I don't really know what's the appropriate place to post this, but I feel like a word regarding AoT ending is in order, in more of a personal way rather than about the show itself.
I initially gave this anime a shot over a decade ago when it was popular because it was recommended to me by a friend. I didn't like it at first, but after giving a second shot a year later, I loved it, and I actively kept with both the anime and manga for almost 7 whole year. 7 years is… a lot of time. Especially considering this time period encompassed the majority of my teenage years and a bit of my early twenties. Over that time, this anime became something important in my life in a way that transcended the franchise itself. I suppose the way to put it would be "butterfly effect". I've talked about this to friends for hours on end, but this show is the reason I discovered Hiroyuki Sawano, took an interest in music and the world of audio and acoustics and ultimately made my choice of education (already got a Bachelor's, currently doing Master's at the time I'm writing this).
Aside from all of that, the communities I have been a part of (Tumblr being an intergral one specifically) because of this show have led me to meet and talk to countless amazing people, be it online, in university, or elsewhere. And some of them I can even call my dearest and closest friends, not to mention relationships and the such.
Even though as a normal human being, you naturally grow older and naturally outgrow your interests over time, it is simply a fact that I would not be where I am in my life right now if it wasn't for this franchise and the people I met because of it It's astounding that I can look back on it now and see how different things would have been otherwise. If you told me a decade ago that the funny giant naked man anime would lead me to flying to different continents to get drunk with online friends and finally see them IRL, I would not have believed you.
Anyway, this is about it from me. I've posted different versions of this in different places that I feel like are related, and I feel like this blog, even though it's something I've moved on from, is still something that deserves a mention in this crazy butterfly effect story that is Attack on Titan and its influence on my life. Thanks for the read, if you did!
So I suppose I haven’t commented yet but... why are people suddenly complaining about the ending? Sure, 122 was indeed a huge cliffhanger but it was still a pretty good conclusion. I thought we established this in 2019. Don’t get why people are suddenly talking about “139″ and birds and whatnot.
I've watched the first episode around 3 times on my own and over a dozen times from anime-only live reactions on YouTube. Those are always something to have a field day with every season, and are part of the whole enjoyment post-watching the episode on your own.
Obviously I'm only reviewing this based on the first episode, so it's way too early to judge The Final Season as a whole. However, I will say that my strategy to keep my expectations low definitely worked. I was very hyped, don't get me wrong, but after Season 3 Part 2, I realized that production and scheduling has never been this show's strong suite and things behind the scenes were always chaotic. And it was my mistake to realize it this late and have unrealistically high expectations of the manga's adaptation.
But enough about that. I'm just gonna say it right now. I absolutely loved this episode and was completely blown away by it. It was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish and boy, the staff wasn't kidding when they said the first episode was like a movie. It definitely felt like that, and it went by in a flash. Now, on to the individual points.
Story/Adaptation
Flawless. Everything was executed perfectly and went beyond my expectations. The thing that stood out to me the most was how many things were changed from the PV in terms of scene construction, camera angles, and overall storyboards. There was only one shot that we reused from the PV, namely the one with Zeke and Reiner inside the airship where they're referred to as the spear and shield. Everything else was redone, which was a huge surprise. Wit was always very faithful to the original manga panels with how they used them as a big reference for most of their cuts, but this one changes them up a lot. Personally, I am 100% fine with it and as someone who has read these chapters in the manga dozens of times over the past few years, seeing them like this was a pleasant and very welcome surprise.
The anime-only additions here are notable and also quite welcome. Falco's line in the beginning in particular stood out the most in the long-run, but the addition of the Eldians' terror being shown as well as the scene before the ED was very welcome. I would like to assume that this was Isayama's doing as whenever the anime usually adds/changes up things, it's his request to do so. He sort of considers the anime to be the "definitive" version of the story that he, for one reason or another, couldn't do in the manga himself when that particular chapter came out. Season 3 Part 1 (The Uprising Arc) is a prime example for this. Once again, I'm very content with what was done here and I trust MAPPA will do the story justice.
A small but very neat thing is the fact that we got to keep the title cards and the info eyecatches mid-episode. Really added to the whole sense of consistency.
Animation
When the initial trailer came out, many people were concerned about Shigeki Asakawa (Director of Photography)'s odd and excessive usage of blur filters on top of the scenes and were wondering if they would remain in the final product, given her track record with other shows like The God of Highschool. Luckily, that is not the case here as the scenes look very clean and the minimal blur on top adds a bit to the muddy/gritty atmosphere of what's going on. Personally, I don't mind it at all and I barely notice it anyway. MAPPA's biggest strength to me is the usage of effects like blood and explosions. You feel the impact of everything and with such an action-packed episode, it made everything so much better.
The usage of 3D CGI for the Titan Shifters has been the biggest controversy surrounding this first episode. When I first watched it, it didn't bother me at all. Personally I care more about a model fitting in the action sequence rather than how it looks for the most part. Right now I would say I'm neutral. It's not the greatest CG ever conceived in anime but it definitely does not look out of place and is pretty decent. For the Jaw Titan, I couldn't tell what was CG and what wasn't for the most part. For the other Titans it's more obvious, but it's not too jarring. Obviously, if it was up to me and the production committee/NHK didn't push their scheduling shenanigans onto MAPPA, I would have gotten every Titan in 2D, but you can't have everything. If they choose to focus on more important scenes later on and cut corners in this first episode as a result, that's understandable. I can live with it. And again, even then, it's not that bad in my eyes.
Now, the character designs are just absolutely stellar. In multiple interviews, it’s been stated that they wanted to stay true to Kyoji Asano’s designs at Wit while also being consistent with Isayama’s style in the manga. And boy did they absolutely nail it. It’s exactly what as they said. Tomohiro Kishi could not have done a better job with the characters we’ve seen so far and I am beyond impressed with his work. I look forward to seeing the rest of the characters in this arc.
Sound
I've been following Kohta Yamamoto's works for a few years now, ever since he started working with Sawano (and being mentored by him to an extent) in early 2017. Although he's been involved with AoT before, particularly with the character songs in Season 2, whenever those two would collaborate on a project it would usually be because Sawano is too busy to compose a full soundtrack. So what usually happens is, Sawano does one track and variations of it (think ShingekiNoKyojin, ThanksAT and T-KT), and nothing else. Meanwhile, Yamamoto handles the rest of the music for the show. On top of that, Yamamoto's style as a composer is different from Sawano's as he comes from a rock/guitarist background as opposed to Sawano, who is a pianist and is classically trained. My biggest concern for The Final Season was that we would get a similar case as with the other shows where Sawano doesn't put in too much effort, while Yamamoto essentially becomes the main composer. Although it looks like this is in fact the case after this first episode, let me explain why I don't think it's a bad thing.
After the premiere of the first episode, both Sawano and Yamamoto tweeted that it was in fact Yamamoto who is handling the majority of the Marley Arc's music. And after this first episode, I have to say I'm impressed. His initial track that he made for the PV was a bit off-putting to me because it sounded like every epic blockbuster Hollywood trailer background track ever, but after the way it was used in this episode alongside a few other tracks, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. It fits what's going on, and overall delivers a fresh sound to the show that is very appropriate given the massive change in narrative. Back during S3 Part 1, Sawano stated in an interview that he was already burned out and had trouble coming up with new music for AoT given how many tracks he had already composed for it. Given how few new melodies were in S3 Part 2;s music, I think this should be clear. Especially now that we're going into yet another season. To summarize, I think Yamamoto's work here is a result of three conditions that just happened to line up perfectly. The change in narrative, which the new composer style reflects. Sawano being busy. And Sawano being burned out with AoT. Now personally I still believe we're going to get at least one new original Sawano track with variations of it for the big climax moments this arc, and he may compose more music for the 2nd half of this 16-episode season, since that's technically a new arc. But we'll see. As a whole though, I'm satisfied with what I've heard from Kohta Yamamoto in this first episode.
The last point to make in regards to the sound is Masafumi Mima who, apart from Sawano, the voice cast, and some freelancers, is the only one from the previous seasons' staff members to return here. And once again, his work here is absolutely phenomenal. The mixing and usage of sound effects in this episode was stellar and truly felt like I was watching a war movie. It enhanced the action tenfold and I could not want it any better. Music usage is something that goes through the director (Yuichiro Hayashi), but ultimately the sound director is the one who implements the track (instrument layering/stem editing) and does the mixing. The usage of Kohta Yamamoto's music here was very well done, and although the track from the PV repeated quite a bit, it didn't get repetitive at all. Also, the sound director remaining consistent here means we got to keep things like the titan transformation sound effects, which may be a small thing but was very welcome and added to the whole consistency.
Opening/Ending
I'm gonna wait until Shinsei Kamattechan releases the full version of the opening in a single or album to fully judge the song, but boy do I love this opening. Although I'm not sure if the TV-size version is my favorite AoT opening yet, I have to say that it's without a doubt the most fitting OP this show has had until this point. It perfectly showcases the themes of war that this arc focuses on and has this lowkey disturbing eerie vibe with the dissonant chords and mixing of the vocals that feels just as "mysterious" and "tense" as the show itself. I love it so much, honestly. Now, Isayama was a fan of Shinsei Kamattechan prior to them doing the S2 ED, and was the one who got them on-board to do it. Although that song isn't really my thing it's also a perfect fit, which leads me to believe that Isayama himself most likely chose the band again, namely to do this OP. And it's fantastic. I love the song. The visuals also have a very distinct style with all the colors and white backgrounds and I love how it's more metaphorical and symbolic (I guess "abstract" as well?) rather than flat-out just spoiling everything like the last arc's OP did.
The ED by Yuko Ando is fantastic. The first time I listened to the full song on its own I couldn't stop getting chills. Love the production aspects of the song and it's just really nice altogether. The visuals are quite interesting especially towards the end and I also like them a lot. Not much else to say about the ED. It's amazing. Go listen to it.
Conclusion
As a whole, I kept my expectations extremely low prior to the premiere despite my hype. As a result of that, not only were they exceeded, I was absolutely blown away by this first episode in pretty much every way. It may still be too early to judge, but from what has been shown here so far, I am absolutely looking forward to see MAPPA adapt the rest of this amazing story, or about as far as they can get with 16 episodes.
Imagine going through years of depression and constantly losing the things you love but still continuing to fight further for the freedom of your nation and those dear to you only to have them try and stop you to "save the world" or some bullshit like that. I don't know what the fuck Isayama is thinking with this stupid alliance thing where the smartest characters no longer have more than 7 brain cells remaining and are dooming themselves over trying to save the world.. what the fuck happened
As much as I agree with what you're saying, I don't really think you can put this on Isayama to be honest. He is perfectly aware of the way his own characters are acting and is essentially letting them write the story themselves rather than force anything on them.
Yelena's much-appreciated criticism of everyone in Chapter 127 is what makes that my absolute favorite chapter since the Rumbling starterd. Not only is she basically right about everything she said, it also shows how aware Isayama is of the way the alliance is acting.
I'm still hoping the true final confrontation helps settle this once and for all. I mean.. it's supposed to. Until then though, as much as I've facepalmed over Chapter 125 until now I'm still as curious as ever as to see what happens.
who is this kohta yamamoto guy and why isn't Sawano on the season? i was really hoping they didn't change the composer because the osts for aot have always been so good
I’m probably very late in answering this as usual but I’ll do it anyway, and try to keep this informative for those who don’t know him. I’ve heard a fair bit of his works so.. here we go.
First and most importantly, KOHTA YAMAMOTO (He stylizes his name in all caps in case you’re wondering) is the co-composer for The Final Season. If you look at the staff list, both him and Sawano are credited on the music so don’t worry, he’s not going anywhere. YAMAMOTO just did the PV track.
Secondly, YAMAMOTO has worked on SnK before, namely on the character songs in Season 2. There are also two Eren Character Songs called Abstract Lust Day and Night ver. which are from 2016. Those are a bit obscure though, but YAMAMOTO worked on them as well.
Third, YAMAMOTO collaborating with Sawano on soundtracks is very common these days. They worked on Blue Exorcist Kyoto Saga, CRISIS, Seven Deadly Sins Seasons 2 and 3, SIGN, Kingdom Season 3 and the Kabaneri mobile game.
Fourth, and a personal thought of mine since we’re on this subject. My problem with YAMAMOTO isn’t necessarily that he’s a bad composer, because he’s not. From a musician’s perspective and unlike Sawano, he comes from a rock/guitarist background rather than a classical/pianist one. I will never say that he doesn’t make absolute bangers, because he does and I like them a lot. (Personal recs: C.S.D, FIRE ON, Turn on Your Heart Light).
But on Attack on Titan of all shoes, he’s really not the kind of composer to be known for the epic grand orchestral tracks, so I’m hoping The Final Season gives him a chance to develop that naturally. However, I’m more inclined to believe that Sawano will still handle the big important tracks (on scales of YouSeeBIGGIRL/T:T and ShingekiNoKyojin for instance) while YAMAMOTO handles the tamer things. The Marley arc, all epicness and chaos aside does have its calmer moments showing characters in a completely different setting, and I think YAMAMOTO will deliver on that. A new composer isn’t necessarily a bad thing to bring here. He also excels at writing more folk and ethnic-sounding tracks even more so than Sawano’s modern sound these days. I highly recommend checking out the track “No pain...” from the Kabaneri mobile game if you want to know what I’m talking about.
With all of this, I can say I have faith in YAMAMOTO. However, something that concerns me in regards to Sawano’s portion of the OST is that usually whenever YAMAMOTO is co-composing with him on a project, it’s to handle the majority of the music while Sawano only does a few new tracks to promote the series, mostly due to him being busy with other, larger-scale projects that require a lot more original compositions.
Granted, Sawano has expressed time and time again that he likes Attack on Titan a lot, but has been burning out on ideas with how much music he’s made for it. No other show he has worked on has gotten more than 3 seasons, and SnK already exceeded that with Season 3 Part 2 which technically had new music made for it after the Uprising Arc.
I’m staying relatively positive and optimistic about The Final Season’s music and it’s too early to make assumptions that will probably end up being inaccurate anyway. But that’s about it.
have you read chapter 129? was curious what you thought of it
It’s a bit of a standard obligatory action chapter that needs to happen because lol enemies we have to fight are there, but it was good. I enjoyed the dialogue/character interactions in the alliance and seeing Falco’s Jaw Titan was cool. It was a pretty decent chapter overall.
Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan: The Final Season Key Visual, Trailer, and Staff Revealed! Studio MAPPA Takes Over Production for WIT Studio
The first key visual, trailer, and staff of SnK’s fourth and final season have finally been revealed! The key visual reveals Reiner confronting Eren’s Attack Titan.
Through the trailer and website, the respected Studio MAPPA was shown to have taken over the animation production from WIT Studio, which had been at the helm for seasons 1-3. Other significant staff changes include:
Director: Hayashi Yuichiro takes over for Araki Tetsuro & Koizuka Masashi
Chief Animation Director: Niinuma Daisuke takes over for Asano Kyoji
Character Designer: Kishi Tomohiro takes over for Asano Kyoji
Seko Hiroshi remains head scriptwriter, Sawano Hiroyuki remains co-composer of the series alongsite Yamamoto Kohta, and Mima Masafumi continues to be the sound director.
Yabuta Shuuhei, who was heavily involved in the 3D/CG production of the previous seasons and is the current director of Vinland Saga, directed this first trailer.
The seiyuu/voice actors remain the same for all characters that viewers can hear in the trailer so far.
No premiere date was included for the Final Season, however the first/previous announcement scheduled it for Fall 2020. The Season 1-3 compilation film Attack on Titan: Chronicle currently has a premiere date of July 7th, 2020, which is on track with serving as a preview for a Fall season 4 premiere. With that said, many anime series set to premiere in the second half of the year have been delayed due to the COVID situation in Japan, so we will stay tuned for any official announcements.
Related News: Photos: Official Art || Season 4 || Staff || MAPPA || Videos: Trailers
My feelings about the new chapter are so mixed I have trouble knowing what I think about it so I’ll just throw a few things here and see if it helps me…
The whole thing with Connie wanting to feed Falco to his mother was totally ridiculous in how it was executed. I felt like those bad filler episodes animes do sometimes, just to put something in there and have some fake drama. It was so completely empty of meaning or any evolution for the plot or characters,or anything. It could have been, but it wasn’t. It was over so fast my brain kept on telling me something was missing. What a waste of time.
Also, Connie what the heck was that excuse to get Falco on the rafter above the titan? WHAT?
A lot of things happened that I wanted to see for some time: an alliance, yeah! Hange is back, great! And Levi, too! Annie met her former comrades, great too! But sweet Maria Isayama what happened with the execution of this? I don’t mind skipping some parts for the sake of adding to the surprise later but this was too much skipping. I thought the version I was reading was missing a good ten pages before I noticed that we were up to 45 pages and that, well, that must be it. Especially when Armin and Connie met Annie Isayama you can’t just cut there and next time they show up they’re working together, we need a bit more here ! And the building of the – let’s call it that for the moment – alliance between Magath and Hange, I don’t need all the plan but a bit more explanation seems essential here. It bothers me less (but still a bit) regarding how the planning went between Jean “team” and Hange : how did they even communicate ?
I hope we’ll at least get all this missing stuff next chapter. It won’t be as great as if it had been partly done in this chapter but it’ll be better than nothing
The last panel is super cliché but cool as hell. It would have been even more awesome if what I said above had been done better…
Mikasa and Louise: I’m not sure I understand exactly what Mikasa’s feeling and why she took the scarf back but she just looks mostly…sad. I honestly pitied Louise.
Falco looks like he was over is brother’s and Porco’s death super quickly (again, skipping stuff was harmful here) but it was nice seeing Gabi comfort him.
Holly shit Jean you frightened me there for a second. I was 100% sure you hadn’t joined Floch and weren’t going to kill anyone (except maybe Floch. Someone please shut that guy up already) and then there was this panel :
… And my heart skipped a beat and my faith in you faltered a second. Sorry Jean, I’ll know better next time!
Onyankopon, I really like you.
Historia when
Pieck will stay Pieck for me. No last name. Certainly not that one.
Hitch, I hope we’ll see you later again because I really like you, too. I now the plot doesn’t necessarly need you here but still…
Aside question: am I the only one wondering how the Wall Titans are supposed to go rumble the rest of the earth? They’re on an island. Can those titans swim? Or will they just magically transport to the other side? They can’t just walk through it, there’ll be some point where the bottom is deeper that 50 or 60 meters… But nevermind that…
Honestly I would have to say that it’s my least favorite chapter this entire arc and possibly at the bottom among some of the Marley arc chapters. The moment I was done reading it I was like “Okay... this was a very elaborate and well-made fake spoiler based on 4chan text leaks, where’s the actual chapter tho?”
The plot developments behind it weren’t necessarily bad but my fucking hell is the pacing awful. It felt like an anime recap episode of things that haven’t happened already. Like, the things that happened in this chapter: Levi and Hange’s whereabouts revelaed, Hange and her talk with Magath, The whole point with Connie and his mom resolved in ONE chapter, Annie suddenly coming back, Jean and co. ALREADY being in an alliance with Magath and Pieck... AND knowing Hange and Levi lived.
Isayama, in the past, would NEVER explain this much information in one chapter, instead take at least three. It’s incredibly squeezed together so it leaves me to believe Kodansha may have told him to hurry up as it seems the ending is approaching.
Again, the actual plot developments in this chapter are cool (though tbh I don’t really like how it’s becoming “Everyone vs Eren” because, and I’ve talked about the Rumbling before, they’re fucking themselves over if they actually go through with this.) but it worries me that Isayama is rushing things to get them done. In any case, I pray this chapter gets fixed in the anime adaptation.
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