The Other World’s Animator

Before Attack on Titan, Sora's works had always been built, at their core, around the strength of their storytelling. They were animations that asked the audience to think, stories inclined toward reflection, psychological drama, or, in certain cases, emotions so delicate they were almost entirely sustained by romance.

In truth, until then, he had never created an anime packed with action scenes as intense as those in Attack on Titan.

That was why, before its premiere, many of Sora's fans had been uneasy. They did not doubt his narrative ability, but they wondered whether he could truly handle a genre so physical, so explosive, so dependent on rhythm, visual impact, and adrenaline.

However, once the ninth episode aired, all those concerns vanished.

Attack on Titan was devastating when it needed to be tragic, yet it could also become absurdly electrifying when the scene demanded tension. And compared to the moment when Eren transformed into a titan without fully understanding why, simply to save Mikasa, the ending of episode nine was even more shocking.

There, Eren revealed to the audience the method behind his titan transformation and the origin of that enormous body.

It was an unprecedented impact.

For many Japanese fans seeing this kind of transformation narrative presented with such violence and dramatic weight for the first time in a domestic work, that night felt like opening a door to an entirely new world.

"My God… that was so thrilling I got chills."

"Was the Kantoku Sora's previous romantic work holding him back? If he had started making action anime earlier, he might have already gone global by now."

"Romance, mystery, and suspense don't have as much appeal overseas. Most international fans prefer direct action and combat. Out of Sora's three major earlier works - Steins;Gate, Claire, and Re:Zero - the most popular one abroad was actually Re:Zero. Can you believe that?"

"It's only natural. Swords and magic have always attracted foreign audiences. Steins;Gate and Claire require patience. Most anime fans overseas are too impatient to wait through that much buildup."

"Kantoku Sora is already one of the strongest names in Japanese animation, almost unrivaled within the country. But can he use Attack on Titan as his true gateway into the international market?"

"I heard Yume Animation is negotiating with famous broadcasters in several major countries. Some related information has already started appearing in foreign media."

"But according to the contract between Kantoku Sora and the regional broadcasting alliance in Shikoku, isn't he unable to collaborate with other television stations?"

"It's not that he can't work with other Japanese broadcasters. The restriction doesn't apply to foreign networks. Kantoku Sora isn't stupid. He was aiming at the international market from the beginning and avoided those traps when he signed the contract."

"So does that mean Attack on Titan might also be broadcast simultaneously on foreign television stations, just like it is here in Japan?"

"From what I know, negotiations between Yume Animation and those broadcasters have already reached the final stage. Maybe once the first season of Attack on Titan passes ten episodes, the foreign stations that reached cooperation agreements with Kantoku Sora will begin airing two episodes per week. And when the second season enters its scheduled broadcast slot, it may be released simultaneously worldwide."

"Worldwide broadcast? Isn't that a little exaggerated? The wording sounds kind of forced."

"If several of the world's leading markets can broadcast it at the same time, then in practice, it isn't that different from a global premiere. After that, smaller broadcasters from other countries will naturally follow and purchase the airing rights."

"I suddenly feel excited! If Kantoku Sora's works become as popular overseas as they are in Japan, do you think he might become an influential figure in the global animation industry?"

"Actually, even without foreign television broadcasts, Sora's works already have a decent reputation abroad. Anyone who follows anime and manga knows his name and would definitely buy his Blu-rays. The problem is that, without television stations serving as distribution channels, ordinary viewers rarely get the chance to watch his works."

"I'm honestly a little jealous of foreign anime fans who still haven't watched anything by Sora… I'm different. Right now, I'm going through a terrible anime drought because after this, I simply can't bring myself to watch anything else."

By this point, Yume Animation's development direction and ambitions within Japan's ACG industry - anime, manga, and games - had become unmistakably clear.

And in a way, it was only natural. With the reputation and position Sora had already achieved in Japan, expanding overseas was merely a matter of time.

While Japanese fans debated the matter with growing enthusiasm, Sora's foreign fans were even more excited.

After all, no one wanted to wait two or three months just to buy a Blu-ray and finally watch his newest animated work.

Many fans began uploading clips and celebratory videos onto foreign platforms, celebrating the possibility of Attack on Titan being broadcast simultaneously by stations outside Japan. Within the global anime and manga industry, Yume Animation had already become a company of considerable influence.

The next day, the audience ratings for the ninth episode of Attack on Titan were released.

The anime's overall rating reached 6.27%, showing a slight increase.

Over the following two weeks, episodes ten and eleven of Attack on Titan aired.

The plot of those two episodes centered on Eren, who, after revealing the power of the titans, began facing suspicion and fear from his own comrades on the human side. Former companions even pointed their blades at him, ready to execute that monster before it was too late.

At the critical moment, Commander Pixis appeared and spoke with Eren and Armin. Though he seemed hesitant at first glance, he was a man of sharp reasoning and unusual perception.

Armin supported Eren's plan: to have him transform into a titan and use the gigantic boulder to block the breach in the wall.

Killing Eren, in the end, would only mean killing one more person.

But if he were kept alive, his titan power could be used to seal the entrance and perhaps save a city that had already been invaded.

Commander Pixis immediately accepted Armin's proposal.

At the end of episode eleven, for the sake of humanity, Eren used the Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear to advance toward the proper position. Then, while still in midair, he transformed once again.

The scene of a human becoming a giant caused a tremendous commotion among Japanese fans of Attack on Titan.

The anime was addictive. The more one watched, the harder it became to stop. Even the earlier criticisms of the protagonist's incompetence and explosive temper were gradually cast aside.

How could anyone still say that Eren's transformation was merely a useless outburst of rage? That was not weakness. It was simply a powerful person expressing his emotions in a way the world could no longer ignore.

However, in the twelfth episode of Attack on Titan, things were not so simple.

Eren's repeated transformations into a titan caused him to lose consciousness while carrying the boulder toward the breach. In his uncontrolled state, he could attack any living being that approached him without even realizing it.

This only deepened the fear and hostility his companions felt toward that titan.

In reality, Eren's mind had already sunk into dangerous hallucinations.

Around him, human soldiers fought desperately to hold back the titans advancing from every direction. They pushed themselves to the limit, trying to buy time so Eren could complete his mission.

But Eren was far too exhausted. Trapped inside his own illusions, he stood motionless, holding the enormous boulder and wasting precious seconds.

And every second he wasted was paid for with the blood and lives of his comrades.

Inside the illusion, Eren's mother was still alive. His family remained together, living ordinary, happy days, as if nothing had ever happened.

But atop the head of the titan Eren had become, Armin was desperately trying to awaken him with his words.

The twelfth episode of Attack on Titan reached a 6.39% audience rating.

The anime had been on air for three months. In such a short period of time, its reputation had gone through violent fluctuations: rising, falling, sinking into controversy, and then rising again with even greater force.

But in the end, that anime had done something undeniable.

It had shaken the entire Japanese anime and manga industry.

Compared to Claire, Steins;Gate, Re:Zero, and Sora's earlier works, Attack on Titan was far more popular, far more discussed, and far more deeply embedded in the public imagination.

In Tokushima's main commercial districts dedicated to anime and manga, posters of Attack on Titan could be seen everywhere. Walking down the streets, it was not unusual to spot cosplayers wearing handmade Survey Corps uniforms, carrying replicas of the Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear, and pressing a hand dramatically to their chests with almost theatrical exaggeration.

Several Japanese game developers even contacted Sora directly, hoping to acquire the visual rights to Attack on Titan or perhaps develop a game adaptation in partnership with him.

Both kinds of works had ratings in the 6% range. So why did Attack on Titan have far more influence than his previous three productions?

The answer, in truth, was simple.

Attack on Titan was an action anime with an extremely strong primal appeal.

Unlike works such as Claire and Steins;Gate, which combined romance, fantasy, and mystery, Attack on Titan spoke a more direct, more visceral, and far more commercially adaptable language.

Its commercial value was much higher.

Derivative products, character licensing, image rights, game development - all of these found in Attack on Titan an almost excessively fertile ground.

Even in terms of audience acceptance, this kind of action work had a far easier time dominating the market.

And the people who felt this most intensely were precisely Sora's colleagues within the Japanese animation industry.

After an action work as explosive as Attack on Titan became a phenomenon, Sora's position in the world of Japanese anime rose at an almost frightening speed.

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