Mappa Studios Saved Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan’s fourth season has been one of the most highly anticipated new seasons of 2020 and finally, in December, it made its debut all around the world. While Attack on Titan fans are no stranger to waiting a long time for new episodes (as shown by the four years it took for season two to arrive) there was a lot more unease following the lead up to season four. This was largely due to the change in animation studios. Attack on Titan is known for its unique animation and creative shadowing style so when Wit Studio’s, the animation studio that created the previous three seasons of Attack on Titan, announced in 2019 that they would no longer be animating for the anime– many fans were worried for the future of the show. After several animation studios denied taking on the project because of how complicated the show can be to animate, it seemed that a new season wasn’t as certain as fans had hoped. Thankfully, the animation studio, Mappa, took on the daunting task.
With the release of season 4 at the end of 2020, the response has been mostly positive towards Mappa. Not to mention Mappa is a very notable company, animating many other popular shows like Jujitsu Kaisen, Yuri!!! On Ice, Banana Fish, and many more. Needless to say, with Mappa Studios, it was relieving to know that Attack on Titan was still in good hands. While the animation is definitely different, Mappa worked really hard to try and keep the original feel of the show while also staying true to the manga. Senior Milena Albertson says, “I personally really like the new style, it helps that there was a time-skip in the show as well, so the characters we all know are supposed to look different anyway. Mappa is a really talented studio, and I love how they’ve been animating the new season so far!”
Mappa did face some criticism following the release of the season four poster, which featured the majority of main characters with their new looks. In this poster, the nose of one of the favorite characters, Levi Ackerman, was slightly different than how Wit Studios drew it, causing an uproar by some fanatics. However, a singular nose is nowhere near a large enough reason to discredit an entire season, the uproar was quickly shut down when episodes finally began releasing. Overall, the majority of Attack on Titan fans are grateful that their show is getting a fourth season in general and have been pleasantly surprised by how gracefully Mappa handled the overwhelming task.
With only four episodes out so far and many more left to go, Attack on Titan fans are very excited to see how the story will continue to unfold. If you want to check out the show yourself, all episodes of Attack on Titan are available on Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll!