Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season

If your expectation for Attack on Titan is an anime you can watch on a screen and hear with speakers, then this season will do you well, but if your expectations are a well directed, well organized story brought to life with beautiful animation crafted by a passionate team of talented artists and genius creatives, then you will be sorely disappointed, because unlike previous seasons, this production is so hideously ugly, you’d think Attack on Titan wasn’t the defining masterpiece of our era, which it most certainly is.

There seems to be this odd and ignorant consensus pervading the fandom which suggests any and all criticism ... aimed at a poor product is somehow a direct insult to the workers who made it, and this is a shockingly immature worldview to espouse. Let me get one thing straight: you can say whatever you want about WIT Studio falling victim to Kodansha’s unfair and unreasonable production scheduling in the third season just like MAPPA is now, and how that lead to a double split-cour which ultimately wasn’t even enough to assure consistent quality throughout part two, but you must also admit pointing out these things is nothing more than a diversion from the far greater travesty of animation before you now. Attack on Titan: The Not-So-Final Season is a disgrace to the franchise which came before it on every visual level, and to say so is in no way to deride the overworked animation staff at MAPPA. Am I going to sit here and deny the existence of the throngs of rabid keyboard warriors on social media sending them death threats for producing such appalling CG and embarrassing 2D animation? No, but those people are foolish children with too much time on their hands, and by echoing their indisputably warranted criticisms, I and others like me are not justifying their acts of disrespect and harassment, so I urge you not to feel sorry for saying what you see clearly in front of you and criticizing it for what it is: an ugly, cheap anime.

After episode six, I officially became a manga reader, since I simply could not let this atrocity be my first experience of Attack on Titan’s brilliant story, and what I found in the manga was absolutely stellar shot composition which I had previously thought was simply a product of Tetsuro Araki’s adaptation. Obviously, Araki’s heart-stopping visual direction and irreplaceable cinematic instinct made the anime adaptation what it ultimately was, but Hajime Isayama’s knack for framing an iconic single image when it mattered most still shouldn’t be overstated when the final season here has neither directorial flow nor memorable cinematics. The new character designs which pride themselves on their close resemblance to the original artwork found in the manga simply cannot use their adherence to the source material as a defense of their janky anatomy and inferiority to the beautiful artwork of Kyoji Asano, and the new music cannot use its passable composition as a defense of its utter incompatibility with Hiroyuki Sawano’s constantly recycled tracks. I understand this is a somewhat particular distinction to be made, but with the sheer amount of blatant animation shortcuts used throughout this season—not even counting the CG—season three part two looks like a studio trying their hardest while grappling with a ridiculous time table, whereas this looks like a studio using a ridiculous time table as an excuse to not try their hardest.

But nevertheless, does the masterful writing save the day and make this thing worth watching? With how much is cut out, rearranged, and left unfinished, I would say no, but that doesn’t make it bad. If anything, the narrative has only gotten better and the themes have only gone deeper. With the basement and its contents finally revealed, the series had to occupy the world it so suddenly established and situate the story as we knew it within that world elegantly, and even with the content from the manga which got butchered in translation, it absolutely achieved this feat. As it demystifies Marleyan society and rationalizes the international bigotry towards the Eldian people, it builds the foundation for one of the most interesting and morally provocative conflicts I've yet to see portrayed in fiction, and it does so with complex characters who never fail to inspire emotion, or inspiration itself. While Attack on Titan: The Not-So-Final season is, indeed, not the final season, it’s still an adaptation of a manga, so it continues the story with more or less the same degree of excellence as the first three seasons did, and while it abruptly ends on a cliffhanger mid-arc, that’s more a testament to the fragile production than the source material, its quality of writing, or the acuteness with which said writing was brought to screen. One thing’s for sure, though, narratives as enthralling as this come once in a generation, and it’s a shame this one is receiving such paltry treatment.

This review was originally going to be a lot more sentimental than it turned out to be. To cope with the extreme dejection I felt after watching such a dishonorable end to this once-great adaptation of an unequivocal masterpiece, I was going to try and write this review to examine the final season as a standalone work while simultaneously offering an all-encompassing retrospective on the modern classic that is Attack on Titan, but after WIT Studio dropped it and MAPPA shit it back out in such a visually repulsive and structurally incomplete fashion, I accepted the fact I couldn’t really do that anymore, and my enthusiasm burnt out along with the quality of the show itself. I’ve lost my motivation to even mind it anymore, and if the fact this season is among the highest rated anime on MAL didn’t make this obvious enough already, you all don’t seem to mind Attack on Titan anymore either. The reality that such a magnificently made work of art could receive such a stark downgrade yet still be well received by the exact same fanbase solely because they enjoy entertaining the mere idea of it is not only a sad reflection of the culture surrounding the work, but a cruel insult to the first three seasons which were only able to be the dazzling spectacles they were thanks to the back-breaking work ethic and tremendous talent of the original staff who so naively thought their admirable labor and impressive results weren’t lost on the audience, who’s appetite all can now clearly see as being apparently, totally mindless.

Thank you for reading.

Attack on Titan is a modern masterpiece. It’s not just a piece of fiction which has thrown quality season after season, it’s also one of the very few anime to have broken into the mainstream, so much so that people who do not watch anime at all have experienced and loved it. The emergence of the first season of Attack on Titan drove the series’ popularity to levels rarely seen before in the medium. The long wait before the release of season 2 was a major reason (along with certain pacing issues with the manga at the time) for the dying interest in the series ... at the time. By the time S2 aired, Attack on Titan wasn’t the global phenomenon anymore. One Punch Man had broken the mold in a similar vein to AoT S1 and become the new big anime amongst casuals and non anime watchers.

Then came Season 3, and the series was roaring back. The interest in the series had never been higher, and fans flocked back in droves to have their questions answered. Many began viewing the first two seasons in new light once the revelations showcased the intricate planning and immense foreshadowing that had gone under their noses when they’d watched it first. For me, Attack on Titan was always great. Never has an anime made me feel so hopeless if I viewed the world from the perspective of the characters. The absolute mystery surrounding the titans for most of the first season along with stunning animation for fights, memorable OST for almost any scene and emotional dialogue delivered by passionate voice actors made for an unforgettable experience. Season 2 and 3 bring in more revelations, slowly unfolding the mysteries of the world and the titans and shifting the themes of the series. Season 4 has another tonal shift - much greater than previous ones - and it handles it with aplomb.

A change in studios has often led anime series to ruin. The aforementioned OPM was one of the recent big victims of it, but other popular series like Seven Deadly Sins have also suffered due to it and never recovered.

Fortunately, MAPPA have handled the transition well. They haven’t been perfect (more on that later), but all in all, they’ve done a good job producing a new season of what is probably the most popular anime of the last decade.

The start of S4 might have left some people wondering where the original cast went. There’s not just a change of cast in the first few episodes, but also a switch in perspectives. We’re no longer seeing things from the side of Paradis and the Scouts. Instead, we now see it from the view of Marley’s warriors, who’re training to inherit the titans from their predecessors once their time runs out. Gabi and Falco want to inherit the armor but Reiner, i.e. the plot armored titan (Sorry, had to use this once I saw it on Reddit) can’t catch a break. Someone, grant him his wish to die.

Eren’s growth as a character is one of the highlights of Attack on Titan as a series. He wasn’t always a fan favorite because of his hotheaded nature, but as time went on, his perspective of the things around him changed, most noticeably multiple times throughout season 3. Come season 4, his character undergoes a paradigm shift; calm and sympathetic, yet ruthless. As his famous quote goes, “I won’t stop moving forward until all my enemies are destroyed.” He’s a lot more distant, not just to everyone else in the show but also to the viewers. Unlike previous seasons, his thoughts are a mystery and the season clearly displays the divide between him and the other old Scouts.

The handling of his growth as a person and a titan shifter is outstanding, firstly in the manga and then in the anime. Yuki Kaji, the voice actor, supported this exponential growth by exceeding expectations on character delivery. I especially love how well he’s transitioned seamlessly along with Eren as a character and nailed almost every line. There’s hardly a line Eren has spoken in season 4 that isn’t extremely significant to the story.

Oh Gabi! Where do I even begin? She’s supposed to be the female parallel to pre timeskip Eren, but apart from some core traits like being stubborn, she isn’t really that similar to him. Gabi hates the Eldians from Paradis for no other reason other than that she thinks they’re devils and should suffer for the crimes of their ancestors. Eren was stubborn, headed into almost unwinnable battles without a second thought. However, his reasons to hate the titans were justified. His mother was eaten in front of him by a titan, his home destroyed and tens upon hundreds of his comrades butchered by titans in cold blood. He fought for his freedom, and humanity’s.

Gabi, on the other hand, hates Eldians without having seen any of them. She kills people for glory, just for some useless praise. And without spoiling anything, I’ll also add that she’s a hypocrite with her iconic line that’s become prevalent in memes now “But did you see it happen?”.

In her defence, she’s a twelve-year-old girl who’s been brainwashed so it’s hard to not give her some benefit of the doubt. But boy, is she annoying! She’s actually portrayed a lot better at the start of the Marley arc in the anime than in the manga, so I didn’t dislike her as much. She’s neither a bad character nor a great one, but she serves her purpose.

Onto Falco, then. My cute, lovable boy, are you sure you had the same upbringing as Gabi? He’s her polar opposite, able to empathize with his enemies and an antithesis for every one of Gabi’s morals. He views things from a wider angle, often showing maturity way beyond his years. He might not be as naturally gifted as Gabi but he’s a whole lot more likeable. From posting letters for injured people to helping his enemies who shun him instead, this good boy has it all covered. He’s one of the beautiful things in this cruel world.

Pieck is the new waifu that every fan seems to be simping over; Reiner and Zeke share the title of best character amongst the Marleyans for me. Their internal struggles and motives, some of which are only seen by viewers, make a significant contrast to their outer persona, and this holds especially true for Zeke.

Jean remains the character who makes the viewers question their morals because he questions his own and that’s what I love about him. He’s another one who’s come a long way since the cadet days.

Did you think I’d have forgotten Floch? He might’ve been a forgettable side character who didn’t even have a distinct design before S3 P2 (Isayama has himself admitted as much), but he’s one of the stars of season 4, running the show like the chad that he is. He’s an extremist and his actions are brutal; at times, it seems as if he’s doing it to sate his own ego and hate towards those who’ve imprisoned him and his race behind the walls. But despite all this, he’s one of the most entertaining characters post time skip. He’s unpredictable, spunky and has the audacity to pull off stunts that might’ve had your jaws slacking on the floor more times than one. And who can forget the “shh?” King Floch has unquestionably engraved his name as an Attack on Titan legend.

There are so many excellent characters in Attack on Titan that the review would be too long if I talked about all of them, so I’ll stop here.

The character designs in Season 4 see a distinct change, and that’s not all to do with the timeskip or the change in the studio. It’s a mixture of both. To anyone who’s read the earlier chapters of the Attack on Titan manga, it’s no secret that the art at the start was mediocre. Wit Studio did a great job of enhancing the character designs and the art in general, especially in S1.

MAPPA on the other hand have stuck closer to the manga art style for characters (apart from beautifying Armin as compared to the manga, their reasons for which I’d like to know). So there’s a slight change in the art style because they’re following Isayama’s art a lot more closely.

The animation of S4 has been the most talked about point, and for good reason. I’ll mince no words: some of the CGI was downright terrible. There was some genuinely impressive CGI like the Jaw titan, but some very important scenes involving the Attack Titan and Beast Titan were horrendous. It’s not the animators who’re to blame for this but the greed of the production committee and the manga publishers who wanted to have S4 airing before the end of the manga to boost sales.

For almost any other anime, I would’ve let even the terrible CGI scenes slide, but this is Attack on Titan, one of the most popular and highly acclaimed anime ever, and surely it deserved the best treatment possible. Unfortunately, it didn’t get that. Does it make the season bad? Of course not since the season covers one of the best arcs in the manga and the adaptation itself was faithful with top tier voice acting. Could better animation elevate S4 of Attack on Titan to higher levels? Greatly.

My biggest problem with the titan CGI was that it just broke immersion. One moment we had fluid 2D animation, the other we had some janky CGI lacking weight, which made me pause and check if I was still watching Attack on Titan. I’ve re-watched these scenes multiple times and every time, I came to the same conclusion: Attack on Titan deserves better. Remember the marvelous scenes with ODM gear we got in the first three seasons or the titan fights or Levi vs the Beast Titan? Unfortunately, we don’t get that level of animation in season 4, and while understandable given the time constraints, it’s disappointing nevertheless.

The CGI wasn’t always as bad, but had enough prevalence in the most important moments (Eg: Attack Titan vs Warhammer Titan) to be a stain on an otherwise stellar season.

We have some new and honestly breathtaking tracks added to the already great OST from S1 - S3. One of the highlights in the sound composition this season is that there were different composers depending on whose perspective a scene is shown from. For Paradis, we have Hiroyuki Sawano back with all our favorites from previous seasons while Kohta Yamomoto handled the Marleyan side, giving us bangers including Ashes on the Fire. I missed the old OST in the first few episodes because I was worried they’d underuse S1-S3 OST, but they did not. It wasn’t used much because the initial episodes take place from the perspective of the Marleyans. Honestly, having different composers for either side of the conflict seems like a superb choice and helps immersion.

The only real criticism I have about the sound was the OST choice in some scenes in the latter part of the season. And no, I’m not talking about the basement scene here. I thought the basement scene OST choice was great.

Similar to the OST, it took a while for me to warm up to the OP, but looking back now, it’s great and suits the themes of S4. This was a common opinion amongst the community; the majority seemed to have disliked My War for the first couple episodes, then it just grew on people and now it sets the tone for the rest of the episode.

Now that Attack on Titan’s final season (Part 1) has ended, it’ll be intriguing to see what route MAPPA takes for the rest of the adaptation. There’s anywhere between 13-16 episodes of content left to cover, depending on the pacing. Will the production committee see Attack on Titan as a chance to make hundreds of millions of dollars in a movie format or will we have Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2 (lol), only time will tell. I’m not against either, as long as they take enough time and pour passion into making it. I don’t mind waiting longer if it means getting the best production values. Hopefully, that’s the case.

Attack on Titan is probably one of the most overrated animes of all time, and to be honest, I had high expectations about this series. Before I continue, this review will cover the series from the first season to the fourth one, with few minor spoilers.

I have to admit that the scenario and the atmosphere are pretty cool, you can feel the decadence of humanity, the empowerment of the soldiers when they want to achieve something, the desperation they have when they fail, and the epicness that the music has is incredible, all along with a great art style; the world is amazing, painstakingly detailed, ... and it doesn't feel just like a background.

Yes, the aesthetic is great... but everything else was disappointing.

The characters wobbled between a bad and a mediocre level of quality, their characterization is erratic, or they are directly so flat that it hurts, Mikasa, Levi, Sasha Blouse, Erwin Smith, etc, barely have any other personality trait beyond being an emo or an outgoing person, and some of them don't have a proper exploration of their motivations, despite they are relevant characters, we don't have a personal connection with them, "the Titans killed their loved ones" ok, but we don't know how good their relationship was, since we just ASSUMED they used to have a good relationship with their loved ones (acording to what they've told us)

Historia is a weird girl for multiple reasons, first, she claimed to be the "Humanity's biggest enemy" and then, she becomes the queen of the realm she supposedly hated, and she also decided that her life purpose will be to save everyone. Then we have Eren... Jesus Christ, he is the author's spoiled baby, there were so many moments when Eren should have died, but thanks to the magic of the plot armor, He survived! And don't forget that he's the carrier of a big superpower that makes him so special; you could say that this does not cause anything but a pain to him, but I can't believe that bullshit when the author is constantly saving him so deliberately in such epic ways over and over again.

Factor shock is the main characteristic this anime has, we had deaths of characters who we never met in-depth, or the best we've got from them was a flashback... minutes before they died, such a way to waste the potential of some interesting characters.

The anime stretched the main mystery to the top, either by some Diabolus ex Machina, such as the moment when Annie Leonhart got freeze or the amnesia Eren was carrying. There were so many moments when the great mystery could be solved, but the story decided to delay the big revelation, just to make the plot longer.

The political issues in the plot were... very stupid... I mean, the king was a useless asshole, and no, he wasn't a puppet, he literally was a retard who was sitting on the throne, just to feign he was the authority... and no one in the town had suspicions about him?... ok?

Anyway, I could spend hours and hours speaking on every single flaw this anime has, but my point is clear, this anime is shit 4/10

(TLDR Review at the bottom, as always, thanks for reading)

最後の進撃が始まる。

Attack On Titan. But is it an attack on titans now, or maybe a bigger enemy at hand?

I'm sure AOT needs no introduction, it is that one anime that has spammed up everyone's YT recommendations with drip memes, Eren table scene memes, 10 hour fuck Gabi videos and her getting beat up,ｔｈｉｃｃｋａｓａ if you dived that deep into the culture. When the first episode of the final season came out, it was so powerful not even telling my dad for the Crunchyroll to work was possible. When I say this anime is something else in terms ... of internal and external events, I mean that this anime is something else. God knows when we are getting another community and anime like this ever again. I am glad I was here to experience this bit of the trek with others like myself and beyond.

I could go on and on about the moments shared. But I must write a review for now.


Narrative:
I may sound like a hardcore fanboy, but I am going to explain why I think this is a 10/10 narrative. I would also like to believe that people reading this review are aware of the references I will make to previous seasons. Ok cool.

Starting off the final season, we get a bit of insight into the enemies on the other side of the sea. From initial impressions, it can be told that this nation, which uses children in warfare, is clearly lost in morale. And that is the slow building of this new true evil enemy of humanity, Marley. How AOT goes around building this empire of Marley is an interesting one. Marley has qualities of a fascist, imperialistic, tyrannical nation that can be converged to past real-life nations in human history. Those qualities don't just exist for the sake of it too, it is part of the long prejudice against Eldians, in which Marley exploits that to grow themselves and their dominance around the world. It is that which starts a whole chain of events. A serious chain.

AOT FS story is focused on the cycle of hate, the consequences it has and the action people want to take due to it. Everything that has ever happened so far in the story from start to end (as of now) the cycle of hate continues to prevail in high life, all the while both sides suffer from nothing but losses. That is where the story really shines, the story plays two events on both sides of the spectrum, one we already know and love, Eren's side, and the other we are made to hate Gabi's side, it does a good job at making us hate Gabi's side of the story too, but when you look into it, who is wrong in this mindless loop of destruction? Both sides have given birth to a nation that seeks to exploit and dominate in an imperialistic fashion, the other gives birth to a literal bakemono, a Monster, the devil himself if you really want to go there. The story does a really good job of making those find more important questions. No one here's truly wrong because, in war, both sides believe in what they are doing to be the just cause of action. Both sides are deluded by their beliefs so much so that there isn't a spec of question as to if they might be ever so slightly wrong in their actions. Everyone becomes a victim of their surroundings. It is a fantastic way to really emphasize this world of AOT. From the start, it is clear that the hate got too many characters to the point of joining the army at a young age and leaders making up false stories for the sake of maintaining status. The world is cruel, and it sure as hell shows it here.

Characters are really something else in AOT. I want to first get rid of two characters that I found obviously flawed in the anime. Those two being Mikasa and Armin. In simple terms, the former is still a hardcore simp, the latter is still a hardcore weakling. How they don't change after all these years is beyond me. If Eren's drip game can go from 0 to 100, wouldn't it make sense his childhood friends caught on? But in all seriousness, I never quite understood the purpose of Mikasa and Armin. They are annoying, part of the reason I don't like them too much, but I acknowledge that annoying =/= bad character. The bad qualities of them should I say lie in what purpose they serve to the story as of the Final Season in my opinion. Mikasa has some benefit of the doubt given to her, she is starting to open up that Eren's apparent downfall is not one that wishes the best of him in his future, she even goes out of her way to question whether or not he is doing the right thing, but again, for the sake of the story, she needs to brainlessly be there for Eren even when my boy is committing various war crimes in the former Eldian empire. She was going places but easily lost herself due to a static character within her. Her "development", if you can even call it that, is a stretch in my opinion. She makes no effort to do anything she wouldn't normally do for a nice change in character, especially during these god awful times that both sides have faced. To be fair, Mikasa is supposed to be this life devoting girl to Eren because he saved her, but no development is absurd on quite a few levels, making her less of a believable character. Armin is still the same dude he was from the start, I honestly don't know why he too hasn't changed, actually, it would make sense that having the successor of human's greatest leader would feel like a burden, but all that time to train apparently meant nothing, well okay then. No development here to be pleased of.

Now, for the real MVPs. Eren. The dude is one of my favourite characters in the series, and not because he does an edgelord moment, but his change from the start to the end whilst still being consistent is quite satisfying and understandable to view. When Eren said he was gonna kill his enemies, he wasn't playing games. He did everything in his power to make that try and this season shows the beginning of such a change of heart.

Gabi. The annoying girl? But is she really? I remember when it was very easy to hate on Eren because of quite a similar personality, I was the same in that boat. Everything she does is justifiable despite being executed in a way to annoy the audience. Past the clouds and she isn't really any different from other characters like Eren. Hate grew on her, and she is fighting for the sake of the people she cares about, sounds a little bit like Eren does it not? Overall, I think Gabi is quite an interesting character, though, unlike Eren, she is portrayed on the wrong side of the story, giving her a different experience than Eren's life, the person she is most similar to. Her character plays out quite well if I am honest, the truth which she faces, later on, the reaction of which makes for a tragic life for Gabi honestly. Great writing overall for her.

Reiner. Gigachad hella swagger Reiner drip glow up. In seriousness, Reiner is one of the best characters in the series. He understands a lot more about the world and the harsh reality he has to face due to the brainwashing and control of Marley, he is a victim of the situation. A tragic one after what he has had to face during so. I feel quite bad for the dude but it goes to show like Gabi, he was part of the corrupted system which devalued his life so much that he was lost of everything.

Zeke is one I want to get a little into too, later on in the story he plays a big role in everything that goes down, but there is more than meets the eye with Zeke. you being to understand his motives a bit more and why he did the things he does, an intriguing monke, to say the least.

AOT uses a lot of explicit themes in the story to give it the acclamation it has, like revenge, hate, dystopia, but one of the more implicit themes to be shared is influence. I have noticed that every character in AOT as a child has been influenced in some way. Eren with his past trauma growing into hatred, Gabi the same without the trauma, more like a duty. Reiner the same, but it is based on duty rather than anything else, Zeke would get into spoilers, but you will see what I mean when you get there. AOT does well at this and has made for more believable characters in the grand scale of things, past experiences will have a lot on what you say as you grow up. It also makes me think that on both a superficial and intramural level, the story has something to share regardless of how deep you dive into it. There aren't a lot of stories out there like this one. One of a kind honestly.


Audiovisuals:
The visuals are an iffy situation, I would be a liar to say I enjoyed the visuals all the way, but notes to take into account are, watch this at a minimum of 720p HD quality, and try to get used to the CGI early on. The CGI really got to me in particular but I got used to it in the end, it is quite unfortunate that Mappa had been given a really bad schedule, it was borderline impossible to make great sakuga all the way through, welcome to the anime industry where money is a top priority, but that's a story for another time. I understand that there wasn't any substantial time for Mappa to even make 10/10 animation, but it doesn't excuse the fact that this isn't the best thing in the world. It isn't. So I didn't see this as anything of glory for the most part, however, even with a bs schedule, Mappa did actually have quite a bit of moment where there were just great scenes overall, their 2D animation and was still amazing to hold onto the tragic reality Mappa faced. They also have amazing camera work, which made most scenes that much more impactful. I could name a few but they would go into spoilers. This is a tragic category, but it is one that I still found some goodness in.

I have been meaning to only give 10/10 audio to only Clannad's OST, but that changes today, not that numbers meant much to begin with, but you know. AOT FS doesn't suffer from any kind of lack in the soundtrack to the point where innovation is needed, it also has a wide range of sounds that feature more or less anything that produces a sound, basically, this has it all, the great sound is clearly prominent in this series and has clearly shown that these pieces were composed. So many great tracks to remember, be it due to controversy or just the hype surrounding the said OST brings. OP and ED are in the same boat, I can't say both tracks have left my head at all and on the visuals side of things they are completely memorable and original. Amazing sounds. Nothing less. I also need to talk about the seiyuus because they did an outstanding performance, it is burnt into the memory of how well they performed, generally amazing on everyone's side. You won't see acting like this in a good while I tell you, endorse it now whilst it is still there.


Enjoyment:
There are a lot of things very enjoyable about AOT FS. Most of mine comes from an external experience, in talking to fans about the philosophy of the characters, what might be upcoming and which side are you on. You can do this with yourself internally too, it depends on how you look at it really. Universal enjoyment is really what I just said, mostly about asking yourself the different questions this has to offer, there is no wrong answer which makes it all the more interesting. Random theories come out of nowhere but they could hold water. Is all fair in war? At the end of the day, AOT allows you to build your own enjoyment of what it gives to you.

Other side factors directly within the anime include hype moments and fight scenes you are just dying for. Whilst they aren't the best, they are still extremely good and something that I find myself looking forward to at times. AOT needs to have its action here and there to satisfy both parties I guess. In saying that, I do have to point out that a lot of people get a bit bored with the slowness of episodes containing no action and serving as plot-based episodes, I would agree slightly, but it is the same slow journey that is worth the while. You just need to prevail. All in all, AOT does a good job of allowing everyone to enjoy themselves. There's something for all in this gem.


Overall - 9.6 (10)
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TLDR Review:
Story - 10: Philosophical questions, political troubles, generally very intriguing story to find yourself immersed in.
Visuals - 9: Yes the CGI isn't the best, but it is actually used quite well, 2D animation still amazing and
Audio - 10: Amazing OST, OP, ED and seiyuus. It is one of a kind here.
Characters - 9.5: Slight hiccup in a few characters, everyone else
Enjoyment - 9.5: Very minor complaint, sometimes episodes are less intriguing than others, but most of the time the hype is still there and this is something to look forward to.

Overall - 9.6 (10)
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Before I cut this review off, I really want to put out there this amazing things have gone down with everything in relation to AOT, good or bad, these events were something to witness, getting a following like this again for new manga, which will eventually turn into popular manga, into anime, into popular anime, into a global success, doesn't seem like it will happen anytime soon. I am glad I was here when this season aired, experiencing all the events that went down lol. Truly monumental moment.

(SLIGHT SPOILERS FOR SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN AHEAD, WATCH THE OTHER SEASONS BEFORE READING!!!!!!)

Attack on Titan has been renowned throughout the years as one of the greatest anime to come out of the 2010's with its massive fanbase and incredible hype, and it's easy to see why. It's gory, it's a shonen with a somewhat unique plot, typical shonen main character and a hot side character and the great animation combined with great sound. However much i hate this series, i always praised it for some great scenes with animation and music that was unmatched by other anime. Season 4 of attack on titan lost those ... two things that made it somewhat enjoyable to watch.

Story: 5/10
First of all, the battle between marley and the mid east allied forces here makes no sense and isn't explained further but we will let it slide since it doesn't really matter. I don't care how important all of this talking is, but i didn't come here to see these people talking about who will be the sucsessor to whatever titan. It's a snoozefest, and the few action scenes we get to see are really short and boring. In classic AOT fashion, it shows the viewers some extremely long dialogue and utterly boring conversations between chracters that seems somehwat important but really is just there to make us think this story is deep. Absolute trash, the only reason it's getting hype is because of the fangirls losing their minds and soaking their pants because they saw Zeke smoking a cigarette. The incredibly mediocre story of the show has just gotten worse, turning in to some boring trash garbage.

Art: 2/10
This is the worst part about the anime. The only reason it gets two points is because it is a little more accurate to the manga compared to the previous seasons, but it's still awful. MAPPA obviously don't give a shit about the animation and decided to ruin the one thing attack on titan had going for it with terrible cgi that is hard to look at. Even during scenes with no action, the charatcers seem loose and move like an abnormal titan. The animation quality has dropped lower than my balls did. The armored titan looks like a big piece of meat covered with wood combined with iron mans eyes and the beast titan has a body 10x bigger than it's head, looking idiotic. It's like replacing Godzilla's head with Donkey Kong's left nut. As bad as the titan's look, young Reiner looks a bit less dumb now which is a plus. If it's this bad already, how are they plannng on making the Warhammer Titan look remotely good? The later parts of the series are going to be hard to animate and it seems like this series is doomed. MAPPA are concentrating on Jujutsu Midkaisen it seems. Attack On Titan fans lying to themselves trying to tell themselves that the animation is good is like Playboi Carti fans in denial after Whole Lotta Trash forcing themselves to like it, in denial.

Sound: 5/10
What the fuck happened to the banger openings this anime had? Guren no Yumiya was a 10/10 opening, Sasageyo was a banger and every other openign was decent too. Now instead we have someone just singing gibberish with visuals that look like a 2020 gender reveal. One thing is for sure, the opneing reflects on how absolutely trash this series is. The overall sound in the other scenes is decent, but not as good anymore. Very dissapointing.

Character: 3/10
What is there to even say about this. Eren went from a crybaby to a homeless man trying to sound cool with his wise words which just turn out to sound cringe considering this is the kid who was screaming non stop in season 1. Reiner is on the verge of killing himself which is completely his fault. Shouldn't have chosen that path buddy. And now to the new ones, Gabi is a dumb kid who just gets lucky during battle. Falco is probably even dumber; "I just want to protect you Gabi, that's why i'm ruining your dreams and taking the titan from you so my family can be honorary marleyan and yours can be devil eldians!". Pieck is possibly the most overrated girl in this series, she looks like a zombie and is almost as ugly as her titan. She hasn't done anything other than trying to look cute. Why is she getting hype? Horny 14 year old fanboys that have never felt the warmth of a woman. Everyone else is the same. Zeke is the best character in the series but so far he hasn't done anything than smoke a cigarette.

Enjoyment: 3/10
This season is so boring i'd rather watch paint dry or even try to read the Dragon Ball manga without getting a stroke. Seriously, all this dialogue is just making me hungry. After the episode is over, I feel like I got nothing from it. Nothing new happened and we move on to re-read a chapter of Berserk aka peak fiction. Trash anime.

Overall: 3 pity points/10

I'm just going to say it: This season sucked.

I'm not some AoT hater, while the series has had its bumps, I've given every previous season a positive score. I like Attack on Titan, but the hype for this extremely flawed "final" season is absolutely ridiculous.

Let's start with the most pervasive problem; this show just isn't fun to watch. The dialog is awkward, the characters shout all the time when it's just not necessary at all, and they beat you over your head with their themes so hard it genuinely made it hard for me to even keep watching at times. Plus there are moments the ... art shows a character making a reaction face that's just...ugly. Not in a cool, horrifying way that communicates the tone of the scene, in a gross, "I don't even want to look at this" kind of way.

Now, if you read my reviews of previous seasons, you'll notice all of these things existed in the series prior to this point. Those seasons made up for it with bombastic action scenes and powerful character moments. This season...doesn't. Okay, that's not completely true, Reiner got fleshed out a bit and it was pretty good, but that's literally it. The action was a major step down from previous seasons, the returning characters all get shoved to the background until the end, and the new characters...oh man do they suck.

So if the things that made previous seasons great are missing, surely they replace it with something equally engaging, right? Right? No. We spend a ridiculous amount of time with two brand new characters, Gabi, who is somehow a less interesting and nuanced version of Erin McYells-A-Lot from season 1, and Falco, who's somehow a less interesting and nuanced version of Reiner. To be fair, I actually like what they're trying to do with these two, demonstrate how hate and war are a cycle that will continue from generation to generation...unless individuals each choose the hard path to not seek revenge and stop the violence. This is actually beautifully demonstrated when a father chooses not to kill the soldier who murdered his daughter in order to set a good example for his other children. It is then immediately ruined when one of his children immediately tries to exact revenge themselves, rendering his noble action meaningless. Gabi and Falco are equally confusing, you can make the case Gabi is only the way she is because of the environment she was raised in, but Falco was raised in the same environment and came out completely different, so she really doesn't have an excuse, she just sucks as a human being. Is that the point the series? Some people just suck? I guess that's a valid idea, but is it an entertaining one? No.

And this is all just the surface level stuff I've been complaining about. The more you think about this season, the more it falls apart. Like how the 5 year time skip, and subsequent radical changes in personality, robs us of any connection we had to these characters, or how, at the end of the day, this whole season was almost completely pointless because they're still in the exact same situation they were in at the end of last season, except now the main character is an unlikable douchebag. So...if this season isn't fun to watch on a superficial level, and it's not engaging on a deeper level, what's good about it exactly? I genuinely can't tell.

Attack on Titan: The Final Season is an ambitious project. Here we have the culmination of years worth of meticulous planning, foreshadowing and build-up. The narrative apex of what started out as a fairly straightforward survival story, now an intricate weaving of political drama, social commentary and grandiose action setpieces, with the best yet to come.

To pull off a story of such epic scale on animation is not an easy task. Adaptations of the sort often struggle with several difficulties even getting off the ground, let alone actually doing justice to the source material. AOT has been blessed in this regard by an adaptation ... that while not the most technically accomplished or smooth in terms of production, has remained consistently great thanks to its commitment to a strong artistic vision, incredible soundtrack and a genuine attempt at adhering to and properly conveying the events of its source material as well as it can. Not only did it do the manga justice, it often elevated scenes to another level thanks to the sheer strenght of its presentation. Shingeki fans are luckier than most.

Momentum seemed to be in AOT's favor as we entered the most hyped up season of the show since its heyday back in season 1. Many fans were worried about the studio change at first, but also optimistic when it was revealed that MAPPA would be Wit’s replacement. 16 episodes later, I can confidently say that we got another strong adaptation on our hands, but not one without compromises or a fair share of vocal detractors and controversies. With a change of creative leads comes a different vision, so even if this season was produced under ideal circumstances, which it definitively was not, the difference in flair alone would’ve been enough to divide opinions.

So in order to understand the full breadth of the situation, I will attempt to assess the oft-discussed schism between MAPPA and Wit, how their approaches differ, and then give my own thoughts on this season as a whole. As such, we need to first contextualize the circumstances surrounding the final season.

==THE PRODUCTION==

AOT S1 was an effort of showmanship by then newcomer Wit Studio. Director Tetsuro Araki of Death Note fame, coming fresh off the heels of Highschool of the Dead and Guilty Crown, sought to form a team that would be up to the task of delivering the most bombastic and impressive action show they could make. From the gound up, it was meant to be Wit’s bold proclamation to the anime industry and fans around the world: we’re here and this is what we can do. Numerous as their production issues would end up being, and the staff nearly did almost collapse under the workload, they undeniably delivered a final product that all parties involved could be proud of.

Season 4, on the other hand, is a bit of a different beast on a conceptual and philosophical level. It’s no industry secret that it had to deal with a tumultuous schedule. The team was hastily put together by getting everyone who was available at the time, which is the reason this season was particularly low on star animators and action directors when compared to previous outings. Not by the fault of director Yuuichirou Hayashi either, who’s just as capable at his job as Araki, but simply because the cimrcunstances surrounding the production wouldn’t allow for anything better. Rather than a showcase of the team’s full capabilities or a passion project, this was more about finishing off the job of another studio while trying to please the fans. I don’t mean this as a knock on the team at all, one can only imagine how daunting the pressure must’ve been, but it’s important to point out these distinctions. The fact that the final product turned out as good as it did, warts and all, is nothing short of a testament to the staff's incredible ability of making the best out of an awful situation. Nevertheless, the cracks do show and they only become more apparent the further we get into the final season.

To take over the work of an accomplished team is a difficult proposition in itself, even moreso when said work is already extremely difficult to translate to an animated medium *and* has a history of hellish production cycles. To do so under turbulent circumstances, while needing to start from scratch, was bound to cause controversies.

Though impressively enough, things started out pretty well for S4. There were the usual complaints about CGI and cut content here and there, but for the most part people seemed excited. That wouldn’t last when we got the first batch of episodes to “not live up” to expectations, resulting in assholes harassing the staff at social media. Sometimes even directors and animators who had nothing to do with the episodes said assholes had a gripe with in the first place. It was an embarassing situation all around.

This eventually led to a state of affairs where fans of the season became perhaps too defensive at any criticism aimed at it while the more vocal detractors used it as an opportunity to lash out at the series in general. Amidst the harassment, the terrible schedule, the hyperbolic negativity masquerading as critique, insane amounts of trolling, and the fans and haters shouting at each other increasingly louder… Well, it became somewhat difficult to discuss this season's shortcomings in a level headed manner.

To make matters worse, well intentioned fans pivoted to singing praises to MAPPA (#thankyoumappa trended on twitter) when they shouldn’t have. Praise the hard working staff, absolutely, they deserve it, but don’t validate MAPPA’s recklessness. Hardheaded as AOT's production committee may be, at the end of the day it was MAPPA who decided to take on such a huge project at the expense of their employees' wellbeing. When literally every other studio was sane enough to decline the absurd schedule imposed by Kodansha, even WIT Studio themselves, it was MAPPA who chose to throw their artists under the bus over prestige. It’s not the first time they’ve commited to more projects than they can reasonably handle either. Sure, they couldn’t have predicted the pandemic, but the schedule was already terrible even when not accounting for that. To defend them is to defend the anime industry's worst practices against its creators. Acknowledge their guilt if you want better for everyone involved.

As a result, this season was a mixed bag in technical terms. A lot of attention has been drawn to the CGI titans which are, quite frankly, the one aspect the show handled the best. Most of them look very good and are well integrated within the anime’s visual style. They move well during action scenes and are animated in a way so as to mimick 2D movement, implementing techniques like frame skipping. Even the weaker ones like the Beast Titan are still considerably better than WIT Studio's attempts at CGI titans during seasons 2 and 3, which always looked jarring and out of place. This is one of the more frustrating aspects about the anime community: no matter how sensible their implementation or how good they look, people will still shit on 3D animation by the simple virtue that it isn’t 2D animation.

What concerns me more is how bad the show can look some of the time. This season just isn’t as aesthetically beautiful as the previous ones, and it does not animate more fluidly to compensate either. There is an overreliance on bloom, chromatic aberration and other postprocessing effects, likely as a crutch to maintain a sense of visual consistency throughout the season. While that works well enough most of the time, it can just as often look like a blurry mess, specially during the latter half of the show. Flashbacks to previous seasons are smeared with effects to mask the shift in art style. Some of the compositing looks ugly. The colors either feel too muted or too overblown depending on the lighting. This is not to say the show can't look beautiful at times, and it does rely on good storyboarding to carry itself, but it never quite reaches the beauty of previous seasons or the full potential hinted at by the pre-release trailer. Some argue that MAPPA handles dialogue better, but aside from some Marley arc episodes the dialogue scenes in the Paradis arc are just as stiff if not more than WIT’s.

Finally, the biggest loss of them all come in the form of the ODM gear sequences. These used to be among the most impressive visual displays of seasons past, full of fluid and dynamic camera shots mixing 2D and 3D animation. These are when the action animation directors really got to flex their muscles in their attempts to one-up each other, constantly pushing the envelope of what they were capable of. All of that is gone. ODM scenes now look extremely stiff and don't even attempt to mimick that same feeling of wild momentum. Even Levi, the show's favorite sasuga poster boy, didn't get a trademark jaw-dropping scene during what is likely to be his last big hurrah. Granted, it was always going to be difficult to follow up on Imai. The man wrote the book on how AOT’s action should look like and inspired his co-workers to follow on his footsteps. To match that while having to start your workflow from zero, without any of the specialists who had been building that skillset over the years, is a herculean task. But given more time I’ve no doubt the current staff could’ve done a much better job than what we got.

I am sure that the consequences of the show's hurried schedule spread much deeper within the season's DNA than just its technical aspects. Less production time means less time for composing new music, rushed creative decisions, important scenes not receiving the priority they deserve, wonky transitions and pacing not getting corrected, and so on.

As a result, S4 feels consistent but rarely exceptional when it comes to delivering memorable moments. While it sometimes elevates the source material, it just as often struggles to not crumble under its weight. It can be argued that MAPPA’s lows aren’t as low as Wit’s, but they never really come close to matching their highs either.

==A DIFFERENT APPROACH==

So, all right, the season had exceptionally bad production problems. So what? I hear you asking. Just another day for the survey corps. Season 3 Part 2 had a fucked up schedule too and everyone loved it! This is true, though having a team who is already familiar with the material and has years of experience to fall back on makes all the difference. However, not all can be waved away under the umbrella of “production issues”. This is when we start getting into the more subjective aspects of this analysis that not everyone is going to see eye to eye with.

Tetsurou Araki and Yuuchirou Hayashi are fundamentally different directors with their own sets of strengths, so it should be no surprise that their approaches to Attack on Titan are very different. Araki sports a boisterous style through and through, always aiming for bigger, faster and louder. Even in an anime about people writing on goddamn notebooks, he imbues it with such grandiosity and a kinetic energy that you rarely see matched elsewhere. A match made in heaven for Attack on Titan’s larger than life narrative, specially during those first few arcs more reliant on spectacle. It was that energy and confidence that fueled the first three seasons of Attack on Titan and made it such a tour de force that delivered its most iconic moments with gusto. Like his style or not, Araki delivered his scenes with such blaring confidence and pizazz that you couldn’t help but be swept away by his thunderstorm of emotions.

Hayashi, on the other hand, takes a more understated approach to this season. I can’t say I am as familiar with the guy’s work so I have no idea if that’s just his signature or not, but it isn’t a bad match for AOT either. With the time-skip marking a significant shift in tone for the story, a more grounded style of presentation works well for the chapters covered here. Many people have described this season as feeling more like a “war movie”, and I can totally see what they mean by that. There’s this grounded grittyness to how Hayashi conveys the world of AOT.

I can’t claim to be unbiased here. I loved Wit Studio and Araki’s “voice” for Attack on Titan and I was sad to see them go. It’s hard not to grow attached after so many years. Given the choice, I would pick them to animate S4P2 in a heartbeat. A part of me can’t help but wonder how certain scenes would’ve panned out with them in the driver’s seat. Would the low points be lower, but the highs much higher? Or were those highs impossible to achieve given the circumstances? How much can we chalk up to schedule, and how much to deliberate creative choices? One can only guess.

A lot has already been discussed about the changes and when all is said and done it all boils down to preference. I’m not here to tell you how you should feel about either team, nor am I attempting to offer some faux-objectivist breakdown on who is better. I’ve just laid the facts and shared my views on the matter, you’re free to agree or disagree.

All that said, Hayashi and his staff have every right to be proud of their work here. Henceforth, I will be judging them entirely on their own achievements from now on. Wit Studio can take a bow, they’ve more than earned it.

Be aware that if you’re reading this review prior to watching the season, the next 2 sections will contain spoilers for the arcs they cover. Skip to Final Thoughts if you wish.

==THE OTHER SIDE OF THE OCEAN==

The first few episodes of Attack on Titan: The Final Season do a fantastic job at setting the tone for the remainder of the show. More than any of the previous seasons, this feels like a war drama. While Titans are undoubtedly still the engine driving the main conflict, they take a bit of a backseat to the characters and the world they inhabit.

Reiner’s character study during these first few episodes is perhaps the strongest character arc this season has to offer as he fills the role of the protagonist. His journey from big bro side character on S1, to antagonist in S2 and 3, to a deeply troubled and conflicted individual in S4 makes him one of the show’s stand-out characters to me. May his plot armor live long after the heat death of the universe, carrying all of our guilt and sins into the eternal void of space.

While being significantly more slow paced than we’re used to, these first few episodes do a great job at slowly raising the tension as they progress. We are introduced to a whole new cast, setting and plot developments. The season’s more muted visuals actually work in its favor during this particular section of the story. There’s this foreboding atmosphere permeating every shot, a slow but steep climb of unease that signals something big is about to go off. No other episode encapsulates these feelings better than the first big turning point of the season: Declaration of War.

Much has already been said about Declaration of War than I could possibly do justice during a series review. It is a masterful display on how to build tension and pacing, ultimately culminating in one of the AOT’s most defining moments. While I firmly believe the climax could’ve been done much better for multiple reasons (yes, poor ost choice being one of them, but not the only), it still stands as one of the best episodes the series has to offer.

Marley’s climax only solidifies its greatness further by following up with The WarHammer Titan and Assault, the latter in particular being one of the series’ best action focused episodes yet, and finally concluding with Assassin’s Bullet, a hell of a gut punch to end this first half of this season. For better or worse, this is also when S4 peaks.

==AND HIS NAME IS...==

Paradis comprises the second half of the season and is when the show starts to feel a little less polished. The animation is rougher, there are more stills and you can definitely feel the production starting to take its toll. Luckily enough, this section of the story is mostly focused on dialogue so these issues don’t negatively impact the show as much as they otherwise would. They do, unfortunately, remain noticeable until the end.

Eren is the other stand-out character this season and the conflicts in this arc are entirely driven by him. Characters discuss and are motivated to act for or against him. Marley and War For Paradis marks a definitive turning point for his character from a reactive protagonist to an active force of change, an unstoppable agent of freedom. He becomes a fascinating character to watch as you never know exactly what he is thinking or what his true intentions are, arguably transitioning to the role of an anti-hero, villain protagonist or straight up antagonist depending on who you ask. His arc, alongside most other elements set-up during these episodes, unfortunately won’t see any pay-off until part 2 airs, so I won’t go into much detail.

The biggest flaw of this arc and what ultimately holds this season back from living up to all it could be is that it ends just as things are about to hit their climax. The finale feels like any other regular episode and is definitely the least fullfilling one we’ve had so far. There is no resolution, just a big cocktease of a “to be continued”. It’s for the better considering the following events could not be done justice under the current schedule, but it still stings.

Incomplete as it is, there are still some stand-out moments to be found here, from Gabi’s continued growth as a character leading to the confrontation at the restaurant, to Eren, Armin and Mikasa’s table scene, to Zeke’s flashback episode. YMMV on whether Levi vs Beast Titan round 2 stands among the greats or not as it is when you can most strongly feel the strains of this production with its jerky movements and unpolished feel due to a lack of in-betweens (and it’s not the only scene who suffers from this). I personally think they did a pretty good job all things considered and I’ll defend the use of K21 till my very last breath.

==FINAL THOUGHTS==

I watched Attack on Titan back when it first aired in 2013. Episode 1 enraptured me in a way few anime premieres have done before or since. Whilst season 1 ultimately lacked in certain areas I thought were crucial for a story to truly carve its place among the greats, it was still a pretty cool action-horror thrill ride with a novel gimmick that left an impression on me. Maybe “too hyped up”, but frankly who gives a shit as long as you have a good time.

I was excited at the prospect of a season 2 and anxiously waited for its announcement. Somewhere along the 4 years it took, I experienced other stories, found new hobbies and was at a completely different headspace than back when that first season aired. My interest had naturally declined and I believed myself to be over such a “basic” series. Season 2 came and went with some amount of fanfare but nowhere near as much as its predecessor, and so it was easy to ignore.

Fast-forward to 2019 and I see the latest season of AOT carving its way up to MAL’s top 10. It got me curious but I briefly dismissed it as fanboy fervor. All the while, however, I kept hearing whispers. “Attack on Titan is actually really fucking good right now”, they said. “It’s almost like a completely different show now”, they proclaimed. “They revealed what’s in the basement”. All right, fine. I got curious enough to bite. I read the equivalent of season 1 through the manga in order to refresh my memory, laughed at the wonky art, and then jumped straight to season 2. I enjoyed it a bit more than I thought I would. Perhaps I had underestimated AOT after all. Season 3 had a few weak spots but somewhere along the way I found myself invested in those characters I previously didn’t care about. S3P2 exceeded all my expectations. I was a follower of Ymir once again and quickly switched to the manga. And now, a year and change later, here we are.

When it comes down to it, I greatly enjoyed my time with Attack on Titan: The Final Season. It is by no means perfect. Its assortment of flaws are what stops me from giving it a higher score, and I would be lying if I said I’m not at least a bit disappointed at what could’ve been, but by no means does that make what we got bad. I’ve been waiting with bated breath to see some of these chapters adapted and for the most part they delivered.

Those “certain areas” in which I thought AOT lacked all the way back in season 1 have been fully addressed at this point. This is the strongest the series has ever been in terms of writing and characters and it hasn’t even peaked yet. Even with everything stacked against them, director Yuuchirou Hayashi and his team stood up to the challenge and delivered something that, while lacking those same singular highs of the past, can proudly stand shoulder to shoulder among its peers. We got another quality adaptation when, by all means, this had all the ingredients of an unmitigated disaster.

With the announcement that we’ll be getting part 2 this winter, I remain skeptical about whether this is a healthy schedule to deliver what are going to be by far the most resource intensive, difficult to adapt chapters of the entire show. I really don’t see why the rush to get this out the door when the manga is about to end and the hype is still going. At any case, here’s hoping for the best so we can finish this journey off with a bang.

There is no “greatest anime of all time”. Not AOT, not FMA, not LOGH, not S;G, not HxH, not OP, not any of the animes in the entire top 100. There is no single “greatest anything of all time” across any artistic medium for that matter. For all the bickering, screaming and smug elitist posturing of every fanbase who deems themselves worthier than the other, the truth is the entirety of a medium’s richness cannot be properly distilled into a single work. You can have your favorite(s), but to proclaim it the greatest is haughty at best. There will never be a consensus on that, and it would be boring if it did. Even within individual genres there will be plenty of disagreements. What we do have, nonetheless, is a canon of works of exemplary quality whose legacy endures throughout the years. Those are the stories that stand the test of time, the classics, mainstream or cult. As it is, I can say I wholeheartedly believe AOT belongs to that group of exceptional anime. Regardless of how it ends, it has already delivered a narrative with more pathos than most.

To think that season one of Attack on Titan aired in 2013, and that I have had the pleasure of following the series since that time is something that makes me feel a great amount of pride.

We've witnessed the armored and colossal titan destroy the walls of Paradis in season one, and now the same people that suffered at the hands of Marley are the ones on the offensive.

In season three, the world went from 3 walls and a vast nothingness to advanced civilizations and mind-bending revelations. Looking back, it feels as though the aims of the Survery Corps were ultimately meaningless, and ... this shift of perspective we were given is extremely thought-provoking.

Instead of titans being the main enemy, humanity faces war within itself. Showing life from the viewpoint of Marley is refreshing, and I can't help but wonder if we would be rooting for these guys if the series had been about them from the start. Despite this, in the first episode, we see a familiar person in Marley, showing that the Survey Corps has already infiltrated during the time skip between seasons 3 and 4. I know that there are still many truths to be revealed in this season. Will the Eldians end up on top? Who will control the power of each titan in the end?

I am so excited to see the end of this season, but I am also saddened that this will mark the final release for this series. If you are considering watching this anime, what are you waiting for?! If you don't trust my word, at least trust the ratings of over 70k viewers that have given a combined score of 9.06/10.

Oh boy, Attack On Titan is on it’s final stages. This time with a new Studio, and that Studio is MAPPA. Well let’s get straight to the review.


Keep in mind that this will be a review from a manga reader(tho I haven’t finished it)

Story:
It’s Attack On Titan, need i say more? Well, i’ll say more. Attack on Titan’s story is like no other. It can either have you on the edge of your seat, or can make you die of a heart attack due to the amount of shock factor this show has(i mean this in a good way) Attack On Titan’s story not ... only is able to play with your feelings while your eyes are glued to the screen, but can also make us think about how cruel humanity really is.

Now, i don’t know if it was just me, but after the first 4 eps and the rest of the manga. I really started to question,”how this story will get better?” “How it can top itself again?” But each chapter makes the previous ones look like filler. It’s just that good. All in all AoT’s story is a very fleshed out story and well thought out. You can tell Isayama really planned ahead. (10/10)



Characters:

Eren Yeager(20/10)


Music:

Horrible, jkjk

It’s done by the man himself, Hiroyuki Sawano. This guy has turned AoT into a different being on itself. He turned AoT from a King to a fucking God. That’s how good the music is.

Everytime the music plays, i’m just in awe on how fitting it is. It gives off emotion and perfectly fits the atmosphere of the scene. Reiner and Bertholdt’s reveal would’ve been not as good as it was without that OST. I could go on and on and on on how good the music in AoT is(especially in Episode 3 Season 4) but i don’t got all day, and my thumbs have a limit xd(100/10)


Animation and Art:

Oh, we’re finally here. Now, before you kill me. No, i don’t hate MAPPA, not even close. In-fact, most of my first anime’s are done by MAPPA. But holy shit THE FUCKING BLUR. Now, the blur only bothers me when it’s bright and even then it doesn’t bother me much. But the blur is getting out of hand. I wouldn’t be surprised if we would just be looking at a blurry screen by episode 10.

Ok, i’ve ranted enough. Now i’m gonna talk about the good in their animation.

The character movement. Though the animation in Episode 2 was a little laggy. It was filled with movement. A dialogue episode. With movement. WHAT? That’s a rare case. People who call MAPPA lazy need to stfu. Because damn MOVEMENT IN A FUCKING DIALOGUE EPISODE.


Now we get to the fight scenes(Episode 1)

“oMg cGi horRiblE fiNAl sEasOn rUineD!1!1!1!1”

I hear this everywhere, and i sometimes wonder if they even know what “bad cgi” is. The CGI was amazing(aside from Monke fuck that) They managed to blend it in 90% time, hell I didn’t even know it WAS CGI until the MaL fans were complaining.

I hope we get this consistent quality in the future EPS because it 👏 is 👏 amazing 👏 (9/10)


Enjoyment:

Overall I enjoyed the first 4 EPS and hope i will enjoy it as much in future eps.
(10/10)


Overall: 10/10


Pretty Good season so far and i have faith it will get better. Bye 👋

This is one of the masterpiece anime ever made, has the best storyline and the song is very epico.
character development can also be said to be very good in its execution. I have no problem with CGI like other people say, in fact, I think it's good. and the character design is also attractive and creates a deep impression

The opening song is also very suitable in my opinion with the war atmosphere that will occur later in the season finale, where people don't even like the reason that the opening filler is not linked Horzon, but in my opinion it doesn't matter


so overall this anime ... is one of the mastepiece anime ever made

Attack on Titan or Shingeki no Kyojin, a name which is very popular among fellow Anime watchers.
Originally written by Hajime Isayama, this story never fails to impress us.
Story: It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this is the best story ever written. Everything in the story connects very well. The best thing about this is how it touches every aspect like religion, freedom, slavery, murder, will, and order.
Character: Every Character in this story is so good and plays a significant role. It is literally impossible to say who is good and who is bad because of how things differ from everyone's perspective.
Art: The Animation ... quality is awesome, they did great considering that they were tough on time. (Thanks Mappa for taking it.)
Enjoyment: It's awesome but can't say that someone will enjoy considering how tragic the story is. This story is a roller-coaster of sadness and depression.

Appreciation for the Writer.
Hajime Isayama, Writer and Illustrator of AoT Manga is a genius person. The more I get into the story, the more I realized that He thought of everything from the start.

[manga reference, no spoils]

It took 7 years to get were we are now, we saw those three kids grow up, we saw them fighting for justice for humanity, we saw them losing friends, family, suffering and keeping moving forward with the hope one day they would kill all the titans, we thought they were fighting the enemy of humanity but now, after 7 years everything is fucked

This anime doesn't look like it will have those types of finals that leaves a feeling on you of enjoyment, this is now a tragedy and I doubt it will have a "happy" ending

We were watching this ... series hoping that one day we could see Eren kill the last titan on earth, the ending we wanted is now impossible and there's nothing they can do, there isn't a right side anymore, you just watch from all sides and.. feel bad for everything, no matter what side you pick you will just feel bad.

This Anime is a Tragedy and it's everything we hoped wouldn't happen, most animes try to give that sense of satisfaction when you get to the end, this seems to be the exact contrary, you will feel like you watched the story of these people rise just for at the end everything going tumbling down

This opening isn't close to show how sad this last season will possibly be

Story 10/10

When we started watching this show we never thought it could ever turn into this type of war anime, the author really did a good job of creating this story and the way he guided us throw the years to this point was really good

Art 8.5/10

Could always be better but it's good enough for this type of anime, my problem here is MAPPA, I don't really like their CGI, it's too noticeable and out of place unlike Wit

Sound 10/10 I don't have to explain

Characters 10/10

Unlike previous season this time the characters are very well written, it even looks like the characters were "shit" before just to give them this development now

Enjoyment 1/10 or 10/10

It does a perfect job of making me feel shit so idk if that's a 1 or a 10
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God I hate this

Story: 1/10
The story in AOT had been pretty mediocre since the beginning. It had begun making sense in Season 3 however with the backstories and all of what had happened in the past looping back in and making sense, but S4 seems just all over the place introducing another country's perspective of sorts which just doesn't seem fitting at this point to do. Not to forget that the world building is as shallow as can be, with the entirety of the world building revolving around only two countries while many a times the characters mention "the world will see your acts" or things like that ... bringing in confusion as to "who do they mean by the world?" because they have never actually shown any world beyond this.

Art: 1/10
The art in Season 1, 2 and 3 was pretty good, if not the best I have seen in anime in general. The art in this season is like slideshows. They animated Mikasa like a guy and Armin like a girl. They animated the Survey Corps attacking a titan like flies going around on the screen, without any laws of physics on it, it's like a single pic that was moving around as if in an Adobe FlashPlayer animation. They didn't even animate a whole titan because they didn't want to draw 13 frames.

Sound: 2/10
The overall sound of the anime is really bad, when it comes to the character voicelines. Armin was voiced by a female seiyuu clearly, doesn't match with his past voices. Much of the sound design of the anime overall is not good, I have given an additional point however for the ED which I really love.

Character: 1/10
This has been consistent for me since the beginning, nothing has changed to it even now. The characters are still just as bland and lacking character as they were before, they have made changes to Eren but I don't see how that has happened or what has made it happen. Same with the other characters, they show a change having occurred but I don't see where it comes from.

Enjoyment: 1/10
It's still a struggle for me to watch the anime in its totality. I had dropped the first season way early when it was still airing, but now that I have somehow managed to pull myself up and watch the series in its totality, I thought I will leave a review here on the 4th season. When it comes to enjoyment, the fourth season is going very slow and is not enjoyable. There are obvious pacing issues, the animation is pulling it back majorly, and the sound design being so mediocre also pulls it back. The consistent bantering about "the world" not aligning with what they have shown us till date also brings the enjoyment down considerably because we just cannot relate to who they mean by the world.

Overall: 1/10
Still as bad as I remember.

Attack on titan season 4 is on its fourth episode so my opinion can change.So far I feel as if the season is following the source material the manga pretty well.It just depends how well Mappa can pull it off since the 3D titans are throwing people off.On the other hand though season 4 accelerates to a whole other level and there's a lot of new characters and good story which introuduces more understanding on titans, the rest of the world, and Erens new goal.Though it starts off with a 4 year time skip in which a lot has changed (in my opinion for the ... better of the story) , but I'd reccomend rewatching some parts of the show.Overall so far I'm giving it an 8.5 and round that to a 9.

Attack On Titan is probaly one of the biggest anime out there besides Death Note or Naruto. And this season will be the end of the anime. Its sad indeed but what do I think of the first four episodes and is it still as good as the other seasons?Or better?

-Story-

I have read the manga from chapter 93 to 135. The reason i didnt include on my manga list is because I havent read the entire manga yet and that is cheating.

The new episodes of season 4 are mostly build-up for the next extreme arcs out there that will probaly blow up the internet. But ... lets talk about the episodes one by one...

Episode 1

This was just full out battle and fights left and right, at first its confusing but later everything became a lot more clear. Most people were complaining about the CGI of the Titans, i didnt have that big of a problem exept the beast titan.(at least he looks better then that weird AOT game)

Episode 2

This episode was diaolouge heavy(sorry for bad english) and mostly gave us more depth to the new cast of characters and told also alot more about reiner and how broken he is from the inside, even tough he's called the armoured Titan(ironic). And also people didnt like this episode because of the weird movements(I didnt care)

Episode 3

This episode gave us new information about how Reiner and Bertholt and Annie operated. It was really intresting. Sadly they did cut some scenes but I dont think its that important. This episode was defenitly a lot darker then the others but still verry good....

Episode 4

This episode feels like filler but at the same time, not as much. Side Characters were given a lot more screentime and the entire AOT community is horny because of the scene they added. And the ending was a really amazing ending to end the episode..And now there is HYPE!

Art
No complaints, Mappa did a great job. I would say its better then Wits Style(my opinion)

Sound
Really like the new themes. And "My War" is now my 3rd favorite AOT op. But the ending in my opinion is good.

Enjoyment

I could have enjoyed this a lot more if f--king Manga readers didnt say shit, like ccom man seriously let other people enjoy the Story....

Overall

For now I will give it an 8. I liked it alot but my enjoyment was pretty much ruined by Manga readers. Because of them I also read the manga so I could be immume to them. Sadly they will always spoil:(...

Have a nice year, hopefully 2021 will be better

Well Guys this is my very first review, I wanted to start reviewing this show as soon as it comes. I'm a loyal SnK anime fan, I somehow managed to keep myself from reading the Damn Manga and avoid (maximum) spoilers. When I heared that WIT Studio is no more animating the series, I was really afraid of a sequel that's gonna end up like Nanatsu no Taizai by studio Deen, But when They announced that the final season will be released by MAPPA I was kinda relieved. Even if they changed the original character design to make it resemble more to Isayama's Artstyle.
-The first ... episode which aired last week carried a lot of surprises ; including the new OP and ED where there is no more hyping stuff like SASAGEYO SASAGEYO. Also the CGI titans were not very pleasant to see, that's my personal opinion.
-The second Episode showed us The MAPPA Potential. The color Grading was good, The 2D animations were smooth and stuff... I'm still waiting to hear something from SAWANO since he participated in the composition of OSTs. Also there was one thing that I am sure everyone noticed ; The flashbacks taken directly from previous WIT Studio episodes ... damn I nearly cried when I saw them. To be honest I think that it was the best option to take. They will have more time to animate other scenes where I hope ther would be less CGI and more SAKUGA. The one ARIFUMI IMAI always gave us.
So this is it for the moment after only 2 episodes, I have after all to thank the new studio for giving us a sequel in 2020 as scheduled at the end of season 3 pt 2 regardless of the pandemic and their overwork this year; Jujutsu Kaisen ... GOH ...

Do you remember the last time you saw such a big hype with an anime, other than Shingeki no Kyojin? Not??? Well, I ask you to sit down, relax and watch, because I will tell you this little story, this little theater, about how AoT became one of the most renowned and commented animes of all time.

Since 2009, when the manga was first published, in the amateur Bessatsu Shounen Magazine, until 2021, there were 12 long years of difficulties in the construction of this beautiful story, which brings together many characters. Hajime Isayama is the main one, obviously. He was so new as a mangaka, ... that his relevance as a story creator was something sudden, nobody expected that a show in which humanity is constantly challenged and subdued would be really popular, especially with an always constant quality. Wit Studio was also another important character for AoT. It couldn't be any studio, the show should be more careful from the beginning. And that's what happened. In 2013, we have the first anime, a boom in what was known by hype. Seasons 2 and 3 have been completed and the studio has now been changed. It is now in the hands of MAPPA. But did it work?

"Is AoT going to overcome another difficulty? This season is the last one, there is no way not to be euphoric" ~ Really, these are questions that have always had the essence of this show. Shingeki no Kyojin has never been a great experience without having had very high efforts from your staff.

First, we have the Eldians (or the group focused on Paradis), the "demons", for the Marleyans. It is not without reason that the Marleyans adopt this nickname for the people who have Eren Yeager as one of its inhabitants, this is because the whole group that we knew since the first season got together for the final war, with the plan to cause the greatest amount of possible damage to the Marleyan people. From then on, not only does one have a villain, but everyone has destroyed themselves in eternal despair. It is absolutely understandable to look at Reiner and think about his dualities and psychological conflicts, just as it was with Berthold, Annie, Ymir and Marcel. Of course, recovering the power obtained by Grisha and inherited by Eren was not an easy task and having this revelation from the perspective of whom we, otakus, judge as eternal villains, defines what is a real revenge. But ... And when revenge becomes selfish? Or, to be more precise, when it was not selfish? Since Ymir Fritz, ancient people were already afraid of what the power of the 9 Titans could cause. And look now, the destruction, the chaos. Dying children, military groups since the birth of their soldiers, practically suicidal expeditions. Both the Marleyans and the Eldians have had this since the beginning of history and as a result innocent people die, many innocent people. This is what a war is. We always keep reminding ourselves of what a military conflict is so as not to remember a possible arms return. Shingeki no Kyojin is not only meant to please the audience of people who watch anime, it is much more than that. Before I said that Death Note was the anime that was not limited to the measures of what it is like to be a show only for fans of Japanese programs. Now, Shingeki no Kyojin has finally confirmed that it can also be considered a similar anime.

Does selfishness lead to glory? Yes, maybe Eren is right, isn't he? He is a young man who has suffered since the first 24 minutes of the show. But the same determination leads to suffering. Sasha was one of them. I honestly never liked her to the point of loving her appearances. Her memes were hilarious, obviously. "The Potato Girl", as it became known, was not just a culmination of Eren's madness, as it demonstrated that it is not necessary to look at the enemy's territory to witness some suffering (even if it pleases its rivals or not). Sometimes, those who are on your side also have greater difficulty in expressing their emotions, in being decipherable. Like Reiner, Eren also suffered. Both are the exact result of political selfishness. They were only separated by enemy territories, but it was not their fault, they did not know the other side. "Wasn't it easier to just stop the war?" - Yes of course. AoT was never an anime that put that option aside. But what could they do at that moment? Eren was already more than consumed by the eternal hatred. Whenever he said "Tatakae", his convictions returned. It is nothing less than plausible to imagine that his actions are automatically answered.

And what about the rest of the anime? MAPPA's production was excellent. Her difficulties imposed an ignorance by many AoT fans, who do not even know what the work of an animator, a sound director, a promoter is like ... AoT has an enormous amount of fans and seeing her "killing herself" is a of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen. Of course, it didn't affect most people's experience of the show, but it does open a wound that will never be healed. Those who are only content with security, just because anime is the favorite, do not know how to admit that changes can be positive. All the characterization of the characters was thought of since chapter 91 of the manga, it is not possible that people forget that this was already decided before they even imagined. Hajime Isayama is an author who is wronged and underestimated by the person who consumes him. It is sad and disgusting to see his effort being paid off just because it is Shingeki no Kyojin. It is not a criticism for everyone who loves the show, I also love it and I have it as one of my favorites, but it is not about me, it is about assuming that regardless of how they did it, MAPPA is to be congratulated for what it broadcast. I doubted it too, but I was convinced with incredible episodes and perfect direction. #THANKYOUMAPPA.

Shingeki no Kyojin,a title with many hidden meanings, is a series where a mystery box is slowly unveiled as the characters get developed and the viewer gets more interested in the story as a whole. It isn't the kind of story where one can predict what can happen next. Marley? Eldia? Rumbling? I'd consider you crazy if you told me about these during the first 5 episodes of season 3 part 2.
It should also be mentioned that it is a story that can make one question their own morality as the characters come into dilemmas, as there's no black and white, just shades of gray, ... every character is a villain to another character, no matter who they are. This creates questions on who's right and wrong on viewer's minds, and I'm a sucker for such stories.

Now, time to get to rating individually.

Story: 10/10
I feel like crying from joy and get pumped with adrenaline each time i think about the story of Shingeki of Kyojin as a whole. A story that has made me cry, made my heart race, and made my mind blow with all the plot twists and original story writing methods.
Not only that, but the story as a whole changed my whole perspective as a human, to the better. From the edgy shitty little piece of shit I was, admiring to be ooo very cool dark and all, it has transformed me into a being thirsting for truth, thirtsing for discussion regarding freedom,peace history and all. So, for that, from my depths of my heart, I wanna thank the author, Mr.Hajime Isayama.

Art: 10/10.
I really really really like the more realistic approach to the human characteristics of the characters, makes them feel more relatable and also the colours convey the feelings that the viewer should be feeling. People keep complaining about the blur tho, which in my opinion is something that adds more realism and i enjoy it alot.

Sound:10/10
Flawless, part of appleseed played in the end of the episode 4. I expect more reused and news from Hiroyuki sawano, and Kohta yamamoto is really splendid with both aciton themes and chill themes.
I should also praise the opening, ''Boku no Sensou'', it is a visual horror which describes war, as war cannot be described exactly with words, the singer sung ''Ba-ba-ri-as-ras-ti-ti-ti-ras-ti-ba...'', and it's up to us to get the meaning of the song, just like the story.

Character:10/10
Lord praise the realism in these characters-
From Marco to Marlo, the unforgettable total side characters. We felt them as real people, Marco, if he was alive for longer could have become my favourite character of all fiction instead of Armin.
All of the characters interact nicely and realistically, not to mention that everyone has developed from season 1.
Eren overcame his feelings of anger taking over
Mikasa overcame her feelings of love taking over
Armin overcame his feelings of fear taking over
Jean overcame his cockiness
Erwin was explored emotionally more, unlike other tryhard stoic failed commander type characters.
Levi is the seemingly perfect guy but has an endless ammounts of failures and flaws that aren't seen
etc etc.

Enjoyment: 10/10
How can you not enjoy a series where each episode expands it's world and progressess its plot as characters get developed and gets more build up that will lead into a really great episode? Attack on titan isn't the kind of anime to waste it's time on filler episodes. It never ever had an episode which never progressed the story. I never felt bored watching it nor rewatching it and nor will i ever be, for i happen to re-watch 2-3 episodes of specific arcs oftenly just for the enjoyment.

Overall: 10/10
Thank you so much, Mr.Hajime Isayama.
This has inspired me to draw, write, and apply poets into poetry contests at my school, Shingeki no Kyojin holds a very special place into my heart, and I'll probably be re-watching it on a yearly basis, as i'm also looking forward to buying the manga, the games and the blu-rays. Thank you so much once again, Mr.Hajime Isayama

Attack on Titan is one the best work of fiction that i have read/experienced in the past decade. It might be the best one depending on the manga ending. It is the reason why i am wasting 45min+ of my life writing such a long review. Because it is that sort of work that quite literally made me rethink certain things in life. It deserves it.

Now, i am not going to go too much in-depth as to why i think Isayama is a genius and attack on titan's writing is a masterpiece, i will go straight to the reason why i despise the ... season 4 of the anime, adapted by MAPPA.

So why am i giving it one star?

You see, we are in a strange circumstance with the final season of attack on titan. It used to be the case where people hated the use of CGI and hated rushed adaptations with bad animations and bad direction in the anime community. I can still remember when people consistently made fun of naruto vs pain fight a while ago, and criticized the bad animation in Naruto. It was commonplace.

Or WAS it, really? I would argue that this is still the case, even to this day!

Even in 2021, NO ONE LIKES cgi.

Even in 2021, NO ONE LIKES rushed or mediocre adaptations.

Even in 2021, NO ONE LIKES bad direction.

But the thing is, most of these other shows where other people are vocal about these issues, are usually mid if not straight up garbage plot-wise. So as soon as more superficial aspects such as animation and direction fall apart, people are quick to notice and point at it. Making it far easier for the average joe with no attention to detail to feel like what they are watching is complete garbage. So they point towards the nearest culprit, that being the studio.

HOWEVER, Attack on Titan has such an amazing plot and story that many people are willing to completely overlook that, the majority of the time without even realizing it, in a subconscious level.

The plot OUTSHINES anything MAPPA could possibly spill on the screens.

Before season 4, WIT had consistently provided what must be without doubt one the best animation in the industry with Attack on Titan. Not only that, but they had Tetsurō Araki as the Chief Director for seasons 1-3. THIS GUYS IS A GENIUS. He is the same director behind death note and the potato chip scene. THE POTATO CHIP SCENE!!!!!!

CGI is not the only problem with season 4. It's also the DRASTIC decline in quality of direction compared to previous seasons. In impactful moments such as Declaration of War during episode 5, Armin's transformation, etc, the difference is brutal. I can GUARANTEE YOU that WIT would have delivered us with some otherworldly genius direction, usage of OST and some mind blowing SAKUGA during all these moments. THEY ALWAYS DID. They always EXCELLED at it.

I could argue and exemplify this about any of the many impactful scenes on season 4, but i am going to stick with Armin's transformation to avoid giving any spoilers.

WIT would have probably taken many different shots/angles of the explosion, show buildings and citizens near it being blown up/running away from it. Maybe show a woman on the ground looking at it and being engulfed by the explosion. They would have built up to that moment with the OST. Made the explosion EXTRA impactful by having the camera upclose and using many animation techniques to make the explosion look even more menacing and powerful, and almost make the viewers feel like they got caught in the explosion themselves. Done some crazy animation thingies where armin gets slowly covered by the colossal's fibers and the titan's flesh. His face would have probably shown the colossal titan's face amidst the lightning... God, who knows! My point is, those guys are creative beyond believe.

What did Mappa do?

Armin takes the hood off, camera immediately turns towards those horrible CGI titan models of the Attack Titan, Cart Titan, Beast titan. Explosion in the background. Then it goes back to a still shot of the Colossal titan with a drowned out OST in the background. THAT'S IT.

Where is the... magic?

Where is the direction we are used to? Where is the creativity? Where is it?

Why do you think Bert/Reiner reveal will forever be one of the most memorable moments of attack on Titan. Why?

DIRECTION. OST. ANIMATION.

WIT ARE CREATIVE GENIUSES.

MAPPA turned all impactful moments in season 4 into nothing but a mediocre, panel by panel adaptation from the manga, with some CGI in between. That's just not the quality that many people, me included, were expecting for the most hyped season of the show coming from the manga. THIS IS THE SEASON WHERE ALL DOTS CONNECT. It's where AoT's storytelling truly peaks.

It deserves MUCH better than that!

What would have MAPPA done in Bert's/Reiner's reveal? Do you really think they would have achieved the same level as WIT? NEVER. Even with all time and budget on the planet.

You can literally see every single fiber of Eren's titan forming as he punches Reiner face and drags his face across the wall. You can feel the impact and power of their titans while they fight. You can see the half human/half titan face mixed during the lightning of the transformation. They never, ever halfassed during those moments. They went far and beyond. The SAKUGA was off the charts.

Again, WIT's direction used every single tool at their disposal to make every single impactful moment from the manga ten times more impactful in the anime. They IMPROVED every single aspect from the manga to the anime. They made AoT with LOVE, they did not treat it like just another project/money bag.

Getting a mediocre adaptation that lacks those very same things in the most memorable of all seasons just sucks. Ngl. It's such an incredible waste of potential. AoT could have been not just the anime of the season, but one of the best shows to air in the last two decades. It's just so undeserving of this masterpiece.

And what's worse? People are content with it. Because the plot is good, and they associate that to MAPPA doing a "perfect job". Or give other excuses such as MAPPA not having enough time to do so, when they agreed with that scheduled and said they could do it themselves.

So we will sadly, never get a proper adaptation to this season like WIT delivered to us in previous seasons.

If enough people raised their voices, if enough people showed their discontent, maybe. Maybe the production committee would tell MAPPA to drop it for a while and work on it more before releasing. Maybe MAPPA would do it. But it's too late. What was born with in highest quality will die in mediocrity.

Now we just got to accept the future and keep moving forward.

Alright I'll be talking about the final season, the manga and will also be acknowledging other anime like FMAB.

First, let me talk about this season. The episodes were insane with the soundtrack, animation and the only drawback was the CG, which was pretty good too. So I'd give it a 9.5/10.

Now let me address the manga and the hype around it. I've read every single chapter and it is honestly an incredibly well written piece of fiction with every single piece of the puzzle connecting. The characters are top tier and a few have had amazing development over the years.

This season's change in perspective ... and showing that not everything is black or white and is just a spectrum is exceptional. A lot of anime just show the villain being a bad character and might show why they are doing so but not much. Whereas in AOT, you start to question whether the "bad" character is "bad" at all.

After S3, I thought how could anyone push beyond this and boy did Isayama show me how. The story of S4 is phenomenal and it just gets better from here. S4P1 isn't even the pieck of AOT. So believe in the hype and just see how this goes, even if you don't like it now.

Now, let me address other anime like FMAB. After finishing AOT(my 4th or 5th anime), it became my favorite and a lot of anime could have dethroned it from the #1 spot and I was waiting to see such an anime. I watched Code Geass and it was so good that it came close to being my favorite but I had to put it at #2 because of a few flaws. Then I saw the #1 anime on every anime list, FMAB and it being my 30th-ish anime, I had my expectations low because of all the trashy anime I had seen before it and it had a huge shot at being my favorite. After watching it, I saw why people call it a masterpiece and it was an incredible anime BUT it still wasn't good enough to beat AOT. It had a few flaws here and there, which is not that much because the overall story was phenomenal. But when I compare it to AOT, which I believe to be flawless (or at least having the least amount of flaws I have seen), it couldn't dethrone it.

In my eyes, all 3 are masterpieces but AOT has proven itself to be #1 by having 3 of its episodes in the top 10 of IMDb and the only anime series in the top 10.

So that was all I wanted to address in the review and again, this season is going to be amazing and I hope people can see why it deserves the top spot.

Can't wait for part 2!!!

(Btw this is coming from someone who once was not going to see the show, let alone make it his favorite)