Attack on Titan: a show that found itself in MAL's top ten before the first season was even halfway through. A series that was many people's introduction to the medium. A series that opened the West up to anime that way no other has.
With an explosive first episode showcasing cardboard cutout shonen archetypes, a post apocalyptic setting, and the death of a character with no development and no impact, it's not surprising that everyone loved it. The second episode came out and it was crystal clear that the shows plot would be progressing at a blistering pace. Fours years pass in the first few episodes in the form of several training montages showing the characters learning to fight the titans at some sort of a military training facility that's location is never revealed, (which is quite important) and the introduction of an absolutely absurd amount of forgettable side characters. There is then a few episodes in which the characters go out on their first official mission to combat titans and one of the shows first major plot points is revealed and questions start to arise left and right. By the end of the episode there are at least 7 immediately pertinent questions; we'll come back to this later. After this the main plot of the first season begins and just to be consistent the plot slows down to an a b s o l u t e f u c k i n g s n a i l s p a c e. The rest of the series progresses at the pace, detailing a span of only a few hours through the course of TWELVE FUCKING EPISODES. Astounding. Overall the shows pacing is completely jarring. Along with that pacing issues it also has many issues with asking way too many questions and providing absolutely no answers all the way up until the credits roll.
Attack on Titans characters aren't much better. Our core three are Erin, Mikasa, and Armin. Erin is your typical shonen male lead: determined, presumptuous, often self-harming, passionate, caring of his friends--- nothing too special. Mikasa exists solely to be the leader of Erin's fan club and being KEWL. Rounding off our trio is Armin the only half interesting character: intelligent, self-deprecating, only character who's backstory isn't clear. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Erin's backstory is fucking stupid.
Contrary to the plot and character departments the aesthetic is extremely strong. The soundtrack is fitting of the show including two good endings and openings. My only complaint is that it is a bit brief. Visually all you really need to know is that Attack on Titan in brown. Kidding. The animation is fluid, natural, and makes great use of gradients and thick outlines. In addition the angles and movement are very nice.
Overall, Attack on Titan is the perfect starter show for anyone wanting to get into anime. For Real. It's exciting, and takes itself seriously enough to suit the needs of any western viewer, while avoiding as many weird anime behaviors as possible. It's not so anime that your average kid in the US would immediately hate it. Beyond recommending it as a gateway series I can't really recommend it to any seasoned fan of the medium. Overall: Six/Ten
Anecdote: Please do not message me with blind hate, though I am interested in and open minded to, any sound arguments that you may have.
Have a nice day,
CaptainOrdinary
