"this series will tear out your heart and step on it over and over again until you're just a sad pile of self loathing. If you're the former"
Why the fuck would I want this? I'm already a sad pile of self loathing, I don't need a bloody anime to help me out in that department.
I find your implication that the only reason somebody would have to not want to watch this is that they would only be drooling fanservice-obsessed morons highly insulting.
Probably should get working on that essay now...
"Drooling fanservice-obsessed morons" are your words, not mine
I did it for the art.
Dude, the way you're going about this makes it seem like the main reason anyone would enjoy this is the soul-crushing hell the protagonists are put through. You talk about rampart misery and oppressively dark storylines like its the selling point for this show. That's not something I'd use to justify your positive opinion of something. That's something one would say to instil Angst Aversion.
You're right. Looking back, I hate this review and wish I could take it back. This was me swallowed up in the hype at the time.
If I could write a new review, I would praise wonderful character development, excellent progression and escalation of story, but also revisit the flaws, particularly the handling of the uprising arc, which came off as rushed and something that the author is trying to get out of the way. I still find the bleakness an attractive element, but the story has evolved beyond that as a selling point.
I did it for the art.
"New characters are introduced only to quickly die unceremonious deaths."
That honestly just sounds annoying more than anything.
It is annoying.
Or maybe it's realistic? Maybe that's how many soldiers in real life die? Bleakness which instills fear that other characters are not safe. Annoying is when a death serves no purpose. Ian's squad died to show the price of victory in war. Ness died to show how dangerous the Female Titan is. Levi's squad died to show Eren how there's no room for idealism in their world. Nanaba's group died to force Ymir to transform. Mike died so that readers could understand the Beast Titan and so he couldn't tell the others. Death is used with purpose, and if you find that annoying, I can't help you, sorry.
I did it for the art.
No, what is truly annoying is when a character does not die to achieve the same goal. A Disney Death. It's cheap drama. At least Isayama has the conviction to lay is out and kill a character when he needs to. I know I called the killings senseless, but I don't think that anymore.
I did it for the art.
Uh, hey, maybe it's because it's tiresome for the reader.. I found it tiresome in Fist of the North Star which is one of my favorite mangas ever. To me it's irritating and boring when you just know everyone is going to die, especially since it usually wastes potentially interesting characters. I don't think I need help because I have a different opinion on narrative flow than you.
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The Only Enemy is Pacing >Revised<
There is a reason AoT is critically acclaimed; it has a unique and interesting setting, its characters are well-defined and compelling, the Titans are interesting and combat is exciting. Its only shortcoming? Pacing. AoT’s only noteworthy flaw is its consistent trouble juggling story progression with character development and exposition.
What I admire most about AoT is its loyalty to developing diverse, compelling characters. For those who have been keeping up with the manga, the progression of each character should be plain to see, and they always evolve coherently. We are provided plenty on each character's history, relationships, personalities and ambitions, my favorite examples being Armin, Jean and Levi. The problem with this heavy focus on characters is that it often intrudes on what’s happening in the narrative. Many times, exciting combat will be interrupted by whole chapters to focus on character development and exposition. While suspenseful, by the time the action resumes, the audience is removed from engagement. The most noticeable example would be the Female Titan’s Forest of Giant Trees encounter which gave several chapters of focus to Squad Levi before progressing her chase. Too often characters will need time explaining who they are before they show it later.
The world of AoT is also rich and painstakingly fleshed out from its history and politics within the walls to the everyday lives of its citizens and social classes. Once again, however, story progression is often put on hold to allow these details to be explained.
AoT has a winning formula of a cool setting, fights and rich characters, but the experience is burdened by its insistence on separating exposition from action. If Isayama could more often explain characters and culture through behaviors and subtlety rather than exposition dumps, the entire process would be streamlined, giving fans the smooth story progression they desire, starring the wonderful characters they adore.