The great epilogue has come. One of the most famous stories of the Japanese anime scene comes to an end, establishing itself as one of the most appreciated and acclaimed series by the public and critics. Attack of the Giants: Season 4 Part 2 makes its way into the winter anime schedule, confirming itself once again as a undisputed success and that catalyzes the attention of numerous fans who anxiously awaited the last part of a ten-year history that has revolutionized the conception of shōnen contemporary manga. The second part of the final season of Shingeki no Kyojinin simulcast on the streaming platform Crunchyroll every Monday for version subscribers Premium, and free for other users a week later, is all we expected. And maybe even more. If you missed the first part, here’s our review to refresh your memory.
The last season of the anime, which traces the latest volumes of the manga of Hajime Isayamafocuses on the political implications consequent to the events and the decisive choices of the protagonist Eren Jager, who converge in the final battle with the Marleyan people, accused of having confined and dominated the Eldians. After the betrayal of Zeke everything is ready for the final purge: through contact between the Progenitor (acquired by Eren) and a member of the royal family (aka Zeke) will open the Coordinate and with this the power to destroy the whole world thanks to the power of the Colossal Giants enclosed within the walls of Paradis.
The decision to divide the last season of Attack on Titan into two parts seems to coincide with the need to dedicate to this second part a narrative relaxation and a psychological deepening of the characters – and in particular of the protagonist – greater than the previous ones. The Map Studio, which reconfirms itself as adequate and intelligently weighted in the directorial and animated choices, wants to propose a more thoughtful cross-section of the sudden change of course that the Isayama manga has taken from this narrative juncture onwards. If on the one hand, in fact, history becomes excited, it is therefore preparing to close its doors using a pressing diegetic rhythm, reflecting the psychological mood that characterizes the facts and events that overlap without leaving room for hesitation even on the part of the spectators (let alone the characters), the treatment given to the psychological, symbolic and metaphysical dimension is different.
Eren’s character at this juncture needs to be analyzed: we are in the final stages, his change took place unexpectedly in the first part of the season, now it must be explained, contextualized, internalized. Unlike what one might think, in fact, the protagonist unfolds in a controversial and multifaceted nature: in the first episodes released so far we have ascertained how disproportionate his power is and how much the responsibility for this makes him the savior of all humanity, the messiah that the Eldians awaited for their liberation from Paradise. This power has, at the same time, blinded him, subjugated him, trapped in a whirlwind of pain and anger from which not even his brother Zeke is able to remove him. Eren is not a bad character, as has been said by many, he is simply a martyr of the same fate as the progenitor Ymirherself victim of an unwanted future, she tries to make up for it. The attack of the Giants it is therefore confirmed to be a structurally complex story, unhinging from its primitive categorization in fantasy, addressing a lot on the genre psychological fictional politician.
The speed and rhythm of these first episodes is, therefore, proportional to this double narrative value: on the one hand the battle, with the events that crowd and overwhelm without leaving a margin of breath, on the other the Coordinate, Eren, the his ambivalent relationship with his brother, the need to be absolved of an accusation both internal and external to the narrative. An ambivalence which manifests itself therefore in an alternation of a diegetic character, which divides the narration in two and which makes it asynchronous with respect to a classical linear fruition. But this is not necessarily a disadvantage.
The narrative reflects the need for close a circle that began almost ten years ago: parallel to the narrative setting of the manga, the anime follows the setting desired by Isayama himself for his story. The information that follows one another from episode to episode is a lot, greatly upsetting everything we knew up to now. By increasing the amount of knowledge about the world outlined by Isayama, our perception of the narrative rhythm also becomes much more excited and rich in nuances. And this, like it or not, reminds us inexorably that this story is reaching its epilogue. Although perhaps this narrative choice of changing the cards on the table right at the end is not shared by everyone, this goes beyond the setting of the animated transposition, which more or less faithfully adheres to the director’s choices of the mangaka.
As was already widely said when the first adaptation of The attack of the Giants by the Study Map, behind the animated transposition is always the spirit of Isayama, who monitors the adaptation work and at the same time inserts some small symbolic nuances that enrich and complete this transposition compared to the paper one. While it is true that some parts are synthesized (such as verbose military dialogues and some not excessively necessary jokes), on the other hand some dialogues or frame changes are inserted that denote small metaphorically eloquent stylistic changes and therefore complete the ultimate meaning of a beautiful same scene depicted in the manga. Also in this case we have moved towards this path already traveled, thanks to slight nuances which, however, can say a lot to a careful eye. Different field / reverse angles in Eren’s memories in the fourth episode, for example, show some peculiarities of the character’s psychology that are more explicit only thanks to these directorial choices. Even some jokes are directed towards this choice, imposing the animated version as a complement to the narrative of the manga, and therefore essential even for those who have already completed the reading of history.
This anime is available subtitled in Italian on Crunchyroll, the first international online platform completely dedicated to the world of Japanese animation, manga and drama. You can watch for free Crunchyroll on your PC, on your smartphone and on your console by signing up with a free account or by signing a monthly subscription plan which will allow you to follow anime in simulcasting with Japan.
From the animated point of view, once again the Map Studio confirms itself as adequate for the transposition of a work of such narrative significance: the action scenes are adequate to the style of the Studio, which with its adherence to a very adult physiognomy represents the rawness of an excited, insensitive and insane diegetic situation. The clean, concise and violent stroke, the whirling, frenetic and aseptic animation, the visual setting that mixes 2D animation with CGI for the animation of giants crystallizes an impactful animated product. With some structural flaws typical of a deliberate adherence to the paper material that in some points strangles the viewer’s gaze highlighting some visual cracks, however, it is necessary to admit the ability of the Map Studio to make the best of a serial product of this caliber.
For the moment the first episodes of The Attack of the Giants: Final Season released so far are confirmed essential both from a narrative and a technical point of view, with their thoughtful narrative speed showing the plot holes that need to be filled before the real ending. But it’s not over yet … ..
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