Recap: The Recon Corps run into the Female Titan. Armin, Jean, and Reiner must do everything they can to delay it long enough for the rest of the expedition to retreat.

Gee’s Thoughts: Not bad at all Titan, two good episodes in a row, despite the cracks in the budget that are already starting to become obvious. The Recon Corps continue their expedition to Eren’s hometown. This time, we get to see the rest of the Recon Corps and action and we’re reminded why some of these guys are the best of the best. Thanks to Erwin’s expert tactics, the Corps manages to avoid the majority of the Titans in their path, effectively bypassing them rather than get into unnecessary conflict.

Conversely, we’re also reminded why the Recon Corps has the highest fatality rate in the military. Within minutes, we meet the eponymous Female Titan, whom you may have noticed in the new OP. Fast, intelligent, and powerful, the Female Titan, as Armin quickly deduces, is obviously another Titan shifter liker Eren and the Colossal and Armored Titans. Effortlessly dispatching the veterans while leading a pack of vicious Titans, the right flank of the expedition is destroyed.

However, right from the beginning, there’s clearly a number of things different about the Female Titan. She doesn’t eat humans first of all, but more interestingly, she recognizes Armin and spares him. Additionally she seems to be quite capable of understanding human speech, which Armin manages to use to his advantage. Thankfully a combination of Armin’s smarts, Jean’s ballsiness and fly moves, and Reiner reminding everybody why exactly he’s the 2nd ranked recruit of the 104th allow all three of them to survive the day, albeit the situation perhaps even worse now with the Female Titan making a beeline for Eren.

The Female Titan arc is simultaneously one of my favorite and least favorite arcs in the manga. It’s a harsh messy arc with lots of gravitas, but in the manga it also drags on a little longer than it needs to. Considering it’s already a slow-paced arc in the manga, I wonder how the anime is going to go about portraying it. I certainly wouldn’t mind cutting a couple scenes from the manga in the interest of moving things along. Alas, considering how slow-paced the anime is, I won’t get my hopes up. Still, I’m excitedly looking forward to the bloody highs of the following episodes.