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Opinion: Why ATTACK ON TITAN Needs Another Live Action Adaptation


After my reviews (or should I call them rants) of the live-action adaptations, you probably did not expect this post (unless you read the schedule obviously). I’ve always believed that Attack on Titan is a franchise with cinematic potential.

A failed attempt, no matter if it is from the land where the source material comes from or an attempt from the west. No matter what your thoughts are about Netflix’s adaptation of Death Note, there is a successful live-action adaptation from Japan. On the western side, we have the live-action adaptation of the light novel with the name of All You Need is Kill, or Edge of Tomorrow as the movie calls it. Manga is not something that is impossible to make live-action adaptations.

Anyway,  enough derailing here. Here is the reason why I think Attack on Titan needs a new chance for a live action adaptation.

A) It is very cinematic.
Let’s start with one of the most simple of reason. Even though Attack on Titan is Japan’s answer to The Walking Dead, the execution of its story is very grand and majestic. While Zombies are a solid antagonist, Titans make them feel insignificant. The fight scenes between soldiers and Titans could be heart racing and thrilling to watch.

B) The message of comradery and never give up.
Point B is like you might expect, the biggest reason for me writing this. Let me ask you this.
Why do you think the superhero movie genre is the big craze for so long? I’m not arguing about the quality of the movies. I think it is for one simple reason. Today’s climate.

No matter where you stand in life, today’s world doesn’t look that bright all the time because of news after news talking about something negative. Superheroes give us a moment of fantasy where we have people that fight for what’s right and succeed in the end. But more important, they never give up. What makes it team up films even bigger is the part of people helping each other instead of having a measuring context to show off who’s the better hero.

Here is where Attack on Titan comes in. The story might be so dark that it makes Game of Thrones look like a kid show. But that show, if anything, shows people working together in what could arguably be a living hell, and never give up. Have a story that tells people that it is worth fighting no matter what, which is why I think Attack on Titan is so important right now.

You might be wondering why I’m just not advocating for people to watch the anime or read the manga. While I certainly would love to see tons of more people read/watch it (and hopefully I might get some to do so with my reviews), here is the catch.

While manga and anime are way more popular than they were 10 to 20 years ago, this form of entertainment still lives with the bane of a stigma that western comic book and animated shows managed to off. They are looked at by many as these weird niche comics/shows that are not wort any time by a majority of the masses just because of its origin, even though anime and manga have told some stories that are far more mature and well written than any western literature/entertainment. Some good examples are Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Death Parade, Akira, and, well, Attack on Titan.

A solid live-action adaptation of Attack on Titan could be what The Dark Knight or Richard Donner’s Superman was for DC and Marvel. Give light to a medium that gets too much flack for the black sheeps that any medium has.

I hope you enjoyed my 7 Days of Attack on Titan. It has been a blast writing this (with few exceptions) and I have some other anime and manga related ideas that I’m going to bring to this site in the future. I hope you all have a good time, Peace out.

Isak Wolff
Latest posts by Isak Wolff (see all)

Co-host of the Amateur Otaku Podcast. A writer of many things. Loves everything nerdy from anime/manga to comics and video games. Fire Emblem is the greatest of all time.