attack on titan

                                                 The towering new anime hit

Many years ago, the last remnants of humanity were forced to retreat behind the towering walls of a fortified city to escape the massive, man-eating Titans that roamed the land outside their fortress. Only the heroic members of the Scouting Legion dared to stray beyond the safety of the walls, but even those brave warriors seldom returned alive. Those within the city clung to the illusion of a peaceful existence until the day that dream was shattered, and their slim chance at survival was reduced to one horrifying choice: kill - or be devoured!

THE REAL DEAL - A MAJOR ANIME PHENOMENON: A breakaway hit reaching wider audiences

IMPACT ON POP CULTURE: Coming as a live action film, used in car ads, internet memes, parodies, collectibles, best-selling manga, video games, apps, cosplay, merch and more

THRILLING, ORIGINAL AND ACTION PACKED: A mature story with human characters, horror and intrigue

The Episodes

When Attack on Titan was first released in its native Japan it was accompanied by a rather confusing advertising campaign that focused almost entirely on the giant skinless titan. Many assumed he was the main character and no one could really tell what the manga and anime were about.

Word of mouth quickly began to spread though from those who had given the series a go and it wasn’t long before the manga was topping the book charts and a special two episode prequel anime called Attack on Titan: No Regrets was announced as well as two animated movies and two live action films scripted by the series creator Hajime Isayama, Tomohiro Machiyama and Yusuke Watanabe (who wrote the script for the recent Dragon Ball Z movie, Battle of Gods).

For a completely new series, this sudden rise to popularity is both unusual though completely understandable after having watched it.

While a lot of recent anime series and movies had begun to rely too much on fan service and clichéd anime tropes such as giggling girls in short skirts, unmotivated sexualisation and predictable comedy beats, Attack on Titan abandons all of that and instead relies on telling a good story in the best way it can. Despite the obvious Japanese style animation, Attack on Titan actually feels very Western. With the exception of one female character whose sole character trait being that she eats a lot, all of the characters are written rather intelligently and with respect. The female characters appear to be on equal footing with their male co-stars both physically and mentally and with the exception of one of the main characters who is apparently half Asian, everyone seems to be of European decent which creates a much more visually dynamic cast of characters than the typical Japanese school setting so many anime choose to be set in.

Based in an alternate version of Europe (or possibly a far future version) Attack on Titan shows the human population as they struggle to survive living alongside a race of giants who appear designed to kill humans, terrifyingly not for food but for fun. The series for the most part follows the character of Eren and his friends as they choose to join with other soldiers and fight to destroy the monsters who have devastated them all for so long.

It’s noticeably a very violent anime and something that is definitely of concern in early episodes but as the story unfolds and details are revealed a lot of the violence becomes justified with the anger issues Eren exhibits appearing to be more than meets the eye instead of irresponsible writing. There is a strong unsettling pro-militaristic undercurrent in these episodes that may be off-putting to some though hopefully, like other concerning aspects of the series, is part of the storytelling and an issue that will be expanded upon within the second half of the season.

Blu-ray and Special Features

The first 13 episodes of Attack on Titan look stunning on Blu-ray (check out other anime Blu-rays here). It’s a very new series so would expect nothing less. The Japanese stereo track sounds fine but the English 5.1 Dolby True HD option is truly stunning with some great use of bass and different audio channels.

The English subtitles do their job though it’s a shame that translations of the commercial bumpers aren’t provided as there’s some fantastic world building information on those screens.

There are some great extras in this regular Blu-ray release of Attack on Titan such as episode commentaries, galleries, trailers, special mini episodes, documentaries, textless songs as well as a 24 page physical booklet with character designs and trivia. This is fantastic value for money.

Who Should Watch?

Attack on Titan is definitely not an anime (Japanese cartoon) for kids and shouldn’t be watched by anyone under the age of 15. The themes of war, death and loss are very strong throughout these first 13 episodes and the on screen violence is extremely graphic. Male and female characters get their heads and arms ripped and bitten off by the giants, bodies are torn in two and the use of blood, while realistic for the violent situations portrayed on screen, is ever present. This is very much a series for adults so unless you have the extra money for sending your kids to therapy, wait until they’re in bed or staying at a friend’s place before watching this.

Overall

Attack on Titan is a breath of fresh air that leaves anime tropes (for the most part) in the past and tries to tell a serious story about war, family and human nature amidst a fantastical world that’s equally horrifying and engrossing.

Older anime fans who have found they’ve drifted away from anime series and films over the past few years due to the lack of originality in the industry should pick this up. Not only is it a return to form for anime series in general but it’s also damn fine entertainment that beats almost every other new series out there regardless of genre or country of origin. A must buy                                                             By. abd elghafour