The following day, the ratings for the third episode of the second half of Attack on Titan Season Three were officially released.
6.96%.
Only one step remained before breaking through the 7% barrier.
If that happened, it would not be a victory for Yume Animation or Sora alone. It would be a historic moment for the entire Japanese animation industry - the kind of achievement that could make studios, broadcasters, and professionals across the field celebrate together.
It was true that Sora had disrupted the balance among the major television networks and taken a considerable share of the profits they had once controlled almost unchallenged.
Even so, there was one thing not even his greatest detractors could deny.
His talent.
Within the Japanese anime industry, plenty of people disliked Sora. Some envied him. Others openly hated him.
But no one could look at his career and question his ability.
That was why even those who would have preferred to see him fail secretly hoped that Attack on Titan would surpass the 7% mark.
Because that would be history.
A new record for a domestically produced animated series.
In the end, no matter how much they disliked Sora, all of them had devoted their lives to animation. There were rivalries, financial interests, and personal resentment, but there was also pride in the industry to which they belonged.
And outside Japan, the response generated by the latest episodes of Attack on Titan had reached an unprecedented scale.
The series was already recording ratings above 6% on four major overseas networks.
Naturally, because of the initial difficulties Sora had faced during the international expansion, Attack on Titan's brand recognition and promotional budget overseas still could not compare to what it enjoyed in Japan. As a result, its foreign ratings were not quite as outrageous as its domestic numbers.
Even so, the overall result was undeniable.
Less than six months after its international debut, Attack on Titan had, without question, become the most popular anime series in the world.
And it was precisely the series' extraordinary performance across those four foreign broadcasters that made negotiations for the international release of Battle of the Twin Cities far smoother.
By the end of the discussions, Sora had secured a simultaneous premiere in twenty-seven countries while spending far less than the budget originally reserved for broadcast access.
Meanwhile, inside Yume Animation, the team responsible for Battle of the Twin Cities was working late every night to finish post-production.
The end of April had already arrived.
A little over two months remained before the worldwide premiere.
Without question, this was the largest and most important production in Yume Animation's history.
It might even have been the largest investment ever made in a single animated series anywhere in the world.
The pressure weighing on everyone was suffocating.
Sora believed in Battle of the Twin Cities. His confidence almost never wavered.
His subordinates, however, did not share that same peace of mind.
As far as they were concerned, the project could end in only one of two ways.
Either it would become a landmark in the history of global animation...
Or it would go down as one of the greatest jokes the industry had ever produced.
There was no middle ground.
For everyone involved in creating Battle of the Twin Cities, the answer would arrive in just over two months.
Lasting glory.
Or humiliation that could haunt them for years.
That was precisely why, in recent weeks, Sora had barely remained in Japan.
He and Yumi, representing Yume Animation, traveled from country to country, meeting fans, giving interviews, and promoting the worldwide premiere of Battle of the Twin Cities.
Sponsored trending topics.
Traditional advertising.
Major media outlets.
Influencers.
Television commercials.
The campaign was not limited to Japan.
It stretched across every major economy in the world.
Every single day, Yume Animation burned through a frightening amount of money on advertising and promotion alone.
Fortunately, Sora had created far too many successful works over the past few years.
And earned far too much money.
Otherwise, not even Yume Animation would have been able to sustain the astronomical cost of the worldwide marketing campaign for Battle of the Twin Cities.
The results, however, were already beginning to show.
More than two months still remained before the premiere, yet Battle of the Twin Cities was already leading almost every international poll for the most anticipated anime of the year by an overwhelming margin.
The second-place title barely seemed to be competing in the same race.
Sora, Yumi, Sumire, and several other core members of the production team had become recognizable figures among anime and manga fans around the world.
And time continued to move forward.
At the end of April, the fourth episode of the second half of Attack on Titan Season Three finally aired.
The first half showed the Scout Regiment standing on the brink of collapse.
Outside the walls, the Beast Titan and dozens of mindless Titans blocked every possible route of escape.
Inside, the Colossal Titan released waves of scorching steam that made it impossible for the soldiers to approach.
Not even Eren could endure that terrifying heat.
The situation had become hopeless.
Surrounded on every side, the members of the Scout Regiment were being exterminated without any real chance to fight back.
The Beast Titan did not even fear anyone getting close.
Remaining nearly a kilometer away, it crushed boulders in its hands and hurled the fragments like artillery shells.
Each throw tore through the sky like a storm of cannon fire.
Men.
Horses.
Buildings.
Everything was destroyed.
It was in that desperate moment that Erwin found a single path to victory.
A strategy as simple as it was cruel.
He would use himself as bait.
Erwin would lead every remaining soldier in a suicidal charge against the Beast Titan. During the advance, the men would continuously fire smoke signals into the air, obscuring the enemy's field of vision.
There were no trees outside the walls.
Without anchor points, Levi could not properly use his vertical maneuvering equipment to approach the Beast Titan.
But the mindless Titans surrounding the enemy could become those anchor points.
It was a perfect gamble.
And it demanded the sacrifice of everyone.
Everyone except Levi.
For the surprise attack to succeed, the others would have to die.
Including Erwin.
It was at that moment that the character's writing reached an extraordinary level.
- If I had the choice... I would abandon everything right now and go straight to the basement of Eren's house. The only reason I ever came this far was to discover the truth...
Erwin was not afraid of death.
That had never been the problem.
The cruelty lay somewhere else.
The truth about the world - the truth he had pursued for his entire life - was finally within reach.
So close.
And yet, at that very moment, he had to give it up.
He had to sacrifice his own life to give the Scout Regiment one chance at victory.
Why had Erwin been so deeply revered by Attack on Titan fans in Sora's previous life?
Because he was the kind of leader who could make the correct decision when every option was desperate.
Without hesitation.
Without running from responsibility.
Without hiding behind the people he commanded.
Erwin did not merely abandon his personal dream.
He still had to find the strength to raise the morale of soldiers who had already realized that they were about to die.
When he made it clear that the offensive would be a suicide charge, one of the men asked the question weighing on all their hearts.
Then did that mean their deaths would have no meaning?
Erwin's answer shook Attack on Titan fans around the world.
- We are the ones who give meaning to the lives of our fallen comrades. To the brave who fell. To the poor souls who fell. The only people capable of giving meaning to their deaths are us, the living.
We will die here.
And we will leave those who survive with the responsibility of giving meaning to our deaths.
That was the only way to fight against such a cruel world.
- SOLDIERS, SHOUT!
Erwin's voice tore across the battlefield.
- SOLDIERS, FIGHT!
The horses charged forward.
- SOLDIERS... ADVANCE!
What did a perfect scene look like?
That.
Simply that.
And it was not only the soldiers of the Scout Regiment within the story who had been swept away by his words.
The viewers sitting in front of their screens almost felt like charging through the television, climbing onto a horse, and following Erwin into that suicidal assault.
Then came the end.
Erwin led his men directly toward the enemy.
And a shard of stone thrown by the Beast Titan tore through his abdomen.
Within seconds, the battlefield became hell.
Bodies were ripped apart.
Blood covered the ground.
Men and horses were obliterated beneath an endless rain of stones.
The scene immediately carved itself into the memories of anime fans around the world.
Bloody.
Cruel.
And profoundly tragic.
The brutality of war was not conveyed through numbers.
There was no statistic telling the audience how many people had died.
They saw every death.
Felt every impact.
And witnessed, with their own eyes, men charging toward certain death simply to give Levi a single opportunity.
That night, the internet was completely taken over by Attack on Titan and Commander Erwin.
"I CRIED!"
"Commander Erwin... rest in peace."
"Sora really has no heart!"
"The most charismatic character created since Attack on Titan first began airing."
"I already knew Erwin was incredible from that scene in Season Two where a Titan bit off his arm and lifted him into the air, but he still kept shouting orders for his men to save Eren. And somehow, this was even greater!"
"So many people sacrificed themselves just to give Levi one chance to attack the Beast Titan... This destroyed me."
"Erwin is a real leader. He knew that if he ordered his men to die, then he, as their commander, had to stand on the front line as well. He is the complete opposite of so many leaders in the real world."
"In the next episode, Levi had better destroy that damned Beast Titan! He has to finish him! Otherwise, I will never recover from this!"
"I've lost count of how many times I've cried while watching Attack on Titan, but I'm sure I've never cried as much as I did today."
"Erwin feels like a real person. The way this character was written is absurd. I write light novels too, and compared to him, everything I've created feels like garbage!"
"Next to him, even Eren seems a little overshadowed."
"It isn't that Eren is a bad character. The problem is that Levi and Erwin are just too good!"
...