Sometimes animes will fall into the trap of taking themselves too seriously. The main difference about AOT is that it deserves the afforementioned comment. Humanity is on the brink of extinction, being overrun by several meter tall human-like "titans" that terrorize and eat humans for just the pleasure of it. Humankind has succumbed to building three giant walls to protect themselves against the giants, and all was safe and sound....until the first wall was breached by an abnormally gigantic Titan, allowing the smaller ones to get in and annihilate the city. Eventually the invasion stopped, but the damage had already been done... The number of casualties was astronomical. The story continues by following Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert as they join the military in hopes of avenging the titan's invasion and The death of Eren's mother. Throughout the series, their efforts are pivotal in regaining a stronghold in the apocalyptic world.
One thing I love and hate about this series is the character development. It's just so damn good. At the same token, it occasionally feels so gut punching when a new character's past is explained, and then they are soon after another casualty in the struggle to survive. The amount of emotions that are invoked while one watches AOT are tremendous. I often found myself speaking out loud during a characters close brush with death or laughing during one of Sasha's hungry outbursts. The story in itself is also unique. I had been hearing wayyyy too many of the same plots floating around recently, so it was a breath of fresh air to experience AOT firsthand... At the recommendation of so many friends.
The art style depicted in this series is also quite incredible. Influences by Claymore and Casshern Sins are apparent, drawing from past experience of AOTs writer, Yasuko Kobayashi. I love how dark and gritty the character models can be, and how vivid the backgrounds are drawn. The music is also epic and fanfareish. The 2 openings also represent the growth of the story and are both extremely catchy.
In a nutshell, AOT is an anime not to be missed by any fan, especially if you love action and greatly developed characters. I can't wait until the second season rolls our way soon.
