Many years ago, the last remnants of humanity were forced to retreat behind the towering walls of a fortified city to escape the massive, man-eating Titans that roamed the land outside. Only the heroic members of the Survey Corps dared to stray beyond the safety of the walls – but even those brave warriors seldom returned alive. Those within the city clung to the illusion of a peaceful existence until the day that dream was shattered, and the Titans turned their attention to the fortress... Nothing quite like man-eating monsters rampaging through your settlement to put the fear of god into you, I suppose. Comparing the size of the Titan that breached the walls to the rest of his kin, my assumption here is that it was bred for the purpose of breaking in to the fortress - a can-opener, for a can that's been resilient for over 100 years, in which time humanity seems to have become rather complacent. Despite the failures of the Survey Corps. Probably one of the most anticipated shows of the season, this one, mostly on the basis of its source manga. It's certainly had a budget thrown at it, as it looks impressive (albeit with lines on character drawings that look like they've taken a lead from Samurai Girls) and does a decent job of capturing the terror of being under attack by creatures you know you can't stop. I'm not entirely taken with leads Eren and Mikasa yet, though. Eren is obsessed with the idea of the Survey Corps, wanting to see the outside and stop being like cattle in a field; sister Mikasa is the sensible one of the pair and a genuine fighter, if the reaction of the local thugs to her appearance is anything to go by. THE GOOD: Atmosphere, scale (appropriately enough) and presentation. You get the feeling that the Titans have cracked humanity's stronghold and that the future of the human race is at stake. And everyone in the series knows this. THE BAD: Early days, I'll admit, but not feeling that the characters we're working with will be the ones to save the world. But that's were character development comes in, and I do love that. I probably sound a little lukewarm on this one, and I am. That may be a little internal backlash to the hype around the show. No question of it heading for the drop pile, though, as I'm curious to see where it can go from here. For the humans in the series, the only way is up... Attack on Titan is streamed by Crunchyroll and FUNimation (FUNi stream North America only, and only available to Elite Video Service subscribers).
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