Attack on Titan

Zach Goodier

Premise:

Attack on Titan is a show that has humanity struggling to survive against their ultimate predators, the titans.  Titans are giant humanoids that devour humans without exception.  To protect what was left of humanity, the survivors built 3 walls to protect themselves, and have lived in relative peace for a century.  However, that all changes when a colossal titan appears and destroys part of the outer wall, allowing the titans to attack once more.  Eren Yeager, a young boy living within the outer wall, witnesses the death of his mother at the hands of a titan, and vows to exterminate them all.  But in a world where humans are on the brink of extinction, and with endless hordes of monsters that we have never beaten, can Eren make a difference?  And what is the origin of these new titans, who have evolved beyond the capabilities of normal titans?

While this titan may have had more Wheaties than the rest, this still gives you an idea how small we are next to these monsters.

From the start, there are a lot of unanswered questions, but this is part of the reason to keep with it.  The titans themselves are strangely human, but some of the most alien creatures to appear on-screen.  From the start, you know nothing about them, but neither do the survivors, so it all helps add mystery to what these beings are, a mystery that only gets more complicated later on in the series.

Eren, our not-so-noble hero of the series.

Characters:

Eren Yeager has help from a couple of his friends Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert.  While Eren is a young man with the heart and the will, Mikasa is a young lady who is always composed and strong, and is the most skilled natural fighter of the trio, while Armin is a timid young man who is the brains of the group, and is always quick to come up with a plan in a tight spot.  This trio is pretty formulaic on the surface,  but their stories work well to explain their nature, and why they are who they are.  There are a list of other characters who are important in the story, but these three are the main crew you follow throughout the series.

Mikasa's beauty is only matched by her skill and composure in combat.

Many of the side characters each bring something forward, whether they face issues of courage, commitment, loyalty, etc.  However, you realize very quickly going into the middle part of the series that these characters aren't off-limits for a quick and decisive demise.  While I like the idea that nobody is exempt from death on a chaotic battlefield full of monsters, you quickly realize that it's mostly half-hearted, and key characters have the traditional plot-armor you expect in most series. 

A more detailed look at the sizes of titans in relation to humans and buildings.

Story:

Where this show really hits its' stride is in the themes.  While the titans aren't anything complicated in terms of themes or story, it's the struggles of the survivors that makes the whole story more enticing.  Everyone wants to survive, but it's how they survive that makes the show compelling.  Some believe they should hide, find posts far behind the walls so they never have to face the titans, others feel that they should push forward, find ways to defeat the titans so that they can reclaim their world and live completely free of titans.  However, this is only the basic struggle.  Throughout the series, characters are challenged to make difficult decisions between duty, friendship, trust, and simple survival.  The twist is that you frequently find that there is no "right" answer to these dilemmas, they are moral issues that all the characters struggle with in the hopes that they can save themselves and humanity.  There are also several twists and turns along the way to keep things exciting.

Later on in the series you get to see some titan vs titan action.

Action:

This is mainly an action series, with the military using "3-demensional maneuvering gear" to fight the titans.  This gear uses compressed air and a pair of cables to propel the soldiers through the air so that they can strike at the oversized titans' weak points in combat with their swords with replaceable blades.  The action uses a lot of martial arts-style action mixed with swords and an epic scale.  Overall, the action is very well done, and never feels too over-the-top or overplayed. 

These guys will all carry out most of the ass-kicking in the show.

Animation:

The animation style feels a lot darker than normal shows, but this is a darker story.  Character outlines and shading sometimes feeling a little heavy-handed, but it all fits the overall style.  There is a great deal of blood and violence, so this isn't much of a kids series.  The eyes on these characters are a major strong point to the animation, with some of the most life-like eyes I have ever seen on animated characters.

Overall:

This series is a must-watch for 2013, without a doubt.  The action is great, the plot has lots of excellent themes and twists along the way.  The tension mounts as threats both external and internal start to reveal themselves, and the characters face difficult moral dilemmas that have no right answer.  This series doesn't try to tell you what's right, it only shows that sometimes what seems right can still end very badly.  Just think of all the times you watch or read a story and the hero only wins because of sheer dumb luck; while these characters have a lot of luck, that doesn't mean that they aren't forced to sacrifice along the way to accomplish their goals.  Wars involve casualties, sacrifice, and generally the only "heroes" are the ones who avoided death long enough to make it back home.  These characters are not out to be heroes, but in the process they will do things that few heroes would be willing to live with.  So in short, this is a show with depth, but still has the action to keep you involved throughout. 

The Good:

-Action, action, action... On a large scale.

-Some of the greatest facial and eye animations I've seen this year in anime.

-Great character development

-Themes that feel more grounded in reality and less in idealism, giving the show a much more gritty and realistic feel than others.

The Bad:

-Tries for that GoT angle where anyone can die, but the half-hearted approach means that you notice a lot of the characters that die were only fodder in the first place.  Meanwhile, the main cast has some good ol' fashioned plot armor, made of unobtainium and titan tears.

Scully Rating: 9.5 out of 10