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I was compelled to write this review after rewatching Attack On Titan earlier this month. When I first watched it season 4 was still airing so I had to wait for each subsequent part. Personally I prefer to binge shows and finish them as quickly as possible. This didn’t affect my personal enjoyment of the show but it did compel me to eventually binge watch all of it in one setting. Hence the review we have here.
First I want to start with a minimum spoiler synopsis of the show to hopefully convince anyone on the fence about watching it. DO IT!! Attack on Titan ... is a survivor show unlike any other. All of Humanity is trapped within 3 walls. Fearing for their lives because of humanoid creatures called titans all of which easily physically tower over humans we don’t know much about Titans besides that their sole purpose and their sole drive is to eat humans.. I’m going to give a small spoiler for the first episode. The Titans break down the walls allowing titans into the city killing a mass number of people and putting humanity even further on the backfoot in their battle against the titans. This seemingly simple story becomes way more complex as the story progresses. Without a doubt I would recommend it to anyone who watches anime, wants to get into anime, or just to enjoy a great show.
~WARNING FROM THIS POINT ON THERE WILL BE SPOILERS~
I want to kind of divide this into two parts. First what I thought of the show on my first and then on my second watch through. The first arc of Attack On Titan “The Fall of Shiganshina. On my first watch though I was instantly hooked and needed to watch more. The collosal titan appearing and breaking the wall is a fantastic hook. And somehow upon rewatch despite knowing exactly what happened I was even more hooked but for completely separate reasons. What Attack on Titan does better than any other show maybe besides One Piece would be adding these small details that become important for developing characters or setting up world building but in the moment mean nothing to the audience. As early as the first couple of episodes when Eren and Mikasa are eating rations it cuts to a blonde girl for just a split moment upon rewatch I knew this was Annie attempting to assimilate into humanity. However when first watching this small moment meant nothing to me but means so much and adds rewatchability to this series. I highly recommend everyone to at some point rewatch Attack on Titan and try to notice all the tiny bits of foreshadowing. The Fall Of Shiganshina is one of the greatest hooks in all of fiction in my opinion. Upon first both viewing I would rate this arc a 9/10
If you would’ve asked me my least favorite arc of Attack On Titan before my rewatch I would’ve said the 104th Cadet training arc. While currently no arc in Attack on Titan is lower than like a 7.5 in my opinion I think the Royal government arc is my new lowest rated Attack on Titan Arc. So what changed? From the get go the 104th cadet training arc is different then other arcs. It’s not like any other arc that progresses the story heavily. It’s the only arc in Attack on TItan that puts the narrative aside and focuses on introducing and building its characters. It’s less flashy than other arcs and in my opinion doesn’t delve deeply into its characters which for the most part was by design. Later in the series we are shown multiple flashbacks of all the cadets interacting which adds so much to each character involved. However in the moment and upon first viewing we briefly get introduced to characters and besides Eren and Mikasa who we already know, no other cadet gets much characterization. With that slight negative put aside it does introduce almost every prominent character from the show here. Reiner Bertholdt, Annie, Jean, Connie, Sasha, Historia and Ymir. During my first viewing I would’ve rated the arc a 7/10 at best. Upon rewatch I noticed tiny hints of foreshadowing such as, Eren emitting titan steam after he was injured. Reiner and Bertholdt literally being shown while they were talking about the Armored and Colossal Titans. After rewatch my new rating for this arc would be 8/10.
The Battle for Trost is what took Attack on Titan from an amazing concept into a greatly executed show. One of my favorite parts of the Battle for trost arc is how it is able to do what Attack on Titan has already done but completely elevated itself to another level. The action, the stakes, the characterization. While the 104th cadet training is specifically an arc for introducing characters, I believe trost does so much more for our characters then the cadet training ever did. We see Armin using his mind and strategy for the first time in Trost. While this isn’t foreshadowing it gives us an idea of how Armin will be later in the series a strategic mastermind. Mikasa takes charge during this battle showing why she was the number 1 cadet. Again not foreshadowing but gives us an idea of how she will be in the future. Eren being able to turn into a Titan opened up so many questions for this show. My immediate question was if Eren can, can others turn into Titans? This led me to ask question after question, Who is the colossal titan? Who is the armored titan? How can they turn into titans? Why are the colossal titan and armored titan destroying the walls? I believe this is exactly what we were supposed to be thinking during this arc. I would’ve given it a 9/10 upon first watch. When rewatching this arc It didn't get any better for me. Not saying that like it’s a bad thing I don’t think upon knowing what happens next Trost directly benefits from it. However, the next arc certainly does. My updated score for Trost is a 9/10
“Who do you think the enemy is?” Upon the revelation that humans can turn into titans it opens up the series so much from just a survivor show. Erwin Smith asks that question knowing the answer. The enemy in this show isn't titans or other humans. The titans just seem like an immediate obstacle not the end goal. The Female titan arc is the first time where both the audience and the characters understand that they are fighting a human in a titan body. I was fairly certain I knew who the female titan was once I saw it. Most of you probably were as well. What I didn’t know was that the foreshadowing for the Armored titan was right in front of us the whole time. When rewatching the arc I was blown away by the foreshadowing of how it's so right in front of us yet I picked up nothing. I was too focused on the Female Titan. I love this arc for multiple reasons. We see the survey corps for the first time specifically Levi and Erwin, the strategy used, the foreshadowing. First watch 8/10 Rewatch 9/10