This review will contain spoilers. You've been warned.
Humanity have been overrun by the so called "Titans"(to be frank, they are nothing more than just giant, naked zombies) and humans have built huge walls, confining themselves within. Obviously, peace within the city didn't last forever and soon, titans managed to find their way inside. That's the gist of the story. I'll admit that I find AoT's story a bit more unique than the usual, which is a good thing. Ecchi(which is something I hate) which is a very common part of anime these days is nowhere to be found in AoT, and yes, that's another good thing. The initial story seems rather interesting and believable, until one point in the series, it becomes garbage. AoT does have it good and funny moments, even despite it being so serious most of the time.
SPOILERS: One part of the story which I disliked; after the titan-transforming power has been introduced into the anime, it caused the downfall of my own personal viewing experience. While some people called it cool and epic, but its ridiculous in my opinion. Not to mention, even with a crappy explanation to back it up. How did Eren get it? It's nothing more than a dream of Eren being injected by his father. Truthfully, I would have preferred if Attack on Titan story's should have went without all the transforming crap. Though, Annie has it too, and it makes me wonder why is she the only female titan in the anime. But seriously, titan-transforming Power:RUBBISH. Also, I might add that, the outcome behind the Colossal titan and the Armored titan remains unsolved. What happened to them the end of the anime? Amusingly enough, the face of the Colossal titan suddenly appeared at the ending which could mean potential for another season. SPOILER END.
Another weak aspect of the show, are the characters; namely Eren, Mikasa, Armin. Naruto Uzu- I mean, Eren Yeager is one of those characters out of typical shounen anime: always preaching and talking about exterminating the titans(believe me, you'll hear him repeat it a LOT of times its aggravating). Mikasa could've been a cool character; beautiful, strong, regrettably her main role is like being Eren's babysitter. Lastly, Armin is....well, you know, another Amano Yukiteru clone. The three main protagonists are terrible. They're not the worst protagonists I've seen, but man, I honestly didn't like them. Instead, I was more interested in the supporting characters a little bit more than the main trio(Sasha, Jean, Levi just to name some) but none of them still far enough for a personal favorite. Still, I'll admit that, seeing some of the "good" characters die a meaningless death got me quite teary eyed. The characters tend to show realistic reactions during certain situations, though few of them are truly unnecessary and overdone in some cases.
AoT also tries to increase the tension or the "shock-factor". Unfortunately, seeing random characters who are nothing but Titan fodder is one of the cheapest ways to do it. By even adding some edgy and shaky camera views and angles, I have to say, they were trying too hard and sometimes the scenes that were SUPPOSED to increase the tension, end up looking bad.
What AoT does better at are the music/sound,visuals and the action. They are all...decent at most. First, the action scenes, you can't really go wrong with AoT's action parts. It's does a decent job at getting the viewers' attention to some fast-paced and edge-of-the-seat battles. It still continues to baffle me that the soldiers are able to move fast even carrying all that equipment; the gas cylinders, the three dimensional manuever device, the blades, etc. It just seem difficult.
Sound wise, The OP is great (Guren no Yumiya, I've listened to it countless times) and some nice soundtrack kicks in whenever the battle heats up. Voice acting was good, nothing much to say about sound.
The overall animation quality is good, although from time to time, I find the thick black outlines on the characters quite unappealing. There are several occasions where the characters looked poorly animated and terribly drawn.
In the end, I have so many mixed feelings about Attack on Titan. I enjoyed some aspects of it and also hated some parts. It has its fun moments and it does better in other key areas such as sound and animation. But, the characters and several areas of the story ruined it for me. Dedicated action fans would definitely love AoT. Still, I truly can't recommend AoT for the serious viewer. If there ever be a second season, I don't mind watching it.
