@bipartisan-gree
Posted Sep 11, 2024
Over the span of ten years, and with four seasons, Wit Studio and Mappa have animated Hajime Isayama’s story brilliantly. Now, it’s over. Going into the final episode of Attack on Titan, I was curious to see how I would feel about the ending compared to the manga. When I first read the final chapter, I honestly went back and forth on whether I liked it or not. Then, I sat down and read through it while thinking about what Isayama was trying to say, and I came to the conclusion that the ending was a mixed bag, with plenty of good and bad things about it. It was for this reason that I was hoping the updated ending, which released months later, would fix some of my problems. Unfortunately, the opposite happened, with the extra pages pushing my opinion on that final chapter into a negative direction. I have re-read the series a couple times since then and, while I still love it, my opinion of the ending has only become worse with each read through. All of this made me hope that there would be some changes to the anime’s ending. I knew we would not be getting an anime original ending, but I had my fingers crossed that there would be extra scenes or dialogue to explain some things better. After all, Mappa added an extra scene showing what happened to Grisha’s parents in the previous special episode, which I unfortunately did not get around to reviewing. Seeing that added scene gave me some hope that there would be new additions to the conclusion. So, having now seen the final episode of Attack on Titan, do I think the anime improved on the manga’s ending? Yes! Do I like it now? Not exactly, no. In my opinion, the ending still has a lot of problems. However, most of these big issues only appear in the last half hour. The rest of the final episode is mostly great, with incredible animation from Mappa and a fantastic score. This is going to be my largest review by a wide margin, so buckle up. The episode begins where the previous special episode left off, with the Alliance landing on Eren’s gigantic Titan to confront him and stop the Rumbling. Armin quickly realizes he has to transform into the Colossal Titan to try and locate Eren and Zeke but, before he can, he is kidnapped by an okapi Titan created by Ymir. The panels of the okapi sticking its tongue down Armin’s throat to prevent him transforming were already disgusting in the manga, but it’s a million times grosser here. As the okapi takes Armin away, the rest of the Alliance are surrounded by countless Titans, whom Pieck correctly speculates are copies of all the previous Titan Shifters. Back when this happened in the manga, I criticized it for feeling out of nowhere, but in retrospect I think this was actually a pretty cool writing decision on Isayama’s part. Realizing the danger they now face, Pieck goes to kill Eren quickly by attempting to detonate the explosives at his head, but she is stopped by a copy of the Warhammer Titan. Following this, the Alliance are attacked by the copies, including ones of Porco, Marcel and Bertolt, in a thrilling action scene, expertly animated by Mappa. This ends with everyone in the Alliance cornered, about to be killed, when who should show up to save the day but Annie, riding Falco’s flying Titan with Gabi.Now safe on Falco’s back, the Alliance discusses their next move, and all regretfully agree that their only option is to kill Eren, much to Mikasa’s horror. Circling back to Eren, the Alliance splits up, with Jean and Reiner going to detonate the explosives Pieck wrapped around Eren’s neck; Mikasa, Annie and Connie going to rescue Armin; and Falco, Levi and Gabi continuing to fly above. More amazing animation follows, with the best parts of this section being Pieck’s jet-pack Titan skills, and Mikasa and Annie humorously arguing over which Titan it was that took Armin. This second match goes about as well as first, however, with the Alliance on the ropes again. Armin is watching all of this happen and, standing over his own unconscious body, screams at himself about how useless he often feels. This is probably my favourite voice acting from the final episode, with Marina Inoue giving a fantastic and emotional performance. Although, despite how emotional this scene is, it has nothing on the cliff scene that follows. When I watched the previous special episode, I was disappointed to see this moment was not adapted, and I was desperately hoping that it would be in the final episode. Well, I was not disappointed because this scene is next and it is even more powerful that I imagined it being. The scene shows a group of thousands of people trapped between two kinds of certain death. They can either be crushed by the Rumbling, or they can fall off a cliff to their deaths. As the Rumbling closes in, people are eventually forced off the cliff, one of these people being a mother. With one last, courageous act, the mother passes off her baby before she falls to her death. As the next person holding the baby falls, they also pass the baby on, and on, and on, and on. Countless people all facing their inevitable deaths pass this baby on in what they know will most likely be a futile attempt to save its life. It is one of the most beautiful and horrifying moments in the entire series, and seeing it in the anime made me tear up. The visuals for this scene only add to the emotion, with everything being in black and white with the exception of the mother and her baby. I am almost certain that the way this scene was animated was inspired by the little girl in the red coat from Schindler’s List. This scene is, without a doubt, my favourite in the entire episode.