Review of Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan wasn't an experience that made me violently ill, but after feeling like I'd been a victim of a bait and switch conspiracy I was less than pleased. Our story begins with a BOOOOOOOOOM, suspense! A monstrous creature suddenly appears to attack -human city- as civilians look on helplessly. Cut to a group of men, fleeing a very giant, very naked, and very sexless human-like thing. Utilizing their "maneuver gear" an apparatus that contains many hooks and winches that works like the Steampunk jet-pack you wished you thought up,they prepare to do battle... Then the plot gets underway. Weare introduced to a young boy named Erin (Eren...?) Yeager, and his adopted sister, Mikasa. They live inside the outermost wall of the great human city, built to protect the population. Along with his friend, Armen, Eren aspires to greater things and the thrill of adventure outside his boring life. The appearance of aforementioned monster leads to a fatal attack on the outermost wall, and Eren's fate will be forever changed.

Not nearly as neat as I usually like a BRIEF summary, but if you ever pictured humans battling giants with little more than pluck and a slim chance you will be treated to an awesome viewing experience....for awhile.

The first half of the season goes over Eren's transformation from a boy to a young-adult/man. This is enjoyable to watch, and is nice and straightforward. And then the story forgets that, though audiences may not catch every single detail in every moment of an episode, they still need a recap that has to last what feels like a sizable chunk of an episode. Coupled with the "philosophy" that it smacks you in the face with, and tortuously predicable elements that are unnecessarily drawn out, the story quickly peters out.

The visuals are great! It's not a kiddie-friendly show by any means, and oh boy do I like to see some well-animated gore and viscera. Too bad they can't shut up half the time and just le-

Audio is also above average. Catchy opening, suitably grim tracks coupled with lots of military-esque fanfare.

Characters....
Not necessarily "stock" but the show seems to switch gears between the genuinely unique and interesting persons to the less-so far too often. I didn't feel like much of the characterizing of red shirt's really helped the atmosphere of feel, and without divulging, you end up with a lot of time that ends up equaling head-scratching "what?" afterwards. The Team Four Star parody is gut-wrenching funny after you've seen the first three episodes; THAT I recommend at a 100/10.

Did I like watching it? For a little while, yes. The fun in the series is action scenes. The combat is tense and gripping, but arrayed as to keep you aware of whats going on all around. Where the series falters is where it tries to dress itself up to be more than brutally violent. After hearing the same exposition over and over and over again, I was disenfranchised and bored. Season Two to the rescue perhaps....? Only time will tell.

Overall, I felt cheated by instant gratification for Godzilla-like antics with a little more at stake. At first I felt the series played it straight and was thus open to jokes at it's expense, but it delivered on the action so i was content. When I had to listen to the soapbox dialogue I felt cheated, and only compelled to keep watching in the hope that I'd get some over-the-top antics next.

Watch it to see what you think, but It'll take a colossal promise of quality to get this reviewer back in the mood for more Attack on Titan.
-Lame Pun Ending