives? Where is their hometown? Why are there titans in the walls? What does the government have to do with all of this?” What’s great about this season is that it doesn’t answer most of these questions, but instead sets up these storylines to be pursued in seasons 3 and 4.

Another great thing season two did for this show is that it heavily focused on the rest of the 104th cadets, specifically Reiner, Bertolt, Ymir, Historia, Sasha, and Connie instead of Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. Each of these characters got great arcs in this season (especially the first four). The character development is super important here because not only do we get to see more of the two main antagonists of the show, but it also sets up season three very well by focusing on Ymir and Historia’s relationship. A lot of people think that this part is boring because there are a ton of flashbacks, but I personally think that the flashbacks are entertaining enough and they are necessary for understanding the characters.

Another great thing about season two is that it has two of the best episodes in the entire series. The first of which is episode six. I still remember the absolute shock and adrenaline I felt my first time watching Bertolt and Reiner’s betrayal. Even on the rewatch I jumped out of my chair and started cheering when Mikasa almost killed Reiner and Bertolt.

My favorite episode though, is definitely the last episode. Hannes’s death is fitting, but it’s so tragically unsatisfying at the same time. It would’ve been really cool to see him defeat the titan that killed Carla Yeager, but instead he fails and dies the same way Carla did. What comes after that is one of the most beautiful scenes in the whole show. I absolutely love Eren and Mikasa’s conversation and Eren saying that he will wrap his scarf around Mikasa as many times as he needs to. I also like how this time instead of Mikasa protecting Eren, Eren stands up to protect Mikasa. When I say this scene is beautiful, I’m not just talking about Eren and Mikasa’s conversation. This scene genuinely looks so gorgeous. The colors are absolutely beautiful which makes for an interesting juxtaposition because of all the death and chaos going on in the background and the hopelessness of the situation.

Overall, this season gets overlooked a lot of fans because it is a very transitional part of the story, but I personally love this season. I might actually like it a little more than the first season if I’m being honest. Hopefully I don’t accidentally delete my next review.