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 THIS IS THE ANIME THREADNo manga spoilers allowed. Feel free to earnestly speculate, but no posting "fan theories" imported from reddit which are actually just thinly disguised manga spoilers. And if you're truly desperate to know whether your own pet theory holds, you should head over to the manga thread. Standard ADTRW rules apply: the show simulcasts on Sundays at 13:00 Pacific Time, so you enter the thread at your own peril if you haven't watched the latest episode yet. No need to put black bars on when discussing anything that's already aired. THIS IS THE ANIME THREAD We pick the story up 4 years after the Survey Corps reached the ocean at the end of last season, the terrible truth of their world revealed to them at last, and suffice to say things look much different now. Join us in this thread to watch and discuss the series as it moves beyond the Walls to explore the perspective of the Marleyan "Warriors", the world they live in and the consequences of their failed attempt to seize The Coordinate - the apocalyptic power of the Founder which now rests in the hands of Eren Jaeger, wielder of the Attack Titan. FAQ: When does the new season actually start? December 6 at 12:45pm Pacific Time on Crunchyroll Is this really the final season? The manga looks to be wrapping up in its next several chapters, so most likely. No word yet on episode count or whether the "season" will be split into different cours like Season 3, but it's got about as much material to cover. Is it just me or do the characters look a little different? This new season is being produced by MAPPA Studio, unaffiliated with WIT and I.G. who had handled the series previously. MAPPA has released some great stuff in the past and I hope this one ranks among their better showings, but expect differences in animation styles. Sawano Hiroyuki remains onboard as composer, so we should at least get our fix of sweet-rear end rearrangements of the classic tracks. I heard on twitter that the author is a fascist and the series promotes nationalism and anti-semitism. That's not a question, and it's also completely unfounded nonsense. Not even in a "death of the author" way, either - some of the recurring themes of the series are that fascism loving sucks, that revenge and revanchism are wrong, that any sociopolitical order in which the powerful exploit the powerless is grotesque, and that justifications for such are always just excuses for the benefit of those who stand to gain from the status quo. But I'll grant that if you squint real hard, and decontextualize it from the themes and actual narrative of the story, the plot element of a certain ethnicity being able to turn into monsters when injected with magic juice kind of looks like blood libel? Maybe? Random people on the internet who've never engaged with the material certainly seems to think so, and who am I to argue  Is Potato Girl still the best?  Always will be.
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Dec 6, 2020 11:19
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 08:42 |
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I love attack on titan! Can't wait!
Hace fucked around with this message at 12:11 on Dec 6, 2020 |
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Dec 6, 2020 12:08
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Hell yeah let's go There's poo poo that I literally cannot imagine being animated in a satisfying way in this final season so I really do hope they pull it off without a hitch
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Dec 6, 2020 14:24
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Hyyyyyyyyype https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbcklBCBaFs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjiCS5Zj1hM
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Dec 6, 2020 18:22
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Super hyped and prepared to throw a lot of my theories out the window. At this point I don't even recall which ones I hold and which ones I axed after a rewatch.
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Dec 6, 2020 18:33
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Opening already out there for people interested it is...weird as hell but kinda cool?
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Dec 6, 2020 19:50
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RubberLuffy posted:Opening already out there for people interested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84u5n1BTpWQ
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Dec 6, 2020 20:01
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Just finished on Crunchyroll. Good start to the season, biggest complaint is probably going to be cgi versions of the Nine being used more often. We got that some in previous seasons, looks to be more often here.
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Dec 6, 2020 22:16
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Yeah, the Beast Titan in particular, but at least they looked better than WIT's CGI Colossal. Loved Zeke's "Huh?!" as he realized he was about to get owned.
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Dec 6, 2020 22:36
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Apparentlly Mappa has been under schedule hell to get this season done, so if we get drops in quality here and there I would say be kind as possible given how much strain the production staff are under. This show just seems to break every studio who animates it.
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Dec 6, 2020 22:39
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First ep looked great. Good intro to the other side of the sea.
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Dec 6, 2020 22:45
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Based on the trailer, I was not expecting Marley's horrors to land as strongly as they did in this episode. My hat's off to the crew, that was legit terrifying. ETA: Saddened to see more CG on the titans, but it's definitely better looking CG.
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Dec 6, 2020 23:20
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That OP was fittingly creepy.
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Dec 6, 2020 23:43
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Yeah, it's definitely a strong premier. One thing that stood out to me, though? The last shot of a guy buying a newspaper looked a lot like promo art of Jean. We can't see his eyes, so it's not a lock, but... odd to see someone who looked like him there anyway. And if this wasn't important, it'd be odd to spend so much time showing a nobody.
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Dec 7, 2020 01:25
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chiasaur11 posted:Yeah, it's definitely a strong premier. I assumed this was some a new character within Marley to be revealed (because the trailer makes it clear we're going to be in there for a bit), but you're right about the resemblance.
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Dec 7, 2020 02:24
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The CG was fairly noticeable but it did not look bad. Also, MAPPA has been killing it with the OPs and EDs for awhile now (at least stylistically).
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Dec 7, 2020 03:32
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Theories coming out of this one: - Jaw Titan probably has Ymir's power, based on body type, movement style, and the sharp claws. I don't think we saw its teeth, but otherwise we have several traits that seem a match. (Sorry for thinking you ate Ymir, Cart Titan.) - There's some way to halt the titanification process in the middle until activated by someone with royal blood. Zeke showed it in season 3 part 2 when summoning the wall of titans around Shiganshina, but we didn't see it close up. Current best guess is that their minds turn first, Zeke orders them to halt the process, they get shoved in bags, and then he orders them to continue. - Marley needed to attack the Mid-East Alliance for a few reasons. 1) They had to pivot to another source of oil with the defeat in Paradis, and the MEA was using tech that showed they had it. 2) They need to line up the next round of shifters for whatever invasion they attempt on Paradis, so throw promising Eldians into a war until you get a handful of good candidates. 3). They need constant military offensives, because fascism. - The Coordinate link might be doing something, based on Falco's dream. Or maybe he was just having an out of body experience. Side notes and questions: - Given the Curse of Ymir... What's going to happen with Annie and her power? She's frozen, but does that mean her timer's on hold until she gets out of there or is she going to die in there? - Is the Curse of Ymir actually real or is it just a way to control the Eldians? - I'm still wondering whether it's true that only Eldians can be turned into a titan. I'm expecting it to be false in one of two ways: either everyone can be turned, or there are far more Eldians than Marley claims.
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Dec 7, 2020 04:17
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Maera Sior posted:- Marley needed to attack the Mid-East Alliance for a few reasons. 1) They had to pivot to another source of oil with the defeat in Paradis, and the MEA was using tech that showed they had it. 2) They need to line up the next round of shifters for whatever invasion they attempt on Paradis, so throw promising Eldians into a war until you get a handful of good candidates. 3). They need constant military offensives, because fascism. We actually got the answer on this one. The MEA actually attacked Marley, cause they had good anti titan weapons and Marley had lost both the Female and Colossal Titans. Them starting a War with Marley also stalled Marley form going after Paradis again cause they needed the titan shifters on hand for the war.
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Dec 7, 2020 04:26
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MonsterEnvy posted:We actually got the answer on this one. The MEA actually attacked Marley, cause they had good anti titan weapons and Marley had lost both the Female and Colossal Titans. Them starting a War with Marley also stalled Marley form going after Paradis again cause they needed the titan shifters on hand for the war. poo poo, what was I doing that I wasn't looking at the screen then? Or is this just implied by the order of events?
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Dec 7, 2020 04:28
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Maera Sior posted:poo poo, what was I doing that I wasn't looking at the screen then? Or is this just implied by the order of events? Zeke mentions that their losses caused the war right before the air attack, so the implication is that the MEA started it because they saw an opening with their more powerful weaponry.
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Dec 7, 2020 04:29
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kerwyn posted:Zeke mentions that their losses caused the war right before the air attack, so the implication is that the MEA started it because they saw an opening with their more powerful weaponry.
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Dec 7, 2020 04:34
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The Commander tells Colt that is the reason for the 4 year war. But I will double check to make sure I am not making something up. Edit: It appears I am mistaken he just says the hit to Marley's power from losing the Colossal and Female Titans sparked the war and put the Paradis invasion on hold. Nothing about who started the conflict. MonsterEnvy fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Dec 7, 2020 |
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Dec 7, 2020 04:36
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The leg bags dragging as they slid out of the zeppelin and the various masks of anger and vacant despair on the "soldiers" faces was incredibly chilling in animation.
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Dec 7, 2020 04:54
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It's not stated directly whether the MEA instigated hostilities or if Marley acted preemptively to assert dominance before its geopolitical rivals got any bright ideas, and ultimately it might not even be a question with a clear answer given the typical complexities of relationships between nations. What's true is that the loss of the Colossal and Female Titans (particularly the former given its tactical applications as a low-yield nuke in an era of early 20th century tech) greatly reduced Marley's war potential, to the point that what'd have previously likely been a swift conflict if not altogether non-starter had the MEA not felt confident enough to commit, ended up becoming a protracted war that showed the world that the era of the titans dominance in warfare is soon coming to an end.
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Dec 7, 2020 05:06
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Conspiratiorist posted:It's not stated directly whether the MEA instigated hostilities or if Marley acted preemptively to assert dominance before its geopolitical rivals got any bright ideas, and ultimately it might not even be a question with a clear answer given the typical complexities of relationships between nations. Thinking on the scale of World War 1 conflict at least, Marley is probably stalemated in any conflict they can't bring titans to bare. Prior to modern (1930s+) tank doctrine, they'd be stymied at every front they don't have their secret weapon at. 4 years is a really spot on amount of time for them to finally break down the enemy. As someone whose spent a decade studying World War 1 seeing this was particularly impressive and entertaining.
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Dec 7, 2020 05:20
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my 'author is not a facist' shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt.
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Dec 7, 2020 15:50
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Alternate theory regarding Zeke's power: If Eldians are drugged or otherwise incapacitated, Zeke can turn them without an injection. I don't like this one as much because it raises all sorts of questions about why he doesn't use it more during battles (for instance, to create titans within the scouts' own ranks), but there could be ways to write around this.MonsterEnvy posted:The Commander tells Colt that is the reason for the 4 year war. But I will double check to make sure I am not making something up. I've been thinking about the possibility of this. Other countries getting detailed military knowledge about elite troops would imply that there's a number of spies within the Marley government, but we don't know anything about how many there might be and where they could be placed, how they would pass on information, etc. It could very well have been "Well, there are rumors that they lost several titans, and they've reduced the number of warrior candidates, so let's go as soon as our anti-titan guns are ready."
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Dec 7, 2020 18:53
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drat that was really good. The titans being CG is OK I think, they seem better integrated into the shots than the CGI Colossal Titan was last season.
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Dec 7, 2020 19:13
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I like what I see. I think I can live with the extra cgi, some of it blends well.
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Dec 7, 2020 19:30
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Wow I really had to watch a recap of the second half of Season 3 because I was confused as hell. So is there a rough idea on how much time has passed since the end of last season? I'm assuming that it hasn't been the entirety of the mentioned 4 years of war, or am I wrong?
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Dec 7, 2020 20:22
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No it's been 4 years
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Dec 7, 2020 20:31
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GATOS Y VATOS posted:Wow I really had to watch a recap of the second half of Season 3 because I was confused as hell. So is there a rough idea on how much time has passed since the end of last season? I'm assuming that it hasn't been the entirety of the mentioned 4 years of war, or am I wrong? The Battle at Shiganshina was over 4 years ago. The actual epilogue of last season, when the Survey Corps reach the ocean for the first time, was closer to 3 years ago.
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Dec 7, 2020 20:32
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I have nothing to add to the conversation I just want to say the thread title made me chortle. Peace and god bless.
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Dec 7, 2020 20:59
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Conspiratiorist posted:The Battle at Shiganshina was over 4 years ago. The actual epilogue of last season, when the Survey Corps reach the ocean for the first time, was closer to 3 years ago. Ah! Ok that's why I was confused; I vaguely remembered that some time had passed by the time they got to the ocean but I had forgotten details. Thanks!
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Dec 7, 2020 21:44
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Conspiratiorist posted:Yeah, the Beast Titan in particular, but at least they looked better than WIT's CGI Colossal. After what Levi did to him at the end of S3, it's clear that while Zeke loves to dish it out, he really can't take it.
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Dec 8, 2020 02:34
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Maera Sior posted:- The Coordinate link might be doing something, based on Falco's dream. Or maybe he was just having an out of body experience.
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Dec 8, 2020 02:39
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Maera Sior posted:- I'm still wondering whether it's true that only Eldians can be turned into a titan. I'm expecting it to be false in one of two ways: either everyone can be turned, or there are far more Eldians than Marley claims. Interested in what makes you think this one, if you don't mind me asking about it.
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Dec 8, 2020 03:24
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I was afraid that the studio transition would be noticeable but MAPPA might even be better than WIT. CGI isn't my favorite course of action but it looked pretty good overall. I rewatched S3 this weekend and the Colossal Titan during the Shigashina battle looked  I hate the opening though.
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Dec 8, 2020 04:00
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chiasaur11 posted:Interested in what makes you think this one, if you don't mind me asking about it. Expecting the Eldians and the Marleyans to have remained genetically isolated from each other for the duration of the Eldian empire (or whatever it was) is ludicrous. Of course there was mixing, and that means that a large number of people who think of themselves as Marleyan actually have some Eldian heritage. Narratively, the Marleyan government would have no reason to mention this. Their position depends upon a convenient scapegoat they can exploit, and by limiting the number of recognized Eldians there remains a group that's small enough to easily oppress. If they checked everyone's genetic background (how, I don't know) and found more Eldians than there were supposed to be within the "Marleyan" population, that would be a recipe for mass violence. Better to let things remain undisturbed. If there is someone who is making trouble they can be injected with the serum, and oh look, they were actually an Eldian all along. No wonder they were trouble. This just shows why the Eldians deserve everything done to them. If the serum can turn anyone into a titan, the government would act the same way. Preserve a group to act as a scapegoat and claim that anyone making trouble was a member of that group all along. Just because the Coordinate power happens to be real and there's a mystical link between Eldians doesn't mean that only Eldians can be titans, but it would mean that only Eldian titans can be controlled. That is a terrifying thought.
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Dec 8, 2020 04:38
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 08:42 |
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Irony Be My Shield posted:This was an interesting detail. Was the co-ordinate's memory altering power limited just to the walls or could it have been used on Eldians outside? Really struggling to remember what we heard about it in season 2. According to Kruger, as far as Marleyan scientists have been able to ascertain as well as going by the personal accounts of previous holders of the Nine Titans, all Eldians appear to be connected to "paths" from which they can receive information (ie memories) and matter (the constituent mass of the titans). "The Coordinate" is what they've called the the idea that there is a point where all these metaphysical paths converge, and directly harnessing its power in order to manipulate Eldians is the special ability of the Founding Titan that was passed from king to king through the Fritz dynasty (with full access requiring both the Founding Titan and royal blood). Going by this in-universe theory, then all Eldians inc. the ones in the continent possess a connection to the Coordinate, and it's this connection that is the basis of their ability to titanize. So yeah, all Eldians have a little bit of a case of the old titan magic going on with them, and any time they have weird intrusive thoughts and dreams there could potentially be paths fuckery going on, but so far the only characters shown that seem to have for sure received visions of the past have been holders of the Nine and Historia (who is a royal).
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Dec 8, 2020 04:57
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