How Shingeki no Kyojin(Attack On Titan) became My Favorite Anime and My Second Favorite TV Show Besides Chernobyl!
No major spoilers in this blog.
Warning - THIS ANIME WILL GET RUINED IF LATER SEASONS GET SPOILED!THIS BLOG IS SAFE THOUGH...
Attack On Titan is something different and it is something unique.It has a weird and mind blowing structure.It starts as something simple and something very straight forward and by the end of Season 3, it changes into something else.It begins with Humans trapped in a cage and struggling to survive from an enemy that is too powerful, pretty much like the White Walkers in Game Of Thrones(well not exactly...we all know how much of a waste the white walkers were) but then something happens.What first looks like an action anime starts dropping questions,questions about the history of humanity,question about the existence of humans,questions about their enemies known as the Titans and then those questions just do not get answered, at least not anytime soon.It is even worse when you think about the fact that the first season that came out way back in 2013 ended with a Mind-boggling cliffhanger and then people had to wait for FOUR YEARS before the second Season dropped in 2017 and that season became even more weirder buy asking more mind-boggling questions but it also gave us some little drops of information that were not enough but it gave people something to speculate and something to theorize about and that is the biggest advantage of the Anime since it is actually completely based on the Manga of the same name written by Hajime Isayama in a masterful way.It is crazy how much mind bending and beautifully written this anime is.Thankfully the wait between Season 2 and Season 3 was not that long since season 3 dropped in 2018 and believe me when I say this,Season 3 Blew all the expectations out of the park and was probably the most Important Season in TV History because it changed everything about the anime.It changed the entire Genre and the Status quo of the anime and now after completing it, I have realised that this show is not what it started as anymore.It has become Something else,something more sinister and much more grand and something more complex and convoluted both lore,story and character wise.Just Look at its IMDB episode ratings and it blows every live action show out of the park in the History of television!
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| Insane and Unbelievable Scores On IMDB(I have Blurred the Thumbnails and Synopsis to avoid Spoilers) |
This Anime starts as an action survival anime during its first season.It is very fast paced and very action packed with a lot of characters who just have a simple goal, To Save Humanity from the wrath of the Titans but in the middle of the season, in the midst of all the action, the show drops very little references about how weird it would get in the future.Besides that,this season also focuses on the reality of choices that humans make as well as the concept of trust among comrades in a very grounded and realistic way and it also makes us feel the weight of these choices and the impact it has on everyone we know.
Then Season 2 happens and right of the bat it feels different.The pacing is slower and things are much more mysterious in the second season as the show kind of shifts focus away from the action and starts focusing on the 'Why?' of everything.It shifts the focus away from the main characters in the first 6 episodes and does a detail focus on the supporting characters and their motivations and past lives.It gives us really crazy information about certain characters with subtle details that really create more questions and complicate the entire events within the anime's world beyond unexpected levels while giving very bare minimum information to speculate the truth.And most importantly it gives us some emotional perspective about the enemies and it has an episode completely from the enemy's perspective but this is no new thing for an Anime as they always show the perspective of the enemy and the motivations behind their actions in detail(like the main character of Death Note is a bad guy.I wrote about Death Note that you can read here.).Besides the focus on characters, the story starts focusing more on the bigger picture by paving a path to solving a few secrets that take unexpected turns and adds more sad mysteries that will not get solved anytime soon.
Than comes Season 3 which is not only very different in tone and plot from the first two but also different in storytelling specially in the last three episodes of the season that change the entire concept of the show and it also has the 'Hero' episode which is one of the best episodes of anything that I have ever seen.It might even be the best episode but it has very close contenders like 'Vichnaya Pamyat' from Chernobyl and 'The Winds Of Winter' from Game Of Thrones(I have not watched Breaking Bad lol so I do not really know about Ozymandias...maybe soon).Season 3 is divided into Part 1 and Part 2 with 12 and 10 episodes each and both the parts are significantly different than each other.Infact they are so different that Season 3 part 2 feels like Season 4 entirely.Infact part 2 came out 6 months after part 1(yes the anime in Season 3 went on a 6 month vacation after its mid-season finale).The first half of Season 3 pretty much sidelines the Titan plot and starts focusing on more political things like the throne,corruption of the government,false kings,royal blood lines and it made me feel like I was watching an animated version of the first season of Game Of Thrones!Its crazy how political it was with the planning, conspiracies against the main characters and their military units,secrets of the king's family, governments manipulation of the common people,etc.It was a surprise element in an otherwise fantasy adventure anime.The pace slowed down as the story took a complete focus and situations became sense.There is only one actual action sequence in the first half of season 3 and it is a very insane one.Infact it was so insane that it took 1 month to make that 5 minute action sequence.It also starts to question the morality of all the characters that we have been watching since the first episode of the first season in an unexpected way and also gives some answers about the unsolved mysteries.Than part 2 happens which is a game changer as it brings the focus back to the Titan Story line and believe me when I say this that Season 3 Part 2 is a masterpiece.It is very fast paced in the first 5 episodes and with Insane action sequences and battle strategies against old enemies and takes the characters back to an old location that made its first and last appearance in the very first episode of season 1.The stakes are high, the tension is high, the odds are against humanity and our heroes are outnumbered and the power of choices and their outcomes come at the front and center making every character feel real.It is very emotional.These last 10 episodes are very emotional and you will get chills and despite being an anime, cinematography is really large, wide and amazing and the level depth and immersion is unbelievable.The last 4 episodes of the season are the episodes that change the entire concept and plot of the anime and basically shift the entire Genre of the anime in ways that you will never see coming and then it ends on a beautiful and bittersweet note (how Game Of Thrones Should Have Ended!).Infact people compared Season 3 to GoT Season 8 and compared the greatness of AoT with senselessness of GoT.
A few more things that I love about this anime:-
1. The Brutality of War - In spite of being a fictional story, the anime shows the brutal reality of war and the thought process of soldiers in a realistic and grounded way that rival even some great war movies.It does not show fearless soldiers who are not afraid or anything like that but it shows that soldiers are very well afraid of death and no bravery or heroism can save them.All they can do is try to survive and hope that luck is by their side.They know that most of the new soldiers recruited will die and not make it home and they are traumatized after the evens of a fight and are traumatized by the horrible things they have seen and by the sight of their friends being killed in horrible ways.The soldiers start with bright and brave personality who are proud of their decision to join an army but once they enter the battlefield, they realise the true horrors of wars and start regretting their decision.
2. The Characters - The characters are very well written from the good guys to the enemies and all the characters have a story and past and all of them have a motivation behind their actions and the choices that they make.They are very realistic and grounded in reality and it is very easy to get emotionally attached to them.
3. Beautiful Background Score and Music - Music adds a lot to a show or movie and Attack On Titan has one of best Musical Scores in any form of entertainment media ever.From orchestral and instrumentals to melodic rock and use of instruments like the Violin,Cello,Viola,Grand Piano,Drums and Electronic Guitar along with good vocals with languages ranging between German,English and Japanese.The Music of all three seasons was composed by Hiroyuki Sawano.
4. Subtle Attention To Details About Future Events - The Anime has really subtle attention to details about future events.There are quite a few subtle references to events that happen as early as season 1 first half that will not get solved until late season 3. Infact the outro credits sequences of both seasons 1 and 2 are completely filled with spoilers about future events that you wont even understand and will completely ignore because the story is very far from those events as of now.The Name of the very First Episode is a spoiler that will not make sense anytime soon.Infact all of the subtle foreshadowing
that I noticed was only after rewatching Seasons1 & 2 before I went into Season 3.
After watching all 3 seasons(59 episodes excluding the O.V.As but 59 episodes are nothing for an anime considering that they are only around 20 minutes long give or take), I have realised that this anime has come very far from its roots.Its not what it started as anymore.It has become something else,something more darker, sinister and complex and the characters are not at all like how they started.Season 4 which will be the final season will arrive late this year and I am very excited for that.From what I have heard from Manga readers, Season 4 will be even more crazy and will somehow surpass our expectations even further and they believe that it will destroy all the multi-million dollar Live action TV shows out there.That is AoT for you that keeps getting better and better and keeps surpassing our already surpassed expectation with every season.Too bad a lot of people will not watch this incredible story because IT IS AN ANIME and they THINK THAT ANIME=KIDS CONTENT even tough this anime along with several other animes have been rated TV-MA(Means Mature Audience).Like where does this shit mentality even come from?Whats next?People also think that Cartoons are for only kids.Well too bad they have not heard about Rick & Morty and South Park which are extremely edgy.
Additinal Notes About Post Credit Scenes.
Some Episodes specially season finales have post credit scenes(or you may call end of credit scene like the marvel movies) that are very important and should not be missed.
Here is a list of episodes that have Post Credit Scenes:-
Season 1 Ep 25(overall 25th episode)
Season 3 Ep 12(overall 49th episode)
Season 3 Ep 19(overall 56th episode)
Season 3 Ep 22(overall 59th episode)
Additional Notes About the O.V.As(Original Video Animation)
OVAs are basically these bonus episodes that were not included with the main episodes and should be watched if you want and some are really important and good.There are a total of 8 O.V.A episodes that are not included with the main episodes.Here is a list of OVA episodes and when to watch them:-
(Do not get the Episode numbers below confused with the Episode numbers of the main seasons!These episodes are completely different from the main season episodes so watch the main seasons normally without skipping any episodes.The last thing I would want is a person skipping Episode 1 of Season 1 thinking it is the O.V.A.To make sure that nobody gets confused, I will reference The O.V.As as Season 0)
Season 0 Episode 1 Ilse's NoteBook(Priority Very High and should be watched as it sets up an important plot point for future seasons)(Should be watched after Season 1 and before Season 2)
Season 0 Episode 2 A Sudden Visitor(Priority Very Low.It is a filler and can be skipped)(Should be watched after Season 1 and before Season 2)
Season 0 Episode 3 Distress(Priority Medium.Gives us a little more insight towards the training of the soldiers but has nothing to add to the story.Can be skipped but I recommend watching)(Should be watched after Season 1 and before Season 2)
Season 0 Episode 4 No Regrets Part 1 & Episode 5 No Regrets Part 2(Priority Extremely High.Gives us the back story about a very important character and is very emotional so both the parts are a must watch)(Should be watched after Season 1 and before Season 2)
Season 0 Episode 6 Goodbye Wall Sina Part 1(Lost Girls Part 1) & Episode 7 Goodbye Wall Sina Part 2(Lost Girls Part 2)(Priority High.Shows us a series of small events before a major event in Season 1.Watch both parts)(Should be watched after Season 2 and before Season 3)
Season 0 Episode 8 Lost In The Cruel World(Lost Girls Part 3)(Priority High.Shows us the mindset of a central character before the end of Season 3 Part 1.It is NOT connected with the previous 2 Lost Girls episodes)(Should be watched after Season 3 Part 1 which is after season 3 episode 12 which is the 49th overall episode but before Season 3 Part 2)
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