And just like that, everything changed. At that terrible moment, in our hearts, we knew. Home was a pen. Humanity, cattle.
Within a massive walled settlement lies a district known as Shiganshina. Inside this district, there lives a boy named Eren Yeager who dreams for a life outside this walled settlement. However, his quest for independence is hampered by the presence of giant humanoid creatures known as Titans that roam the land eating anyone they can find. Despite Eren's frustration at living inside, what he considers, a birdcage, his family try to convince him to accept the life he currently has living within the safety of Wall Maria. However Eren, along with his adoptive sister Mikasa, and best friend Armin, are about to receive a rude awakening when a Colossal Titan appears before them.
Tropes:
- All for Nothing: The Survey Corps mission to reclaim land beyond the Wall ends in abject failure with a large number of their soldiers dead. One soldier even admits to the mother of one of his subordinates that ultimately mankind wasn't able to gain anything from the expedition.
- Big Damn Heroes: Hannes attempts to do this when he arrives at the Yeager household and tries to defend Carla and the children from the Smiling Titan. However, when actually confronted by the Titan, Hannes's courage leaves him and he decides to instead follow Carla's last wish, grabbing Eren and Mikasa and run off.
- Big "NO!": Eren screams out one of these when he sees his mom getting picked up by the Smiling Titan.
- Death Glare: The Colossal Titan gives one to the assembled members of humanity right before it kicks open a hole large enough for its brethren to walk through.
- Doomed Hometown: Shiganshina is destroyed and overrun with Titans, forcing Eren, Mikasa and Armin to start their adventure.
- Downer Beginning: Considering the fact that this is the first episode of the series it makes the message of what kind of world our protagonists live in, as well as the horrors they will have to face, very clear by the end.
- Downer Ending: The episode ends with the gate separating Shiganshina from the Titans being kicked down and Eren being Forced to Watch as his mother is devoured by the Smiling Titan.
- Establishing Character Moment: Eren establishes himself as someone who aspires for more then life has given to him by expressing his frustration over living in the Walls (which he describes akin to being trapped in a cage) while everyone else is enjoying life.
- Fantasy-Forbidding Mother: Carla furiously tells Eren to abandon any thoughts of trying to apply for the Survey Corps, due to the obvious dangers outside the walls.
- Foreshadowing:
- English-dub only: When Carla is trying to dissuade Erin from joining the Survey Corps, Grisha says, "It's a nightmare, Eren, the outside, you really have no idea.", which foreshadows (a) Grisha comes from outside the walls and (b) it's not just the Titans that the people of the walls have to worry about, but the rest of humanity, who are in fact not extinct and want to exterminate them.
- On his way out, Grisha shows Eren a key that he says opens the house basement, promising that if he behaves by the time he gets back, they can access it together. We won't know what's inside until near the end of the third season.
- Forced to Watch: While Hannes is taking Mikasa and Eren away from their collapsed house Eren can only look on as his mother is captured by the Smiling Titan and eaten right before his eyes.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: A very intriguing case. During Eren’s cryptic dream at the beginning, there’s a split-second shot of a decapitated statue wearing a soldier’s uniform by a fireplace. Careful observers who’ve read the manga would notice that it’s a statue of Marley's savior Helos, who wasn't introduced in the manga for more than 4 years after this episode aired. The fact that the statue is decapitated in Eren’s dream is likely a subtle hint to the fact that Helos was entirely fabricated.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: The entirety of the Survey Corps are treated with disdain by some Apathetic Citizens who note that they get feed off their supplies just to then feed those supplies to Titans. If what Eren says is true apparently this mindset isn't uncommon from other citizens in the Walls.
- Hesitant Sacrifice: Carla tries to go out with some dignity and tells her children to survive. However, once the realisation comes that she is about to die, Carla has to physically restrain herself from calling out to Hannes and her children to come back and save her.
- I Just Want to Be Free: As oppose to the other residents of Shiganshina who seem content with their lot in life, Eren hates the idea of spending the rest of his life trapped inside the Walls waiting to die. Armin agrees with him and points out that the walls won't be able to hold them off forever.
- More Deadly Than the Male: Mikasa establishes herself as the badass muscle of the series' trio when a group of bullies laugh off the prospect of beating up Eren but flee in terror when they see Mikasa.
- Nightmare Sequence: Eren at the start of the episode has a dream that involves Titans roaming the lands and was apparently so bad that he started crying halfway through. Considering that one of the things he saw was his mother being eaten by the Smiling Titan it may have also served as Dreaming of Things to Come.
- Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here: The guards from the Garrison Regiment are seen drinking on duty since there's no trouble inside the Walls. Cue Colossal Titan making its big entrance.
- Stunned Silence: The residents of the Shiganshina district can only look on in disbelief and abject horror as they come face-to-face with a 60 meter Colossal Titan that easily kicks open the gate leading into their village and allowing Titans to swarm in unopposed.
- Tempting Fate: Armin talks about the futility of hiding behind walls for the rest of their lives and, sooner or later, the Titans will return and strike. Almost immediately afterwards a giant bolt of yellow electricity appears outside the wall and from it rises a 60 meter Colossal Titan who makes Armin's words a reality by kicking down the outside gate.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: Various members of the Survey Corps can only look forward with blank looks on their faces after their doomed mission.
- We Have Become Complacent: As will become apparent throughout the series, humanity is notably aloof when it comes to the threat of the Titans and consider the Walls sufficient enough protection from the outside forces. The Garrison regiment spends most of their time drunk instead of watching for potential breaches and even talking about the idea of the walls falling down is considered heresy. Humanity learns the hard way that, just because they can't see them, that doesn't mean Titans are no longer a threat. The quote up top comparing them all to cattle trapped in a pen signifies this when the Titans finally break through.
- Wham Shot: Absolutely no one expected a Titan big enough to tower over the city walls.
