EDIT: DO NOT READ PAST CHAPTER 123. MY REVIEW STILL STANDS.
This will probably be my only review. I wanted to explain why I think Shingeki no Kyojin is one of the greatest things that could have ever happened to this universe. I chose to review the original manga rather than the anime because I wanted to review everything as a whole. Although the Shingeki no Kyojin manga eventually spawned my favorite anime of all time, I also don’t know how Season 4 will turn out with MAPPA, as well as the actual ending for the manga. I am looking forward to both regardless, and for
...
a very good reason. I will try my best not to spoil anything major in this review. Also sorry, I will be referring to the anime heavily, even though this is a manga review.
Story: 10/10 Attack on Titan was one of the first anime I saw, because it was so popular— I wanted to see it desperately at the time because of a Netflix autoplay preview that showed Eren’s mother dying. At the time, I was unaware of the typical shonen norms. So apparently, this story of a boy wanting to kill all the titans after the death of his mother... was pretty generic. However for me, from the get-go, let me just tell you I thought this was an absolutely brilliant idea. The story does start out very typical. Kill the titans, they’re bad because they eat humans. Slowly, it unfolds into something much more grander. It starts out with the reader being introduced to the mystery that are the titans— where did they come from, and why do they eat the people living inside the walls? The manga up till the end of chapter 33 (end of S1) focuses on the worldbuilding, like the Survey Corps and locations. The story, I would say up till the end of chapter 50(end of S2), centers around figuring out the identities of various titan shifters, as well as the strengths and abilities of titan shifters; although this is elaborated on throughout the series. Season 3 of the anime(chapter 51) is where the manga takes a crazy turn, and reaches new heights. The reader doesn’t recognize it as Attack on Titan immediately. I was doubtful of this at first, and didn’t like Season 3 part 1 because of the direction the story took. However, now I can say Isayama’s choice to emphasize the humane aspect of his fantasy world was the right thing to do and resulted in unexpected thrills. The lore was fleshed out even more, and by the end of S3 Part 2 it was unbelievable how much the story had changed. It goes from cool fantasy action to political intrigue + cool fantasy action. An amazing move on behalf of Isayama. That’s another thing- ONE MAN is coming up with all of this. I’ll let that sink in.
The amazing thing about the story is that it’s developed so well that by the time you get to S3 part 2, it’s all action. And it WORKS. Isayama wrote the story so well with hints here and there that he basically set himself up to do whatever he wanted in S3 Part 2. As for Season 4 of the manga, the politics are heavy, as are the titans. Still Isayama manages to bring new aspects to the table in terms of Titan lore even as recent chapters have been releasing. It’s been glorious to see how the story has changed from a mystery to a political thriller, while maintaining a strong fantasy world.
Art: 9/10
The character designs throughout the series are fantastic, some of the best I’ve seen. The Titan designs are incredible, and I am a fan of a certain “jaw-dropping” one that will make its appearance in Season 4 ;). One thing I will say is that art in some panels can be hard to follow, specifically in action sequences towards the beginning of the manga. The art is a bit messy at first. However the art has improved over time, not surprising since the manga had been around for 10 years, so I would expect some change in the art. Isayama draws the locations and many panels really well later on, and I remember many scenes vividly. I was happy that Wit Studio’s anime adaptation remained consistent in terms of character designs though. Despite this, Wit did leave out a bit of gore present in the manga, which I prefer. Blood and gore doesn’t harm a story, but Wit just chose not to include it probably to maintain the age rating. Another thing I will say is that a certain design for an intelligent Titan shifter changed in S3 part 2, but I actually liked the anime design better. The new design for that Titan actually carried over into the manga after S3 part 2, which I was happy about. Props to Wit Studio for suggesting that as the new design.
Character: 10/10
So now I’m realizing maybe I should’ve mentioned character designs here. Ah, shit, I don’t know. Anyways, all the character designs in the entire manga are on point, especially for Eren Yeager in season 4. I love his hairstyle. Not only that, but I have to say Eren Yeager is one of the greatest character studies in all of anime. He is more well written than Fullmetal Alchemist characters. As a matter of fact, he is perfectly written, and all of his actions have understandable motives. Then of course there is Levi Squad, which is the best group of friends anyone could possibly wish for. Then there’s Levi, who’s a fan favorite and quite popular on MAL. I’ll admit I didn’t expect Isayama to do what he did with Levi in S4. Drastic time cuts for Levi in S4, but I think S4 really is Eren’s season, so I don’t mind. Another thing about the characters is that no one is really a villain, or at the least the characters are set up that way. Isayama really tries to convey that, and the supposed antagonists of the manga are as well developed as the protagonists. For this reason, Attack on Titan has a palate of memorable characters. I know I glossed over a lot of characters but I think these are the highlights.
Enjoyment: 10/10
I don’t know what to say for this section. I guess I will talk about one of my favorite aspects about this work: the action. ABSOLUTELY INSANE. Better than I could ever hope for. 100% believe nothing in any medium will come close to what Attack on Titan did with its action. The characters are utilized perfectly and UNPREDICTABLY in every fight. The action is so cool, it’s realistic, and SO imaginative, especially the Titan battles- but also the human fights. S3 and S4 have some of the greatest action sequences I’ve ever seen. S1 and S2 don’t disappoint either. The action choreography alone will cause you to enjoy the hell out of the series. It is so creative and imaginative, yet so familiar. I sometimes think that I would be able to think up of some of this stuff. Just kidding, there’s no way I can do that— but seriously it’s so damn good. The plot twists and reveals in the manga were among the best in any work I’ve read or watched. As a reader I had never experienced the sheer anxiety of waiting for another chapter to release. No series has touched me the way Attack on Titan has. Isayama, you are a genius, I don’t know how you could think of these many incredible fights/reveals in one series.
Overall: 10/10
I have no doubt missed a lot of stuff, even though I wanted to write a spoiler-free review. Maybe my review didn’t do it justice, but I wanted to share my thoughts on this masterpiece of a manga and one of my all-time favorite works.
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Oct 8, 2020
Shingeki no Kyojin
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EDIT: DO NOT READ PAST CHAPTER 123. MY REVIEW STILL STANDS.
This will probably be my only review. I wanted to explain why I think Shingeki no Kyojin is one of the greatest things that could have ever happened to this universe. I chose to review the original manga rather than the anime because I wanted to review everything as a whole. Although the Shingeki no Kyojin manga eventually spawned my favorite anime of all time, I also don’t know how Season 4 will turn out with MAPPA, as well as the actual ending for the manga. I am looking forward to both regardless, and for ... |
