seid ihr das essen? Nein, wir sind der jaeger!
It’s a struggle for me to sit down and watch start a new show even though my Netflix queue is full of programs that I’m quite interested to see. Anime is especially tough, since I tend to find many of the less inspired tropes tiresome while also wanting to enjoy the more creative aspects of the medium that make it unique. Attack of Titan has been on my radar for some time, and my queue for nearly as long. I hadn’t started it for a number of reasons- one being the really popular anime can be totally on the mark (Madoka) or just incredibly bothersome despite said popularity (Sword Art Online)
--very minor spoilers for the first three episodes aka the premise--
It doesn’t help that I still feel burned by Sword Art Online’s awesome premise and great opening only to run into far too many issues that made me, in a rare move, actually put the show down completely by the time the second season rolled around.
But this is not about that show. It’s about Attack on Titan. Going in I pretty knew only knew the following:
-The show was about humans versus something called ‘Titans’
-‘Titans’ are giant naked people who eat humans. They also appear in scurry no skin variants.
-The opening and ending themes are awesome
-There is a character named Eren, and a character named Jaeger. (Yeah, the thought that the character’s name was Eren Jaeger didn’t occur to me.)
-The show has horror elements
-There's a military/police force/space marine/hunter/superhero group that wears cool jackets
So, basically, I knew about what the synopsis on Netflix told me.
Going in blind is pretty much my favorite way to enter a new story, so being three episodes in and I have to say that I’m pretty engrossed. Overall I dig the art style. There’s a manga/comic-vibe to it in the way the shading sometimes appears as these heavy shadows in moments of horror/comedy that looks pretty unique. There’s been a few times where the scene was nearly completely static but they are done well and usefully emphasize some harrowing emotion so it doesn't feel like it's cutting corners so much as it's a deliberate artistic vision. The scenes that aren’t static tend to be pretty fluid in regards to the action.
Music is great. I had head both the opening and closing before on YouTube and always liked them. The music during the show is pretty great too, nice and soft when needed but not afraid to get nice and operatic for really dramatic scenes. Sets the mood well.
Acting is solid- I’m watching the sub (it’s the only version available on Netflix). But let’s talk about the meat of any good series- the story and characters. The first two episodes showing the fall of Shinganshina were riveting and was a really strong start to the series. We’re introduced to the three important characters quickly and learn enough about them to get the gist of their personalities before the plot literally tears down a wall and makes itself known.
The pacing was excellent with enough time spent on the characters and their motivations, while not shying away from the action and genuinely terrifying imagery. The show doesn’t shy from blood but a lot of the best shots are ones that are more evocative of the insinuated violence than actual gore. There’s a number of great images that are still with me the next day, one example being the woman who tries to hide in an alley when a Titan grabs her by her head and pulls her off screen as she screams and thrashes around. A heartbeat later and her show falls into the foreground. It’s a moment that made me shiver.
Eren Jaeger (one person, not two) our protagonist is actually a pretty great choice thus far. He’s got a lot of rage and has already had some pretty intense character building moments. I can really respect the idea of a person who is so tired of feeling so powerless that they strive to become strong (see Edward from FFIV or any other number of people I love).
His fury is unlike the majority of protagonists I’ve seen thus far in that it feels completely justifiable, without turning him into a completely unlikable jerk (thus far). His ‘weakness’ (i.e being a human) is a real hurdle he’ll need to overcome and so it looks like he’ll avoid one of the pitfalls the protagonist of that other show fell into.
The others are interesting too: beautiful and mysterious Mikasa is on my radar, while I’m curious to see what becomes of Armin. I actually likes Hannes from the beginning two episodes, though I feel like we maaaaayyyy not be seeing him again.
Even though some of the plot developments were obvious with special consideration going to Dad showing off a mysterious key while promising to ‘finally show (Eren) what’s in the basement’, the promise of returning ‘soon’, and Mom and Eren’s fight right after a few scenes of showing just how complacent the townspeople have become being a mallet to the head that BAD THINGS ARE GONNA HAPPEN, since it’s the initial set-up it’s understandable and the acting/pacing made it enjoyable.
And hey, let’s talk about the number of questions the first three episodes have already raised:
-Titans:
-What are they?
-Where do they come from?
-Why do they look the way they do?
-Why do they eat humans?
-What is their purpose?
-Why are their different versions of them?
-ALL THE QUESTIONS
-What is up with Eren’s weird flashback/dreams? The first one was especially odd, but his second was pretty telling when he ended up with his dad’s key even after asking Mikasa if his dad showed up.
-Speaking of Eren’s dad…what’s up with him? He seems to know a lot about something.
-What’s up with the Plot Key?
-See above but re: Mikasa. Mysterious, an instant pro at the omni-tool, stoic and completely devoted to Eren. Why, though? What’s her history? Why is she so close to him? And please be better done that Asuna. Please.
I only hope we get resolutions to these questions. So yeah, so far I’m pretty engrossed. We’ll see if it can keep it up.
--very minor spoilers for the first three episodes aka the premise--
It doesn’t help that I still feel burned by Sword Art Online’s awesome premise and great opening only to run into far too many issues that made me, in a rare move, actually put the show down completely by the time the second season rolled around.
But this is not about that show. It’s about Attack on Titan. Going in I pretty knew only knew the following:
-The show was about humans versus something called ‘Titans’
-‘Titans’ are giant naked people who eat humans. They also appear in scurry no skin variants.
-The opening and ending themes are awesome
-There is a character named Eren, and a character named Jaeger. (Yeah, the thought that the character’s name was Eren Jaeger didn’t occur to me.)
-The show has horror elements
-There's a military/police force/space marine/hunter/superhero group that wears cool jackets
So, basically, I knew about what the synopsis on Netflix told me.
Going in blind is pretty much my favorite way to enter a new story, so being three episodes in and I have to say that I’m pretty engrossed. Overall I dig the art style. There’s a manga/comic-vibe to it in the way the shading sometimes appears as these heavy shadows in moments of horror/comedy that looks pretty unique. There’s been a few times where the scene was nearly completely static but they are done well and usefully emphasize some harrowing emotion so it doesn't feel like it's cutting corners so much as it's a deliberate artistic vision. The scenes that aren’t static tend to be pretty fluid in regards to the action.
Music is great. I had head both the opening and closing before on YouTube and always liked them. The music during the show is pretty great too, nice and soft when needed but not afraid to get nice and operatic for really dramatic scenes. Sets the mood well.
Acting is solid- I’m watching the sub (it’s the only version available on Netflix). But let’s talk about the meat of any good series- the story and characters. The first two episodes showing the fall of Shinganshina were riveting and was a really strong start to the series. We’re introduced to the three important characters quickly and learn enough about them to get the gist of their personalities before the plot literally tears down a wall and makes itself known.
The pacing was excellent with enough time spent on the characters and their motivations, while not shying away from the action and genuinely terrifying imagery. The show doesn’t shy from blood but a lot of the best shots are ones that are more evocative of the insinuated violence than actual gore. There’s a number of great images that are still with me the next day, one example being the woman who tries to hide in an alley when a Titan grabs her by her head and pulls her off screen as she screams and thrashes around. A heartbeat later and her show falls into the foreground. It’s a moment that made me shiver.
Eren Jaeger (one person, not two) our protagonist is actually a pretty great choice thus far. He’s got a lot of rage and has already had some pretty intense character building moments. I can really respect the idea of a person who is so tired of feeling so powerless that they strive to become strong (see Edward from FFIV or any other number of people I love).
His fury is unlike the majority of protagonists I’ve seen thus far in that it feels completely justifiable, without turning him into a completely unlikable jerk (thus far). His ‘weakness’ (i.e being a human) is a real hurdle he’ll need to overcome and so it looks like he’ll avoid one of the pitfalls the protagonist of that other show fell into.
The others are interesting too: beautiful and mysterious Mikasa is on my radar, while I’m curious to see what becomes of Armin. I actually likes Hannes from the beginning two episodes, though I feel like we maaaaayyyy not be seeing him again.
Even though some of the plot developments were obvious with special consideration going to Dad showing off a mysterious key while promising to ‘finally show (Eren) what’s in the basement’, the promise of returning ‘soon’, and Mom and Eren’s fight right after a few scenes of showing just how complacent the townspeople have become being a mallet to the head that BAD THINGS ARE GONNA HAPPEN, since it’s the initial set-up it’s understandable and the acting/pacing made it enjoyable.
And hey, let’s talk about the number of questions the first three episodes have already raised:
-Titans:
-What are they?
-Where do they come from?
-Why do they look the way they do?
-Why do they eat humans?
-What is their purpose?
-Why are their different versions of them?
-ALL THE QUESTIONS
-What is up with Eren’s weird flashback/dreams? The first one was especially odd, but his second was pretty telling when he ended up with his dad’s key even after asking Mikasa if his dad showed up.
-Speaking of Eren’s dad…what’s up with him? He seems to know a lot about something.
-What’s up with the Plot Key?
-See above but re: Mikasa. Mysterious, an instant pro at the omni-tool, stoic and completely devoted to Eren. Why, though? What’s her history? Why is she so close to him? And please be better done that Asuna. Please.
I only hope we get resolutions to these questions. So yeah, so far I’m pretty engrossed. We’ll see if it can keep it up.