#Staff
(only click if you're interested in that kinda stuff, lol)
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##Core Staff
It’s finally here. After agonizing yesterday the entire evening over when it will eventually air on Crunchyroll until I gave up and went to bed, it’s here, and I could watch it.
As I already mentioned in my part 2 review, I’m a manga reader and I adore manga, so this was very exciting (Don’t worry, there will be no spoilers going beyond how far the anime is right now, but this review will contain spoilers for this episode). I neither had the commitment nor the time to stalk official YT playlists or analyze which tweets get retweeted from that animator or the other, but I was looking forward to this very much.
So. How did it turn out? Was it amazing? Or disappointing overall?
For me, it fell pretty much into the realm of expectations. It wasn’t cinema, but it wasn’t bad either. It was good, although I do admit in a bit of a disappointing way of “good”, as I hoped a little that it would exceed my expectations, that Hayashi may show me something which I couldn’t dream of even if I tried. That is not to say that they didn’t try to make this adaptation their own - There are plenty of additions, particularly when it comes to 131 and the rumbling, which I don’t recall reading in the manga and I liked all of them.
Hanji’s death was also my favorite scene, it hit hard to be reminded of the weight she carries, her recalling her comrades, and her final scene with Levi and her taking on the colossal titans. It was the only scene that made me tear up. The soundtrack for her sakuga sequence was nice as well, we got some very nicely animated sequences for the reunion of the alliance and the founder too, they delivered pretty well in this regard.
Regarding production quality in general I have little to no complaints. It never hits the point where I say it looks phenomenal, but it looks consistently good even with its detailed character designs. The 3D-2D mixing continues to be solid, and they utilize 3D in some cuts pretty well, although I think they could’ve pushed it even further. And, this founder still looks goofy. It needs to be said.
I also enjoyed just seeing all these characters again. The sequences with Armin and Annie are lovely, although it is bizarre in contrast to the rumbling happening in real-time of course, as Annie points rightfully out. I also like how Mikasa immediately realized what was going on, her expression is so cute. I know, this is the grand finale, but I enjoy these little things.
If there is anything that I have to point out as a flaw in this special, it probably is that it’s only that “good”. As I said before, I hoped it to be even more, particularly 131 which was just exhilarating to read in the manga. Even with all the additions I appreciate, 131 in the anime didn’t hit me to the bone as I hoped. The most important still here is also framed badly, but moreover, the overall package just wasn’t that good. It wasn’t able to replicate the feeling I had when I first read the manga.
To sum up, Attack on Titan is still going strong and Hayashi and his team delivered. I have my complaints, but this is a solid adaptation regardless, and I’m happy to have it. Very much looking forward to the 2nd Part, which will wrap up this series finally! Can’t wait to see certain moments animated. I also like the theme song from SIM, not as much as the rumbling, but I think I will listen to it more. It’s a nice callback to the first ending of Attack on Titan with its visuals too.
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