Attack on Titan is among the most successful anime of the 2010s. Based on the dark-manga by Hajime Isayama, the series' crisp animation and dark fantasy storyline have hooked viewers for the past decade. Its first three seasons were definitely a high point in the renewed worldwide popularity of anime during that period. However, all good things must come to an end. The fourth season will finish the series -- but it has one key difference from its predecessors.

While the first three seasons were animated by WIT Studio, while the fourth is handled by MAPPA, known for hits such as the sports anime Yuri!!! on Ice. The jarring shift to a new studio caught many fans off-guard, especially when the final season had so many other production worries. Here's the reason why Attack on Titan is in different hands for its finale, and what led to WIT Studio giving over the successful series.

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Attack on Titan Season 4's Development

Reiner holding up his hand to say wait in Attack on Titan

After three very successful and popular seasons, it was announced that Attack on Titan would be animated by a different studio for its fourth and final installment. WIT Studio had handled the series theretofore, and the result was simply breathtaking. The show's combination of traditional animation and CGI succeeded far more than previous attempts to do so within the medium and looked fantastic in its own right. Directors included Tetsuro Araki for the first season and Masashi Koizuka for the second and third seasons.

The show's success was felt not only in Japan but in the West as well, jumpstarting a renaissance of worldwide anime popularity. The show's fourth and final season was announced in July 2019 and was initially planned for a Fall 2020 release. Unfortunately for fans, this wouldn't happen, namely because of a very vital change to the production team.

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Why AoT's Animation Studio Is Different for the Final Season

Eren Yaeger blinding his own left eye in the Attack on Titan Season 4 finale

After Season 3's two parts finished airing and Season 4 was officially announced, it was revealed that Season 4 of Attack on Titan's animation studio would change. This didn't engender much positivity from the fandom, for various reasons. For one, other popular shows such as The Seven Deadly Sins and One-Punch Man changed animation studios for newer seasons and the result was noticeably diminished animation quality. Neither show had an animation or art-style as experimental as Attack on Titan's, either. There was also the fact that this final season could be shorter and potentially draw from an incomplete manga, making fans skeptical of how it would turn out in terms of writing.

According to the show's producers, the handover was decided due to the escalating scale of the series. Thematically, this was meant to represent a turning point in the show, represented by the third season ending with a look off into the sunset. Apparently, many studios refused the offer to finish the series, not wanting to attempt to fill WIT Studio's gargantuan shoes.

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Eventually, MAPPA was the studio chosen to take the final season on. If the studio's track record of successful shows wasn't enough to alleviate fan concerns, Season 4 of Attack on Titan certainly did. Not only has the top-notch animation quality continued, but it's also actually improved in some respects. The general designs and even color schemes are closer to how the characters look in the manga. Hopefully, this will all come together to give fans a satisfying conclusion to one of the definitive anime series of the last decade.

Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 3 is available to stream on Hulu and Crunchyroll.