Review of Attack on Titan

So, humanity (or at least the people in the near geographical area) has locked itself inside a fortified city to protect themselves from titans, gigantic humanoid monsters that eat people. The story takes place around a guy and his friends as they train to become rangers. A decent foundation for a good anime, right? The problem is that the epicness is never properly built up and the characters are all shallow stereotypes. There is no real character development, no person you begin to connect with and no personal storyline that grips you. The ones with potential are fumbled away and instead we get drawn out battlesthat try to showcase how cool the characters are, but instead are only boring.

You see, the thing that made shows like Hunter x Hunter or Trigun great is that they focused on the characters and this made the battles interesting. There was always something at stake and you cared about the outcome. Shingeki no Kyojin has too many characters to pull this off and the result is a show that can be best described as "Meh."

A good comparison would be with Claymore. That show also has epic battles with monsters, detached and tragic characters and a lot of psychology and philosophy. It seems that Shingeki no Kyojin tries to be the same, but falls short in its attempt to ante up. Instead it spreads out too thin and what could have been a great anime becomes a mediocre one.

Should you see it? Well, if you have the time and you want to see what it's all about. You might be one of those who think it's great. But if you want a bit more from your anime, pass this one and look for something with more substance.