issue 25 // volume 43 arts // no. 7 Giant man-eating monsters are back > A look back at season one of ‘Attack on Titan’ Caroline Ho Arts Editor eady your 3-D Maneuver Gear: The second season of Attack on Titan is finally here. The first episode of the anime’s new season came out on Saturday, four years after season one began in April 2013. If you don’t entirely remember what it was about, here’s a bit of a refresher review of the show so far. Disclaimer one: This article was written before the first episode of season two aired. Disclaimer two: I’ve only watched the anime and haven't read the manga. (Disclaimer 2.5: Subbed, not dubbed.) Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) takes place in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by giant man-eating humanoid monsters called Titans. The remaining bastions of human civilization have lived behind giant defensive walls for the past century. Our heroes are Eren Jaeger and his friends, and they are all determined to join the military, fight the Titans, and someday reclaim the earth for humanity. The most compelling thing about this series is the world. Bleak and desolate, the grim desperation of humanity clinging to survival in its last few cities is ominously believable, and even if you haven't rewatched since season one ended, you're sure to be drawn back in quickly. The world’s darkly captivating atmosphere is certainly helped along by the art and imagery of the surprisingly terrifying Titans. When this show was first recommended to me years ago, | thought giant naked carnivorous humans sounded cheesy and goofy, but they are indeed sufficiently chilling—particularly the unique beasts, like the Colossus Titan. Another awesome aspect of the show is the 3-D Maneuver Gear, the battle equipment especially utilized by the Survey Corps. Using a combination of grappling hooks and gas propulsion, humans acrobatically fly through the air to combat the giant monsters. It looks super cool and almost fun enough to be worth living in a Titan-riddled wasteland. Luckily enough, we have plenty of characters through whom we can vicariously live, though not all of them are all that sympathetic. Protagonist Eren comes across as overly talented, overly whiny, and not particularly likeable. His two closest comrades aren't very original either: Mikasa is your typical female badass, and Armin is the awkward genius. However, outside the main trio of leader, fighter, and thinker, Attack on Titan has a large, fleshed-out supporting cast, chiefly Eren’s fellow soldiers. Personally, I’m oddly attached to outspoken and professed coward Jean. A lot of the others don’t have much personality beyond being purely badass, but there are enough characters for any watcher to likely find a favourite. Also, it’s always refreshing to be aware that, given the brutality of the show, anyone you like or dislike probably isn't going to live long anyway. (Though it is much less satisfying if they come back to life three episodes later.) Attack on Titan also has plenty of weaker aspects, primarily its frustrating sense of pacing. I’ve never been too fond of any anime with fights that last longer than an episode or two at most, and about half of season one is extended battles, which means cliff-hanger after cliff- hanger, all interspersed with flashbacks that don’t tell you nearly enough. None of the show feels like meaningless filler, but a lot of it doesn’t feel like substance either, and is rather just flashy combat scenes with admittedly awesome battle gear. For better or for worse, Attack on Titan’s second season is only 12 episodes long, which is half the length of the first season. Hopefully the shorter run time will improve on plotlines being dragged on week after week, without simply heaping on more and more infuriating mysteries. And, hopefully, we won't end up waiting another four years for the next season. ‘Is this Sufjan Stevens song gay or about God?’ > The brilliance of Sufjan Stevens Carlos Bilan Staff Writer « I s this Sufjan Stevens song gay or about God?” is a recurring question in the community. It’s so widely discussed that a Facebook page is named after it. But what might be considered a running joke is actually a legitimate question when Stevens’ lyrics are explored. There are a couple essential things to know about the folk music paragon before proceeding. Stevens’ first name is pronounced as “Soof-yan” and he was born in Michigan, which is also the title of his third album (released in 2003). He also has another album named after a state, Illinois (2005), and you might be wondering at this point if the dude has released albums named after all American states... he hasn't. He did, however, announce after the release of Michigan that he intended to write an album for each of the 50 states, but he admitted later it was a “promotional gimmick.” Despite this, Stevens has established almost a two-decade long career, having crafted seven studio albums, not counting two Christmas albums and one yet-unreleased album that was leaked. It’s especially impressive that Stevens not only writes, composes, and produces all his songs, but he is also a multi- instrumentalist—which is one of the reasons why he is highly regarded in the music industry. Moreover, Stevens writes music in different time signatures— giving his work a touch of avant- garde—and has incorporated a cohort of genres into his music. For example, the elaborate and euphoric Age of Adz (2010) has Stevens putting electronic on blast. To top everything off, all of Stevens’ latest five albums—from the wintery Michigan to the melancholic Carrie and Lowell (2015)—have been critically acclaimed. So, addressing the question, what makes Sufjan’s song lyrics seen either as gay or about God? Well, it could be about how God relates to Stevens’ faith in Christianity, which he has exhibited through his song writing. His intimate fourth album, Seven Swans (2004) has lyrics alluding to the Bible and is considered a love letter to his faith. Despite this, Stevens has continually stated that he intends to separate his faith from his art. In politics, though, Stevens has been rather vocal through his blog expressing disdain towards Trump by calling him “Donald Duck” and denouncing the fascism, racism, and xenophobia taking place in America. While it’s most likely that songs from Seven Swans are about his adoration for God, his other albums do not manifest themselves as being about his faith, and putting God into the picture does not really work due to his music’s sexual connotations. In “John my Beloved” from his latest album Carrie and Lowell, Sufjan says “My tongue on your chest, what can be said of my heart?” While it’s true there’s a John in the Bible, the song has a modern context as he mentions “My order of fries” and “Long Island.” The fact that he lives in New York makes it plausible that the song recounts a personal experience. If Biblical imagery is being used, it’s a metaphor for the subject of the song and the logical explanation is it being about a male lover, since Stevens could be finding solace with this man as he comes to terms with his mother’s death. In his song “The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us’—no, that is not the only long title from the iconic Illinois album—Stevens recounts a best friend whom he was in love with as he sings “Touching his back with my hand I kiss him” and “We were in love” during the song’s emotional apex. Stevens has stated in monologues before performing the song that this references Image via comicbook.com Photo of Sufjan Steeves via soofjan.tumblr.com his time at summer camp. Likewise, in an interview with Pitchfork, Stevens stated that some of his “most profound spiritual and sexual experiences were at a Methodist summer camp.’ A popular interpretation of the song states that the wasp symbolises the conflict Christianity has with same-sex attraction. Perhaps his friend couldn't return his feelings due to this, and in the end, Stevens sings that he loves him each day and that he can wait. It’s interesting that Stevens is set to write a score for an upcoming indie gay film, Call Me by Your Name. Of course, I’m not saying Stevens is gay, but how his lyrics fit the men-loving-men bill is not far-fetched. At the end of the day, Stevens is a brilliant lyricist and an incredible artist. Stevens is scheduled to release a collaborative album, Planetarium, with Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner from The National, and James McAlister later this year.