×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Attack on Titan (TV) (all seasons).


Goto page Previous    Next

Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Series Discussion
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Thu Apr 10, 2014 9:12 am Reply with quote
Just watched the OAD that came with vol.13 of the manga.

HILARIOUS. Jean and Sasha fans will rejoice. Pixus reminds us how awesome he is too. XDDD
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 10:36 am Reply with quote
OVA 2

Laughing That was hilarious. At first I was just enjoying the OP song for being awesome, but then had to start over when I realized that they spoiler[chucked in a bunch of random Jean parts, including him pointing at something and then cheering when someone took it out]. We have had all of those specials that try to make fun of the serious situation, but they were kind of getting old, here they managed to use completely regular art and animation, but have it be pretty ridiculous. Pretty much they parodies themselves by having the characters freak out and get serious over incredibly petty things.

Great with the story having Pixis sleeping spoiler[and getting drunk on the job], and then getting Sasha (Potato girl) and Jean (Jean-boy) spoiler[settle their differences with a cook off to so he can get more food]. A favourite part being when they have a spoiler[montage of both teams cooking really dramatically, and having random scenes of Mikasa doing training to show off how buff she is].

This was a really good watch. More serious shows should do this.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
leatherhead333



Joined: 15 Aug 2013
Posts: 1187
Location: Kansas
PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 2:27 pm Reply with quote
I just got the collectors edition of attack on titan today. I've got to say the necklaces and badges are pretty awesome. I'm going to start wearing the key necklace to work Smile.

The booklet has some amusing chibi theater shorts but other than that it's just full of concept art and character descriptions. Never did really have an appreciation for those kind of things but some people dig that stuff I suppose.

I'll probably give my 2 cents on the dub once I get around to watching all 13 episodes.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
leatherhead333



Joined: 15 Aug 2013
Posts: 1187
Location: Kansas
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:29 pm Reply with quote
Attack on Titan 1-12 English dub review:

Alright so i finally got around to watching all of this in one sitting. And i have to say the cast has indeed grown on me. Grelle as Armin is an incredibly good fit and i truly loved how he performed during the standoff scene. Nishimura manages to play Mika's role straight while adding a bit more emotional substance in her voice than Ishikawa did.

Bryce as Eren though..............alright I admit it's not as bad as i thought it was at first but it's still not that great either. Some of his lines are just delivered in such an overdramatic and unconvincing manner that I still can't agree with the decision to cast him as Eren. He's a good VA but he doesn't get the genuine anger that Eren constantly protrudes down very well. It sounds rather forced sometimes.

Either way cast wise I do like the English dub so far and this might be one of the best casted dubs Funimation has had in a LONG time (though the only Funi dub that even comes to close to my top 10 list is FMA).

Now to address some things that I noticed during this rewatching of the series.

Personally speaking I think this first half of the series is nearly perfect. The drama doesn't feel all that overblown like it is in most shows. They constantly address issues that touch very close to home. Why am I putting my life on the line for a future that humanity may never see? If i die will my death have meant anything? Even in a tragic situation like this would mankind still squabble with each other?

All these notions are explored at great lengths and that's something that you pretty much never see. Everyone is constantly filled with despair only wanting to protect themselves by going further into the walls. And you can hardly blame anyone for it. I get annoyed whenever i see comments about how cowardly everyone is with most of them having the inability to fight these giant monsters without being afraid. I don't see how people can just expect for them to willingly wish to throw away their lives and pretend that things will get better if they just believe what they are doing is worth it. I think i would HATE the show if they were like that.

Thankfully it isn't. Friendship, love, determination, none of that matters here. Chances are if you get cornered or spotted by a titan your going to die (unless you are a main character Razz). And that's what i like, the situation is played completely straight. Which is the big draw behind the series imo. Still that also somewhat works as a negative. The fact that everyone could possibly die in the next second makes you feel less like getting attached to anyone.

I do agree that after marathoning the series all the crying did become a tad redundant. Not in a "OMG STOP BEING A FREAKING PUSSY" way. But in a "eh just another person freaking out again" way. It does get a bit old but at the same time it's not like you can blame anyone for feeling that way they do so it's simply a tolerance level that you either have or not.

Regarding the characters.

Mikasa- People constantly point out how she has absouletly no personality and is constantly obsessed about Eren. But honestly watching this first half I don't see that being all that unreasonable. If the flashback didn't give a good enough indication on why she is so attached to him I don't know what will. But besides that it's also due to the fact they are family. If i had a sister who was in this situation with me I'd constantly worry about her too. I'd always want to be beside her to protect her any way i could. Because if one were to find out that they ended up dead the guilt of not being there to possibly have protected them surely does overcome you.

Let us not forget that she actually does show some very raw emotion during this half. When Armin tells her about Eren's death she is shaken to the fact she can't even openly express her pain. She blindly leads the soldiers to charge the titans not even paying attention to how they ended up because of her and how much gas she was wasting. And we get to see her regret those rash actions. The scene where she finds Eren in the titans body was very touching and again shows she is very capable of showing emotion.

However I have to say after that particular incident that's where Mika starts falling into the what people have stereotyped her as. We see her constantly glare at anyone and everyone who does anything verbally or physically hurtful to Eren. She even throws away any sense of logical reasoning which basically makes the whole incident that happened before ( regarding the time when she regretted blindly leading a charge when she was swept up in emotion) virtually pointless. This becomes a common feature of her character in the second half. We don't really see her in quite the same light the first half gave off. She simply comes off as a "DON'T YOU TOUCH MY EREN!" character. Which is quite a shame because up until Eren's return I think her character was well handled. You have NO IDEA how great it is to see a stepsister who isn't in love with the protagonist. Well..........they have hinted that she is when that commander made the boyfriend comment but still it hasn't been portrayed that way at all most of the time Laughing

I think she just wants to protect the only family she has left. Which in a way makes me respect her character a lot because i can see where she's coming from. Anyone with a family should.

Eren- Yeah everybody knows that he is the ever so angry man who constantly spouts "I'M GOING TO KILL ALL THE TITANS!" and is sometimes unnaturally optimistic. Sadly I do agree that his character as a whole is rather weak and does have a cliche revenge aura about him. With revenge type characters it's easy for a writer to manipulate them into to doing rash things that get them in hairy situations. It's very easy to make them endlessly driven to achieving their goals. Still i do think there are some redeeming factors to his character. Unlike most revenge filled characters like Sasuke or Hakuryuu Eren is still afraid of death as well as seeing everyone die around him. He isn't so driven by anger that he is incapable of making strong ties with others. He still worries about dragging others down with him. He knows what he does is dangerous which is why he tries to persuade Mika and Armin to not follow him in the army. But not only that he represents mankind's hope. He is the symbol of freedom that has a chance to lead them to a better future. So in that sense I do understand why he is always driven to keep fighting. People are drawn to his optimistic nature. He makes them want to continue struggling even if it could all be pointless. He makes them not want to give up hope. Which is why i can understand why he is the way he is.

He is also capable of being reasonably conflicted. When he is told he will be the key to the mission of plugging up the hole in Trost he worries. That's because the weight of having everyone's hopes on your shoulders is very huge burden. The fact he is uncomfortable with this just adds that little spice to his character to make him not as completely depthless that some claim him to be.

Jean - Probably my favorite character in the show. In many ways he is the most relatable character in the cast. He isn't the strongest fighter neither does he have the fighting spirit most people do. However that is what makes him so special. He is still weak which allows him to relate to other people who are also weak. He is still scared out of his mind but he continues to push through and make good decisions. The way his character constantly evolves past his cowardly nature is one of the best things about the him. He is easily the most developed character in the series which is surprising since he isn't a main character.


Overall I have to say the first half the series does just about everything right for the story it's trying to tell. From what i remember though the second half is where things start to falter a bit and the characterization suffers for story progression. I shall marathon the next half when Funi releases the last half but sadly I don't think my opinion on it will change all that much Sad
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 4:02 am Reply with quote
Actually I just watched the first half of the dub too, I bought the Limited Edition Blu-ray with the first 13 episodes and I showed it to some friends today. This actually my first Blu-ray anime and I was very happy with the level of art in it which was very pretty, I am sure there were fixes to the originally unfinished broadcast version. It did not feel like in at least these episodes that we were looking at single frame pictures for scenes, and when it was a picture they were used for mostly setting up the atmosphere and did not detract.

No real complaints over voices, but I did find some characters sounded a bit older than they should have at times. From this rewatch I think the characters were mostly alright. Eren did have a bit of brattyness to him when he kept saying he would do something or acting big, but this was not a downside for that side of his character. And yeah Mikasa actually do seem to have quite a bit of emotion behind them that maybe I don't think I realised earlier just from her stoicness. In my opinion Jean was one of the characters that suffered from sounding a bit too old from his introduction.

Yeah this first half was great to watch again, the quality it was in was worth it. My Limited Edition also came with some cool goodies like a 3D art card, collectable pins of the different regimens, and necklaces of a sword and one of the key. Totally worth it, and I assume that the Hardcover Artbook mentioned on the boxset cover will be in the second half collectors edition. Do want.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 2:17 am Reply with quote
Question: There was a line when they were on the wall with the cannons saying, "They built a wall out of Titan corpses." But Titans evaporate when you kill them, so...no corpses. Even in subtitles, I didn't understand that scene. No mention of corpses, but rather "They built a wall out of the flesh of Titans. The technical crew is pretty damn clever." But the image just shows Titans gathering at the wall, and the wall has some metal grid on the lower half. What were they talking about?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Akane the Catgirl



Joined: 09 Oct 2013
Posts: 1091
Location: LA, Baby!
PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 6:57 am Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
Question: There was a line when they were on the wall with the cannons saying, "They built a wall out of Titan corpses." But Titans evaporate when you kill them, so...no corpses. Even in subtitles, I didn't understand that scene. No mention of corpses, but rather "They built a wall out of the flesh of Titans. The technical crew is pretty damn clever." But the image just shows Titans gathering at the wall, and the wall has some metal grid on the lower half. What were they talking about?


A metaphor? I don't know.


Anyway, OH MY GOD HANGE. I heard the woman voicing her also provided the first voice of Excel Excel from Excel Saga. I haven't seen the show, but I can see why they cast Jessica Calvello to voice Hange Zoe. My god, she's funny. I have a new favorite character!

To answer the above, spoiler[Titan!Eren] sounded really scary, if only for the blind rage in his voice. I don't think he was even coherent at this point, given that his memory's a bit f***ed up. The guy's got parental issues~

Also, the bit after Eren wakes up made me pause and just laugh and laugh. While I did find a gif of it out of context, I was not prepared. I just...I lost it. I couldn't help but laugh.

Also, Josh Grelle as Armin is the best performance of the main trio, IMHO. Go Armin.


Last edited by Akane the Catgirl on Sun Jun 29, 2014 12:15 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
leatherhead333



Joined: 15 Aug 2013
Posts: 1187
Location: Kansas
PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 7:36 am Reply with quote
ChibiKangaroo wrote:
Did spoiler[Titan Eren's] voice sound a little strange to anyone else?


Yeah I think they changed it from the japanese version. I figured it would stay the same spoiler[Eren in his titan form] doesn't even talk to begin with.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 11:25 am Reply with quote
OVA 3

Another episode about them during their trainee days, this one more serious than the last, Sasha about food was only a small part of it. A though I had might be kind of how they distinguished themselves, I remember Erin being ranked above Jean, and maybe how he acted here was the sort of actions that put him up since as said his skills are not what extraordinary.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 10:37 pm Reply with quote
Sasha is always awesome to see. I was hoping to see spoiler[her hunt down that lizard] though but nonetheless, OVA 3 was refreshing to watch.

Can't wait for season 2!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 9:50 am Reply with quote
Kuinaki Sentaku Part 1

Not too much happens story-wise, as in they're not out of the underground yet but MAN those 3DMG scenes look just as good as they did in the trailers! Pretty darn amazing work there. The interactions with Levi and Erwin near the end had my inner fangirl squealing.

Now to wait nearly half a year to watch the continuation......

Will need to start on vol.15 of the manga tomorrow.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
WhiteHairGirls



Joined: 27 Apr 2011
Posts: 4713
Location: New York City
PostPosted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 2:43 am Reply with quote
The live action movie trailer actually looks pretty good.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
ncollins920



Joined: 29 Mar 2015
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:37 pm Reply with quote
I'm not sure if this is where I say this but... I want to let the people know that they should definitely continue to keep making attack to titan episodes. Keep the show on the air I want to see this through to the end I will buy all the dvds and support you all the way. I hope you will see this. It's a great show and everyone loves it. Keep going!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
getchman
Space Cowboy



Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 9117
Location: Bedford, NH
PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 9:10 pm Reply with quote
ncollins920 wrote:
I'm not sure if this is where I say this but... I want to let the people know that they should definitely continue to keep making attack to titan episodes. Keep the show on the air I want to see this through to the end I will buy all the dvds and support you all the way. I hope you will see this. It's a great show and everyone loves it. Keep going!


a second season is in production and will air next year
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 10:10 am Reply with quote
No Regrets, OVA 2 & 1

The reason I put 2 first above is that I happened to watch the second one first, only afterwards realising that I had missed one. They were about Levi's past, and yes they were good. I guess there was enough context in the second one that the first was not that necessary.

The first one is about Levi spoiler[living in an underground society bellow the area in the centre of the walls, to make ends meet and enough money to leave the underground he uses maneuverer gear with his friends to steal from the oppressive merchants]. The second is about him spoiler[and his friends being roped into a job to stop Erwin as members of the recon, and what one might call predictably losing them]. It got a spoiler[little sad there] for the little guy.

Just have to say that they really have some gorgeous 3D maneuverer gear scenes, they really do pull out all stops to make some amazing. They are really going to make it hard for that live action movie in comparison. Also great to make one like Levi even more.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Series Discussion All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous    Next
Page 87 of 107

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group