Review of Attack on Titan

It's been a while since I've touched any anime after being let down and disappointed by so many before, in general a lot of them just seem like their strong points were never good writing and character development, but rather relying on pretty artwork, over-the-top cute characters, dumb, contrived, plot lines, and/or zany antics. Although I was skeptical about Attack on Titan, as it looked like just another gore-action fest, I was surprised by how strong the writing and character development was, it's easily among my top 3 animes after finishing this first season. This series got me started watching anime again after I lostfaith in this medium.

The action scenes are really, really, cool, along with the Spider-man like devices they use to maneuver around - but these are used to serve the story, rather than the story serving them. I also found the plot pretty interesting, but what makes the show stand out is how it connects with you at such a human level, dealing with characters, emotions, and choices that were very easy to empathize with; this makes you feel for the characters and the dilemmas they face. The characters and story are portrayed in such a human, believable, way. This is perhaps what pulls me away, and out of, most animes - relying on having such eccentric, silly, unbelievable, plots or characters with stupid catch phrases.

However, Attack on Titan is not without faults, it does get a bit too heavy-handed at times, interjecting at the climax of action scenes. The monologues are sometimes overly melodramatic or extended, with constant flashbacks, which at times I felt pulled me out of what was actually happening. At one point we're pounded by a scene with the protagonist's Mom to the point of exhaustion. Despite these flaws, the writing is strong and the characters believable.