BY LOGAN CARUSO, STAFF WRITER
What many fans expected to be the final episode of the “Attack on Titan” series ended up being just the last episode of Season 4 Part 2. Just hours before the episode was about to be aired, MAPPA, the show’s production company, released a statement stating that the show would have an additional part three to season four to allow enough time to finish the show’s storyline.
“Attack on Titan” is an anime tv adaptation of the manga series of the same name created by Hajime Isayama. The show began airing in 2013 and was an instant success.
The show follows the story of Eren Yeager and the Scout Regiment as they try to fight off giant humanoid monsters known as Titans while at the same time exploring the lands that lay outside the walls protecting their homeland. The most recent season takes place a few years after season three finished. Season four put much more focus on the antagonists from the previous seasons and their lives outside of Pardis Island.
This season also perfectly portrayed the metamorphism that Eren Yeager undergoes from the black and white hero of the story to maybe one of the most well written antiheroes of all time. In an article written by Rafael Motamayor for IGN he describes this same idea. “Attack on Titan’s biggest accomplishment is to see Eren get one of the best heel turns not just in anime, but in all of fiction since Walter White,” he said. Eren releasing the Rumbling and setting off to destroy all life outside of Pardis Island has become one of the most impactful moments of the entire show.
Fans of the show that have not read the manga will need to wait until 2023 to see the dramatic conclusion of the Rumbling. Many fans are not thrilled with the announcement that came just hours before the last episode of part two aired. But it is a much-needed break for MAPPA studios.
Between season three and four ‘‘Attack on Titan’’ switched production companies. With MAPPA studios taking over for WIT studios. Many fans have been ecstatic about the new art style which is much closer to the original manga’s style.
This has come at a cost, however, with many reports coming out about harsh working conditions for employees of MAPPA studios. Many staff were allegedly overworked and one former freelance animator for the studio named “Mushiyo” went to Twitter to describe the work conditions, “I don’t know why I worked so hard to get into this company. I don’t understand why us employees are spread all over, like we’re in the fields. It’s filthy. The thing that makes me want to quit is that every week, we don’t finish our work until morning hits.” MAPPA has since received backlash from their fans about their working conditions for animators. Hopefully this break in production allows the studio to correct some of the issues with their treatment of staff and prepare for the final season of arguably the most popular anime series of all time.
