Attack On Titan is a 25 episode action-horror series directed by Tetsuro Araki, based on the manga of the same name by Hajime Isayama, Music done by my personal favorite composer Hiroyuki Sawano, produced by Studio Wit. The show, like SAO before it, has a lot of hype behind it. Is it a titan among ants, or is it just an overrated shounen?
Story: Attack On Titan is dark show. Is it as dark as Berserk? No, but it's dark nonetheless. The show follows the youth Eren Jaeger, who lives in a world dominated by giant, man-eating, humanoids known as Titans. 100 years ago, humanity built 50 meter high walls to keep titans out, and since then man has known peace. However, one day, a colossal titan breaks through the wall, and on that day humanity remembered the terror of being dominated by the titans. The titans claim the life of Eren's mother, and he vows to kill all the titans, in a very "main character" way. The series really grabs you immediately, and due to the characters reacting realistically to this disaster, you are invested at the beginning. Episode 5 is really where things get hype, as Eren graduates from military school. Accompanying him on his journey, is his adopted sister Mikasa, his best friend Armin, and several other friends from military school. My favorite characters in the series are Jean, Eren's rival of sorts, and Annie, one of the top graduates in the school, and Sasha, the by-far funniest character in the show. Jean develops more than any other character in the show, so he is my absolute favorite, and I wish he were the protagonist. Moving on, the story itself is extremely fast-paced and thrilling to watch, and the mystery behind the titans is something we want to discover. Unfortunately, the series leaves off at a "Wait for season 2!" moment, but it's not too bad. I give Attack On Titan's story 8/10.
In the early episodes, Titans can be quite terrifying
Animation: Tetsuro Araki knows what he's doing when it comes to style. The anime looks great, with original character designs and some really good vistas. However, in the second half of the show the budget holds it back, as it so often does. Faces of titans look stupider and stupider, and lose the threatening vibe they gave off in the early episodes. By the end, you no longer really fear the titans, so a lot of scenes lose their impact. Despite this, it is still a really good looking show, and the openings showcase this quite well. 8/10
One of the better scenes of the show
Sound: Let me get one thing out of the way. SKIP THE DUB. I'm sorry Funimation, but the dub is near unwatchable. With some casting really missing the mark, and tons of script re-writes, I couldn't watch it, and I don't think anyone should. I like dubs, but I say stay sub on this one. Anyway, the Japanese voice cast do great jobs, Sasha, Armin, and Jean giving particularly memorable performances. The music is some of Hiroyuki Sawano's best. He's been in quite a few shows that I've reviewed, and he always hits it out of the park. This and Kill La Kill I consider to be his best, with many standout tracks between them. My favorites from Titan are, "Reluctant Heroes", "DOA", and "Counter-Attack Mankind". I'm not going to go into detail on the openings and endings much, but they are awesome. Nuff said. Sound, excluding the dub, is 9/10.
Jean is the best
Overall: Attack On Titan is an immensly enjoyable show, I'd say one of the better ones to come out in the last couple years. With lots of action and drama, as well as some quite emotional scenes, it stands out among the other shows. The budget stutters in the second half, and that dub is attrocious, but even that doesn't keep the show down much in my eyes. Attack On Titan get 8.3/10
Attack On Titan is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Funimation, as well as being on Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll.
Awesome review! Totally agree with the differences in the sub and dub versions. I definitely like the animation section as well. Though through the series it gives the viewer snapshots as if the show becomes an action comic rather than anime. It seemed more apparent in this anime than others but I like that as well and thought it notable. :)
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Anime Bob
11/3/2014 12:15:10 am
Thank you! I really appreciate the feedback, I haven't really done this before.
Hopefully, I will get even more expertise writing as I go along.
Thanks again for commenting!
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Skeletboy420
11/4/2014 11:44:35 pm
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