This was not how I expected the story would turn out. I only immersed myself in this franchise for the enjoyment of watching young soldiers take on deadly giants in a high-speed, aerial battle while trying to uncover the secret of these so-called titans. Now warning for those who haven't read the manga, because this is where I will start to point out my own problems with the franchise and it will contain a fair amount of spoilers especially from the manga for you anime only viewers, so you have been warned.
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
i didn't like the direction the story was heading towards ever
...
since the founder titan's backstory and its powers were introduced. it was awfully simple, bland, and very convenient for the sake of the plot. memory alteration, titan control, and such are just wow. i can't say i'm impressed.
the secret to the basement was just disappointing on so many levels, i mean c'mon! a door anyone can knock down (good job levi my boy) and the key that we spent years waiting to know was a freaking desk drawer key??????
and oh my god the plot of humans existing beyond the walls and sea was just stupid! that was the reason why they started the war arc, or worst arc. i did not watch this series because i wanted a war drama genre! i wanted giant slaying and spider-man slinging action. pure and simple, but effective. japanese manga tend to always start going off track when it comes to the conclusion of their own series.
speaking of conclusions, seriously? the final arc of eren going full out edge lord yuji sakai was just downright infuriating and dumb. what did they do to you eren?!! that wasn't character development, that was the mangaka running out of ideas and still wanting to somehow end the series with an impact using the main protagonist, they just went "well, i might as well give eren some kind of importance so i'll turn him into shu ouma and make him the final boss."
i wish they could've done something more with reiner and especially annie. like seriously, annie, you were sealed the whole time and when you get out, you blush a few times for armin and that"s pretty much it. i really expected a lot more from what could happen with annie when she is released.
as for the aesthetics and sound production, i can't say i like the new art style very much. i was already disappointed with the character development but the drawing style just made me care less and less about them too. mikasa looks like a man, more specifically season 2 one punch man's sonic. and the opening song sounds like something that would work for tanya the evil, which i know yea the last arc is a war arc hence the song but come onnnnnn. i don't listen to that song and immediately think "oh yeah this is definitely attack on titan, it rockss".
and my biggest gripe of them all (which i'm biased for), potato girlllll, my best girl!!!!!! nooooooo!!! god i hate gabi!!! you can literally take gabi out of the story and nothing would have changed one bit, i couldn't have cared less for the two kids!! i always hate it when they have to introduce new characters (asides from the antagonists who usually receive a last reveal) in the last arc of anime.
So for the TLDR: AoT Season 1 is best season. Season 2 is also great as it continuously invigorates my curiosity to just what are the titans. Season 3 Part 1 had some great points like delving into the political side of AoT and it was interesting to see, but really couldn't have cared less for the Founding Titan, Historia, and ruler stuff (Levi and Kenny's relationship was interesting tho). Season 3 Part 2 had many ups and downs. Who didn't enjoy the climatic showdown between the Survey Corps and the remaining titans?! But at the same time, the secret to basement was a letdown, Eren's slightly subtle grimacing with his dad's memories, and the reaction to the ocean was a huge downer for me. And Season 4, or Final Season (which isn't actually final) is well, you should already know. I hate everything about it.
What started off as a great 16th century-esque setting with Spider-Man slinging slashers fighting man-eating giants to uncover the truth ended as a half World War II battleground half Armagedon spirit realm fanfic to conveniently tie up every loose end they couldn't explain in a logical and reasonable fashion. Looking at the other reviews written here and the series' current ranking as of this writing, I am shocked that this was rated so high. Everyone mostly said that this was a masterpiece of storytelling, and no I just can't agree. FMAB or HxH were masterful and loyal to their original themes and worldbuilding that was set up from the start. AoT started strong and slowly drifted off-course as time went on and concluded as a half-baked product in the end. If you disagree with me, share your argument down below and convince me that I'm completely wrong and off the mark. No cursing. If you agree, share your opinions as well. Thank you for reading until the end.
Mar 29, 2021
This was not how I expected the story would turn out. I only immersed myself in this franchise for the enjoyment of watching young soldiers take on deadly giants in a high-speed, aerial battle while trying to uncover the secret of these so-called titans. Now warning for those who haven't read the manga, because this is where I will start to point out my own problems with the franchise and it will contain a fair amount of spoilers especially from the manga for you anime only viewers, so you have been warned.
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS i didn't like the direction the story was heading towards ever ... |
