Story
Humans are no longer the head of the food chain. Giants that have enslaved them a century ago return and put an end to their enclosed life. Humanity must take up arms, muster their courage and fight against these returning giants. The main characters realize their ultimate goals and the story really gets to its roots.
Spoiler-- maybe? One of the Titans in particular rams down the wall very early in the series, springing the story into action. One factor to consider is the fact that the pacing then jumps forward a few years. This is due to the fact that the main characters are simply too young for the military. This really begs the question: just where did that bulldozing Titan go? Is he just enjoying the scenery somewhere else? It seems unrealistic.
Then we start getting to the fighting. The real battle encompasses a total of nine episodes. The pacing throughout this is fine yet utterly slow at the same time. Does that make sense? Almost as if it's moving like real time. There's so much freaking out and "this person must convince that person if they must continue." It got to the point where I began reading some of the many dialogue scenes half-heartedly.
Art
The art style is unique. I personally like it, though they kind of do that black-shadow... dramatic facial expression thing a lot. Another thing to consider is that the colors become very... er, bland. The show comes off as trying to be so depressing that the usual color fades to browns and grays. Even the sky remains a dull orange.
The fighting scenes run very smoothly (the manuver gear is awesome.) And the irises of their eyes are the best I've really seen so far.
Character
I guess you could say the characters are kind of typical, but enjoyable nonetheless. Eren is your usual headstrong and angry protagonist. Armin is cowardly yet possesses great intelligence. And Mikasa is all brawn and strength. My opinion of Mikasa is kind of low. I feel as if she appears too perfect and lives solely for Eren. She even pisses him off from time to time.
Lots of side characters are also initially introduced. You could come to care for characters such as Jean, Connie, and certain upper military ranks-- but the rest of them aren't actually shown enough to feel for them. At all.
Conclusion
Though it has a few shortcomings, all in all it's a decent anime to watch.
