Attack on Titan has been heavily hyped for a long time, and as a result, it comes with high expectations in terms of quality. Given the subjective nature of any form of art, series can often fail to live up to this either because they were proclaimed to be far better than they could ever realistically be or because the characters just aren’t as well rounded as they should be.
Based on the AMVs on YouTube, you would be forgiven for thinking that Attack on Titan is simply a collection of blood stained battles with impossibly tall foes. Indeed, such scenes are not uncommon in the show and it certainly is not one for the faint of heart. In fact, the bloodshed at times nears the levels prevalent in the early success of VHS anime such as Akira and Ninja Scroll. This is not however all there is to the show.
The main characters all come with a lot of baggage and succeed in avoiding the pitfall of simply being ‘cool for cool’s sake’. Mikasa in particular embodies the modern ‘strong female lead that has long been a staple of anime, and the mix of her general drive and emotional responsiveness to the other main lead, Eren, makes her a real stand-out. In summary, the show is almost mis-sold by the bloody fan videos and an almost simplistic synopsis. Dig beneath all this and you will find a real gem of a series that more than deserves the tag of ‘modern classic’.
I love this series. Attack on Titan is a masterpiece in my opinon. The series manages to balance the somber world with hope for humanity. It has so far lived up to the hype and I hope it continues to do so. – Jiraiyan9 years ago
I absolutely agree. It was such a pleasant surprise for me, and if the second season can achieve a similar quality, I'll be very happy indeed. – mattdoylemedia9 years ago
You had me at: who were of course behind Ghost in the Shell: SAC – Tatijana8 years ago