Official Website (Japanese) , Anime News Network Site (English)

Plot Summary: Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by titans. Titans are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by enclosing themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of titans. Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a titan in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a colossal titan that appears out of thin air. As the smaller titans flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Eren vows that he will murder every single titan and take revenge for all of mankind.

Director: Tetsurō Araki

Writer: Yasuko Kobayashi

Episode Runtime: 24 mins

Studio: Wit Studio (Production I.G.)

Genre: Action, Dark Fantasy, Horror, Tragedy, Dystopia

Main Cast:

• Marina Inoue as Armin Arlelt
• Yui Ishikawa as Mikasa Ackerman
• Yuuki Kaji as Eren Jaeger

Review: by Anthony

My initial interest in this anime was piqued during Otakon's AMV Contest 2013.  I remember it being used in a Jack and the Giant Slayer trailer remix, and clips were used in the majority of the action videos.  I saw multiple con-goers cosplaying as characters from the series, and it was apparent that whatever this new anime was it was very, very popular.  I then sought out more information, watched the first 4 episodes while still at Otakon, and was instantly hooked, and I waited in great anticipation for each Saturday for a new episode to come out.

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What I Liked:

The Story

Typically, in an shounen anime, the plot falls to the wayside in favor for the action and animation, but in Attack on Titan that’s not the case.  The story on a whole was great and the anime stuck very closely to the manga, which is fantastic aside from smaller issues.

In the first arc of the season, the foundation for the anime was laid out beautifully.  I initially got a feel of a Zombie survival type setting, with what’s leftover of humanity struggling to survive the Titans; however, that feeling quickly passed when I saw the military in action with their 3D maneuver gear, and I thought that maybe, just maybe they could mount a stand against the Titans that threatened mankind.

When the main character Eren vowed vengeance to “kill all the Titans,” accompanied by his adopted sister, Mikasa, and friend, Armin, I was hooked to see how they’d bring Eren’s plans into reality.

I really enjoyed the second arc which served to flesh out the rest of the supporting cast of the anime.  There was a lot of comedic scenes in that arc, many of which included Keith Shadis, Drill Instructor of the 104th Trainee Squad.  Keith Shadis was great, breaking down and yelling at the trainees all lined up in formation in a Full Metal Jacket way.

The remaining arcs of the Season only continued to amp up the action, drama, and suspense in a wonderful way.  I was rooting for both Eren in his violent bloody quest and strangely rooting for the Titans on their seemingly purposeless desire to just destroy everything and devour everyone.

The Characters

Eren Jager – In the first episodes, it was quite apparent that Eren was driven by emotion and passion rather than logic and reason, standard for any shounen hero.  Eren wasn’t a very deep character, he was what he was, and he didn’t change or grow much since the first episodes.

Mikasa Ackerman – Mikasa was portrayed as the show’s badass from the very first episode, and that didn’t change much over the first season.  Whether she was being Eren’s bodyguard or the muscle to back up his lofty words, Mikasa was an ass whooping in a can, ready to explode at whomever Eren pointed her.  She did have some character development over the season, and her backstory was explored, delving into  the traumatic events that led to her adoption.

Armin Arlelt – Armin had the most character development over this first season.  He went from a helpless friend of Eren’s to a brillant strategist, mostly due to his powers of deduction, observation skills, and uses of logic and reasoning.  He was basically the opposite of Eren.

The Animation / Art

Production I.G. is known for their stunning animation, they’re behind several great animes such as Ghost in the Shell, FLCL, Guilty Crown, and more, and Attack on Titan was no disappointment. The fight scenes were packed with action and the characters zipping around using the 3d maneuver gear was visually stunning.

The character design was great.  The thickly drawn black lines used for profiles and outlines really separate the characters from the background.

There were visual differences in the facial structures of the characters from the main characters to the secondary and characters.  It really broke up the “same face” issue that some anime’s suffer from. 

The background art wasn’t overlooked in favor of the characters, either.  There were tons of great shots of intricate and mood setting scenes in the cities and forests outside the walls. 

In a shounen anime, it’s all about action, and this anime has some of the best animation for the fights and 3d maneuver travel that I’ve seen in a while.  The 3d maneuver gear allowed the soldiers to travel around the city and forest at incredibly high speeds, swinging about like Spider-man wielding blades in each hand.

Soundtrack

The opening theme EP 1-13 “Guren no Yumiya” by Linked Horizon was amazing, it’s instantly catchy and one of the best OP I’ve heard in a while.

What I Didn’t Like:

In mangas, dramatic headshots are sometimes used to capture emotion, and, often, animes try to recreate the same look and feel by using a still frame with “speed lines.”  Not only were the attempts to do so in Attack on Titan, in order to add drama and tension, hit or miss, but they were used too often and became stale.

You can purchase Attack on Titan part 1 on Blu-Ray here:

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