Attack on Titan First Impressions – Attack of the Monstrous Titans

Attack on Titan is the final series I’m following for the 2013 spring anime season. Thanks to a delay in licensing rights the show wasn’t made available for the west until April 12. This is quite literally the last show I’m getting to on my list and it was the best premier of all. Had I been actually sitting while watching this show I would’ve been on my seat’s edge. Attack on Titan is adapted from Hajime Isayama’s manga of the same name, directed by Tetsuro Araki (Death Note, High School of the Dead), composed by Yasuko Kobayashi (Claymore, Casshern Sins) and is a collaboration between Production I.G and Wit Studio. Isayama’s frightening Titans are distinctive in design and it spurred my initial interest in the manga. I never got around to reading the graphic novels so I was delighted to learn of an anime adaptation. With high expectations I eagerly jumped into the first episode and wasn’t disappointed in the least.

The literal attack of the Titans begins when a colossal figure with no visible epidermis or even dermis peaks its head over a giant wall protecting the city of Zhiganshina. The wall is clearly meant to keep the being at bay but things are looking ominous for the city below. The creature’s expression never changes but it is full of malice. Fast forward to a group of soldiers on horseback in the forest. The men and women are preparing to launch an attack against humungous beings known as the “Titans.” These humanoid, naked, genderless creatures are little more than killing machines that enjoy the taste of human flesh. As the cavalry prepares to mount their offensive it quickly becomes clear the humans are no match for the towering beings. The situation is as hopeless as a man trying to tear down a three-story house with yarn and a butter knife.

Inside Zhiganshina’s fortifications Eren and Mikasa are returning from the edge of outer walls after collecting fire wood. The former just woke up from a frightening dream about the Titans attacking citizens from within the huge walls. As the pair return home Eren begins to silently cry until he’s teased by Hannes, a member of the Garrison group. The Garrison are responsible for defending the citizens against the Titans but after some banter between the young boy and the older man it is revealed the soldiers do little more than repair the walls. With disgust Eren declares humans have become little more than penned up cattle and should devise a way to fight back against the monsters outside of the city.

Mikasa and Hannes attempt to reason with the boy. When the Titans appeared they wiped out most of humanity. In order to survive the people surrounded themselves with three concentrical walls rising 50 meters into the sky. (That’s roughly 164 feet or a little over 15 stories high, reaching into skyscraper territory.) By building a great city within the walls the last vestiges of humanity have been able to live peacefully for a hundred years. The Titans are much smaller than the walls and cannot breach them, so why bother wanting to leave the walls? Much to the disapproval of Misaka and Hannes, Eren wishes to join the Scouting Legion, the only military group brave enough to leave the walls in order to fight the Titans.

As if on cue, the members of the Scouting Legion who fought earlier have returned from their disastrous campaign. Many members are missing and the majority of the remainder are badly injured. When the captain is pressed by an old woman who demands to know where her son is they present her with his remains, a bloody and bruised arm. She cries and wants to know if his death did humanity any good. Unable to lie, the captain breaks down and admits to the gathered crowd the survey missions are useless. Nothing has been learned about the Titans, they are nearly indestructible and the soldiers lives were sacrificed for nothing.

Undeterred, Eren still wishes to join the Scouting Legion. Mikasa reveals this fact to her adopted parents, who mostly disapprove. Eren’s mother is vehemently against the idea, while his father, the city’s most brilliant doctor, recognizes his son’s curiosity can’t be contained. The doctor then leaves his family to take a long trip to the inner walls. The century of peace is then shattered with a thunderous bolt of red lightening. From the light a gargantuan Titan appears and it is taller than the city walls! With very little effort it smashes a hole in the outer wall, letting it’s smaller brethren in. With sadistic grins the Titans begin to eat anyone who isn’t fast enough to escape. Eren’s mother is caught in the chaos, grabbed by a Titan and eaten whole, as the young boy looks on unable to help her. All hell has just broken loose and humanity is forced to retreat to the inner walls.

From the first episode’s introduction to the close, this epic story wrapped its giant hand around me and would not let go. Director Araki was effective in quickly displaying just how futile humanity’s efforts were against the Titans. The violence was brutal and the sense of hopelessness was palatable. That point could not be driven home hard enough. Individually and collectively the people, even with their 15th century technology, were no match for the giant monsters. This time David could not slay Goliath. Jack was unable to kill the giants. And there wasn’t a place on Earth safe from the big bad man-eaters. Humanity’s only solution was to hide in plain sight behind huge walls and the resulting peace was wasted as no one was able to figure out how to defeat the Titans. In essence, the trade off for freedom was security and even then there was no guaranteed failsafe in case the massive walls were breached. As the survivors hole themselves up in the remaining two walls the choice is clear. Survive and find a way to deal with the Titans or wait for an inevitable death. While there are some bright spots in this compellingly bleak story I can only wonder how humanity will surmount this challenge.

The next best aspects of Attack on Titan are the animation and music. Hiroyuki Sawano’s compositions are fitting for such an epic story. His music complements the scenes well and are never overwhelming. I would expect no less from the man who composed Blue Exorcist’s soundtrack. Wit Studio and Production I.G along with character designer Kyoji Asano vividly bring Isayama’s work to life. Each scene manages to look like it was ripped directly from the manga. I’m a fan of the thick line work and bright highlights. Very little is lost in the transition to animation. Battles scenes are fluid and the CGI used on the Titans blends well with the 2D animation. There are spots here and there where camera tricks are used in lieu of actual animation but the work is so gorgeously detailed most fans won’t care. In short, this anime has the budget to match the unique action story.

Unless you have ZERO tolerance for bleak action stories, brutality and su
ffering, I can’t think of a reason why any fan of animation shouldn’t give Attack on Titan a try. This series has so few of the typical anime tropes I believe it can appeal to almost anyone willing to give it a shot. As long as Aaraki, Kobayashi and Wit Studio can hold it together this anime could be the most memorable series of 2013.

Attack on Titan is currently being streamed on FUNimation’s Elite Video Subscription service and on Crunchyroll every Sunday. Screenshots are courtesy of Random Curiosity.