Attack on Titan is one of the biggest anime hits in recent memory. Popular on both sides of the Pacific even before it was dubbed into English, it garnered praise for its graphic animation, hairpin-turn plotting, and palpable atmosphere. But despite the hearty recommendations from otaku circles, I avoided Attack on Titan. This was partly because of my inherent skepticism of something so universally praised, thinking there was no way it could live up to the hype, but also because I found the premise ridiculous.
Set in a fantasy world resembling medieval Germany, Humanity is almost extinct after being devoured by a race of mindless giants called Titans. 100 years before the series begins what's left of the human species has retreated behind three massive walls to protect themselves. It's here we meet our protagonists; young Eren Jaeger, his adopted sister Mikasa, and their friend Armin. The three yearn for something more than their repetitive lives behind the wall, with Eren in particular wanting to join the Scouts who explore beyond the protective barrier and see the outside world. But their childhoods are abruptly ended when a colossal skinless Titan, taller than any previous Titan, suddenly appears and blows a hole in their town's wall. A horde of smaller Titans floods in and Eren's mother is eaten, setting him on a path of vengeance. He and his friends barely escape the slaughter and decide to join the Army to fight back against the Titan threat. But despite their gusto, there is more to the Titans' sudden reappearance than they know...
What turned me off about Titan was its reputation of grimness. It was compared to Game of Thrones when it came to character deaths, giving them interesting backstories and personalities only to murder them in the most gruesome ways. The gore of the Titan attacks was heavily emphasized by viewers. Not helping matters was the Titans' apparent invincibility. With anime's usual answer to giant monsters, giant robots, off the table due to the setting, the puny human protagonists seemed completely outmatched by the Titans' speed, regenerative ability, and hard to reach weak spot. They seemed so undefeatable it was almost laughable. When I tried to brainstorm Anti-Titan strategies with my roommate, the anime checked me at every turn. This created in my mind the idea that Attack on Titan was nothing more than an exercise in masturbatory depression, a slasher movie blown up to apocalyptic scale where characters existed for no reason other to have their lives and dreams ended in the meat grinder of a Titan attack. An excuse to wallow in adolescent grimness and "oh so serious" violence.
So when Toonami started airing the English dub, I began watching mostly out of spite. Eventually I did start to dig on the characters and story, but the hype felt out of place. The anime was good but it was still flawed, mostly pacing problems and an over-reliance on dialogue, so what was it about Attack on Titan that made it so popular? Then while watching the news, it finally clicked.
