Review of Attack on Titan
Please, hear me out! This will be my first review on MAL, though I've been watching anime for a few years now. The reason I even decided to make this review is the overwhelming number of 9 and 10 scores that this show is getting in the reviews section. I feel that this is completely misleading to anyone who has not yet seen this series and is browsing through the reviews section looking for an honest review that has not been affected by the extensive hype of the show. Story: The story is well thought out (so far), with constant cliffhangers at ends of episodes makingviewers want to watch more. Unfortunately, the first and last 5 minutes of each episode are the only engaging ones, as the middle of each episode seems to drift off into the hazy realm of nonsensical monologues and Armin pretending to be intelligent by saying stuff that should already have been apparent to everyone else. The pacing of the show is atrocious, with the 25 episode length easily compressible into a 12 episode format in my opinion. Also, **Sorta Spoiler... I guess?** NOTHING is achieved by the end of season 1 -_-. Seriously. The only thing that actually has changed in over 10 hours of show, is that Eren can (sometimes) transform into a Titan now... Other shows, such as Baccano! (A superb show in my opinion) are able to convey extremely complex and detailed and complete plots in a mere 12-13 episodes. I can only hope that season 2 will actually give us some answers instead of expecting us to just watch training exercises and wait for some story to develop eventually.
Art/Sound:
The art and sound are the two things that truly make this show outstanding, with the animation of the ODM gear combined with the intense, booming OST making for exhilarating action scenes. This show has a (semi) unique art style with the way it appears to lift the characters away from the backdrop with their black outlines, adding a ferocity to each character. The sound of this show is incredible, with the voice acting completely on point... IN THE JAPANESE VERSION! Please don't get me started on the English dub. While the range of voices available in the dub is impressive, I just cannot fathom how anybody taking part in the creation of the dub thought it would be a good idea to make almost EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER completely whiny, childish, immature, and generally useless sounding, while in the original Japanese voices, while it is apparent when characters are distressed (which is often), they never become completely whiny, always maintaining some minimal level of dignity. Eren and Armin in the English dub, on the other hand, cry for 90% of the show and I just can't bear to listen to Armin's constant cry/shouting.
(I watched the show in English, then again in Japanese, hoping for it to be better. It was.)
Characters:
I already covered my extensive issues with the characters in the English dub, mainly their whiny and cowardly atmosphere. The characters in Japanese, however, perform well, providing credible performances and bringing character motivations (of which there are actually few and pretty generic ones at that) to life. The biggest problem is that the characters are not consistent, with certain characters being complete rebels at some times and then blindly following orders with their heads bowed at others. Also, so many characters are introduced that it is difficult to keep track of who is who, especially when the entire character selection is replaced every 5 episodes because everyone died (except the invincible main characters of course). The only redeeming character in the show is Mikasa (and arguably Levi, though he does not get alot of screen-time) and honestly, she is a pretty pathetic excuse for a character as well, with completely basic character motivations of protecting Eren and nothing else. The only reason she is liked is that she is the only character in the show who doesn't ever whine and actually does stuff (such as fighting alongside Mr. Sonic-the-Hedgehog-Levi in badass ways) instead of crying about how she will die soon.
Enjoyment/Overall:
Sadly, I CANNOT recommend this show to anyone who enjoys having explanations to things (as the first season ends with no more explanations than it began with) or enjoys having semi intelligent main characters who actually know what is going on and don't just "overcome" all their obstacles through brute force (Eren even fails at this on multiple occasions). It's difficult to understand the incredible hype around this show. I DID NOT make this review because I want to be a hipster, this is my honest opinion, stemming from my amazement of how this show exploded like it did, riding only on the back of a good soundtrack and animation style for an entire season of non-events.
I give this anime a final rating of 6/10. -Fairly shoddy characters being carried by incredible animation and music.
That’s it, folks,
- Regul8ion signing off.