Many fans were disappointed with the much-hyped and awaited live-action movie adaptation of "Attack on Titan." However, critics and movie buffs were unforgiving and very harsh when it came to their reviews. Japanese site "Cho Eiga Hihyo (Super Movie Reviews)" called it even more unrealistic compared to the manga and called the characters "stupid." RocketNews24 translated the review.
The surprising amount of backlash has reached the manga creator himself, Hajime Isayama. In an interview with Yahoo! News Japan, Isayama acknowledges the varied reviews of the live-action adaptation.
He said, "As for the impressions and reactions of those who were excited about the movie, I want to take in the favorable opinions and also the indignant ones, if only to understand them." Isayama also mentioned that he was highly involved in the production of the movie, which actually came as a surprise to the people at Kotaku. The executives who worked on the film have reportedly went on a meeting to discuss this predicament.
As the filming for the second installment has wrapped up, Isayama reportedly wants to get a better understanding as to why people who have watched the movie didn't enjoy it. He promised, however, that he will take all feedback, whether good or bad ,into consideration. He also urged people who haven't seen the movie to go to the theaters and check it out.
The backlash on the movie was mainly directed to the changes done for the film, notably the absence of key character Levi. Reports say that Machimaya (writer of the "Attack on Titan" movie) didn't want to include the character only because he's Caucasian. Crossmap reports that the writer believes that the story's setting is very much settled in Japan, and it would be easier if they were to exclude the Caucasian character altogether.
The first "Attack on Titan" live-action movie is still showing in theaters in various countries.
