Attack on Titan - Season 1 - My Thoughts

Attack on Titan Season 1 is a great introduction to one of the best anime I've ever watched. Great cast of characters, great motivation, and splendid opening OST. I really like the world building gets done in this anime, and how threatning the Titans are, making the humans tremble in fear anytime that a Titan is even mentioned. A lot of parts in this season are really sad and dark, but it's nice to see how the characters don't give up hope where hope should have already been lost.

The trio of protagonists (Eren, Mikasa and Armin) go so well together, given that they motivate themselves through really hard times. Probably one of my favorite trio of anime protagonists all around. Other characters like Levi, Hange and all other Survey Corps are just amazingly written as well. I just don't give it a perfect score because it's quite obvious who the main villain in this season is, as well as some episodes being too "dragged" for me, given that some are really slow and with a lot of flashbacks. The season is also longer than most anime out there, so it's a bit too much for just one singular season, maybe.

The way the story is told is also a pivotal part, showing that the humans are in danger yet agains due to the threat of the Titans after 100 years of peace. It's quite sad to see all the human civilization in the walls getting utterly destroyed, alongside their houses and everything they knew about being happy once. I think the music also plays a huge part here in order to make the viewer engaged to the narrative, and I love how it's a mix of German-Japanese lyrics, especially in the openings, and as I said before, I genuinely think it's one of the best opening and ending songs I've ever seen in an anime before, worthy of saving on your playlists if you want to.

Talking about the animation, it's really great even for its time. Although nowadays the animation has gotten much better (even with later seasons of Attack on Titan), the start of it is not bad actually. I just think the black outline that is attached to the characters to be a bit of a nuisance because they are a lot more visible than other works. It's not something to give up watching about of course, but it's also pretty noticeable, even for a casual watcher, and it may become a nuisance to some more strict watchers (although I don't think anybody would care too much about that in the first place).

Nevertheless, it's a great start, I defintely reccomend everyone giving this a try! It's a nostalgic anime for me, one of the first to actually resonate with me. I watched it the first time a long time ago, and revisit it is being such a joy, it makes me want to grab the physical manga someday as well. If you like anime with deep lore, deep characters and engaging storyline, this is a must-watch.