The endgame: Attack on Titan returns tonight for its final bow

Ever since Attack on Titan began airing ten years ago, it has amassed one of the biggest cult followings in the realm of anime. Based on Hajime Isayama's dark fantasy manga of the same name, this story about swashbuckling soldiers taking on larger-than-life humanoid beings has always been filled with major plot twists, intense action, and intricate layers of world-building.

As it finally heads into its endgame, over a decade in the making, here is everything you need to know about Attack on Titan's last instalment.

The fourth and final season of the show, which kicked off from the Marley arc, began airing in late 2020 after Studio MAPPA took the helm from WIT Studio. The entire season was then divided into three parts, with the third part set to release later tonight, albeit in a wholly different format from its predecessors.

According to NHK, Attack on Titan Final Season Part 3, directed by Yuichiro Hayashi (Dorohedoro, Kakegurui), is going to be split up into two more separate parts, with each half essentially acting as standalone extra-long episodes. The first hour-long special is airing tonight, but the second one has yet to receive a specific release date. Like always, both episodes will be streamed on Crunchyroll following their local release.

Since the last instalment of the anime ended with Eren's declaration of war on all humanity outside the walls and left only 20 chapters to be animated, fans were hopeful about a feature film or two to cap off the series once and for all. After all, that would allow MAPPA to maximise the emotional depth of the story and deliver a compelling ending paired with stellar visuals.

However, with the departure from the traditional episode structure, the prospects of feature films are now out of the window, and it is even more difficult to estimate how much content each special episode will cover. On the bright side, the large intervals between each release might mean that the staff's been allocated more time to refine the rough edges that were present throughout the entirety of season four, from wonky character designs to lacklustre use of CGI.

As for the OST, alt-metal band SiM, the ones behind "The Rumbling," announced that they'd be returning for this season's theme song, "Under The Tree". The title's emotional and thematic significance aside, the band has also confirmed that it will be a song dedicated to one of the members of the original trio, Mikasa, which elevates the anticipation even more.

With just about two episodes left in the series, bidding adieu to Attack on Titan once and for all is closer than it ever was. Fans who are aware of the source material's trajectory and divisive ending know what an emotional rollercoaster they're strapping in for, and one can only hope that the titan of the anime industry gets a proper send-off this year.

Ayaan immerses himself in dinosaur comics and poorly-written manga. Recommend your least favourite reads at ayaan.shams@gmail.com