Attack on Titan season 4 premiere review: “The Other Side of the Sea”

The final season of Attack on Titan is here! The premiere episode is action-packed, but a time jump and some new characters make it a bit jarring.

Recap

After the reveals and losses of Attack on Titan‘s third season, the fourth and final season picks up four years later, and not with the characters fans might expect. When “The Other Side of the Sea” opens, Marley has been forced to cease its operations on Paradis Island and is openly at war with a group called the Mid-East Allied Forces. Viewers are treated to a look at the Marleyan side of the fighting, and more specifically, at the Eldian soldiers living and fighting for Marley despite being kept in internment zones there.

Things aren’t looking good for these 800 or so soldiers in the trenches, and the Mid-East Allied Forces appear to have the upper hand. Viewers are introduced to a group of kids on the front lines — a boy who is slated to receive the Beast Titan next, as well as the next round of candidates to inherit the Armored Titan — and they seem determined to save their own people. And that’s where Gabi and Falco, presumably the most important of the new characters, come in.

When one of the Marleyan commanders suggests using their entire force of Eldian soldiers to destroy an armored train that’s between them and the enemy — and has cannons on board that could very well decimate their army — Gabi offers a better plan: She’ll tie a bomb to her ankle and approach the soldiers on the other side of the field in plain clothes, seemingly someone unarmed and in need of aid. When this plan works and they don’t notice the weapon at her feet, she tosses it beneath the train and derails the thing.

Once Gabi blows the train, all Hell breaks loose, with the Jaw Titan (long since taken from Ymir) and the Cart Titan moving in to attack the enemy’s base. And things really turn in Marley’s favor when Zeke and Reiner drop in with an army of Titans from above. Once the Armored and Beast Titans arrive on the scene, it’s not long before the enemy’s fort and fleet of ships is demolished.

After the Marleyans have won the battle, the episode ends with a group of people standing around and reading about it in the newspaper. The anime focuses in on one man in particular, but as he walks away, fans are left to question if this is someone we know and whether enemies have already infiltrated Marley’s walls.

Review

It’s not uncommon for a Shonen anime to throw a time skip into the mix, but I’d be lying if I said Attack on Titan‘s didn’t feel at least a little like a cop out. Although the jump is taken straight from the manga, in both instances, it’s hard to justify ousting a major character like Ymir, having an entire war unfold, and presumably having the Scouts regroup and learn to use the Armored Titan offscreen.

It’s difficult not to feel robbed while being told about such major developments without ever getting to see them. Sure, showing instead of telling might have required extra chapters or an extra season, but I wonder if that would have been a worthwhile endeavor. (At the very least, it would be nice to get some flashbacks sometime this season.)

Absorbing so much information makes for a jarring start to Attack on Titan‘s final season. Not only do fans need to take in everything that’s happened over the past few years, but we’re also introduced to a bunch of new faces and have to quickly take in the fact that the world outside Paradis Island is a lot bigger and more technologically advanced than most of us imagined. It’s a risky beginning to the final season, and honestly, it’s…a lot.

But despite being a bit overwhelming upon first watch, this opening also makes a certain sort of sense given the events of season 3. The anime’s third season concludes with the Scouts finally realizing the truth about Paradis Island, and that everything they’ve been taught about the outside world is a lie. To be thrown directly into that bigger world puts the fans in a similar position to the characters. It’s a smart way to kick things off, if a bit confusing.

Another thing to be said for “The Other Side of the Sea” is that it brings plenty of action straight from the get-go. That’s a promising sign heading into the anime’s final episodes, since the series is usually at its best when the stakes are high and the characters we love most are in danger.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to feel too emotionally invested in this week’s battle when viewers hardly know any of the characters. Given that the series is coming to a close, it feels like a strange time to be introducing a ton of new characters into the mix. Admittedly, Gabi and Falco seem like they could grow on the audience with a bit more screentime — Gabi’s move with the bomb is terrific — but fans may spend a lot of this episode wondering where Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Levi and the rest are.

The episode definitely picks up when characters we do recognize arrive, with Reiner and Zeke stealing the show from the new recruits. They might be the anime’s villains, but the two know how to make an entrance. Watching the Armored and Beast Titans take on and annihilate the invading army is a highlight. What’s strange is how the audience may feel like rooting for these two against this army of strangers. And that’s yet another clever way Attack on Titan switches things up with “The Other Side of the Sea.”

When all is said and done, the fourth season premiere is bound to leave fans wanting more. (Whose idea was it to make anime episodes 25 minutes anyway?) “The Other Side of the Sea” is an action-packed kick-off with some interesting setup, especially when it comes to the world-building aspects of the anime. As clever as it is, though, it may leave fans feeling a bit unsatisfied. With any luck, we’ll find out what’s become of the show’s actual heroes next week.

Episode Grade: B

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