I felt like I was in a fireworks show while watching Attack on Titan, except only one firework went off. At first I was captivated, and soon I wanted to see more and better things, but I never got that. Now all I have left from the experience is disappointment.
I gotta say, they did a fabulous job with the first few episodes, because the chaotic nature of everything really made you feel the dreariness of Attack on Titan's world. The titans were creepy and had a powerful presence, while every human seemed weak. It had me on the edge of my seat, wanting to
...
know how humanity would survive. And then it went on. And on. AND ON. I'll get to that in a bit, though.
Is the plot continually suspenseful? Somewhat, though it often accomplishes this in the most cheap way possible. Almost every episode leaves on a cliffhanger, which works sometimes, but eventually becomes numbing due to how frequently it occurs. It's not like episodes usually "deserve" cliffhangers considering how hollow and unfulfilling they feel, with barely anything resolved at the end. Speaking of resolution, Attack on Titan does indeed resolve some major plot elements... after way too many episodes. Does around 5-7 episodes of the main character trying to move a rock sound appealing to you? No? Well how about if all those episodes just have meaningless fluff by regurgitating details you already know and give screen time to worthless characters? Still no? How about if we spend an entire episode about someone trying to wake the main character up? Oh, I lost your interest? Well that's exactly what the show did to me. I am not exaggerating when I say that Attack on Titan literally has the worst pacing I have ever seen in a television series, rivaling Sword Art Online's Aincrad and Gun Gale arcs. This is not how you expand a story arc.
Of course, even a well-paced narrative would be soured by this show's "characters". The cast is almost entirely made of one-dimensional (or even zero-dimensional) cast members. The secondary characters had names, but since they barely displayed any well-rounded traits, I ended up identifying them as "potato girl", "implied lesbian", "generic tough blonde chick", and "tough guy who likes to clean". They rarely stray out of one character quirk, and when they do, it's usually to freak out. Jean actually had potential with his relatability, but he really needed more time to shine.
There's also "the guy who's always mad" (the protagonist), Eren. He is incredibly annoying with his long-winded speeches you can easily predict, and his only mood seems to be "get angry", or "get REALLY angry." I realize he has reason to be angry, but almost all the time? A guy who's always pissed off makes for a lousy and unrelatable character to watch. Speaking of him, how about those main characters, eh? Armin was alright and had solid development into a more capable character, but I wish he had more time to shine. Mikasa was awesome, on the other hand; probably the only decent character in the entire show. Attack on Titan gives her many defining characteristics such as her brutality, sensitivity, and even a somewhat obsessive nature. I thought she should have been the main character, but unfortunately got sidelined for Eren, and right after those couple episodes dedicated specifically to her growth. Very disappointing. The zero dimensional cast members are just there to say a few lines, pretend to be an important part of the group, and then die. Due to the frequency of these worthless death scenes, you will stop caring about the Titans eating people, which is not good.
It's also hard to fear the titans when they have progressively dumber designs as the episodes slog by. They go from having creepy expressions of malice to expressions of them just looking dazed and stupid. The running animation on the aberrant titans combined with their dumb face legitimately made me laugh out loud. Another unintentionally hilarious aspect of the show were the human faces. I realize they should look serious, but when you have a bunch of close-ups to a face with out-of-place shading and ridiculously beady eyes, the effect becomes comedic. The show tries to look so serious it actually ends up looking hilarious. When it doesn't look hilarious, it looks hideous. The shades of brown splattered everywhere do not enhance the bleak nature of the show at all, it just makes everything look boring at best, and literally like shit at worst. Its prevalence eventually becomes tiring to look at. The animation is good.... sometimes. Fight scenes are well-choreographed with immersive angles, and you can clearly see what's going on all the time. But during conversations is another story. They just stand around and flap their lips with completely unimaginative camera angles. Considering this happens for most of the show, and you will usually also be looking at the millionth shade of brown while they talk, you have a really bland looking show with limited creative direction.
Let's also not forget the soundtrack. It really enhances the mood at times, especially in the beginning where it perfectly ratchets the tension with the bells and chanting. However, it also often sounds like what I can only describe as electronic fart noises when the characters fight the titans, or look around, which destroys a ton of tension. I do not think such a heavy emphasis on electronic music was a good idea either, considering they do not adequately capture the scale the show's trying to achieve.
Attack on Titan is pretty bad in some areas and good in others, but most aspects are just mediocre. Do not waste your time with this show. Sure it's not "bad" overall, but it's so disappointingly average that it hurts just as much. Is it better to see one firework and feel empty, or never see it at all and not deal with disappointment? You be the judge of that, but I regret my experience.
Dec 13, 2015
Shingeki no Kyojin
(Anime)
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I felt like I was in a fireworks show while watching Attack on Titan, except only one firework went off. At first I was captivated, and soon I wanted to see more and better things, but I never got that. Now all I have left from the experience is disappointment.
I gotta say, they did a fabulous job with the first few episodes, because the chaotic nature of everything really made you feel the dreariness of Attack on Titan's world. The titans were creepy and had a powerful presence, while every human seemed weak. It had me on the edge of my seat, wanting to ... 
Sep 4, 2015
Unlimited Botched Works. No seriously, that's what this show is. For reference, I've only watched Fate/Zero and half of the DEEN adaptation of Fate/Stay Night before this, and I was left pretty disappointed.
First, the visuals. You may expect me to praise them to death, but I won't. Don't get me wrong, the gradients and textures are polished to a remarkable degree, and the CGI implementation is flawless, but there's more to visuals than just the technical side. The artistic side is what falls flat, which is a shame considering it's ufotable. Where Fate/Zero had plenty of sharp edges to its objects and harsh shadows ... 
Sep 3, 2015
Genuine. That's the word I would describe Shirobako with. Its presentation of the struggles in professional careers are incredibly blunt yet sharp at the same time, and never pulls any punches. Sometimes this show hurts to watch because of how close it can hit home, but it's a good pain that'll ultimately leave you coming out happy.
The visuals are great, and PA Works deserve serious credit for all the effort they put in. They somehow made a show about animating things in an office look compelling without going overboard with nonsensical effects or backdrops typical of most (slice of life) anime. When a character ... |
