Attack on Titan (TV series)
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the remains of humanity live behind walls protecting them from giant humanoid Titans, "Attack on Titan" follows protagonist Eren Yeager, along with friends Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert. When a Colossal Titan breaches the wall of their hometown, Titans destroy the city and kill Eren's mother. Vowing for vengeance, Eren joins the elite Survey Corps, a group of soldiers who fight against Titans. "Attack on Titan" chronicles Eren's journey with the Survey Corps as they fight against the Titans while investigating their origin and history. "Attack  on Titan" has received widespread acclaim and has notably sustained a broad, active, and international fan base. Critics and audiences have praised the story, characters, animation, music, voice acting, and dark themes. Series overview. Season 1. In the first season, Eren trains as a young soldier after his mother is killed by Titans. He discovers that he has the power to transform into a Titan, and, while the government struggles to put his power to use, new Titans, which have emerged from within the walls, threaten humanity. Season 2. In the second season, the Survey Corps reel from the aftermath  of battle and discover treachery from within, leading them to uncover some of the mysteries of the Titans. Season 3. In the third season, the Survey Corps are hunted by the government as they are pursued by corrupt Military Police searching for Eren and Historia, who is the true heir to the throne. Later, they defend Shiganshina when the Beast, Colossal, and Armored Titans lay siege to it, and discover the true origins of the Titans and the truth of humanity. Season 4. In the fourth and final season, the soldiers of Paradis go to battle with their oppressor, Marley , to end the war between the Marleyans and the Eldians. Eren begins a path of annihilation to destroy his enemies. Will humanity finally be rid of Titans forever or will humanity vanish? Production. Season 1 and compilation films. Produced by IG Port's Wit Studio and directed by Tetsurō Araki, "Attack on Titan" was broadcast on MBS TV from April 7, 2013 to September 29, 2013, and later aired on Tokyo MX, FBS, TOS, HTB, TV Aichi and BS11. The anime had some production issues with needing more animators with Wit Studios' character designer as there original a team of  6 including Isayama, Kyoji Asano tweeting and looking for active animators to work on the anime. Both Funimation and Crunchyroll have streamed the series with subtitles on their respective websites. Funimation has also licensed the anime for home video release in 2014. Episode 1 of the English version premiered at Anime Boston, with other episodes put on Funimation's subscription services. On television of the series has broadcast weekly on Adult Swim's Toonami block on May 3, 2014, starting at 11:30 p.m. EST. In Australia, the anime aired on SBS 2 on Tuesdays, in Japanese with English subtitles, with  the first episode having aired on September 30. The first season was acquired for distribution in the UK by Manga Entertainment. Madman Entertainment acquired the show for distribution in Australia and New Zealand, and streamed the series on Madman Screening Room. The final episode was also aired in Japanese theaters. The anime was compiled into two animated theatrical films with new voice acting from the same cast. The first film covers the first 13 episodes and was released on November 22, 2014, while the second film adapts the remaining episodes and adds new opening and ending footage. It was released  on June 27, 2015. A rebroadcast of the first season was aired from January 9, 2016 on NHK's BS Premium channel. The compilation films were also broadcast in January 2017 on MBS. Season 2 and compilation film. A second season of the anime series was announced on the opening day of the first theatrical film, which was originally set to be released in 2016. It was then confirmed in the January 2017 issue of the "Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine" that the second season would premiere in April 2017. Masashi Koizuka directed the second season, with Araki acting as chief director . It ran for 12 episodes from April 1, 2017, to June 17, 2017, on MBS and other television networks. A third compilation film recapping the events of the anime series' second season titled was released on January 13, 2018. The season premiere was simulcast on Funimation, Crunchyroll, and the former's VRV channel at 10:30 AM EST. Funimation and Crunchyroll streamed the entire second season on their respective websites, while Adult Swim's Toonami aired a dubbed version. It was also announced that the second season of "Attack on Titan" would premiere on Toonami on April 29. It was subsequently  announced on April 3 that the second season would premiere one week earlier, on April 22 instead. Madman Entertainment streamed the season in Australia and New Zealand on AnimeLab. Season 2 home media release was handled by Sony Pictures in the UK. Season 3 and compilation film. On June 17, 2017, a third season was announced at the close of the second season's final episode, with a release date slated for July 23, 2018. A trailer for the third season was released on April 27, 2018. The series' third season aired in Japan on NHK General TV on July  23, 2018, with its first part running to October 15, 2018. Part 2 of the series' third season aired from April 29 to July 1, 2019. Hajime Isayama, the original manga's author and illustrator, works closely with the animators to ensure faithfulness to the story and gives suggestions, as well. In 2018, it was revealed that Isayama regretted doing a certain part of the manga in a certain way, so he personally requested the animation studio to make some changes in the anime. The studio honored this wish, resulting in the first part of Season 3 being a little  different from the corresponding manga chapters. A fourth compilation film, , recaps all three seasons and was released on July 17, 2020. Funimation announced that they would air the worldwide premiere of the first episode at Anime Expo on July 8, 2018. They also announced that the first episode would air in theaters in the US and Canada alongside "Attack on Titan: Roar of Awakening" on July 10, 2018. Adult Swim aired the English version of the third season, starting from August 18, 2018 to July 27, 2019. On July 4, 2020, Funimation announced that they licensed the compilation film for  UK, Ireland, and North America release. The Final Season. Upon the airing of the final episode of the third season on July 1, 2019, it was announced that the fourth and final season of the anime series was scheduled for release in Fall 2020 on NHK General. Netflix Singapore as well as other various Southeast Asian countries announced to start regional streaming from December 10 and 11. On September 23, 2020, NHK listed the final season on their broadcasting schedule as airing on December 7, 2020. On May 29, 2020, the final season was confirmed to have switched production studios  to MAPPA. Yuichiro Hayashi and Jun Shishido replaced Tetsurō Araki and Masashi Koizuka as directors, scriptwriter Hiroshi Seko took over the series composition from Yasuko Kobayashi, and Tomohiro Kishi replaced Kyōji Asano as character designer. Kohta Yamamoto joined Hiroyuki Sawano to compose the music. The first 16 episodes aired until March 29, 2021, and a second part aired on NHK General TV from January 10 to April 4, 2022 at 12:05 a.m. JST. The third part Attack On Titan: The Final Arc is set to be broadcast in early 2023 Music. First season. In the first season, for the first  thirteen episodes, the opening theme is by Linked Horizon, and the ending theme is by Yōko Hikasa. For episodes 14–25, the opening theme is by Linked Horizon, and the ending theme is "great escape" by Cinema Staff. Both "Guren no Yumiya" and "Jiyū no Tsubasa" were released as part of the single "Jiyū e no Shingeki" on July 10, 2013, which sold over 100 thousand copies in its first week of sales. The series' soundtrack was composed by Hiroyuki Sawano, and the first CD was released on June 28, 2013, by Pony Canyon. The first CD contains 16 tracks, with  6 vocal tracks featuring performances by Aimee Blackschleger, CASG (Caramel Apple Sound Gadget), Cyua, Mika Kobayashi and mpi. The second CD containing the other half of the soundtrack was released on October 16, 2013, as a bonus offered with the fourth Blu-ray and DVD limited edition volumes of the anime. Second season. The opening theme is by Linked Horizon, and the ending theme is by Shinsei Kamattechan. Sawano returned to compose the soundtrack for the second season, with the 2-CD soundtrack released on June 7, 2017, by Pony Canyon. In addition to music composed for Season 2, the  soundtrack also featured any and all tracks composed for other media in-between seasons one and two, such as compilation films and OVAs. Vocals were provided by yosh, Gemie, mpi, Mica Caldito, Mika Kobayashi and Benjamin. Third season. The opening theme song is "Red Swan" by Yoshiki feat. Hyde, while the ending theme is by Linked Horizon. The second opening theme is by Linked Horizon, and the second ending theme is "Name of Love" by Cinema Staff. Sawano once again returned as composer. The soundtrack was released on June 26, 2019. As with the second season's soundtrack, music featured  in compilation films and OVAs released between season two and three was included in the soundtrack. Vocals were provided by David Whitaker, Eliana, Gemie, Laco, mpi, and yosh. Final season. The score is directed by Masafumi Mima and composed by Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto. For Part 1, the opening theme song is performed by Shinsei Kamattechan, and the ending theme song is performed by Yūko Andō. For Part 2, the opening theme song is "The Rumbling" performed by SiM, and the ending theme song is performed by Ai Higuchi. The soundtrack was composed by Kohta Yamamoto (on tracks 1–20 ), and Hiroyuki Sawano (on tracks 21–23), and was released on June 23, 2021 by Pony Canyon. It was released digitally on several sites including Apple Music and Spotify. It contains 23 tracks, with two vocal tracks featuring performances by cumi and Hannah Grace. Personnel. Composer Arranger Producer Anime films. For the first compilation film, "Attack on Titan – Part 1: Crimson Bow and Arrow", the ending themes were "YAMANAIAME" (lit. "Unstoppable Rain") by Hiroyuki Sawano feat. Mika Kobayashi, Mica Caldito & mpi and by Linked Horizon. For the second compilation film, "Attack on Titan – Part 2: Wings of Freedom", the ending theme  was "theDOGS" by Hiroyuki Sawano feat. mpi. The film's theme song was by Linked Horizon. Reception. Sales and accolades. The anime series has been successful in Japan, with average sales of 52,067 across 9 volumes, with a total of 468,603 . It was the number one selling TV anime of 2013 in Japan and is currently the eighth best selling anime of 2010's. It has also been very successful in the U.S. with sales of at least 200,000. It was also the number one streaming anime from Funimation in 2014 and the number one fan favorite Funimation home video  released of 2014. The anime adaptation won multiple prizes during the 3rd "Newtype" Anime Awards, including Best Director, Best Script, Best Soundtrack, Best Theme Song, Top Female Character and Title of the Year. It received the award for Best TV Animation at the 2013 Animation Kobe Awards. It received the award for Animation of the Year at the 2014 Tokyo Anime Award, along with, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Music. It won the 2013 Digital Contents of the Year Award at Japan's 19th annual Association of Media in Digital (AMD) Awards. Critical response. All four seasons of "Attack  on Titan" were met with widespread critical acclaim with praise for its storyline, animation and action sequences, soundtrack, dub performances and dark tone. Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network criticized the first two episodes of the anime adaptation, saying the director, Araki, "clearly intends it to be powerful and unsettling, but it's just crude and unpleasant." However, other critics from Anime News Network praised much of the series. Rebecca Silverman said it "is both gorgeous and appalling in its visuals", and "an excellent mix of what 18th century Gothic novelist Ann Radcliffe defined as horror versus terror: the one  is physical, making you want to look away, and the other is intellectual, making you want to know what's going to happen next." Carlo Santos noted that "few [apocalyptic action shows] get as close to perfection as "Attack on Titan" does". Santos described it as "a masterpiece of death and destruction" after watching only the first episode. Theron Martin of Anime News Network praised the musical score and the "intense, impactful first episode" despite his feeling that it has "limited animation". Martin also compared "Attack on Titan" vibe and visual aesthetic to "Claymore". John Sinnott of DVD Talk called  the series one of the best ones he has ever watched and one "that anime fans should not miss". Maya Phillips of "New York" magazine and Vulture praised the uniqueness of the series, stating, "In our current age of terrifying dystopian realities, it's hard to find a dystopian show with something new to deliver - and yet here it is." Phelim O'Neill of The Guardian, he praised the animation of the series as "spellbinding... It's all wonderfully acrobatic and intense". Regarding the climactic episodes of the third season's second half, Manga.Tokyo called Isayama a "genius" for using  the revelations about Grisha's past to smoothly link present events to the beginning of the story. Crunchyroll listed "Attack on Titan" in their "Top 25 best anime of the 2010s". IGN and "Polygon" also listed "Attack on Titan" among the best anime series of the 2010s. Audience response. "Attack on Titan" has received near universal acclaim from audiences, with 9 episodes scoring a 9.9 on IMDb.Season three's episode "Hero" (2019) has achieved perfect score of 10/10 on the site, the only episodes of television to reach this mark other than "Breaking Bad"s "Ozymandias" (2013), making it the  highest rated episode on the site. In total, not counting OVAs and recap episodes, 59 out of 87 episodes have received scores of 9 or above, an unprecedented number for any TV series on the site. Viewership. In 2021, during the first part of the final season, "Attack on Titan" was the most viewed television program in the United States, before it was overtaken by "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" shortly before the finale of the first part. "Attack on Titan" broke the Guinness World Record for the "most in-demand anime TV show". The show is also the  only anime series to be in "TV Time"'s top 50 most followed TV series ever, currently at number 47, making it one of the few Non-American titles and the only Japanese title in this list. In 2022 "Attack on Titan" won the award of "Most in-demand TV series in the world 2021" in the Global TV Demand Awards. "Attack on Titan" became the first ever non-English language series to earn the title of World’s Most In-Demand TV Show, previously held by only "The Walking Dead" and "Game of Thrones". Attack on Titan (TV series