©Courtesy of Crunchyroll
Hajime Isayama’s bestselling manga franchise sold over 140 million copies during its original run, spawning 94 episodes of a long-running anime adaptation, as well as two live action films and a theatrical stage-musical. Eventually, all good things come to an end. Unfortunately, that might include humanity. After initially swearing vengeance against the mysterious “Titan” behemoths that killed his mother, Eren Yeager intends to use those very same Titans to exterminate all of mankind. Yes, it would be safe to say he grew somewhat disillusioned as the storyline progressed. His apocalyptic plan turns old enemies into allies in Yuichiro Hayashi’s feature film cut of Attack on Titan: The Last Attack, produced by the MAPPA animation house, which has a special nationwide screening this Monday.
In the past, Eldia’s Survey Corps fought both the Titans from behind their defensive walls and later the Marleyans, who conquered and banished them to Paradis Island many generations before the anime series began. However, both nations agree the end of all human life as we know it would generally be a bad idea, so they have joined forces against Yeager.
That includes Yeager’s childhood friends, Armin Arlert and Mikasa Ackerman, with whom he originally enlisted in the Survey Corps. Although his genocidal intentions horrify them, Arlert and Ackerman still love the Yeager they once knew. They also feel guilt for having helped him reach his current super-human state. Having absorbed the powers of several “Special” Titans in past episodes, including the ability to control “Pure” soldier-drone Titans, Yeager does indeed have the means to bring about the cataclysmic end times Eldian’s ancient King Frtiz dubbed “The Rumbling.”
©Courtesy of Crunchyroll
Frankly, when it comes to feature films produced in the world of well-established anime/manga franchises, The Last Attack will be particularly challenging for newcomers. Even watching a few episodes (which currently stream on Crunchyroll and Hulu) will considerably help viewers acclimate to this fantastical world.
Yet, the film will already be familiar to franchise loyalists, because it mostly consists of the final two installments, tweaked and re-edited for the big screen. However, there is a shiny, brand-new epilogue added as a post-credits stinger that is sure to be divisive among fans. Yet, it offers a reassuring note that feels welcome after so much angst and Earth-shaking doom.
Regardless, the depictions of the conflicted Ackerman and Arlert as they wrestle with their complicated and contradictory feelings for Yeager are probably the defining aspects of The Last Attack. Recently, internet rumors have taken root amongst the franchise fandom that Bruno Mars was partially inspired to write his Lady Gaga duet “Die with a Smile” by the anime series’ tragic vibe. Indeed, it is easy to understand how that might be the case, given the raw emotional terrain it travels. Arguably, screenwriter Hiroshi Seko’s translation of Isayama’s final manga chapters share parallels with the Evangelion franchise. Both are rife with neurotic guilt and almost unfathomable betrayal, but Attack on Titan replaces the mecha with mutant-Kaiju.
The shock-and-awe of the Titans up-sizes quite effectively to the big-screen. Since The Last Attack chronicles the last-ditch campaign to prevent “The Rumbling,” it mostly consists of epic battles. Yet, the espirit de corps amongst the longtime comrades and the respect they develop for their former foes really make the film compelling, much more than the “Titanic” mayhem.
Arguably, there is an ironic logic to the characters’ fates. It is a messy conclusion, but The Last Attack provides many fan-favorites with the fitting warrior’s send-offs they deserve. Recommended as a communal screening experience for longtime series-faithful, Attack on Titan: The Last Attack screens in theaters nationwide this Monday (2/10), courtesy of Crunchyroll.
©Courtesy of Crunchyroll
Grade: B-
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Here’s the trailer of the film.