This is my first review ever, so bear with me. I would first like to mention that I usually watch a show when it has finished airing so I can watch it at my own pace. I would also like to mention that I do not read manga at all, so this is all coming from me watching the anime. I will try to make this as spoiler free as possible.
Story (10/10):
Very different. Quite a bit (not all) of anime recently has had pretty much the same basic story, boy/girl is in high school and something happens to them that changes their lives. Whether it be magical or just meeting new people, that is how most of them pan out. Now imagine this: Humans are no longer the dominant form of life on the planet. There is something bigger and it just so happens to have a taste for human flesh, they are called Titans. Humanity is on the brink of extinction, and are now hiding behind a series of walls to protect themselves. With this in mind, and after watching the show I can say that the story was done quite well. There were a couple of parts that I could see coming, but most of it I was either too engrossed in watching to try to guess what would happen, or it did a 180 and blew my idea out of the water. Nothing quite says that like flying through the air with your Maneuver Gear and all of a sudden a Titan comes flying out of nowhere catching you in its mouth. This story was definitely full of cliffhangers and moments when I was about to fall out of my seat.
Art(10/10):
The art in this show was definitely something I enjoyed. Everything was drawn so crisp and had nice thick lines to show detail. Another thing I really liked was the fact that when a Titan killed/ate someone it started raining blood, they were not afraid to show gory/dark scenes that most other anime would steer straight clear of. The animation was quite excellent as well, when scenes are moving as fast as they were in this show (when using Maneuver Gear mainly) it was still quite clear as to what was going on, where, and who was doing what.
Sound(9/10):
The sound was done quite excellently as well. I believe one of the more popular aspects of this show would be the opening soundtrack, as it garnered much attention. That attention is justly deserved as I believe it does sound pretty good. The voices were well done, the background noises, and the sound effects all seemed to fit in at the proper places and sound great. One thing I did not care for was the opening theme for the later half of the series, while it did sound good I didn't care for it as much as I did "Guren no Yumiya".
Character(8/10):
The characters, while good also suffered some. Out of all the great things about this show I would say that the characters where probably the weakest part. I just felt like some of the characters were just generic stand in characters, or if you will: "Titan Food." Which in this case happened to be true. The main thing for me though, were the Titans themselves, who are indeed characters in this show. I feel as they were not explained or at least "designed" very well. I also know that the people in the show itself know little to nothing besides the Titan's weak point. I just could not buy the nonsense of a living being, running around for 100 years with no food and be completely fine. I won't go too far into this because spoilers, but I feel that it could have been better described or elaborated on.
Enjoyment(10/10):
Amazing. When I usually watch an anime, I like to watch three episodes in a row at a single time, and multiples of them (6, 9 ,12, etc.). Every time after I finished watching that third episode I just wanted to keep watching it more and more, I literally had to force myself to go to sleep otherwise I would I have marathoned the entire show in a single day. There were so many moments when I was yelling at my monitor in excitement because something crazy cool happened or something crazy spooky (yes I said spooky) happened.
Overall(9.5/10):
I had heard and read about all the hype for this show. I have learned that most things that get hyped up so much usually can't live up to the hype so people get disappointed. I also know that everyone is entitled to their own opinions and other people's tastes are different, but I have to say... I really enjoyed this show. Minus a couple of things I believe this was a truly outstanding anime, and I would definitely recommend it to someone who enjoys watching anime. It is also a show I could see myself re-watching again just for the entertainment value.
