Anime Review: Attack on Titan

I’m not entirely sure that this show needs an introduction. It’s Attack on Titan, the most popular anime of 2013 and probably the most popular anime to exist in recent memory. I mean, when you get popular enough so that even non-anime fans know about it…that’s popular, at least for an anime. So, almost by default, there have been many reviews of this show on different websites in the wired, so much so that I actually considered not reviewing Attack on Titan. It almost seemed pointless, when you’ve got so many people saying the same things about it, whether they are criticisms or appraisals. But, after rewatching it in English, I figured that I’d review it, so I can keep everything in mind once I give the final grade. Does Attack on Titan live up to its hype, or does it miss the mark? Sit back, relax, and read on as I review Attack on Titan.

The Setup:

One hundred years ago, mankind was pushed to the brink of extinction, as giant creatures known as “titans” (creative name, by the way) began eating everyone. In defense, humanity built three walls tall enough to keep the titans out: Maria, Rose, and Sina. A military was also established, consisting of the Garrison Regiment (the police), the Scout Regiment/Survey Corps (the soldiers who go outside the walls to try to take land back from the Titans), and the Military Police (the guardians of the king). Flash forward to present day (at least in the story), and now we meet our main character Eren Jaeger. Eren’s a radical child, one who wants to become part of the Scout Regiment, by far the most dangerous military sect. However, disaster strikes in the form of the Colossal Titan (or the Colossus Titan if you read the manga), who destroys the gate leading into Eren’s district, Shiganshina. A titan tragically eats Eren’s mother during this plight. Enraged, Eren vows revenge against all titans, and eventually becomes a military cadet, ready for action. What I like particularly about this setup is how it clearly establishes the setting, characters, and predicament of humanity without feeling rushed or heavy-handed, which is a feat by itself. The show also is able to get you emotionally connected to the characters almost immediately. I mean, sure, it’s not the greatest way to get you to connect with a character just because you pity them, which is an overused tactic that should be stopped immediately because it is cheap and overdone, but Attack on Titan does manage do accomplish this rather well.

In Attack on Titan, humanity is hunted to the brink of extinction by titans

The Characters:

A lot of reviews label the characters of this show to be the weakest part, but I’m not so sure about that. Yeah, this cast isn’t perfect, and the side characters aren’t the most developed, but the main characters were pretty well developed. Eren is a character that you can sympathize with almost immediately, as his rage at the Titans is perfectly justified. However, note how I just said rage at the titans. (slight spoiler) There’s an episode where we learn Mikasa’s backstory (more on her later), and I personally thought that the particular scene where Eren saved Mikasa was absolutely terrible. It makes no sense, it’s completely ludicrous, and makes me feel uncomfortable every time I think about it. The scene also demonstrates how Eren was filled with rage even before his mother was eaten, which doesn’t develop Eren’s character as much as it confuses the audience even more. Granted, it is suggested that Eren was always angry at society and how limited it was, but the actions he took that day…they just don’t work, and came completely out of left field. Otherwise, Eren’s character is rather consistent, embodying the typical shonen protagonist tropes such as caring for friends, but being ruthless towards his enemies and being careless and rash. What separates him from other protagonists of his nature is his rage, which helps to give him motivation whenever he’s in battle. Admittedly, even though I personally like his character a lot, he’s really a hit-or-miss character, and I can see why someone would dislike him. Next, there’s Mikasa, a stone-cold tough girl whose only soft spot is for Eren, which may or may not be interpreted as creepy or obsessive. She’s basically a flying goddess of awesome (paraphrased from Arkada) who kills every titan she sees, and is one of my favorite female characters of all time. What I think is especially fascinating about her character is how she interprets “natural selection”. Natural selection is the idea that the strong outlive the weak; for example, an animal that is able to keep warm during the winter will survive, while the animals that can’t die. Mikasa seems to wholeheartedly accept this fact, as shown in her backstory, but she also seems to subtly defy this ideology simultaneously. An example of this can be seen in her defense of the townsfolk trying to escape the Trost District when the merchants were blocking her path. Speaking of the weak, the next character is Armin, the brains of the group. Armin probably has the best development out of the entire cast, starting off the series as a weak-willed and cowardly person and ending as a more confident person who doesn’t feel like a burden to his much stronger friends. I actually would’ve liked to see Armin as the protagonist rather than Eren; not to say that Eren’s bad, but Eren’s only sympathetic feature is that his mom died, which is basically out of pity. There are also tons of side characters, of which will get more attention in the second season (I’ve kept up with the manga), like Jean, Conny, Historia, Ymir, Sasha, Bentort, and Reiner; in the first season, they weren’t bad, but they didn’t get a lot of development in any of the story arcs (except Jean). There are also Commander Erwin, the leader of the Scout Regiment, Major Hanji, the eccentric scientist of the show, and Captain Levi, the unstoppable manpower. This is probably a cliché by this point, but my favorite character is Levi. He’s mysterious, is completely awesome in every way, is cynical about the world around him, but also gets really attached to those close to him. The manga “Attack On Titan: No Regrets” covers his backstory, and will be getting an anime OVA adaptation in the winter, so either read the manga or wait for the anime to come out; trust me, it’s quite interesting. Overall, while the characters weren’t groundbreaking, they did have depth, development and personalities, even though most of the side characters were left out of the picture.

The characters of Attack on Titan

The Story:

I believe that the story of Attack on Titan is a mixed bag. On one hand, if you’re marathoning this anime, you won’t notice the terrible pacing issues; if you’re watching it periodically, you will. I watched this show weekly on Toonami the second time around, and boy was the pacing slow at some points. This wouldn’t be so much of a problem, however, if other episodes didn’t have excellent pacing! The first seven or so episodes of Attack on Titan were paced perfectly, being fast but not rushed to the point of incomprehension, but then the show slows down and drags everything out. The Battle of Trost took around six episodes to complete, six episodes! The Female Titan took eight to nine episodes to defeat! Granted, during those episodes the show was still entertaining and exciting, but in between those two arcs was just a bunch of “dead space” where nothing really happened except maybe for the building of character development, which normally I would be fine with, but it takes way too long to establish everything. Pacing issues aside, I still did enjoy the story of Attack on Titan’s story and think rather highly of it, especially when it comes to themes and ideas towards humanity facing survival. One of my favorite reviewers pegged the show for having one-dimensional villain characters that served no purpose other than to anger the audience, but I’m not so sure about that; I believe that those characters did have a purpose, because if you’re talking about social hiarchy, there are going to be selfish rich people who only think about themselves in the equation no matter what you do. Just look up some American history if you want proof; you’d be surprised. I view this as a pretty realistic representation of humanity, and what makes Attack on Titan’s setting so interesting. You can’t have a perfect society where everyone agrees about everything, and there are going to be “one-dimensional” people who are only in it for the money and their own safety, and there’s nothing more to them. It’s just how some sects of humanity act. These reasons are also why Episode 14 is my favorite Attack on Titan episode; while there are no epic titan fights or amazing animation, it manages to portray a courtroom scene where humanity nearly destroys itself in debating over whether they should risk using “something” dangerous or destroy the danger and live as cowards extremely well, and every time I watch that episode I love it even more. I also like the theme about how you must get stronger to face the world, as “the world is a cruel place”, and how this theme doesn’t smack you over the head. This is how you display themes, people; incorporating them into the story and characters without making them feel forced. The action scenes are also incredibly well executed, and, well, let’s just say that people die when they are killed, shall we?

The story is problematic, but overall above average

The Animation/Sound

The animation of Attack on Titan is superb, at least when it wants to be. The action scenes are a sight to behold, and consist of some of the best animation I’ve seen period. The character designs are pretty unique, with dark lines outlining the characters and emphasizing their emotions with ease. However, when there’s no action, there is some pretty bad skimping, though it’s not terrible and not truly noticeable if you’re not picky like I am. There are some still frames and unneeded CGI moments, but at the same time the show looks amazing when it needs to be, so it’s easily forgiven in my book at least. The show is also a bloody mess, so if you're squeamish, I'd recommend not watching this show; dismembered body parts and blood is everywhere in this anime! The music is great. It’s typical Hiroyuki Sawano, who’s becoming one of my favorite anime composers. It’s epic, grand, over the top, tragic, and is a wonderful accompaniment to a worthy show. My favorite song is EMA, for its trumpets, choir, epic aura, and it gives off the sense that something big and important is about to happen, and is used perfectly in the show. As for whether you should watch this in English or Japanese, you could go with either. The Japanese dub is standard fare for Japan, with fantastic acting and an exceptional performance from Yuki Kaji, who voiced Eren. The English dub is also very good, though some of the dialogue choices did sound really clichéd and corny, but I was able to overlook that. Props go to Josh Grelle for a stellar portrayal of Armin, as in my opinion it is his best performance as of late. Finally, the openings and endings. All are great and well worth the listen, though my favorite is the first opening (as I listed it as #3 on my Top 25 Anime Openings list), which is probably just as famous as the show itself. 

Opening #1:

EMA: