The first time I heard of "Attack on Titan" I thought it was about attacking on those Greek figures like Cronus and Gaia, but nope. I was wrong.
Story:
Wow, the plot isn't cliche! That's a first. The was so much action going on though that I didn't know when up was down and left was right. My mind got a bit jumbled at times to the point where I had to backtrack and made sure I actually saw what was really happening. I do understand this is only the first season and there is a manga, but I didn't really catch the story line. I just found a lot of attacking on titans and titans attacking. Kind of like an introduction, and giving us a rough idea what each titan looks like and acts like, as well as some characterization and development in the characters. But again, this is only the first season. I do expect more plot to come in next time. But there is a thing called too much action, and this wins the prize. I slowly realized at the end that this might just be another Bleach related series.
I found there was a whole lot of anger. I think every character got angry at one point. There needs to be more...angst, more happiness. But at least there was emotion though. I did capture it. Did it rub off on me? Yes, and a bit too much I think.
The symbolism and theme was interesting too. The key...I'm interested in the key Eren has around his neck. I think this is symbolism for protection for Mikasa and of course the land they live in. I love the post-apocalyptic theme and I do hope the author does a back story on how humanity ended up in this place. There was also a clear theme of love and friendship, family, trust, and determination.
Art:
Oh the art. The shininess, the light, the... holy crap the detail! If there is one thing that attracted me to this anime was Eren's eyes. Oh man were they ever beautiful! I don't think I have ever seen an anime show with eyes as detailed at those. I think the only eyes I can think of that comes close is Toothless' eyes in HTTYD. And this isn't even Dreamworks!
I did find the Titans rather...odd though. I found the anatomy off at times. Even in the humans, I spotted a few heads a bit bigger than they should be. But the Titans, I don't know if it's the manga artist style or the animators, but I did find their bodies strange.
The colour was amazing though. There was a lot of blood. Oh man...a lot of blood. I can see why this is rated R. And the imax experience was a nice touch! I actually wish I was watching this on a imax screen to get a better experience because wow, I would've been blown away more. Although I have the feelings I would've gotten motion sickness from all the turning in wires those characters did and the camera following them.
Sound
I am mighty impressed with the sound/ music in this, yes mighty impressed indeed. The music matched the scenes very well at times and the action sounds were very realistic. I would've like to hear more natural sounds, chirping birds, wind, etc. but the screams, buildings falling and crashing, and other man made noises were really well done. They even got the metal against the wires! the first song of the opening I think I ended up listening to it for three hours straight once. The second opening song was what I imagined the national anthem to be like in their country.
Character:
Like I said up top, there was some character development. I don't want to go into detail, but lets just say some shy characters come out of their shell and become really good bad-ass fighters. However, I don't think I'm a fan of Eren. He's a bit stereotypical. He's gone though traumatic moment and wants to get revenge...that's about it. I don't really know what other goals he has yet besides ending the Titans. Mikasa I do like. Like Eren she is a bit stereotypical, the shy girl becoming a total bad-ass and top of her class. Typical heroine. But she's like the male version of Ichigo from Bleach. Armin is like the baby of the family who cries when someone pinches him. I do love the development of this character and gradually becomes a very likeable towards the end.
There is a lot of supporting cast. It made my head spin at how many there were. I'm still trying to figure out who is at the top of the military, besides the kind, and what the levels are below it. I did find some supporting characters that were killed off way to fast, and some that should've been killed off from the very beginning.
Overall, a pretty solid group of characters. I'm excited to see them transform more!
Enjoyment/Overall:
This was the type of anime that will keep you at the edge of your seat at times, and will make you walk away at others. There were a lot of "WTF" moments and moments where I was just bored out of my mind. There were repetition of fight scenes, fight scenes, fight scenes. The training episodes were pretty interesting, but not as much to make me go OMG! I didn't get into this anime as much as I would've like to though. I do understand this is very popular because even my friends who don't watch anime are recommending this, meaning it's reaching outside the anime community to people who watch Pretty Little Liars and 90210. Anyways, maybe I'm crazy, who knows. I hope this is just an introduction to the whole thing because I can say, I'm excited to see where it goes.
I will recommend this to anyone who enjoys bloody action scenes. It is a fun anime to watch! Who doesn't like blood and action? Overall, I give this anime a 72% on the Titan scale.
