Review of Attack on Titan

If I’m being honest I don’t know where to begin. Attack on Titan was the first anime I watched that was violent or had mature themes. At the time I never thought animated could be violent, it definitely shocked me at first. However, I eventually got around to watching the entire first season when I was younger. I got extremely hyper fixated on the series and forgot about it until the announcement of the final season. After rewatching, I found an anime with a hooking narrative, great sound design, top tier animation and memorable characters. Attack on Titan instantly hooks you in the first episode, thepeaceful life in the walls is very abruptly shattered after the colossal titan breaks the wall and lets the the titans in. We see the protagonists mother die and what appears to be the remains of human society reach the brink of collapse. All within half an episode. The series constructs themes of loss, war and the true horrors of war. The series initially sets itself up as a standard shounen anime, dead mum, pissed off protagonist with a motive, the basics of shounen protagonists. But that couldn’t be any further from the truth. The series stands out because the cast can’t just train or use will power to reach their goal, they can very easily just get killed. No power of friendship or never giving up is going to save them. The world is a cruel and horrifying place, an idea which made this anime unique and truely interesting.

The sound design of season one is amazing, it is easily top tier. After all, Wit studios combined top tier sound design, voice acting and soundtrack. The sound design was amazing, the sound of titans was disturbing and made them just as scary, the sound of the ODMG being used felt so satisfying and made every scene where characters were using the ODMG that much more satisfying. The voice actors created some of the best performances in anime. Whether it be Eren, Levi, Erwin or Mikasa’s voice actors, they all did amazing and memorable performances. The soundtrack was something else, the majority of the songs are instantly recognisable to anyone who’s seen the series. They convey the world of Attack on Titan perfectly and fit the emotions of any scene perfectly. I feel as though the soundtrack still hasn’t gotten old yet, I can still listen to them and feel the same intense set of emotions I felt when I first listened to them. And don’t even get me started on the opening, as Attack on Titan easily has some of the best openings in anime.

The animation of Attack on Titan is something else. Back in 2012, Wit studios was able to animate something top tier that competes with animation created almost a decade later. Titans are animated in a way that they look disturbing and absolutely terrifying. The way characters move whenever they use the ODMG is intense and satisfying, making any fight scene unique and that much more intense. The art style fits the world of Attack on Titan perfectly, characters feel far more real. The body structure of characters remains realistic and consistent. The characters appearances remain consistent too. The world itself is animated in a way that it looks so unique and at times beautiful. Like the medieval/Victorian style of the world combined with the walls makes this world so much more unique and interesting.

The characters don’t fit the standards of shounen. If it did, Eren would be a genius soldier who graduated at the top of his class or at the very least had potential to become the strongest soldier. This is very much not the case in Attack on Titan. In fact Eren is outshined by the female side protagonist who is considered the genius soldier. Something you never see in anime. In fact, it’s very clear that the characters in the series don’t fit shounen archetypes. Characters can die at anytime. What makes the characters of the show interesting is the way they react with sacrifice and war. A lot of them were just standard teenagers who never experienced true horror. We get to see how they react when confronted with sacrifice, death and war. Seeing how the characters react in a world as horrifying as Attack on Titan, and watching characters who don’t conform to shounen archetypes. Was something I absolutely loved about Attack on Titan.

With the great combination of a grotesque and hooking narrative. Along with great sound design, animation and characters. Season one was able to set up the true potential of Attack on Titan.

Overall, I rank this 8/10.