#mappa outdid themselves

[allofthefreedoms]

I have so many thoughts about the last episode of Attack on Titan, but for now all I can put into words is how heart-wrenching Armin's scream was when he saw his friend dead.

[sillylittleguyinatrenchcoat]

(i’m one week late but) IN HONOUR OF SEASON 2 DROPPING….. some 2006 gang sillies :3

[raamitsu]

good day for annoying people like me who won’t stop talking about the Awakening Gojo Satoru cuz DAMN

[booksandpaperss]

reasons to watch jujutsu kaisen

I made a poll asking if u guys have seen and are into jjk and a lot of y’all have not seen it at all so I’m making a list of reasons why it’s worth watching 🫡

-it has an amazing cast of characters! I think it’s one of the few shows I’ve watched besides arcane where I’ve genuinely felt like every main and supporting character has their own unique personality and motivations, and many of them are imperfect with flaws that directly influence the plot, so much so that I cld probably make a separate post on this

-the female characters specifically! jjk does this rlly shocking thing where it… considers women as people?? that are just as capable of having complex characterizations with strengths and weaknesses and motivations as male characters are??? and they’re not just onscreen for their bodies to be sexualized???? it’s quite refreshing and honestly a little shocking to see, especially in anime and especially in a shounen, and while Gege is not perfect at writing women it is still very nice to see that he actually cares. And it avoids the pitfall of “super op woman who has no weaknesses and never bleeds” bc pretty much everyone in this show bleeds and all the mains are op, not just the female characters. Plus the women who are fighters are drawn with actual muscles

-well thought out lore and world building that is almost as interesting as the characters themselves

-pretty much forces you to think deeply about the nature of the human condition

-certain supporting characters have a tragic past that is explored in a prequel arc and also is directly related to the present day plot

-features one of my all time favorite anime protagonists, and in my opinion one of the best shounen protagonists out there. n you can’t help but love him <3

-genuinely mind blowing animation, mappa animators seriously outdid themselves. the fight scenes will have you wondering if said animators have seen their families at all in the last 5 years, and 90% of all jjk shots look like they cld be on an HD poster

-several subtextually queer characters, whether intended or not (tho it seems very intentional to me)

-fascinating character dynamics that are both already well done and have lots of potential to build on

-intros and outros good enough to watch every time. I almost never skipped them when I was binging

-the men. if you are someone who is attracted to men then you will very much enjoy how they’re drawn, and if you’re not attracted to men you can still appreciate how the animators draw them the way women in anime are normally treated. it’s hilarious

-the fanfic for this anime that i have found so far is so good, and there are plenty of longfics to keep you entertained

and lastly, I cannot ethically make this post without a warning at the end: jjk is tragic. it is a tragedy. the author does not believe in the concept of plot armor. season 1 is manageable and not that bad, but I recommend preemptively assembling fix it fics before starting season 2 once you know you’re faves. :D

that’s all! hope this at least got u considering bc this anime is my new obsession rn

[chigirisprincess]

my thoughts on the aot finale down below. don't click if you dont want to be spoiled!

this was a beautifully harrowing finale. the animation and the cinematography was astounding. truly i was blown away. mappa truly outdid themselves with some of the sequences and absolutely nailed isayama's usage of shifting appearances depending on whos perspective we were seeing and how eren's personhood and identity matched the eren we meet in s1 and not the eren we meet in s4 (will elaborate further down). the music and voice acting were superb. the agony in their voices sent chills down my spine and armin's harrowed screams as he sees eren's decapitated head will forever haunt me.

now onto the actual plot. I loved the original scenes that were incorporated (that line up with the volume 35 cover imo). i think it was far more cohesive to show levi, gabi, falco, yelena, and onyankopon with the newly created encampments, planting trees, and helping rebuild the world beyond paradis. in my opinion it did not make sense to jump so far ahead to where the cities were rebuilt and it was frankly too idealistic when the scene before that was the peace ambassadors discussing the state of paradis. additionally, i really enjoyed seeing historia's life and more of post-war paradis. it is heartbreaking to see how lifeless she is as queen though it makes sense considering she has no real power and is a pawn. seeing her and her daughter together was sweet and i'm glad she at least has the farm and a family to go home to.

i know seeing hitch yawn during the yeagerists rally was meant to be comedic but it is really sort of sad if you think about it. she clearly has no interest in the new military but has stuck with them for her own personal safety. seeing sasha's family and niccolo give dirty looks was golden and perfectly surmises the hypocrisy of the new military. sasha's family lost sasha, they knew of pain and hardship, they knew all that sasha sacrificed as a scout and now paradis is being led by a group of bozos who have never actually engaged in combat? yeah they deserved more than dirty looks. it's actually very sweet though that niccolo stayed with them, whilst i don't like the ship, i think its a very beautiful display of found family.

whew okay. now ... the plot. i wish we could have seen the others (reiner, jean, connie, annie, levi (?)) speak with eren in paths. that disappointed me. i know it isn't as relevant as mikasa and armin with eren in paths however i feel there is so much missing and seeing what he said to them could have filled in those blanks. paradoxically, i am glad we didn't see anything more since fans are still confused and disappointed in eren's death even though i felt his speech with armin made it very clear. it was ymir the founder's will to do the rumbling, it was her twisted bastardization of freedom that forced eren to do what he did because she was attached to him and mikasa. this perversion of freedom took away eren's choice because he was bound by destiny no matter what he did, so he blames himself due to the anger he felt for marley (and the rest of the worlds) hatred for paradis, eldia, and eldian's. armin takes partial ownership of eren's mistake because of their share childhood dreams, he gave eren his first taste of freedom, showed him a world beyond the walls with no violence, and no one else so ergo, the disappointment he felt was due to armin. and while the semantics do not matter when it was ymir the founder who caused the rumbling, this moment was meant to show how deep eren and armin's love for one another goes. they will be together, always, even if that means meeting each other again in hell. they have done everything together, they have shaped each other since childhood, idea's and beliefs don't exist in a vacuum and if that means armin blaming himself too so that eren can rest peacefully, then he'll do it.

i think a lot of people don't realize at the end of the day eren was powerless to ymir's will. and that is the point of the show. you cannot fight destiny, and you cannot have want you want (eren wants to be free, live, and be with mikasa//he dies an unwilling soldier to ymir's will.) (mikasa wants a life with eren//he dies before they could truly ever begin something) (ymir wanted to build a real life with historia but she sacrificed herself because she was living on borrowed time anyway).

speaking of ymir. i love the parallels to armin that we see. they both recognize that they have stolen someone else's life and power. ymir didn't feel the guilt until she realized there were things worth living for and that marcel had so much to live for. armin, however, spends five years filled with such guilt over stealing bertholdt's live, power, memories, wants, desires etc. i thought this was interesting. i think the idea of living on borrowed time is also why eren was willing to sacrifice himself in spite of how badly he wanted to live. he didn't want anyone to be burdened with living on borrowed time (realizing this after he saved armin, however, he'd save armin over and over again because he loves him).

i became very emotional seeing connie and jean wrap their arms around one another as they become titans and then connie joking one last time saying, "it was all your fault jean we joined because of you" knowing that his drive would have always led him to the scouts anyway. i also loved that they kept reaffirming their identity as scouts, it was very heartfilled and shows that their beliefs will never die even after the regiment collapses. erwin and hange's wishes will never die because they will keep living and fighting to fulfil them (arguably they did fulfil them by killing eren and eradicating the titans however, its sort of unspoken that there was so much more to do but the torch needed to be passed for armin for that to happen). now onto their clothing. eren grows his hair out in s4 and begins to look a lot like his father. he used to have his mother's eye shape and in spite of having his fathers colouring, he was carla's son. he was never grisha's son, that was her boy not his. but as he aged he turned into his father. symbolically i would say its because he mirrored his fathers previous desires to rise against marley however i do think this change is occurred because eren didn't recognize himself. when he appears to mikasa in the cabin, his hair his short, his eyes are softer, and he's wearing the same kind of clothing he used to. he became himself once more, he became the person they both knew. mikasa wears the clothing she wore as a child and continued to wear even after eren died. i think this was done to symbolize that they will always be connected to one another because their are parts of them that will always belong to one another. later we see eren and armin as children again, they talk for a while and grow up together. this image is a strong one. i think it was done to remind the audience and armin that the eren he grew up with was still there, he just had to hide himself literally and figuratively. armin says he can't believe eren would say something so pathetic and it takes him a moment to remind himself that eren hasn't changed, he is still the idiot hot head he loved so dearly. and while they've both changed, and cannot go back to the boys they once were, those boys will always exist inside of them. and that is beautiful :( also! the fight against the titans ymir was controlling! i think that reaffirms that how the eldian's in a way are slaves to ymir's will. their titans and likeness are being manipulated to fight by ymir the founder while they exist in paths watching it happen and being unable to stop it. she makes them complicit in her crimes until zeke uses his royal blood to stop it. its a very interesting dynamic that i still need to think on. while i don't blame ymir for acting out it is very gut wrenching. all she knows is violence despite craving connection (hence how all eldian's are connected in paths). it was very touching seeing ymir, porco, marcel, eren kruger, grisha, and bertoldt fight alongside the scouts. pieck crying because poroco was fighting alongside her, god my heart melted. she hardly got to mourn him before having to fight against his likeness, feeling betrayed even though it wasn't him. in a way it was one last act of freedom.

oh ... and levi's face when he finally killed zeke. he spent five years waiting to avenge erwin, spent five years having to play nice, his body was torn apart because of zeke. finally killing zeke didn't make levi feel better, he knew it wasn't going to bring erwin back but it could have felt satisfying but it wasn't. it was sad, and unfulfilling not because zeke allowed it to happen but because senseless violence will never make grief go away.

overall i think while this was a very gut wrenching end, it was beautiful and there will always be something new to discuss about this show. i will never stop talking about how truly amazing aot is!!!! but i wish i could rewatch it again for the first time and have that same feeling of wonderment all over again.

[fushiglow]

i think i’m in shock from how fucking good that was????

mappa outdid themselves. i cried my eyes out during this sequence because it was so beautiful 💙

time to watch it again because i feel like i wasn’t in my body the first time!!

[happybird16]

Tw blood and gore

I need everyone too look at the sheer level of detail in this shot.

Mappa really outdid themselves

[oh-katsuki]

im gonna SAY SOMETHING somewhat controversial!!! but it’s my opinion!!! 

when it comes to 2D animated characters in 3D spaces, ufotable runs CIRCLES around mappa. granted mappa is a smaller studio, but that being said.. the way ufotable works it’s 3D rendering of backgrounds and then places 2D characters in it is (imo) leagues better than mappa. that being said... mappa excels way more in ambient lighting than ufotable does. 

neither is bad at what they do at ALL, but my opinion is that ufotable blows mappa out of the water with this new demon slayer season. it works it’s characters into the spaces so well, the colors are fantastic, they’ve got gorgeous textures on their 3D animated subjects and backgrounds so as to not lose the stylistic choices present in the 2D animation. that’s not to say mappa is bad by ANY means. mappa’s animation of both jujutsu kaisen and chainsaw man is NOTABLY good, just in a different way that tends to stick within the 2D animation realm. they’ve got a fantastic handle on their line weight (esp in chainsaw man) that makes the animation feel more “real”, whereas ufotable leans heavily into it’s stylized line work. 

there was really no need for me to compare these two studios since they make different things, but im a big fan of both of them and i am fascinated by thinking about stylistic choices made by studios as part of a pattern. they’re both great in their own right. 

anyway.... ufotable outdid themselves with this new demon slayer season. it’s fucking stunning. i can’t get over how nicely their backgrounds and 3D animated objects work with their 2d animated characters. 

[strawsoldier]

Fall 2023 Anime-Round Up

Incredibly strong season for anime. Popular IP's finally getting their anime adaptions (Frieren, Kusariya). More enjoyable sequels (Spy x Family, Kagejitsu). And probably the biggest anime in existence finally finally came to it's conclusion (AOT)

oh and Zom 100 finally came back from production hell lol

Anime of the Season: Jujutsu Kaisen 2nd Season

Best Opening: Specialz (Jujutsu Kaisen 2nd Season) + Nemurasareta Lineage (Ancient Magus Bride S2)

Best Ending: know me... (Undead Unluck)

Drops: 100 Girlfriends, Stardust Telepath (may pick those up someday if im bored)

Plans to Watch at a later date: N/A

Completed:

SPY×FAMILY Season 2 - (8/10)

I never liked how SpyFam diluted into an A plot or B plot with each and every episode after the second cour of the first season. This also occurred in S2 but was definitely a return to form for this show. Everything else was mostly the same stuff. If you loved S1, you'll lvoe this. Very excited for the upcoming movie.

Attack on Titan: The Final Season - The Final Part - (10/10)

What can I say about this juggernaut of a franchise ending that hasn't already been said? I still remember myself in 2013 watching the first episode of Attack on Titan being floored that anime could be like this. If it wasn't for this show I would not have discovered of what Japanese Animation has to offer outside of Naruto and One piece. Thank you so much to all the staff involved in making this- From WIT and MAPPA.

and I hope I never have to type that stupid title ever again

Arknights: Perish in Frost - (8.5/10)

Very engaging season of Arknights. Can very much see why Arknights fans say the writing just gets better and better with each chapter. Still not going to play the game tho lmao

Blaze <333

The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 - (8/10)

The frenzy has begun. The moon is red. We are out of time.

stupid isekai continues to be stupid (wholesome). Can't wait for the movie

Dead Mount Death Play Part 2 - (6/10)

Still enjoyable, and very much written by Narita. But man the production quality of this show took a major nose-dive and killed some enjoyment of this show. Very willing to watch more though.

The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2 Part 2 - (8/10)

While DMDP suffered a animation dive in it's second half, Mahoyome absolutely ramped up it's production quality; both from a direction standpoint and animation.. Philomela was a fascinating character to watch and I'm so happy with how her arc ended up concluding. I don't khow much more time will be spent in the College, but hopefully we can more arcs about the other characters like that. Lucy plotline is still unresolved afterall.

Also finally an OP with animation that MATCHES Junna's vocal range. Love to see it.

The IDOLM@STER Million Live! - (7/10)

Can a show tell a story with 39 main characters across 12 episodes? Turns out, not really; But credit for trying though. The recent installment of the Imas franchise was a relatively safe one that didn't bother to do anything more than "Here are these girls and the quirks and troupes associated with them". That being said, The CG animation was incredible. Shirogumi outdid themselves with this show. Now I think I can say that Studio Orange isn't the only studio that successfully do a full CG anime.

pour one out for shinymas anime that isn't gonna look this good :pensive:

Jujutsu Kaisen 2nd Season - (10/10)

My hope for HI/Shibuya Arcs getting the most pristine quality of treatment when they get animated was answered, and then some. The way it elevated each and every moment in the manga in ways that I would never expect or anticipated had me dying of excitement every week. It's tragic to see how horrible the circumstances were in making this show, but I very much appreciate all the hard work that the all the staff did in this season. They went above and beyond and I can't thank them enough

Also Fuck you, Manabu Otsuka

Rurouni Kenshin (2023) (6/10)

I never got a chance to watch the OG series growing up so I thought I would give this a shot. Kinda bored a lot though. I heard the next arc introduces a really great villain so I'll stick around for that.

Zom 100 - (7/10)

And the award for "Most Ironic Anime of the Year" goes tooooo....

[himitsuuuy]

Just watched the final attack on titan episode and I think mappa outdid themselves 😭can't believe aot is really over now it makes me sad

[harryforvogue]

WOW MAPPA OUTDID THEMSELVES WITH THIS EPISODE

[catorumeowjo]

Mappa really outdid themselves here.

[kikuism]

what hurts is that found & lost sounds like the beginning of a journey, upbeat and tense, and freedom sounds like the ending of one, wistful and final 

[lyriavsuniverse]

SCREAMING THROWING UP CRYING SHITTING AND PISSING MYSELF SLIDDING DOWN AGAIST THE WALL

mappa outdid themselves once again

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QdTdem_PWk4

[ashxketchum]

JJK 0 was finally released in India 🎉

So ofc I went to watch it today and man Mappa outdid themselves with the fight sequences, I’m so glad I waited to watch it on the big screen, fully worth it!

Shoutout to my makeup for staying on despite me bawling towards the end 💟

[kalofi]

THE MOVIE WAS SO!! SOOOOO!!! IM STILL REELING IT WAS AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING!!!!! GO WATCH IT GO WATCH IT NEEOOOWWWW!!!!!!

watching the jjk movie today! hence, inumaki inspired makeup 🍙