It's true - every great thing I've ever heard about the Japanese Anime' series "Attack on Titan" is true. A friend of mine recommended this series to me a while back, and I finally just got around to watching the first half of the first season on DVD. I can only hope it gets better from here.
In the year 845 in the distant future (?), mankind is at war with the Titans, massive humanoid creatures of unknown origin, are of varying size and strength, and who appear to possess very little in the way of intelligence - yet share a ravenous appetite for human flesh. The remnants of human civilization have barricaded themselves behind massive walled cities as their only form of defense against the Titans, who attack at random and seemingly without any thought or purpose.
At the beginning of the series, over a hundred years have passed without a major attack from the Titans. But that relative peace is shattered when one day a massive new breed of Titan called a "Colossal" smashes through the walls of the southern city of Shinganshina. In Shinganshina, we're introduced to three childhood friends - Eren Jaeger, his adoptive sister Mikasa Ackermann, and their mutual friend Armin Arlert. During the attack, Eren witnesses his mother being devoured by one of the creatures.
Two years later (and in using an important plot point bearing similarity to Robert A. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers"), the three then enlist in the military to help fight in the war against the Titans. By the time they graduate from the military academy in the year 850 and have joined the fight to save humanity, Mikasa proves to be the most physically skilled at killing Titans (who despite their apparent resistance to physical injury and tend to regenerate quickly from whatever wounds they do sustain in battle, do have one weak spot on the back of their neck). Armin is the weakest of the three, yet is later revealed to be an expert battlefield strategist and tactician. And lastly, there's the wild-card of Eren Jaeger, who is soon revealed to have a unique ability that may just help turn the tide of the war against the Titans in favor of humanity.
"Attack on Titan" is adapted from the best-selling, critically acclaimed Japanese Manga series of the same name created by Hajime Isayama and published by Kodansha in Japan. This is one of the most gripping, thrilling, and harrowing Anime' series I've seen in a long while. Perhaps the most credit belongs to series director Tetsuro Araki, who was also behind the superior "Death Note" and "Highschool of the Dead" (the latter of which I never saw, but have already read the original Manga).
"Attack on Titan" places many different elements into the mix, from horror, to dark fantasy, to the post-apocalyptic thriller, to the futuristic war film. "Attack on Titan" is also not an Anime' series for young children. The series is quite gruesome in its depiction of violence - against humans and Titans alike - and there's lots of blood. Yet in spite of what I just wrote, the series is admirably restrained in its depiction of the most graphic carnage - preferring to leave such things to the imagination of the viewer.
Some have compared "Attack on Titan" as being Japan's equivalent to the American TV horror series "The Walking Dead" (which I also adore). I can honestly see some of the comparisons, since both "Attack on Titan" and "The Walking Dead" possess gripping characters and story-lines. Despite the vastly different subject matter, both series do ultimately depict a bleak future for humanity in the face of certain apocalyptic doom. Yet in spite of it all, in both series there is a faint glimmer of hope, and a case is made for humanity's continued survival (if not to continue to remain the dominant species left on Earth).
I can say that "Attack on Titan" does have a new fan in this thoroughly impressed viewer. I can't wait to see the second half of season one.
10/10
P.S.: The opening theme song - "Guren no Yumiya" (literally translated from Japanese as "Crimson Bow And Arrow")/"Feuerroter Pfeil Und Bogen" (German spelling) - by Linked Horizon is one of the most thrilling opening songs I've ever heard in a Japanese Anime' series. Too bad it's not used throughout the whole series (my only serious gripe so far)...
In the year 845 in the distant future (?), mankind is at war with the Titans, massive humanoid creatures of unknown origin, are of varying size and strength, and who appear to possess very little in the way of intelligence - yet share a ravenous appetite for human flesh. The remnants of human civilization have barricaded themselves behind massive walled cities as their only form of defense against the Titans, who attack at random and seemingly without any thought or purpose.
At the beginning of the series, over a hundred years have passed without a major attack from the Titans. But that relative peace is shattered when one day a massive new breed of Titan called a "Colossal" smashes through the walls of the southern city of Shinganshina. In Shinganshina, we're introduced to three childhood friends - Eren Jaeger, his adoptive sister Mikasa Ackermann, and their mutual friend Armin Arlert. During the attack, Eren witnesses his mother being devoured by one of the creatures.
Two years later (and in using an important plot point bearing similarity to Robert A. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers"), the three then enlist in the military to help fight in the war against the Titans. By the time they graduate from the military academy in the year 850 and have joined the fight to save humanity, Mikasa proves to be the most physically skilled at killing Titans (who despite their apparent resistance to physical injury and tend to regenerate quickly from whatever wounds they do sustain in battle, do have one weak spot on the back of their neck). Armin is the weakest of the three, yet is later revealed to be an expert battlefield strategist and tactician. And lastly, there's the wild-card of Eren Jaeger, who is soon revealed to have a unique ability that may just help turn the tide of the war against the Titans in favor of humanity.
"Attack on Titan" is adapted from the best-selling, critically acclaimed Japanese Manga series of the same name created by Hajime Isayama and published by Kodansha in Japan. This is one of the most gripping, thrilling, and harrowing Anime' series I've seen in a long while. Perhaps the most credit belongs to series director Tetsuro Araki, who was also behind the superior "Death Note" and "Highschool of the Dead" (the latter of which I never saw, but have already read the original Manga).
"Attack on Titan" places many different elements into the mix, from horror, to dark fantasy, to the post-apocalyptic thriller, to the futuristic war film. "Attack on Titan" is also not an Anime' series for young children. The series is quite gruesome in its depiction of violence - against humans and Titans alike - and there's lots of blood. Yet in spite of what I just wrote, the series is admirably restrained in its depiction of the most graphic carnage - preferring to leave such things to the imagination of the viewer.
Some have compared "Attack on Titan" as being Japan's equivalent to the American TV horror series "The Walking Dead" (which I also adore). I can honestly see some of the comparisons, since both "Attack on Titan" and "The Walking Dead" possess gripping characters and story-lines. Despite the vastly different subject matter, both series do ultimately depict a bleak future for humanity in the face of certain apocalyptic doom. Yet in spite of it all, in both series there is a faint glimmer of hope, and a case is made for humanity's continued survival (if not to continue to remain the dominant species left on Earth).
I can say that "Attack on Titan" does have a new fan in this thoroughly impressed viewer. I can't wait to see the second half of season one.
10/10
P.S.: The opening theme song - "Guren no Yumiya" (literally translated from Japanese as "Crimson Bow And Arrow")/"Feuerroter Pfeil Und Bogen" (German spelling) - by Linked Horizon is one of the most thrilling opening songs I've ever heard in a Japanese Anime' series. Too bad it's not used throughout the whole series (my only serious gripe so far)...