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The word "epic" is used very loosely describing any type of entertainment media. The word lost the meaning of poems narrating heroic figures, so its meaning became pretty subjective. Most of the time it is describing stories with vast locations and plot threads that will eventually combine into a big climax. However, this isn't what I'd describe as "epic". With the word being open to interpretation, I would describe epic as those big climaxes themselves, or even what you feel with them. Or, being more specific, it's the creation of pure intensity. But if that is the case, where can you find epicness in media? ... Funny enough, the closest thing to "epic" media are action trailers, especially old ones. It had the most intense moments of the movie, paired with a soundtrack far more intense than what was on the movie itself. But the actual movie? An extremely toned-down experience compared to what was delivered on the trailer. With movies being toned down products of their trailers and big TV series taking an eternity to achieve their climax to actually deliver something (Avatar The Last Airbender is a good example), where are the epic media? That's where Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) enters. It is currently the only piece of media I would classify as epic, because not only does it show that you can achieve epicness right from the start, but it also proves that every action piece of media should strive to do so and be criticized for not achieving it. This review will be trying to point out at least some of the big pillars on how it achieved this.

Plot - There's a reason why most of the entertainment products hold back their intensity, only to fully unleash it at its climax. The main one is that the viewer will start the story not caring about the characters or what happens in the story. The purpose of the story is precisely to slowly make the viewer engaged with what's happening on screen in order to pay off later. However, Attack on Titan realized this isn't enough reason to shy away from bringing intensity. In fact, it helps make the viewer engage with those initial moments a lot more than boring exposition or a cheap plot twist. Which is why the story of the first season of AoT builds only the things enough to make the viewer understand what's happening, and immediately puts danger on it. A danger that is constantly felt due to not being scared of showing consequences. At every point of the story, you feel no one is safe, including its main characters. Episodes that serve as both "breathe" moments as well as an increase of information being exposed don't even take 1/5 of the runtime of the show. The S1 story focus is on delivering pure intensity only.

Stakes - This is one of the most important aspects of creating tension in a story, yet it's getting more rare to witness it in other shows. In here we have an overabundance of high stakes at all times, and a lot of times you see the main characters lose what they're trying to protect, making everything that is at stake feel real and could genuinelly occur.

Scale - Use of scale is a really good way of raising stakes. The most obvious use on AoT is the Titan's size. They're enough to make you realize how big of a threat they are. But the show doesn't limit at that. It sets place in a time similar to middle age, where humanity was forced to be confined in 3 walls. Without giving spoilers, the show cleverly uses those walls to give big consequences to the world already on its 2nd episode and raise the stakes to max level already on its 5th episode. Those types of devastating consequences are why scale is so crucial in creating intensity here.

Visuals - The visuals of this anime are absolutely gorgeous. From already the first shot of the show, showing a very detailed eye, AoT doesn't let down in this department. But the reason why it works for enhancing the intensity is on its action scenes, you can very much see every movement portrayed by the characters with excelence. Paired that with scale, and you immediately feel the intensity is working. It also immediately captures even viewers unfamiliar with the anime medium. The ODM gear is one of the best equipments ever created for action scenes, and that, paired with good animation, makes the experience immaculate.

Physicality - Visuals are important, but they need another key component that is missing from a lot of Shounen anime. When fights get "too magical", the viewer cannot feel the weight of the attacks, and you also feel a normal human has indestructible bones, lowering the stakes a lot. AoT pays a lot of attention to this detail and makes you feel every punch, and even using equipment that "defy" physics, like ODM gear, has a big sense of physicality, making the viewer also feel how the weight of it works.

Horror - This is the extra "spice" to creating intensity. And they served with the right amount. Titans don't just feel scary; they're horrifying. A person dying isn't just a little disturbing; it's grotesque. You don't feel just sadness from characters; you feel their desperation. This makes so much difference in presenting the situations the show wants to portray and turns

Music - The soundtrack of this show is by far its biggest strength. Hiroyuki Sawano always had delivered music focused on intensity, but you could feel here he knew this project was different. His music is rawer, not shying away from it's horror elements, more physical, with singers achieving their limits to hit some of the notes, but at a lot of times they're also extremely tragic (Vogel im Käfig and Call Your Name are great examples). This OST was not only a strong foundation for what he would slowly tweak and improve later seasons, but an all-time classic that should be listened to by everyone.

Characters - The show decided to focus primarily on 3 main characters. Everything you see and feel is thanks to them. And while their development is simple, it's extremely effective, especially because of every pillar that was mentioned before. The main goals of the protagonist are set in the first two episodes, and while in other shows you wouldn't feel empathy for them immediately, witnessing what happens with him the way it does immediately makes you feel exactly what the character is feeling. His intensity would be annoying if you didn't empathize with him, but it's impossible not to.

Now it is true the show isn't perfect. There are a few consequences to making this as intense as possible for the first season. Side characters are usually reduced to a single personality trait or a single event that happened, but that's a fair sacrifice to make in order to create intensity. The show uses a lot of recaps in its runtime, but that's barely noticeable, especially on a first watch. The only unexcusable flaw is the character of Krista Lenz being solely used as a "cute fanservice", something that definitely detriments the feeling of intensity. Thankfully, the author explained he felt pressured that he needed a character like this thanks to the audience liking those traits, but once he realized that wasn't the case, he began fixing her on Season 2.




In summary, Attack on Titan is not "just" a masterpiece. It's something that redefines the action genre. It captures the viewer from start to finish due to its intensity alone, and it leaves them wanting for more. Ultimately, it's an experience that will make you think you'll watch something better at some point, but after years of trying to find this something, you'll come to the conclusion that there isn't anything better.