Review of Attack on Titan
First time I write an anime review, let's get bitter! *sips Jägermeister* (Get it?) This is probably one of the most hyped up animes to come across, and it becomes easy to see why with an anlytical mindset. With it's story being quite frankly piss poor and its characters not really memorable. What you remember after watching is the image of Eren standing on the wall above, saluting with his unshakable determination painted all over his face. "I swear I will kill all the titans!" At alot of points this show is painfully bad, especially the dreadful and drawn out story arc with the female titan (no spoiler). You'llgo through alot of yelling screaming and misery watching this show. It often seems like they cant speak their sentences without it being at the top of their lungs.
Alot of the criticism of this show is pointing out that it's just depressing and nothing but misery at every turn. They're absolutely right. And witht hat being maybe the show's greatest weakness it's its strength, as victories become incredibly sweet! It's motivating in every fiber when tables turn and our heroes quite literally punch back.
The art style is unique but kind of hit & miss, and oh I hope you like brown... The colour scheme is not particularly varied.
The best thing though, is the phenomenal soundtrack. This soundtrack is some interesting mix of rock, orchestration and actually dubstep-like beats with occasional aesthetics of German folk music. It is REALLY unique. It's sometimes utilized awkwardly for some scenes, but I do think the soundtrack is what impacts fans so heavily even if they don't realize it.
Just watch the first opening and tell me you don't get shivers. It's so incredibly empowering.
There's alot of flashback scenes and re-used frames, with filler on top of that, and the actual progression lies in the cliffhanger of every episode's ending. But it's all worth it for that ending fight. Trust me. If you've ever felt like you had alot of aggressions to unleash, you'll relate to the absolute fury that is the ending fight.
That's what this show does. It breaks you down and builds you up again with such great motivation.
So all in all the premise is so simple, the story redundant, characters meh. Sounds like it must suck then right? No.
This show is strongest in visual and auditorial aspects and most importantly its almost symbolic nature. It captures the very essence of honor in a salute, and standing strong with your fellow soldier.
It's all about amplifying your understanding of strength, determination and spirit. I do believe there's significant value in that, and as such I most definitely can recommend Shingeki no Kyojin.
"Keep your weapons aimed. Here comes the chilling face pushing down your fear" ~Track 08 "DOA" of the official soundtrack.