Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Attack on Titan - Why It's Not Perfect

Written by Shiggins

A surprisingly difficult one.

In 2013, Attack on Titan aired their first anime season and it completely took over the world. It was chaotic and insane, with everyone unable to admit the epicness of the series. Cosplay ranged from typical Survey corps uniforms to the creepy skinless Colossal Titan trying to look kawaii (no seriously) and for a while, no other anime even bothered existing because of the tank this series was. Nobody saw any problems... but they existed. And now, we turn to them for the latest instalment in WINP! And in all honesty... this one was difficult because of how boring the series can actually be when you peel the animation and music away. I found some though!

Note: Spoilers.

If the series had pizza, THEN it would be perfect and this article could not exist.
Politics that are Almost as Stupid as Mine

Okay, let's get the easiest one out of the way early: Everything involving the Uprising Arc, arc (set after the gorgeous Clash of the Titans arc) is utter shit. I know I should be nicer or less blunt about it, but I cant. Not here. Fuck this arc. Fuck it hard.

The arc itself is about overthrowing the government, a nameless force that has only been briefly mentioned from time to time but has never truly shown itself in the series. In fact, that doesn't really change. The focus is mostly on Eren, Levi and Erwin talking and scheming. And talking. And scheming. And talking. And scheming. Sitting around a desk and talking on and on and on and on until you feel like screaming. There is very little action in this arc that took almost two years to complete, and the events that do happen are dull at best.

Literally didn't want to put a picture of the Uprising Arc on this, so here is an epic punch from an epic Titan.
Characters come and go, most of which you will never remember due to how uninteresting and underdeveloped they are, but they manage to be important to the plot just long enough to let Levi win the day. Despite Eren being the main character, he feels like a side character to Levi, who actually does get some interesting glimpses into his past thanks to a new man known as "Kenny".

Unfortunately, the rest of the development goes to a character you may know as Krista Lenz and she is annoying in this. She plays the role of a self-deprecating martyr, full of depressing self-doubt and refusal to play along. Levi has to literally threaten her at one point, which would be fine if we weren't having to wait once a month for a new chapter to release. She slows down the plot with her pouting and bitching, and is just a nuisance that nobody wants to deal with.

And just FYI, the Titans have almost no impact on the plot until the very rushed finale comes along. So you are essentially having an Attack on Titan plot that does not involving attacking titans.


You vs the Anime She Tells You Not to Worry About

The anime (and Mikasa) is one of the most gorgeous adaptations of all time. The designs, the angles, Mikasa, the combat and the Titan are amazingly drawn and perfectly combined with CGI to create what is arguably the best-looking anime of all time. (Top 10, definitely). Mikasa looks great in it too.

Oh hey, I didn't know they did a crossover with The Ring! That's so strange...
Hilariously though, this actually works against the series as a whole because of the manga. A lot of viewers, my handsome self included, were given a bit of a surprise when we finally gave the series a read after watching the first season. The art is sketchy, the pages are mediocre and some of the characters literally don't look like their anime counterparts. While this is probably unfair since the anime clearly has the budget of God, it still makes the manga look lesser by comparison.


Oh Bertholt, I Barely Knew Thee

So Reiner and Bertholt are the Armoured and Colossal Titans. This was revealed through a rather abrupt and anticlimactic discussion that actually did give me a bit of shock. Part of that was because of how casually it was told through conversation, instead of through a dramatic shout across a battlefield. The other reason was because... Who even remembered Bertholt?

My advice would be to give Bertholt a scene. Or you come back, Annie, because you were awesome and as hot as hell.
Reiner is an interesting-enough character (and that's not easy since I find many of the characters somewhat uninteresting) but Bertholt has done absolutely nothing memorable until the reveal. This shocking discovery feels less like a betrayal and more like a notification because Bertholt himself has had no impact on both plot or character since his conception. If the Colossal Titan, the literal face of Attack on Titan's entire franchise, turned out to be someone like Erwin or Connie then this would actually matter. As it is, Bertholt is a very dull choice for the Beast of Two Thousand Backs and a horrible creative decision overall. What a waste.


Mikasa Deserves Better

Mikasa should be the main character of the series.

She is the bane of my existence for not being in my hold, but the muse that motivates me to be a better man for her.
Eren is a dull, uninteresting character who is only motivated by revenge for his mother, but Mikasa is far better in every way. She's hot, cool, hot, powerful, hot, an orphan with a tragic backstory, hot, has pecs and is also kinda hot. Mikasa rocks and every second Eren is on screen, I groan because I would much rather have Mikasa there instead.

So to sum up, screw Eren.



Any I missed? Any flaws you disagree with? Or another article you would like to see? Comment below!

Shiggins:[Admin]   .
Born under the stars of the Dark Gods, Shiggins owns the power of the Great Eye and is utterly magnificent in his omniscience. If you dare to discover more about someone as great as him, then go ahead. And to all my friends and family members, YOU are wrong and I should be disappointed! Not the other way round!,. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/

3 comments:

  1. Thank you. How does the anime have such an insane budget does the studio stop producing anything else just for this series ?

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  2. Yo Bro !

    Have to disagree with you on eren. Its a refreshing sight to finally see an MC like him. A determined fellow (the default MC definition) who DOES NOT become overnight over-powered because of some or other gifted power (unlike most MCs of big-time series). Sure, he is a shifter, but the story makes no bones about his utter lack of skill, as he is repeatedly beaten to a pulp. Most of the time, all he can do is take initiative (sometimes fails on that front too !).

    That said, his speeches can really test patience at times (case in point - advocating Armin over Ervin), and his prioritizing personal feelings over situational awareness (even after knowing the whole story, all he desires is a world tour ?? the what ?) is not cool at all.

    BUT, I'd rather see Mikasa as the 'demon in the shadows' rather than centre-stage. Its fine the way it is, and watching her is so enjoyable only because she emerges from the corners rather than parading the carpet. (Its sort of like Alibaba Saluja, but, lets not go there)

    Your other complaints :

    Well, with all the edge-of-the-seat developments going on, one COULD probably care less about Bertholt.

    The Uprising Arc ? I'll take your word on that. If its really so bad, I'm happy I never took the trouble of actually reading it. Wikia should suffice to get the plot, no ?

    Nonetheless, not all of my opinions may matter, so you could always say - tl;dr

    Ja !

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  3. I never was a fan of the anime but the one thing I am sure about it is that Mikasa deserves her own spinoff series.

    ReplyDelete