Currently Watching: Shingeki no Kyojin (Episode 1-3)

I have a confession to make. I have started watching Attack of Titans before finishing Le Chevalier D’Eon… They are both 20 minutes long a piece but I’ve never been tempted to watch more than two episodes per sitting of the latter. In one sitting I’ve managed to watch six episodes of Attack of Titans avec ma soeur. I guess that means that I'm kinda hooked. So, for now, the Currently Watching series will deal with both Le Chevalier and SNK simultaneously.

I guess it was this year that I realized a serious dichotomy exists in relation to my genre preference. I really enjoy light-hearted, sentimental anime such as Kimi no Todoke (first season only!) but I also love deep dark supernatural series such as this one. Within the first three episodes we meet the Titans, as well as our main characters Eren, Mikasa, and their loser buddy Armin. These Titans are creepy as heck, but I like that they give me real chills. They are so close to human form, balancing on what is a fine line between humans and monsters - it is way too close to comfort. From their small sharp teeth to their beady eyes and an unshapely human form, Hajime Isayama has created a true masterpiece.

Our friends live in a world where the Titans, a human-type monster equipped with insurmountable strength and an insatiable thirst for human meat, terrorize the lives of regular sized homo-sapiens. As a result, the human population have been reduced to a dangerously low number after the invasion of these titans around a century ago. Since then they have protected themselves only by building three layers of walls around human civilization: Wall Maria, Rose and Sina.

Our protagonist and his friends live behind the outermost wall, the Wall Maria, which is 50 meters tall. The three friends meet and start criticizing the ignorance of their fellow peeps. As the three discus the possibility of an invasion at any moment, a Behemoth Titan appears, peering over wall, and swiftly creates a hole in the massive fortitude. Then other smaller (but still gigantic) titans to invade and devour our lovely protagonist’s mother, which fuels the fire to his fiery vengeance.

Rapt with determination, Eren joins the cadets in order to become a soldier, vowing to exterminate the titans who so mercilessly killed his mother. With hard work, he becomes one (obviously), along with his adopted sister/bffl Mikasa, and he is one step closer to his goal.


Until next time! Hasta la Vista.

Currently Watching: Le Chevalier D'Eon (Episode 6-7)

The four are called to meet with the King, and as soon as they arrive they are dismissed from the Secret du Roi, just after they failed to capture Baronsoff. Duke of Broglie tells D’Eon that the alternative is a mission that may cost their lives. They have no choice but to choose the mission and they all separate to do one last thing before they must embark on their mission to track down Baronsoff in Russia. As we see in the next few scenes, these boys have nothing to lose: Tellagory visits his late wife at the cemetery, and Durande, who said he would visit his lover one last time, goes to see Lia in her casket. 

D'Eon in drag, possession

Robin, on the other hand, goes to thank Queen Marie for giving him a place to live and begs her one last audience for D'Eon. Before D’Eon leaves, he insists that he must know what Lia's wandering spirit wants from him. Marie then insists that he must cross-dress in order to really understand what Lia wants from him. So she brings out Lia's dress that she somehow acquired even before D'Eon visited her. He puts on the dress and lo and behold, Lia has surfaced. Marie keeps on asking Lia to who betrayed France and murdered her, but Lia is so hurt and traumatized that she can't bear to say the name. Damnit, Marie! Can't you tell she's in pain? Anyways, Belle finally convinces Marie to back off and D'Eon finds in the mirror in front of him a message Lia left him in something that looks suspiciously like lipstick. It says: "I am with you."

Having finished saying their goodbyes, the four leave for Russia, but unfortunately D'Eon is caught by his fiancé leaving without telling her. He tries to make up excuses and she believes him and lets him go.D’Eon still vows to return to her and she is satisfied. They arrive in Colone, where they are betrayed by the inn keeper and the hunt begins. The Royal Psalms is a book that holds tremendous powers, and when a poet recites its verses, he can use the terrible magic that the verses have. Knowing this, it is probably the Compte who betrayed Lia, got a hold of the book, and bestowed supernatural strength to Caron.

There are two revolutionists who can also recite and use the power of the Book of Psalms. The couple can also communicate with the Compte who writes back to his “revolutionary brethren” ordering them to search and hunt down D’Eon + company.

D'Eon and company are then hunted by these zombified/possessed dogs, and Lia comes to the rescue of frail D’Eon once again while everyone else is able to hold their own, even Robin. She just flashes some light at the dogs and the zombies disintegrate. I’m starting to wonder how she is so powerful – it’s quite suspicious, actually. From the way that she is able to counter magic so easily to the strange words that appears on D’Eon’s sword. Perhaps she got a hold of the magic as well? Anyways, that is a mystery. I leave you with the four amigos, ready for the danger that lies ahead.


PS:

Lia or D'Eon?