- A concept that allows for battles of epic proportions to go down
- Absolutely gorgeous art direction
- Flawless animation done by none other than a company like Madhouse, Bones, or Production I.G
- An enthralling soundtrack that never ceases to get the blood pumping while also sending chills down your spine when the moment calls for it
- An English dub with great actors such as J. Michael Tatum, Mike McFarland, and Matthew Mercer on-board
Ordinarily, you'd have something that would have me squealing like a pig in excitement (i.e. FMA Brotherhood, Hellsing Ultimate, Stand Alone Complex). Unfortunately, horrendous pacing and an extremely unlikeable lead character (along with some other problems) ruin what ultimately could've been an extremely enjoyable experience. Would I say that it's the greatest anime ever? Hell to the fucking no. Would I say it's trash? I know I've said it in the past when I was a hypercritical little shit starting out on MAL. Of course, now I would say that it's fair enough. There was some good, a lot of bad, and a lot of frustration to be had but in comparison to some of the other crap that exists, Attack on Titan isn't deserving of anyone's visceral hatred.
But before I get into this review, a question: why do people like post-apocalyptic programmes so much? While everyone's reasons can and inevitably will differ, the reason why I like post-apocalypse as a genre boils down to one thing: survival. Think about it: you have something like a cataclysmic nuclear war go down, what's the end result? The world as we know it is down for the count and humanity is no longer at the top of the food chain. The thrill that I get from watching a post-apocalyptic show or playing a post-apocalyptic video game comes from watching someone make it through this new wasteland, never knowing what's going to go down next.
Unfortunately, this leads to quite a few problems on my end. The biggest problem that I have with post-apocalyptic shows is the fact that all too often, they try to build up the suspense but they spend too much time talking and then the show quickly becomes tedious rather than enthralling. I don't know about you, but I don't really find the idea of a bunch of people huddled around in cramped quarters repeating the same shit we heard over and over again exciting. If I go into a zombie flick, I want to see some fucking zombies getting their heads blown off.
No matter which way you look at it, Attack on Titan is pretty much a medieval zombie apocalypse, just replace the zombies with man-eating giants. Of course, I knew that from the very beginning but I was willing to overlook since the trailers and shit that I saw on YouTube made this show look like something that is a definite "must-watch" and this shit's on Netflix, so I pretty much have no excuse. So when I actually got around to watching the pilot episode of Attack on Titan, I've got to say that Wit Studio and Production I.G REALLY had the set-up perfect.
We start out with an image of a titan peering over the wall, the music is all intense and lively, and then it cuts to some dudes on horseback that are about to kill a titan which perfectly transitions into the first opening sequence of the show. Do I really need to go any further with the show's first opening? I swear, it's something that NEVER ceases to get me pumped for some mind-numbingly awesome action sequences. Fucking hell, it's no wonder this show is so popular.
Unfortunately, the good stops there and doesn't come back until the last 5 minutes of the episode because absolutely nothing of substance happens. Yes, you heard me right: for a good 15 minutes of the first episode, nothing of substance happens. How could this possibly be so? Well... Attack on Titan was adapted from what is primarily an ongoing battle shonen manga which is probably its biggest flaw. When you get right down to it, action mangas tend to blow through a LOT of pages that are spent depicting large-scale battles in every chapter with little to no dialogue (ref: Gantz).
Adapting an ongoing battle shonen manga is a difficult endeavour because you always run the risk of padding and of course, much-maligned filler episodes. Wit Studio and Production I.G mostly side-stepped the filler episode problem by limiting themselves to adapting the first eight volumes of the manga. Unfortunately, the time that was allotted for Attack on Titan was far too large for the material it was trying to adapt and as such, it ends up resorting to padding so that it can fill out the episode length. Guess how Attack on Titan likes to fill out its episode length.
Does Attack on Titan further elaborate on concepts brought up in the manga? Does it give screen time to characters that were underdeveloped? Will it allow us to see certain characters in a different light than the way they were portrayed in the source material? Hell to the fucking no. Attack on Titan offers nothing in the way of adaptation expansion and instead relies heavily on repeating the same shit that we've heard over and over again. This is the same trap that programmes such as The Walking Dead have been falling into for years, constantly trying to build up suspense but failing to do so in the process.
To make matters worse, the pacing in Attack on Titan is absolutely atrocious, almost to Michael Bay levels. Some moments progress ridiculously fast while other moments slow down to a grinding halt. There's absolutely no consistency whatsoever. Just to put things into perspective, the two biggest arcs in the series (Attack on Trost and Expedition 57) are 9 and 6 episodes respectively. I honestly don't give a shit about what you say but the amount of time spent for the result that we got was far too much, especially given how much was adapted from the manga. What's so bad about a 1-cour season, anyway?
That's only the tip of the iceberg. I could go on for hours about all the faults that SNK has with its story but that would be too much work on my end (especially for something that's probably going to be mass-downvoted anyway by butthurt fanboys). I do understand why people keep giving Attack on Titan shit for not going further with the concepts and shit that it brings up, but let's be real here: this is an adaptation of the first eight volumes of a battle shonen manga. World building wasn't really on the cards to begin with, especially if we're this early in its run (it DOES publish on a monthly basis, after all).
I'm sure that in due time, all will be revealed to us. Attack on Titan's manga sales have topped One Piece's in Japan and it's been like that for a while (if I'm not mistaken). It's inevitable for there to be more adaptations of Attack on Titan in the coming years. There IS a second season announced along with two recap movies. Provided that the aforementioned three are big enough hits in Japan and the manga remains a bestseller, there's bound to be an adaptation in the works that will hopefully explain all this stuff (assuming that the second season doesn't do crap in that regard).
I can definitely understand the praise that people give this show for its story since it is a fairly intriguing concept with less-than-stellar but still relatively enjoyable execution, but I CANNOT say the same about the characters. When people tell me that Attack on Titan has some of the best characters in all of anime, I just want to know what kind of mind-altering drugs they're on. Don't get me wrong, Attack on Titan's characters aren't horrible. Rather, it's just one bad apple that REALLY spoils the bunch. I'm of course talking about Eren fucking Jaeger.
I can forgive the fact that the military enlists teenagers in their ranks, given the circumstances that humanity has been placed in. I can forgive that a lot of the secondary and tertiary characters are more or less forgettable since they're just going to be eaten anyway so why bother developing them? What I CAN'T forgive is the fact that despite all the circumstances that Eren is given, I cannot find the smallest modicum of sympathy for him (or even one redeeming trait). Eren is your typical, hot-headed battle shonen protagonist in the worst possible ways.
Let me make one thing clear: I don't have much of a problem with hot-headed lead characters in shows I watch or manga that I read. In fact, they occasionally have a certain charm to them (ref: Inuyasha and Kyo Sohma). This is because I can find something redeemable about them. In Inuyasha's case, he's an obvious male tsundere who cares about his friends and can hold his own weight in battle. In Kyo Sohma's case, he's also an obvious male tsundere who cares about his friends/family that I find incredibly empathetic to say the least.
I have absolutely nothing of the sort to say about Eren. He's one of those loud-mouthed and hot-headed battle shonen protagonists that's all bark and next-to-no bite. He's also one of those protagonists that just does not know when to shut up (and it doesn't help that his voice in both the Japanese AND English dub is extremely grating). Any time I see him on screen, I'm begging whatever God there is to just make him either shut up or get smacked around some by Levi (the courtroom episode is my favourite since Levi brutally beat up Eren and I found it RIDICULOUSLY satisfying).
I also don't like how his goal is so vague to the point where all he really wants to do is "kill all titans." I don't know about you, but I'm REALLY sick of characters who have ridiculously large goals/ambitions like becoming the very best, like no one ever was. It also doesn't help that he becomes some kind of pseudo-Messiah because of some "hidden power" people found out he had toward the middle half of the show (around the Attack on Trost and Expedition 57 arcs, coincidentally enough). Do I even need to explain why this is bullshit? Seriously, do I?
Jean, one of the few secondary characters whom I've grown to like would've been an infinitely better protagonist and could've given a much needed sense of realism that the show desperately needs. Rather than some ambiguously vague goal like killing all titans, his goal was initially about self-preservation but over time, he's come to change his views and has proven himself to be a capable tactician. The same can be said about Armin, but he starts out as a spineless coward who wants to prove his own worth. Unfortunately... he's one of the characters who repeats a lot of the same shit everyone else says thanks to all the constant padding that this show suffers from, but I attribute that to the source material more than anything else.
That brings me over to Mikasa. A lot of people say that she could've been a much more competent lead role, but I'm not too sure. Mikasa for one thing is a combat prodigy who's emotionally dependent on our little Scrappy-Doo of a protagonist. While she certainly is entertaining, any character development she could've had over the course of the series is instantly hindered by her overdependence on Eren. Yes, her backstory was certainly shocking and got me to see her in a relatively new light. Unfortunately, her overdependence on Eren pretty much leaves her stuck as this Mary Sue/possible yandere-type character. If you were to remove those two aspects about her character and kept everything the same, she could easily be written out of the story and not much would change. Hell, shit would actually be a lot better now that I think about it since she won't be around to bail Eren's ass out of stupid situations. But I digress, for it's now time to move over to the production values.
While Wit Studio is a relative newcomer to animation, it should be noted that a good portion of their staff came from Production I.G, and I.G themselves co-produced this series. Can you really go wrong with a company whose resume consists of visual masterpieces like the entire Ghost in the Shell franchise and Guilty Crown? Even if you don't like the story or the characters, there's no denying that it's a real treat for the eyes. The medieval setting his handled beautifully, the action sequences are flawlessly animated and nothing short of entertaining, and what's more is that it has this relatively unique art style where the colour palatte adds an orange hue to almost everything and all the characters, titans, and such are drawn with thick outlines. Some might not like it, but I certainly do.
If I really had to lodge one complaint with the art/animation, it's with the designs of the eponymous titans themselves. Unlike a select few titans (i.e. the Colossus Titan, the Armoured Titan), almost all the titans in this show are basically naked humanoids with really bizarre facial expressions. Am I supposed to find this shit terrifying? Yeah... no. I'd love to say that they look retarded, but that's an awful way to describe them. Let's just say that unlike the creatures from Gantz, Berserk, or Parasyte: The Maxim, the titans in Attack on Titan are NEVER going to haunt my nightmares. I really hope that there are more titans introduced with unique designs in the coming chapters and second season, since the Colossus Titan and Armoured Titan look REALLY good.
Sound-wise, the OST was composed by Hiroyuki Sawano whose resume consists of programmes such as Aldnoah.Zero, Blue Exorcist, Guilty Crown, and Gundam Unicorn. Say what you will about the shows he's worked on, but I can safely say that this man knows how to compose an enthralling soundtrack. If you want any examples, look no further than the iconic first opening theme song, "Guren no Yumiya" by Linked Horizon. It sets the stage perfectly, and while the actual substance of the show varies drastically from what this opening leads you to believe, it never ceases to get my blood pumping and make me anticipate what will go down next. I have just as much praise for the rest of the OST, so no complaints there.
Unfortunately, there has to be that one glaring flaw which mars something that could've ultimately been flawless and that is Eren Jaeger, specifically his voice actors. Eren is an annoying character so I can't hold too much against the VAs who portrayed him, but my GOD do their voices give me migraines whenever I have to hear them (specifically, whenever Eren is shouting). It's especially worse in the English dub, since Bryce Papenbrook (who is a decent actor by the way) CANNOT shout for shit without making me wish I had ear plugs. The rest of the English dub is surprisingly well-cast and acted, but it's just that one little detail that makes beg whatever forces exist in this universe to end my suffering.
On the whole, Attack on Titan is a mixed bag. I was able to get some decent entertainment value from all the action sequences and the concept was handled well enough for me to not get bored for too long of a stretch of time. Unfortunately, the flaws that Attack on Titan has are far too great to ignore and yet somehow, the diehard fans defend this show to their graves as a masterpiece and the "critics" tear this show apart as worthless garbage that should never see the light of day. I honestly don't reciprocate either of those feelings. At its core, Attack on Titan is simply a dark battle shonen series that takes itself a little too seriously but at least it does some stuff right. Hopefully, things will get better in due time, but this first instalment of the franchise is a less-than-ceremonious start.
