Attack on Heaven – Return to Heaven (4)

It’s already been mentioned once, but.

In this world, there were many fairy tales featuring princes and princesses as protagonists.

Well, that might be natural if it’s natural.

Even on Earth, there were so many fairy tales with princes and princesses as the main theme that you’d trip over them, like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty.

No matter how much times change or ideologies differ, humans instinctively seek some kind of ‘specialness’.

Just look at Korean web novels, where they always give the protagonist some awesome ability like regression or having a status window.

As such, for preschool children, there was no material that could make them feel as intuitive and special as the theme of princes and princesses.

And fairy tales about princes and princesses often end with happy endings.

In fact, it would be stranger if such fairy tales didn’t end with happy endings.

Since ancient times, only heroes like Himmel grew old and died alone without getting married even after defeating the Demon King.

‘If it were Hero Himmel, he would have done that.’

Anyway, that’s why everyone thought like this, even if they didn’t express it outwardly.

The content of Part 2 of “Attack on Heaven” is about the protagonist Cyan rescuing Ren who was kidnapped by the mastermind.

This is very similar to… no, it can be said to be exactly the same as the plot of princes rescuing princesses in fairy tales.

Then, just as fairy tales end with happy endings, isn’t it natural for “Attack on Heaven” to end with a happy ending as well?

That’s why.

“I’m thinking of ending “Attack on Heaven” with Ren disappearing right after Cyan and Ren’s wedding ceremony.”

“…Pardon?”

Everyone protested at Ragna’s declaration that he would make a development that would hit everyone on the back of the head at the end of the historical and hopeful ending part of the protagonist and heroine’s wedding ceremony.

The one who screamed fiercely that this absolutely must not happen and rolled on the floor was none other than Serika, who played the voice of Ren.

“No! Anything but that! Kill me instead of Ren!”

“…Hmm.”

“This is wrong. This is really wrong! How can you make such a development? Don’t you feel sorry for the characters you created while producing the animation for the past few months?”

Serika screamed, and Ragna scratched his head.

“No, saying it like that…”

Wasn’t Ragna already a person with a very rich experience of killing heroines at the end of works?

For example, in the ending part of “Machine God Chronicles”, Saya, one of the heroines, practically died, and.

“Sky of Destiny” ended with a sad ending where the Knight King disappears from this world.

Considering it that way, Ragna was already a person who wouldn’t be strange to be called a three-time offender.

Moreover, decisively, no matter how much fuss was made like this, there was no way the ending where Ren disappears would change.

Because.

“I’ve already laid out foreshadowing in the work “Attack on Heaven” that Ren will disappear. So Ren has to disappear even just to collect on the foreshadowing.”

“…Foreshadowing?”

At that moment, not only Serika but all the staff present tilted their heads.

There was foreshadowing that Ren would disappear at the end?

Where on earth was such a thing?

“Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten? What did we make just before “Attack on Heaven” started airing?”

What Ragna made before officially airing the main part of “Attack on Heaven”?

“…Are you talking about the PV related to “Attack on Heaven”?”

In the past, Ragna produced a PV to promote the work “Attack on Heaven”.

A video of a boy silently walking somewhere for 3 minutes.

To be honest, it was a video without anything special except for a boy walking somewhere with his back turned, so.

The production team thought that PV was created to highlight the song “Seeds of Sorrow, Fruits of Happiness”, which was planned to be used as the ending song.

To be honest, even someone without much knowledge about music could say that song was a masterpiece that somehow made people’s hearts throb, and.

In fact, there were many people who said they would watch the work “Attack on Heaven” because of that song.

But at the same time, even the production team who made that PV thought that was the only significance of that video.

No more, no less, just a video made for anime promotion.

But in fact, there was foreshadowing related to the ending of “Attack on Heaven” hidden in that PV?

To begin with, in that PV, only a boy silently walking somewhere and all sorts of geometric lines and flower-shaped symbols appeared-

‘Wait, flowers?’

At that moment, Kaya realized something and turned to look at Ragna.

Why hadn’t she thought of this earlier?

In the work “Attack on Heaven”, there is only one thing that ‘flowers’ symbolize!

‘Heroine Ren!’

Without going far, wasn’t the flower pattern that appeared in the PV engraved in Ren’s pupils?

“Could it be… that PV wasn’t just a promotional video, but foreshadowing that had already drawn out the storyline of the work “Attack on Heaven” itself?”

“Correct.”

At her words, Ragna nodded his head.

A boy silently walking somewhere.

All sorts of patterns that seem to chase after such a boy.

And… a flower-shaped pattern that stands next to him as if to share life with him, not chasing after the boy.

But.

Eventually, that pattern shatters into pieces.

‘Oh my God.’

Kaya, recalling the contents of the PV in her mind, suddenly realized that her whole body was covered in goosebumps.

‘No way.’

This was impossible.

She had newly realized with her body how difficult it is to produce an animation while taking on the role of director for the work “Lulu’s Adventure” this time.

Animation is not simply finished by creating storyboards, drawing key frames, and adding filming or dubbing.

The hardest thing was overcoming the countless injustices that occur in the process of turning a story that someone simply conceived in their head into reality.

But even before officially producing the animation, not only deciding how to end it in advance but also having the leisure to sprinkle related foreshadowing in the PV?

‘Is the director really… a monster?’

From where did Ragna foresee what, and how far did he plan?

This was almost like… Ragna had seen the completed version of the animation called “Attack on Heaven” somewhere and copied it entirely?

As Kaya was feeling some kind of thrill towards Ragna like that.

Ragna quietly opened his mouth looking at such a Kaya.

“That’s right. The boy loses the woman who loved him, overcomes that pain and rises again to become a man. Honestly speaking, isn’t this a completely awesome narrative in itself?”

“…..”

Yes, honestly speaking, it is awesome.

Originally, otakus tend to go crazy for circular structures.

Just as otakus gave all sorts of meanings and went wild over Saya’s sudden apparition in episodes 1 and 50 of “Machine God Chronicles”.

If the PV of the song ‘Seeds of Sorrow, Fruits of Happiness’ decorates the beginning and end of the anime called “Attack on Heaven”.

Viewers will surely feel their hearts swell, even if they don’t want to.

However.

“…Um, Director.”

“Yes.”

Yes, it’s all good.

To be honest, unlike Serika who was rolling on the floor unable to accept Ren’s death even at this moment, Kaya didn’t think it was too bad for Ren to disappear at the last moment.

Because without going far, she also had a record of killing the protagonist Luka in the work “Lulu’s Adventure”.

Sometimes, an animation director needs to be cold-hearted enough to kill even their favorite character if it’s ultimately for the development of the work.

But.

‘Didn’t the director go a bit too far…?’

How many people had Ragna already killed in the work “Attack on Heaven”?

Credo died in episode 8.

Kiba died in episode 25.

In episode 26, the comrades who had been through countless life-and-death situations together were annihilated.

And now, he’s going to kill even the heroine Ren?

Has Ragna already forgotten what happened because of episode 50 of “Machine God Chronicles”?

However.

“…No, it’s nothing.”

In the end, Kaya swallowed the words she wanted to say to Ragna.

Because Ragna must have his own thoughts.

The director must have some kind of plan, so he intended an ending where everyone dies, including the heroine?

…That must be it, probably?

Thus, even Kaya, who had been acting as Ragna’s final brake, nodded her head, and.

The next day.

The long-awaited final episode of “Attack on Heaven” was released to the world.