Attack on Titanis one of the most legendary anime of all time, and it’s easy to see why this is the case. The stellar storytelling of the series coupled with some brilliant animation sets this anime a class apart from its competitors. With Part 3 of the Final Season coming next year, fans can’t wait to see how MAPPA will deliver a fantastic conclusion for this anime series.
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After all, this studio has done a brilliant job of carrying forwardAttack on Titan’s legacy after Wit Studio’s amazing work on the series. Many people still worry about whether MAPPA was the best choice for the series' continuation, while others find this studio to be doing better work than its predecessor! A detailed breakdown of both studios' strongest points is mentioned below.
10MAPPA: Better CGI
Wit Studio did a lot of things right with the first three seasons, but not everything was up to the mark.Their CGI Titanswere abysmal and made these behemoths look almost silly at times. MAPPA does a great job of integrating both CGI scenes and hand-drawn sequences to make these 3D scenes look better than ever before. It’s one of the biggest achievements of this studio.
9Wit Studio: The Titans Look Way Better
However, while Wit Studio loses out in the 3D department, their 2D sequences are brilliant in every way. This is especially truein the case of the Titans, who look amazing in their art style.
Given how much MAPPA relies on CGI for their Titans, it’s easy to see why Wit Studio excels in this department. However, this difference in quality is minor, and MAPPA has still done a brilliant job regardless.
8MAPPA: Doesn’t Cut Out Anything From The Manga
Wit Studio took the term adaptation literally, adding and moving around several scenes from the manga according to their own judgment. This has its merits…but MAPPA’s faithful adaptation has its merits too.
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No scene from the manga is cut, which is great given how much the series jumped in quality with Isayama’s art style improving over time. This was a pretty major issue in Season 3, where fans felt like Wit Studio took too many liberties with the source material.
This might be a minor complaint, but something that should be brought up regardless. MAPPA has done an excellent job of adapting the final season, but its trailers definitely misled some fans into expecting scenes of a more epic nature.
Mikasa’s entry in Season 4 is notably different from her appearance in the manga. There’s alsoa shot of Eren rampaging in Liberio, which is notably absent from the final product.
6MAPPA: The Buildup Of Tension In Episodes Is Masterful
Static scenes with dialogue can always bog the pacing down. This is something that Wit Studio struggled with time and time again over the course of the first three seasons.
These scenes are present in Season 4 as well, but the combination of music and cinematography during these scenes makes themmore heart-pounding and nerve-wracking than ever before. It’s one area of the adaptation that MAPPA has excelled in across the board.
5Wit Studio: Some Original Additions Are Great
Theearly run ofAttack on Titan’s manga was pretty rough. The art style wasn’t particularly great, which could’ve made the early adaptation of this series somewhat challenging.
So, Wit Studio should be commended for not only making the show look gorgeous during these moments but also for adding some extra things to improve the overall quality of the adaptation. The fight against Annie in Stohess District is a great example of the same, with the studio adding additional scenes where Eren finally makes up his mind to fight his friend, while the manga just had one solitary line from Mikasa that was enough to convince Eren instead.
4MAPPA: Characters Look Better And Are Faithful To The Source Material
It’s already been established before that MAPPA was extremely faithful to the manga. This applies to their art styles as well, with character designs being pretty great.
Along with this, their personalities alsodon’t deviate from Isayama’s work. Mikasa is a character who suffered from constantly obsessing over Eren in the first three seasons, while the manga actually featured some great character development for her. The latter has been retained in MAPPA’s adaptation, which is important given how big a role she plays near the ending of the series.
3Wit Studio: The ODM Gear Action Sequences Are Amazing
There wasa greater focus on the ODM Gearand its uses in the first few seasons. So, it was important for these scenes to be animated beautifully, and Wit Studio did a brilliant job in this regard.
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While MAPPA has done a brilliant job with these scenes as well, they fall just short of the high standards set by Wit Studio. Given the shift in the series' scope and focus in Season 4, perhaps this isn’t the most pressing requirement…but higher-quality ODM Gear scenes would still be appreciated regardless.
2MAPPA: The Art Style Is Perfect For The Bleak Post-Timeskip Period
Both studios have used differing art styles for their respective take onAttack on Titan’s adaptation. However, none is objectively better, especially since MAPPA’s muted colors are perfect to depict the all-out war everyone finds themselves in during Season 4.
As a result, MAPPA’s darker art style is perfect to show the horrors of war. Wit Studio’s brighter colors could’ve possibly looked out of place during this arc, so this change was ultimately for the better.
1Wit Studio: The Bright Colors Do Justice To The Shonen Vibe Of The Pre-Timeskip Era
Before the timeskip, most people can argue thatAttack on Titanleaned heavily on its shonen trappings before the scope of the anime expanded. As a result, the brighter colors present in Wit Studio’s adaptation were a perfect fit.
With the post-timeskip period being way darker and heavy-handed, some people could argue that Wit Studio’s art style would’ve clashed with the themes of this season. It’s possible that Wit Studio could’ve changed its art style accordingly, but MAPPA’s adaptation will render this situation to be nothing more than a hypothetical one.
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