Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan, in my eyes, is the greatest manga series of all time. Whether it be the powerful emotional punch it packs or the commentary on human nature it offers, AoT achieves a ton in its 139-chapter run. This review will mainly be talking about the strengths of AoT, including how it executes its themes, characters, and more. Let's get started.

Be aware that this is not spoiler-free, as I will be touching on many things, the ending included.

I'll begin by talking about more technical things before getting into the meat of the review. Firstly, the art of Hajime Isayama. Isayama in my eyes is a fantastic artist, and I think this mainly due to his portrayal of facial expressions and eyes. The way he exudes sentiments of fear and terror through the characters' expressions, and also the way he blends these with dialogue is special. His art early on can be a little questionable at times, but his early art also fits the earlier arcs perfectly anyway with how gritty it was. Take the Smiling Titan as an example; it was incredibly menacing in the first arc of the series. The overall art gets better as it goes on though, especially in Marley where his spreads are much more detailed and well presented. Paneling wise, Isayama is also great. He's able to craft seamless sequences (specifically ODM-gear scenes) that give you the thrills, and most importantly, effective perspective shots.

Now I will talk about the framework of the story.

AoT touches on a variety of themes and ideas: freedom, hope, love, cruelty, war, and so much more. All of these themes are brightly showcased through the characters, and in this regard is where I'd say AoT arguably thrives the most. Freedom is a motif that is touched upon in the story, and the rationale behind its 'true' meaning (if it even has one) is different for each character. Some key examples would be Eren, Armin, and Ymir (mainly the one from Marley). Eren's view on freedom is a very twisted one that was shaped by many factors, internal and external. Armin's view of freedom was shaped by many factors as well, but you can argue his stance on freedom is a lot more down to earth and realistic. Meanwhile, for Ymir, it's doing things on her own terms, mainly because she was forced into poor situations all her life. What AoT does with this idea of freedom - and most of its themes as a whole - is to completely shake your perspective and force you to re-evaluate your thought processes. Whether it be through offering parallels between characters in contrasting scenarios or showing the repercussions of certain norms, it achieves exactly what it sets out to do.

Another theme that we need to discuss is hatred, and specifically the cycle of hatred. As we know, the nation of Eldia initially dominated the rest of the world by gaining the power of Titans, then Marley wished to exact revenge several centuries later, striving to eliminate the 'Island Devils'. Once Eren and company made the realization that there was humanity beyond the walls, and that those beyond the walls were the ones leaving Titans on the Island, the series began to tackle this cycle of hatred in a more complex and serious matter. Mainly that through this cycle of war that ultimately leads to broken societies and devastated nations, there is nothing that can be achieved.

Only through understanding can there be a hopeful future. This idea is seamlessly brought to the forefront through characters such as Armin, Hange, Arthur Brauss, and more. This leads me into the idea of the 'Children of the Forest'. This idea tackles the reality that adults are the ones to bear the sins of the past, and that the children are the key to try to end the cycle. This idea takes shape when Arthur stops Gabi from being killed by Kaya. Escaping this Forest (cycle of hatred) is not possible unless the adults accept the sins of the past to create a mutual understanding that will naturally lead to a better future. This leads me to discuss the group that helps augment this motif: the Alliance. The Alliance as a group fundamentally oppose Eren. The reason they serve such importance is that they stand for humanity as a whole. They exist as a symbol of hope, and most importantly, they're not swept up by the cycle of hatred, instead striving for a better world which leaves a ripple effect for generations. It doesn't matter if the cycle perpetuates years after that; as long as there are those who strive for a better tomorrow, hope is never lost. And even if humanity is safely within a single land mass, infighting is still possible. People may think this points out that striving for a greater future is meaningless, but that is far from true. Just because it's difficult to come to this mutual understanding doesn't mean we should give up. Understandably, the final pages left viewers with a sour taste in their mouth, but with the amount of messaging Isayama has done regarding these ideas, I personally think they elevated the story.

When it comes to the cast itself and how each of them plays into the grander scheme of things, AoT is arguably second-to-none. Through our main protagonist, Eren Yeager, we learn a lot. Whether it be his obsessive pursuit of his selfish desires, or how he traps himself indirectly, Eren is someone not to aspire to be. He shackles himself by refusing to change and relentlessly pursuing an unrealistic dream, but at the same time not being able to tap into his true wishes (being with his loved ones) due to his own nature. He only becomes 'free' or unshackled through death. With the other two mains, Armin and Mikasa, we take away a lot as well. Armin was just like Eren; he believed the world outside the walls was mystical and free of humanity. Once he learned of the world's nature, instead of clinging onto his childish dreams, he strived towards mutual understanding. Mikasa, a character who was shown love through Eren, was always conflicted. Instead of letting her love for Eren blind her (like ymir's twisted love for king fritz), she saved humanity by doing the right thing while still accepting her feelings. From the Scouts trio, we can take away a lot as well. Levi is a soldier of humanity; he is someone who protects humanity and makes it his purpose to do things and make decisions for the greater good. Even by seeing his comrades sacrifice themselves, he takes it on himself to take the burden of his comrades in order to save the world. We could go further, but I think wrapping up this section will do.

The final thing I should touch on is the twists and world-building. The twists firstly are great. Regardless of how many hints are dropped that you catch on every reread, the twists deliver so much emotionally every time. Similarly, Isayama carefully treads for a solid portion of the series to build up potential twists, and when they finally happen, they hit hard. The reality of humanity existing beyond the walls (according to the information within the basement) is the best instance of this. In terms of world-building, it is somewhat interconnected to the twists. Isayama early on establishes the different corps and groups such as the many branches of the military, the existence of the Royal Family, and overall how the many factions parallel each other. All of them are significant to the series thematically and thrive off of each other. What's so impressive is how well planned and coordinated AoT's world-building is. I could reasonably talk about it for days, but this should be acceptable.

To conclude this longer-than-expected review, I would like to end off by saying not to let others affect your view on the series. It's always useful to hear what others have to say, but sometimes people will twist certain aspects of the story to fit their agenda. The solution I offer is quite literally just to read the story until you have a broad-enough view of the story and the themes it offers. You don't have to agree with me that this story is the greatest at all, but I still do recommend most people to give this series another chance, no matter how much you liked it or disliked it by the end. That's all for this review. If you somehow came this far, I appreciate it. Thanks for reading.