‘Attack on Titan’ concert tour stomps its way to Benaroya Hall

On a screen behind an orchestra and rock band, walls are crumbling. An army charges toward flesh-hungry colossal humanoid creatures destroying everything in their path. As a battle between the two begins, strings and percussion pick up dynamics and speed, amplifying the intensity of the scene.

This is the setup for “Attack on Titan: Beyond the Walls World Tour — The Official Concert,” an event that brings the music of “Attack on Titan,” a worldwide manga and anime phenomenon, to life.

The tour will grace Benaroya Hall on Aug. 27-28, with the concerts part of a larger series of national and international shows that are performing the anime’s soundtrack for the first time outside of Japan, under the supervision of its original composers, Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto.

“Attack on Titan” follows Eren Yeager, who joins a military organization to fight against creatures called titans that have consumed humans, pushing them to near extinction. The Japanese manga series, written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama, debuted in 2009 and has since sold more than 140 million copies worldwide, cementing it as one of the bestselling manga series of all time. The anime adaptation, which broadcast from 2013 to 2023, also received global acclaim, reportedly becoming the first anime series to win an Astra TV Award during last year’s ceremony.

The concert will feature the TV show’s soundtrack across its four seasons, with fan-favorite songs such as “Attack on Titan,” “Counter Attack-Mankind,” “Apple Seed” and “Footsteps of Doom” performed by a local symphonic orchestra and a touring rock band and vocalists. (Seattle Symphony is not the orchestra performing.) Supervision from Sawano and Yamamoto ensures the musical scores stay true to the original soundtrack, while the blending of rock, orchestral and electronic music provides a refreshing take on the material.

Accompanying the live arrangements will be synchronized scenes from the anime, which will be projected during the concert. Adam Moomey, the director of venue administration at Benaroya Hall, said the location is ideal for an event like this because of its high-level acoustics, saying that even though “there’s a video element, the main focus is the music.”

Since reopening after the pandemic, Benaroya Hall has expanded its “popular programming” to draw in younger and more diverse audiences, said Maria Yang, the acting CEO and chief development and project officer at Seattle Symphony. Such programming includes other productions from anime, video games and films.

On hosting the “Attack on Titan” concert, Yang said Seattle Symphony saw high demand for previous anime concerts at Benaroya Hall, including the Joe Hisaishi Symphonic Concert, featuring Studio Ghibli film scores, which sold out quickly in 2022. These shows serve as a great entry point for visitors who’ve never attended symphonic concerts, she said, adding that ticket-buyers for the “Attack on Titan” concerts have mostly been in their teens and early 30s.

Synchronized scenes from the anime will accompany “Attack on Titan: Beyond the Walls World Tour — The Official Concert,” shown here in Japan in 2021, during its performances at Benaroya Hall. (Courtesy of Hajime Isayama / KODANSHA)

Synchronized scenes from the anime will accompany “Attack on Titan: Beyond the Walls World Tour — The Official Concert,” shown here in Japan in 2021, during its performances at Benaroya Hall. (Courtesy of Hajime Isayama / KODANSHA)

The “Beyond the Walls” tour was initially scheduled for one night in Seattle on Aug. 28, but due to rapid ticket sales, The Wild Faery Co., the tour’s promoter, requested to add another show on Aug. 27, Yang said.

“Our feeling is that once we get (new visitors) into Benaroya Hall and give them a great experience, they’ll come back and look to us for what other programs we have going on that might appeal to them,” she said.

Wild Faery previously promoted the “One Piece Music Symphony” concert at Benaroya Hall in March. Julien Mombert, the director and producer of Wild Faery, said Seattle has a large community interested in anime, which led it to choose the city as one of the stops for the “Attack on Titan” tour.

So far, more than 50,000 people have seen the concert worldwide, and this number is expected to surpass over 150,000 by the end of the year, Mombert said. He added that concertgoers can expect to relive the gripping moments of the anime at Benaroya Hall.

“The music of ‘Attack on Titan’ has become a story by itself,” Mombert said. “So, this is a combination of very powerful music and a very powerful anime and storyline, which make it unique.”