©©諫山創・講談社/ 「進撃の巨人」The Final Season制作委員会
Last Saturday marked the end of the Attack on Titan anime. To celebrate the airing of the final episode, fans were invited to “The Attack on Titan Worldwide AfterParty”— an online virtual event.
Running from November 4 to November 8 (and requiring a $22 ticket to enter), the afterparty is part virtual museum, part video streaming platform. The virtual space is set up like a cruise ship. On it, you control an avatar and move through the environment surrounded by other fans (and a large number of NPCs).
There’s a surprising amount of content to explore. The ship has four decks and many rooms with plenty of photo spots here and there. Posters and production sketches follow along with specific video clips and character art for the majority of the characters. There are also some short notes hidden around the ship that give a bit of insight into the production process.
But the real fun to explore are the original TV series scenes voiced by the anime cast that you can find scattered throughout the ship. Written and recorded just for the after party, these minute-long scenes come in two flavors. Some are more serious scenes from the show, detailing events that happened off-screen between episodes — like Hange getting her hands on a gun for the first time on the mainland. Others are more gentle like Levi buying flowers or Eren and Jean going to a bar.
Then, on the main deck is a stage that, at certain times, streams exclusive 30-minute talk shows with cast and staff. These range from various voice actors ranking their favorite scenes from the anime to interviews with Attack on Titan composer Hiroyuki Sawano and MAPPA director Yuichiro Hayashi—all of which are included English subtitles.
Overall, while the movement around the ship is clumsy and there is sometimes some odd formatting and grammar in the English text, overall I was pleasantly surprised with what “The Attack on Titan Worldwide AfterParty” did. bring. The radio drama style scenes are fun and the interviews are interesting. If you’re a die-hard Attack on Titan fan, this might be worth the $22—but keep that in mind if you plan to jump in now, many of the segments play live will not be replayed before the event ends.