Attack on Titan

A hundred years ago, monsters known as titans suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started eating most of civilization. The people that managed to escape built three massive concentric walls to protect a peaceful area where humanity could start over and stay safe. The year is now 858, and Armin is working at his parents' shop in the poor district when he hears his friend Eren has lost his job again. Armin decides to pay him a visit, and on his way out, he bumps into a little boy with a squealing device that is now broken. It was Armin who built it, and now he promises he will repair it soon. Afterward, Armin picks up Mikasa and together they go looking for Eren, only to find him standing on part of an old missile. Armin thinks it's dangerous to go near it, but even if it actually isn't functional, Eren wouldn't have minded blowing up this whole place. Mikasa scolds Eren for always losing his jobs, but Eren responds by asking them if they truly are happy with their current lives. Armin admits he would like to build more gadgets, but that's sadly illegal. Mikasa doesn't know what to answer, so Eren reminds them that the interior walls are populated with rich people and wonders if they want to move there or leave to the outside world, because he doesn't like the idea of staying here forever. Then Eren begins kicking the missile, and when the dirt falls off, they discover a drawing of the ocean, which they never saw before. Mikasa's dying to see the ocean someday, so Eren drags his friends to the base of the wall by sneaking around the guards at the outpost. The trio stares at the wall with awe, especially Mikasa because she's never been so close to it. When the wind picks up and she shivers, Eren gives her his scarf. Mikasa then admits she isn't ready to leave the walls and Armin reminds them that the outside world is infested with Titans, but Eren isn't sure they should even believe in titans at all since they haven't seen one in a century. Eren gets ready to climb the wall, but at that moment the guards see them and try to arrest them. When they grab Mikasa, Eren gets angry and begins fighting back, but the brawl is interrupted by Captain Souda, who has known Eren for a while. Souda explains that the military is forming a new branch that will journey outside the walls and invites Eren to join the new group so he can finally reclaim the land beyond the wall, an idea that is very appealing to Eren. Suddenly the ground starts shaking and a loud roar can be heard as a colossal titan appears by the wall. Souda and the teens can't believe a titan can be taller than the wall and they begin running away as the colossal titan begins kicking to create a hole in the wall. Debris begins falling all over the place and Souda orders his men to get the cannons ready while a bunch of regular-size titans appears and begins entering the area through the hole. The guards immediately open fire, but it's pointless because the titans' injuries heal quickly. With nothing to stop them, the titans begin devouring the soldiers, causing a guard to use a gun to end things for himself to avoid getting chewed on. The trio runs back to town, but the titans also move there to crush the buildings and eat the citizens, including Armin's father. Panic takes over the population and they begin running away, not caring who they may leave behind. Eren and Mikasa end up being swept along by the crowd, but when they're about to enter a safehouse, Mikasa notices a woman with a baby that can't move along and Eren offers to help. He drags the mother along the crowd, not realizing she dropped the baby, so Mikasa goes back for the child. The crowd tramples over her and Eren is pushed into the house right before the doors close. The other citizens won't let him open the door again, so Eren looks through the window to look at Mikasa, finding her on the ground with the baby, but then a titan arrives and everyone in the house is knocked down by a huge blast. By the time Eren manages to stand up and check outside, Mikasa, the baby, and the titan are gone. At that moment someone begins screaming, and Eren turns around to discover the titans are tearing the roof off the house and eating the people inside. Terrified, Eren runs away. Two years later, humanity has abandoned the agriculture zone, which has resulted in a massive food shortage. Eren has joined the Scout Regiment, and director Kubal informs the team that their job is to restore the outer wall in order to reclaim the farmlands. To do so, weapons squad leader Hans introduces everyone to the ODMG, or omni-directional mobility gear, a set of waist-mounted grappling hooks and gas-powered propulsion enabling immense mobility in three dimensions. However when she tries to show it off, she accidentally fires its anchors into the crowd, causing a very awkward moment. Kubal ends the meeting by telling the group will meet with another team led by Captain Shikishima in Omotemachi. Afterward, Eren watches the scouts say goodbye to their families, which is incredibly upsetting, especially for the young kids left behind. Eren tries to comfort a crying Armin because they don't have anyone waiting for them, but at that moment, a scout's little sibling gifts Armin a tiny doll so he also has a goodbye memory. Then the team goes to get some food and Armin and Eren are shocked to find Souda is there getting drunk. Souda notices Mikasa isn't with them, getting upset when they tell him they've lost her, and Eren explains he's joined the scouts precisely to get revenge. However Souda thinks only killing a titan or two won't make a difference. Their reunion is interrupted by Sasha, who is always hungry and hates that they're blocking the line. Over dinner, Armin tries to explain to Sasha the plan to repair the wall and capture the titans using mashed potatoes, but Sasha's more interested in eating the example. Previous restoration missions failed and the only explosives the army has left are in Omotemachi, so Armin feels that if they fail too, it'll be the end of humanity. Suddenly Jean begins complaining about everyone, saying Armin doesn't have to come if he's nervous and that Sasha only knows how to eat. He thinks all the newbies will make the mission fail and laments being lumped with people that only joined the army because they couldn't get another job. All this talk about death makes Lil cry and her boyfriend Fukushi tries to comfort her, which Jean considers sickeningly sappy. Armin accuses Jean of being scared of the titans, but Jean swears titans are nothing to him and threatens to hit Armin. Eren interrupts to ask Jean if titans have nipples, and when Jean fails to answer, Eren points out Jean never saw a titan so he pretends to talk a big game but he's actually a spoiled brat from the inland. Furious, Jean tries to hit Eren next, but Hans breaks them up and explains titans don't have nipples or reproductive organs. In fact nobody knows how they multiply, and Hans admits she would love to dissect a titan to learn more about them, but they haven't been able to get a body because titans evaporate when they die. After Hans leaves, Jean makes fun of Eren for abandoning Mikasa to die to the titans, which causes Eren to jump on him to restart the fight. Sannagi quickly cuts in and takes Eren away before it escalates. While the scouts gets ready to leave, Hans explains that titans sleep at night and their eyes don't work in the dark, but they're still very sensitive to noise, so they must stay quiet on the other side of the wall. The army trucks cross the wall gate and travel through the empty lands for many hours. Sometime later, the vehicles suddenly stop because they notice movement in the area, but when the scouts come out to check, they discover it's just cows. This makes them wonder if titans only eat humans and don't touch animals. The group decides to get going, but Hiana swears she can hear a baby crying and goes to investigate, so Eren follows her. The duo enters the ruins of a building and suddenly feel something wet falling on their heads. They look up and discover it's the drool of a baby titan, who is also the one crying. The baby tries to attack them, but when the teens move out of reach, the baby falls to the ground and begins throwing a very loud tantrum. This causes the other titans to wake up and go after the scouts, who immediately begin panicking. As a titan drags one of the captains away, Kubal and the other higher-ranked soldiers take off in their vehicles, leaving the scouts to run by themselves. The scouts wonder if they should use their ODMGs, but the buildings here aren't tall enough to be effective. As the group runs, Armin trips and falls, but when a titan is about to grab him, Sannagi cuts in and grabs the titan's arm to throw it away from the group. After lots of running, the scouts finally make it to Omotemachi, only to find their way blocked by a titan. Eren looks up at the monster and tries to remember Hans' classes when she explained how to use the ODMGs to attack the titans' only weak spot, which is the back of their necks. Suddenly another scout shows up and quickly kills the titan using the methods Hans had explained: this is the legendary Captain Shikishima. All the scouts are in awe at his skills, only to be quickly distracted by another titan approaching. This titan is also quickly defeated by a new scout, who turns out to be Mikasa. Eren and Armin are incredibly shocked, but before they can say something, Mikasa leaves with Shikishima. Moments later, everyone reunites at the camp, and Shikishima shows Kubal all the explosives they've guarded well from the titans while all the wounded scouts are given treatment. The healthy soldiers are given the duty to load the explosives into the trucks while Jean goes after Eren to punch him for having woken up the titans last night. Eren responds by saying Jean soiled his pants when he saw his first titan, which makes Jean attack him again and triggers a vicious fight. After lots of hits are exchanged, Eren manages to knee Jean in the face, knocking him out. Eren thinks he's victorious, but Mikasa suddenly shows up and pushes him from behind, asking everyone to be quiet. Armin wants to know what happened to her, but Mikasa leaves without answering. Afterward Shikishima shows up and compliments Eren's moves. When he hears Eren's name, he makes him follow him into another room, where Shikishima explains he was the one that taught Mikasa how to easily fight titans. Eren wants to learn too, and Shikishima asks him why, so Eren explains he hates the titans because they trapped the humans within the walls. This makes Shikishima laugh as he says that safety is their true enemy because humans have become cattle that live inside fences in fear of wolves. Eren declares he isn't cattle, and Shikishima tells him that to prove that he should fly since the only way to gain is to let go. Meanwhile Armin takes out the gadget he had to fix for his friend and tells Sasha that the kid sadly died. He also laments not being able to fly, because he heard stories of the old world having machines that let you do so. Kubal overhears this and reminds Armin that technological advancements only led to environmental destruction, wasted resources, and war, that's why they're illegal. While Souda treats Jean's wounds, he comments Eren always liked to fight. Sannagi asks Jean why he hates Eren so much, and Jean explains Eren always looks like he is carrying the world's misery by himself. Sannagi points out that Eren lost his girlfriend some years ago, and Souda informs them that was Mikasa, which shocks Eren and Sannagi because that's the girl they saw fighting so well. Back to Eren, he finds Mikasa playing an old piano and tries to tell her he's glad she's alive. Mikasa doesn't take the comment well and explains the baby she tried to save had been eaten by the titan, and so was she. Then she raises her shirt to show Eren the scar left by the titan's teeth as she confesses the world is cruel and she's only interested in killing titans. Their conversation is interrupted by Shikishima, who approaches Mikasa to share an apple in a rather intimate way. Shocked, Eren runs outside and begins screaming in frustration until he's stopped by Hiana, who reminds him this can attract more titans. Then Hiana takes him away to chat in a private spot, and they accidentally see Fukushi and Lil getting frisky. Hiana shares the fact she has a daughter back home, and that she joined the military in exchange for child support. Suddenly she starts getting too close, asking Eren to get busy with her, but Eren freezes when he sees an eye through a hole in the wall. The titan smashes through the wall and immediately grabs Hiana to eat her while Hans notices there's a whole group of titans incoming and raises the alarm. Eren and the other scouts grab their ODMGs and rush to the rooftops while Shikishima and Mikasa begin fighting the titans, killing a bunch of them with no issues. Sannagi stays on the ground because he uses his ax to wound the titans' legs and make them fall. Some of the newbies try to attack with the ODMGs, only to end up being eaten. Kubal orders his men to defend the explosives at all costs, unaware a mysterious masked person is watching him. Sasha and Armin are still on the ground, and while looking for cover, they find Lil clinging to Fukushi's body. Souda also arrives and Lil asks him to treat Fukushi, but Souda tells her he's dead and takes her away instead. While Armin and Sasha decide to get away from this hell, Hans notices one of the trucks with the explosives is being stolen by the masked person. Hans immediately makes the scouts go after it, and Lil manages to land on top of the vehicle to light the explosives. Then she enters the driver's cab and tries to take over the wheel, but the thief fights her for it. After lots of struggle, Lil manages to kick the thief out of the vehicle and drives it toward the titans so she can have her revenge. The explosives go off when the truck crashes against the titans, killing a bunch of them and Lil as well. Now they don't have any explosives left. On the roof of a building nearby, Eren watches with frustration how the remaining titans continue to eat the soldiers. Jean is hiding on this roof too and says this is hell, so they should run. However Eren remembers Shikishima's words and angrily tells Jean he refuses to live like cattle forever before he jumps away with his ODMG to fight the titans. Shikishima is standing on the roof of another building and tries to guide Eren, telling him to fly toward them without fear. Unfortunately Eren's determination isn't enough because he still lacks experience. He does manage to kill one titan, but his blades still break and he accidentally flies into another titan's mouth, where a single bite is enough to take Eren's leg before the titan spits him out. Seeing Eren is useless, Shikishima leaves. On the ground, the team notices that the titans are gathering around the building where Jean had been hiding. It seems Eren had been right and Jean only talked big game, but Armin gets an idea to help him. The scouts begin firing flares and making noise with various objects to get the titans' attention, and when one of the titans comes after them, Sasha blinds it by shooting arrows into its eyes at the same time Sannagi cripples it by attacking its legs. This distraction is enough for Jean to finally jump off and use the ODMG to land the final strike on the titan's neck. Meanwhile, Mikasa continues to fight the titans and discovers Eren's unconscious body, but she decides to leave him because fighting is more important. Back to the team, everyone begins running away, but Armin freezes when Jean tells him Eren is dead. This allows a titan to surprise him from behind and capture him. At that moment, Eren regains consciousness and sees Armin is about to be eaten. Sasha tries to make the titan drop Armin by shooting arrows at it, but they're barely a tickle for such a beast. Sannagi and Jean also try to attack, but their efforts are pointless. Then the titan puts Armin in its mouth and Eren makes an effort to jump on one leg to land on the titan's lips to try to save his best friend. Pulling with all his strength, Eren manages to take Armin out of the titan's throat and throw him away right before the titan closes its mouth, which causes Eren to lose his arm. After falling down the titan's throat, Eren lands in the stomach and finds Hiana's body, causing him to have a total breakdown. Meanwhile, the scouts gather on top of the same building and Hans informs them Kubal left with his inner circle, which means they're probably being used as bait. Mikasa arrives as well and Armin gives her Eren's arm as he explains what happened. This deeply hurts Mikasa, but she bottles up her pain and goes back to fighting so she can open a path for the others to escape. Since everyone is now watching her, they don't notice Eren's arm beginning to expel steam. Mikasa kills a bunch of titans in quick succession but her equipment soon runs out of gas and she falls to the ground, landing near the titan that ate Eren. Thinking about her childhood memories, Mikasa gets ready to fight until the end, but at that moment the titan begins to contort in pain and suddenly, two huge hands come out of the titan's mouth. These hands tear the titan in two and it's revealed they belong to a new kind of mysterious titan with bright red eyes, who lets out a loud roar before it begins attacking the other titans. It also regenerates all its limbs at great speed. More titans begin approaching the area, but the mysterious titan has no trouble killing them with only a hit or two. Sannagi wonders if this guy is on their side, and Hand points out its advanced fighting style is a sign of intelligence. Mikasa and Souda notice the fighting style too and realize this mysterious titan is Eren. The rest of the normal titans see how powerful this guy is and go away, making the mysterious titan run toward the building with the team. Everyone runs back as the titan destroys part of the roof, but Mikasa stays and lets the beast pick her up. As it looks at Mikasa, the titan suddenly begins to expel steam and drops Mikasa back on the roof before falling to the ground. The team rushes to check on it as Hans reminds everyone that the titan will evaporate soon. Souda is worried about Eren being assimilated, so he asks for someone to cut the titan's neck but without going as deep as usual. Mikasa follows his instructions and to everyone's shock, Eren comes out of the wound in pain but alive and with all his limbs back. Hans wonders if this is why a titan's weak spot is its neck, and suddenly Eren opens his eyes to reveal they're still red.