I am aware that I hold an unpopular opinion in saying that AoT is not some untouchable masterpiece, but I'm not a mindless hater and I have my reasons for why the series doesn't work as well for me as it does for other people. Before I start the review, I will give a bit of background on my experience with AoT. I started with the anime, which I first watched in either late 2017 or early 2018 (I can't remember), and thought that it was a very good series, particularly season 2. I then watched both parts of season 3 when all of their
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episodes had aired, and thought both of those were also very good. Then about 6 months later, I decided to read the manga, and I did not enjoy it some much, but I'll go into further detail later. From here on out, there will be spoilers for everything up to chapter 136.
Story - 7
This is a hard score for me to give, as at some points I think it's great, and at some points I think that it's pretty average, so I'll just average it out and give it a 7. I think that the first 30 chapters or so, are rather basic. I don't think its bad, but I don't think its overly good either. I would say that from the start of season 2 to the beginning of the Marley arc is when AoT is at it's best, for me anyway. My favorite moment in the series is the Reiner and Bertholt reveal. I don't really know what it is about it, but it works really well for me. I think it might have something to do with the way that it is written. It's not just 'Reiner transform, grabs Eren and runs away', but the way that Reiner openly tells Eren that he is the Armored Titan just makes it so much more interesting to me.
I find the story to be the most interesting when the mystery of Eren's basement is in play, and the overarching goal is to go down there and see what Grisha had down there. I enjoy this question being in the series, but the answer that is given just felt kind of lame to me. I know that what I am about to say will annoy a lot of people. I do not like the Marley arc. I will now explain myself why.
To me, Marley doesn't have what I enjoyed about AoT. Marley just feels a bit bland. Willy's speech and Eren declaring war were good moments, but that's about all Marley has for me. To me, Marley feels like a part of a different series. I just doesn't fit into AoT, but that is just my opinion, and I know many people love this arc, and I wish I could as well, but I just don't.
After the Marley arc, I think that it does get better, but it doesn't reach the heights that it previously reached. For most of the arc, I'd say that it sort of sits around a 6 or a 7. Although this is pretty good, it just feels disappointing as the final arc of AoT.
I can appreciate how well Isayama planned out AoT, with things in the first few chapters coming back now and making more sense, like Grisha talking to adult Eren in chapter one.
A very minor thing that I don't like about AoT, and it is VERY minor, is about the titan names. How come the people of Paradis called all of the titans by their actual names. Yeah the Female and Armored Titans are obvious, but Colossal, Beast and Attack? Judging by what they called the others I would have thought that they would have called the Colossal and Beast Titans the Skinless and Ape Titans, or something more like that. I have no idea what they would call the Attack Titan, but that just feels like and odd coincidence as well.
Art - 6
This is another mixed bag for me. I think that the art itself is pretty good, but I'm not really a fan of the scratchy art style. The series starts off with art that's not particularity good, but that's fine as lots of series will get better as they go on, and that applies to AoT.
I think that some of the character designs are good, but some aren't so good. Personally, I don't really like how some of the characters look now, post time-skip. I think that both Mikasa and Connie just look weird now. I think its the hair, but they just feel slightly off to me. I know that this is a very minor complaint, but I don't really have much to say about the art.
I do like the designs of the titans. The titan shifters for the most part have got good designs, I'm not a fan of Ymir's titan though.
Characters - 6
In my opinion, the characters in this series are pretty weak. To me, most of the characters are very average, with a few that are good, and a handful that are bad. I would say that characters like Connie, Jean, Sasha and Hange are all fine, there's nothing particularity good about them, but likewise, there is nothing really wrong with them. I like Erwin, Levi, Reiner, Bertholdt and Zeke. To me, these are the most interesting characters in the series, by far. Reiner, Bertholdt and Zeke are all interesting, as they're the 'villains' of the series, but they're not evil. They're just following orders. The way that they're all written is good as well, as they all have different responses to their missions. Levi and Erwin are both pretty interesting. I do think that Levi is a bit overly popular, as he is kind of just the generic 'cool guy' for a while, but I do think that he has a lot of great moments in the series. Erwin is also kind of generic, as the 'intelligent leader', but he also has great moments.
I would just like to say here that Gabi is terrible. I don't know if I'm supposed to care about her, but I do not care at all. She is just Eren v2, and I know that Isayama did this on purpose, but I just don't like her. While on the topic of Gabi, I'll talk about Falco, or more so, the Jaw Titan. I do not understand the Jaw Titan's powers. If I am miss remembering something, then that's my bad, but I just don't get why Falco can fly, but Ymir and Porco couldn't. Like is said, I might just be forgetting something, but it confuses me. Other than that, I think that Falco is another fine character.
Now, onto the main trio. In my opinion, some of the worst main characters of all time. First off, Mikasa. One word: 'Eren!'. She has no personality. She is just a mindless machine with the sole mission of protecting Eren. And after she stops doing this, she is possibly the most bland you can get with a character. Next up, Armin. I don't really have anything to say about him. He is just kind of there. He has some good moments, but I don't really care for him too much, although he is the best out of the main trio.
I have a lot to say about Eren, so I'll start at the beginning of the story. He starts off as an immature little brat. He sees a titan eat his mum, he wants to kill them all, sure. This is a fine motivation, but it takes him WAY too long to understand how unrealistic his goal is. During the equivalent of season 3, whatever chapter numbers that is, he is better, although that's not exactly hard. In this time, he is fine, not really much to say about it. Now, onto another unpopular opinion. Post time-skip Eren is still bad. Yes, it is interesting to have him become the villain of the story, but his actions feel strange. He decides to kill every human outside of the walls, a goal that I just don't understand. Yes, the Marleyan military has been transforming people into titans and sending them to Paradis. But what about all the innocent people? Does he not realize that he is doing the same thing as the people that he hates? He is killing innocents and causing people to hate the people of Pardis, the exact same thing that Marley did. I can see why people would like Eren, but I think that his absurd idiocy is too much for me to ignore. I simply cannot say that he is a good character.
Enjoyment - 8
I would say that my enjoyment of the series is very up and down. It starts off as a 5, becomes an 8, drops back down to a 5, and goes back up to a 7. I'm not really sure what else to say here, so I'll just leave it at that.
Overall - 7
Overall, I like the series. Hopefully you will be able to see that I have solid reasons, and won't just call me an AoT hater. Because I'm not, I like parts of it, and I dislike other parts of it. Yes, Isayama is a good writer, but it is impossible for everyone to like everything, and I accept that I am in the minority when it comes to AoT.
Jan 21, 2021
Shingeki no Kyojin
(Manga)
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I am aware that I hold an unpopular opinion in saying that AoT is not some untouchable masterpiece, but I'm not a mindless hater and I have my reasons for why the series doesn't work as well for me as it does for other people. Before I start the review, I will give a bit of background on my experience with AoT. I started with the anime, which I first watched in either late 2017 or early 2018 (I can't remember), and thought that it was a very good series, particularly season 2. I then watched both parts of season 3 when all of their
...
Jan 14, 2021
Honomieru Shounen
(Manga)
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This manga is still in it's early stages, and hopefully it survives and doesn't get axed, as I see a lot of potential in this series. I have been reading weekly ever since the series started, and I find that it keeps getting better, so that is a good sign for it's future for me.
Story - 7 I'd say that it is currently at a 7, but it does have potential to increase as I have been really enjoying the Kanzaki arc. From the beginning it was interesting to me, and I feel like if the series survives and starts getting longer arcs, the writer will ... |
