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Year: 2013-2023
Genre: Gore, Military, Survival, Action, Drama
Episodes: 87 and 2 specials (final episodes)
Rating: 6 out of 5
When you think of the word “titan,” what comes to mind? Do you think of the Titans in Greek Mythology? The ones that fought against the gods only to fall. Could go with Clash of the Titans. When you think of the word, what really comes to mind? Is it a beast that is taller than buildings and has incredible power? Take a moment to think. What if Titans were man-eating beings that looked precisely like people but way taller and pronounced features? They have no rationale, and the darkness keeps them immobile until the sun emerges. How about living in a world where humanity lives behind three giant walls to keep you safe? One way to provide for you and your family is to join some part of the military where one section is known to die but also protect. Would you want this world? Well, ladies and gentlemen, I present one of the BEST and AMAZING anime series ever. Get ready for Attack on Titan!!
Overview:
Centuries ago, the world turned to hell. Mankind was on the brink of extinction as monstrous humanoid creatures called Titans roamed, eating all humans in their path. With nowhere to go, mankind decided to hide behind enormous concentric walls. Everything seems fine after one hundred years of peace and not a single encounter with the Titans. Life seems peaceful until the world is shattered when a colossal Titan shows up and does the impossible: destroy the impregnable outer wall. Soon, the fight for survival begins again.
Attack on Titan revolves around Eren Yeager. During an attack by the Titans, Eren witnesses his mother being eaten alive by a smiling-faced titan. Eren decides to dedicate his life to eradicating all titans in the world. Eren decides to enroll in the Survey Corps. This elite military unit combats the merciless humanoids outside the protection of the walls. With the help of his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman and his childhood friend Armin Arlert, the three begin their quest to defend the walls and kill all Titans.
Review:
Attack on Titan is one of the most intense, darkest, emotional, and jaw-dropping anime I have ever seen. You want to know something? I ABSOLUTELY FREAKIN LOVE IT! Holy shit is this anime amazing, fantastic, excellent, exceptional, and every other word on that level you can think of. I have seen a lot of anime in my life, and nothing prepared me for how amazing this anime is. It is violent and not for the faint of heart, but the story, action, characters, and music are all great. This anime might have broken my top 5 best anime of all time.
The story, as explained in the overview, is just a taste of what this anime is like, but nothing comes close to what you expect. Season 1 is straight intensity and action. I was looking for an episode where it would let up and give me a chance to breathe, but it didn’t. It was go, go, go all the way through. The first two episodes set up the horror that you are about to witness with the introduction of the Titans, and they break through the walls and just eat people. You see people’s heads getting chewed on and the screams. It is just depressing for the main characters. You think that training for the military would be calm, but NOPE! The drill sergeant is intense and plays no games. The funniest part was when Sasha ate a potato in front of him and the look on his face. After that, you see an image of the new recruits standing on the wall, and you think the adventure is about to begin. The Colossal Titan appears out of nowhere, and then you know it is just the beginning. Every step of the way during this season is BRUTAL and INTENSE. When the Female Titan appears, people frisking die in the bunches. To be honest, do not get attached to any character because they might not survive at all except for Captain Levi. He is the baddest muthasucka in the world. What I like about this anime is that it doesn’t hold back on the violence. It is like, I am going to show you a depressing world, and this is how it will be. The season ends on such a depressing but high note. I love this anime for the atmosphere.
Most anime series fall off during the second season. This series was like NOPE! We are going full blast and keeping the intensity high. Season 2 might be the shortest at 12 episodes, but it is still amazing to watch. This season focuses on some of the cadets that Eren and the crew trained with. It goes into more of their background and shows more people who will betray others and turn into titans. Secrets are uncovered in this season in a significant way. The anime also brings the appearance of the very creepy Beast Titan. The first episode with the Beast Titan gave me a shiver, and knowing that its power is pretty crazy will make your jaw drop. Finally, if you want to see one of the hardest muthasuckin commanders, look no further than Erwin. Homeboy leads a valiant charge that is one of the craziest charges I have ever seen.
I didn’t think an anime could improve in a third season, and this anime sure kept it up. The intensity, drama, backstories, and fights all stood up again. This anime never seems to let up at all, and it just keeps hitting you all over in the face with emotions. The primary purpose of this season was to take back the lost wall that Eren and the crew had to evacuate from five years ago. We also learn about the lives of Levi, Erwin, and Eren’s dad, and let me tell you that shit got real. Eren’s dad’s story is the one that sets it off. The action is when the Survey Corps battles against the Beast Titan and his flunkies. You want to talk about a battle, this is the one. This is the anime where Levi goes ultimate mode.
I know I said this about season three but season four was FREAKIN UNREAL!! I feel like this anime seems to one-up itself each season. The freakin storyline is just mwah! Almost perfection. I love season four because it shows how Eren says fuck it and goes way off the deep end. Dude gives zero fucks about anyone and goes on a destructive rampage. You can see the hatred in his eyes. A hatred that has fully developed to unseen levels in the past four years. The best scene is when Eren unleashes the Attack Titan during the speech. There is so much political movement. I found it a nice touch to add Marley fighting or ending their war and introducing the other Titans.
I finally watched the final two episodes of Attack on Titan. I am going to call it Season 5 because they are two episodes ranging about an hour apiece. It picks up exactly with Chapter 1: the Rumbling. Holy shit, did the animators decide to go all out. The Rumbling is intense, and the animators hold nothing back with people getting trampled. The first ten minutes will have your mouth on the ground. Yet, you feel for Erin and Armin as what they dreamed of wasn’t close to reality. Wow, for Hange! Her whole fine scene and standoff were perfection. I almost cried as her ending was a perfect wrap-up for this character. I had to applaud how the anime showed her afterlife. Chapter 2: Sinners was a breather as we learn that the team decided that they have to kill Eren because Eren pretty much said Fuck You, I ain’t stopping.
The Final Chapter is where it is at. Chapter 3: The Battle of Heaven and Earth lived up to its name. The freakin first 30 minutes are INSANE!! It is straight-up action, with balls to the limit. My heart almost exploded in my chest because it was so intense. Then it switches it up and shows the big ass titans walking around the world. It has somber music where we see people falling off cliffs and despair in their eyes as they know death is coming. It doesn’t help seeing people get crushed under the Titan’s feet. The scene with the baby is insane because everything is grey, and the baby is in red being brought to the front. It reminded me of Schindler’s List and the girl with the red coat. Levi went hard against Zeke. He didn’t have to do him like that. Holy shit, when Eren came out of that fire and transformed all his friends into Titans, I thought that was it for everyone. Holy Fuck, that final scene where Levi exploded through the air to open up Ern’s jaw was insane and intense. A thing of beauty. Also, Mikasa went HARD when she strapped on her scarf. She meant all business. The conversation between Armin and Eren is sad as we learn that Eren gave the ultimate sacrifice and the freakin music. He still going to hell, but damn. The scene with Levi looking at the ghosts of those who died in the survey corps is crazy. Even Jean and Coonie saw Sasha. The climax was one that I have to say I liked. The hatred of war lives on forever, and I would never think it would end. For people to raise armies after 80% of the world was destroyed is reasonable. As the credits roll, we see the tree Eren is buried under, but the kingdom goes from a kingdom to a futuristic city to war-torn to nothing. History repeated itself, but Eren’s tree still stood.
The animation is absolutely phenomenal! My god, the animation is so crisp and marvelous to look at. It seems like nothing is out of place, and all the colors and tones that were used were absolutely perfect. There are so many examples that I could give. One example is the appearance of the characters. The animators made sure to distinguish between people who have fought against the Titans and who haven’t. The ones that have fought against them have this blank, thousand-yard stare to them. The animators drew black circles that showed they had seen some shit, and it wasn’t good. The color scheme and tone are just darker. Even when the sun is out, and the scene is bright, the colors are dull because they live in a far depressing world. The way the Titans are drawn is fantastic. They are all drawn with either huge eyes, creepy smiles, or other distinct features. The way they are portrayed and how some of them run. They also have this particular look like a glow from their bodies because they produce steam. The Colossal Titan is nothing but raw muscle and steam. The Armored Titan looks like a mini-bolder. The craziest-looking one is the Beast Titan. Holy shit, is it creepy and the only one with fur. Each one is drawn so well that it is fantastic. Also, when Eren goes insane and is in his titan form, his eyes glow bright green, and it is just an intimidating look. In Season 4- the final chapter, the scene where Eren walks out of the fire in his titan form is straight-up menacing.
The use and animation behind the 3-D gear were also a highlight because they added to the overall appeal and eye-catching features. The way the characters move, and the steam the equipment produces is one thing, but when the characters fight, it brings a whole new element to this anime I have never seen before. When the characters attacked, they ATTACKED. Levi did his classic spinning move, and it was terrific. When Mikasa does her damn things, it is so smooth.
Another highlight is the freakin music. My god, it is intense, and it plays to your senses so well. There is no happy-go-lucky music in this anime. Get that shit out of here. This music is like going to an opera or having some heavy metal. It is dramatic, intense and adds to every scene. It gives you a sense of danger, and nothing is truly safe. Even when the heroes start to prevail, the music never lets up with its opera feel. I love the music and the emotions it brought to this anime. Season 3 music is fantastic, as many of the songs actually have words. This anime did something that I rarely talk about. It had me talking about the music. I usually skip over it because it’s not essential to me, but damn, was it great in this anime. All other anime series need to use this anime as a template for great music selection. Season 4 music is on point. The music for when Hange fought against the Titans gave me freakin chills. The freakin music from Season 4 is outstanding. I know I said it, but damn, it’s great.
I am going to let you know this now. If you are fond of a character, you might as well know that they will probably die. Almost EVERYONE dies in this anime besides the really badass and special characters. That is one reason this anime works so freakin well. You never know who is about to get eaten by a titan. As for the characters, I guess we start with Eren Yeager. I personally don’t care too much for Erin. I think he is a whiny little punk. He is always talking about fighting and moving on, but he usually gets his ass handed to him or has Mikasa bail him out with her skills. I can’t stand the dude in the beginning. I will say that when the new seasons hit, Erin’s whole demeanor changes. He becomes a monster that has seen the future and tried hard to change it. No matter what he did, he couldn’t. The later seasons changed the way I felt because, in the end, he was a tortured soul.
Armin Arlert is one of the most liked characters. He knows his strengths and weaknesses. Even though he is scared, homeboy has the brains and seems to figure out anything in the heat of battle. Commander Eriwn is a muthasuckin BEAST! Listen, in season 2, when he gave the order to charge, that was an insane move. As he was in charge, homeboy’s arm got caught in a titan’s mouth, and as the Titan was running off, he still screamed for his men to attack. Homeboy never lost sight of the mission and goal. He was a straight GANGSTA!!!
Now my FAVORITE characters are Mikasa Ackerman and Levi Ackerman. You want to talk about the two baddest muthasuckas in the anime and world, then these two here are it. Holy shit, are they amazing. When they fight, they are absolutely ruthless and have such skills. Their theme song needs to be ASAP Ferg’s “New Level” because they were on a level that no one could handle. When Miskasa goes beast mode, homegirl is a terror, and she lets people know that they are not on her skill level. She is quiet most of the time, but when you piss her off, it is a sight to see. Oh my God, Levi is the hardest muthasucka I have seen. Dude gives zero f**ks. When he fights, dude goes to god mode. He literally looks at a situation and does the “Hold My Beer because shit is about to go off.” Just watch the scene when he fights the Beast Titan.
Attack on Titan is one of the greatest anime series of all time. Hands down, it should live in the top 10. I won’t put it in the top 5, but it might be close. The anime started with a bang, and then it didn’t let up. The final season was off the freaking chain. This anime has it all. It has the music, the animation, the characters, the story, and the action. I highly recommend watching this awesome anime. Strap in because you are going on a freakin wild ride.
BONUS CLIP!!!!
