The Nine Titan Shifters

I posted a video explaining the Nine Titan Shifter in Attack on Titan. Basically this blog is just my script of it. If you want to check out my video just click this link.

·         Founding Titan – It is the first titan. According to the history of the walls, it was Ymir Fritz who was the first holder of the Founding titan. She got this power from a devil, perhaps she traded something like her soul as what we knew in fiction stories. After having the power for 13 years, she died and the power of the Founding Titan was split between the 9 inheritors. It is said that the holder of the Founding Titan should be a royal blood or the direct descendant of Ymir to achieve the full potential of it. The 145^th King, Karl Fritz inherited the power of the Founding Titan and used its ability to escape from the Great Titan War. It is a civil war between the families of the possible inheritors of the power of titan. The king abandoned his responsibility to his country and created a new country that he called “Paradis Island” and stated that the peace should be in that island always. He used the power of the Founding Titan to make the countless colossus titans by using its “Scream” ability and create three walls and named it “Maria”, “Rose” and “Sina”. He stated that once that the peace was disturbed in his island he will use those colossus titans to “flatten the earth”. The former handlers after Ymir that was revealed in the manga were Karl Fritz then it was taken by the Reiss Family after some years. From Rod’s Father to Uri Reiss, Rod’s brother. Then it was given to Frieda Reiss, Historia’s half sister. Then it was forcefully taken by Grisha Jaeger and soon given to Eren Jaeger. The Founding Titan also has the ability to control the titans by means of its “Coordinate” like what Eren Jaeger did in episode 37. Though Eren doesn’t have a royal blood he was able to control the titans after he had a contact with the titan that was Dina Fritz. Another power is the memory manipulation that was shown in episode 43 where Frieda Reiss erased Historia’s memories with her.  Also, this ability was used by Karl Frits to manipulate the memory of the Eldians inside the walls to isolate them from outside world.

·         Colossus/Colossal Titan – First seen in the first episode, standing before the great wall of Maria having the height of more than 50 meters. He used his massive size to leave a huge hole on the wall making the peace ordered by the former king, Karl Fritz disturbed. The Colossus Titan is also called “God of Destruction” because of its massive size and ability to make a large explosion. The large explosion was seen in chapter 78 in the “Return of Shiganshina” Arc making a large mushroom smoke from the transformation explosion. Another ability of the Colossus Titan is to release immense amount of steam from its body due to the sever heat of the Colossus Titan. The heat serves as his shield from the attacking soldiers as seen in episode 32. The former holder of the Colossus Titan is Bertoldt Hoover and the current holder is Armin Arlert.

·         Armored Titan – First seen in episode 2, dashing towards the second gate of Shiganshina which is the Wall Maria itself.  Its ability is to harden his skin that can even destroy the wall created by the Colossus Titans back then. This also makes the Armored Titan undefeatable during the “Fall of Shiganshina” Arc. But during the “Clash of Titans” Arc where in Eren and the Armored Titan fought, Eren was able to almost defeat the Armored Titan by means of close combat that he learned from Annie Leonheart. The current holder of the Armored Titan is Reiner Braun and he has two candidates namely Gabi Braun and Falco Grice.

·         Attack Titan – Aside from the power of the Founding Titan, Eren Jaeger also have the power of the Attack Titan. It is said that this titan fought for freedom for years. It was first seen in episode 7 when Mikasa was in the verge of giving up and was revealed that the holder is Eren in episode 9. The main ability of the Attack Titan is its tenacity to fight for the freedom. The hardening ability that was seen in episode 45 that saved the lives of the Levi squad came from the bottle that he drank from Rod Reiss. That ability was used to close the gap in Shiganshina. In chapter 88, Eren Kruger was introduced as the oldest known holder of the Attack Titan. After revealing his identity as “the owl” he gave the power of Attack Titan to Grisha Jaeger and later gave it to his son Eren Jaeger. 

·         Female Titan – First seen in episode 17 in the anime adaptation. The only holder revealed in the manga is Annie Leonhart. The Female Titan is using its ability to attract titans nearby and lead them to the formation made by Erwin in the “Outside the Walls” Arc. In the “Marley” Arc, it was revealed that she also used this ability to lure the titans towards to Wall Maria before Bertoldt made his move. The Female Titan is very versatile and has high endurance. Its titan body is somewhat the same with a human’s body that is why the titans are very attracted to her. She also have the ability like with the Founding Titan which is the “Coordinate” in which she screamed to lure the nearby titans seen in episode 20 like what Eren did in episode 37 plus she can also harden its skin like with the Armored Titan. With this we have the theory that Annie might be a royal blood since she can use more abilities of the Female Titan.

·         Beast Titan – first seen in episode 26 walking around Mike with the Cart Titan and some pure titans. The ability of it is to manipulate titans by ordering them what to do. The Beast Titan can speak a language understood by humans. It also has the ability to create titans like what Founding Titan can do. The Beast Titan is like a titan weapon for war. His ability was used in “Marley” Arc wherein he was sent to a war creating a large amount of titans towards the opposing side. His ability to throw with immense power is one thing as well. Add up his pitching talent, this ability is so deadly. The Beast Titan must be a baseball fan. He also has the “Hardening” ability like with the Armored Titan however it was not seen in manga. The current holder of the Beast Titan is Zeke Jaeger who is the half brother of Eren Jaeger and his candidate is Historia Reiss. Zeke is a royal blood that is why he can use the full powers of the Beast Titan.

·         Jaw Titan – First seen in episode 29 revealing that Ymir is the holder of it in “Clash of Titans” Arc. Its ability is its unbeatable speed and agility that is why it was first called “Dancing Titan”. However, when Reiner and Bertoldt successfully kidnapped Ymir and Eren, Bertoldt told Ymir that she ate their comrade and the power of titan was passed to her after that. She decided to take sides with them and later sent to Marley to give back the power. Another one is the crushing strength of its jaw and nails. It was seen in chapter 102 in the “Marley” Arc when Eren and the Jaw Titan fought before he swallowed the holder of the War Hammer Titan. That ability is so powerful that scratched the hardened crystal made by the War Hammer Titan. The former holder of the Jaw Titan was Marcel Galliard, eaten by Ymir and now currently inherited by Porco Galliard, Marcel’s younger brother.

·         Cart Titan – First seen in episode 26 with the Beast titan. Its abilities are its speed and endurance. The Cart titan can maintain its form for a long period of time greatly used for equipping machine guns and other gears. It’s quadrupedal form is more likely the reason behind its speed. The Cart Titan was used in “Return in Shiganshina” Arc in which it is carrying the barrels where Bertoldt was hiding. The current holder of the Cart Titan is Pieck

·         War Hammer Titan – first seen in chapter 101 in “Battle of Liberio” in the “Marley” Arc. After Willy Tybur, a royal blood, died during a speech in Liberio, his younger sister transformed into its titan form and had a clash with Eren. Its ability is “Structural Hardening” wherein it can make weapons using the hardened crystal or skin. The whole titan form of it is actually hardened and the holder was detached from the body remotely controlling the titan body from afar. With this ability, the War Hammer Titan can create spikes from the ground and other kinds of weapon. The current holder of the War Hammer Titan is Eren Jaeger after using the Jaw Titan’s nails to brekl the hardened crystal enveloping the sister of Willy.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009) Anime Review

Title: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Genre: Shounen, Dark Fantasy, Adventure, Science Fiction
Written and Illustrated By: Hiromu Arakawa
Synopsis: The Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse were living perfectly with their mother in a peaceful town of Resembool. They are both smart children and they excel in alchemy like their father. However, their mother died due to an illness outbreak and they were left alone. They know an alchemy in which they can resurrect a dead called "Human Transmutation" which is a taboo. Alchemy requires an equal value of exchange or called "The Law of Equivalent Exchange" to perform the transformation. In Human Transmutation, they need to give the most equal amount to resurrect a dead. They took the risk to perform this dangerous alchemy. As a result, Alphonse's body and Edward's limb were taken as an exchange and unfortunately the Human Transmutation is a big failure. Luckily, Edward was able to take Alphonse's soul back and placed it in an empty armor. In exchange of that, Edward's arm was taken. In order to take back Alphonse' body, they are searching for the Philosopher's Stone.

(Young Ed and Al before doing the Human Transmutation)

Thoughts:

Watching it once, I re watched it immediately and even though I already know the events of the story I still cried for the characters in this anime. This anime was being recommended to me for years but I only got the chance to watch this and immediately I included this anime in one of my favorites. Though I more like the plot of the first anime series, it's plot is still recommended to be watched. This anime moved me into tears most of the time. It never escaped the reality of the world. You can always see the desires of the people in this anime. Dark pasts of each of the character. Brutal killings and war against other places in one nation. Now who told you that anime is for kids only?

I appreciate the overall character development of Ed and Al in the story. Just imagine two 16 years old children fighting with their fate as the people who received punishment because of using the human transmutation while they are opposing the government because of their evil plan, killing everyone in their country and in order to achieve that they need to kill different kinds of people. I don't know how they can manage living doing that. Not just the two protagonist but a lot of characters in the story that has their individual dark pasts and dreams.

(Height difference from episode 9 to episode 46)

One more thing, there are no useless character in the story. Everyone has an important role except to that damn father who turned his daughter into a chimera. Nothing can be darker on that scene. Female characters are one thing as well. I really admire those female characters that has courage to fight like a man. Special mention: Olivier Mira Armstrong!! A Major General who can fight against homunculus though she only have her sword skills. She can fight like a powerful alchemist. 

(Izumi Curtis - Ed and Al's teacher)

(Major Alex Louis Armstrong and Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong)

Though this anime has a dark plot, the mangaka never forgot to give this anime some humors like Roy Mustang being the coolest and one of the strongest alchemist but he have so many running gags in the anime.

Comparing from the 2003 series, this series is better if we talk about the number of the fight scenes. If you watched the first series you can notice that the power of being an alchemist was not shown there rather it always telling us that they can fight using their brains rather that with their fight skills. But in this series aside from their smart brains, they fight using martial arts or any kind of fighting styles (for example: Lin using an Asian Martial Arts, Olivier using her sword skill) and that made me hyped for this anime series.

(Colonel Roy Mustang - The Flame Alchemist)

Animation: 10/10
First I was wondering, why does it look like a fight scene from Boku no Hero Academia and Noragami? Then I learned that it was BONES who did the animation of this anime! I was hyped! BONES always do a great job in animation!

(Colonel Roy Mustang and First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye fighting at the Promised Day)

Soundtrack: 10/10
Anime Opening and Ending songs are great! It makes me want to watch the whole series again whenever I hear it's songs on my playlist. Plus the meaning of the songs are so sad but hopeful that is really matching with the plot of the anime. KUDOS AGAIN FOR THAT. The original soundtrack is almost the same with the first anime series so I got no problem with that!

Overall: 10/10
Totally recommended to people who can take dark plots. But the ending is one of the nicest thing you will see in the anime world. Believe me.

A/N: Right now I am watching Dragon Ball Super to support for it's upcoming movie next year: "Dagon Ball Super: Broly" and reading he manga of Fullmetal Alchemist to know the difference of it from the two anime series.

Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) Anime Review

Title: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Genre: Shounen, Dark Fantasy, Adventure, Science Fiction
Written and Illustrated By: Hiromu Arakawa
Synopsis: The Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse were living perfectly with their mother in a peaceful town of Resembool. They are both smart children and they excel in alchemy like their father. However, their mother died due to an illness outbreak and they were left alone. They know an alchemy in which they can resurrect a dead called "Human Transmutation" which is a taboo. Alchemy requires an equal value of exchange or called "The Law of Equivalent Exchange" to perform the transformation. In Human Transmutation, they need to give the most equal amount to resurrect a dead. They took the risk to perform this dangerous alchemy. As a result, Alphonse's body and Edward's limb were taken as an exchange and unfortunately the Human Transmutation is a big failure. Luckily, Edward was able to take Alphonse's soul back and placed it in an empty armor. In exchange of that, Edward's arm was taken. In order to take back Alphonse' body, they are searching for the Philosopher's Stone.

Thoughts: 

Finally, I finished the whole anime adaptation series of FMA but I still have the movie in 2005 left, let's get onto that soon ~ If I am going to compare the two anime adaptations, I can say that the anime series from 2003 is a better plot than the anime series in 2009. (To check out my review on FMAB click this link.)

This anime series is far different from the 2009 series. Though the main plot is still the same that the Elric Brothers will be looking for the Philosopher's Stone to get their bodies back to them but the whole information about the gate of Truth, Homunculus and even some character plots were changed. But let me focus on this TV Series alone.

 

(Elric Brothers before and after the Human Transmutation)

This anime has a dark and heavy character plots. When I watched this, I was not emotionally ready so I stopped from watching it for a while (LOL that was almost half a year). I am not just talking about these 12 and 11 year old brothers who performed the most restricted thing to do in Alchemy which is Human Transmutation but also the characters around them. You'll be seeing their personal desires and the darkness in their hearts, the sins of their actions and the results of their mistakes.

The series just circulated to the reality of the society, how sinful a human can be and at the same time how wonderful being an ordinary human is. It has less fight scenes and it is almost heavy plots which completes this anime. 

At the last episodes of this TV Series, I can't understand how the Gate of Truth really works. It is such a confusion maybe because I haven't watched the movie that comes after the the series. 

(Lust, a Homunculus)

Animation: 10/10 
BONES was the one who animated this series that is why it has a similar animation with My Hero Academia. Since it has small ight scenes you won't be enjoying a long good animation.

Soundtrack: 10/10
KUDOS FOR THIS! The OST of the series is very good. You might not notice it but the BGM of the crucial scenes is heart racing adding to the tensing feeling for that particular scenes. I can even feel every line in my face that strains my facial muscles whenever I watch an episode with heavy feels.

(The famous scene of Roy Mustang crying before Hughes grave saying "it's raining")

Overall: 9/10
Though I said that the plot is better than with the remake, I hate it was ended with Al and Ed got their bodies back but living in a different dimensions. It is actually really sad for me. 

Attack on Titan Season 3 Anime Review

Title: Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) 
Genre: Shounen, Dark Fantasy, Action, Post-apocalyptic 
Written by: Hajime Isayama 
Release Date: September 09, 2009 - present (manga)
Synopsis: (The Synopsis of Seasons 1 and 2 are in this link)
After recovering Eren from the Colossal and Armored Titan, the Survey Corps will be fighting against the government. Their activities will be held down and the government wants to take Eren and Historia from their care that is why the Survey Corps are rebelling. They are doubting that the government is hiding something about the secrets of their world. Before retaking the Wall Maria, they need to take back their rights as the members of Survey Corps.

(Episode 39 where Hange and Levi tortured Sannes)

Thoughts: 
This season is all about the "Uprising Arc" wherein some secrets were revealed in this anime. This is my favorite arc by the way since this arc is when the members of the Levi Squad began their character development especially with Armin and Eren. They became more manly even though it has been only 4 months since the attack in Trost District. 

In the manga, there are 20 chapters in the uprising arc but in the anime it was being shortened. It was sad. Really sad. Though the important information were told in the anime, there are scenes that were neglected to be shown in the anime adaptation. For example, in the episode 39 entitled "Pain" in which Levi and Hange caught the murderers of Pastor Nick and they tortured them in return on what they did. In the manga, Hange is a very mad soldier to the point that she was really scary and looked like a psychopath. She was very sad with the loss of Pastor Nick. She made everything possible for them to torture the Interior Police who murdered him. She is the main reason why this arc is so badass.

(Queen Historia recieving his crown)

One more thing, the locations and the set up of plots were changed. Though I understand that if they will be following the flow of the story in the manga, some viewers will be bored. The Uprising arc is all about information reveal and the action will be at the end of the arc but as an avid fan of this amazing story, I like the manga version better. The revelations will bring disturbance on your mind and you will be thinking a lot of theories after. That was really an interesting thing to do. 

(Levi vs. Kenny in Episode 39)

Animation/Art Style: 11/10
The WIT Studio made the animation again for this season and once again I want to give kudos on them! In episode 39, where Levi met Kenny and they had a little commotion against the Interior Police led by Kenny Ackerman. I never imagined that it will be a great fight scene. In the manga, I am bad in imagining how these scenes will happen but WIT Studio made it really fantastic. Levi was so badass!!! 

 

(Rod Reiss' titan form which is twice bigger than the colossal titan)

Also in the episode 44-45 where in the Levi squad fought with the Interior police for the second time, Mikasa and Levi once again had their spotlight. Along in that episode, Rod Reiss titan form is in CG. In my previous blog about the season 2 of this anime, I mentioned how disappointed I was with the CG of Colossal Titan but this time, I am grateful that they made Rod Reiss' titan form in CG. It looked really scary and it met my expectations from the manga. 

Soundtrack 10/10
New OST is coming to my playlist! Another kudos for Hirano Sawayuki for doing another set of OST for Season 3. His works are really appealing for the anime. A music with tensing feeling with a little hope inside. It makes you feel how grave the situation that the characters are in. To be honest i am using these OST in some of my videos. 

This time, the opening song was sang by YOSHIKI ft. HYDE. A lot of fans was disappointed in this because it wasn't Linked Horizon who sang for this season. Don't you guys understand how this anime getting more popular? YOSHIKI and HYDE are legionary in the world of music. They cost to much to be the one who will sing for this anime. Shingeki no Kyojin is rising upper than before. Anyway, Linked Horizon still sang for this anime and they had a song for the ending song. Another mysterious type of song so it matches the anime as well like before. 

Overall: 10/10
Though I have some criticisms about the anime adaption, it is still the best one. I think I just something to notice about it it's because I love this anime so much and also I read the manga a lot of times. I knew almost everything about this anime and thinking a lot of theories that might happen. If you have a weak heart and can't stand realistic idea about the world that we are living like the anime Magi, this anime is not recommended for you. However, I can assure that the quality of this anime is really one of the best so it's not a pain if you'll try this. 

(The Survey Corps talking about the plan in retaking the Wall Maria)

Just a reminder before watching this season, don't skip any dialogue of any character cause everything in this season is very important detail about the secrets of the titans. 

Hataraku Saibou! (Cells at Work!) Anime Review

Title: Hataraku Saibou! (Cells at Work!)
Genre: Comedy
Written by: Shigemitsu Harada
Synopsis: Trillions of cells in the body, you will be meeting a single red blood cell (RBC) who is always lost while delivering nutrients in the body. As soon as she is lost, she will meet the white blood cell (WBC) and other cells and their jobs. She will learn how cells working together to save the world they are living in against the bacteria.

(From left to right: T-Cells, Machophage, White Blood Cell)

Thoughts: As soon as I saw the trailer of this anime, I knew that this is the type of show that I need to watch. This anime is an anthropomorphized type of anime. This is basically a type of anime that tells how the cells in our body work. A better and more interesting to learn a Biology lesson about Anatomy.  

I don't know much about the cells except on what the main cells' job in the body. For example, the red blood cell will be delivering oxygen (O2) to the body and taking carbon dioxide (CO2) to the lungs to release it by breathing, also the white blood cells fighting bacteria that enters our body. That is just a basic knowledge. However as I watch episodes about other types of cells, it not just it gave me more knowledge about them but also how the bacteria or infectious disease like cancer cells or influenza spread in our body.

 

(Macrophage's deadly attack: some people noticed that in this scene, the aerial angle of Macrophage made her look like the actual cell)

I love how the author of this show represented each organ of the body especially when they showed in an episode how does blood circulation happens. That episode showed how the red blood cell circulated throughout the body as she delivers oxygen and carbon dioxide. Well, she was always lost but that episode is really interesting. Also the characters in the anime represented the cells exactly on what they are supposed to be, not just with the appearances but also the ability of each of the cell.

(Red Blood Cell carrying oxygen and you can notice her uniform is in bright red)

(RBC carrying Carbon Dioxide and her uniform is in darker red in color)

I understand more about this anime when I watched a reaction of a doctor from Youtube. He explained everything from the abilities of a cell, how they are formed until the nature and appearance of a bacteria. One example that he mentioned is about the red blood cell, he mentioned how the uniform of the RBC changes as she circulate the body. Remember your Biology class, your teacher told the class that whenever the RBC carries oxygen, it's color is light red and whenever it carries CO2 it's color is dark red. I didn't notice this but it was incredible that people noticed it in the anime.Watch his videos about Cells at Work in this link.

Basically what I was just trying to say, whoever made this anime is a genius. Not because he know a lot about our body, bacteria and even their jobs but how creative he is to make it into an anime without giving wrong information. How each of the cells or organs represented in the anime. 

 

(Dendritic Cell helping a naive T-cell to be a mature) 

Animation/Art Style: 10/10
It's perfectly good. The only thing that you will wonder while watching that anime, "Why does white blood cell bleed?"

Soundtrack: 10/10

(Everyone's favorite, the Platelets)

Overall: 10/10

Totally recommended even for non-anime fans. Good for children as well, just make sure you will guide them while they are watching the fight scenes. This anime will widen your knowledge about the cells in your body and how they really work to let you live. 

Haikyu!! Anime Series Review

Note: I created a Facebook page for me to upload my videos where I feature an anime. You can check it out here.

Title: Haikyu!!
Genre: Shounen, Sports, Comedy
Written by: Haruichi Furudate (manga), Taku Kishimoto (anime)
Synopsis: Shoyo Hinata loves the volleyball ever since he saw Karasuno's #10 or the "Little Giant" of that school. He always wanted to be like him. In a sports tournament, there he met Kageyama Tobio or called as the "King of the Court". They were in different schools and became Hinata's competitor. Unfortunately, Hinata's team was lost from Kageyama's team. When Hinata graduated from junior high school, he entered Karasuno High School to reach his dreams not knowing he will meet Kageyama again. They will become members of Karasuno's volleyball team.

Thoughts: Before watching this series, I already heard a lot of good remarks from my otaku friends. Well, sports anime usually have unexplainable skills like "Prince of Tennis", "Eyeshield 21" etc. so I expected this anime to be like that. I didn't know I was wrong. Hinata's ability of jumping high although he was short in height is kinda explainable (aren't it?) but I sometimes think that is it kind off overacting? LOL Maybe some kind of scientific explanation will answer that. 

I love this anime so much, aside from it's beastly animations during matches, I love the dialogues of the characters. Every time they are explaining anything about their feelings during game or something about the flow of the game, I would instantly agree on it. I am actually a volleyball player when I was in high school. Not a varsity player but always a representative in the class to play in a intersection volleyball tournament. I love volleyball as well but I don't have any time to join the club and have trainings. So believe me, Haikyuu explained everything about volleyball and I love it.  

Animation / Art Style: 10/10
Although in season 1 there are some poor animations, I still need to give this anime a perfect mark. It is because each characters have their personal forms in attacking and I am cringing every time that I think that the characters have differences in their movements during the game. I also love the angles when a character will attack or serve especially if Oikawa will be the one who will serve and Hinata and Kageyama will do the quick attack. 

Soundtrack: 10/10
I downloaded the whole OST! LOL that is because I need it for my video. (Right, I uploaded a video explaining every volleyball techniques used in Haikyuu. Just click this link.) Anyway, I heard every soundtrack and I love it when I am hearing the squeaks of the shoes inside the court included in the soundtrack. As well as the opening song of this anime. It matches the mood of the anime. 

Overall: 10/10
Extremely recommended. It is not your typical sports anime that has superficial abilities but this is your normal sport and the god thing in this anime is that this is so real.