The Old School Otaku Lounge

Don't mind me. Just over here crying for the second day in a row.

That was so deeply sad...

And the fact that (while there have been hiatuses) I've been following this story for a decade now... that really adds force to the gut punches.

I wasn't sure if they were going to stick the landing, but I think they did! I hadn't been reading ahead in the manga so it's been a little tricky to keep from being spoiled, but I managed it.

The show managed to get past some of its more questionable creative choices (hey, I wrote silly, ponderous comics when I was 20, too) and deliver a series that challenged, horrified, thrilled, and delivered shocks on a regular basis.

It has been fascinating to see the segment of anime fandom insist that "nobody cares about this show any more" and then watch the finale absolutely destroy its streaming service - there are plenty of AOT fans out there, still.

There's an even smaller segment of anime fans who decided two seasons back that AOT was merely right-wing fascist propaganda and have been vocal about how awful it is ever since. I said all along that it's kind of silly to condemn a work that, after all, wasn't even finished yet, and seeing the show play out and be pretty consistent in messaging that war makes monsters of everyone, that the cycle of revenge and hate is never-ending, and that leaders, institutions, and systems are not to be trusted, well, it kind of settles those debates, I think.