After years of seeing people gush over this series I finally sat down and watched the first episode. And I cannot see why this is so loved. I never really cared for anime but last year I sat down and watched Avatar for the first time and fell in love. But this? No.
So lets first start with the Animation. It's all over the place. There are some scenes which look breath taking. And the design of the titans them selves is amazing. That twisted, perverse and yet human look is just so chilling and great for the main threat. But there are some shots which are just aweful. So many close shots of people staring wide eyed, for little reason, kind of reminds me of Mass Effect Andromeda. Ok it works when the titans break through the walls and everyone is shocked/ horrified. But so many ordinary conversations have the same shot of someone's eyes looking like they're about to bulge out. And the stupid wind gush effect. I can see it being used to good effect when people are slinging around and there's lots of movement but when it get's used with otherwise no motion it comes off as a laughable attempt to make a scene more dramatic. For example early on a bunch of soldiers return from a failed expedition and the commander breaks down about he got everyone killed. That scene is good on it's own but adding this wind effect to the edges of the screen really took me out.
And on to the characters. Now granted it is very difficult to get a read on any character from just one episode. But really only one was really showed off and that's the little kid, and to a lesser extent his sister. And while the sister is just there for this episode (although I did get a chuckle when she chases off the bullies just by being there) that boy is so god fucking damn annoying. His only reaction is to shout at every last thing he comes across. And I get he's meant to be a bit of a wide-eyed dreamer who want's more and thinks everyone is complacent but by tap dancing Jesus they could've done a better job. And I also hate the trope that the kid is the only one who turns out to be right (in this case about the titans and the wall) and everyone else is too blind to see.
So lets first start with the Animation. It's all over the place. There are some scenes which look breath taking. And the design of the titans them selves is amazing. That twisted, perverse and yet human look is just so chilling and great for the main threat. But there are some shots which are just aweful. So many close shots of people staring wide eyed, for little reason, kind of reminds me of Mass Effect Andromeda. Ok it works when the titans break through the walls and everyone is shocked/ horrified. But so many ordinary conversations have the same shot of someone's eyes looking like they're about to bulge out. And the stupid wind gush effect. I can see it being used to good effect when people are slinging around and there's lots of movement but when it get's used with otherwise no motion it comes off as a laughable attempt to make a scene more dramatic. For example early on a bunch of soldiers return from a failed expedition and the commander breaks down about he got everyone killed. That scene is good on it's own but adding this wind effect to the edges of the screen really took me out.
And on to the characters. Now granted it is very difficult to get a read on any character from just one episode. But really only one was really showed off and that's the little kid, and to a lesser extent his sister. And while the sister is just there for this episode (although I did get a chuckle when she chases off the bullies just by being there) that boy is so god fucking damn annoying. His only reaction is to shout at every last thing he comes across. And I get he's meant to be a bit of a wide-eyed dreamer who want's more and thinks everyone is complacent but by tap dancing Jesus they could've done a better job. And I also hate the trope that the kid is the only one who turns out to be right (in this case about the titans and the wall) and everyone else is too blind to see.
