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Oct 12, 2021
<Potential Spoilers>
There are so many good things about this anime.
The Promised Neverland brought a unique and fresh psychological/horror premise to anime fans. Considering I was able to show my friend who hates anime this series and he is actually intrigued, truely says a lot about the quality of this anime. CloverWorks created an anime with a complex psychological horror narrative. That is conveyed with its soundtrack, animation, and characters. If only season two actually stayed true to its manga counterpart.
The Promised Neverland at first introduces itself as a psychological anime that was building up to a disturbing reveal. To say the reveal was disturbing was
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an understatement. While there are more disturbing moments in anime, I won’t deny that it was just the build up. The anime introduced the daily life of these characters, a light hearted orphanage where the characters studied and had fun. The reveal of something disturbing was inevitable as the build up was very clear. But despite this build up the atmosphere was somewhat peaceful and nice. After episode one, the atmosphere was morbid and disturbing. The narrative explored the characters conflicting ideologies and moralities. Morality and ethical reasoning are explored throughout the season. As different characters react to the situation in different ways and conflict with how they should solve the present conflict.
The sound design worked pretty well for this anime. The voice acting was pretty good, all the voice actors did a decent job at making the voices of adolescents as they are adult voice actors. The voice performances of each character was done perfectly, as each characters personality felt like it was the same as their voice. Emma’s kindness is in her voice and Ray’s edginess is in his voice. The sound effects were pretty good too, while they weren’t the best part of the sound design as a whole. I do remember that point where Emma broke her leg, the second hand pain I felt from the sound of her leg was on a new level. The soundtrack was pretty good too, it conveyed both the mood of the anime perfectly. The kind of suspenseful yet intense music perfectly conveyed the disturbing psychological atmosphere of the series.
The animation was pretty good to say the least. The lighting, character movement and the environments are the strongest elements of the animation. The colour scheme remained consistent with the lighting of the scene, the colours of both characters and the environment would change to darker colour schemes at night. Or the colour scheme would be bright at day, making the world feel that more realistic. The character movement felt smooth and realistic, characters wouldn’t move in unrealistic ways that conflicted with the way human bodies are structured. The characters blend perfectly with the environment, the environment itself gives of a Victorian aesthetic. The white clothing of the characters and the Victorian architecture adds to the morbid atmosphere. It feels like a clean prison, with the white clothing and tattooed numbers on the characters. The overall Victorian aesthetic is one of the strongest parts of the animation, it feels unique and gives The Promised Neverland its own aesthetic. However, I don’t care what people say, Sister Krone’s character design is kinda racist.
The characters are by far the most interesting part of the series. They have vastly contrasting personalities and ideologies. Emma is a kind person who wants to save all of her family, Ray is moody and is willing to sacrifice them if it means his close circle can escape. Norman is a neutral character that simply goes with the flow and thinks about things logical rather then emotionally. He believes that Emma’s belief in saving her whole family is naive but will follow Emma as it is the ethical thing to do that won’t cause problems. Each of these characters have weaknesses and strengths that define themselves. They are unrealistically smarter then your average adult and seeing how each of these three conflict with their moralities and how they should approach this conflict. Makes them strong characters that feel like real people. I can truely root for these characters and be interested by their approach to their circumstances.
With very minimal flaws, season one of The Promised Neverland offers a fresh and unique premise of a psychological horror anime. The soundtrack perfectly fits with the world of the anime, said world is brought to life with CloverWorks amazing animation. The characters are complex personalities that all feel like real people with goals, weaknesses and fears.
Overall, I rank this 8/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 12, 2021
<Potential Spoilers>
A lot of people probably watched My Neighbour Totoro when they were younger, I want to start by saying I am not apart of that group.
A lot of people truely enjoy this film and have rated it as one of Studio Ghibli’s greatest anime’s. In my perspective, I think a lot of people just have nostalgia for the film. I didn’t watch the film until I was 17, so as someone who doesn’t have a bias based in nostalgia. The film was pretty good. The story was simple but interesting, the soundtrack is memorable and has its own unique vibe. The animation considering the
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time period is brilliant, and the characters are alright but I’ve seen worse characters.
The narrative of this film is vastly less complex in comparison to other Ghibli films. While other Ghibli films have themes and ideas, My Neighbour Totoro has a much simpler narrative. Following the perspective of the children of a family and their father. The family has moved into a new place and the land surrounding this new house has some fantastical magic like aura. As the protagonists meet many mythical creatures such as Totoro. There is no clear defined narrative arc rather, a series of small arcs that centre around the protagonists new home. So while My Neighbour Totoro lacks the complexity of other Ghibli narratives it is still a simple but enjoyable film to watch.
The sound design as a whole was pretty good. Voice acting and sound effects were pretty good, regardless the highlight of the sound design would’ve been the soundtrack. The soundtrack had this fantastical feel about it, that just worked with the over simplistic story of this film. The soundtrack conveyed both the fantastical vibe of the creatures as well as the mood of all the scenes within the film. If a track were to play from the soundtrack you would likely recognise it instantly. Despite not watching this film when I was younger, I still feel a level of nostalgia from the soundtrack. This soundtrack is easily the second best aspect of this anime. The voice acting and sound effects are alright but the soundtrack is the highlight of the sound design.
Despite the animation having been made in the 80s, Ghibli’s animation is amazing. Ghibli is famous for there detailed and smooth animation. Their animation ability is clearly present in My Neighbour Totoro, Ghibli’s art style, smooth characters movement, seamless blending of characters into a detailed environment, etc. all make the animation of this film perfect. Studio Ghibli have a unique art style in their films that makes any of their film instantly recognisable as a Ghibli film. The animation of My Neighbour Totoro can compete with animation of modern anime. The environments and the detail within them makes the world feel vastly more realistic. While I would say Spirited Away has a more detailed environment, the film was released two decades after this one.
The character aspect of My Neighbour Totoro is by far the weakest part of the film. I found that the father was a two dimensional character, both Mei and Satsuki were stronger characters in terms of character depth but otherwise they were annoying. My favourite character was most likely Totoro, as Totoro has a level of mystery around him and we don’t really truely understand his backstory or anything else. This level of mystery surrounding his character made him interesting. He is clearly a kind and considerate being who is one of the most interesting characters in the film. There were no real character arcs in the film, the only real character arc was where Satsuki lost her sister and needed to find her. We see her being angry at her sister and when she is lost her attitude surrounding her sister changes. She is clearly concerned and does everything to find her. Adding a layer of character depth to Satsuki.
Despite My Neighbour Totoro being overrated by people with a nostalgic bias, it still wasn’t too bad. The simplistic narrative is conveyed through a memorable soundtrack, Ghibli’s near flawless animation and some decent characters.
Overall, I rank this 7/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 12, 2021
<Potential Spoilers>
I can easily say that this is my favourite Isekai anime.
While Isekai anime have been a thing for years now. The Rising of the Shield Hero is the first anime I have watched within the genre. I can easily say that with the well paced narrative, great sound design, high tier animation and the extremely well constructed characters. That this is my favourite Isekai anime.
The Rising of the Shield Hero presents a unique fantasy world that is interesting and complex. The world has its own political structure and history that revolves heavily around the four cardinal heroes. Looking back I find this anime to
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be very similar to Re:Zero. Both are Isekai anime that focus on a character that was summoned from modern day Earth to a fantasy world. They both have minimal power compared to the rest of their cast and they suffer an extreme amount in a journey to become better. The main focus of the anime in season one is to eliminate Naofumi’s negative reputation. That was falsely created by a corrupt government due to their prejudice views of what his powers could’ve been. The complex world building and narrative intertwine in a way that makes this anime something truely enjoyable.
I do consider this to be my favourite Isekai. But the sound design as a whole is not that good in comparison to other Isekai like Re:Zero. An original soundtrack must feel like it’s apart of the world the anime takes place in, convey the moods of the different scenes, as well as being memorable and unique. The Rising of the Shield Hero does a decent job at hitting these criteria with the soundtrack. However, while it conveys the fantasy setting and the moods of particular scenes. It feels like a generic fantasy soundtrack. What saves the original soundtrack is the two openings created by MADKID. The use of modern Japanese rap music in a fantasy opening didn’t feel out of place and fit the anime perfectly. The sound effects fit the fantasy world as well. Kinema Citrus does a brilliant job at implementing sound effects that make the fantasy world feel like a fantasy world. The voice actors all have brilliant performances, and truely bring out the personality of each character.
Kinema Citrus has created some surprisingly good animation for this anime. Everything from the art style, linework, consistent/realistic body structures, blending characters within the environment, etc. Kinema Citrus demonstrates the talents of their animators. The art style does a great job at both conveying the fantasy setting and the world the series takes place in. The fight scenes have good choreography and the colouring of the different lighting of each setting works extremely well. If they cast are stuck in one of the waves of catastrophe, the colouring will have a red hue. This goes for a lot of different settings but this anime does a surprisingly good job at changing the colour scheme with the lighting. Naofumi’s psyche is conveyed through specific scenes where his character is in a void. Instead of close ups and a voice over. His emotions are visually represented, something that is really cool and should be done more.
The characters in the first half of the series are complex and feel like truely solid characters. I can sympathise with both Naofumi and Raphtalia. Naofumi isn’t a beacon of good and is actually pretty harsh and selfish. But it makes sense as the world he is in has treated him the same way for no reason. Raphtalia serves as a moral compass for Naofumi and the two need each other. Their relationship is complex and is the perfect example of a duo of characters. The spear hero and Malty were characters I could truely hate and feel anger whenever I see them. Considering I felt true anger whenever I even saw them, this is an example of characters that are meant to be hated constructed well. However, in the second half of the series. Naofumi’s character grows weaker, as the allegations against him were proven false. He no longer has a challenge against him. And those characters that I hated, they got pretty minimal punishment that aren’t nearly harsh enough considering the stuff they did.
Despite the few flaws present, I can consider this my favourite Isekai anime. The strong narrative, sound design, animation and characters. Make this a top tier anime, worthy of its popularity.
Overall, I rank this 8/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 12, 2021
<Potential Spoilers>
I will start by saying I don’t like the Attack on Titan recap movies.
The recap movies feel pointless and are just a compilation of the key moments of the actual series. While I do have similar feelings of this movie. This movie being a recap movie makes sense. It highlights all the key character and story events, as well as the portions of the series that had the best animation and sound design.
Chronicle serves as a recap movie of seasons one to three of Attack on Titan. The reason I prefer this recap movie over the other ones is because of a simple reason,
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this recap movie makes sense. The world and story of this anime became much larger in season four. It’s a very different series and season three serves as the transition to this very different story and world. So to recap all the key story moments we’ve experienced up to this point would make sense. It highlights all the key points in the narrative up to this point and manages to cram three seasons into two hours. However, i would prefer watching the actual series rather then a recap. However, if you want to save time and understand the first three seasons then this movie is for you.
The soundtrack of Attack on Titan is one of the best in anime. I have stated this before, but I will once again say that the soundtrack is brilliant. One of the best parts of the movie is that it highlights all the parts where the soundtrack is used best. Whether it be Eren carrying the Boulder, Eren plugging the wall in Trost district or Reiner and Bertholdt’s betrayal. I would consider these parts of the series to be the best uses of the soundtrack. Others may argue that other moments are better but these are my favourite and they were all put into the chronicle movie.
Wit studios animation of the series demonstrated their best talent and abilities in animation. The most important narrative moments are often animated the best as they are key moments in the series. As a result, the key moments put into the movie have the best animation. The movie in a way serves as a compilation of Wits best work in the Attack on Titan series. Whether it be majority of the fight scenes, The fight between Eren and Reiner, the battle against Rose Reiss, etc. the best animation that wit has created is put into this film.
Chronicle did a really good job at putting in the most important character moments over three seasons into the span of two hours. All the most important character moments were put into this movie, every key moment that was in the series and served a purpose towards an important character or the story. In a way, the movie serves as a compilation of all the most important character moments. Showing us the journey of these characters before they enter the very different world of Attack on Titans final season.
Despite me not liking recap movies, I understand the point behind this film. It recaps all the most important moments of Attack on Titan season one to three and highlights all the best moments prior to the very different anime that the series becomes in season four.
Overall, I rank this 6/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 12, 2021
<Potential Spoilers>
I swear I didn’t want to review another recap but here we are.
I hated reviewing the first two recap movies because I hated having to repeat all the stuff I said in season one. However, this recap came out prior to the movies and is a much shorter recap of the first season. Making this recap episode far easier to review. While the recycled animation and sound design is decent. The pacing of narrative and characters is even worse then movie one.
It is very clear that this episode serves to create a base rundown of the first half of the first season. The main
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problem I had with the first recap movie of Attack on Titan was that the pacing was horrific. You want a recap to be short but this movie was not short, it was two hours long and only served a purpose if you wanted a short rushed version of episodes 1-13. So while it can be argued that this episode has worse pacing. This episode and the movie recap the events of the first half of season one. However, the movie lasts for two hours and feels more like we are meant to be watching for the story rather then a recap. The Since that day episode only has a 24 minute runtime. Making the recap far more tolerable to watch.
The sound design of Attack on Titan has always been great. Hitting all the base criteria for what makes an anime have good sound design. The sound effects of the environment and people interacting make the world feel so much more alive. The voice acting makes every character feel that much more realistic. The original soundtrack is one of the best in anime. The soundtrack conveys both the world of Attack on Titan and the mood of any specific scene. I’ve talked about the sound design of Attack on Titan in all my other reviews of each season. But in this specific recap episode, the sound design of the series is present. But we never really focus on it. Luckily the best parts of the sound design are present in the best scenes which this episode does highlight.
The animation of Wit studios is without a doubt top tier. Which is very clearly the case as when the animation of the series switched over to Mappa. Everyone was sending death threats to the animators of Mappa, starving in an underpaid environment. But regardless, this episode as a recap shows the best moments of the series which also happen to have the best animation. I won’t rank the animation as high because it is recycled animation. But it is easy to watch a 20 minute recap featuring the best animated moments of the series.
I can’t rate this section that high. Mainly because the character aspect of a recap episode is not going to be its strongest element. As a show needs the correct pacing in order to achieve emotional depth with a character. However, a recap episode can’t do that as we are cramming 14 episodes into a single episode of run time. I would have to judge the recap episode by what key character moments they showed and the relevance of those moments in the episodes after the recap. For the most part, the recap does this pretty well. I won’t go into specifics as I don’t want to spoil the series. But for the most part the series does a good job at including key character moments.
Despite the pacing of both the story and characters, it is nice seeing Wits animation and the original soundtrack of Attack on Titan.
Overall, I rank this 5/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Oct 12, 2021
<Potential Spoilers>
I hate this movie more then the first Attack on Titan movie.
The sole reason I hate this movie more is because they had to make a second recap movie. Even though the first one was completely pointless, your better of just watching the actual show. But regardless if you like recycled aspects of a good show crammed into two hours, or you want a quick recap of the second half of the first season. Then this movie is just for you.
The problem of this movie is that it’s pacing is slow rushed. When you have a really good anime but you are going to
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have to cram +11 episodes into a two hour time frame. Important narrative moments and intense scenes are over within seconds and we move to the next scene. The audience is given no time to let the emotional weight settle in, as a result there is no emotional weight.
The sound design is not too bad, but only because I have a level of nostalgia for the soundtrack of season one. The sound design as a whole was pretty good but I don’t like it. Mainly because as said before the recycled aspects are just reusing what had been created prior so it’s just a lazy excuse of creating more Attack on Titan content.
The animation was pretty good, considering the most important scenes had some pretty good animation in season one. It is enjoyable to see what is basically a highlighted reel of the best animation in the second half of Attack on Titan season one.
I don’t want to talk about the characters of the film, mainly because I’ve already talked about how good they were in my review or season one. If I’m being honest the film recaps the portion of Attack on Titan that has the worst character building. Only really focusing on two characters.
A crammed and rushed mess of what is an unnecessary recap movie. Considering the film only recaps a portion of the first season. Why would you bother creating a recap movie?
Overall, I rank this 3/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Oct 12, 2021
<Potential Spoilers>
I can’t help but think about how unnecessary this movie was.
I find this movie so unnecessary that I’m forcing myself to write this review. To summarise this movie it is a highlight of all the moments from the first half of season one of Attack on Titan. Serving as a summary film. So all the animation and sound design is good, but it’s just a mega rushed version of the first half of season one.
The story of movie one summarises the entire first half of season one. As a result of cramping 13 episodes into two hours, the film is rushed. Viewers will see
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a important and amazing character moment only to be rushed into another important and amazing character moment. I can’t help but be annoyed at this. As a result, the film has really good story moments that have no emotional weight or any level of building up or pacing. In summary the story of the movie is just season one’s incredible narrative and story crammed into a two hour time frame. I don’t want to talk about the key moments in the movies because I’ve already talked about them in my review of Attack on Titan season one.
The animation of this movie is shit. The animation itself is amazing as it is some of Wit studios best animation. But the film is just recycled clips of season one. The only editing done in the film was splicing clips from the actual anime and putting them all together. Which is pretty difficult if you are splicing and stitching clips into a two hour time frame. But compare splicing clips to actual animation is comparing high school science to nasa level science. So the only animation present in this film is just recycled clips from the actual anime. At the very least the animation is really good and it’s pretty good watching Wits animation. Even though the film doesn’t have any true unique animation.
The sound design is the only thing in this film that was recycled and was ok. Attack on Titan has an instantly recognisable soundtrack that conveys the world of Attack on Titan and the emotion of the scene. The sound effects are still pretty good. The voice acting was just recycled, the only good bit of voice acting was the narration cause that was the only aspect of the film that wasn’t recycled. I won’t comment any further on the sound design as it is the best part of the movie but only because you can still recycle a soundtrack and there was a part of the sound design that was an original creation.
The characters portion doesn’t deserve talking about in this film. I discussed the character aspects of season one in my review of season one. And because of the pacing. Important character moments across 13 episodes are crammed into two hours, so any emotional weight that these character moments had is voided and forgotten about. As we go straight from Jean considering his soldier life, to the Survey corps expedition outside humanities territory.
If you want a quick summary of the first half of Attack on Titans first season, then I definitely have the film for you. Otherwise, this is just an unnecessary mess of recycled clips of the original series.
Overall, I rank this 4/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Oct 12, 2021
I want to start by saying the No Regrets OVA is better.
That doesn’t mean that Lost Girls is bad or anything. I’d consider the two as pretty close in terms of quality, no regrets is only slightly better. I think Lost Girls is actually really good that gives both Mikasa and Annie more spotlight. Considering we won’t see much of Annie until the final arc and Mikasa is a great character. It’s really good seeing more of these two. The OVA provides a hooking narrative with great sound design, animation and characters.
The narrative of Lost Girls serves to give Mikasa and Annie more screen
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time. Annie’s story serves to show more of her time in the Military Police, specifically her investigating a missing girl so that her roommate can vouch for her being gone while she is kidnapping Eren. The story of an investigation within the Attack on Titan world is fresh and interesting. It’s nice to take a break from the ODMG fights against giant humanoids. Annie’s story has more insight into the poverty stricken regions of the inner walls. The world building isn’t as good as No regrets but it is still pretty good. Mikasa’s story is an alternative timeline where her parents never died. This timeline feels far more surreal and Mikasa is no longer as powerful as she normally is. The conservative views of blocking up the walls happens and it appears as though the colossal and armoured titan never attacked. The alternate timeline gets far more surreal and morbid as it goes on and you can only feel really disturbed. The only problem is that the only world building we get is the politics of blocking the gates of the wall.
The sound design has downgraded in this OVA, as the majority of the highlights of the soundtrack were the ODMG and the fight scenes, as well as the intense music of the OST. Which is not bad as a series can diverge from fighting and intense action scenes. However the sound effects that made the series sound design amazing was in that removed aspect of Lost Girls. Regardless of this, the recognisably soundtrack is still present and the voice actors still perform brilliantly. Mikasa and Annie’s voice actors portray the characters personalities perfectly. The soundtrack does a good job at conveying the more serious and slow pacing of Annie’s story. As well as the surreal mood of Mikasa’s story. Even though the sound effects aren’t as good as they normally are, they’re still pretty good. The sounds within the environment still feel realistic and make the world of Attack on Titan sound realistic.
The animation of Wit studios is still top tier despite this being an OVA. Beforehand I’ve stated that the fight scenes have been removed as Lost Girls is a more story and character driven OVA. Regardless the animation is still really good. Solid line work, a good art style, characters blend into the environment, etc. Annie’s martial arts and her fighting while occasional is choreographed really well. Her character movements feel realistic but also powerful and brutal. The animation of Mikasa’s story did a good job at making the surreal vibe of the story that much more intense. Mainly because of how colourful it is and how happy the setting is made to be. I think this is because I’m so used to the disturbing world of Attack on Titan that when it’s shown in a colourful bright way it doesn’t feel right. It feels disturbing and kind of like the world is masking its horrors.
The characters of the OVA are the highlight. Lost Girls give Mikasa and Annie more screen time and portray them in really interesting ways. It’s nice to see more of Annie as we won’t see much of her until the final arc of Attack on Titan. So seeing her have both more screen time and a deeper insight on her character was refreshing. We see that Annie is far more complex and sympathetic. She has a cold atmosphere but is actually sympathetic as she try’s her best to find the missing girl. Despite her inner self being heavily conflicted with actually finding the girl or not. We see Mikasa in a new light, we’ve seen Mikasa as somewhat emotionless and only displaying emotion when Eren is there. However, in this new timeline she’s like any other person. She experiences fear and joy like any other human. Emotions rarely displayed by Mikasa, so seeing this new display of Mikasa’s character was really interesting band made for a good story.
An OVA that gives Mikasa and Annie more screen time was inevitably going to be good. The narrative combined with effective sound design and animation made for a great OVA. If you want to watch more of Attack on Titan, I’d recommend this and No Regrets.
Overall, I rank this 7/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 12, 2021
<Potential Spoilers>
It’s nice to see some more of Levi’s backstory.
No regrets expands the world of Attack on Titan while also giving Levi more of the spotlight. We get to see his journey into the Survey Corp and his life prior to being a soldier. That storyline of Levi’s character combined with Attack on Titans soundtrack and Wits animation makes this OVA something else.
The storyline focuses fully on Levi’s journey to becoming a soldier in the Survey Corp and his life just prior to being a soldier. No regrets, takes the time to explore life in the underground which is basically the most poverty-stricken area in
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the walls. The OVA further builds up the world of Attack on Titan, we see the low socioeconomic regions of the world which I find interesting. The world of Attack on Titan is vast and it’s thanks to OVA’s like no regrets that the world becomes even more vast. The story also brings back some of the darker themes of season one. The idea that the world is a horrific place, the concept of sacrifice and death has a lot more emotional weight then we think. People can die at any time, an idea that is explored in season one and is brought back in this OVA. One of the best aspects of season one which is somewhat forgotten in later seasons is present in no regrets.
The iconic Attack on Titan soundtrack returns in this OVA. The soundtrack always had a techno but medieval vibe to it that made the soundtrack unique and stand out from the crowd. And all the pieces of the soundtrack that are used in the OVA are instantly recognisable as a part of Attack on Titan. The music conveys both the world and the mood of any scene, whether it be intensity or sadness. The sound effects are amazing, I’ve said this many times before but the sound effects of the ODMG make every fight scene that much more intense and brutal. It also contributes to conveying the unique weapons used in fight scenes of the series. The voice performances are top tier as well, especially Hiroshi playing as Levi. He conveys the moody yet terrifying personality of Levi perfectly and even though Levi sounds emotionless, his emotions are still somewhat clear through his voice.
Despite being an OVA, the animation is still just as good as the main series. The first episode had some really cool moments, seeing the ODMG gear being operated underground and not in a city was really cool. All the fight scenes are the highlights of Attack on Titans animation. Especially whenever Levi is operating the ODMG, the animation captures how powerful and strong Levi truely is and it makes every fight with him that much more intense. Characters blend well into the environment, characters movements feel realistic along with their body structure. One aspect I love of the animation is the appearance of the underground. We’ve only really seen the main districts and a few villages within the walls. So to see a whole new and interesting environment was really cool. Especially the way the houses are structured, it reminds me of some middle eastern style architecture.
We’re introduced with a new that follow Levi. Featuring Isabel and Farlan. With Levi taking the main spotlight. I found it truely interesting to see Levi’s journey into the survey Corp and how he lived his life in the underground. We see a Levi that is far more forgiving and light hearted then the one we see in the series. It highlights how much being a soldier had affected his mental well-being. Because while he does have a cold exterior, he still takes Isabel in and help her heal a bird. I also like the characters of Isabel and Farlan. They both are kind hearted people that contrast from the cold atmosphere emitted from Levi, they indirectly guide Levi in how he should act nicer. My only problem is that while this is the Attack on Titan universe, I would’ve liked to see more of Isabel and Farlan. As they are truely interesting characters with lots of potential.
If you want to watch something Attack on Titan related but diverges from the main narrative. I highly recommend no regrets. Levi’s story and Wits animation make this the best OVA of Attack on Titan.
Overall, I rank this 7/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 12, 2021
<Potential Spoilers>
The episodes that the series has been building up to since episode one.
Season three, part two has some moments that the series has been building up to since 2012. To be specific, whatever was in the basement is finally revealed. And to say it was something I didn’t expect would be an understatement. Aside from the basement reveal. Part two has a narrative that concludes the story of titans that we knew before and sets up the final season. The sound design is slightly improved from part one, the return of Wits best animation and some of the best character moments in Attack on
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Titan.
In terms of the entire story of Attack on Titan, this small span of episodes is by far the most significant moment in the entire anime. It is the return to Shiganshina, the town destroyed in the first episode of Attack on Titan. The battle against the Colossal and Armoured Titan. We see the original cast work together and fight before we move onto a completely different narrative. While I won’t get into specifics, part two has some of the best moments in the entire series. In a way part two serves as a bridge between the story so far and the conclusion of the story. Part two not only sets up the concluding season, but sets up something that is far bigger then the world within the walls. The world is a lot bigger then we ever thought it would be. Part two answers every question that the series has set up.
The sound design has slightly improved from part one of season three. While the voice performances were never bad in part one, or the sound effects. In fact, I’m willing to say the sound effects have always been good. The only problem being the fact that in combat we’ve only ever heard the satisfying sound of ODMG. Never anything else which risks the sound of the ODMG to get annoying. But with addition of thunder spears to the arsenal of our characters. The sound design of fight scenes have a little more variety. The main improvement from part one is the opening, I found red swan to be boring and is only good because of the opening visuals. This new opening is a lot more intense and highlights all the key moments of the return of Shiganshina. However, the soundtrack hasn’t improved much. While many songs feel like they belong in Attack on Titan, they just don’t match to the soundtrack of season one or two. I can remember being emotionally invested in many key moments of season one and two, mainly because of the soundtrack. I can’t remember any moments like that in season three.
It goes without saying that the animators of Wit studio are talented, you can see that talent shine within this part. The animation hits all the bases of good animation perfectly. Solid line work, smooth movement, characters blend into the environment seamlessly, the lighting and colours mix together, and so on. The animators hit all these criteria perfectly and have flawless demonstrations of the basics of good animation. However, the true talent of these animators really shows in the fight scenes. Whether it be the Levi vs beast Titan, the 104th training Corp fighting the colossal titan or the entire survey Corp fighting the armoured titan. All the fight scenes were amazing. Mikasa and Levi’s fast movements in the ODMG was both satisfying and brutal, highlighting how dangerous they truely are. The colossal titans transformation was one of the most shocking moments in the entire arc, and the way it’s animated does this justice. However, the cgi of the colossal titan didn’t work for me. And the anatomy of characters didn’t always remain consistent. At times, Erwins face would look squashed and not right.
The series puts its focus on Levi, Erwin and Armin. Erwin represents a character that did everything to achieve his goal, going as far as to sacrifice hundreds of human lives to reach his goal. And even in the end Erwin never really achieves his goal and his efforts were for nothing. Character arcs not properly tied up make me feel true sympathy, because in the real world many people die without doing everything they want. And Erwin to me represents that idea. Levi is given one of the most difficult decisions in the entire series. We’ve always seen Levi act in ways that are either black or white. He does what he needs to do in order to push forward. A trait that isn’t really human. But the moment he has to make the most difficult decision, we see that he can’t just act based on instinct anymore. We can see a rare reveal of a very human character within Levi who feels true emotion. Armin throughout the entire series has demonstrated potential to be an even better commander then Erwin. Which is demonstrated in the training corps fight against the colossal titan. His true intelligence shines in the fight which is what saves the 104. And there are so many more amazing character moments in the series. The cast has many complex and deep personalities that are explored in the series. This second part serves to wrap up character arcs and transition characters to the final season.
While this part isn’t without its flaws, season three part two of Attack on Titan is able to conclude the war against titans storyline and simultaneously sets up the final season. All while having good sound effects, the work of talented animators, and the best character moments.
Overall, I rank this 8/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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