MAPPA has had a mixed record with CG imagery – the lower budget Zombieland Saga had some wonky 3D dance sequences, while Inuyashiki and Dorohedoro can be breathtaking at times – but since Attack on Titan is such an important and influential show, we’re certain that they’ll bring their A-game for this one. And they’ll need to, since this season is full of zeppelins, warships, dizzyingly huge crowd shots, and the craziest titan designs to date. We’d love to see most titans animated traditionally, as can be seen with the Cart Titan and others in the trailer, but the otherworldly nature of CG would actually work very well for the wall titans and Eren’s later forms.

Season 4’s poster says it all – the iconic image of the Colossal Titan looming over the wall and staring down at the lone soldier. Eren has been replaced with the Attack Titan roaring at a wounded Reiner as he destroys Marley’s largest city. Eren has always been an anti-hero, but at this point, he’s fully taken on the role of an antagonist. Once we get to know the mainland Eldians and the Marleyan officials as people, it becomes much more difficult to see them as the faceless enemies that they used to be. We hope the directors and voice actors dedicate their hearts to portraying these morally grey characters as faithfully as they can.

All subjects of Ymir are connected by mental “paths”, which can transfer and alter memories, change body structures, and (in the Attack Titan’s case) travel through time. We hope MAPPA illustrates the flashback/time travel moments with some surreal animation and direction, since the manga uses tilted panels and other odd techniques in these same scenes to imply that what’s being shown isn’t the whole truth. Wouldn’t it be cool if Eren and Zeke appeared in their MAPPA designs while interacting with Grisha in WIT’s art style? Or if they observed a scene from season 1 and the drastically different styles served to visually represent how much their lives have changed since then? If Attack on Titan Junior High can use clashing art styles for comedy, why can’t season 4 use it for drama?

Hajime Isayama has a habit of sneaking hints about future events into the anime, even when they haven’t even appeared in the manga yet. The most obvious is season 2’s ED, which hinted toward the original Ymir’s backstory and the Eldians’ banishment to Paradis Island, but these little moments are all over the place if you know where to look. Perhaps there will be some overlooked imagery in season 4 (or even earlier) that we won’t recognize as a call-forward until the manga ends...