Starting out, I didn't really have any intention to watch Shingeki no Kyojin; the premise didn't appeal to me and while the previews and art I saw of it looked pretty, nothing I saw really compelled me to it. As the season progressed, however, the series' name became rather ubiquitous. All of a sudden I was hearing from numerous others that the show was the show of the season and that I shouldn't dare miss it. This is dangerous talk for me, as I can be prone to hype backlash, but nevertheless I came to the decision to give it a watch and do my best to keep an open mind as I did so. In the end, this was a good call. Shingeki no Kyojin is a very good anime.
Shingeki no Kyojin looks amazing throughout. Between this and other recent offerings from them, it's pretty clear that Production I.G. are really ahead of a lot of studios in just how gorgeous they can make their anime look. The fight sequences are completely visceral; the lumbering titans appear so heavy and powerful while the humans zipping around to combat them move swiftly and fluidly. I like the way the art looks too; the characters are distinctive and generally have strong designs.
Sound is also first rate. Music is utilized well to build tension. The sound effects are especially impressive, making the titans feel ever the more momentous with each resonating footstep. The voice actors are about what would be expected. Most of them do a pretty good job, I guess. There is a lot of shouting in some scenes which can get to be a little much. Both opening themes very grandiose, and in slightly different ways though they both suit the series. The ending themes aren't as memorable for my tastes.
I couldn't really ask for the presentation on a whole to be much better, but what of the story it aims to tell? It's ultimately quite compelling. It's paced generally pretty well; revelations come at the right moments and it succeeds in feeling epic. It can be at times a little overly grim and dour for my tastes at times. You onslaught the viewer with too many sorrowful and solemn bits and you run the risk of approaching melodrama after all. The setting is dark and I know that it wants me to absorb that fact as much as possible with each successive scene of a giant eating a person, but nevertheless it can get to be a bit much, though its best,most glorious moments make up for a lot of it and make for an overall satisfying watch.
The story itself is intriguing. The setup is quite unique and even at the end I get the distinction that the series has a lot of revelations to throw at us still. It doesn't attempt any real conclusion, so additional seasons are almost invariably on the minds of the studio. Given this, on its own, it naturally feels incomplete, but I'm not going to count that against it. As the first leg in what should hopefully be a longer story, it gets the job done.
So if the production is so solid and I have mostly nice things to say about the story, why is my score for this only an eight? Well, the big thing letting Shingeki no Kyojin down is the characters, or more correctly one in particular. Unfortunately for the series, that character is the main protagonist, Eren.. He just comes across so much as the typical mopey and angst-ridden shounen protagonist, only much angrier and I just don't really respond to that well. Sure reasons are given for him to lash out and whine... but certain flashback scenes show him as having detached and violent tendencies well before the titans attack. It all just makes him kind of hard to identify with and he doesn't really get much better. Even at the end of the series, I'm not entirely sure how much he's grown really. More often than not, he's just annoying to me and he is the one thing that ends up holding the show back the most.
Which is a shame since I like most of the other characters. Female lead Mikasa, has a great design, is cool and strong, yet vulnerable enough to still be interesting. She's a little overly dependent, but otherwise she's a pretty awesome character. Eren's friend Armin meanwhile didn't impress me at first, but becomes a better character in time. The supporting players are also really good, tending to be actually developed pretty well, some standing out because in this at times oppressively solemn series they're the only characters who are actually fun. I wish some of the more interesting and colorful cadets got a little more screen time actually as the show really seems to excel when it focuses on them.
A less than enjoyable main character won't wreck a show for me, but it will hold me back from embracing it. Eren coupled with the occasionally too grim tone is enough to hamper my enjoyment of an otherwise exceptionally produced, clever, interesting and entertaining show to where I feel an eight is a proper score. All the same, it's definitely a show worth following and I would give it a solid recommendation to anyone looking for an exciting piece of dark fantasy action anime and I myself will most definitely look forward to what the future holds for it.
