This really doesn’t seem to be Attack on Titan’s lucky week. First, the hugely popular manga/anime series gets blacklisted by China (link to blacklisted article is here on PopWrapped) and now its screening has been suddenly cancelled by Shanghai International Film Festival with no word as to why this happened.
The worst part is, the screening was set to take place in just a couple of days. The Shanghai International Film Festival is set to run from June 13th to June 21st and on June 10th Japan Film Week is screening seven other works instead of eight now that Attack on Titan is no longer on the itinerary. The Mainichi Shimbun paper claims that they’ve spoken to sources in regards to the abrupt cancellation. Attack on Titan was said to have been “inspected and approved” yet just days before the screening the festival’s executive committee was informed they couldn’t screen it.
Why exactly would a screening of Attack on Titan be so abruptly cancelled? I’m speculating it’s due to the gory material the series presents. That’s the same reason it was recently blacklisted by China. Is Attack on Titan gory? Definitely. Should its screening have been cancelled? Definitely not. So Attack on Titan may be bloody and gory, but it’s also a damn good example of fantastic storytelling with its engaging characters and brutal setting. The violence serves a purpose: to set home the point of just how cut-throat and horrifying the world these characters are living in truly is. It’s understandable that Attack on Titan isn’t for everyone, but to go as far as cancelling a screening? I feel bad for those who were looking forward to seeing it at the film festival.
What are your thoughts on this abrupt screening cancellation? Let us know in the comments below!
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