First Part of Part 3 of Attack on Titan Final Season Premieres March 3

In a move that probably surprises nobody, the final part of the final season of Attack on Titan has been split into two parts. The first will premiere on March 3 (March 4 in Japan), and the second will air starting on an as yet to be identified date later this year.

While Crunchyroll is calling these parts “halves”, Anime News Network says that there is no confirmation of how long each part will be. ANN also specifically points out that the March 4 airing is labeled as a “special broadcast”, which indicates that it is not the first episode in a string, but rather a special episode of some sort. We can only hope that, as we get closer, more details will come out.

Normally, I would think that this would imply a recap movie. However, NHK will be airing a seven-episode anime compilation for three consecutive nights starting on February 25. One would assume that will be a sufficient enough recap before going into what is hopefully the absolute last final segment of this series.

They also released a trailer for the final part, containing what we can only assume to be scenes from the upcoming part. And they are legitimately terrifying.

According to manga readers, there are only about 10 chapters of material left to be adapted. NHK has specifically not indicated how many episodes each part will include, therefore it stands to reason these will not be standard cours (12-13 episodes). Generally, one episode of anime generally contains approximately 3-4 chapters of a manga, depending on the length of the chapters and whether or not there are anime-only scenes. Apparently, though, season 4 has been adapting 1 to 1, so one anime episode is one manga chapter.

Without official confirmation, we can only speculate as to the length of each part. Are we getting a standard cour (12-13 episodes) split in half, with perhaps a special ending just for the anime? (I wasn’t present, but allegedly creator Hajime Isayama apologized for the ending at his Anime NYC appearance in November.) Who can say? We’ll just have to wait until more details come out to know for sure.

I know it seems like Attack on Titan will never end. That’s probably because this “final” season has been airing for years at this point. Part 1 (16 episodes) started in December of 2020, while Part 2 (12 episodes) started in January of 2022. I’ve been joking about the length of this last batch of episodes ever since part 2 started. But I am excited to finally get to the end of this story, even though I am fully prepared for, like, everyone to die. There’s just no way this is ending happily. 

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary