Synopsis
Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2 continue the story about Eren, he’s turning against his former allies and enemies alike, Eren Yeager sets a disastrous plan in motion. Under the guidance of the Beast Titan, Zeke, Eren takes extreme measures to end the ancient conflict between Marley and Eldia—but his true intentions remain a mystery. Delving deep into his family’s past, Eren fights to control his own destiny.
Meanwhile, the long-feuding nations of Marley and Eldia utilize both soldiers and Titans in a brutal race to eliminate the other. Reiner Braun uses his own powers in a desperate bid to hold off Eren’s own militaristic force, and his fellow Eldians—children Falco Grice and Gabi Braun—struggle to survive in the unfolding chaos.
Elsewhere, Eren’s childhood friends Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert remain imprisoned alongside Eren’s former Survey Corps companions, all disturbed by Eren’s monstrous transformation. Under the blind belief that Eren still secretly harbors good intentions, Mikasa and the others enter the fray in an attempt to save their friend’s very soul.
Watch Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2 Online
The Final Season Part 2 Official Site
Review
There’s only a small amount of anime that can reach the status of what Attack on Titan has achieved and the feats that it has accomplished will be commended upon for generations. The show that has stood a top any other for going on 9 years will be making her grand exit from the anime scene and be inducted as one of the greats.
As the haters cling onto straws to make up for lackluster complaints about the show, those who let Attack On Titan captivate your mind and let it take you on a journey you’ll never experience again will be sending the show-off with a solemn but satisfying goodbye. If you even consider yourself a casual anime watcher, Attack On Titan is a must-have on your watch list.
Story
If it wasn’t for the controversial chapters towards the end, I would easily give this category a 5. No show for a very long time will have a story with the amount of depth that Attack On Titan reached. With once a show about humans surviving giant naked people to a race war about a legacy of nations who have fought for over thousands of years with ancient abilities, the show gives you little by little every episode.
The basicness of the show the first 10 episodes of Season 1 came out with were intentional, they are meant to be basic and clichéd. Isayama wanted to give out layers of the show slowly but surely to keep people invested. Once you thought you had figured out how the world works and functions. The next season of AoT completely wiped it clean and gave you a world that is 10x larger and more vast.
I’ve seen very little anime that can capture the amount of storytelling elements and connected dots AoT has achieved with only 78 episodes. Larger shows can come close to its storytelling ability but no show has done it better with less than 100 episodes. The expository that Attack On Titan tells the reader is something anyone with a brain could get into and only choose to hate because they don’t enjoy its success. When AoT is in its prime writing, no show even comes close.
Return To Shiganshina is still to this day the greatest arc I’ve ever witnessed, and I don’t see any arc from any show even coming close. And now we close out with Attack on Titan: The Final Season with another action packed finale to the series. We are beginning to reach a controversial arc as the final manga chapters of it have split the fan base in half. I do have my complaints with it as well as MAPPA’s adaptation of the Final Season. But it is nothing that takes away my full enjoyment of the show.
Since I’ve already read the manga, I judge less episodes based off of its content in the episode itself but rather how well it adapts the manga. There are some episodes that I think could have been better and also some that I believe MAPPA knocked it out of the park in. Only time will tell if MAPPA can close out this legendary series on a high note.
Part 3 will definitely be interesting to see anime-onlys gobble down the ending. Well by interesting I mean more like me getting a kick out of the haters who were clinging to straws using the most specific pinpoint issues as main criticisms. I do believe the ending will come as quite a surprise to some people in terms of them thinking it’s better than what they were told.
If you think AoT’s ending is the worst of any show, you should probably watch some more anime lmfao. I could name 5 anime off the top of my head that have had far worse endings. There’s quite the difference between an underwhelming ending and a bad ending. I won’t get into it too much for spoilers sake, but those who have read the manga and didn’t just spout “it was shit” just to get a kick out of fans, they know what I am referring to.
Art
MAPPA has been in some controversy over their animation style and the vast use of CGI. While I am proud to say it is far better than Part 1’s CGI, hand drawn will always be better. Never should a studio be given time constraints that reflect poor quality of the product.
I think MAPPA is a very solid studio but the CGI does look rough in some frames and makes the fight scenes look very stiff and non-fluid. This does make me concerned for future scenes as CGI will almost definitely be used heavily in the future.
Sound
Not the biggest heavy metal fan but the opening does its job, although very spoiler filled. The ending is beautiful though. And I do appreciate them using a different soundtrack other than Ashes Of Fire. They used that OST every single damn episode in Part 1.
Characters
Eren Jaeger will always be one of my favorite protagonists ever made. Finally, a Shōnen MC that has actual character development and has more depth to his character than a 1-inch hole. Most Shōnen main character’s lack in development and go for battle/strength feats instead which takes away from the character. Eren goes from a hell-bent revenge brat whose only goal is to kill Titans to understanding that no one is an “enemy” or a “bad guy” but rather two sides fighting for what they believe in.
He is forced to kill, he is forced to sacrifice for an end goal only he can see. He’s a character that anyone should respect and should admire his development. Focusing on the character instead of a new form or attack they develop is a far better way of developing a show and its characters. Of course other than Eren, you have Zeke, Reiner, Armin, Levi, Erwin… I could go on and on. They each have their place in the show, and they perfect the role. I could make a 5-page analysis of them, but I’ll save you the time. Fantastic characters to commend a fantastic show.
Enjoyment
I don’t think I will ever be as hype to watch episodes of a show as AoT. When a new AoT episode airs, it’s like the Super Bowl or the World Cup. Everyone gathers together, clears their schedule and make time in the day to watch AoT. Name me one anime in the past like 9-10 years that can/has done that? None.
Every other show I’ve watched, it’s always been a secondary issue to watch the latest episode. When AoT: The Final Season episodes drop, I make sure my schedule is fully clear to enjoy it to the fullest. No other anime has been able to hook me to a screen like AoT does, and it’s 20-minute episodes feel like 5 minutes long.
I usually find weekly episodes as a drag and take away from my enjoyment of the show. But that has never happened for AoT, in fact it just makes me more anxious to watch. Never will I watch a show that will get me this excited, and it is going to be heartbreaking watching it end.
Overall
Thank you AoT for providing me the enjoyment I’ve been seeking for in a show. You will live on in my life as a baseline for what shows should reach, and I am glad to be a part of the many people who experienced you as you were airing. The king of modern shōnen will have their last bow, and I am very excited to see it do so. Attack On Titan will be talked about decades upon decades from now and will stand the test of time as one of the best shows in any medium ever made.
