Well, it’s about damn time! We’ve seen two different trailers so far the live-action feature film adaptation of hit anime show Attack on Titan, and while those trailer showed off the characters as well as some great shots of the titular Titans, we had yet see one of the show’s key elements: the 3D maneuver gear.
In the anime, since these Titans are, well, titanic, and their only weak spot is on the back of their necks, going toe to toe with them is impossible for the normal humans in the Survey Corps, the special soldiers whose job it is to fight these monsters. So they make use of special hip-mounted gear composed of hydraulic powered grappling hooks and detachable swords that they use to propel themselves up, around and over obstacles and targets at incredible speeds. And it looks incredibly cool. In the anime at least.
That’s not to say that it looks bad in live-action, far from it, there’s just a very clear green screen-ness to it all. As it is, it still looks pretty decent though once you look past that. Check it out in the trailer below, which also includes lots of new shots of Titan carnage.
The story of Attack on Titan takes place in a world where the remnants of humanity live inside a series of connected cities, isolated by enormous walls. These walls exists to keep the Titans out, gigantic humanoid creatures who devour humans seemingly without reason. These Titans have reduced the world’s population to staggeringly low numbers. The 3 main protagonists of Isayama’s manga are Eren Jaeger, his adoptive sister Mikasa Ackerman, and their friend Armin Arlert. Their lives are changed forever when a “Colossal Titan” breaches the wall protecting their town, leading to the death of Eren’s mother. Vowing revenge and to reclaim the world from the Titans, Eren, Mikasa and Armin join the Survey Corps, an elite group of soldiers who fight Titans outside the walls.
And in case your Japanese isn’t up to snuff, here’s a translation of the voice-over/text in the trailer, courtesy of the folks at Anime News Network:
Narrator: Over 100 years ago…
Narrator: Most of humanity was consumed by the Titans who suddenly appeared.
Text: Titans who suddenly appeared, consuming humanity
Narrator: Civilization collapsed.
Narrator: The survivors of the war with these Titans erected giant walls three layers deep and kept the peace.
Narrator: But today, our invulnerable security no longer exists.
Text: The colossal live-action film adaptation project
Text: Creator: Hajime Isayama
Voice: The rumors were true.
Voice: They’re immortal.
Text: Director: Shinji Higuchi
Text: Special Effects Director: Katsuro Onoue
Kubal: Why don’t we take back the plundered city? To carry out this honorable operation, we offer our hearts!
All: We offer our hearts!
Mikasa: The world is cruel
Text: Why did the Titans appear…?
Voice: I want to know the truth about this world!
Voice: If we fail, humanity is doomed.
Voice: A Titans attacked Titans
Mikasa: Eren…
Text: Why does humanity fight…?
Voice: Let’s go!
Voice: We’re humanity’s last hope!
Voice: I’ve never experienced anything like this!
Text: Challenge fate!
Mikasa: We promised, right?
Eren: Mikasa!
Voice & Text: Attack on Titan
Text: Is this world cruel?
Mikasa: We were together, always.
Text: Attack begins 8/1!!
Text: Part II 9/19
As you can see above, the first of the two-part film will get released in Japan on 1 August, with the second part following on 19 September. The film stars Haruma Miura as Eren, Kiko Mizuhara as Mikasa, Kanata Hongo as Armin, Satomi Ishihara as Hanji, Nanami Sakuraba as Sasha and Takahiro Miura as Jean. It is directed by Shinji Higuchi.
Last Updated: June 25, 2015
