Years of anticipation and build-up has led us to this moment in history- the premiere of Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 Episode 1. This might be the most anticipated anime season of all time. Let’s get right into it!
Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 Episode 1 Overview
What more is there left to be said about Attack On Titan? Even if you only consider yourself a casual anime fan, this show is probably one that you know about and watch avidly. It is an action and supernatural show based on the works of Hajime Isayama. It is known as Shingeki no Kyojin in original Japanese, and thus this half of the season is also called Shingeki no Kyojin Season 4 Part 2. You can also call it Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2 or Shingeki no Kyojin Final Season Part 2 if you’d like.
This season is being animated by Studio MAPPA, a powerhouse studio behind several immensely popular anime properties, including Jujutsu Kaisen and the future Chainsaw Man. This season is directed by Yuiichirou Hayashi, with Jun Shishido serving as the chief director of the show. The duo was also in charge of Part 1 of the final season, alongside several other acclaimed anime such as Kakegurui and Hajime no Ippo.
– Shingeki no Kyojin Season 4 Part 2 Episode 1 Review does not contain any spoilers –
Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 2 Episode 1 Review- As Intense as Always
Since this final season is the only time we have discussed Attack on Titan here, let us begin with this writer’s thoughts on Part 1 of the final season. Season 4 Part 1 was by far the weakest season of the show and did several things that came across as unnecessary at that particular moment. The attempt to humanise Marleyans didn’t quite work as the writers intended, and they managed to make an entire country look supremely dumb to every viewer.
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Not just that, the decision to focus more than half of the season on new characters and newer environments such as Marley was a particularly weird one. Not only does that take away the focus from the characters you’ve spent almost 4 seasons establishing (Levi and Mikasa were criminally underused), the audience also doesn’t share any knowledge or connection with the newer baddies like Yelena. The less that is said about Eren’s sudden personality change and turning to the dark side, the better.
However, it was still Attack on Titan. It was intense, gory, emotional, dramatic, and thrilling, in a decidedly unique manner. Thus, when Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2 Episode 1 decided to hint that Eren might not really have turned to the dark side quite yet, everything clicked yet again. Almost every sin of the first part was forgiven as we saw Eren take on his one true rival, Reiner. Ignoring the fact that Reiner should have been dead about 5 times now since the show’s beginning, at least he was a good character to keep alive.
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Attack on Titan is a unique show. The gritty and depressing atmosphere does a lot of heavy lifting to make the show feel as dark and foreboding as ever. The heavily detailed art style that insists on showing every wrinkle on the characters’ faces gives it a more horrifying and scary vibe than most horror anime around. The soundtrack by Masafumi Mima is also tremendous and fits the show very well.
What this episode did best was announce loudly that this was the final ride for the show and that this season is going to be befitting the most popular anime of all time by many metrics. When Attack on Titan is good, it is a masterpiece, and the show hopes to go out being as good as some of its best moments. Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 Episode 1 was a great culmination of all the things the show set up in part 1. It is just a shame that the things it set up weren’t very good.
There are a lot of hopes riding on this season. Attack on Titan is a show that has gone where very few have gone before and has managed to be a cultural phenomenon the likes of which we have rarely seen. While Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 Episode 1 was a very good indicator of this entire season as a whole, the show will have to do everything nearly perfect to maintain the level of success that it has. But then again, if any show can do it, it is this one.
Verdict
Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 Episode 1 was a tremendous start to the final leg of the show and managed to answer a lot of questions while still creating new mysteries. There will probably never be a show like this ever again, so enjoy this while it lasts.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!