The art was pretty unique using thick and heavy lines that punched out the characters on the screen, while at the same time using more subdued colors to blend them into the scene. The background art was beautiful and often they'll use wide shots which allow you to feel for the space the characters are in. The animation is good and swings to amazing during battle scenes often using a moving camera or long angles to show the characters zipping between buildings. Now i would have given the art a 9 rating, but here i'm stuck giving them a 7. Where they lost 2 points was that in some key moments they used a lot of CGI. At times the 3D is well blended into the scene or framed in such a way that it isn't noticeable but there are also many examples where it's front and center. There are even times where the 3D animation is terribly stiff. Another reason for the lowered score is the fact that certain titans seem to be designed in such a way that they almost seem comical, one having already earned it's own meme and as i like to call it, "The Kawaii Titan."
The sound track is definitely one of the strong points of this series. Whatever the scene calls for Hiroyuki Sawano swings your emotions around like a toy. If you've read any of my other reviews involving his work, there isn't much else that needs to be said, his work is amazing.
The story starts off strong and really works on your emotions and fears. The director does a great job transfering those emotions onto the viewer. When he wants you to tremble in fear and feel helpless, you will feel as such. The best example being at the end of episode one where you and eren watch as someone is eaten alive, kicking and screaming. The direction coupled with Sawano's music truly delivers a scene of despair. The biggest problem comes however with the pacing. There are times when they rush a story arc such as the military training which you didnt even get to see, while at times later on it is fairly evident that they are trying to drag out an event over a longer period of time. It goes back and forth between these two states while occasionally having perfectly timed moments such as the beginning where Zigansha falls, and slightly later during the battle which takes place immediately after they graduate from training.
The characters are all pretty strong with the exception of Eren, our main character who ends up being somewhat two dimensional and stagnant as he takes on the "kill them all" mindset and doesn't change much after that. which has to be said is quite a step up from how he begins the series as a sort of whiny brat. However a certain scene which comes up about mid way into the series begs the question, "why was eren such a weak whiny little runt at the start?" Some would argue that Mikasa is also completely two dimensional and takes on the persona of the overly attached, completely devoted and caring childhood friend. However in my eyes that seems to be explained fairly well and perhaps slightly too subtly for everyone to have caught on. though there is a scene where she practically tells us why. All of the other characters develop really well and all the characters are introduced and delved into evenly enough that you cant tell if they might die next.
Overall the show deserves a watch if you're into heavy action, a bit of shock and a little mystery in the background. If you can get over the sometimes bad pacing, you wont find this show too bad at all. If a second season comes i'm confident that Wit will have found their footing and they will surely make it a cut above the rest.
*Update*
Wit did not find their footing, and did not make it a cut above the rest.
