Attack on Titan: Part 2 End of the World (Blu-ray) (2015)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Sci-Fi Action	Trailer-Japanese Trailers Trailer-5 trailers for other live action versions More…-6 Character Cards.
Rating
Year Of Production	2015
Running Time	87:18
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Shinji Higuchi
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Haruma Miura Hiroki Hasegawa Kiko Mizuhara Kanata Hongo Jun Kunimura Satomi Ishihara Takahiro Miura Nanami Sakuraba
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	Shiro Sagisu

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Japanese DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English (Burned In)	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

     Attack on Titan began as a manga by Hajime Isayama which generated such a large and enthusiastic following that it led to an anime series, a game for PS4 and now this two part live action film. Attack on Titan: Part 2 End of the World (Shingeki no kyojin: Endo obu za warudo) is the second of the two live action films made by director Shinji Higuchi and follows directly on from Attack on Titan: Part 1.

     Attack on Titan: Part 2 End of the World begins with a recap of the first film and adds a brief flashback showing the parents of Eren (Haruma Miura) and unspecified experiments. The film then returns to the present where Eren, after his transformation into a Titan and back, is being held in chains and interrogated by Director-General Kubal (Jun Kunimura). Kubal orders Eren to be killed, however Eren is saved by a massive Titan that smashes into the building and carries him away.

     Eren awakes in a very different environment, a strange pristine building with luxury items unknown in the agricultural zone where he grew up. Captain Shikishima (Hiroki Hasegawa) appears. Shikishima informs Eren how the Titans came into being and reveals to Eren the existence of a government elite, safe and closeted in luxury within the innermost wall, who control, manipulate and sacrifice the population in the outer zones. Shikishima believes that the elite are the real enemy, not the Titans. He advocates a revolution to bring the elite down, urging Eren to join his group of fighters as they breach the inner walls and let the Titans in, thus changing the world forever.

     Elsewhere, Eren’s friends are determined to make another attempt to close the breech in the outer wall so a group including Mikasa (Kiko Mizuhara), Armin (Kanata Hongo), Hans (Satomi Ishihara), Jean (Takahiro Miura) and Sasha (Nanami Sakuraba) venture into the agricultural zone. There they meet Shikishima and his fighters and Eren has to decide where his loyalties lie. Is he human, or Titan? And, to complicate matters, it soon becomes clear that Eren is not the only one capable of transforming into a massive, intelligent Titan.

     While the first film in the set, Attack on Titan: Part 1, was mainly an action adventure which omitted the subtexts of the manga and anime, Attack on Titan: Part 2 End of the World does delve a little into the themes of government control, haves and have nots, loyalty, outsiders and friendship, but unless you have some understanding of the world of Titan it may not be clear just what is happening because we never see the elite or venture inside the inner wall. As well, for those unfamiliar with the story the brief scene with Eren and his parents would be confusing. But when Attack on Titan: Part 2 End of the World goes into full action mode, all subtext is discarded. This is, however, not necessarily a bad thing as the talk stops and the action sequences explode in a chaos of CGI, colour, mayhem, blood, destruction and Titan on Titan combat, although the camera work remains excessively jerky. There are also some twists as one never quite knows who is going to turn into a Titan next.

     Attack on Titan: Part 2 End of the World is a loud, colourful fantasy action film with some stunning sets, such as the ruined and ravaged buildings, explosive set piece battles, death and destruction and cascading blood as the Titans dismember humans, although the CGI ranges from impressive to indifferent.

     Attack on Titan: Part 2 End of the World is an entertaining and decent action film, although by no means an essential one.

Video

     Attack on Titan: Part 2 End of the World is presented in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     The good sets are well detailed while the dirt, bruises or blood on faces is clear. The colour scheme is dull, with dark colours dominating on devastated buildings and the grey wall and grey sky, although there are bright reds and yellows for blood and explosions. The standard Titans are grey and deliberately soft, in contrast to the ‘intelligent’ Titans with firm lines and brighter colours. Blacks are solid and shadow detail very good, skin tones natural, brightness and contrast consistent.

     Artefacts were not present, although the jerky camera in fast pans made things hard on the eyes.

     Lip synchronisation was fine.

     The English subtitles are in a clear white font. The subtitles are burnt in so cannot be removed for Japanese speakers. I did notice a couple of minor errors with capitalisation.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio, Japanese DTS-MA HD 5.1, is a loud and aggressive mix.

     Dialogue is clear and centred. The surrounds and rears were in full voice during the action sequences with the thump of Titan feet, Titan roars, explosions, falling building debris and music. In the quieter moments there were ambient effects, such as water dripping. The sub-woofer rumbled with the thump of Titan feet and the crash of debris.

     The score by Shiro Sagisu was epic in sections but could also be intrusive in quieter moments with choral sections.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Japanese Trailers (1:57)

     A trailer and TV spot.

Trailers (9:39)

     Trailers for live action versions of Attack on Titan: Hangeki no Noroshi, Rurouni Kenshin, Black Butler, Lupin the Third and Parasyte Part 2.

Character Cards

    The package includes 6 Character Cards.

     In other Regions individual Blu-ray’s of each part of this live action Attack on Titan are either available (UK) or due in mid-October (US). Extras are limited to trailers. I cannot at this time see any two disc collection of both films. In Australia, we do not get the individual titles option but the Attack on Titan: Movie Collection with both films, which I think is fine. There are Deluxe Blu-rays available in Region A Japan, with extras, but neither the film nor the extras are English friendly.

     Attack on Titan: Part 2 End of the World was released in theatres in Japan a month after the first part, Attack on Titan: Part 1. The films have been released here together on Blu-ray by Madman as Attack on Titan: Movie Collection.

     It is a bit difficult to understand just who this live action film is catering for. Even before the film(s) were released the changes to characters and the story were drawing a backlash which explanations by the filmmakers did nothing to dampen. See here for example. On the other hand, those coming fresh to the franchise could be confused by the technology and the Titan world. However, if you just go with the action and don’t think about why it is happening you can have a lot of fun.

     The video is good, the audio loud and aggressive. Extras are limited but we get what is available in other English friendly regions.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall