This is why I think the best way to appreciate Attack on Titan is to focus less on the pieces, and more on the board itself. It is why I never thought much other than 'ew, gross' and 'wow, that sucks' when any of the characters (of which there were dozens) were chewed, dismembered, and/or squished by abhorrent-looking humanoids. And while the second season gives you marginally more reason to empathise with them throughout their numerous backstory scenes, it still remains difficult to care much about the fates of any of them - a significant issue in a story centred upon war. Other characters- Sasha- are so devoid of character that the only thing they are defined by is the quantity of food they eat. They are flat, as are the side characters, so numerous and disposable that I found myself Googling the name of one of the story's new villains because I couldn't for the life of me remember who they even were. So who is there to defend instead? Mikasa and Armin, the two other primary characters, while less frustrating and less offensive to listen to, don't possess much that wasn't already immediately apparent. There's nothing to his character except his being angry all the time, which is why I make no intentions of defending his presence. The characterisation remains a sore spot for the series, with Eren continuing to scream nonsense at the top of his lungs, incapable of anything but being a hot-blooded child who is somehow the centrepiece of everything in the world. That's not to imply that all of AoT's flaws have been erased. But a second season? A third? Would it still be exciting, or would people begin to tire of it? I was in the latter camp, and so I find myself glad the goalposts were changed altogether. To be sure, Eren and crew killing (and conversely being killed) is a formula that proved moderately entertaining in the first season, if only mindlessly so. There exists a story with a direction, which is exactly why it will disappoint fans who were expecting it to perpetually wander amidst blood and steel. The world the characters inhabit possesses some It trims away its grimy, cacophonous exterior and presents something, somewhat, more refined. It was loud, its presence ever more so, and so I distanced myself from what seemed standard action movie cuisine.Īfter over three years of silence, its second season comes as something a bit more surprising. A series more interested in cinematics (orchestrals, screaming aplenty) than it did in conveying a message or allowing its audience to care for the characters beyond whatever grisly death they inevitably succumb to. Attack on Titan's first season never really sat right with me.

Ver shingeki no kyojin