The Other World’s Animator

In mid-June, the day finally arrived for the premiere of the thirteenth episode of the first cour of Attack on Titan.

From early afternoon onward, Japan's anime and manga community had already become unusually restless. Across forums, social media, and comment sections, the atmosphere was charged with a collective anxiety that was almost impossible to suppress. Countless fans had spent the entire week trapped in the lingering tension of the previous episode, when Armin climbed onto the head of the titan Eren had become and desperately called out to him, trying to pull him out of that deep illusion.

The wait had pushed everyone to the edge.

"I can't wait to see Eren turn into a titan and seal that hole. Man, I love this kind of anime, the kind with raw, direct heroism. It's so damn exciting."

"Are the soldiers around Eren not going to die of shame after this? Without him, their city would've been destroyed and their homes wiped out. Now they have to rely on my brother Eren to survive. When this is over, those people should kneel down and apologize to him."

"Do you think Eren will get some important position after this? Like commander or vice commander of the Survey Corps? He's basically a human weapon who can turn into a titan and save an entire city. Asking for a rank like that wouldn't be too much, right?"

"Talking like that just proves you don't understand politics at all. No higher-up inside the Walls, unless they're completely brainless, would allow someone like Eren, someone who can transform into a titan, to hold a high-ranking position among humanity just because of this. Who can guarantee where he really comes from? To us viewers, he's incredible, a human who can become a titan. But to the characters inside the story, he might look like nothing more than a titan disguised as a human. How could they possibly make someone like that a vice commander or a commander?"

"Exactly. Who knows? Once this is over, Eren might still end up imprisoned."

"Damn it, if the story really goes that way, then Eren might as well betray humanity and join the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan. He risks his life to close the Wall and save everyone, but they still don't treat him like a human? Then he's better off giving up on humanity and becoming a titan for real."

"You people are way too impatient. How many times have I told you not to try predicting the plot of Kantoku Sora's works? What do you think you can guess? If anyone could figure out everything in advance, why would Kantoku Sora even keep creating? He might as well retire."

"That's right. Don't even try. Attack on Titan still has so many unanswered points, and the story in the later episodes is probably only going to explode even harder."

Shogo Hoshino looked away from the comment section open on his computer monitor.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm the anxiety that had been pressing against his chest since earlier that day. Beside his desk, the acrylic display case where he kept his figures gleamed under the light of his room.

Inside, arranged with almost religious care, were characters that had marked his life as a fan: the heroine from Voices of a Distant Star, Natsume from Natsume Yuujinchou, various youkai, Rem, Ram, and Emilia from Re:Zero, Makise from Steins;Gate, Nagisa Furukawa from Clannad, and many other figures packed across the shelves until almost no empty space remained.

They were expensive pieces, limited editions purchased with patience and a kind of devotion only collectors could truly understand.

Shogo Hoshino was a devoted fan of Sora.

And during this cour, because of Attack on Titan, his admiration for him had already reached something close to religious reverence. To Shogo, after twenty-three years of watching anime, no other work had ever awakened in him such fierce, pure, and unsettling passion as Attack on Titan.

After spending nearly half an hour arguing on his computer with haters of the Four Giants, Shogo made a wise decision: he ordered takeout in advance, ate a proper meal, and sat down in front of the television, already tuned to the regional network that would broadcast the episode.

There were still twenty minutes left before the premiere of episode thirteen of Attack on Titan.

Even so, the station had already begun pushing commercials for products related to Giants and Your Name, squeezing every possible second out of the audience before the broadcast.

After a sluggish half hour wasted between ads and promotional spots, episode thirteen of Attack on Titan, the final episode of the spring cour, finally went on air.

The story picked up directly from where episode twelve had ended.

To create a safe path and prevent any interference while Eren attempted to seal the entrance, the entire military used their own lives as bait, drawing the titans around him away and forcing open a path.

And thanks to Armin's call, Eren finally broke free from his daze.

He lifted the boulder onto his shoulders, his eyes rolled back, his expression terrifying and yet unwavering. Then he began to move down the street, step by step.

Shogo felt as if his heart were beating in perfect rhythm with Eren's footsteps on the screen.

Amid the thick smoke, the titan Eren had become looked like an ancient demonic deity, brutal, horrifying, spreading fear simply by existing. And yet he had overcome his own illusion. He had defeated the weakness that held him back.

After waking from that sweet dream in which his mother had never died, Eren remembered his mission.

Meanwhile, the human soldiers serving as bait and carving open the road for him fought desperately against the titans.

Blood spread across the streets.

Someone wept as a giant lifted them into its mouth.

Someone roared in fury as they sliced through the nape of a titan's neck.

Some, psychologically shattered by terror, abandoned formation and fled the battlefield.

Others, just before dying, still cast one final glance toward Eren as he carried the boulder toward the opening in the Wall. To save the city, they accepted death without regret.

The animation was brutally effective at portraying these ordinary people.

Even the garrison soldiers who had once feared Eren and wanted him killed, when their gas ran out, still chose to leave the safety of the Wall to cover his advance. They ran through the city almost barehanded, drawing titans away, offering their own bodies to death just to win a few more seconds.

Shogo Hoshino felt his eyes burn.

Emotion surged up without warning.

"My body feels like it's going to fall apart."

On the screen, Eren, carrying the boulder, fixed his eyes on the opening not far ahead.

It was at that moment that the soundtrack changed abruptly.

Ahead of him, Mikasa and Armin used their own bodies to draw away the titans blocking Eren's path.

Why do you want to go outside so badly, Eren?

At that moment, Eren remembered the question Armin had asked while he was still trapped inside the illusion.

Because all of us...

Just as the tension among the viewers reached its highest point, just as anger, anxiety, and excitement seemed ready to overflow, Eren finally spoke the words that felt like the very core of the entire work.

"From the moment you were born, you were already free!"

Shogo Hoshino's body stiffened at once. His eyes shone as he stared at Eren on the screen.

What made someone a protagonist?

Was it possible to become the protagonist of Attack on Titan simply through luck, simply because one had received the power of a titan?

No.

Absolutely not.

Only someone with that awareness, that resolve, and that hunger for freedom could challenge the giants and become the center of this story.

"Whether it is a sea of fire or a land of ice, those who can see it all with their own eyes are the freest people in this world."

"Fight. For that, even if you have to give your life, it will still be worth it. No matter how cruel the world may be."

The rhythm of Call of Silence accelerated, and the more powerful version of the song surged in volume with overwhelming force.

With the perfect union of story, music, and visuals, Shogo Hoshino and countless anime fans across Japan felt something ignite inside their chests.

In the animation, Eren pursued freedom at any cost, even if he had to sacrifice his own life.

And those watching that scene...

What about them?

Were they free in their own lives?

Or were they merely using animation as an art form to escape from a suffocating reality bound by invisible chains?

"Fight!"

Eren roared in fury.

Shogo's heart skipped a beat.

"Fight!"

"Fight!"

Eren advanced to the entrance, beneath the fixed gazes of all his companions inside the Wall, and released a roar loaded with emotion.

The frustration and dissatisfaction that Shogo Hoshino and every viewer in front of a television had been feeling seemed to pour out together with that cry hurled toward the sky.

Before he realized it, tears were already streaming down his face.

Shogo gripped the remote control so tightly that his fingers went rigid.

"Fight!"

Eren hurled the boulder in his hands violently into the hole.

The combination of high-quality visuals, overwhelming force, and music was simply devastating.

The soundtrack reached its climax at the exact moment when Eren's furious body seemed to stake everything he had in the name of freedom.

That moment carved itself into the hearts of countless Japanese anime fans.

And for Shogo Hoshino, it felt as if something inside him had been struck directly.

His nose stung. The tears would not stop falling.

It was not the first time Shogo had cried while watching an animation by Sora. In truth, he had already lost count of how many times it had happened.

But this time, the tears brought a sense of release unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

The animation was simply extraordinary.

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