01x05 - First Battle - The Struggle for Trost (part 1)

[bunniefuu]

In the year , the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan suddenly appeared and destroyed one of humanity's walls... and everyday life with it.

Humanity abandoned Wall Maria, lost % of its population and one-third of its territory, and was forced to retreat behind Wall Rose.

And then, in the year ...

Humanity's fight back...

...is just beginning!

The target is the Colossal Titan dead ahead!

This is our chance!
Don't let it get away!

Hey, there.

It's been five years since we met.

Unknown are the names of the flowers that have been trampled

Birds have fallen to the earth and long for the wind

Prayers won't solve anything

Only the will to fight can change the here and now!

O pigs who laugh at the resolve to walk over corpses to move forward

Livestock complacency? False prosperity?

Give us the freedom of dying, starving wolves!

The humiliation of being caged is what triggers us to fight back

We hunters slaughter prey beyond the castle walls,

consumed with surging bloodlust,

as our crimson bows and arrows pierce scarlet holes into the twilight

He went for the cannons!

And he didn't take out the gate by accident, either!

He does have intelligence...!

Still, this is the perfect chance!

He's the only one who can destroy the wall!

If I can just take him out...!

Too slow!

Got you!

Wha...?!

Hot!

Go!

I missed?!

No...

The Colossal Titan disappeared!

Eren! Did you b*at it?!

No!

It's just like five years ago!

He suddenly appeared, then suddenly disappeared!

I'm sorry. I let him get away.

What are you apologizing for? We were scared stiff...

Hey! This is no time for that!

The wall's been broken!

We have to hurry and seal it before the Titans get in again!

What are you doing?!

The Colossal Titan Response Operation is already underway!

Return to HQ at once!

Anyone who's come into contact with it, remember to give a report!

Yes, Sir!

We pray for the advance team's success!

Take only the absolute bare necessities!

Please evacuate in a calm manner!

If they break through here, we'll have another tragedy just like five years ago on our hands!

We must hold the Titans off here!

Prepare to intercept!

Fire!

Charge!

You cadets have successfully graduated! You are now proper soldiers!

I have high hopes for you in this operation!

Don't worry, Hanna.

I promise I'll keep you safe.

Franz...

Are you okay, Armin?!

I-I'm fine!

I'll calm down soon enough!

Still, this is bad!

We don't have the technology to quickly seal an -meter-high hole!

And we never did manage to unearth that big rock near the front gate!

Unless we seal the hole, this city's as good as lost!

It's only a matter of time until Wall Rose is breached!

In fact, if they ever feel like it, they can pretty much wipe out humanity anytime they want!

Armin!

Calm down! This isn't like last time!

Humanity won't give in to the Titans anymore!

I'm sorry...

I'm all right...

Come, now. Are you playing seriously?

There. I win again.

We square off once a month, yet you never seem to improve at all, Pyxis.

Oh, no, I am just no match for you, Lord Wald.

You're the top officer in charge of the entire southern territory.

How do you hope to triumph over the Titans with such paltry skill and intellect?

Commander Pyxis!

I bring a message!

How uncouth! Who are you...?!

The Colossal Titan has appeared in Trost!

The gate has been destroyed!

Mm. This is a fine drink, indeed.

As a fellow warrior on the field of battle, I will humbly accept it.

H-Hey! Wait, Pyxis!

Pyxis! Hey! Wait just a minute!

I forbid you to leave!

Assemble your troops immediately and defend my domain!

That is your duty!

Lord Wald.

As we speak, soldiers in Trost are literally risking their lives in battle.

Commander. I will ready the horses.

I presume many lives are being lost as well.

Right now, at this very moment.

Hmph. Insignificant lives, I'm sure.

Forget about them.

Your presence there won't change anything anyway; you continually lose to me in our tabletop skirmishes!

Fear not, Your Lordship.

Should he face the Titans on a real b*ttlefield, the commander will not need to be as lenient with them.

Enough.

Lord Wald.

Please have another pleasant and peaceful day as always.

H-Hey!

Pyxis!

Come back! Pyxis!

Pyxis!

As practiced, you will now split into your squads and perform resupply, message relay, and Titan-clearing duties under the command of the Garrison Regiment!

The Garrison Regiment's intercept squad will take the vanguard!

"Vanguard"

"Vanguard"
"Middle Guard"
The Cadets, led by the support squad, will take the middle guard!

"Vanguard"
"Middle Guard"

"Vanguard"
"Middle Guard"
"Rearguard"
And the Garrison Regiment's elite squads will take the rearguard!

"Vanguard"
"Middle Guard"
"Rearguard"

Additionally, I've received word that the advance team has been wiped out!

The outer gate has been breached, and the Titans have been allowed inside!

In other words, the Armored Titan could very well appear again and demolish the inner gate at any time!

- You can't be serious...
- You gotta be kidding me...

If they end up breaching Rose too...!

Quiet!

The vanguard is currently engaged with the enemy!

This defense operation has but one objective: to defend Wall Rose until the citizens have finished evacuating!

Also, as I'm sure you're well aware, desertion is punishable by death!

Be prepared to lay down your lives!

Dismissed!

Sir!

Why today?

I would've been on my way to the interior tomorrow...

Are you okay?!

No, no, no, noooo...

Move!

Hey, Jean! What's wrong?!

"What's wrong?!"

That's easy for you to say, you suicidal maniac!

You want to join the Scouts!

You're ready to be Titan chow anytime!

- But I was headed for the interior tomorrow!
- Calm down!

You expect me to calm down and accept death?!

No!

Think back!

Think back to the three years of sweat and blood we endured!

So many times we came close to dying during those three years!

Some people did die.

Some ran off. Others were kicked out.

But we survived!

Right?!

I'm sure we can survive today, too!

You can just survive today and leave for the interior tomorrow!

Damn!

Let's go, Daz! Quit your damn cryin'!

R-Right...

Eren.

If the battle gets chaotic, come find me.

Huh? We're in different squads!

If the situation falls apart, things won't go according to plan.

I'll protect you!

What the hell are you...

Cadet Ackermann.

You're in the rearguard. Special orders.

Come with me.

I-I'm not skilled enough!
I'll only be a burden!

I am not asking for your opinion.

The citizens' evacuation is behind schedule.

We need as many elite soldiers near them as possible.

- B-But...!
- Hey!

Cut the crap, Mikasa!

Quit freaking out like everyone else!

Humanity's on the verge of extinction here!

This is no time to go and impose your own selfish rules!

I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly.

I do have one thing to ask.

Please don't die.

I ain't gonna die.

I can't die yet!

Because I still don't know what this world is really like!

Surviving historical documents say nothing about the origin of the Titans.

Most everything remains unknown.

The things we do know about now, including Titan ecology, are based entirely on the latest reports from the Scout Regiment.

We've been unable to determine if the Titans possess human-like intelligence.

As such, there've been no cases to date of mutual communication.

Titan physiology is fundamentally different from that of other living beings.

They lack reproductive organs, and it is unclear how they reproduce, but they primarily possess male-like physiques.

They have extremely high body temperatures, and, perplexingly enough, they show no interest in anything but humans.

Consuming people is the Titans' sole principle of behavior, but given that they've existed for over a century in a human-less environment, we can surmise that the very act of feeding is unnecessary for them.

In other words, it's believed that they are not motivated by predation, but by bloodlust.

And, most of all, the Titans' tremendous vitality is the primary reason that humankind has been so greatly overwhelmed.

Humanity has long possessed cannon technology, but that alone wasn't enough to combat them.

Even when their heads are blown off, the Titans don't die.

Additionally, although there is some variability, their heads will fully regenerate in only a minute or two.

You can't be serious...

Their size is bad enough as it is...

Sir! Does that mean the Titans are immortal?!

They are not immortal.

There is one way to defeat a Titan.

You target here.

When severely damaged here, a Titan will die without regenerating.

That's where these two flesh-paring blades come in.

A successful strike to a Titan's weak spot with these will cause its immediate death, with no time to regenerate whatsoever.

Hey, Armin.

This is the perfect chance, don't you think?

If we take care of business in this first battle before we've even joined the Scouts, we rookies will sh**t up the ranks for sure!

Yeah. No question about it.

Just so you know, you aren't the only ones in our class who wanna join the Scouts.

You b*at us to the punch earlier, but you won't outdo us this time!

Sounds like a challenge, Thomas!

Whoever takes out the most Titans wins!

- Don't go messin' with the scores!
- Squad , move out!

Bolster the vanguard!

All right! Let's go!

That many Titans?!

The Vanguard's been totally routed!

What are they doing?!
Those hot sh*ts usually act all tough!

I figured things would be bad, but not like this!

An Abnormal!

Stop!

Huh...?

What the hell are you doing?!

- Eren!
- Don't go off on your own!

Get back here, damn it!

You're gonna pay for k*lling Thomas!

I won't let you get away! I won't!

Eren!

Eren!

Stop! Please don't!

Why...?

Why am I watching as my friends get eaten?

Why... can't I move...?

A-Armin...

Eren! Eren!

Eren!

What is it, Armin?

My grandpa secretly had this!

It's a book about the outside world!

A book about the outside world?!

Isn't it illegal to have those?
You're gonna get arrested!

This is no time to be saying that!

According to this book, most of the world is covered in water called a "sea"!

And this "sea" is entirely saltwater!

Salt?!

Y-You're lying!
Salt is a treasure trove!

I'm sure merchants would've snatched it all up!

You can't, though! The sea is that big!

Yeah, right...

There's a lot more than loads of salt, too!

Fiery water! Lands of ice! Sandy snowfields!

The outside world must be many times larger than the inside of these walls!

The outside world...

And, this is still a secret, but my mom and dad are planning to venture into the outside world!

The outside world, huh...

Hey, Eren.

I hope we can explore the outside world too someday!

Eren!

I refuse to die here...

Listen, Armin...

You told me about it...

So I have... to see it...

The outside world...!

Eren!

Hurry!

Your dreams are where your heart is

They're more fragile than life itself

Over and over you cast them aside, only to find more

Now, rest in peace

Pounding impulses defile the things we wish for

and the more we forget the more we remember again

In this beautiful, cruel world

all I can do is ask why we're still alive

Oh, with our strength... and our weakness...

what are we going to protect if there's no sense

to anything anymore?

Suddenly, it begins to rain.

The quiet sound of the rainfall...

The damp air...
The faintly sweet smell of rain...

They remind Mikasa of a ghastly incident in her past.