Review of Attack on Titan
"in the end no one ever knew what the outcome would be." By the Gods that reign over anime, this is true ambrosia and nectar, Apple of the Hesperides, oh sacred song of power and might... Like damn, this was good, even with a second viewing. No anime can be perfect in the truest sense of the word, namely, to have no flaws in the various factors that make an anime good -- animation, soundtrack, plot, characters, writing, pacing. But then again, nothing in this world created by Man can be perfect, since we ourselves are not perfect. Anything created can never outdo its maker in design. Butthere are some, only a handful, of anime out there that can be called true works of art. Masterpiece, paragon, nonpareil, chef d'oeuvre... Whatever words that can be used to describe such anime, use them, for aren't words created for a reason? I am talking about such anime as Steins;Gate. Cowboy Bebop. And, among others, the subject of this review, SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN, or Attack on Titan.
I've seen enough anime to be able to judge critically. A good way to measure an anime is to watch it a second time (significant time elapsing between viewings). My first anime was not Sword Art Online, but Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Heck, any reasonably entertaining anime would've been amazing to me as a newbie, but I just had to begin with one of the so-called best. Watching it a second time almost a year later, it's still really good, but I wouldn't call it the best of all time. When you watch an anime for the second time, you've already seen the plot unfold, so the otherwise incidental eagerness to watch and complete absorption into the story isn't there (assuming you remember what happened). As such, you can spend more time watching the story unravel with a more critical eye, paying attention to the animation details, character development, how the plot threads connect, and so on.
Watching Attack on Titan the second time was almost as enthralling as the first time, and a year hadn't even passed. Even with my more objective perspective, I still found the soundtrack magnificent, the sudden plot twists brilliant, the character depictions realistic, the maturity gripping and tragic. Strangely enough, such things shone even more brightly my second viewing -- kind of like when I re-read Lord of the Rings. Standing further back, I realized just how -- just how EPIC Attack on Titan was. It can't even compare to 99+% of other anime -- the few exceptions including the two I named earlier. Few, if any, anime are as mature; characters you can resonate with die so suddenly in Attack on Titan. I think I teared up even more this second viewing. But such tragedy is only natural. Typically in the realm of creating a story, you give your main characters "plot armor" -- that is, an enormous amount of luck that somehow ensures their survival and continued entertainment for the fans. A resounding example is Monkey D. Luffy of One Piece.
Attack on Titan shreds, discards, eradicates such plot armor. The characters, even the main ones, are hurt. Hurt badly. Everything that occurs in Attack on Titan is the realistic outcome given the circumstances. They're mere humans armed with three-dimensional maneuver gear, fighting against humanoid Titans of gigantic proportions and strength. Anyone sane would be scared stiff his or her first time encountering such monsters.
The protagonist, Eren Jaeger, vows to exterminate all of the Titans. Although typically shounen in that respect, the anime tends to focus more broadly on its extensive cast as a whole, having quite a bit of interior monologue (thoughts) of the various persons as they all try to save mankind in this seemingly hopeless battle.
What Attack on Titan does particularly well in terms of its plot is in the technique of gradual revelation. Like One Piece and Naruto: Shippuuden, Attack on Titan has some deep mysteries to be solved, and thus reveals hints here and there about the true nature of the Titans. The implications, which I'm afraid you'll have to see for yourself, are massive.
THE SOUNDTRACK. You've probably heard the ringing first opening, Guren no Yumiya by Linked Horizon. Without a single thought of doubt one of the best anime openings I've ever seen, with its panoply of visual effects, almost phantasmagorical display of disturbing images, telling lyrics, and resonant music. The score, composed by Hiroyuki Sawano (who also did the music for Guilty Crown, Nanatsu no Taizai, among many others), is just majestic. It reaches all shades of the spectrum, from sorrowful piano to exhilarating vocals to sweeping strings to eerily ominous to operatic. It fits the intense atmosphere very, very well. So many characters die, often for nothing, in this anime. One of the many strong themes running throughout is that of whether or not your death was meaningless. If those soldiers who just died contributed to mankind's struggle for survival through their deaths. The need to take risks involving people's lives for the good of mankind.
THE ANIMATION. ufotable, get out. Wit Studio achieved divine status with this one. The interplay of shadows and light on characters' faces; the grotesque and terrifying Titans; how the Titans eat people (yes, this happens a lot); the bird's eye camera shots of mankind's last remaining civilization; smoke, explosions, sunlight; the almost photographic and surreal quality to, like, everything; and most notably, the use of three-dimensional maneuver gear to attack Titans. Whether they're flying through the streets (kind of like Spider-Man) or doing acrobatic whirls down to the nape, it's nothing short of the empyrean. Attack on Titan's animation is so good that even if you don't like anything else, which is extremely unlikely, it's enough to keep you watching.
Did I mention plot twists? With Attack on Titan, you really never know what will happen next. All could be somewhat jolly one moment, tragic the next. The episodes are constructed in such a way that you'll constantly want to see the next. No wonder this took the anime community by storm. Sword Art Online, compared to this, is like a pigeon flying in the hawk's wake -- flying, yes, but far behind. Very far behind.