Attack on Titan Junior High Episode 7--Freshman vs. Seniors

The upperclassmen are back! …To pick on the underclassmen. Maybe this show pulls more from school life than it’s given credit for.

It feels like this competition is coming up a bit too soon after the dodgeball tournament, but anything that gets the older characters involved is a net win in my book. Despite the episode being themed around class rivalry, they completely stole this episode away from the main group. I’m also really pleased that there was more Levi and Hanji interaction after that bit from two episodes ago. That said, I’m not sure if that’s an objective statement or if I’ve just got my “favorite character” blinders on again.

Anyway, this episode does hint at one of the ongoing dynamics in the parody manga; the upperclassmen know a lot more about how to survive in this upside-down school that favors the bully Titans to the detriment of everyone else, and the first years have a lot of catching up to do. They know how to turn the tables to their advantage while still having a good time.

I'm pretty sure that this is cheating on some level though

But true to the point of the series, none of this is handled in an overly serious way. Easily the best image in this episode is Levi on Mike’s shoulders with an oversized broom, trying to clean up the field at the same time the other students are trampling all over it. The parody takes precedence over everything else. I do wonder where he found such a long broom though…

And then Hanji comes in with confetti because why not

However, as fun as all of this has been, the show still has yet to use any of the manga chapters that involve Titans in a big way. That some of the strongest and funniest material in the manga, and I’m not sure what the show is waiting for. At least there’s official confirmation that No Name is happening—maybe that will be the season finale?

In the meantime, I’ll just keep enjoying every time this grump shows up.

Until next time, here are the references I caught this week:

Ilse as a journalist makes me happy

Images from Funimation.com. Please support the official simulcast.

~

Want to support posts like this one? Check out Subdued Fangirling's Patreon! Backers get to vote on which series I cover and photo previews on figure reviews! Thanks for looking!