No, I’m referring to my visit to the New York City Center for ATTACK on TITAN: The Musical, the new Japanese musical which played a limited engagement at NYCC for one weekend only. Based on the popular manga by Hajime Isayama, the show is fresh off a successful run in Tokyo and was performed here entirely in Japanese with English projected on screens by the stage. This was not only their first US production, but their first production outside of Japan entirely.

And much like some of the cast must’ve felt when they landed in New York City, I felt fully transported from the moment I walked into the theatre.

I arrived an hour before the show was set to start, pretty early even for me, but the lobby was absolutely packed. Lines were formed to get a picture with a screen cycling through the characters. “SOLD OUT” stickers covered most of the merchandise stands. People were dressed in full elaborate cosplay. And most intriguing of all – people were exchanging trading cards of the show’s characters, merch I’d never even seen at a Broadway show.

(Of course I bought one. My mystery card wound up being Sasha!).

It was what I’ve always imagined an anime convention would be like, but this admittedly is coming from someone whose only anime knowledge consists of Miyazaki films and the intro song for One Piece.

Truthfully, I felt like a bit of an outsider as I stood surrounded by all the excitement. Clearly they all knew the story we were in for. As we waited for the house to open up, I tried to pick up some context clues from them. “I wonder how they’ll do the Titans!” one beamed. Another adjusted the hood on his friend’s forest green cape. A girl opened up her mystery card with disappointment – she “already had Eren.” What are Titans? Why capes? Who is Eren? I still wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but little did I know my fellow audience members would continue to help me out even after the curtain had risen…

The show itself was actually pretty easy to follow, even with having to look at the English screens (though I wish it had been above the stage instead of to the sides, it was a little harder to glance left and right). I assume when adapting the show they had to gloss over a lot of details, but to someone with no prior knowledge it felt pretty cohesive. The technology was also pretty stunning, using a combination of scrims, projections, clever lighting, puppetry, and flying rigs to bring the violence and combat of the story to life. The sound design was particularly gruesome, I flinched and I’m not even that squeamish.

But it wasn’t the plot, the tech, or the music that made this one of my new favorite theatre memories – it was the audience.

Never had I been at a show where the audience was so engaged, so dedicated, and so clearly familiar with the source material. Every new character was immediately recognized (kudos to the costume design team) and welcomed to the stage with adoring gasps and cheers – some more than others, which caught me up on who to root for. Sasha at one point stole a potato from the infantry stores and was given a punishment: no dinner. She made a horrified expression, and the audience absolutely lost it. Or at another point Mikasa was shuffled off stage for a haircut, and shouted “not too short!” Again, insane wild laughter. These uproars and claps from the crowd indicated core pieces of characterization and foreshadowing to me, and genuinely helped me grasp the world of the show faster.

I almost couldn’t contain my joy – I was smiling so much I probably looked like a fan myself! It was just such a thrill to be surrounded by such adoration for a story and its characters. I was so grateful to be in an audience of such spirited people, and their energy was infectious – near the end of the show I found myself laughing with them, thinking “that’s so Sasha” or “classic Armin.”

And when I thought I couldn’t feel more sentimental, director Go Ueki was pulled on stage during bows to say a few words, since the show I attended was their last performance. He started with “my English is not very good” but ended with a deeply sincere “thank you for appreciating Japanese culture,” inciting another wave of hollers and cheers from the crowd, and many tears from the cast – including me! However in a breakneck vibe switch, Ueki then began breakdancing at the urging of a cast member – rather impressively I might add – and then all too soon, the intermission-less show was over.

How lucky are we that we get to see world-class theatre from abroad without even leaving Manhattan? And that we live in a city where there’s a vibrant and eager market for something as seemingly niche as an anime musical adaptation? Maybe as lucky as the Garrison Regiment is to have Eren shapeshift into a Titan for battle? (Did I get that right??? Remember I didn’t even know what a Titan was going into this…)

ATTACK on TITAN: The Musical played its last performance at NYCC on October 13th, 2024, but check out what else NYCC has coming up here!