Attack On Titan – the most popular anime ever returns for a banger fourth after the climactic ending of season three. The series once again manages to succeed in expanding its immersive world and brings in a lot of diversity and political conflicts into the mix while developing well-rounded characters and themes.
- Season four opens up with a bunch of unfamiliar faces right in the middle of a war that takes place after a four time-skip. It’s during this arc that two new characters, Gabi and Falco, are introduced. Gabi is a proud (and annoying) Eldian of Marley who has been brainwashed by the stories of the Devils of Paradis, people she has never met in her life but still blames them for all the discrimination Eldians face across the world. Falco, on the other hand, is more likeable and open-minded, he does not believe everything that is being fed to him and thinks for himself.
- One of the negatives I have about AoT is first the animation, it's decent enough but I feel it could’ve been better if Mappa’s staff were given enough time. Overall, it’s an incomplete product that was way different from what was promised in the trailer. The Blu-ray version fixes the issues of the animation so I suggest watching that.
- This season continues develops its characters and persuade the viewer to buy into each of their motivations. This became the main conflict of the season as viewers watch the moral shifts in the characters and overall theme. This season greatly changed my perspective on al lot of the characters like Levi, Armin, Mikasa, Floch and mainly Zeke ~~Onii-chan~~ who became one of my favorites after just one episode. It also introducing some great characters like Yelena, etc.
- In the beginning seasons, most people are on board with Eren Jaeger’s goal to destroy the titans and save humanity. However, by the end of season four, Eren has turned into the antagonist of the show (he’s way more badass as an antagonist than as a good guy). Now while his 180-personality change is a little too unbelievable because we weren’t shown much reason as to why he suddenly turned into a maniac who would put his home and friends at risk just so he could kill a “few” Marleyans and declare war on the world. Even in his conversation with Reiner, he’s clearly stated that Reiner had no choice when he destroyed Eren’s home, “you didn’t know any better”, he understood that this hatred between Marley and Eldia was a pointless war and that they were just brainwashed soldiers following orders, but he still decided to go with his plan. I feel Eren knows more than he’s letting on, it has been hinted throughout the season, it will most likely be revealed in Part 2.
- We also see a shift in Gabi as well, who over time starts to see that the brainwashing that everything Marley has told her about the “Devils” of Paradis might not be so true, as she’s taken in and cared for by Eldians. The great thing about this season is how the viewer gets to take a closer look at the bigger picture, seeing the cost of war, mainly how it affects people and how each side believes they are doing the right thing, but slowly question the cause that they devoted their hearts to.
- Another great thing about Attack on Titan is easily the foreshadowing and planning isayama put into his series. I actually loved season 4 better while rewatching it, noticing all the hidden details and easter eggs some of which were shown during the season 2 and 3 anime before isayama even drew it in the manga. There are probably way hidden details and foreshadowing in this season that will be revealed in Part 2.
Season 4 although is titled the “Final Season” acts as somewhat of a setup for Part 2 and I honestly cannot wait to see how everything plays out.