Thank you, Attack on Titan

In July 2019, back when I was still very new to anime and was enthusiastically devouring anything interesting-looking I could find, I discovered Attack on Titan. During the couple of weeks it took me to binge all three seasons out at the time, I was completely enamoured with its story and world, and was left to wait for the fourth season. While waiting for the season that would eventually start over a year later, my familiarity with the series and its opening theme songs also led me to a discovery that quite possibly changed my life. 

First it was just Linked Horizon's opening songs, then the ending song, then the other AoT-themed songs that didn't appear in the anime itself, and before long I found myself watching the Shingeki no Kiseki concert on YouTube, completely in love with LH. I wanted more, and I got it in the form of Sound Horizon, a completely new world of musical storytelling that I previously had had no idea even existed. When I had consumed all of SH content available at the time, I proceeded to listen to Revo's other works. It is no exaggeration to say that I love that man's music from the bottom of my heart, and will until the day I die. Over the years it has accumulated much personal meaning for me and helped me over difficult times in my life. 

Attack on Titan is far from perfect, which has become even more apparent during the course of its fourth and final season. It is a series of mindblowing highs and disappointing lows, and its fandom is a prime example why the fandoms of shonen manga and anime have such a bad reputation. But, even if it was the worst thing to ever exist (which it is not!), it would still be special to me, because it gave me the gift of Revo's music. That fact will never change. 

The final episode has now aired, and the series has been brought to a close. It is an ending very much like the series it concludes: in many ways amazing, in many ways questionable. I can't say that I wished for such an ending when I started watching it four years ago. But this is a world where not all of our wishes come true, and I think that in the end it was the only ending this series could have. And, because this is a world where some wishes do come true, it was accompanied by one last Linked Horizon theme song. That alone is enough to make me mostly satisfied. 

Now, at the end of this four-year journey, I look back on the series that, in many ways, gave me so much more than I ever expected. And my arm reaches my heart for one more salute - to the writers, directors, actors and artists who dedicated their hearts to this story. 

Thank you.