Review of Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan sounds better to me than Shingeki no Kyojin, even though it's a grammatical nightmare. Story: So, we have basic shounen storytelling here. A boy experiences something (in this case his mother being eaten by a titan) and swears to accomplish a goal (kill all titans). We see him grow stronger, overcome odds and gain additional powers. However, the setting of Attack on Titan feels very fresh, the plot not being a repeat of something else (though apparently the story is influenced by Muv-Luv Alternative or so I read). I have two problems here though. One is the pacing. All the time that they skippedcould have been used to make us more attached to the characters, but they become who they are very fast. That's wasted potential. More annoying is the fact, that it has no conclusion. I know, this is an ongoing manga, but it could have had something of an ending. Instead it just kinda stops.
6/10

Art:
At first I was really impressed. This artstyle and animation have movie quality and they don't take much of a hit as the show continues. The characters and titans all look unique, the scenery is looking really good. The CGI effects could've been a little better, but I've seen far worse than this. In total, this is one of the better looking Anime of its time.
9/10

Sound:
Attack on Titan has gained a lot of praise for its soundtrack and rightfully so. The mood of the music is almost always spot on, though they did use some songs that didn't fit at all two or three times. The first opening is great, the second still good but inferior. The second ending is very good, the first is okay. The cringe-worthy German makes it miss 9 points by half an inch.
8/10

Characters:
First of all, the characters all have unique personalities, which is a very good thing. Some act more reasonable than others, some are brave, some cowards. This works out really well, but there are some minor flaws. One thing is comic relief characters like Sasha or Hange as well as comedic scenes in general. This is a pretty serious show and they feel a little out of place. Another thing is the amount of characters. I have a hard time feeling sorry for somebody who dies if I can't even remember who that person is. This got better later on, but in the first 5-10 episodes I had problems here. Still, the characters drive this anime and they do it well.
8/10

Enjoyment:
Surprisingly, I had a hard time digesting the brutality of the early episodes, but I guess that was a necessary step to show that this is not a "nobody ever dies" anime like other shounen often are. As the characters grew on me I got more into the show and enjoyed it more. I guess you just have to be in the right mood to start watching Attack on Titan, but it gets better the longer it goes (even to the point where I found it to end too soon, but a second season will surely happen).
7/10

Overall:
7.6/10