2000 years in the future, humanity struggles to stay alive. Giant titans, creepy/happy monsters, walk the earth eating actual humans, and force the human race (or what’s left of it) to build giant circular walls to repel the titan attacks attacks. When the titans finally figure out a way to break through the walls, nothing can stop them causing human extinction — well, except a special military police force led by a boy named Eren, who has special abilities.
I honestly didn’t know what to make of this series. I knew of the manga that had been produced for it, but I had never actually checked it out. When Funimation finally brought it out on Blu-ray/DVD, I had to see what all the buzz was about. The idea of giants that look like warped human beings causing havoc on an isolated city, housing the only remnants of humanity sure seemed interesting. BUT! It certainly didn’t start out well.
The first few episodes of the series on the first disc were confusing at best. You understand that there are these large beings trying to get over this impossible wall. They’re naked monsters (sans the twigs/berries) straight out of an anime nightmare and they’re constantly just wanting to eat these poor humans who have absolutely no chance if that wall gets destroyed. Of course, the outer wall (there are three walls) does get destroyed by an even bigger titan called an Armor Titan that has no skin, just nasty looking muscle. Kind of like this guy — sans the hair. None of the titans’ past is revealed in the first few episodes. You don’t understand their motivation or their underlying intentions. They’re just there, which will just create confusion and almost put Attack on Titan in the waste bin of potentially cool animes.
Anyway, the first few episodes do manage to introduce us to our anti-hero, Eren, as he is witnesses his mother’s death by a titan and swears revenge on them. It does do a great job with establishing who Eren is and what his motivation will be in future storylines. From there, the episodes kind of jump back and forth between characters and they build up this impossible situation for the last remaining humans to overcome. Episodes 1-5 really sort of drag and are a little too overdramatic at times.
Then the shows shifts towards the end of the first disc towards a solid looking storyline. Eren goes through his specialized military police training with his fellow colleagues, who want to eliminate the titans and give humanity a chance to survive. Other characters are established and the struggle to eliminate constant titan advances gets going. The series starts to unfold a bit of the backstory to reveal titan motives, as well as important relationships between the characters.
When you get to the second Blu-ray disc then things start really ramping up.
Eren and crew go on the attack against some titans and Eren ends up getting one of his legs bit off, as well as one of his arms. His crew thinks he’s dead and mourns him, while at the same time fighting off titans. In only a style that could make George R. R. Martin smile, you also get to see the random deaths of some of the other main crew members of the force. The series goes absolutely nuts at this point.
Hope waining, the story seems to build at the beginning of the second disc towards a calm of no hope. You would expect at this point that something the main characters hadn’t thought about would rear its head and rescue humanity, but no. Rather, the titans start attacking further and further into the cities, which makes the situation look even bleaker — not that it didn’t look pretty bleak to begin with. You’ll be on the edge of your seat wondering when luck is going to turn around for these poor folks. Thankfully, luck shifts as a rogue titan starts killing off other titans and eventually helps to defeat them.
The catch? The rogue titan is Eren. And I will stop there.
I didn’t think I would enjoy Attack on Titan as much as I did. I thought maybe this was another over-the-top anime that would look pretty, but contain no substance, and the beginning almost proved me right. I was very surprised by the story and how the writers kept it all methodically together and contained. The writing will make you feel isolated and alone as much as the people inside the walls. You’ll feel the hopelessness of the overall situation, which will get you hooked into the show pretty strongly. When the second disc ended, I wanted more. I was actually kind of pissed that there wasn’t more — but in a good pissed way. That in itself is a great sign for the longevity of a story. I almost felt like I did in 1980 when walking out of the theater having seen Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. I wanted more tomorrow and I wanted more fast.
Anyway, if you haven’t experienced the wonder that is Attack on Titan, then you need to pick it up. It’s quite the experience, intense and enormously character driven. I can’t wait to see new episodes.
As for the ‘limited edition’ side of this release, you get a lot of cool stuff with it. First, you get the DVD and Blu-ray versions of the show, which is always a plus (if you have poor friends, you can lend them the DVDs). Second, you get a cool booklet, like what Warner Bros. does with some of its re-releases, that go into the art, comics and other nice things. I’m always fascinated with that stuff, as it does add some value to the overall package.
In the features department, here’s what you’re looking at:
– The Making of Attack on Titan
– Chibi Theater: Fly, Cadets
– Fly! Days 1-13
– Episode 3 & 13 Commentaries
– Eyecatch Gallery
– Textless Songs
– Trailers
A good amount of special features added, though I would have liked a bit more commentary. I think maybe a gallery with some backstory might have been nice as well. Anyway, you get some good stuff here that makes the overall experience an extended one.
Finally, the Blu-ray version of this series is actually pretty sharp. There are a lot of heavy browns, reds, gray and blue in the overall picture (it’s a bleak world, so what do you expect), but it’s all very sharp, clean and crisp. It’s a great looking animated feature on an HD format, so you won’t be disappointed.