Attack on Titan is The BEST Show EVER?! | (Spoilers)

what are the best tv shows ever if you were to ask me that i would have told you breaking bad at the top game of thrones behind and the underrated last kingdom third the importance there being the word word as game of thrones decided in its last season to instead of being one of the all-time greats to torch the hearts of its fans with a soulless end accordingly a vacant position was then created in my top three and remained void for some time that was at least until i began to watch anime during my second year of university where i caught up on many of the greats and through that i have found that one of these has now taken that empty spot in fact it's not only in my top three but it is even on course to top of the iconic breaking bad should its last season deliver that tv show that anime which you already know from the title is attack on [Music] now titan you jump and say that's just your opinion which is true it is important to know that it's not an isolated thought when looking at renowned critics sites such as imdb you'll find that breaking bad sits atop the pile typically it is universally prized as the greatest show ever and when you look at the individual episode ratings on imdb which is far more indicative of its quality than just the mere rating to base an entire show you'll find the admiration is certainly deserved this is because you will see that breaking bad has been awarded nine plus ratings 30 times over 62 episodes that's near half of the series hitting the creme de la creme of tv which is certainly hat tip to breaking bad as that's a hard feat for any show to match in proportion to its number of episodes yet attack on titan beats it out at 68 episodes so far attack on titan hits nine plus ratings 42 times it doesn't more than breaking bad which means it's hitting the same standard more than half the time and even the episodes below are equally matched in fact attacking titan probably best there again so isn't it funny how fake can be that a show about killing titans is the one that potentially dethrones breaking bad the titan of all tv the fundamental reason as to why attack on titan is so revered is because of its flawlessly composed narrative i've certainly not witnessed the story feels so dense that upon many rear watches i'm still finding many things now the central factor as to why the story is so dense is due to the incredibly well written surprises many shows and field nowadays always strive for the unpredictable twist but can often result in surprises that make you feel cheated as it came from nowhere with no hints or groundwork put in these can be boiled down as poor examples of the infamous phrase subverted expectations and not all subverted expectations are bad in fact they can be incredible so long it makes sense and doesn't create plot holes instead of plot holes it should even explain prior events and a declare sense of meaning attack on titan doesn't do the lazy subvert expectations as its twists are rooted in the story so instead of cheapening your experience it actually deepens your investment in the narrative this is evident throughout the series with the first instance being the reveal of annie the show executes the twist so well as it writes many of the clues within events and scenes already shown as a result it begins to add meaning to smaller things like cinematography due to threading many hints through it the show doesn't even try to deceive you with the appearance of the titan as both the female titan and annie have a similar physical appearance this isn't even one of the best examples of the detail and the surprises of attack on titan amongst the best is the reveal of rhino berto in season 2. this is something that literally got me jumping out my seat as i had so many moments of realization whilst pieces fell into place to clarify in episode 6 titled warrior ryan has what can only be called as a moment of madness this is because he reveals that himself and bertolt are the armored titan and colossal titan which obviously shocks us and though a twist like this in many other shows could have felt cheap and lazy as you've just told us with no setup it forty doesn't feel like that at all rather it works fantastically well as an example of the show's subtle character development to us it makes no sense to reveal if you're secretly an enemy towards people you've harmed and so the show itself also recognizes this through eren's confusion and skepticism even berto reiner's partner panics and questions right in a sense in what he reveals therefore it tells us before he's even made apparent that rhino is not right in the head is unstable they even give clues before reiner's unhinged mind is made obvious through the scenes before when his face contorts to different expressions representing his split personality the reveal also emotionally hits home as these two people who are characters and eren called friends brothers even are the enemy who have been killing humanity they were the reason as to why eren's mother died back in season one and so we understandably question if this is really happening but to confirm they have a narration by armin explained how it makes sense you the audience then see a few pieces of the puzzle that you could have assembled to figure out this twist as a result season one becomes better in retrospect as from episode one onwards you can literally see the groundwork put in for twists such as this you will see certain dialogue choices from rhino using the word warrior instead of soldier which refers back to the terminology of his hometown you will also see the camera be fixed on rhino bertolt and annie in the most suspicious of ways you will also gain clarity and meaning to the actions of characters such as rainer constantly asking about eren during an expedition or why annie was staring at her hands when reiner oddly escaped her grip this attention to detail from the largest action to specific words makes your commitment to the series feel rewarding to the point where i can say that attack on titan doesn't only have one of the best stories but sets the benchmark for how twist should be executed now and if season 1 and 2's story weren't already a masterpiece and crafting a detailed narrative then season 3 is just unparalleled it's so perfect that i can say season 3 is the single greatest season of any tv series if you check imdb you'd see that so many episodes are close to perfect tens and at one point hero was a 10 alongside the iconic ozymandias of breaking bad this is simply because of the details the answers and the payoffs within this season the story finally explores its biggest setup in the series the basement i can say that since this is something the show literally mentions continuously from the first episode however this can be a problem as to constantly mentioning the need to see the basement the importance of it and our expectations naturally increases the longer we wait in this case three whole seasons makes the reveal of the basement needing to be that much bigger to satisfy the time spent hyping it luckily for our own sanity attack on titan smashes it out of the park the payoff is huge since the reveal of the basement completely changes how you will perceive events characters and the whole world of attack on titan it achieves this by giving such a vastly detailed history through the viewing of grush's past this history then imparts layers of complexity resulting in perceptions of almost everything being changed from this backstory which was only given due to the basement reveal we have our perception that humanity's biggest threat was the titans seem foolish instead it's humanity due to how flawed we are it's humanity who is creating the titans because of a genocide of war which continues to brew on it also starts to make you feel sorry in a sense for the titans as they were once humans that have been forced into their state of being the entire story itself is viewed differently too as we thought this was a narrative about killing titans and fighting for humanity's survival but now we know it's a story of race politics and corruption at the center it's such a big shift and with these illuminating details it entirely changes the genre of the show from a zombie anime to a political war drama and if you think i'm exaggerating then i don't think you're remembering clearly an example of the detailed surprises and the ability to change perceptions of which i speak highly of in this show is best encapsulated through the reveal of the smiling titan this is because we are shocked when we learned that grisha's wife in mali dinah fritz was the smiling titan the same titan which aaron's mum enhanced it is utterly mind shattering as it changes how you perceive not only the smiling titan but all other titans that being because from the first episode onwards you would have felt nothing but hate towards the titans particularly the one that killed aaron's mother but now that hate shifts into an intense feeling of sadness or sympathy we now know that the titans were once humans humans that wanted to fight for their freedom and was instead forced into titans that have no semblance of control she couldn't help what she did to erin as she was just a slave to her animal-like urges the reveal isn't just a shock to the system too as it refines up plot points and adds a new meaning to scenes before this is because we now know why everyone was able to control the titans in the season 2 finale his founding titan ability which can only be awoken to her connection to royal blood was awoken when he touched dinah as she is a royal all of these connections revelations and surprises are because of the secrets ascertained from the basement showing the series roots of its story go incredibly deep alongside a masterpiece of story that is laid with history race and politics attack on titan also bolsters some of the most impressive written characters and of course it does how can you be the best if you don't have interesting characters one of my favorite things i've grown to appreciate about the series is its level of respect to its audience it doesn't baby feed your character growth or plot points with obvious writing that's melodramatic instead it typically delivers its development and plot through subtle writing that makes a character's growth seem far more natural a testament to attack on titan's writing in general is that it makes characters that seem inconsequential or boring become integral and fleshed out this statement is most pertinent with yamir and krista two characters who don't seem essential but become fundamental as their development helps our understanding of this world let's actually take a closer look at historia when we first meet her she is as her krista persona in this she is shy kind and caring and it makes sense she inhibits these personality traits when we learn of her past this is because we know she was the child of rod rice and her mother who was in esco at night as such she is often looked upon as a mistake for her whole childhood from being raised on an isolated farm to her mother neglecting her and wishing her to be dead and only after rodrice's family was wiped out does he acknowledge her existence which just results in the death of her mother and her being sent to the survey corps so from this backstory it makes sense that someone who was raised in isolation is then shy when communicating to loads of people it makes sense she is kind and caring to others because she desires the affection of others as she never had that she actually goes on and builds a close relationship with ymir who can tell that krista at this point in time is lying to herself the lie being that the overly nice person she is as krista is not really her we then start to see her become more herself through her time with ymir she even reveals her real name is historia and becomes more confident until yamir runs away with rainer and bertoltz from here she regresses from the grown confident person she was becoming to someone who feels empty inside however she then goes through another evolution of her character a significant one as it sees her become a leader this development of her character happens when she finally takes control from her father's venomous words here she is acting on her own accord and will not be manipulated she then goes on to become the hero of the day saving the people from the giant titan her father turned into and then with her newfound courage she proudly proclaims who she is before everyone and thus becomes the head of the royal family and the leader of the walls this is stunning character writing as from when we learn about her past we then start to understand her behavior and personality in the beginning of the series derives from her environment the detail of her life what she's been through also helps to make her feel substantial and authentic due to literally being able to follow her life from the beginning to now and that's just one character there is a whole roster that equally as detailed or even more so to prove this let's quickly look at erin since he is the protagonist of the show aaron starts off as a hot-headed impulsive kid that has an incredible hate for the titans which is only fueled when his mother is killed his mindset is clear and it's dangerous he has an idealistic simple view of the world where all the titans are evil and deserve to die whereas humans are good this is a problem as aaron lives in a world filled with complex humans and corruption his black and white perspective of good and evil is really tested throughout the series which noticeably begins to see erin become more pragmatic than an idealist with this change in mindset erin becomes less explosive but warier passive and almost ejected the world and its people have really beaten him down and worn him out there is so much complexity to aaron's character that i'll actually like to look at him even deeper in another video the other characters also see significant development too i'll go over them much quicker though there is almond who is my favorite character he starts off as an intelligent kid but is too much of a coward to use that to his advantage however he then changes into one of humanity's greatest weapons due to his brain becoming attuned to the cruelty of the world thus allowing his genius to truly shine armand is now the one saving his comrades on multiple occasions from figuring out who the traitors are to finding out secrets to even sacrificing his own life to give humanity a victory and when he is brought back to life he now carries the weight of humanity's hopes on his shoulders there is also mikasa who at a young age loses her biological family and adopted family all she has left is erin and armand so she does everything she can to protect them for her well-being as well as to keep a promise to aaron's mother however she has now been told that the two people she loves most will die and there's nothing she can do about it this has seen mikasa noticeably become anxious due to her not eating or phasing out in conversations there is also erwin smith the commander that has spare-headed humanity's hopes his persistence to find the truth and fight for humanity often sees him as a devil due to his ability to look at humans as pawns in a greater game for humanity this doesn't mean it doesn't affect him though it does as he confesses before his own death that he has always felt the death of every comrade and the last i will cover is levi the fan favorite he initially comes across cold but we know he is caring from resting a soldier's mind at ease or helping someone grieve but most obvious with levi is his desire to be in control as he constantly cleans things from his rooms to his blades this desire of control strikes from his lack of it in the past he never had the control over the death of his mother as he sat next to her rotten corpse he never had control when his father and eventually kenny left him and he certainly had no control during a mission that went south resulting in the death of his dearest friends this tragic past explains why he insistently cleans things as it allows him a semblance of control control that he's never had in his whole life all of these detailed characters and their transitions from one state to another happens gradually over the course of the show characters don't just upend and change they slowly turn which makes their transition from one way to another far more natural and authentic the action in the show is also fantastic combat feels grounded in the sense many humans don't have abilities so they have adapted and used minerva game which results in some of the most beautifully animated sequences ever as they use movement to their advantage against the titans you also have scenes like levi vs kenny in season 3 that shows the precision in the action this is a fast bass sequence that encapsulates the character's personality from kenny not hesitating to pull the trigger to blow someone's brains out to him establishing he knows levi from that small moment we know that kenny is not only a serious threat as he can pull the trigger without hesitation but that there is a strong connection between him and levi and the skill in the sequence itself is laid with tactics from levi swishing his cape to hide himself in a matter of seconds to using the environment around them from the reflection in glasses to gain an edge in fact it's not only limited to levi as when his squad faces off against kenny's we see everyone uses their brains to get out on top sasha is firing into gunpowder barrels to obscure the vision of kenny's squad whilst they exploit the weaknesses of the gear they use these are just a few fights in the series which showcase the care put into them i haven't even mentioned some of the best looking fights like annie vs aaron but i can't because there's too many and i would be here forever the series also showcases the art of voice acting due to how amazing it is in particular the sub is where i find voice acting is taken to a whole nother level dialogue is delivered with real conviction horror and fair helping to transfer those emotions to us i can simply let the clips do the talking from the trauma induced of screams as he watches yet another close person die [Laughter] foreign to the war cry rallying troops on a suicide charge that is delivered with so much conviction that you'd willingly join in yourself is and lastly to the horror of a man who finally sees his little sister's killer try to kill him too [Music] and on the topic of sound the show puts out all the stops to have one of the greatest soundtracks ever i mean the opening song alone for attack on titan took the world by storm with how popular it became but popularity isn't always a signal of quality yet if you listen to the music in the soundtrack you know it just is the music isn't there just to be a nice thing to listen to but it significantly aids scenes by instituting the intended emotions it achieves this without fail as when they want you to feel dread they played this when armin is bawling his eyes out as everyone is dying around him if they want you to feel wonderment in a scene when your mare is gazing at the illuminating sky we hear this [Music] one of my favorite moments is when the score is used in this tear-jerking scene foreign [Music] the music is fitting here as it's heroic but it's also sad due to armor sacrificing himself to save everyone and to secure victory for humanity the show even has rare music in its soundtrack and that you won't hear often but when you do it is done to signify huge moments this is heard in two scenes with krista the first being the song is noticeably flamboyant and proud in the scene just like astoria who in this moment finally embraces herself with confidence and the next scene with crystal in season 3 is [Music] if you notice the vocals kick in around the same moment when krista finally speaks her mind against her father she is finally taking control her voice has finally surfaced and so does the songs all of this demonstrates attack on titan's music is not only amazing to listen to but has significant purpose in supplementing the narrative ultimately attack on time does so much more than what i've just said i don't know why a show like this isn't being thrown into conversations for the best show ever maybe it has to do with the fact that it's an anime which isn't exactly mainstream yet and if that's the case then that needs remedying and with the last season approaching all hope is that it doesn't do a game of thrones and phrase plants the floor fortunately based on reactions in the manga community we are in for another crazy season akin to season three and if so there surely can be no dispute the attack on titan is simply the best show ever made

Channel: JustAcritic

Views: 37,135

Keywords: Attack on Titan, Anime, tv show, TV, series, show, best, greatest, masterpiece, video essay, review, season 1, season 2, season 3, story, Levi, Mikasa, Eren, Erwin, Isayama, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, best tv show, greatest tv show, video review, news, analysis, breakdown, season 4, soundtrack, music, voice acting, narrative, Wit studio, Wit, Mappa, Studio Mappa, 2020, critic, opinion, FMA, attack on titan analysis, Attack on titan review, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on titan masterpiece

Id: 7na8tuYmgcc

Length: 21min 20sec (1280 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 22 2020