The legendary anime Attack on Titan has finally come to an end after more than 10 years, with the release of its last episode a few days ago. This marked the end of an era that thrilled all the fans, including the manga readers who knew the ending for years. But the fans were not the only ones who got emotional, as there were many people involved in the creation of this anime who became attached to the project. Such was the case of the voice actress of Mikasa Ackerman, who burst into tears in the last recording.
A seiyuu’s excitement with the ending of Attack on Titan
Yui Ishikawa is the talented seiyuu who has voiced Mikasa Ackerman since the first broadcast of Attack on Titan in 2013. In this video, which went viral all over the internet, we can see how the voice actress cried right after recording her last line as Mikasa. The two people who came to hug her to comfort her were Marina Inoue (Who plays Armin Arlert) and Yuki Kaji (Who plays Eren Yeager) It is at that moment where we can understand Ishikawa perfectly: This not only marks the end of the project, but also the last time she will work with her colleagues & friends.
In one of her many tweets about the final episode of Attack on Titan, Yui Ishikawa referred to the other two seiyuus as «her childhood friends» so it is no surprise that she got so emotional during this recording. And that is without mentioning the fact that the whole ending of Attack on Titan is quite tragic and moving, with the final scene of Mikasa and Eren being one of the saddest scenes of the whole episode. So it is completely understandable that she got so upset when she recorded the last line of this long series.
Before the broadcast of the final episode of Attack on Titan, Yui Ishikawa gave an interview in which she told how she feels about the closure of this important cycle in her life, and how it was to record these final episodes. She explained «Ten years ago, the original story was still ongoing, so I had the feeling that it would end someday, but it seemed like a distant future», and then hinted «There are mixed feelings, including a sense of difficulty in the final scene that I portrayed», which we could later confirm by watching this video that just went viral.
The end of all Attack on Titan was a major event for the whole industry, despite the mixed reception that it may have received, there is no doubt that this final episode will go down in history. And this was thanks to the talent and effort of all the people involved: The author of the manga, Hajime Isayama, all the animators of MAPPA and, of course, the excellent seiyuus who have given life to these characters for so many years, such as Yui Ishikawa, Marina Inoue, Yuki Kaji and many more.
© 諫山創・講談社／「進撃の巨人」The Final Season製作委員会