Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2

Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2

Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2 anime series cover art
Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2

The Final Season Part 2?

Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2 (Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season Part 2 / 進撃の巨人 The Final Season Part 2) is actually the 6th season of the Attack on Titan anime. That means the upcoming Final Part of the Final Season is going to be the 7th season.

There have been a lot of jokes made about how the Final Season of the series keeps getting extended. I’ve made many of those jokes myself. But, in this review, I’d like to explain a bit why I believe they’ve titled these seasons the way they have.

First of all, all three parts of this “Final Season” take place after the last time skip of the series. Because of that, you could group this third of the series (in terms of the manga) into one collective, or season.

The other big reason for naming these series this way is that it creates hype. The Final Season (Part 1) was the first season animated by Mappa instead of Wit. So, how do you create hype for a season fans are expecting to be worse than what came before it?

Obviously, you title it “The Final Season.” That gets people talking about it. It also makes fans who may have dropped off over the years catch back up. Basically, it’s a tactic to trick people into thinking that the climax is here.

The thing is, anyone who read the manga knew this wasn’t going to be the final season. It had around 50/139 chapters to adapt. But, the manga readers weren’t the ones the anime needed to attract. They needed the anime-only viewers to care.

Oh, and yes, the Final Part of the Final Season is actually going to finish the series. There are only 9 chapters left to cover.

Misunderstanding The Series

I’m a big Attack on Titan Fan. I think it generally has a great story and characters. Eren is one of my favorite characters in anime/manga. And I can assure you, I didn’t think that was going to be the case when I started watching the series.

Generally, I don’t think protagonists are the best characters in their respective series. But, I really liked how Isayama shifted Eren’s role throughout Attack on Titan. By the time we get to The Final Season, he’s become the antagonist.

It’s going to be over a year from now, but I plan to write a full article on how a lot of people have misunderstood the main themes of this story as well as Eren’s character. I want to wait to do that until the anime is completely done.

Eren and Zeke in Grisha's memories from the anime series Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2
Eren and Zeke in Grisha’s memories

But, I feel like it’s important to bring up now because, with this latest season, I’ve seen a lot of people claiming that the series is fascist propaganda. These people seem to not understand that nationalism and genocide are never depicted as good.

Yes, they are depicted in the series. But it’s always the antagonists who are promoting these ideologies. Just because Eren Yeager is now the one doing so doesn’t mean that it’s a good thing. Eren is no longer the protagonist. He’s the enemy our heroes are trying to stop.

If you’re looking for the protagonist of The Final Season, it’s Gabi Braun. Throughout this second part of the season, we see Gabi transitioning into the hero Eren was supposed to be. And while I’ve seen anime watchers start to appreciate Gabi more, I think having time to reflect on this season will only serve to reinforce the idea that she too is a great character.

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More Enjoyable Than the Manga

So far, I’ve been saying good things about this season. And, honestly, I think there are a lot more good things to say about it than bad. Overall, I think the content of The Final Season is some of the best the series has to offer.

The problem with Part 1 of The Final Season is that Mappa didn’t execute it all that well at times. With this part, I think they fixed all those problems. This part of the season looked way better than the previous part (except for all the off-model shots of Eren).

Now, something I didn’t expect to be writing here is that I actually enjoyed the content of this part a lot more in the anime than in the manga. In the manga, I was losing interest by this time.

Connie and Armin being confronted by Samuel and Daz from the anime series Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2
Connie and Armin being confronted by Samuel and Daz

Attack on Titan is just a series that really benefits from being animated. And, of course, the soundtrack is iconic. Even scenes that were pretty boring in the manga were exciting in the anime adaptation of this part.

With all of that said, though, the beginning of the end is upon us. I genuinely believe Attack on Titan has one of the worst endings of any series I’ve watched/read. The cracks have begun to appear in this part, and they’re only going to get worse.

It works if you don’t think about it, but the whole Paths/Attack Titan future memories thing is just a time travel paradox. And then there was the introduction of the (space?) worm that’s somehow responsible for the Titans.

I’m really looking forward to reviewing the Final Part of the series, but not because I think it’s going to be good. I can’t wait to tear it apart.

Conclusion

Overall, Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2 is an 8/10 from me. Going into the season, I never expected that I would be rating it this highly. But, I think Mappa did an exceptional job at turning this portion of the series into one of the best.

Oh, and I almost forgot, both the OP and ED for this part were great. The ED might be my favorite of the series. I’m not sure where I’d rank the OP.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and Key Mochi~ for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika and Senpai tiers respectively this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the Final Season Special 1 is available now.

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