Attack on TitanAnd I decided to give it a shot. I kept comparing it to my favorite, "Fullmetal Alchemist," even noticing similarities in the government conspiracy with all sorts of bizarre elements. In short, I liked "Fullmetal Alchemist" more, but "Attack on Titan" is also awesome.
+ A genuinely interesting plot. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. You can rarely guess what will happen in the next five minutes or what they'll come up with this time. So many questions, so few answers...
+ An amazing atmosphere of horror and hopelessness. Unfortunately, this gradually faded away, either because I got used to it, or the series itself stopped being so intense, but at first, it was truly terrifying. The titans are scarier than me when I'm sleep-deprived, there are mountains of blood, pools of corpses, traitors everywhere, it's all very harsh and mature.
+ The characters are decent. I didn't develop any particular fondness for anyone, some even slightly annoy me, but it's enjoyable to watch them. And there's plenty to laugh about.
+ The first opening of the first season is amazing. The other openings and endings of the first two seasons, as well as the overall musical score, are also at a decent level (but "Fullmetal Alchemist" is still better!).
+ Five minutes of BDSM featuring the main character. Not that he's a "hottie," but I can't help but enjoy it.
- The pacing is slow, with endless flashbacks lasting five episodes, three-minute battles stretched over half a season. Seriously, I get it, but couldn't they make it at least twice as short? Thankfully, they started to improve. Or maybe I just got used to it...
- Too much is unclear, too many questions and not enough answers! Things started to clear up somewhat, but I think they overdid it with the intrigue. Especially when titans among humans started budding like something out of a fever dream.
- The opening/ending of the third season. The opening is frankly bland and doesn't fit the series at all, and the ending isn't great either. But that's just nitpicking.
- IT'S AN ONGOING SERIES!!! Perhaps the biggest drawback >_< The cliffhanger at the end of the season is agonizing >_< Why didn't I wait ten years for the series to be fully released...? >_<
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9/10. I can't call it the best anime of the millennium, but it's a very worthy show, and I don't regret watching it. Strict 18+ rating due to the horrific stuff, trash, absurdity, and depravity, mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, incredibly scary (and therefore cool) titans, but I don't know, I find the animation easier to handle than live-action, or maybe I'm just hardened by "Farscape" (ugh, I remembered the scene where they pulled a guy's brain out live). At the same time, it has a cleverly twisted plot, intrigue, not the worst characters, and an interesting, atmospheric world. I'll repeat myself, it strongly resembles "Fullmetal Alchemist," but it's much harsher and more mature, in a way - some moments in "Fullmetal Alchemist" are too naive and kind (which is also what makes it good). At the same time, I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, whether it's the equally convoluted plot, or the strange things happening with the government, or the overpowered main character and his companions who are trying to figure out what's going on, or something elusive in the atmosphere,
or the guy from the titan-monkey, in whom I recognized the father of the degenerate brothers from "Fullmetal Alchemist" and then laughed like a hyena for ten minutes (kill me, but I couldn't identify anyone from "Attack on Titan," even though I have a feeling I should have), or maybe I just haven't watched enough anime and my brain has been consumed by "Fullmetal Alchemist" for good. Whatever. Overall, it's a great show, I like it, I subscribe, and I'm waiting for the continuation.