My Thoughts On: Attack on Titan (season 1)

*note: some spoilers for Attack on Titan follow

I first tried to watch Attack on Titan several years ago and I admit I was initially not into the series at all. The unnatural appearance of the Titans freaked me out so much that after the third or fourth episode (I don’t remember which), I put the series away and proceeded to ignore it. The concept of humanity being hemmed in on all sides by bloodthirsty giants really scared me, it’s almost like a zombie apocalypse only the zombies are giants. Fast forward to this year and I decided to give the series another shot and I am so glad I did. Attack on Titan is an amazing series that is admittedly full of violence but also contains a lot of intrigue and plot twists that keep you guessing as to what is really going on.

The initial premise of Attack on Titan is that over 100 years ago, humanity was overwhelmed by the sudden emergence of the Titans, a strange race of giants that love to eat humans. The surviving humans sequestered themselves behind a series of walls and maintained an uneasy status quo until a Colossal Titan breaks through the first wall at the beginning of the series, setting the story into motion. The story follows Eren Yeager as he sets out on his journey in life after the first Titan attack destroys life as he knows it. Apart from Eren, my favorite character is Mikasa Ackerman, I really love watching her fly around the battlefield, a graceful but deadly figure. Another important character (and one I somewhat identify with) is Armin, who initially seems like the last person who should be fighting Titans, but he cares for his friends so much that he does what he can do protect them.

One of the strengths of the first season is its stunning animation. The fight sequences between the soldiers and the Titans are just beautiful. Even though characters are literally flying across the screen, there’s no issue in following the action. The Titans, particularly the Colossal Titan, the Armored Titan, and the Female Titan are animated in spectacular detail. Unlike the regular Titans, these special Titans are better proportioned and look more realistic (relatively speaking). One of the biggest twists in this season involves the nature of these special Titans. The revelation that some humans can transform into Titans, in my opinion, completely sets the story on its head. It was initially established that Titans were a completely separate race, but if some humans can become Titans…how do you know who the “enemy” is? It’s a complex question and it leads you to go back over the entire season and re-evaluate everything you think you know.

Another detail I ended up liking about this season is that nobody is safe. You can spend several episodes getting to know a character only to find out they were killed during a battle with a Titan or worse, eaten. Some series suffer because a certain set of characters are protected by “plot armor” meaning they’ll never be in real danger because the story can’t go on without them, but that is definitely not the case with this story. One detail that still bothers me is the graphic nature of some of these deaths. You see and hear a lot of grisly stuff, blood, screams of pain, it can be a little overwhelming at times.

By the end of season 1, I was completely hooked on the series. I’m glad I gave Attack on Titan another chance and I highly recommend it. Attack on Titan is currently available on Hulu and Netflix. Let me know what you think about the series in the comments below and have a great day!