Attack on Titan (2013)

[進撃の巨人]

Season 1

Director: Tetsuro Araki
Studio: Wit Studio, Production IG
Starring: Yuuki Kaji, Yui Ishikawa, Marina Inoue
Episodes: 25

Synopsis:
The last remnants of humanity huddle inside a massive walled city, their only defense from the ravening Titans. A hundred years of relative peace is shattered when the outer wall is breached. A doctor's son, his adoptive sister and their friend vow to make a stand and join the army to take part in humanity's counter-attack.

Impressions:
There probably aren't many serious anime fans who haven't seen Attack on Titan. It was the big thing of 2013. They had me at the amazing first opening. It's funny, not realizing the bad translation that is the English title, I actually thought it was going to be a scifi series set on the Saturnian moon of Titan when I first heard people talking about it. I started watching not long after Episode 19 aired in Japan and I marathoned all 19 of those episodes in a single all-nighter. It's that good. The fact that I marathoned most of the show may be why I'm not one of the people who complain about the pacing. I suppose if you boil it down, especially in the latter half, not a lot happens from one episode to the next, but that never bothered me. If anything, I thought the deliberate pace was rather thematic (and having nothing at all to do with the fact that the manga is serialized on a monthly basis).

There's a lot to love, even as you keep on getting knocked down in the dirt and ground underfoot. If you don't like getting player punched by your entertainment, this may not be the show for you, but if you've got the guts to wear the Wings of Freedom, strap on your ODM gear and sharpen your blades because your job is to carve meat and Titans are very meaty.

Rating:
Own It