Attack on Titan Final Season Part 1 Anime Thoughts: The Highlight of Winter 2021
Watching Attack on Titan, the Final Season Part 1, has been the highlight of my Sundays this entire winter anime season. I love this series so much and this season did not disappoint! This is an anime to watch for how well-executed the storyline is and how wonderfully captivating the animation is. And major spoiler alert as well for anyone who has not watched AOT.
The “Final” Season (Season 4) of AOT starts out basically in a completely new environment with characters that we know nothing about. We see a major war campaign being played out where the country, Marley, is working on a takeover of another country utilizing the power of the titans. The first few episodes were a very interesting exploration of Marley, the home of some of the villains of seasons prior - Reiner, Bertoldt, and Annie. I really love AOT for its world building and complexity of characters. By taking viewers into the society of Marley, it creates a conundrum where you feel like you’re starting understand the actions and motivations of the characters you previously despised as villains. There’s always two sides to every coin, and this show explores that to a very intense level. It’s also exciting to see events leading up to an insanely epic action sequence. Within the first few episodes, you see your favorite characters trickling in to the plot line again - notably Eren. And the battle in Marley was one of the best things I have seen in anime in a long time. I was living for the introduction of new titans, the reintroduction of our favorite characters, and the absolute bad-ass-ery of the Scouts as they annihilated the town square. To be fair, at this point, viewers were probably experiencing a mixed bag of emotions because it’s a pretty terrible massacre…But at the same time, 80% of my emotions were screaming “YES REVENGE ARC! GO GET ‘EM!” The rest of the season is a lot more about politics and relationships rather than epic battle scenes, but I feel like I got the adrenaline rush I needed from the Marley attack.
It’s really fascinating to see how the characters have evolved and changed from the ending of season 3 to the start of season 4. All of the children we watched in the beginning have become full grown adults, some with beards and most (if not all) with hardened expressions. And as the characters grew stronger, the stakes became higher. I think that this season does an excellent job showing how history and human nature has led up to this horrible situation where countries are at the brink of war. And each side will be quick to judge the other side by virtue of what they were taught to believe rather than what they actually experienced. It’s like an exploration of racism and real-life political power dynamics in an animated series, but with the addition of fantastical elements like titan-shifting humans and crazy worlds. When Zeke and Levi were fighting it out in the forest, I honestly did not know which side to support. While I freaking love Levi (because who doesn’t?), I’m also kind of torn by my innate support of Eren (and by extension, Zeke). I feel like Eren has a plan and he isn’t completely evil yet. Ultimately, when I see titan Eren on the roof of the building facing the incoming Marley airships in the final episode, you know that I’m going to be screaming for him to whip out all his titan powers to take them down.
In conclusion…
This post isn’t really a review but rather me going on and on about my thoughts for this show. I love Attack on Titan and I thought this season was straight fire for how much it kept me entertained every single week. I think the story is so well thought-out, because the themes from the very beginning of season 1 have been building on each other to lead us to this moment. The characters are complex and sometimes you’re not even sure what side you’re on, who’s the villain, and if there even IS a villain. The mystery of it all is addicting, and the action keeps your eyes glued to the screen. Props to the entire MAPPA animation team and the mangaka, Hajime Isayama, for creating a series that captured the imagination of the world and brought fans together. Really looking forward to part 2 when it comes out!