How Attack on Titan became one of the biggest anime of all time

Attack on Titan’s opening sequence is one of serene terror: As geese fly high above a sun-soaked rustic town, a gargantuan humanoid figure peeks over the walls with bare, musculature and blank expression. “That day, humanity remembered the terror of being ruled by them,” we’re told through narration, setting up a series permeated by habitual anxiety and prevailing horror. Soon after, Linked Horizon’s “Guren no Yumiya,” an opening theme that will swiftly become iconic in the anime fandom, kicks in and Attack on Titan begins.

Call Attack on TitanA major success can be described as an understatement. Having recently wrapped up the second part of its Final Season (the third, theoretically conclusive part, is set to air in 2023), the team at Wit Studio spun Hajime Isayama’s controversial-but-uber-popular manga into an anime sensation. But the series is more than just a hit; it’s come to represent the anime industry itself, a business currently swelling and gaining more worldwide notoriety than ever before.

To understand Attack on Titan’s position as a powerhouse in the current anime arms race — a race conducted among streaming services and distributors vying for profit and, often more important, the goodwill of a dedicated, expanding fanbase — one has to look back to anime’s emergence through the aughts. The late 1990s saw series such as Pokémon And Dragon Ball ZThe popularity and potential for franchises of anime had already been established. The anime became part of America’s entertainment system. This is a significant change from previous decades, when it was often seen in haphazardly and was often associated with negative stereotypes regarding Japanese media imports and those who ate them.

The anime became more accessible on TV and home video by the new millennium. This ensured that the entire population was at least aware, if they weren’t devoted, to the medium. Meanwhile, as American comic book publishers attempted to come back from the disastrous ’90s, manga publishers found a strong foothold in the market. This would last until the late ’00s, when, coinciding at least partially with a devastating global recession, the bubble seemed to burst. Central Park Media was disbanded and Viz Media, along with other notable businesses, were restructured. The anime market crashed. Symbolically, Cartoon Network’s Toonami block would end its initial run in 2008, having begun its life as a harbinger of anime’s American potential and ending as a sign of its collapse.

a screenshot from the trailer announcing the Pokemon Diamond and pearl remakes. it’s a shot of a Nintendo DS playing the original Pokemon Diamond and pearl.

Sites like Funimation, which started as an archive of pirated anime would become a few survivors. Crunchyroll would also make deals with networks and studios to distribute titles in a way that appealed to fans. No longer would anime arrive in America on a “Well, if it gets big enough, maybe Somebody will buy it later” process. It was now available for fans to view shortly after the Japan premiere. This allows instant communication, global community, debate and social media readiness. Attack on TitanFrom the changing system, emerged.

If there’s any question of the show’s significance, just Google “Attack on Titan got me back into anime.” One of the reasons why kids and teens flocked to anime like Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho,Gundams and other weapons series a decade earlier was because it felt like those shows didn’t play by the rules of the traditional cartoons they’d grown up with. They were brutal, and rife in a sort of narrative continuity that required you to be attentive. They were a breeding ground for fan theories and schoolyard disputes: “Could Goku beat The Hulk?” Attack on TitanThese feelings were revived by seeing large, omnivorous creatures munching on the flesh of helpless people. The characters’ constant anguish created a show that could be easily binged and was perfect for weekly water-cooler conversations.

This anime escaped from the juvenile stigmas culture critics have been quick to throw at it around 2001. The story, focused on a group of soldiers known as the Survey Corps who attempt to both study and eliminate the titular “monsters,” was easy to recommend without hesitation, even to those who seemingly shied away from anime. You could not help but be captivated by the story. It was able to balance the gruesomeness and doomsday situations with a captivating plot that always knows how to make it interesting. Plus, it came on top of the zombie media explosion. Attack on TitanThis could just be the next step after the last season. The Walking Dead When it came to screeching human beings eating shuffling creatures, I was eager to find another way.

A titan looking down through smoke over a wall

The following was accomplished to support this propagation Attack on Titan’s availability. Crunchyroll was quick to purchase the rights and stream the series. Funimation followed suit and made it a big success. The publisher Attack on TitanKodansha manga claimed in that time that the anime had led to the first rise in their revenue and profit for 19 years. Hulu and Amazon Prime, as well as a revived Toonami, were all able to acquire the series. This created a new landscape. Attack on TitanIt was always within reach. This is what made streaming services so successful in the first instance. It was possible to approach the matter on your terms, regardless of any previous relationship.

It is estimated that there are approximately 2021 measures. Attack on TitanIt attracted nearly 60 times as much interest than an average Netflix series, and it was also the most popular streamer show in America. It wasn’t the only anime series to attain such a cross-streaming platform triumph it would be remiss to blame anime’s veritable “rebirth” in America solely on it. Series like My Hero Academia and Demon SlayerThese songs have been huge hits in the same period. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure One Punch ManTheir unique creativeness delighted them. Legendary series such as One PieceThe West has seen a revival of a once tragic story of wrongly localized locationization.

Today, Attack on TitanIt is an iconic brand within an industry that is saturated with them. Yet, it stands out. Merchandise for the show is copiously available at retailers like Hot Topic and it’s inspired tons of cosplay, with both the aforementioned Colossal Titan and the military-inspired uniform of the Survey Corps being popular choices. “Guren no Yumiya” blared from both cover bands and loud speakers alike at anime conventions. At Anime Expo 2014, the Corps Dance Crew created a hip-hop-inspired stage performance. A rough video of it is over a million hits. Crunchyroll was unable to view Part 2 of Final Season. It’s no surprise that “finding the next Attack on Titan” became a priorityPlease see the following: it’s hard not to see Netflix’s recent investment in bloody productions like Baki, Castlevania, Kengan Ashura, and Nightmare of the Wolf: The WitcherAt least partially attempts at forming a Venn diagram Titan fans.

Two AoT characters stand in front of a sunset and one is handing the other something

A leader stands on a balcony with their back to us looking at soldiers on the ground

Attack on titan still of giant people reaching for smaller people

Eren Jaeger transformed into the Attack Titan in Attack on Titan.

But even as Attack on Titan represents anime’s broadening appeal, it also reveals one of the industry’s rampant downsides. At the end of season 3, production of the show shifted from Wit Studio, with the show’s producers alleging that it was due to a need to “escalate” the series further as it barreled toward its dramatic conclusion. Wit Studio would not be able to handle it and other anime studios declined the offer. It can be daunting to take on one of most well-known franchises, especially in an industry where there is so much work and little pay. MAPPA was eventually founded. This studio is well-known for producing shows such as “The Apprentice”. Jujutsu Kaisen and currently developing another “Maybe the next Attack on Titan” anime with Chainsaw ManThey took up the series. But even they haven’t been free from allegations of a miserable work environment, claims the studio vehemently denied.

There’s also the issue of fascist imagery and narrative points in the series, leading fans and anime writers to constantly attempt to unpack the intentions of the author, the unavoidable weight of history, and the implications as they connect and differ across countries. Such wariness of themes and ramifications is not alone in the medium — the Buddhist manji swastika symbol appears heavily in the series Tokyo RevengersCrunchyroll censored a Crunchyroll show called “The Gangs of Street Youths”, which was a series about street gangs. However, its disturbing similarities to the Nazi swastika caused it to be censored. With inclusivity as a goal, fans demanding accuracy to the aim of the original work, and an audience that studios and distributors see as potentially indefinitely expanding, these kinds of cultural debates and decisions are inevitable as we struggle with the question “What does this mean, and to whom?”

Many fans are waiting for the next episode of The Simpsons. Attack on Titan. The wait for the final chunk of the Final Season is nothing new to fans — people that began watching the series with season 1 had to wait four years for season 2. And in the meantime, more people will discover a show that’s escaped the bounds of the anime fandom and has effects that are being discussed on a wide cultural one. Attack on Titan is the kind of show that most studios can only dream of and as it’s gained steam, it’s shown us that anime is no longer the subject of niche internet forums and video store corners. It’s decidedly mainstream. Its omnipresence also means that every anime should be reviewed and discussed, both the good and bad.

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