Now that Attack on Titan is in the second half of its final season, my Twitter feed has become a minefield of stress whenever an episode airs. That’s par for the course with this particular anime as it’s known for its intense moments, followed by lots of heartache, and desperate attempts at not getting attached to anyone since they might be devoured—literally.Â
That being said, it’s kinda hard to believe that the anime is coming to an end.
Attack on Titan is one of those series that you know of even if you haven’t watched it. It’s hard to not recognize a show that entered the scene with an opening like this:
As everyone prepares to watch the conclusion of Eren Jaeger’s story I realized, that for some, the end will be the beginning. What I mean is that the series ending will, inevitably, bring about new viewers who are either curious to see what all the hype is about, or viewers like me who were waiting for the whole thing to be over before giving it a shot.
Because damn near having a heart attack on a weekly basis is a lot, so I’m waiting for the ability to watch as much as I can, when I can, with no need to wait for the next episode to be released.
My Attack on Titan knowledge begins and ends with the first season, but with the anime preparing to close things out, I thought I’d ask the cast what viewers who are thinking about checking out the series should expect. As the main trio of the series, Bryce Papenbrook (the series protagonist, Eren Jaeger), Josh Grelle (Armin Arlert), and Trina Nishimura (Mikasa Ackerman) had some wonderful insight on the series and how, yes, you will absolutely scream EREN, NO at your TV while you watch it.
The main thesis of the series can be summed up by two words: Eren, no!
When asking the cast about their favorite memories of Attack on Titan, Grelle ended up, unintentionally, coming up with the perfect summary of the series.
It goes a little something like this.
Eren, who the cast lovingly described as “headstrong” (which is a VERY nice way to put it), decides to do something that may not be the, um, best course of action. Armin wants to actually take a second to think about it, but Eren goes ahead anyway, leading to Armin shouting. A lot. Because, seriously, “Eren, no!”
According to Nishimura, when she met Papenbrook and Grelle at a convention for the first time, the three of them realized that this was the crux of the series, and a fun way to greet each other that would probably confuse anyone who wasn’t in the know about how exhausting it is to be friends with Eren Jaeger.
Okay, here’s the actual advice for newcomers
Attack on Titan is a series that can, and will, hook you almost immediately if you’re a fan of brutally epic storytelling that’ll leave you with more questions than answers.
Then, as it answers questions, it’ll give you a few more.
To Papenbrook, now is the perfect time to get into the series, as new viewers won’t have to wait nearly as long to get to the next piece of the puzzle compared to waiting years between seasons. That’s kinda why I didn’t mind waiting for the whole thing to end, as I would often want “answers now please” and the series would go “LOL, here’s another cliffhanger!”
What’s really fun about the series is that it also kept its cast on their toes. Papenbrook, for example, talked about how he’d try and guess what would happen next… only to end up being wrong damn near every time. Both Nishimura and Grelle shared similar sentiments, expressing how this series is very much a roller coaster ride that is A LOT, but you can’t help but want more of it.
Unfortunately, I did not ask Grelle for an ice cream recommendation when they mentioned being armed with some during the inevitable, hard-hitting moments, but my personal pick would be some kind of cookie dough or something with brownie bits to add extra comfort.
(Image: Hajime Isayama, KODANSHA/”ATTACK ON TITAN” The Final Production Committee)
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