Reviews for Shingeki no Kyojin (7.1) 5e2u

Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan

Introduction - "I am back"

So here it is, my second review. After my SAO-debut I felt compelled to give another mainstream series a shot. So bear with me, even if you think the show is nothing but a pile of dungpie .

Art & Animation - "My dear, you are a clunky beauty!"

Attack on Titan is a gorgeous show to look at - especially at first glance. The vibrant colors in combination with several lush panoramas and jaw-dropping vistas will deliver a lot of eye-candy to most otakus. Especially in close-ups the attention to detail can be staggering and some of the titans look simply phenomenal. CGI was done rather well too, sometimes it seemed a little blank and generic, though.
As far as animation quality goes, Shingeki No Kyojin is a mixed bag as well. While some episodes and scenes have been animated meticulously, others feel extremly clunky and stiff - to the point where there is almost no animation at all.

Despite these minor hick-ups it's a very nice show to look at.

8/10

Sound - "Epic mediocrity"

I loved the opening music, but - like last time - I will not take that into (since it's a very meaningless evaluation criteria).
As far as the actual soundtrack is concerned Attack on Titan offers what seems to be common for Shonen-/Seinen-shows these days: a lot of epic, bombastic, fantastic, majestic (blablabla) tracks with a general lack of own identity. I really did enjoy almost every track, but like other popular shows the soundtrack suffers from extensive repetition.

Most of the voicework is very solid even though it often borders on over-acting. Sound effects are top notch.

8/10

Story - "Going nowhere can be exciting too, right?!"

Like a lot of Shonen stuff Attack on Titan delivers a very intriguing setting and promise. While it's a typical "mankind is on the brink of extinction"-doomsday story, the actual setting and opening plot introduction are extremly compelling. Full marks for that, no doubt!
However, after just a few episodes the viewer is forced to learn that the plot generally goes nowhere at all. I have rarely seen a show (apart from stuff like Bleach and Co.) where events move so incredibly slowly. Throughout 25 episodes there is almost no development given to the titan-story at all. Instead the show focusses on dull conflicts between human organisations, which would be fine per se, if said organisations had been covered more carefully. While the recon branch of the military gets a fairly detailed portrait, nearly every other aspect of the interesting world is ignored, though, which is a real shame. This is why a lot of the story branches seem unimportant and uninteresting. The show does surely have its moments, but it's just not enough to rectify the general lack of story development.

I often felt like this kind of storytelling was a very cheap way of creating longevity for future seasons. Other shows have done this a lot better. I'm not punishing the show for its cliffhanger'esque ending, since it's clear as day that a second arc is bound to follow. But it could have been a lot better nonetheless. But I actually am interested how the titan-stuff turns out in the future, so at least there's that.

6/10

Characters - "Sheesh, I'm so forgetful, what was your name again?"

Characters are clearly the biggest flaw of the show. While Eren comes across as fairly interesting boy hero at first, he quickly incorporates the roll of the wimpy, boring and incredibly annoying shonen saviour who needs to suffer all the time in order to get angry in order to beat the overshadowing menace in order to be beaten to a pulp again in order to start the cycle anew. Eren is the epitome of a typical, underwhelming shonen main protagonist.
The other characters are extremly stereotypic as well, with captain Levi being the only positive exception.

The "antagonists" are even worse, since they have no character exposition or development at all. The titans just look threatening and nice, but that's it.

If the show wants to have a long lasting impact, this aspect needs to be improved greatly immediately.

4/10

Value - "Eight divided by fifteen."

It's an extremly normal shonen-show so far. You watch it once, you get excited at first, think it's awesome and gradually lose interest during the remainder of the show. You might re-watch some of the fights or listen to some of the soundtrack, but other than that Shingeki no Kyojin has no long-term value.

5/10

Enjoyment

There are a lot of episodes - especially at the beginning - that were really exciting. Some of the fights are very pleasing as well and I got hooked by the entire idea and setting in general. It just degenerates very quickly once you realize how little plot development there actually is and how uninteresting the characters are.
I did have a good time with most of the episodes, though. That's not something I can say about every anime these days.

7/10

Verdict

I can understand why people get hyped about this show, I really can. It offers a genuinely interesting setting, generally good production values and some exciting battles.
But that's it. And that's why it didn't really have a big impact on me. It has poor characters and a dull story development.
Certainly, there is potential lying somewhere for this show, but the creators need to bring up their game if they want to have a chance to keep their fanbase henceforth.

As it stands now, Attack on Titan is worth watching as long as your expectations aren't too high and as long as you accept that you are watching a typical shonen-show (with slightly increased brutality).

7/10

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Shadowbroker

written on 7.10.13