Let us quickly come back to the work of Hajime Isayama for the few who would have completely missed it. Attack on Titan (short for Snk or AoT by fans) first appeared in September 2009 in Japan. At the time, Hajime Isayama submits a one-shot to the Shueisha, the editor of the famous Weekly Shônen Jump, who rejects it because of a tone too far removed from the editorial line.. Isayama then turns to Kodansha, the main competitor of the Shueisha, who agrees to publish his work.
Soon after, Kodansha launched a new format with the Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, and asks Isayama to prepare an assignment for submission. The author then proposes the first boards of a story that will become The Attack of the Titans, the biggest manga phenomenon of the decade. The publication of Attack on Titan continues until 2024. The manga circulation exceeded 100 million copies in 2019, and the success of the work gave rise to a whole series of derivative products: Live Action films, toys, clothes, video games… and especially anime, on which Hajime Isayama himself worked. And it is precisely the anime that interests us today.
This answer contains spoils for the beginning of the story. If they are underage, we recommend that readers skip this text if they have not yet seen or read anything, and wish to begin Attack on Titan once the work is fully completed.
Almost a century before the events recounted in the original work, the Titans, gigantic humanoid creatures, appeared and almost wiped out humanity. Devoid of apparent intelligence, these giants seem to act only by instinct, and devour the first people who cross their path. To protect themselves, the remaining humans built a series of walls, each separated by a hundred kilometers. Within these walls, humans were able to survive and train to fight these monsters.. The army is made up of different battalions, which are specialized in several areas: exploration, garrison, and special brigade.
Our story begins when Eren Jaeger, a reckless young boy, sees his mother being devoured by the Titans as a mysterious Titan battleship has just appeared by piercing one of the walls. His father having disappeared, Eren finds himself without any attachment. With her adopted sister Mikasa and her best friend Armin, he then promises to take his revenge on the Titans and decides to join the ranks of the exploration battalion which will allow him to fight on the front line.
Years later, another attack by the battleship Titan occurs as Eren and his friends are on patrol. Completely submerged, the soldiers fight for their survival, until a new Titan suddenly appears and begins to take on the other giant monsters. After the fight, this Titan that no one has ever seen is revealed to be Eren who has no memory of his transformation. Then begins a long quest to know the origin of the Titans and flush out the enemy who lurks in the shadows and leads repeated assaults.
Attack on Titan Season Finale Part 2 to be released on January 9, at the rate of one episode per week. If we believe the model of part 1, 16 episodes should be released, thus spanning 4 months. Remember that the manga is already finished, and that this final batch of episodes should logically conclude the series. Nevertheless, the production could reserve a last standstill, in the form of a film which would be released later in theaters.
Like most anime today, this second part of the Attack on Titan Final Season will be simulcast (at the same time as our Japanese friends). In France, it is Wakanim who mainly owns the rights to Attack on Titan, and who has broadcast all the episodes so far. Nevertheless, we already know that Crunchyroll will also broadcast the episodes of this last season simultaneously. No information regarding an additional streaming platform has yet been communicated.
Again, this answer contains many spoilers. For those who have not yet watched the entire anime, we recommend that you skip to the next question.
In the first part of this final season, Eren and the Exploration Battalion lead a stealth assault on Mahr. While the decisions Eren made are made against the common opinion of his group, the exploration battalion begins to seriously question its motives.
Meanwhile, Mahr begins to organize a new assault on Paradise with the aim of exterminating once and for all the Eldians on the island. The season ends on a massive cliffhanger, as Eren, trapped by Mahr, prepares to transform to face Reiner and his battleship Titan.
The second part of this season will logically resume at this precise moment and adapt the last chapters of the great earthworks arc. The following episodes should give us a breathtaking finale, and bring an epic conclusion to the legendary clash between Mahr and the people of Heaven. It remains to be seen whether the ending of the anime will move away from the original material or faithfully adapt the manga.
The first three seasons were produced by the studio Wit, before the final season of Attack on Titan was handed over to the studio MAPPA. Created by Masao maruyama, co-creator of the legendary Madhouse studio, MAPPA has continued to shine for several years. The studio has to its credit adaptations like Yuri on Ice, Last Hero Inuyashiki, Banana Fish, Dororo, or Jujutsu Kaisen, the last great success of Weekly Shonen Jump. Skilfully blending 2D and 3D animation, the latter’s work on Attack on Titan has been widely praised, and should once again shine in this final game.. MAPPA should then release the episodes of Chainsaw Man, a success already announced.
