Top 5 Things To Know Before Attack On Titan Returns

The Fall of Zhiganshina and Major Characters

Before you jump into the new season you need a little background of the setting you are diving into. Humans are living under the constant fear of being attacked by the terrifying giants, called Titans, who's sole purpose is to devour people. For hundreds of years the population has lived inside giant stone walls, and built an army of soldiers to protect themselves from these Titans. The soldiers are called the Scout Regiment, and they have special equipment and training to fight the Titans, and they are the sole people who venture beyond the walls to take them in their own turf.

In this city lives the main protagonist Eren Jaeger, a young teen who longs for the adventure and glory of joining the Scouts. He lives his best friend Armin Arlert, a shy weak boy, and Mikasa Ackerman a strong independent girl who is the rock of the trio. They are all best friends and loyal to each other because of each of their rough back-stories and past.

Everything seems great and relatively happy until the Titans break through one of the walls. The walls have three layers and the Titans break through the first, and that is when we get our first look at the Colossal Titan. This is where hell breaks loose and the Titans make it into the city, Eren sees his mother eaten by a Titan, his father disappears in the madness, and we see loads of civilians eaten and destroyed by the giants. The survivors of this initial onslaught move back into the city behind more walls, and so Erin, Armin, and Mikasa are left orphaned and angry. The trio decides to join the army to fight the evil Titans and take back their city.

The Soldiers Fight Back

Five years after the shocking invasion in the city, we see our heroes in a new light. They have been training and working to have the skills to defeat the Titans that stole their lives away from them. We are introduced to a unique system of fighting the titans, and the only way to stop them. The soldiers use something called Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, which is essential a harness that shoots out grappling hooks in all directions that allows the user to fly in the air at ridiculous speeds. The reason these are needed is because the only way of killing the Titans is by slashing their weak spot: the back of their neck.

Our protagonist have grown and each developed unique skills during their training. Erin has the most passion, and is highly aggressive in his fighting techniques, not afraid to lay his life on the line for others. Armin is a strong strategist, planning the best ways of going about attacks on the Titans. While Mikasa becomes the strongest of the group, and one of the best fighters in the entire Corps. We also meet a whole new slew of characters who are in the same division that graduate the academy and fight alongside the trio in battling the Titans. It is important to note, not to get too attached because characters die every episode. The important ones to know are Reiner Braun, Annie Leonhart and Bertolt Hoover.

The Big Battle Of Trost

So the trio has graduated the academy and finished their training and they are thrown right into to battle, against the ever foreboding Colossal Titan. Many of the soldiers are taken down and eaten by Titans, and there is an intense battle that ensues. During the battle, Armin's life is in trouble, and Eren sacrifices himself to save him. Eren is then eaten by a Titan, and all seems lost. But then something strange happens, as Eren discovers that by biting himself and shedding skin, he can turn into a Titan himself. With this new found power, Eren in Titan form goes crazy and destroys the other surprised Titans as the rest of the soldiers are fighting the rest.

Eren turns back into a human and is questioned by the army because he it seems that he is an uncontrollable liability. Eren essentially becomes a living weapon for the army, and is escorted by his friends and the elite task force to seal the second wall, Wall Rose. Another huge battle ensues in order to seal the giant hole to slow the Titans, and Eren goes into his Titan form goes berserk and it is obvious that he does not have full control. He ends up sealing the hole with a giant bolder which slows the Titans attack but during the process, almost kills his best friend Mikasa, during his Titan rage. After the battle is over, Eren is under fire again, as soldiers are scared of him in Titan form and the ability for him to control it, but one of the deadliest soldier Levi stands up for him. Eren joins the Scout Regiment alongside Levi and Hange Zoe (who has a fascination with studying Titans), in the Scout Regiment, and they have hopes of training Eren and helping him control his Titan form. Mikasa and Armin are also moved up to the Scout Regiment with Eren as well.

The Female Titan

Eren studies and grows stronger and strives to find out more about the nature of Titans. He thinks his father knew and had a secret so he wants to go back to the basement of his home. So they leave Wall Rose in search of more answers, and immediately as they leave they run into a giant Female Titan who seems to be attempting to murder them directly. This Female Titan seems to have human intelligence unlike the other Titans they have run into so far, so the Scouts deduct that she is a human like Eren. There is a battle in the woods between the scouts and the Female Titan which results in the loss of many soldiers' lives. Because of smart thinking, the Scout Regiment traps the Female Titan, but she brilliantly protects her neck (the Titan weak spot) and she ends up escaping.

The Scouts are battered and broken as they return empty handed with less numbers. Everyone has guesses who the Female Titan may be, but no one knows for sure. Eren is put under arrest, as once again, the high ups don't trust him. Armen and the others devise a plan to lure the Female Titan and capture her. The trap works and the Female Titan is revealed to be Annie Leonheart, who confesses to be behind the madness, but she reveals no more as she wrecks shop as the Female Titan. Eren and Annie battle and she is taken down but before she could be killed, she encases herself in a giant crystal. So the Scouts have to take her away without being able to question her and figure out more answers. The fact that other humans can turn into Titans causes many questions and mystery. This shows that there are others in the army that have that ability, that might not be on humanities side. The first season ends with one of the walls crumbling away, and a Titan face is revealed sleeping. He then opens his eyes, revealing that there is no where safe for the humans, as Titans are everywhere, even inside of the walls.

Going Into Season 2

So going into Season 2 there are a couple things we can expect thanks to the manga. For one we can expect to see more of the smart Titans, new and and old. We will also be seeing more from the side characters not featured as much in the first season. But one thing we have all been wondering and wanting to know since season one, is the question of what is in Eren's basement. In the new season we can expect to see what his father is hiding, and also more answers will be answered about intelligent Titans and the mysterious Female Titan.

So now you are all caught with all you need to know for the premier on April 1st. After four long years since the release of season one, this season is sure to be awesome.