A little about my experience with AoT: I watched the first season of the anime weekly when it first came out, read the manga and watched the new seasons as they came out, and recently just finished rewatching the whole thing (right before season 4 released). Though, I did drop the manga a while ago.
Sound - 8.5/10
I do think AoT series has quite the good soundtrack. No issues here.
Art - 7/10
Edit: In light watching the 6th episode of the anime, I lowered my rating of "art" to 7/10, and subsequently my overall rating also from 8 to 7/10. The CGI was atrocious, especially the 3D maneuver gear. The scouts looked terrible, and for some reason different from the manga.
Story - 6/10
To me, the story is about the worldbuilding, the storytelling, and the execution. Without a doubt, in the beginning AoT had amazing worldbuilding with good execution, but I always questioned its storytelling. Right from the beginning, it heavily relied on plot twists and cliffhangers, almost to the point of dependency. It came to the point where it felt like the author could not progress the story without a twist somewhere in there. Plot twists are generally really good, especially if done well. However, too much of anything is bad, especially if it's not even done well or lazy in the case of some of the plot twists in AoT, particularly the basement reveal. I was not a big fan of the direction the anime suddenly took in that reveal.
Although the execution was good in the beginning, it felt like it slowly degraded throughout the show, particularly around the middle. There came a point where each time a new manga chapter (or anime episode, if you were watching weekly) came out, I would have to look for someone on reddit or in the comments to summarize and explain what the episode was talking about, in addition to providing background information to what those points were about. I don't have a bad memory, I promise you, AoT is just that convoluted and complex for no god damn reason. It is not a problem if you binge it, but that's a fallacy in of itself. Basically, alongside the aforementioned point of bad/excessive plot twists, it creates this feeling of fake hype, where you're only really into it if you're binging it or watching it with friends.
Just compare AoT's storytelling and execution to something that's ACTUALLY good at the storytelling aspect, like Oda's One piece, Masaaki's Yojouhan/Ping Pong, or FMA B
Characters - 4/10
I mean, I know some might disagree, but yeah. The characters are simply not that great. Eren is obnoxious, Historia is trash, Reiner is a deux ex machina, Annie is poorly written, Mikasa is one dimensional. Levi & Armin are decent, Erwin is great. Everyone else is irrelevant or just comic relief. Aside from Erwin, each character is simply a plot tool or one dimensional, generic, has no character development, or poorly written. I particularly hate Erin because his character is heavily inconsistent while his motivation and morality is questionable at best. Not really into an MC who is insane, inconsistent, and also doesn't know right from wrong.
Yes, I think the characters are the worst aspect of the show. To be honest, it shouldn't be a surprise. Think about it for a little, compare it to other anime that ACTUALLY have good characters. Just look at Tengen Toppa, Steins;Gate, Ping Pong, or Psycho Pass. ACTUAL bad ass characters that Levi could never compare to, ACTUAL character development, ACTUAL depth, TOP TIER execution. I mean AoT could never compare
Enjoyment - 5.5/10
The show was enjoyable at one point, particularly in the earlier seasons where the direction was resolute and the plot was world-driven. Now, it's driven by the aforementioned mediocare and below average characters, which makes the enjoyment and story significantly less enjoyable.
Overall - 6/10
In short, the show is decent, just overhyped. Definitely doesn't deserve a 10/10, or a spot in the top 30 on MAL, at least in my opinion. At the end of the day, just take a break from all the hype and actually compare it to other good anime. You think the action aspect is good? The characters? The style? just compare it to Gurren Lagann, One Piece, Hunter x Hunter, Mob Psycho or FMA B. They're all action, and AoT just pales by comparison. I'm not trying to be an elitist, just stop being a sheep and use your brain. I can write an essay about how good Gurren Lagann's characters are, but I don't think I could write a small paragraph about AoT's characters without keeping a straight face. From cringing. Erwin is goated tho. GGs
