While the Attack on Titan season 4 part 2 release date is on the horizon — the launch of which may change the series’ overall ratings — the AOT franchise sits comfortably in the 11th spot in the IMDb rating list for TV shows with over 100,000 reviews. It clocks a score of 9.0, beating the likes of Narcos, The Mandalorian and Peaky Blinders.
It’s likely to increase its standing in this list after the final part is released. At least, that’s what we hope since it’ll mean MAPPA delivered on the implied promise of a smashing finale. A note of caution here: Stop reading after the recap posted below if you don’t want any spoilers.
Attack on Titan is adapted from a manga series going by the same name. The mangaka, Hajime Isayama, is a recipient of the prestigious Harvey Award, an honor given to distinguished achievers in the comic book industry. The Attack on Titan manga sold more than 100 million copies as of 2019. The anime series was produced by Wit Studio for the first three seasons.
UPDATE: The latest season aired between January 10 and April 4, 2022. But the story has not yet been wrapped up. There is going to be an Attack on Titan Final Season part 3 (or Attack on Titan Final Season Final Arc) in 2023, as confirmed by official sources.
The fourth season was animated by MAPPA, who aired the first part of the season back in December of 2020. There is a video game series inspired by the manga as well. The game’s publisher is Koei Tecmo and it’s available on most platforms including the PS4 and Xbox. Other inspired works include a live action movie directed by Shinji Higuchi which was released back in 2015.
What happened in Attack On Titan final season part 1?
Here’s what you need to know before the second part of the final season drops on January 9, in case you’ve forgotten the key details.
The declaration of war between the Eldians and the rest of the world has set in motion a chain of unstoppable events. Eren, along with his allies, attack the city Liberio which is controlled by the Marleyans. The site where the attack takes place is at an outdoor theatrical stage where Willy Tybur, head of the Tybur family, is staging a play.
Eren swiftly kills Tybur and continues his carnage across the square where the dignitaries of other nations are present. He is confronted by Willy’s sister, Lara Tyber, who is the inheritor of the War Hammer Titan. After a battle in which Eren is initially overwhelmed by the War Hammer Titan’s hardening abilities, he is saved by Mikasa.
The two end up fighting Lara together and finally defeat her by outdoing her hardening abilities by using the immobilized Jaw Titan’s powers to break through her crystal protection. Eren and Mikasa escape with a few casualties but manage to gain the War Hammer Titan’s powers.
Two Marleyan warrior candidates sneak onto the airship transporting the Paradis islanders off Liberio and shoot Sasha in the chest. She dies after a few minutes. The Marleyans, Gabi and Falco, get tied up and are brought to a room where they meet a familiar face.
Zeke Jaegar, Eren’s step-brother, is on the floor but engages in casual dialogue with the Eldian invaders. They realize Zeke has betrayed the Marleyan nation and has allied with the Eldians. After reaching Paradis, Gabi and Falco are imprisoned. Eren is also put behind bars as the top brass of the Eldian military suspect him of acting on his own without involving the authorities.
Meanwhile, Zeke has a plan to activate the ‘Rumbling’, an event which involves all the Titans inside the walls protecting Paradis coming out of their shells and defend the citizens against foreign invasions.
This is supported by Lady Azumabito, a special envoy from Hizuru. She claims her country will stand with Paradis in fulfilling this plan in return for the Iceburst Stone, a mysterious element endemic to Paradis that powers the ODM gear.
Gabi kills her prison guard and escapes with Falco. A young girl finds the pair and takes them to her home. Her family welcomes the two escapees and decides to let them stay for a while.
Inside the walls, the Paradis military is in turmoil. They have effectively been divided into two parts. One consists of the lawful military group led by the regular commanders. The second is the rebel group who swear loyalty to the two brothers, Eren and Zeke Jaeger. They believe Eren will bring salvation to Paradis.
They understand that the Rumbling is the only way they can eliminate the threat coming from the outside world. To end the cycle of war and bloodshed, they decide to annihilate everyone outside Paradis. This breakaway group chooses to sacrifice the rest of humanity so that the Eldians can finally live in peace.
Eren escapes from prison and meets with the Jaegerists, the name aptly given to the rebellion. Zeke is made to live in the middle of a forest in close proximity to Levi, presumably the only one who can defeat Zeke in his Beast Titan form.
What most of the remaining members loyal to the original Paradis military do not know is that they’ve already been infected with Zeke’s spinal fluid. This is done in an ingenious way so as to avoid prior suspicion.
The Survey Corps members who have been stationed with Levi drink the Marleyan wine, the substance that is spiked with Zeke’s spinal fluid. After a conversation with Levi, Zeke tries to escape through the woods. Levi watches as Zeke screams in order to activate the spinal fluid inside the wine. In an instant, everyone in Zeke’s effective range who drank the Marleyan wine transforms into Titans.
Presuming that Levi would hesitate to kill his subordinates, Zeke had made plans to meet with Eren. This meeting would let Eren possess the Founding Titan’s power as Zeke himself is the key to this activation. His plans are immediately shattered as Levi emerges from the woods, covered in the blood of his subordinates.
Zeke takes on his Titan form, but is abruptly defeated by Levi for the third time. As the latter renders the former immobile, the Beast Titan inheritor has flashbacks of his younger days where we see Zeke and Eren meet up to discuss the ‘Euthanization’ plan.
Zeke believes that the only way the world can end the cycle of war is to eliminate the threat of the Titans. He claims that the Founding Titan’s inheritor has the power to make the Eldians unable to reproduce. This would put an end to any more inheritors after the current Eldian generation, removing the Titan threat from the world.
Both brothers realize that this is the only way to end the hatred and violence that has consumed the world in the last 2000 years. We then see the present unfold. In a last-ditch effort, Zeke blows himself up and Levi gets caught in the explosion. A mysterious pure female Titan approaches the dying Zeke, cuts open her abdomen and places him inside.
In the mean time, the Jaegerists manage to round up and jail the remaining officers in the Paradis army. One of the main conspirators in the mutiny, Yelena, a Marleyan dissenter who has been helping Paradis by giving them information of the outside world, explains Zeke’s intentions. She discusses the species-wide sterilization that the Eldians will be subjected to for the greater good of humanity. She also admits that the Rumbling is just a deterrent.
They plan to initiate the Rumbling and show the rest of humanity the power of the Eldians. However, they do not mean to destroy cities or countries with it. It’s simply meant to scare other nations from attacking Paradis for the next few decades.
This gives just enough time for the Eldians to go extinct as another generation will not come into existence. The remainder of Paradis can live in peace until they die. Yelena explains in detail what this plan means to Paradis and the world.
Meanwhile, Eren and the Jaegerists capture Pieck and ask her to locate her comrades who have come to invade Paradis. He clearly did not anticipate a retaliation to the Libero attack to arrive this quickly.
Pieck lures Eren to the roof where Porco lies in wait to ambush him. Pieck jumps off the roof and transforms into her Cart Titan form while Porco activates his trap. Eren loses a leg and decides to transform into the Attack Titan.
Much to the dismay of the Jaegerists, a full on Marleyan assault begins, with airships and Titan shifters in tow. This is where the first part of the fourth season of Attack on Titan ends.
When is the Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 release date?
MAPPA has announced that the second part of AOT season 4 is due for release on January 9, 2022.
What’s the plot of AOT season 4 part 2?
This is effectively spoiler territory. So if you haven’t read the manga and prefer to stay on the anime-only track, skip this section.
Eren fends off the Marleyan attack but gets his head blown off by Gabi with her rifle. Before Eren bites the dust, his head reaches Zeke at the last second. As Zeke is the key to activating the Founder’s powers, Eren is transformed into the Founding Titan.
Its size is insane; it’s way bigger than the already massive Colossal Titan which is about 60 meters tall. During the period of a few nano-seconds, Eren and Zeke have a conversation inside the Founding Titan’s realm.
In that region of space, time moves slowly. Eren decides to deny Zeke’s plan of Eldian sterilization. Instead, he wants to eliminate humankind on the other side of the world, leaving only the Eldians alive. This plan has the same end result; it allows the inhabitants of the world to live in peace. However, it differs in terms of who’s left alive.
Eren’s called plan will cause the mass genocide of a major portion of humanity and only lets the people of Paradis remain on earth. He manipulates the Founder so that she does his bidding.
The Rumbling starts and annihilates eighty percent of humanity. Through unyielding efforts and sacrifices, Eren’s former friends and Survey Corps members – Mikasa, Armin, Reiner, Annie, Hange, Levi and others decide to stop the Rumbling.
When the group reaches Eren’s Titan, they are embroiled in a massive battle against the previous Titan shifters in the ribcage-like region on top of Eren’s Titan form. One thing leads to another and Armin is able to convince Zeke to help them. This forces some of the previous Titan shifters to change sides.
Through a gaping hole in the mouth of Eren’s Attack Titan, Mikasa finds her way to Eren’s original body and slices his head off. Thus, the Rumbling stops and the remainder of humanity find salvation. The last chapter of the Attack on Titan manga, chapter 139, gives closure on the relationships between Eren, Mikasa and Armin.
AOT Final season cast
The main character, Eren Jaeger, is played by Yuki Kaji, while Mikasa Ackermann is voiced by Yui Ishikawa. Armin, Levi and Hange are voiced by Marina Inoue, Hiroshi Kamiya and Romi Park respectively.
Yuuichiro Hayashi is the storyboard director of Attack on Titan season 4. The studio producing the final season of the anime series is MAPPA. They are also the guys behind Jujutsu Kaisen, Dororo, The God of High School and other top-notch anime series. The official soundtracks are composed by both Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto.
How many episodes will AOT season 4 part 2 have?
There’s been no word on the official count of episodes that AOT season 4 part 2 will have. However, if you’ve read the manga, you’d know that approximately 25 chapters are left to be animated.
Since the first part has 16 episodes, the possibility of the second part having 16 episodes is quite likely. But it all depends on how studio MAPPA will animate the manga chapters.
Is there an Season 4 part 2 trailer?
Yes, there currently is an official trailer (see above). There was also a teaser released at the end of episode 75 on the Japanese broadcast version of AOT season 4. This teaser contains snippets of vague information about a young girl, presumably Ymir from the manga. Ymir Fritz was the first person to obtain the power of the Titans.
Will there be an Attack on Titan season 5?
No. There isn’t enough story source material for Attack on Titan season 5. There are roughly 25 chapters that studio MAPPA has to animate. It’s adequate enough for a 16-episode anime part, which is most likely the number of episodes in part 2 of the fourth season. The manga has been completed with the final chapter, being released at the start of 2021.
Where to watch Attack on Titan?
You can watch Attack on Titan via almost all major streaming platforms – Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Crunchyroll and Funimation.
People with Amazon Prime subscriptions, unfortunately, cannot watch the final season of the anime in the platform.
But Amazon Prime lets you individually buy any season of AOT without having to pay for a subscription — which may or may not be an advantage based on your point of view. You cannot do this on other platforms.
Crunchyroll users should note that they cannot watch the dubbed version of the anime. They can only see the show with subtitles and the Japanese audio.
When is the last episode of AOT season 4?
Part 2 of AOT season 4 is set to release on January 9, 2022. No episode schedule has been put out as of now. Since there is a lack of official information, we can only speculate about the release date of the last episode.
Assuming the likely scenario of part 2 having 16 episodes, we predict the last episode of AOT season 4 will air around the middle of April 2022.
AOT manga ending *SPOILERS*
The AOT manga ended with chapter 139. After Mikasa kills Eren, she approaches Armin with the head of his childhood friend. Armin mourns Eren’s death; he then seeks the remainders of the Marleyan troops and claims that he’s the one who killed Eren.
Several years pass and we see Mikasa near Eren’s grave under a tree. Meanwhile, a peace envoy has been sent from the rest of the world to Paradis, where Eldians are mobilizing an army, preparing for retaliation against the genocide Eren committed.
Attack on Titan OAD announcement
Although it was confirmed in August that an original animation would drop before the official release of Attack on Titan season 4 part 2, there’s no update yet.
We’re not holding onto any hope for this, given that there are only a few more days until the final part comes out.
Meanwhile, Crunchyroll and Funimation made 8 older OADs or OVAs of the anime available for wider viewing as of December last month. These ought to whet your appetite while you wait for the epic showdown between Paradis and Marley.
Attack on Titan season 4 anime characters:
- Eren Yeager
- Mikasa Ackermann
- Armin Arlelt
- Zeke Yeager
- Hange Zoe
- Levi Ackermann
- Jean Kirchstein
- Conny Springer
- Dot Pyxis
- Theo Magath
- Reiner Braun
- Gabi Braun
In Conclusion
There is a noticeable difference in the quality of animation between the first three seasons versus the final one. The studio behind the last season, MAPPA, suffers from taking on too many anime projects, forcing them to cut corners and use CGI to bridge the gaps.
One should keep in mind that the animators are not at fault. The anime, given the almost impossible production schedule, is produced quite well against all odds.
