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This review will not only cover the first season but Ill try to keep spoilers to a minimum.
Attack on Titan is one of the most popular anime out there and what can I say? It deserves all the attention its getting. The world, the characters, the animation, art, everything is just amazing.
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Let me start off by talking about the setting in general:
The premise of the show is pretty easy to understand which is one of the main reasons it gained popularity so quickly. Humanity is trapped inside three massive walls and there are titans all around them. Nobody knows where they came from or how they work exactly, so all they can do is stay in those walls and hope for the best. For a hundred years this worked out fine, until the Colossal Titan breaches the outer gate of Shiganshina, the city the main cast, Eren Jäger, Armin Arlert and Mikasa Ackerman live in. During that point in the show they're still kids but Eren swears that he'll kill every single titan out there. Fast-forward a few years and they all joined the military. There are 3 different military regiments: The Scout Regiment, The Garrison Regiment and the Military Police. The Scout Regiment ventures outside of the walls to gain information about the titans and kill them by using their 3D maneuver gear, which allows them to swing around with grappling hooks attached to their hips. They then damage the nape of the titans with swords, which is the only way to kill them. Eren, together with Armin and Mikasa, join the Scout regiment. Again, the premise of the show is fairly simple to understand, (in the beginning at least) but that's exactly what makes it so interesting. Attack on Titan doesn't hold your hand and doesn't explain everything by making characters suddenly talk about how Titans can be killed for example, for no reason at all. Instead, there is a flashback that explains it, which also clears up other things. This way of delivering information to the viewer makes it feel more natural. However, during the middle of each episode you'll see images and text showing up on screen for a few seconds with information about the world, so if you are interested you can pause and read those, which I always did.
Next, let me talk about the animation / art:
Attack on Titan looks amazing. The art has a pretty unique style and the animations are fluid almost constantly. Just looking at the background or characters is fun. The animation really begins to stand out, when the 3D maneuver gear is used or when Titans fight each other and you can really feel the impact of each move and hit, it never gets boring. Even if you don't care about the story a lot you'll most likely still enjoy the show simply because of the fights. In season 4 CGI is used occasionally but it really didn't bother me all that much. People act like it looks horrible when it's probably some of the best CGI that I've seen in anime. I really have nothing else to say about the art and animation, its just a 10/10 imo.
The characters:
I love the characters in this show. Everyone has their own reason to exist. Nobody feels like he could be replaced by just anyone. Not only is every character unique and behaves realistically, they also look great. Even though everyone wears the same outfit for the most part of the show (their uniform) they still look very different from each other which again shows how great the art is. In some parts of the show, the main cast is barely even present, however, that doesn't make it boring at all. There aren't just 2 or 3 characters that carry the entire show, it's everyone together. Characters that are barely even present in the first season, suddenly become an important part of the story in the next. Its all so well put together and that brings me to the next part of the review.
The story:
I've already talked about the story in the beginning of the review but there is one thing that I've noticed while re-watching the show recently. And that's the foreshadowing. It's insane just how many spoilers there were in the beginning of the show and how many times things have been clearly hinted at, but you'd never notice because you're not meant to yet. This just shows how much work was put into carefully putting the story together from beginning to end. I've heard some people complain about the pacing but I really don't think the pacing is off at all. In just three episodes the main cast goes from being children to enlisting in the military I really don't see how that's supposed to be slow.
The music:
Most of you have probably heard one of the opening or ending songs of Attack on Titan even if you haven't watched it yet and that's because the music is just as amazing as the visuals. The music just doesn't miss. Each OST compliments the scene beautifully and the opening and ending songs are just as amazing. The first opening is all about hunting and killing the titans, while the 6th opening (season 4) is more about war and the suffering of mankind. Not once have I felt like the music doesn't fit while watching the show that's just how good it is.
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In conclusion:
If you haven't watched this already I highly recommend you do. Its great from start to finish and I can't wait to see how they'll adapt the rest of the manga which I've already read because I just couldn't wait any longer.
