The show opens up as humanity is being driven to the brink by man-devouring giants known as the Titans. Mankind has survived by caging themselves within a walled city in order to distance themselves off from the Titans. When the Titans eventually do break into the city, our protagonist Eren Yeager vows to avenge his mother who had fallen prey to the mankind’s predators until every last one of them is dead.
I came into show not knowing what to expect from the show. I have heard of the manga but I didn’t really think of anything of it at the time. I was initially unaware of the hype surrounding the show so I basically went into a show with a clean slate.
Judging by the first episode alone, the show looks to be a promising series. The introductory episode is pretty good and does an adequate introducing you to its world and characters. The animation was gorgeous especially during key moments in the episode. The music was a good with special mention going to the show’s first opening theme, “Crimson Bow and Arrow,” by Linked Horizon that really does get you pump up to watch the show. The Titans are especially intimating with their grotesque designs but I would care for more explanation that hopefully latter episodes elaborate upon.
The show continued to impress with it aesthetics. The show always brimming with energy from its fantastic score to its very fluid animation. The score is helmed by none other than Hiroyuki Sawano who has his hand on other popular anime such as Guilty Crown, Blue Exorcist, Gundam Unicorn and among many others. He is one my favorite musicians to come out of anime and he works never fails to impress. His score makes the show a pleasure to listen especially during the various high-points throughout the show.
The animation is handled by both the up and coming Wit Studio and the more well-known Production I.G. They animation is fairly consistent which always a plus. What makes animation in this series really stand out is the use omni-dimensional maneuver gear which is particularly interesting and make for some very dynamic fight sequences. The animation team really put their best foot forward doing sequences involving the usage of them.
I can’t really vouch for any of the voice work mostly because I am not particularly well-versed in the Japanese language but to my eyes the voice actors all the good with the material they were given. I have to give special mention to Yuki Kaji who voices our protagonist Eren. He never fails to make him sound especially creepy during those certain moments later on in the show.
However a show cannot stand own through these merits alone. If you begin to look past show’s more shallow aspects then you start to see that this show may not as good as it is made out to be.
The show had already grabbed me by it interesting but not entirely original premise. The world is under the heels of natural predator makes for a great atmosphere and is one of the finer examples of a dark fantasy in recent memory. Needless to say the Titans, the series’ antagonist, behave very similarity to zombies. Thus making the show feels as if you’re watching yet another spin of the zombie apocalypse which everyone has probably seen before. This is probably why the show has much mainstream appeal as the zombie apocalypse genre is quite popular here in the west. This aspect makes this show great for the casual view I guess.
There is one area which the show really lacks and is its characters. While the show’s many characters are quite colorful, they are pretty flat and don’t really step out the boundaries of being mere archetypes.
Eren is yet another clichéd shonen protagonist who is defined by little more than his conviction to exterminate the Titans. While his convictions are understandable considering what he has been through but that is all he is. Despite all of his talk, he mostly all bark and no bite. Of course he get is obligatory shonen power-up and everyone turn to him to do anything noteworthy. However, he is hardly the ideal shounen protagonist. There really is special about him save for the fact that he is dangerously determined. His aforementioned shonen power-up doesn’t win every battle and quite frankly does more harm than good. Above all though, Eren is just plain scary so much so that it actually becomes a plot point.
Lastly, He is really same person he was as the beginning of the story to the end. He character doesn’t really get much in the way of character development.
The a few other notable character notably Mikasa who would be a strong female character if there was more than her character than her obsession with Eren. I know Eren helped at a key moment in her life but that all she cares about really. She really isn’t shown caring about anything else. It is almost a bit creepy. It got to the point that various characters in the show have taken note of this. Of course she is hold her own quite well but I really wishes she was wasn’t over reliant on Eren.
Then with have Armin who acts as sort the brain of the group. While Eren relies on sheer willpower and determination, Mikasa relies on her practical skills, Armin relies on his smarts. Despite this he really does contribute much to plot and is really just sort of there. At time when he does get to use his smarts, it really only there to point out things that are rather obvious and anyone with a brain could probably figure out.
There are other notable characters include as Jean who unlike our protagonist actually develops over the course of the story and Captain Levi who is a genuine badass but even they are truly notable.
The rest of the cast can pretty much be summed in a little more than few words. They are very one note and thus aren’t too terribly compelling. Most of them quite forgettable besides for less than a handful of the cast
Often character dies dramatically mostly redshirts you are supposed care but since we know so little about them are we as the audience are meet with is indifference. This show runs on a shock value to reel in viewers week by week which by itself starts to irritate you after a while making it less and less shocking each time it happens. It starts to become a regular occurrence.
The show’s pacing is notable for being absolutely horrendous. The episodes are often accompanied but rather lengthy recaps of the episodes before often being three or more minutes long. There are several scenes which notable padding where things are taking much longer than they should. There are several episodes where little to hardly anything happens until the very end of course. It is not as bad as some other shonen but still quite notable. That brings to me to yet another point.
The show is a shonen through and through despite the show’s overall dark and brooding atmosphere. The show attempts to tell a mature story with the inclusion of more mature and concepts that one can rarely in shows of its genre. The show is rather violent and grotesque for a supposed children’s show. The fights especially between the titans are quite brutal. However the show simply comes across as pretentious as tries to be more than what it is. The show frequently plays up some the more tired shonen trope and clichés. In the end this only serves to hinder the show overall.
On the surface, the show looks pretty it really is but when actually start to look inward you’ll find the show is quite ugly. Attack on Titan is by no means a bad show. It is certainly an entertaining show. It was fun ride to watch it week by week. It certainly fares much better than most of the anime to come out the spring season. That and unlike many popular shows of its kind its hype is not entirely unwarranted. There some good to be had here.
However despite all of this is not a particularly smart show. It has all the making to be a great show but what it fails at is certainly its execution. This is a reason why this show has garnered so much hype as most viewers aren’t willing to take time to dissect it and only appreciate show at face value. Regardless, I will say this I would recommend this show but it is neither the best show of the year or what people make out it be. If you need a new show to check it out then this is certainly up your alley.
It is a good show that wants great show but make a more than few stumbles on the way. It was fun ride though and I will be there when the inevitable second season heads our way.
Pros:
+Dark and inventive world
+Setting is certainly intriguing
+Likeable and varied cast.
+The music is fantastic and well-orchestrated. Does well to set up the mood of the show and highlight the various high points in the show.
+The animation is high-quailty throughout and especially scenes involving the omni-dimensional maneuver gear are very well-done.
Cons:
-There are some scenes where the animation is less than stellar though it isn’t enough to ruin the whole experience.
-Horrid pacing which cause the show to drag numerous times during the show.
-Relies heavily on shock value.
-Most of the character is rather flat and one-note. Thus making it hard for viewers to care little or nothing at all about what happens to them.
-Despite everything it does, it still a clichéd shounen which holds it back from it true potential.
