So that happened. Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 was an extremely entertaining watch that still managed to leave an entire subsection of its fans dissatisfied with how it turned out. Let’s take a look at what happened in this review!
Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 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. We reviewed this season weekly, and you can check out those reviews here! They’re great for rewatches!
– Shingeki no Kyojin Season 4 Part 2 Review does not contain any spoilers –
Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2 Review- The Plot
Attack on Titan is a show that is deep into exploring the consequences of war and the cycle of hatred, and it does so with a lot of success. It sowed the seeds of this particular storyline with the first introduction to Marley in Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 1. It tried to demonstrate the plight of the Eldians from Marley and how they were still suffering from the consequences of a war that happened centuries ago. It didn’t always work, but it really did try. At the end of the day, isn’t this all that matters? No. No, it does not.
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The season began with Eren and Zeke supposedly on the same side and Marley attacking Paradis for one final time. This led to one of the most intense and entertaining series of episodes in any anime, with episodes 3, 4, and 5 all being masterclasses in storytelling, character writing, and captivating the audience to a level never seen before. The series was proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was one of the greatest series ever conceived and deserved all the adulation it was getting.
Then the season slowed down for its entirety to allow for more interpersonal relationships to develop and some philosophical discussion among enemies. The episodes fostered an unholy alliance between characters you would never conceive of, and their interactions revealed a lot about what the creators were trying to go for from the start. You didn’t have to agree with it, but it was done very well. While the sides of Marley and Paradis aren’t equally at fault despite the show desperately trying to make it so, one could easily understand if someone had this opinion.
The lack of spoilers prevents me from going further on this particular topic, but whatever happened in this season was worth experiencing multiple times. The story was engaging and effective, the pacing was deliberately slow and helped the content a lot, and there were twists and turns that threatened to tear the entire anime world apart. The philosophy might be a hit or miss for you, depending upon your opinion on the show’s direction, but no one can deny its efficacy.
Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 Review- The Characters
You will notice a pattern in this review, and while I won’t say it explicitly, I welcome comments if you think you have it. The characters in Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 were somewhat hit or miss. The main character, Eren Yeager, was portrayed tremendously, and he’s one of the most well-written characters in the history of all of anime. He is complicated and controversial in just the right manner and has rightfully split the narrative and fandom into two different factions. He is, without a doubt, the highlight of the show.
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In the same vein, the characterisations of a few other characters were amazing, including Zeke and founder Ymir. Reiner was a great tortured character, and so was Connie, interestingly. Plenty of other characters were fine, if nothing special, such as Hange, who wasn’t present in much of the season but made an impact whenever she was, and Gabi, who was more tolerable in this season and wasn’t as hated but still a pain to deal with from time to time. Jean got his moment in the sun, which called back upon his character from Season 1, a nice touch.
On the other hand, many characters seemed like the show had already left them behind and moved on. Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 continued the trend that started from Part 1, which saw the show cast aside Mikasa and Eren as unimportant characters that weren’t worth paying much attention to. I’m sure that this could change in a second as they are still a part of the show’s main cast and ones with the most important goal right now, but one can’t deny how much they’ve fallen from grace ever since Season 3 ended. The same goes for most other Survey Corps members, especially Levi.
Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 Review- Animation and Music
I would never have thought this section would be another controversial one, but it somehow turned out to be. MAPPA’s work with the animation has been divisive among fans, especially those who were fans of the work Studio WIT were doing. MAPPA had tried to reduce the stark difference between titans and human characters in the show that were present when WIT was animating the show, but that has resulted in worse looking titans and even worse moving ones. Let’s hope they look better in Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 3.
However, titans are seemingly the only ones affected by this animation, as the action involving humans looks as crisp and smooth as ever. The action scenes in this season aren’t that many in quantity but are extremely high in quality. The music sounded great as well, and even if you might not recall any of the tunes when an episode ends, you’ll surely enjoy them while they are playing. I couldn’t care less about the opening theme, Rumbling, however. The lyrics are generic gibberish, and it sounds like a free music library track with some screaming mixed in. The ending was decent, but nothing special.
Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 Review- The Production
This is where the majority of issues with Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 lie, and you better believe we are going to talk about it. I mentioned this a lot in my episodic reviews, to the chagrin of many, but this deserves to be called out. The production team behind Attack on Titan seems to be dead set on milking every little ounce of money that they can out of this golden cow of theirs, which threatens to ruin the legacy of the show forever.
The production team behind the show refuses to communicate anything with the viewers, leaving them in the dark about everything that’s going to happen with the series. They make decisions like naming Season 4 “The Final Season”, even though there have been two years and two seasons since then, and the show still hasn’t seen a finale. Do they not know what “Final” means, or do they just not care? Since they never communicate anything, the viewer base is left with no means but to speculate, resulting in far worse theories than the truth.
While this might seem blasphemous to some, the animation and production quality aren’t even that good to entail all this secrecy and this many breaks. There are shows running right now that look better than Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 at times, despite what I’m assuming are the animators’ best efforts. This is not on anyone, but the top brass of the show, and the show is getting some highly deserved hate for this. The production needs to do better because if my final episodes can be ruined by the thought of the series not ending in this season, then so can everyone else’s.
Verdict
Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 was a cultural event that did many things right, including delivering upon a supremely impactful story filled with amazing twists and turns. However, the production problems of Season 4 keep being the worst part of the show, bringing the entire season down in quality.
I think Mappa produced this seaosn very well. Honestly I could care less about the long waits between seasons and leaving us in the dark as long as the show stands out. This season for me is the strongest season, up there with season 3 part 2. Mappa did perfectly with what they could in 8 months, and no animation studio would’ve done better imo. Yes this season could’ve finished here but that would’ve made it rushed and bad quality. If not we would have to wait another 3 years for a 23 long season which could be bad due to being dragged on. The worst part of the whole s4 for me was Annie’s return. S4 imo is the most consistent in writing, while part 2 can be paced a little bad at times, but hoesntly just makes up for it due to the sheer weight of each episode. S3 part 2 most well rounded season, S4 part 2 best one for me.
How do you know a 23 episode anime would have sucked? Why is MAPPA so inept that they need twice as long to do everything? How do you know it would have been rushed if it was 23 episodes? You do not.
I can agree with your review for the most part but definitely not the animation. I think while for the most part it still wasn’t as good as WIT’s animation, it was definitely a massive improvement compared to part 1 with a lot of memorable moments. Definitely had no problem with the action this time.
I can see where you’re coming from. Maybe I just preferred the grittier style WIT used, or maybe I just didn’t feel like MAPPA’s animation was good enough to justify the amount of breaks and time they take.
This is one of the most unprofessional reviews I have ever read. It is ridiculous to fault a show for their release schedule, which is clearly what you are doing here. You complain about them misleading audiences about the final season but you have the most bait rating possible. On the topic of animation I could care less for your rating because if you have watched the show, you and I both know that it is not carried by the animation whatsoever. As for the character ratings I am also confused because every single character has legitimate aspirations and actual human emotions. The dynamics between the characters, the exploration of trauma, how the characters stay true to who they are from the very beginning is nothing short of top tier and I cant see an argument as to otherwise.
If you can’t see an argument otherwise, read the review again. Or stop taking your own opinion as gospel. Or both. Preferably both.
Remember in the current season there is a rumbling animation. According to Hayashi, the rumbling was the most complicated part. If they finished all at once until the last chapter, then the quality of rumbling would be trash, it wouldn’t be like this. maybe wall titan will look like the collosal titan s3 part 2 from WIT, that’s really trash