Why Did Attack on Titan Change Studios?
It’s no hot take to say that Attack on Titan has been one of the most popular animes for almost a full decade. With its dark plotline and high-quality animation, Attack on Titan attracted viewers in hordes, even beyond fans of anime. For this reason, the last season’s launch was highly anticipated by fans worldwide. Imagine the shock and surprise that overtook the Attack on Titan fandom when word got out that Attack on Titan would change studios for its last season.
Attack on Titan changed studios for its final season because WIT Studio, the studio responsible for animating seasons 1 through 3, declined to continue the show. WIT Studio claimed that the project was too big for them to complete and would cost them far too much. Every other studio asked after WIT Studio cited the same reason, adding that WIT Studio’s shoes were too big to fill. MAPPA was the only studio that accepted the job.
That being said, there’s still a lot to digest regarding the switch in studios. Continue reading to learn more about the circumstances that lead to this, the fandom’s reception, and what’s in store for us in the future.
WIT Studio’s production concerns
WIT Studio animated seasons 1 – 3 of Attack on Titan, and they undoubtedly did an amazing job. You can feel the impact of the Titans, the physics of the fights are amazing, and the animation is overall of very high quality. That kind of production takes a lot of time and effort to achieve.
There was a 3-year gap between the end of season 1 and the release of season 2 of Attack on Titan. This allowed for the animation to maintain its quality and the quality storyboarding to shine through, but it killed much of the initial hype of Attack on Titan. The show never quite reached the level of explosive popularity that it did in season 1.
That’s just the price of quality animation, but it’s not optimal from a business standpoint. Kodansha, Attack on Titan’s publishing company, had wanted to release season 4, part 1, before the manga ended. WIT Studio couldn’t animate this part in the time they were allotted. No other studio accepted this daunting job except MAPPA.
From this, we can surmise that WIT Studio would’ve taken a much longer time to animate season 4, part 1. For better or for worse, MAPPA gave us this season earlier. If it wasn’t for MAPPA, we might not have even gotten the last season at all.
Even the lowest-quality animation takes a disproportionally large amount of time and effort. It’s well-known that animators aren’t paid very well, and they’re animating for dozens of hours in a row. Financially, WIT Studio doesn’t get much after the production costs of Attack on Titan are taken care of, and they’re not a very large studio, to begin with. There are other projects where their efforts would be more well-compensated.
MAPPA is a much bigger studio than WIT, which means it can shoulder the production costs. That, and they were the only studio to accept Kodansha’s offer.
The audience’s reception to the studio change
The news that Attack on Titan would be changing studios was met with no small amount of concern and anger. Many were already used to WIT’s art style and animation, and it felt like switching studios for the last season would completely change the feel of the anime.
Even after the airing of season 4, parts 1 and 2, the Attack on Titan fandom remains divided. Some think the animation remains superb, and the character models look much more realistic. Others dislike the art style overall, with numerous complaints being lobbied against MAPPA because they use CGI for most scenes featuring Titans.
Attack on Titan’s animation quality post-studio change
CGI is still a sore spot, even for those who enjoy MAPPA’s animation. It’s by no means terrible, but it’s a big change from WIT’s painstakingly hand-drawn Titans.
Despite this, Attack on Titan remains one of the most popular animes in current times, even entering into the public consciousness after its brief hiatus. The characters’ animation has improved, with them looking much closer to their manga counterparts.
Attack on Titan was WIT Studio’s first anime, so there’s no doubt they would’ve loved to continue animating it to the very end. As things turned out, the business side of this exchange didn’t work out, and the purpose of any business is to turn a profit.
Despite the sudden change, Attack on Titan is safe in MAPPA Studio’s hands, as WIT themselves have claimed. MAPPA had some very big shoes to fill in WIT’s absence, and the general consensus is that it’s done a pretty excellent job. We can only hope that part 3 of season 4 continues to exceed our expectations.