Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season & Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou

[Ryu]

Title: Attack on Titan
Japanese: 進撃の巨人
Airing date: 6/4/2013 (TV series 25 episodes+recap 13.5+OVA+specials)
Genres: Action, Mystery, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural, shounen
Director: Tetsurō Araki
Original creator: Hajime Isayama
Produced by: Tetsuya Kinoshita
Written by: Yasuko Kobayashi
Character designer: Kyoji Asano
Music by: Hiroyuki Sawano
Studio: Wit Studio and Production I.G
Network: MBS
Opening theme: "Crimsom Bow and Arrow (紅蓮の弓矢 Guren no Yumiya)" by Linked Horizon
2nd OP theme: "Wings of Freedom" (自由の翼 Jiyū no Tsubasa) by Linked Horizon
ED theme: "Beautiful Cruel World (Utsukushiki Zankoku na Sekai 美しき残酷な世界)" by Yoko Hikasa
2nd ending theme: "Great Escape" by Cinema Staff
Main cast: Eren Jaeger (エレン・イェーガー) voiced by Yuki Kaji
Mikasa Ackerman (ミカサ・アッカーマン) voiced by Yui Ishikawa
Armin Arlert (アルミン・アルレルト) voiced by Marina Inoue
Jean Kirstein (ジャン・キルシュタイン) voiced by Kishō Taniyama
Annie Leonhart (アニ・レオンハート) voiced by Yu Shimamura
Sasha Blouse (サシャ・ブラウス) voiced by Yū Kobayashi
Krista Lenz (クリスタ・レンズ) / Historia Reiss (ヒストリア・レイス) voiced by Shiori Mikami
Connie Springer (コニー・スプリンガー) voiced by Hiro Shimono
Marco Bott (マルコ・ボット) voiced by Ryōta Ōsaka
Reiner Braun (ライナー・ブラウン) voiced by Yoshimasa Hosoya
Bertholdt Hoover (ベルトルト・フーバー) voiced by Tomohisa Hashizume
Ymir (ユミル) voiced by Saki Fujita
Levi (リヴァイ) voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya
Erwin Smith (エルヴィン・スミス) voiced by Daisuke Ono
Hange Zoë (ハンジ・ゾエ) voiced by Romi Park
Hannes (ハンネス) voiced by Keiji Fujiwara
TV series PV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKzmOh4SuBc
Imagine-nation review: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/...25_archive.html (Roundup #1 http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/...13_archive.html )
Official website: http://www.shingeki.tv/

Synopsis: Hundreds of years ago, humanity was nearly wiped out by titans. A small percentage survived by surrounding a city with extremely tall walls. After over one hundred years of peace, the wall is suddenly destroyed by a colossal titan. Eren swears to exterminate the titans and take revenge for all the mankind after the city is invaded and his mother is eaten alive.

Necropinion: for me this is the most interesting premise from the sypnosis I was reading on the spring line-up, now that I watched the preview I'll surely check how good the series may turn out in a few weeks... Edit: just watched ep. 1 and it didnt disappoint me at all with great story, music and visuals ^^ also Mikasa is becoming one of my favorite girls this season Ex: very high - PS 9/10

 

[franzoir]

Ok....YES after watching the PV I am 1000% behind this. But I hope the story expands beyond the village. Otherwise it could feel a bit monster of the week.

 

[julez]

I am super excited for this one too! Read the first volume of the manga and calling it was a "thrilling ride" is an understatement

 

[Nioki]

Absolutely enjoyed everything I could find of the manga, and going to be following this like a madman. Hope everyone else enjoys this as much as I will.

 

[franzoir]

Ep 1- Exhilarating.

What struck me most was the feeling of powerlessness. I was cheering for Hannes. Do the shounen thing and ignite your fist of fire. And then he just stopped in his tracks. Took the children and ran. Utter helplessness but a smart decision. For him it would have been a deadly battle of survival, but clearly to that titan, it was a jubilant excursion to McDonalds.

Favourite character is Mikasa so far. She exudes a quiet intensity. I had a feeling she was strong after she tossed Eren like a ragdoll. But the 'Oh Sh!t' look the boys had when she ran behind Eren was priceless.

I like worlds where it feels like it has existed for a long time. So I'm very interested to know how the status quo came to be. How did the humans, 100 years past, were able to erect that wall. If we go by China's great wall model, that is a 200 year project in and of itself. I dont see the titans waiting for humans to build a wall to keep them out and it clearly wasnt god as that man was professing. So something isnt quite right with that scenario.

Also it feels over the 100 years that 50 meter titan evolved for the specific purpose of taking out that wall. Who knows maybe it is just an anomaly or even the leader.

Great premiere. Cant be bothered to wait week after week for the episode. Off to read the manga.

 

[Knorris908]

Two words: FREAKING AWESOME!

This was "Samurai 7"-level artistry in both visual and audio aspects.

I'm not even going to try and classify the characters against any animes I've watched in the past, as this feels to me like a really "New and fresh" persepective on dystopian human future society. (If this is even supposed to be Earth, I'm not really sure.) Though I will go back on my word and comment that I feel like his little girlfriend Mikasa is a "Weapon X", waiting to happen with how cool and wise before her time she seems. Though sometimes, those are the ones who crack and go nuts the worst...

Naturally, in a story of this nature, you need to establish the characters and their life before the main conflict arc to really allow you to feel the stress of the drastic changes that they must face and what motivates them to do naturally, what normal people would consider to be insane. (Even if I KNEW that I was the hero of an anime, I seriously doubt that I would have the guts to charge towards a 50-foot cannibal that's looking at me like I was a jerky-treat!) If this is anything like Jyu-Oh-Sei, (Which is a true classic in my book!) we won't get to the really serious action for a few episodes. But that's okay, I truly feel like this is going to be worth the wait.

This gets a resounding "YES!" in my book. Can't wait for the next episode.

...Though I'm really concerned that I might start having nightmares about those freakish smiles that many of the titans have...

Oh, and the COMMIE fansub seems like a troll-sub, which surprised me since I usually hold their translations in very high regard...

 

[Anybody]

So far great and quite faithful to the manga although the fact that manga is unfinished possibly means half-assed anime-original ending down the line which I am not that happy about.

The art style is very close to manga too, although at moments it fails to "capture" the sense of movement manga panels had(for example the moment where the bigger titan swung his leg to the wall looked better in the manga, while anime failed to capture the motion happening).

Another problem is that sometimes the animation style gets a bit way too hectic, making it impossible to understand what the hell is going on(for example the OP sequence showcasing all the characters) add a huge amount of bloom the anime uses and this could prove to be a big roadblock in the fight scenes, since Shingeki no Kyojin fight scenes already are very hectic and require a good comprehension of space around the characters. We'll see how it turns out in that aspect though.

Music was beyond awesome and great too, although OP song was a wee bit too shonen-y for this type of story(not to mention shaky and a big underwhelming title screen with chains and fire)

Otherwise very solid first episode. Hopefully show does not fall in quality as it continues.

 

[julez]

YESSSSSSSS! Amazing first episode! It captured the horror and thrill of the manga just like I hoped it would. The animation was spectacular! I especially liked how they focused on the eyes of the characters when they were frightened or angry, I liked seeing how they expressed that intensity.
The music, animation, plot, characters, everything about it was excellent. Like you all said, I do hope that they can keep it up.
As for anime original ending... oh God no! >_< I'm hoping that they end it with hints of a 2nd season down the line when there's more material.
QUOTE (franzoir)I like worlds where it feels like it has existed for a long time. So I'm very interested to know how the status quo came to be. How did the humans, 100 years past, were able to erect that wall. If we go by China's great wall model, that is a 200 year project in and of itself. I dont see the titans waiting for humans to build a wall to keep them out and it clearly wasnt god as that man was professing. So something isnt quite right with that scenario.
This is interesting, I wondered about that too. I'm guessing they started building when they first encountered titans (and they were much fewer then), and the titans just multiplied over the years... not sure.

QUOTE (Knorris908)...Though I'm really concerned that I might start having nightmares about those freakish smiles that many of the titans have...
Yeah I feel you there, especially concerning the one that ate Eren's mom ;_;
I thought that scene was realistically done too, really heartbreaking... she did want them to go so that they would live, but at the last second she was afraid and didn't want to be there alone.

 

[franzoir]

I got up to chapter four of the manga and I'm like nope I cant do this. I know exactly where it is going and I cant say I like it.

Humans vs titans is a wafer thin plot to begin with but I feel those plots are the best when the writer holds nothing back.

Dropped. Oh well.

 

[Anybody]

Can't help but laugh at above post, but oh well.



Second episode was just as awesome as first (DAT OST) and they so far are mostly faithful to the manga, which is good(although the fear of anime-original ending still lingers on me).

Anyway, so the "prologue" part of story has ended and now we are about to get to even better stuff. I hope Production IG can do those story parts justice.

 

[Marine-RX179]

Last week after watching episode 1, I went to read chapter 1 (more like first half of it since that's all that episode 1 covered), and I have to say the anime seem to do a much better job in bringing the atmosphere across (probably due to the voice acting and the directing of the anime), whereas the manga seem a bit lacking in terms of presentation and impact, and it didn't give the same sense of despair and helpless across as the anime did.

While story wise it might be as franzoir say may be a bit lacking, but if the anime studio can keep up on focusing on the feelings and the struggles of the characters and do a good job on getting it across, I think it shouldn't be to bad.

 

[Anybody]

Well to be honest, prologue NEVER should be heavy on the story - it establishes the WHYs and the HOWs about characters and drops a few hooks of story to keep people interested and invested in its mysteries.

In 2 episodes we already had a fair share of world-building and sense of the setting, as well as the danger the titans represent. At the same time we know motivations of lead characters, as well as reasoning behind their actions and how they got to where they are, not to mention hints at future mysteries with Erin's father and Mikasa's strange flashback.

So I'd say the first two episodes already did their job at what they needed to do and surpassed that by adding a perfect mood and atmosphere to it.


Disagreed on anime doing a better job at atmosphere, though - the way the titans are drawn in manga adds a real sense of in-movement frames one would see, while anime greatly tones down the violence, fails to capture the drawings of the titans and sort-of overdramatizes certain scenes(which is no surprise considering who directs this). Its still great atmospherically and it manages to hit a LOT of key notes form manga(the titan charging for example), but as manga-reader I find it lacking somewhat at points(most of the beginning of EP2, flashbacks, as well as Erin's mother's death in EP1).

 

[franzoir]

I dont want to get into spoiler territory but I will say I'm looking forward to seeing Pacific Rim. However, people have correctly stated that it cant just be robots vs monsters for a two hour film. So now extrapolate that scenario to essentially a 6 hour anime series and an ongoing manga with a similar plot.

I read pass the prologue to see what new plot conceits the author would come up with because unless there is a real sense of progress in the ongoing battle then it will get repetitive fast.

All I know is, I dont like where the story is heading. It feels like if I stuck with it the most enjoyment I could get from it is by playing guess who, untill the author decides to drop a revelation. Personally, I dont have the patience for that.

Whatever people like about the anime/manga, more power to them, it is just not for me.

 

[Klyern]

hahahaha i have been awake for like 10 hours and i witnessed it, the thing that us humans call obsession!

The first ep was translated by just a couple of groups, then when the second came out, all the groups made a version almost simultaneously xD

Its like everyone is into this anime. Ill save the manga for when i finish the anime.

ps: it seems its going to be about 25 episodes long.

 

[JCDRANZER]

First 2 episode were great and I'm happy he's finally joined and gone through puberty lol. Episode 03 should be out soon and I'm looking forward to it. The series is great because of some of it's plot twists.

 

[Knorris908]

Third episode was very enjoyable. And what a beauty Mikasa grew into! Though I still would never want to piss her off.

No spoiler, but it's safe to say that in this episode Eren faces one immediate challenge, and one long-term one which he doesn't even understand the depth of yet...

It seems that the women of the squad are the real show stealers this time around though. Not because of beauty, or outrageously proportioned figures, but because of their personality quirks and strength of spirit. Mikasa is in good company it seems... Sasha Braus is a really fun character to watch. She reminds me a bit of a female Son Goku, or perhap Lirin with MUCH less of a bust line, (Let's face it, a girl THAT top-heavy would never balance well on the 3-D wire gear anyway...) from Saiyuki. But I haven't yet figured out if she has an inner Kyubi or inner Byakko yet... (Both beasts are in Chinese mythology, but her name sounds German.)

Anyway, I LIKE her!

Excellent episode!

 

[JCDRANZER]

Episode 03 was fantastic and I know what the series has in store for us and I'm itching to watch the next episode.

I also wanted to know what the name of the song that plays when he succeeds in the aptitude test. Anyone know?

 

[julez]

Excellent episode 3. It didn't follow the order of the manga (going by the first volume, the only one I've read

) but I loved it anyway.

The best part of the ep for me (even tho there were many great moments):

Sasha looks like she's going to add a lot of eccentricity to the show ;P

And just for fun:

Some ppl are complaining about Mikasa not having dead eyes in the anime and wearing lipstick... honestly, as long as they keep the story and action scenes going at a high level, then who cares about such a miniscule detail?

 

[Barbobot]

QUOTE (julezia @ Apr 23 2013, 04:57 PM) Some ppl are complaining about Mikasa not having dead eyes in the anime and wearing lipstick... honestly, as long as they keep the story and action scenes going at a high level, then who cares about such a miniscule detail?
Especially when she looks goddamn gorgeous in the show.

 

[julez]

Yeah I think it's an improvement actually, she looks gorgeous. As long as they have her personality down pat, I don't see the problem.

Fave Mikasa moment so far (tho there are many):