Attack on Titan: The Final Season is based upon the manga series. Despite being advertised as the final season; it ended up being split into four parts over numerous years. Part 1 is comprised of 16 episodes. After the season 3 finale finally showed off the huge revelation that they series had built up all this time… depending on your tastes, it can be disappointing. The introduction of the world beyond, why there are titans, and just in general on what has been happening, can feel shoehorned in. It’s just not quite that type of amazing reveal that all the hype was building it up to be. It doesn’t help that in a world where it felt like it was in semi-medieval times, the sudden introduction of more modern technology feels like a spiritual clash.
The beginning of the season can be somewhat confusing too in terms of the timeframe. It takes an episode or two until you get a grasp of approximately when the events are happening. It’s also confusing since it focuses on the world beyond rather than back where most of the anime was in the previous seasons. The slow pacing of the scenes will eventually reveal the context of the current situation as well as telling the beginning of the story and how certain actions affected certain iconic events in the previous season.
Despite a slow start featuring completely new characters, there is a great entrance of familiar characters a few episodes in. It left a lasting impact. Although like most of the anime, for each question it answers, it raises several more. When the characters show up, it’s great to see them but you still don’t know the context behind things, especially when their interactions are not as friendly as you expected, or that they seem to also be out of the loop. Given the time skip from the third season, this is a deliberate choice and something the story had done from the very beginning.
There’s frequent time skipping doing on during the season when filling the gaps. It’ll go back in time, and then forward, and then back again even further to a character’s childhood. Thankfully, it isn’t done that poorly and isn’t too confusing, but flashbacks are always a lazy tool when there is an overabundance of them. The season noticeably focuses much more on the human side of things, specifically politics and human relationships. There’s constant scheming and given that various characters’ motivations are not revealed, we are frequently guessing at why they are doing the things that they are doing.
Of course, when the anime sees fit to feature the titans appearing for battle, the action is fast paced. During the time skip, the characters now have upgraded gear, so they are zipping along even more nimbly now. Their attacks and takedowns look great, but it is a shame that these are so few and far between during the season. There are unceremonious deaths, and it seems to tie itself to the theme of war and how real-life war is cruel and brutal like that. There are no heroics or honor, just a lot of despair and unfairness.
Given the war, there is hypocrisy on both sides. Both sides have their rights and wrongs, which makes the whole conflict even greyer. It can be frustrating to see certain characters act a certain way but that is also reflective of how damaging propaganda can be, especially when constantly fed it since they were born. Some scenes are naturally melodramatic, but it generally nails the atmosphere it is going for.
The season will finally reveal the backstories and motivations of the key characters. although whether they make sense or are compelling enough is another matter. It tries hard to justify their actions but based on the one episode’s worth of look into their childhood, it doesn’t really provide strong justification or sense. Everyone is a villain in this season which is a shame as it is hard to find anyone to root for. This continues right until the end of this first part and of course it finishes off with a cliffhanger. Although the plot has become somewhat convoluted and messy, this is what made the beginning so intriguing.
Overall, the first part of Attack on Titan: The Final Season is okay. The content feels very different to the first three seasons since it doesn’t focus on the characters surviving titan attacks and trying to investigate the mystery behind them. Yet in typical Attack on Titan fashion, by answering some of the questions it raises so many more and some of the answers aren’t great either. It can feel hollow and confusing at what the endgame is for the plot. There is a much higher focus on politics and human interaction, losing nearly all the titan battles and strategies.
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