Review of Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan is definitely one of the most confusing shows for me out there. While I find the art and soundtrack stunning, I believe there are huge flaws with the way that the show is structured which prevent this show from having any depth. Do I recommend this show? Absolutely, as there is a lot to learn from this show while still being enjoyable. There are minor spoilers in this review, but if you really haven't seen season 1 in 2017, then you're practically asking for it. I would say the biggest issue with this show is not how "overrated" it is (I can understandwhy it is popular, the show is very entertaining), but rather how the show has no purpose. I know that the manga is much farther ahead than the show, but that's not what I'm reviewing. Throughout the show, you are amazed by the stunning combat and the mystery of the titans, almost forgetting that there is no purpose to the show besides survival and learning more about the titans (except that there is no base ground to learn about the titans from, as we don't even learn the origin; all you learn about the titans in season 1 is that some humans can transform into them). Survival isn't necessarily a bad objective or theme in a show either, as that is the premise of Mirai Nikki, but the difference between these shows is that the characters in Mirai Nikki have their own goals, while very few characters have goals in Attack on Titan.

My opinion on some of the characters:
Eren: the only one with an actual goal besides killing Titans (finding his Dad's basement of pr0n), however he does nothing to progress towards this goal throughout the show, only talks about how he's going to find it. It can be assumed that he also seeks revenge on the Titans after losing his loved ones, but pretty much every character has gone through that.
Mikasa: Does nothing besides look cool and protect Eren's ass.
Armin: I have no idea why he is even a part of this show. He's smart but has no talent in combat, unlike Hange who is smart and talented in combat.
Levi: Does nothing besides look cool. Also he cleans
Annie: Serves as a distraction from the fact that this show has no premise during the second half of the season. Pretty good distraction as she possibly acts as a catalyst for the rest of the show, but thats about it.

None of the characters really show any change or development during the show, making them all very boring and uninteresting.

Enough of me beating the hell out of the show though. I did enjoy a lot about the show. The soundtrack was amazing, making for some cool hair-on-end moments throughout the show (Eren's transformation in Episode 24) and so were the visuals. Combat was well animated, making the recon corps look like total badasses every time they did stuff. I definitely enjoy watching this show and will continue watching it until it ends, but it definitely has flaws (I do believe that the direction the show is going in during season 2 will change a lot in terms of purpose).

I'll end my review with a nice analogy. Attack on Titan season 1 is like a small wind up toy that you let go, and while it's very entertaining to watch, by the time it's finished, you realize that nothing really happened besides the fact that it traveled some distance. But you better believe you're gonna do pick up that toy and wind it up again just to see where it ends up.