MyMMO author Dariusz Müller is actually very critical of Animes, but now he has seen one whose story completely fascinated him.
I am far from being an anime fan. Nevertheless, I am inclined to watch some of the most famous series. This is mainly due to my general curiosity. For example, I also want to try games that I am sure I won’t like. It might be that I am surprised and then have a really nice time. The same applies to me for movies and series, and occasionally also for books.
So I started with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners at the beginning of the year. Since I like the game a lot, it was the ideal entry point for me. Edgerunners was really good, and I admitted to myself that I should catch up on some of the most hyped Animes. As a Pokémon fan, I generally have nothing against animated series, but apart from Ash and Pikachu, only One Piece and the journey of the Straw Hat crew could captivate me until Edgerunners.
Recently, I then tried out a Crunchyroll subscription and watched all available episodes of Demon Slayer. That was also a great anime. Especially the animation style in the battles was a lot of fun to watch, but I also found many characters really well done.
And then came the anime that completely captivated me over the last few days and made me think about the story for days after the last (available) episode: Attack on Titan.
If you know the series, you can feel free to skip the description and go directly to the part where I explain why Attack on Titan is a masterpiece even for me.
What is the series about?
Attack on Titan is a manga and an anime series based on it, which in the Japanese original bears the name “Shingeki no Kyojin” and was created by Hajime Isayama.
Attack on Titan tells the story of Eren Jaeger and his friends Armin and Mikasa, whose lives take place within three large walls that surround the kingdom of humans. Outside the walls live man-eating Titans, who are gigantic creatures. Already at the beginning of the anime, some Titans overcome the walls of the kingdom, destroy Eren’s home, and eat his mother.
Eren vows to take revenge on the beasts, but that does not mean that the anime is only about fighting against wild creatures. Attack on Titan actually hides an exciting story with partially unexpected twists.
Why does Attack on Titan captivate me so much?
Even though Attack on Titan is very brutal in its portrayal and may give the impression to non-viewers that it is merely about stupid fights against giant man-eating creatures, it is primarily the complexity of the story that has captivated me.
Throughout the series, we learn more about the backgrounds and motivations of the individual characters and are repeatedly surprised by partially unexpected twists. Regularly, Attack on Titan reveals new information that gives the plot a new, significantly more political direction.
MyMMO demon and anime expert Cortyn writes about Attack on Titan that the series is developing into a political thriller, “which reminds of the best times of ‘Game of Thrones’ and in which many heroes ultimately emerge as villains.”
I can fully agree with this description. Especially the development of the main character in the final season as well as some previously resolved plot twists ensure that after finishing the last available episode, I want to hear or read the thoughts of other viewers in forums and on YouTube.
Not for nothing is Attack on Titan for Cortyn one of 5 series with which you can seduce your friends to anime.
Bonus praise for the music
A separate praise goes to Attack on Titan from me for the music, as it is really well chosen. Not only does it fit perfectly with the series and reflects the plot of the respective season, but it is also musically at a high level in my opinion and is fun to listen to.
Especially the two tracks by the band “SiM” landed in my playlist just as quickly as the Samurai songs from Cyberpunk 2077.
If you want to read more about Animes, I have a list from Cortyn for you, as she knows significantly more than I do:
