by Helen Langdon
For a lot of people, their experience of anime starts with Pokemon and ends with the Studio Ghibli output. But there’s so much more to it than that, and today on I’m With Geek we’re looking at one of the most exciting animes currently airing – Attack on Titan. With one season currently available to view on Netflix, a live-action version released later this year and season two on track for 2016, it’s the perfect time to catch up with the brutal tale of a post-apocalyptic fight for survival. And this is why.
For a lot of people, their experience of anime starts with Pokemon and ends with the Studio Ghibli output. But there’s so much more to it than that, and today on I’m With Geek we’re looking at one of the most exciting animes currently airing – Attack on Titan. With one season currently available to view on Netflix, a live-action version released later this year and season two on track for 2016, it’s the perfect time to catch up with the brutal tale of a post-apocalyptic fight for survival. And this is why.
The Plot
Don’t worry, no spoilers here. But the basic set-up of Attack on Titan isn’t just your ordinary “oh, no, we’re all going to die, but we won’t really, because humans are awesome!” post-apocalyptic story. In the world of the anime, one day these huge, humanoid creatures appeared, eating humans wherever they went and seemingly impervious to attack. The remains of humanity retreated behind huge walls, occasionally venturing out to fight the Titans and learn more about them. But that’s not all – there’s hidden betrayals, plots to discover and the general evils of humanity to overcome. No simple explanations for the threat here.
Don’t worry, no spoilers here. But the basic set-up of Attack on Titan isn’t just your ordinary “oh, no, we’re all going to die, but we won’t really, because humans are awesome!” post-apocalyptic story. In the world of the anime, one day these huge, humanoid creatures appeared, eating humans wherever they went and seemingly impervious to attack. The remains of humanity retreated behind huge walls, occasionally venturing out to fight the Titans and learn more about them. But that’s not all – there’s hidden betrayals, plots to discover and the general evils of humanity to overcome. No simple explanations for the threat here.
The Cliffhangers
Or maybe, more generally, how well-paced the season is. This isn’t a series that can be watched episode by episode, but instead you’re tricked into watching it in huge blocks. After all, who can stop watching when the characters are fighting off a Titan attack in the city? Or when a main character’s just been eaten? Or when they’re close to figuring out a conspiracy? No. You might as well be resigned to binge-watching it.
The Female Characters
Generally, action series tend not to be so hot on the female representation (Mad Max: Fury Road aside). And we’ve all seen the films where an untrained man is trained by a kickass woman for a short montage and ends up better than her (The Matrix, The Lego Movie, Wanted et al). Attack on Titan smashes those tropes in the face. The soldiers are about equally split down gender lines, with main character Mikasa one of the most naturally skilled soldiers in the army. She’s determined to protect Eren at all costs after he helped save her life as children, and after falling in love with him. The female characters aren’t forced into being “strong” women, either, more masculine than the men – they run the range of cold Annie, enthusiastic Titan scientist Hange, clumsy Sasha and the quietly passionate Mikasa.
Or maybe, more generally, how well-paced the season is. This isn’t a series that can be watched episode by episode, but instead you’re tricked into watching it in huge blocks. After all, who can stop watching when the characters are fighting off a Titan attack in the city? Or when a main character’s just been eaten? Or when they’re close to figuring out a conspiracy? No. You might as well be resigned to binge-watching it.
The Female Characters
Generally, action series tend not to be so hot on the female representation (Mad Max: Fury Road aside). And we’ve all seen the films where an untrained man is trained by a kickass woman for a short montage and ends up better than her (The Matrix, The Lego Movie, Wanted et al). Attack on Titan smashes those tropes in the face. The soldiers are about equally split down gender lines, with main character Mikasa one of the most naturally skilled soldiers in the army. She’s determined to protect Eren at all costs after he helped save her life as children, and after falling in love with him. The female characters aren’t forced into being “strong” women, either, more masculine than the men – they run the range of cold Annie, enthusiastic Titan scientist Hange, clumsy Sasha and the quietly passionate Mikasa.
All of the Male Characters Too
This may be something of a cop-out, but here’s the thing – all of the characters in Attack on Titan are pretty great. That doesn’t necessarily mean likeable; there’ll be more than one occasion when you want main character Eren to get eaten because he’s such an annoying brat. But at least he’s interesting, backstory-wise. And then there’s Armin, the clever part of the Eren-Mikasa-Armin triangle, barely able to assist physically but with all of the plans. And Captain Levi, the short, best human soldier, who’ll do anything to save his squad.
The Animation Style
It’s incredible. There’s a live-action movie version released soon, but there’s no way it’s going to look as good as the anime. The character designs are beautiful and distinct and the towns are wonderfully detailed. Also, the animation allows the creators to do incredible things with regards to the design of the Titans and the aerial acrobatics of the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear as the soldiers twist and defy gravity. It’d look cheesy in CGI, but in animation, it just makes you feel like you could fly too.
This may be something of a cop-out, but here’s the thing – all of the characters in Attack on Titan are pretty great. That doesn’t necessarily mean likeable; there’ll be more than one occasion when you want main character Eren to get eaten because he’s such an annoying brat. But at least he’s interesting, backstory-wise. And then there’s Armin, the clever part of the Eren-Mikasa-Armin triangle, barely able to assist physically but with all of the plans. And Captain Levi, the short, best human soldier, who’ll do anything to save his squad.
The Animation Style
It’s incredible. There’s a live-action movie version released soon, but there’s no way it’s going to look as good as the anime. The character designs are beautiful and distinct and the towns are wonderfully detailed. Also, the animation allows the creators to do incredible things with regards to the design of the Titans and the aerial acrobatics of the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear as the soldiers twist and defy gravity. It’d look cheesy in CGI, but in animation, it just makes you feel like you could fly too.
The Brutality
Here’s the thing. Animation doesn’t mean that everything has to be for kids – and Attack on Titan takes that to a whole new level. Saying that this is a series where people constantly die doesn’t really get across the horror of watching a woman be broken in two and then chewed, her blood falling upon her young son like rain. There’s no coyness about the fact that the Titans are consuming human flesh for the hell of it, and the only way to react is to carve up the back of their necks. Which leads to some chilling moments when the truth of the Titans is partially revealed... More body horror ahoy!
The Theme Tunes
Anime openings range in quality from iconic to generic J-Pop over a montage of series clips. Attack on Titan is on the iconic side, with two of the best opening sequences out there. Listen to these and you’ll instantly feel like going out to fight for humanity’s survival. Guaranteed to make even the laziest couch potato get up to exercise (or at least bop their heads in the middle of a binge watch).
Here’s the thing. Animation doesn’t mean that everything has to be for kids – and Attack on Titan takes that to a whole new level. Saying that this is a series where people constantly die doesn’t really get across the horror of watching a woman be broken in two and then chewed, her blood falling upon her young son like rain. There’s no coyness about the fact that the Titans are consuming human flesh for the hell of it, and the only way to react is to carve up the back of their necks. Which leads to some chilling moments when the truth of the Titans is partially revealed... More body horror ahoy!
The Theme Tunes
Anime openings range in quality from iconic to generic J-Pop over a montage of series clips. Attack on Titan is on the iconic side, with two of the best opening sequences out there. Listen to these and you’ll instantly feel like going out to fight for humanity’s survival. Guaranteed to make even the laziest couch potato get up to exercise (or at least bop their heads in the middle of a binge watch).
Will You Be Watching?
Has this peaked your interest?
Have you already been watching Attack on Titan?
Let us know what you think in the comments!
RSS Feed
