I think what needs to be said out loud here is that they very clearly do not care about this stuff. Under Miura, arc and chapter titles were included with every episode; it was part of the nomenclature. But for the Continuation they just announced that new chapter on the side, as an afterthought, and I'm confident they'll never reference it again. It's also apparent to me that they'd do away with episode titles if they could, given how bad they are.
Anyway, I don't know what you expected
@Xenoskell, but I think Mori's comments so far have made it clear they don't intend to "extend the story" beyond creating stepping stones to the ending. I will be surprised if the group's next destination after these Kushan shenanigans isn't Falconia.
To tell you the truth...I don't even know what to expect.
By the way, about "extending the story".
I mean if they gonna slow the pace down, not necessarily tell more than what Mori remembers.
Ironically, it seems to me that some things are rushed, while some things are too slow (for example Guts character development which has completely stagnated).
The team in charge hasn't been terribly accurate in their shot calls when it comes to the continuation's production.
When the continuation started, they said:
"We will first publish six [episodes] until the end of “Fantasia Arc/Elf Island Chapter”. After this, we will start a new arc." That sounded clear-sighted, at the time. But it actually took 10 episodes before they announced a new chapter (Eastward Odyssey Chapter in 374), and they never announced a new arc. They also advertised that Volume 43 would be out in 2024, but there are still a handful of episodes remaining to be pre-published before that can happen.
But yeah as for "final chapter", here's what Mori said about that in Oct 2023:
"...we had also talked a lot about how Griffith appears at the end of the "Fantasia" arc, and then the story really begins in the final chapter."
So based on precedent, we could still get 3 more chapters or 2 more arcs! Who can say?
Right, so the interview itself also seems confusing, like the chapters we got...
And I don't know if I even would like them to "extend" the story.
If they rush, it will be bad (like already is)...but it will end quickly.
If they don't, they have a chance to improve some things...but I doubt it.
In the end it'll probably be bad too, 'cause there are a lot of inconsistencies already.
Like someone else said (I don't know if it was you or Aazealh, or both), as the time goes on, it will get worse and worse.
The thing is, I'm really sad that the continuation is this bad.
I didn't expect anything close to Miura's level, but at least something "okayish".
This unfortunately doesn't seem the case, so I can't help but feel sad about where the things are going.
Anyway, thanks for posting and claryfying this interview.