Chapter 231 230
Solving the time-zone issue so the battle of the two cities could be broadcast simultaneously around the world was, in itself, a perfectly reasonable decision.
After all, if the broadcast were delayed by several hours in certain territories, spoilers about the decisive confrontation would already have spread across the internet before audiences in those regions even had a chance to watch the episode. For a work built on tension, surprise, and catharsis, that would be almost strategic suicide.
Even so, the fact remained absurd.
The series would be broadcast simultaneously in twenty-seven countries.
It was an impressive scale. Almost unbelievable.
The news took anime fans around the world by surprise. During the airing of Attack on Titan, Sora's popularity had already exploded far beyond the Japanese market, and the reputation of that young animation genius born in eastern Japan had reached international circles that, until then, had barely paid attention to anything coming from independent studios in Shikoku.
But one thing was having your work licensed in several countries after it had already proven itself. Something else entirely was structuring a simultaneous global premiere, with broadcast agreements, local campaigns, partnerships with foreign networks, regional platforms, and publicity costs spread across multiple markets.
Sora, are you really that certain?
Are you certain that The War of Two Cities will not only succeed in Japan, but also explode in other countries?
If that anime were released in this format, the investment in international marketing might surpass even its already frightening production cost, estimated at around three hundred million yen.
What kind of performance would an animated series need to achieve to justify a gamble like that?
If the result of The War of Two Cities deviated even a single step from expectations, it could become the greatest disaster in the recent history of the Japanese anime industry.
As soon as the news spread, the specialized media wasted no time.
[The War of Two Cities may be the biggest gamble of Sora's career as an anime Kantoku!]
Although Yume Animation, the production company founded by Sora, had reserves exceeding two billion yen thanks to the success of his previous works, making it one of the most financially powerful companies in the industry, the production and promotional costs of The War of Two Cities were still enormous even for them. After all, would this anime truly be able to turn a profit?
[If The War of Two Cities fails to pay for itself, Sora's legendary aura within the anime industry may collapse. And that, perhaps, is even more terrifying than any financial loss the work might cause.]
[The worldwide premiere of The War of Two Cities in twenty-seven countries represents the largest strategic move ever made by Sora to expand his influence, and Yume Animation's influence, beyond the Japanese market. If it succeeds, he will achieve a monumental victory overseas, and his reputation will become unmatched. But if it fails, it will be remembered as one of the most expensive jokes in the history of Japanese anime, exposing the national industry to ridicule before the global animation and manga scene.]
[There are many people online hating Sora and mocking The War of Two Cities, saying he'll lose money in humiliating fashion. But I want to say one thing: if everyone is afraid of taking losses and is content to make money only from Japanese audiences inside Japan, then how will our animation ever reach the world? Don't laugh at Sora. He is a pioneer. Whether he succeeds or fails, that kind of audacity deserves respect.]
[There are less than three months left until July. Will The War of Two Cities become the masterpiece with which Kantoku Sora finally opens the international anime market, or will it merely be an expensive, soulless animation...? We will know the answer soon.]
In Sora's office, on the top floor of Yume Animation's headquarters in Tokushima, he watched the venomous online comments and the reports about himself with an almost indifferent calm.
For years now, this sort of people had appeared every time he announced a new work. All it took was for one of his projects to approach release, and criticism, predictions of failure, and malicious bets would begin circulating as if they were a natural part of the promotional calendar.
The production and publicity investment for The War of Two Cities was, in fact, enormous. No one denied that.
But the expected return was also enormous.
If that series managed, after its premiere, to reach a level of popularity comparable to his previous projects, then a few hundred million yen would no longer look like a suicidal bet. It would simply become the entry price for a new era.
In mid-April, the second episode of the second half of Attack on Titan's third season aired.
Over the past two weeks, discussions about the series had been temporarily drowned out by the avalanche of news surrounding The War of Two Cities. Forums, social media, and specialized programs seemed incapable of talking about anything else.
Even so, the second half of Attack on Titan's third season was becoming more intense with each passing week.
After a slower political arc centered on the royal government, the anime's audience ratings began rising again and approached the peak reached before the end of the second season. The rating climbed to 6.88%, a number high enough to reignite the enthusiasm of broadcasters and restore to fans that feeling that something gigantic was about to happen.
The two episodes released in April largely followed the members of the Survey Corps as they rode toward the place where Eren's hometown had been destroyed five years earlier. Their goal was to uncover the truth of the world and find, in the basement of Eren's old house, whatever his father had left behind.
But when they arrived, they fell into an ambush laid by the Beast Titan, Reiner's Armored Titan, and Bertholdt's Colossal Titan.
Reiner, more vulnerable than he had ever appeared, was defeated by Eren and the soldiers of the Survey Corps. Even so, thanks to the absurd durability of his titan armor, he managed to hide inside his transformed body and survive for a while longer.
Outside the walls, however, Erwin faced an even more desperate situation.
The open plain offered no trees and no tall structures that would allow the three-dimensional maneuver gear to be used effectively. Without anchor points, the Survey Corps' mobility was drastically limited.
And then the Beast Titan began his attack.
From long range, he hurled stones like artillery shells, forcing the soldiers to defend themselves without any real chance to counterattack.
The second episode of the second half of the third season ended precisely at that point, with suffocating tension suspended in the air.
That was why, on that Friday, when it was barely past seven-thirty in the evening, Attack on Titan fans across Japan were already in a state of euphoria. Anticipation spread across the internet like a collective fever.
Rowan typed frantically on her keyboard while eating fried chicken and drinking cola, arguing with haters in real time. Every now and then, she cast an impatient glance at the television, as if afraid of missing even the smallest detail before the episode began. Only after organizing the leftover food on the table did she finally manage to breathe properly.
"Finally... the wait is over."
Rowan's face lit up with joy.
Although the recent publicity for The War of Two Cities had gone a little overboard, with fans promoting the project in every corner of the internet and even out on the streets, Rowan did not care much about a work that, for now, existed only as a promise.
Her focus remained entirely on Attack on Titan.
At exactly eight o'clock, Giant Interactive began the broadcast.
The story picked up directly from where the previous episode had left off.
The opening came in the form of a flashback.
Afraid that their secret would be exposed, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie removed the three-dimensional maneuver gear from Marco, their former comrade, and abandoned him before the titans. The scene cruelly exposed the psychological fracture inside Reiner, who was consumed by a guilt so deep that his mind seemed to have split in two.
Before the great battle, however, they had also received a kind of psychological warning from the man behind the Beast Titan.
Rowan watched without blinking.
After three episodes of that second half of the season, one question began to bother her.
Where was Bertholdt?
The Beast Titan was massacring members of the Survey Corps with stones hurled from the sky like meteors.
The Armored Titan had already entered the wall and had been neutralized by Eren and the soldiers of the Legion.
Then...
What about the Colossal Titan?
Where had he gone?
At the exact moment Rowan thought of that, Reiner, inside the anime, gathered the last of his strength and suddenly let out a roar.
The Beast Titan grabbed the barrel in which Bertholdt was hidden and hurled it through the air.
The intention became clear at once.
He wanted to launch the decisive card inside the wall.
Cruel.
Brilliant.
Terrifying.
But when Bertholdt saw the Armored Titan surrounded and in ruins, he did not follow the original plan. After staring at the miserable state of Reiner's titan body, he understood that if he transformed there, at that instant, he would kill his companion along with everyone else.
So he landed in the middle of the city, before his former comrades.
Armin.
Eren.
Mikasa.
[Bertholdt, let's talk!] Armin was still trying to find a way to convince him to surrender.
[There's nothing left to talk about. What I want... is for all of you to die.]
Bertholdt looked at Reiner lying on the ground, broken and pitiful. For the first time, the hesitation on his face disappeared completely.
He no longer seemed weak the way he once had.
Even when Armin tried to provoke him with the lie that Annie, the person for whom he had feelings, had been captured, tortured, and interrogated, Bertholdt did not waver.
Rowan let out a low sigh.
That was character development.
Armin and Bertholdt remained at the top of the tower, facing each other.
The soundtrack shifted as the two of them spoke, and the atmosphere grew heavier, as if the entire episode were holding its breath at the same time.
[I won't apologize to you in tears. Yes... you were important comrades to me. Even so, I will kill every one of you without hesitation.]
Bertholdt's words immediately set the tone for the entire scene.
Rowan, like every viewer sitting before the screen, felt her whole body stiffen.
Was he going to transform?
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