About:
- Genres:
- Action-Adventure
- Animated
- Fantasy
Fix: Badass Anime; Man-Eating Monsters
Platforms: Netflix, Hulu, Funimation, Crunchyroll
Netflix Summary:
For over a century, people have been living behind barricades to block out the giant Titans that threaten to destroy the human race. When a Titan destroys his hometown, young Eren Yeager becomes determined to fight back.
FYA Summary:
Humanity has been pushed to the brink of extinction with the arrival of the Titans. In setting that could be our past, future or another world altogether, the last humans on earth are forced to live within the confines of a great walled civilization. No one knows where these large humanoid creatures came from, only that they won’t stop until they’ve eaten every last human. Yes, eaten. The Titans appear to have no intelligence, just an instinctual and relentless desire to consume humans. Not only do they completely ignore animals, but they appear to need no nutritional sustenance at all. In fact, they can’t even digest humans; they will eat human flesh until they can’t hold anymore and throw it up. And start eating all over again. All of this is to paint a picture of how horrifying these creatures are. The people are this world have exactly two defenses against the Titans – the great walls and the members of the military who are trained to kill Titans with their maneuver gear. The story follows Eren and his friends and fellow recruits as they learn to battle Titans and hopefully defeat them before its too late.
Familiar Faces:
Unless you’re an expert on Japanese voice actors, this category doesn’t exactly apply. However, you may be familiar with certain elements of Attack On Titan, without even knowing it. The internet is saturated with various Attack On Titan themed memes. (One of the most popular being remix videos using the Attack On Titan opening theme, which admittedly is one of the most infectious opening themes you will encounter. My favorite of these being one where they replace all the characters with cats, naturally.) And if you’ve been to a Con anytime in the last year, you more than likely would have encountered someone cosplaying in the show’s distinctive uniforms and weapons.
Couch-Sharing Capability: High
The intense action of this series makes it great for group watching. However, once you start, you are going to have a hard time preventing yourself from binge watching it on your own.
Recommended Level of Inebriation: Medium
This show is brutal and gruesome and no one is safe from the appetite of the Titans. A beer and a glass of wine may be beneficial in calming your nerves.
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: Get on it
If you like anime at all, this was the must watch series of 2013. That said, I still think it’s a great gateway series for those who reluctant to give anime a try. It’s high action and brutal and a hell of a fun time. It’s also one of the most female-friendly anime series I’ve seen. (The women is the show are treated as complete equals. And no one bats an eye at the top military recruit being female. Plus, no fan service.) It takes about 5 or so episodes to really get into the swing of things. And there are some notable issues with the show, including unending dialogue and the odd pacing. (Although the latter isn’t as much of a problem when you’re not walking week by week and it can have its benefits. A single battle early on in the show takes place over the course of nine episodes, which was actually pretty spectacular.) So what are you waiting for, the walls to come down? Hurry up and give it a try.
