What Are the Attack on Titan OAD Episodes? (& Are They Worth Watching?)
Years after is debut, Attack on Titan is now slowly pacing towards its final episodes and the conclucion of one of the best anime of the modern era. Hajime Isayama’s manga proved to be an equally good anime series and fans are eagerly waiting wether the producers are going to change the manga’s controversial ending or hold onto their consistent approach.
While we’re waiting, we have decided to tell you a bit about the eight OAD episodes that Crunchyroll released in December 2021, which were originally released between 2013 and 2018.
The Attack on Titan OAD episodes are actually eight OVA episodes that were originally released between 2013 and 2018, became available in the West only in December 2021, three years after the final OVA episode was released in Japan. They never aired alongside the anime, but were released as special additions to certain volumes of the manga.
In the rest of this article, we are going to tell you everything you need to know about the eight OAD episodes of Attack on Titan. You’re going to find out some details about them and their plot, as well as how they fit into the anime storyline and whether they’re worth watching or not. All you need to know will be located in this article.
What are the Attack on Titan OAD episodes?
The Attack on Titan original video animation (OVA) episodes are special episodes that were not aired during the original season but released alongside select volumes of the manga. They were released as part of several bonus DVDs, which is why they are also called OADs (Original Animation DVDs).
As for their content, episodes 1-3 feature Hange Zoe trying to capture their first live Titan, along with a look back at the 104th Cadet Corps’ initial training. Episodes 4 and 5 are based on the Attack on Titan: No Regrets spin-off manga, which was written by Yasuko Kobayashi; the manga focuses on the pasts of Captain Levi and Commander Erwin Smith.
Finally, episodes 6-8 are based on the Attack on Titan: Lost Girls spin-off light novel series written by the Attack on Titan anime’s screenwriter Hiroshi Seko; they focus on separate stories featuring Annie Leonhart and Mikasa Ackermann.
The episodes are:
Episode 3.5: “Ilse’s Notebook: Notes from a Scout Regiment Member” (December 9, 2013)
The Survey Corps heads outside the walls with the goal of trapping a Titan and investigating it. Hange Zoe is obsessed with titans and desperately wants to catch one, despite Commander Erwin canceling the mission because he could potentially be sacrificing many lives. Hange decides to go alone after a Titan, being followed by Levi and four other companions.
The Titan she meets is rare, and because of Hange, it almost killed a subordinate of Levi’s. Soon they find a tomb that the Titan made in a tree for a soldier, Ilse Langer, who died more than a year ago, also finding a diary of hers, in which she recounts what the Titan told her about itself.
Episode 3.25: “A Sudden Visitor: The Torturous Curse of Adolescence” (April 9, 2014)
It is shown in a flashback that Jean used to live with his mother, but not since she was not respecting his privacy, he decides to become a recruit and join the Military Police. He leaves for training for a while and returns to the Trost district. Outmatched, Jean argues with Sasha and is overheard by Commander Pixis making a culinary challenge.
Jean goes after the meat of a huge boar, but Sasha gets it first. Jean receives an awkward visit from his mother at the barracks, who brought her food, making a fool of herself in front of the recruits. Jean gets angry and throws his mother out of the barracks. Jean uses his mother’s recipe to win the challenge, beating Sasha’s boar meat, and promises to visit his mother the next day.
Episode 3.75: “Distress” (August 8, 2014)
Year 848, the 104th Cadet Corps gathers its recruits for a training, which consists of going to look for an object and then returning. For training, the corps must be divided into two groups, one will go to the left and the other to the right on a 40-kilometer route. Eren’s group arrives at an area where they spend the night.
Then, some thieves kidnap Christa and steal her maneuvering equipment. Eren decides to rescue Christa; despite the doubts, his companions opt for the same. Upon reaching them they manage to reduce them and, thanks to the intervention of the other group, Mikasa’s, they manage to rescue Christa.
Episode 0.5A: “A Choice with No Regrets: Part One” (December 9, 2014)
Levi, Isabel Magnolia, Furlan Church, equipped with three-dimensional equipment, have fun tormenting the merchants of The Underground City, in all likelihood, to share some of their goods with the poor people. Hardly standing idly by, the merchants call the guards who chase our three protagonists. Just after the end of this hunt, Levi remembers their meeting, for him and Furlan, with Isabelle.
This one was pursued by three bullies, because it would have crossed the 11th toll without paying the remuneration being due to Sir Lobov, owner of the tolls. The young woman had undertaken to cross them in order to bring an injured bird that had strayed into the underground city back to the surface.
Episode 0.5B: “A Choice with No Regrets: Part Two” (April 9, 2015)
We resume this sequel with the integration of Levi, Furlan and Isabel into the Survey Corps, even if some squad leaders are reluctant. Erwin Smith maintains that they could be extremely useful to them, so that’s how they join the Corps, that it is hardly thrilled to have them; very quickly, even Levi shows almost zero appreciation of his superior and his condescension towards them.
We finally learn the mysterious task that the old man gave them in the previous episode, it seems that he wanted them to join the battalion of exploration to do two things there, first, to go to Erwin Smith’s house, and take a certain document there.
Episode 16.5A: “Wall Sina, Goodbye: Part One” (December 8, 2017)
Annie Leonhart wakes up after a nightmare in which she saw the death of Marco Bott. She rinses her face and tries to convince herself that she is only accomplishing her mission despite the deaths and that she will catch Eren Yeager the next day. After getting dressed, she reads a letter from a friend when Hitch Doris arrives, she tells him to be more social. She then makes a deal with Hitch: she’ll cover for her if she finds Carly Stratmann in exchange for her cover so she can go on a date.
Annie agrees and Hitch asks her about Reiner thinking it’s her date. While having lunch, Annie begins her investigation when she meets Boris Feulner, surprised to see her working on a day off. She then goes to town where Hitch greets her from a boat. She goes to Elliot Gunberg Stratmann to ask him about his daughter and their relationship.
Episode 16.5B: “Wall Sina, Goodbye: Part Two” (April 9, 2018)
During her investigation, Annie is disturbed by an angry neighbor. She promises herself to kill him if he enters despite the door being blocked. Once gone, she examines Wayne’s body and finds that it is still warm, a sign of a recent death. She discovers his papers on him. She wonders what she should do with the body, fearing she won’t be able to accomplish her mission the next day.
She decides she needs to find Carly and report the body anonymously. In the past, Annie attacks her father violently and beats her up. After a visit to the doctor, her father congratulates his daughter on having become stronger.
Episode ???: “Lost in the cruel world” (August 9, 2018)
On the Wall, Mikasa Ackerman looks at Eren Jäger telling herself that she could not prevent him from leaving by leaving them behind. She sees a blue butterfly and recalls a memory. She remembers her childhood, more precisely when she did embroidery with her mother, and when she asked her how babies are made.
Her parents turned the question around before telling her that she can ask the doctor before her family is massacred by her kidnappers. She then reminisces about the day at the Battle of Trost where she thought Eren was dead and fantasized about an alternate reality.
Are the Attack on Titan OAD episodes worth watching?
Well, if you’re a true fan of the franchise, the OAD episodes are something you’ll watch. Yours truly, for example, watched every episode of Bleach, including all the fillers, the four non-canon movies, and even the non-canon OVA episode (the second one, not the extended anime episode one), as he loves the show. So, if you’re a true Attack on Titan fan, these OVA episodes will be something you’ll definitely want to watch.
As for the others, more casual viewers, the OAD episodes don’t really add much to the plot, especially if you’ve seen every episode so far. They’re just episodes from the “history” of the anime that expand on some of the characters and their adventures, but they’re not essential to comprehending the plot or knowing what happens. So, if you’re a casual viewer, you might skip them ultimately, but be aware that they definitely are worth watching!
Where can you watch the Attack on Titan OAD episodes?
As we have said, all of the OAD episodes were originally released on special bonus DVDs that were released alongside certain volumes of the manga. They were never broadcast on TV and as far as we know, they’re not available for streaming in Japan; they could be found on the DVDs, but you’d have to buy those to view them.
In the West, some of the episodes had been released, but it wasn’t until December 2021 that all of the eight OAD episodes were available for streaming, exclusively on Crunchyroll. The streaming platform released these eight episodes as a warm-up for the second part of Season 4.
