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May 5, 2016
Death Note's point of view is, of course, that the protagonist is actually Light's Moriarity to L's Holmes. Having a villain as an entertainment centerpiece is nothing new; just look back at Shakespeare's Richard III to see an ignoble main character who addresses the audience as he schemes. More modern examples would be The Sopranos, Pulp Fiction, or even the strikingly similar Showtime series Dexter. Indeed, it is not Light's prominence as a megalomaniac lethario that compromises Death Note as a series. In fact, its viewpoint is so rare in the anime world that it's refreshing.
What makes Death Note deeply problematic instead is its total
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lack of a moral compass. The manga's creators have said that the intent of the series was never to explore the ramifications of Light's actions; it was to present a dramatic thriller with a cat-and-mouse game. I can accept that Tsugumi Ooba and Takeshi Obata weren't going to create a philosophical manga for Shonen Jump. But Light is presented as a hero. Even members of L's team often admit that they aren't sure if catching Kira is the right thing to do because he's doing so much good at cleaning up the world. L himself isn't interested in the justice aspect; he just wants to get his man.
Death Note becomes not only morally unstable but unrealistic as it progresses. As Kira's work continues, wars stop. Crime plummets. Across the world, people are living in peace. Sounds great, doesn't it? But as we learn within the series, the Death Note only works when its owner knows the name and the face of the person to be killed. Could Light/Kira stop crime in first world countries where the names and pictures of those on trial are published every day? Perhaps. But wide swaths of the planet are not first world. Countless countries around the world, many with some of the highest corruption rates and amounts of lawlessness, are essentially "off the grid." Nobody publicizes when a village is stomped down in some rural part of Africa. Nobody knows the names of the thousands of soldiers in some wannabe dictator's army going around indiscriminately murdering. For the Death Note to work, you've got to have media. No media, no luck. Talk about a logical hole in the plot!
Even worse is that Kira is never wrong. No one wrongly accused or convicted ever dies. Even when he kills off "good guys," it's always to keep from being caught. Only in one fleeting moment of the show do we see the fact that even the worst outlaw has family and friends who care about him. What about the stories of the families of those officers he kills to make good his escapes? Never told. All of this makes it look like Light is not only justified in doing what is morally reprehensible, but deserves his status as a near-god.
All of that is bad, but very little of it is relatable to a teenager. No one's going to be able to kill criminals with a Death Note. Now if the audience were made up of adults, Death Note might be seen as presenting us with a moral conundrum to debate. (In fact, I've had a really good discussion over at THEM Anime on this series, and it shows that adults can have much more stimulating conversations about this show than many others that are just fluff.) However, there's another side of Light's personality that I haven't yet mentioned, one that's very relatable to teens, and that's his willingness to lie, cheat, and deceive in order to achieve his objectives.
Perhaps the best example of this is episode 7, which nearly made me stop watching. By this episode, Light has killed an FBI agent named Ray Pember. His fiance, a former agent, wants to meet with the investigating team to discuss her husband's death. The majority of the episode involves Light walking around with her while the audience hears his inner monologue as he schemes how he can find out her real name so he can kill her. By the end of the episode, he succeeds. Lying to get your way works. Now murder by notebook might be impossible for a teen, but the show presents immoral means to get what you want as very attractive, very successful, and consequence free. If Light is a moral exemplar, which the series does not refute in any way, then why not act accordingly? For an adult with a fully formed sense of right and wrong, the episode was nervewracking and disturbing. But for a teen who hasn't given it much thought? It could seem very appealing.
Before my review sounds completely judgmental, I have to say that Death Note is intriguing and engaging. Despite my lack of warmth for the show as a whole, L quickly became a favorite. His personality quirks and unique style -- and the fact that he is the real hero of the show -- make him a memorable character. There is a surprising amount of humor that lightens the otherwise grim tone (and not in a perfunctory or inappropriate way). The world of the Shinigami itself is creative, and while the show fails to capitalize on it, the "what if" concept of the Death Note is a philosopher's dream. I thought the morality presented was flawed through and through, and it has other problems such as a reliance on overused shonen tropes like internal narrative and an amazingly baffling plot twist two-thirds of the way through that nearly wrecks the final third -- but the curves and turns along the way kept me engaged throughout.
The long and short of it is this: Death Note is wildly inappropriate for the Shonen Jump audience for which it is intended. Middle school and early high school teens are going to have a difficult time sorting out the good from the bad. (Heck, some adults do!) The creators may have wanted to make a simple thriller, but they built a world that cries out for ethical explanations. Giving none is inexcusable. My rating balances the facts: it's an effective thriller, but one that could be morally detrimental to the crowd it seeks to seduce.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 5, 2016
For those who haven't caught any of the show or the hype, Cowboy Bebop initially involves just two guys, Spike and Jet, who are trying to make a living as interstellar bounty hunters. They travel from system to system trying to earn rewards for bringing in various and sundry criminals in their heap of a spaceship named the Bebop. As their journeys continue, we learn more about their pasts--Jet's life as a cop, and Spike's membership in a crime syndicate--while they meet up with others who become a part of their crew. Faye Valentine's a selfish but beautiful gal who occasionally works with the guys
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when not gambling or trying to understand the memories of her past that have gone missing. Ed's a she that looks like a he that can hack into any computer system, providing she doesn't giggle and goofytalk her way into oblivion. And Ein's a good-natured data dog with as much personality as his companions in just a simple woof. A ragtag bunch if we've ever seen one, the five nevertheless wind up capturing the imagination and hearts of their audience easily during their 26 episodes of adventures.
I have never seen an animated television series look so fantastic. Almost every episode of Bebop rivals theatrical animation, trouncing on OVAs that supposedly have better budgets. It looks amazing. The soundtrack by Yoko Kanno, a jazz fusion blend, is immediately catchy, but it has surprising depth, enough that the CD has become a regular companion. If you like animation at all, you'll have to see Bebop. And, frankly, it doesn't matter if you are a subtitle purist or a dub fan, because both versions are fantastic. I watch subs almost exclusively, and I got hooked on the dub. That just doesn't happen to me, but it did here. It's that good.
But beyond that, the show has a style and colorfulness lacking in too many anime. True, some shows like Hellsing are drenched in style, but that's all they are. Cowboy Bebop is cool without ever having to rely on attitude alone to see it through. Although I tend to prefer shows with plotlines that build on each other, Bebop grows our affection for the characters through mostly stand-alone episodes. There is back-story to be told, and it's told well, but rarely do shows without a strong story arch feel so natural. It shouldn't be as powerful as it is, but it's a testament to good storytelling.
Then there's that wonderful history and the drastic ending (which I won't spoil here, though I'll discuss it below under the main review). I'm reminded when watching Cowboy Bebop of the tagline from the beautifully haunting film Magnolia: "We may be through with the past, but the past isn't through with us." Bebop is effective because each character has such a rich history before the stories here even begin that they are fully realized in every way. Sadly, in most anime, characters exist only to fulfill plot purposes, rather than existing as entities unto themselves. In fact, Bebop works because we go through the entire show, right up to its conclusion, without knowing everything there is to know about these folks. They are motivated by issues that the writers developed that we don't even fully understand. That lends a reality to the characters that makes them far more enjoyable than we expect. When their pasts catch up with them, we care.
This leads us to the controversial part...the last few episodes that wrap everything up. The events of those episodes are cataclysmic, to say the least. For American audiences, they can mar the experience, even. (As one friend said to me, "Now that I've watched the whole thing, the last couple episodes make me sad, in a way, that I did.") But they are very Japanese, encapsulating the ambiguity and realism that set the very best anime apart. I believe that they make the show even more authentic and worthy. At the same time, the only thing that keeps me from giving the show an A+ is that the ending doesn't have the emotional impact it should because we just don't know quite enough back-story yet for it to work. We are left with too many questions. Again, I attribute it to the fact that Japanese stories are rife with ambiguity. But this one could have stood just a little bit less.
That being said, Cowboy Bebop is easily in my list of "best anime ever". If you like anime, you should see it. Period. Normally, I use my final paragraph to sum it all up, but that says it all. You should see it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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May 5, 2016
In almost every way, Bleach is almost the polar opposite in terms of a TV show. The animation is sometimes haphazard, and the character designs are nothing special...even verging on ugly at times. The opening theme is very catchy, but the music beyond that isn't memorable. The show at times is painfully slow and follows far too many clichéd conventions of the shonen genre, and some plot holes are achingly obviously. And yet...while this is not a great show by any means, it is a good one, and it's precisely because it has heart. I can't describe any better why I got wrapped up into
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seeing this tale of a demon hunter, but it has a resonance that 2nd Gig just didn't have.
Ichigo is a relatively normal (if morose) teen who started seeing spirits a few years back. Most of the time, it wasn't an issue...just an annoyance, really. But when he and his family are attacked, through a series of circumstances he is granted the power of a soul reaper. Soul reapers, it turns out, are a sort of gatekeeper to the netherworld, and they fulfill a few roles. One of their tasks is to help souls who have, due to personal attachments to this world, stuck around rather than passing over into the "Soul Society." Most of the time, these spirits are harmless, and they may wander around for a long time since soul reapers are usually busy with a far worse problem: hollows. Hollows are nasty creatures that like to eat souls, and their bone-white masks often conceal the spirits of those whom they've overtaken to become more powerful. Soul reapers have the thankless task of defeating them and sending them (and their intended victims) over to the "other side."
So Ichigo now has more problems than he ever thought possible. For one, hollows recognize his incredibly strong spiritual energy and think he'd make a tasty snack, so they show up often. Second is Rukia, the soul reaper from whom he received his powers. When Ichigo gained his powers, Rukia lost most of hers, so for now she's stuck living in his closet, explaining just what the heck is going on to Ichigo and trying to keep him from getting himself killed. Add in two sisters and a wacky dad, a girl with a crush on him and a gaggle of friends who start catching on to his spirit-fighting abilities, a wacko substitute soul that resides in a stuffed tiger, and a guy whose business acts as an arms dealer for soul reapers, and Ichigo's got far more than what he can handle.
As I was saying before, Bleach does not have a great deal on which to recommend it, at least on the surface. Quite frankly, what would be the first DVD's worth of material is just plain junk, full of formulaic pap that was so easy to predict that I almost gave up. The opening has Rukia acting as an omniscient narrator, explaining every last strange thing that Ichigo experiences. It's unnecessary, and it lessens the mystery of the moment when this kid gets himself into this strange, fantastical, and scary world. For a while, even past the first few episodes, Bleach seems too interested in defining terms rather than creating a world.
There's also the problem that none of the hollows that Ichigo faces are interesting villains. They have their own peccadilloes, but there is no sense that the hollows are anything but self-interested stomachs. They certainly don't work together, and they do not pose that great of a threat as stand-alone baddies. For too much of this first season, hollows exist to fulfill the shonen need to have at least one or two fight scenes every single episode. On top of all this, Ichigo is a rather bland character. Yes, he has parental issues stemming from his mother's death, but what shonen character doesn't have something similar in his past? He doesn't seem to have any interests or character qualities other than being sullen and dismissive, yet that appeals to many of the girls who find him a mystery. In many ways, though, he's a blank slate. I also have to say from a personal perspective that the show's viewpoint on the afterlife is really disturbing and depressing. It is very Japanese, to be certain, but if this show was an accurate picture of what happened after death, I'd prefer just to stay dead, thank you very much. I admit that as a future pastor, it may be something I notice more than others; nevertheless, this show did somehow bother me more than many other supernaturalistic anime.
So why can I still give a basic recommendation to Bleach? It's because the show is watchable, for one. It doesn't take itself too seriously and winds up, despite its repetitive nature, being a lot of fun. I found myself coming back morning after morning to catch another episode, and I believe it's due to the strength of the ensemble cast and their support of Ichigo. From obvious girlfriend interest Orihime to Japanese/Mexican gentle giant Chad, the supporting members of Bleach are really what make this show interesting. They are the ones that I really wanted to learn more about, and thankfully that happens. About midway through the first season, we get some episodes that barely involve Ichigo, but for me they really established the larger network of characters. Now that isn't to say that they always handle these characters correctly. For example, the constant jokes about Orihime's large bustline are really out of place, especially considering that she is a sweet, kind character who would probably be embarrassed and burst into tears if anyone made those comments to her face. But again, this is a shonen program meant to appeal to 13-year-old boys, and sometimes that audience wins out.
That said, though, I found that almost all the expanded cast did get good moments to shine, and at least a couple of them who appear to be one-dimensional get the chance to improve over time. One thing is certain: not every character is what he or she appears at first glance, and I like that a lot. In fact, it's Bleach's radical turns in its final episodes of the season that made me interested in continuing. The hollows almost fall out of the picture entirely as events surrounding Rukia lead us somewhere entirely different and unexpected, and it leads to a variety of characters stepping up to their destinies. I had no expectations of this from the first half of the season, and I was pleasantly surprised to say the least.
It's been said that all shonen shows need time to "get better." It's almost a cliché in and of itself that long-running epics sometimes take longer to get off the ground, and that's true here. If I were to judge the show off the first several episodes, I wouldn't be sure whether or not I'd skip it. But if you can get through the twenty episode mark that ends season one, my guess is you'll be hooked. I can't say that I'm going to run out and find season two soon; other shows have captured my interest more that I still need to finish. However, I've given recommendations to other shonen shows (like The Prince of Tennis) that aren't nearly as interesting and don't show nearly as much promise. And that, friends, is probably why I think the first season of Bleach is worth watching -- the show is slowgoing at first, but it looks ready to take us all sorts of interesting places in future seasons.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 5, 2016
Berserk is also unique in that it dares the viewer not to like it. It has a strange first couple of episodes and an ending that ranks up there with Evangelion in terms of "didn't see that coming." I came out of Berserk questioning why the show has gotten so deeply under my skin. Most of my readers who feel the same way aren't looking for a simple affirmation of their enjoyment, like a pre-teen Naruto fan might. I think they want someone else to help them put their feelings about this show into words. Hopefully I can help, though I daresay after nearly two
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weeks haunted by this program, I am still not completely sure why it is so powerful myself. All I can do is vent my own spleen.
Berserk begins by introducing a harsh medieval world where strength means everything and cruelty is common. Into the mix is thrown a swordsman named Guts who carries a blade the size of Detroit and wields his sharpened two-by-four expertly, slicing through those who oppose him. After he defeats a villainous creature, his mind turns to the past, to a simpler time of glory...
As a young man, Guts was simply a wandering mercenary with an attitude -- genuinely a berserker whose strength in battle was matched by his heroism bordering on insanity or stupidity. But through a series of circumstances, Guts meets Griffith, the leader of a crew of ragamuffin soldiers called the Band of the Hawk. Despite being the world's most perfect bishie, Griffith is able to defeat Guts in battle, something Guts has never experienced. But Guts' respect for Griffith goes beyond his ability to wield a sword. Griffith dreams of ruling a kingdom, and his optimistic leadership is charismatic in the extreme. His soldiers don't just like him; they revere him, willing to die for him and his dream. Against the wishes of his skilled female commander Casca, Griffith almost immediately puts Guts in charge of a regiment, and he succeeds brilliantly.
Guts spends three years with Griffith, fighting by his side under Casca's watchful eye. Griffith gets noticed and becomes more than just a mercenary leader but a knight, which makes him the devil to all the nobility of the land. They're more than willing to see him dead to stop a commoner's rise to power as the Hawks gain ever more fame and fortune. Yet in the midst of it all, Guts wavers on his loyalty to the Hawks as he begins to question a life made up of nothing but wielding death on the behalf of others.
There's also something else that bothers Guts...in the band's travels, they once came across a being that can only be described (to Tolkein fans, anyway) as a less fiery balrog. Griffith is knocked unconscious during the battle, and when the demon-beast notices a unique protective amulet around his neck, he prophecies that Griffith will doom Guts once they become equals. Guts isn't sure what that means, but he's not convinced he wants to stick around to find out...
Berserk may be many things, but it ain't pretty by any description. While the producer claims that Berserk was given close to double the funding that most shows in its time slot received, he also said that the other shows that had aired then (at 3:30am) could barely be called animated at all. Surprisingly, the animation gets better as the run progresses. However, in long shots with lots of horses or huge armies, it often looks just this side of passable. (Mercifully, the character art in close-up is just fine.) At times, I thought I was watching something made in 1987, not 1997.
But it's not just the animation that's rough...simply put, if you don't like blood, don't watch Berserk. Guts rarely swings his sword without slicing through something, and at times there are geysers of the red stuff. It's everywhere. It may very well be the bloodiest TV anime ever. But before you immediately dismiss it, know that the show is not in love with gore. Unlike the original manga, which is known for its detailed depictions of decapitations and disembowelment, the bloodshed here is in my estimation necessary. The job is brutal, Guts is brutal, and killing people isn't a clean enterprise. The anime presents it as a fact of Guts' existence.
On that note, whether or not you want to journey into this realm depends on how much you can take of the show's tone. The gold standard for fantasy anime was, for many years, the original Lodoss Wars OVAs. Tonally if not in story, they are anime's Lord of the Rings. Berserk is anime's Game of Thrones. There is political intrigue, there is barbarity, even the heroes are of questionable morals, and no one escapes unscathed. While there's little true fan service, sexuality plays a part in the show. As often as not, it's on the borders of consensual, and that goes for men and women alike. Berserk is not just violent, it can be unpleasant when you understand its ramifications. Again, though, it doesn't revel in its cruelty; it simply is a part of the landscape. Be warned.
Moving on...the show uses music as effectively as any anime I've seen. While the OP/ED are rock songs done totally in "Engrish" that a vocal contingent absolutely despise, I got hooked on both very quickly. But that said, the OP/ED aren't the real draw. The musical themes found in Berserk proper are repeated often; there are only a handful. Yet they perfectly capture the raw emotions of the show. There's one for battles; another for contemplative moments; a third for scary or shocking situations. Variety? No. But watch the show over a week's time, and the music will enter your dreams, guaranteed.
But beyond the artwork, the music, even the overall atmostphere, Berserk succeeds because it knows its characters and gives them a great deal of attention. The plot is at times secondary, and frankly, the enemies are almost universally pathetic. (In fact, one of the only reasons I can't give Berserk a perfect rating is because it's hard to get past the incompetence of everyone outside the Band of the Hawk.) But that doesn't matter too much because we feel like we know Guts, Griffith, and Casca well before the midway point of the series. Even many of the secondary Hawks are given ample screen time. Now don't get me wrong; Berserk is an action show, and a very good one at that. It is never once boring even in its slowest moments. But while there's more than enough action to satisfy even the most jaded viewer, Berserk has a very deep, emotional core.
That core is complimented by the show's viewpoint. In most anime, Griffith would be the hero and Guts would be the loyal bodyguard. Not here. Berserk gives us Griffith through Guts' eyes, making Griffith's personality far more enigmatic. Casca, too, has her own perspective on Griffith, one which gives us a more well-rounded picture of the man who would be king. Ultimately, the story is theirs, not his, but praise is deserved when an anime breaks the expected molds. In that vein, it's also so refreshing that while there are young players in Berserk, many (including the leads) are adults, at least in their early 20s. There's plenty of angst, but at least it's not teenage angst.
It's for these reasons (among others) that the ending of Berserk is so devastating. It's been said that the program just ends, and in a sense that's true; the manga continues beyond the anime's conclusion. But even if that's the case, the show finishes during an immense tragedy that's still in the written work. The show's opening and conclusion (found in the slot normally reserved for the "next episode" teaser) provide a complete and total loop, even if a few pivotal events must be filled in by the viewer's mind.
Even a casual search of the Internet will find you an immense outpouring of vitriol onto Berserk's finale. Rather than being a poor ending, however, I found it daring, even brave. The show's creators knew this wrap-up would anger many, but a "happy" ending would in many ways betray the narrative. I don't want to spoil it, but it is crushing. Not since Macross have I been so surprised and unnerved by the final episode of a series. And yet Macross ranks among my favorite series...and I believe Berserk has made nearly it into that stratosphere. Should Berserk be dinged because it turns into a genuine, unreserved, and deeply unsettling tragedy? I don't think so. Because in reality, the more you think about the nature of what Guts and the Hawks do as mercenaries, there are only two possible endings -- utter glory or utter catastrophe. It says something about us, at least in the West, that we're only able to handle the first any more in our storytelling.
A couple final notes...I watched the dub of the series, which while imperfect certainly works for me, and I'm not a dub person by nature. The DVDs include interviews with both the original mangaka and the producer of the series, and these help explain a few things. Last but not least are the dub outtakes. You may find this sort of thing annoying; voice actors flubbing their lines isn't terribly amusing. But here, there are some typical mistakes, but there are also some absolutely brilliant lines (and even songs) that the actors ad-libbed during the show. Considering the dark nature of the series, I found the outtakes refreshing after completing each disc.
I still feel as if I'm only just getting to the core of Berserk, and yet saying more requires spoiling the experience. So let me simply say this...if you enjoy fantasy and haven't been scared away by anything I've said, then you owe it to yourself to give the show a try. Give yourself at least the first five episodes, since that moves you past the strawy opener into the core of the series. Be prepared for the show to go to darker places than you might imagine. Then start counting the days until the Berserk movie series starts up in early 2012...because the one thing I know is, I can't wait for more. And if worse comes to worst and you hate it, at least it's given you an emotional reaction worth your time to experience.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 5, 2016
Our story begins in a far future where the world has been through an apocalypse that spawned all sorts of strange and evil creatures, leaving human beings in a precarious position. Things have gone back to a feudal era where sorcery, sword fighting, and armor plating rule the day. Four warlords of chaos get together to break the seals that hold back a creature of ultimate darkness, and as the viewer knows, this can't be good. At the same time...Yoko is best friends with Rushe, a little boy who follows her everywhere. Little does she know that buried deep within Rushe is a secret weapon,
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the wizard known as Dark Schneider. When the warlords' plans come to the attention of the free world, there's a realization that Dark Schneider is the only hope of defeating the threat.
There's only one problem. Dark Schneider is a freak.
Nevertheless, when your kingdom is under fire from the most powerful magic known to man, you resurrect whomever you can. With Yoko's kiss, Rushe becomes the legendary Dark Schneider. Now he's not really happy about the arrangement, since he was essentially imprisoned for a very long time. Eventually, he figures, why not? He'd love to prove that he's still the most powerful being on Earth, and if that takes defeating some of his old comrades in arms, so be it. As long as he can get his groove on, he's happy...but is a rusty white-haired jerk of a warlock going to be able to handle the job?
Bastard! really is a fun show, at least through its first half. Things move quickly and the artwork is great in the first two episodes. The humor is fresh and invigorating, too. If nothing else, when things get a little tired past this point, that start keeps you going. Now the third episode shows a little bit of problems, primarily because the artistic style takes a big left turn. A couple of characters are hard to identify at first because of the changes! But that's something that can be dealt with.
However, the second half gets a little snoozeworthy. Here's where Dark Schneider takes on his foes in humongous battles. Now I'm all for great melees, myself, but these just get old quickly. There's just not enough excitement to them and no sense of real danger--if a hero cannot lose, then a half hour of violence is pretty worthless. Now there is a surprise at the end of the fifth episode that some might find shocking, but it is negated in the sixth episode. So, for the last 90 minutes, we get a little antsy, particularly because the humor and life starts to slowly drain out like the water in a tub where the drain cap doesn't quite fit. It's not terrible, but unfortunate.
There's also a very real problem in that much of the show's humor is based around something that didn't get completely translated. In the original version, the various kingdoms, spells, etc. were all named after different 80s metal and hair bands. Because of copyright issues, a lot of these jokes didn't make it into the official US release. My best recommendation is to watch with the Japanese language track where at least the names are pronounced correctly and you can get in on the jokes. I mean, the funniest parts of the show are things like the "Stryper defense"!
So what's my position on this show? If you like violent, humorous fantasy shows with long battle sequences, this is something to run out and get as soon as possible. If your tastes are a bit more refined, then this is a questionable pick. I wish that the show had stayed on the funny, likable, yet action-packed track it set for itself in the beginning. It's not bad, but it starts off better than it finishes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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May 5, 2016
Attack on Titan is not the best anime ever. It has some real flaws, including a heavy reliance on dialogue in inappropriate places. Occasionally, the animation suffers as the production company has rushed to get the show done in time. You can pick apart its flaws if you want. But I can only think of a few times in my anime watching years when I have gotten this sucked into a show. It's smartly unpredictable, occasionally shocking, and wildly entertaining. When the action ramps up, it's nothing short of stunning. I'm having a hard time waiting from Sunday to Sunday for it.
In an uncertain future,
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perhaps on Earth, perhaps not...the human population has been utterly decimated by titans. These gigantic monstrosities, ranging from a few meters to perhaps a hundred meters tall, appeared a hundred years ago, eating through humanity at an alarming rate. A major group of survivors walled off a sizable area, creating a stronghold against future titan attacks. Three walls now protect the human population from these horrific creatures. Occasionally, a military group of scouts is sent out to check on titan activity, but few ever make it back. The size, speed and ferocity of the titans makes them a foe nearly impossible to beat; as they don't speak, there's no negotiating with them. As the series starts, though, there's a sense of peace -- not because there isn't danger lurking outside the walls, but because the titans haven't attacked for a hundred years.
Erin and his parents, along with his foster sister Mikasa, live a somewhat normal existence in their medieval-European city. While they live in the most dangerous zone out near the third wall, the apparent truce between the titans and humanity has lasted so long that the risks seem muted. But their world is about to turn upside down...suddenly, a colossus titan rips through the main gate, allowing thousands of titans to pour into the city, devouring the inhabitants indiscriminately. The troops trained to fight these devils are gorily defeated before they have a chance to inflict much damage, and most of the populace is lost in the rampage. Erin and Mikasa witness horrific events no one should ever have to face and Erin vows to destroy every titan as an act of vengeance.
A few years pass as we find Erin and Mikasa training in the military corps, attempting to become soldiers prepared to take on the titans. Equipped with swords, grappling hooks, and gas-powered blowers, they take to the air with their squads like well-armed spidermen. Yet titans are only vulnerable at a spot on the nape of their necks, and striking a killing blow is about as likely as bull's eying wamp rats. As primitive as their technique is, it's the only hope of saving the population from the titans, even if it promises near-certain death. But Erin is not about to give up on his revenge, and Mikasa isn't about to leave his side...
Attack on Titan's tech specs run from mediocre to brilliant. The show has been running behind; a recap episode has already been announced as a way for the production staff to get back on track. Sometimes, it shows. In one episode, the character lines were far too thick, making a couple incidental characters look like those Colorforms I used to play with as a kid. And yeah, those kind of problems are a turn-off. It's a tradeoff for the action sequences, which are simply incredible for a weekly television show. Watching the troops race from rooftop to rooftop is stunning, and I can put up with windy speeches with limited animation to see the spectacular battles against the titans.
Even if the animation doesn't impress you, the soundtrack will. Its opening theme is an intense earworm that dares you not to listen to it. (To give it its full due, I usually listen to OP themes once, then skip them to get more quickly into the meat of the show. I haven't skipped Attack on Titan's OP theme once.) While the slower EP song isn't as impressive, it's fine. The rest of the soundtrack is perfect, giving weight to the sequences it underlines. I do not doubt that this is a soundtrack many people will wind up importing; I can only hope it gets a US release.
Story-wise, there are some minor gaps, but the overall package works. So let's start with the not-so-good. Erin is a little one-note; revenge might make for a good Mel Gibson flick, but it can't be a character's only motivation for an entire TV show. Mikasa is a little bland, and her voice actress doesn't help. There are too many characters, and quite frankly, they die so quickly that trying to follow them all before you're a few episodes in is an exercise in futility. Certain minor players are stereotypes, such as the king -- who in his five-minute cameo so far appears to be a complete idiot. Occasionally, conversations between squadmates go on way too long, especially when we the audience are thinking, "Hey, aren't there titans around?" And if you're queasy, watch out; while the gore isn't exploitative, there's plenty of it. We are talking about humans becoming giant fodder, after all.
I give you all that up front because there are so many good points. Attack on Titan knows how to build and sustain tension. There are plot twists that I never saw coming, which is rare. Unlike many anime, the show allows its characters to grow up before they go into battle -- at least, they're of the age that they might qualify to join the armed forces in first-world countries. The angst they suffer is not from being put-upon teenagers; it's from seeing good friends get torn to shreds by half-skinned creatures that are from the depths of their worst nightmares. While the scenarios are wildly different, this is about the closest I've ever seen anime get to the raw intensity of a Saving Private Ryan. And while the characters aren't the most developed, the further the show goes, the deeper the back stories on our leads become. And when the action starts, it is amazing. It's thrilling, perhaps more so because the danger is real and palpable. The shows themes are very dark, yet its characters are hopeful that they can build a better life. You want them to succeed and grieve when they fail. Give it three episodes, and if you're not hooked, I'd be genuinely surprised.
I've been wrong about shows a third of the way through before, and I could be wrong about Attack on Titan as well. Truly no one knows if this is going to wind up a winner or a stinker. But if I were a betting man, I'd bet on this one. Whether you watch it via Funimation or Hulu, watch it. Unless you hate shonen action, faint at the sight of blood, or are nitpicky when it comes to your anime, I highly recommend hopping on this crazy train.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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