Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan or Shingeki no Kyojin is a revolutionary anime with multiple dimensions to story progression and beautiful visuals to go with it. This show is the anime equivalent of BDSM: you are beaten, broken down, built back up and eventually forced into euphoric submission. The creator Hajime Isayama is an outspoken sadist who loves to torture his fans with extremely bold plot twists and unexpected turns. He is not afraid of killing any characters off, or making astoundingly incomprehensible changes to the story. And as much as you might think that's a put off, it really isn't. In fact, I think he has come up with the most amazing story progression the anime world has seen till date. Fair caution, this anime is not for the weak willed as the dark elements and gore can get quite intense (Game of Thrones has nothing on this). 

Attack on Titan will suck you into its world -full of despair, mystery and action- and when you finally think you know what's happening, you need to think again. I can't hope to accurately capture the different aspects of this story in a brief summary, so I'll just describe the world the anime is set in. We follow the life of Eren Yeager, who lives in a civilization enclosed by tall walls. Beyond these walls lie titans, giant humanoid looking monsters that enjoy human flesh and are extremely difficult to kill. Eren is victim to a tragedy and as a result despises titans. He joins the military and trains to become a member of the Survey Corps, a body devoted to exploring the outside world and learning more about titans, to destroy them. The plot will explore several dimensions like the mentality of characters in this dystopian world, the limitations of technology, socio-economic politics, religion and hard core bloodshed. You will find yourself at the edge of your seat every episode, trying to understand what hope do these people have, what exactly are titans and what will happen next. This action-thriller will definitely keep bringing you back, craving for more answers as you explore its world.  

The anime has four seasons with the latest one set to release in December 2020. The latest season will be changing the anime's animation studio and there's a potential red flag on how the standard of visuals will be upheld. Furthermore, if I had to pick flaws in the anime itself, I think it does not cover as much as the manga does, which is not an uncommon issue in the anime world. I also think there is too much darkness and decadence being expressed in the show, which can make it too heavy on viewers.  

My personal ratings are:
Story: 5/5
Character Development: 4/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Music: 4/5
Enjoyment: 5/5 

Overall Recommendation: Ten casualties and just another day for the survey corps!

Attack on Titan is on Netflix, Hulu or Crunchyroll across different regions.