By: Jairon Herrera
Released on January 10th, the second part of the fourth season of “Shingeki No Kyojin,” popularly known as “Attack on Titan,” has once again captivated and pleased viewers with its riveting episodes.
The show did not waste any time jumping right into the scenes that viewers had previously been teased with at the end of the previous season. Attracting an average rating of 9.5/10 on IMDb, audience members have been exceedingly impressed with both the animation provided by the studio Mappa and the impressive storyline Hajime Isayame has spent roughly a decade working on. Attack on Titan is without a doubt one of the best shows that the Anime category has to offer, and it leaves its viewers exhilarated and impatient for the next episode.
Following the story’s main protagonist Eren Jaeger, the anime was first released almost nine years ago in 2013. Fans of what was a unique and fresh show, unfortunately, had to wait 4 years for the second season to be released, answering the questions that were left lingering at the end of the first. After seeing the success and desire of the adventures of Jaeger in the titan world, the anime studio Wit rushed to push more of the show to the public, releasing season 3, parts one and two in the following two years. Wit had done an amazing job delivering dramatic and nail-biting animations with the previous seasons, so when news had hit that Wit no longer was going to continue its animation in Attack on Titan, Fans were left distraught. When season four had finally aired in 2020, animated by Mappa Studios, fans carried mixed feelings about character designs and the new CGI they had implemented into the show. Although at first it was greatly criticized, viewers soon warmed up to the new animation style, some even preferring it over the old Wit designs. Regardless of differing opinions, it was clear Mappa animators were working diligently for days on end to produce their best for the huge fanbase of Attack on Titan.
The new season, more specifically its most recent episodes, has brought answers to many questions viewers have as well as hinted towards possible new ones. The main questions of Erens plan, his motives, and his reasoning have created curiosity in audience members. His philosophies and standings are slowly being revealed, and it will not be long until Isayama shows his followers what he had planned from the very beginning.
“Everything changed as Eren showed viewers that all is not what we think, and this was mind-blowing,” said Brandon Monies (‘22).
This will be the final continuation of the series, as the manga ended in April 2021. The ending of a decade-old story will finally come to a close, and as a follower of both the manga and animation, it will be a touching departure from the characters of Attack on Titan.
“An absolutely magnificent series, with amazing animation and even better writing that has the watcher/reader in a consistent trance yearning for more,” said Joseph Kravar (‘22).Isayama does not plan on having any future adaptations of the titan world and has chosen to lay the story at rest after all his laborious years. On the final page of the last Attack on Titan volume, Isayama and his team left a touching message to its devoted readers, “Even so, we believe that nothing is more valuable than people being able to share in emotions that cannot be put into words through a story. It makes us happy that we were able to feel that way with readers by way of Attack on Titan. Though this series has come to an end, these memories are sure to always warm our hearts. Thank you for reading!!”
