Dive into the world of human devouring Titans and said humans rallying to fight back.

You know that one show you swear you’ll watch eventually but sits in your list for months, hell years? Attack on Titan for me. My first anime.

Premise

In this world humanity is trapped in a cage behind three walls, one inside another until the inner most houses the wealthy. Those behind the outer most wall must deal with constant titan threats, but for 100 years peace ensued.

Until one day. Of course that one day.

A 60 meter titan known as the Colossal Titan broke through the wall thus allowing the smaller Titans in to devour the human race. As fast as the Colossal appeared, it disappeared, leaving chaos in its wake.

Ten year old Eren Yeager watched his life fall apart as his mom is eaten by a Titan. Along with his foster-sister Mikasa and best friend Armin, they go into the Cadet Corps and begin their fight to take down the Titans.

Characters

I like to describe Eren as 80% angry, 15% confused, and 5% passed out.

As far as main characters go it’s easy to get behind someone who lost their family at such a young age. However Eren’s constant angry state can be a bit a much. He becomes so determined to wipe out the Titans it’s all his life is revolved around. Over time discipline and a beating bring him down, but only a notch.

Along with Eren is his foster-sister Mikasa and best friend Armin. Mikasa has her own determination: keep Eren alive. Yes you have one character obsessed with Titans and the other obsessed with the first. Despite all this they’re still likable enough to follow. Armin on the other hand lacks physical abilities and makes up for that with his brain. Put them together and they can make a deadly trio.

When it comes to the rest of the characters I’ll admit it took some time for me to care about them. There are a lot to get to know but each are distinguishable and more than one defining character trait. A good example is Jean Kirstein whose look on life is the exact opposite of Eren’s, at first. He wants to live a comfortable life inside the inner wall, but after a series of tragic events his view on the situtaion changes.

These characters are what make up the show. All the Titan fighting and questions aside, you’ll find yourself wanting more of them.

Game Changer

Two Titans destroyed the wall: the Colossal and Armored Titans. They don’t eat humans and are significantly different physically. After seven episodes the first gleam of hope in the fight against the Titans appears and after that, a whole new world within this world is opened.

Saying anymore gets into spoiler territory. However, the first theory that pops into your mind is probably the right one.

Is Attack on Titan for You?

Attack on Titan started out as a manga, which I’m currently reading, but recommend. The episodes are twenty-some minutes and is easy to binge, but there are some things to reconsider.

At first the looks of the Titans seem a bit off but I think that’s the point. They’re humanoid but creatures existing only to eat humans. You should feel odd looking at them.

When I review, well anything, I like to add what comes along with the story. Although there’s no nudity (unless you count the Titans but they have no gender specific parts) and a bit of swearing, the brutality of the series goes far beyond both. There is a lot of death and in gruesome ways. Yes even being animated.

I watched two of my favorite characters get their heads bashed in. At this point very little bothers me. However, that doesn’t mean none of the deaths are easy to watch. Don’t assume anyone, and I mean anyone, is safe.

Overall

If you never watched anime this is a good place to start and sets up high expectations. The world is detailed and beautiful when you’re able to look past the blood and gore, which is also animated well. There are also subbed and dubbed versions to choose from.

Despite the high number of characters to get to know they all play their part and over time you’ll discover your favorites and hope before the start of every episode they make it to the next.

In the end Attack on Titan brings more questions than answers. You’ll want to know more and try to hold back looking up spoilers. Just hold on for when the real action comes into play because once it happens the episodes are never long enough.