The years betweenthe first two seasons ofAttack on Titanwere a weird time for WIT Studio because no matter how many interesting ideas they had, people just wantedTitan. For years, they tried to branch out to not be shackled to just one series, yet amusingly, they ended up creating shows with eerily similar premises, with one such series beingSeraph of the End, orOwari no Seraph.
Obviously,Seraphdoes not capitalize onTitan’s appeal as aggressively as shows likeKabaneri of the Iron Fortress, but it is still emblematic of a major period in WIT’s history. A time when they were making high-quality series with good production values and interesting ideas but were left somewhat overlooked compared to the show about man-eating giants that everyone was waiting for.Seraphreceived two 12-episode seasons in 2015 and the animesparked a huge surge in interest in the mangaseries by Daisuke Furuya, Takaya Kagami, and Yamato Yamamoto. But despite spawning such a passionate and vocal following, the anime never continued beyond its second season. Was it robbed of a sequel? Or did it have its chance in the sun and ended up burning to ash?
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Get it? Because They’re Vampires?
Seraph of the Endtakes place after a pandemic that killed everyone above the age of 13, after which vampires seized their chance to enslave humanity. Yuuichirou Hyakuya and his found family of fellow orphans are taken as slaves to supply blood to the vampires. They attempt to escape together, but only Yuu is able to escape, while everyone else, including his loved one Mikaela, dies at the hands of the vampire Ferid.
Yuu is saved by the Japanese Imperial Demon Armyand vows to kill all vampires. Meeting new friends along the way, he harnesses demonic powers to become strong enough to get revenge. Little does he know, his totally-not-boyfriend Mika is still alive and has been turned into a vampire. Through battles between humans, demons, vampires, and monsters, the two are destined to reunite.
From a premiere episode solely focused on a childhood tragedy that looms over an angsty protagonist, to humanity waging war using teenage soldiers, theAttack on Titancomparisons are understandable. That said, it isn’t like these concepts were unique on their own whenTitanused them. It’s more about how WIT used these ideas again and then went so far asto have Hiroyuki Sawano also do the music.
So perhaps they are similar, but like when comparingKabaneritoTitan,Seraphis alsoverydifferent and that can’t be understated, between the art style, the aesthetic, and the overall tone. The modern Japanese setting alone sets it apart, but the unique blend of modern military and demonic magic gives the story and action a unique look that only sets itself further apart the longer the show goes on.
Monsters Fighting Monsters
When it comes to color schemes, a lot of creators follow current trends of what’s hot, like a blue and orange contrast or bisexual lighting. And plenty find success through a more traditional red blue and yellow schemethat helps differentiate main characters. But credit toSeraph, they manage to make a good case for pitch black contrasted with bright green.
The members of the Moon Demon Company look awesome, whether it’s their black and green combat uniforms or their unique cursed weapons, also accented in green. One of the most interesting things about the central conflict is how the characters have to become linked with demons in order to stand a chance of killing vampires. In saving humanity, the heroes need to somewhat forsake their humanity.
It creates compelling tension and raises questions about the morality of the human side. The Demon Army wants to save humanity, but they’re just as quickly characterized by their desire to rule the world when the war is over. Yuu’s own motives are mostly his own,but he has plenty of tensionwith Guren Ichinose, his superior and a major player in the political backdrop of the story’s war.
Apart from the serious drama between them, Guren acts almost as the Roy Mustang to Yuu’s Edward Elric, which is to say they are hilariously at odds.Seraphhas a good sense of humor, which comes out in the performances, and some nice visual gags. While people might have compared this show toAttack on Titan, it feels a lot closer in spirit to something likeBlue Exorcist.
Seraphwas directed by Daisuke Tokudo, and for helming such an action-heavy manga adaptation, it is surprising that they haven’t directed a full series since. Granted, the direction isn’t always the best, but when it wants to be funny or deliver a nice action scene, it rarely misses. This is a rich story with a lot of inventive ideas and the team at WITput it into motion really cleanly.
I Only Have Eyes For Yuu
Yuu and Mika’s relationship, separation, and eventual reunion are a big part of the story and one of the biggest wins in terms of buildup and payoff. To have these two characters with so much history together and even more apart, on two separate sides of a war for the fate of humanity, is beautifully dramatic. To the surprise of no one, the fanbase reads theirs as a romantic relationship, but to be fair, itdoesmake a lot of sense.
The manga has never confirmed that they are romantically involved, and at most they love each other as “family.” However, regardless of how one reads their relationship, their bond is definitely the most interesting part of the story and very much the centerpiece of the series.It is romantic - if not canonically speaking, then in the sense that the imagery and writing between them are highly effective at building investment.
Why Did It End?
It wasn’t enough that WIT madeAttack on Titanand couldn’t make a second season because of a lack of manga material; they had to do the same thing withSeraph. By the end of the second season,Battle in Nagoya, the rate at which the manga was being released didn’t lend itself to new seasons quite in the same way. But what about now, all these years later?
There’s plenty of material now, but many suspect that the Blu-ray sales played a part in it not getting a continuation. While nowadays BD sales don’t necessarily hold the same weight, it certainly didn’t helpSeraphat the time. Apart from that, however, the manga isn’t anywhere near completion to begin with, which surelydoesn’t make the prospect of a return viableif sequels can’t be released after that point consistently.
The manga is ongoing, sells fairly well, and still has a passionate fanbase. In a time when older anime are being resurrected for new seasons, a return ofSeraph of the Endisn’t impossible. It was a series with charm, good characters, and an interesting premise, but it was also a victim of its timing and perhaps not being quite spectacular enough for the time it was made.
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