My First Anime: Attack On Titan

So I just finished binge-watching the first season of Attack On Titan last week, and I have thoughts.

Yes, it's shockingly gory for an animated show, and gut-wrenching, and the subtitles can be hard to keep up with during some of the action sequences, and everyone just. keeps. DYING!

...but you should totally watch it. 

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The premise of the show is as compelling as it is crazy: all of humanity now resides inside a single enormous walled city, hoping to defend itself against the scores of human-eating giants outside called Titans. The soldiers who fight the Titans use a funky harness-and-cable system around their waists to zip around like Spider-Man, hacking at the giants with swords. This makes for some super fun fight sequences that almost feel like a virtual roller coaster.

Attack on Titan is one continuous narrative, so don't expect any resolution from episode to episode; you'll just get more cliff-hangers. The mystery of the Titans is addictive, though, and even now I cannot WAIT to see what happens in season 2. Plus, at only 22 minutes per episode, you could find yourself binging on 5 or 6 a night like I did. (There are 23 episodes in the season.)

The three main characters -  two boys and a girl - are childhood friends who enroll in the academy to become Titan-killing soldiers. They each have tragic pasts and buried secrets, but their loyalty to each other is what really ties the whole series together.

And I've gotta say, I especially appreciate the women in Attack On Titan. They fight alongside the men as equals, wear the same uniforms, have realistic anatomy (no comic book boobs here), and demonstrate equal amounts of eminent bad-assery. And while only one of the main characters is female, there are plenty more in the ensemble cast.

Mikasa here is also the best fighter in their class, and routinely kicks Titan butt.

Be prepared for a truckload of heart-wrenching awfulness in the first episode, but if you can make it through that, you can make it through the season. Also don't expect many light-hearted moments, though there are a few. It's mostly death and war and striving to survive. 

And yet, threaded through all that, there is friendship, and loyalty, and strength against impossible odds. You'll find yourself cheering for the team, and desperate to see what happens next.

You can watch season 1 of Attack On Titan on Netflix streaming, but be warned there's no English dub available there, so you're stuck with subtitles. (I know most anime purists say you should only watch with subtitles, but I find a lot of the original voice actors a little... over the top. Plus it's hard to appreciate some of the stunning fight sequences when there's so much text flying by.)

English dubs of the episodes just started airing in May on Cartoon Network, so if subtitles are a deal-breaker for you, check there or elsewhere online. Or just wait, since I'd guess (and hope!) the dubs will eventually be on Netflix, too.


So what do you think, guys? Anyone out there willing to give Attack on Titan a try? Anyone already watching it? If so, tell me what you think, and maybe how it compares to other popular animes, too,  since this is my first.