Bronwen Winter Phoenix has been on an emotional journey with the characters of Attack on Titan, having fallen into this world when she initially agreed to review some makeup from Game Beauty. She didn’t realise at the time she was going to become addicted to the series, and compelled to watch every single episode.
Warning: there’s spoilers.
Around six weeks ago, I didn’t really know anything about Attack on Titan. In fact, I’d completely forgotten I’d agreed to review some makeup based on the hit anime series months before, so when it turned up on my doorstep, I got intrigued.
In fact, more than that, in order to do the makeup review any justice whatsoever, I knew I was going to have to watch at least a couple of episodes so that I had a better idea of what I was writing about when it came to the makeup. Girdy concurred.
Reader, I didn’t realise then that I was going to be swept up into this utterly addictive, brutal series. I cared about the characters, got invested in the story, and I absolutely could not stop bingeing AoT. As someone who’s now come to the end of the series, I feel like sharing my best and worst with you.
I only really do this with things I absolutely love that have made me think deeply, like Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series – which you can read here.
So, anyway, I finished the show a couple of days ago, and I have a LOT of feelings going on right now. So, without further ado, here’s my best and worst of Attack on Titan.
The best: this show is brutal
From the first episode, I was completely glued to the screen, and the thing that did it for me was just how hard-hitting the show is. It doesn’t shy away from being brutal, in fact it fully embraces it, and I wasn’t expecting that. The first season in particular just doesn’t let up, and soon I was completely invested in the characters.
The worst: this show is BRUTAL
The thing that utterly compelled me to watch AoT is also the thing that gut-punched me multiple times – and yet, I still kept coming back for more. I got so invested in the characters themselves that sometimes I full-on cried.
The best: the epic music
An epic show like Attack on Titan deserves an equally epic soundtrack to go with it, and the show doesn’t disappoint. AoT is home to some of the BEST TUNES in anime land – don’t agree? Fight me! My favourites include Couleur by Yoko Hikasa, and The Rumbling by SiM.
The best: Armin’s character arc
Armin started off as a character you might call ‘weak’. He was paralysed in fear by titans. He grew stronger, oh so brave, and was able to use his brain smarts to work out many ingenius ways of beating the titans.
Perhaps the biggest moment is when he sacrifices himself to save Eren, almost burning to death so that one day maybe Eren can get to see the ocean. That broke my heart. Armin is my favourite character by far, and was way before this moment – and this is a time I sobbed my heart out.
Later, he questions Eren’s actions and reasoning when he turns against himself and hurts Mikasa, but also isn’t so deluded that he doesn’t know when to call it a day. He concedes Eren is the one that has to be stopped. He rises to the occasion every time, and does what needs to be done.
So proud of my boy Armin.
The best: the characters are multi-dimensional rather than just ‘good vs bad’
There IS no ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters in AoT. There’s just the sides we see, and throughout, we work out who’s secretly a titan, what they did, then where they came from and why they’re doing it – and in the end, people are just people (or people-titans) who are trying to do what they think is right and save their loved ones. A lot of whom end up dead anyway.
This is perhaps best summed up with Eren’s journey. He starts as the hero, who’s been through trauma and “wants to kill all titans”. He harnesses his rage, uses it and is often rewarded for it. Until he reaches a point where we wonder who even IS Eren anymore? Why is he doing what he’s doing, and was he always like this? At the end we get a bit of clarity, and the whole thing is just fuckin’ tragic.
The worst: Kenny Ackerman
I didn’t really get this dude, to be honest. He came in at a time where I felt invested in the other characters, and then it was like ‘who the hell is this guy, coming in with ACTUAL GUNS etc.?’ I did feel a bit sorry for him in the end, and I understood why he was there, but the character never really grew on me.
The best: the way Historia turned on her dad
I wasn’t expecting the tonal change in Historia’s “Yes, I will do whatever is required of me, Father” to “I’ve had enough of YOU AND YOUR SHIT!!!” but I was living for it. Historia is another great character I don’t think we saw quite enough of.
The best: Armin and Annie
Got to say, I ‘ship Armin and Annie SO BAD. They complement each other perfectly and it’s a subtle slow burn to their relationship… but it’s there. Armin spent four years speaking to Annie, and the scene where he all but admits what that meant really touched me. Those two are made for each other.
In some of the final scenes, we see them standing close to each other, and that’s all we really have to say whether or not they might have become a couple. I for one really hope they got their happy ending. Guess there’s plenty of fan fiction out there to satisfy the rest.
The worst: all the unnecessary people killing each other nonsense
Oh, you’ve had enough death? How about some more death, with extra death topping and a side of… you guessed it, DEATH! I’ve got to admit, I got to a point in season four where all the people killing each other and all the death started to get a bit much.
I started thinking that there’s enough death all around us in the news and in real life, do we really need to see all these people needlessly dying? I considered taking a break, but in the end I pushed through. I was glad I did.
The best: when The Rumbling starts
That scene when the walls finally break down and all the titans within are exposed and start moving, is ABSOLUTELY FREAKIN’ EPIC!!! I know it resulted in many, many deaths (basically a mass genocide) but holy wow, you really get an idea of the horrific power of it all.
The best AND worst: Hange Zoë’s death
Hange Zoë is a favourite character of mine, second only to Armin. She’s quirky, incredibly intelligent, responsible and pretty amazing.
She brought so much colour to the show (such as the way she treated the captured titans like pets), so I really appreciated that when it was time for her to go out, she did it in style in the most BADASS freakin’ way possible! I was still really sad she died at all, though.
The worst: Sasha’s death
Sasha deserved better. For all that she’d been through, Potato Girl should have gone out in a way that at least made some sense, that felt justified in some way. Not just shot on an airship by a little girl. But I did completely understand Eren’s reaction when he was told her last words were her asking for meat. I laughed, too.
The worst: Eren’s mum died because of… Eren himself!
The irony hasn’t slipped me by that apparently, Eren knew that Bertolt Hoover (heh, not like Henry) had to live, so called the titan that was once HIS DAD’S FIRST WIFE and therefore ZEKE’S MUM, DINA towards Eren’s own mum to eat her instead.
So, essentially, Zeke’s mum ate Eren’s mum. And that was the thing that caused all of the rage and hatred little Eren felt that compelled him to join the scouts.
The best: the ending felt sad… but in a good way
It probably wasn’t an ideal ending. We never saw the three friends from the start of the first season make up and live out their lives peacefully. But it also felt truthful, because we all know “you can never go back home” like that. Everything’s temporary.
I was sad for Mikasa, who never got to admit to Eren she loved him. I was sad for Eren who seemed to be stuck in making the choice he did in the end, and not wanting Mikasa to move on from him.
It was all deeply sad, but at the same time the future for the survivors is hopeful; no-one’s a titan anymore. No-one’s going to die after 13 years. There’s reason to believe all the killing can, for now, cease. Connie gets his mum back! And in a way, Eren helped with all of that.
The best: The end credits
I really enjoyed watching the end credits of Attack on Titan. I thought it was quite a charming way to end things, although we do have to wonder what it means and whether history is going to repeat itself.
Who bombed the city? Does the boy who eventually comes along, with the scarf, decide to go into that tree and is something similar to what Ymir encountered centuries before about to take place AGAIN? Who knows. But before all that, we see Mikasa eventually buried with the same flowers Eren was. Sadness.
The best: The season 5 special episodes
Why are these episodes even necessary? Well, I feel like the AoT team decided they owed these episodes to fans after all the trauma we’ve endured. They’re comforting, ridiculous and even hilarious at times, and they’ve been giving me closure, so I’m really glad I decided to watch these. I may have more to say on this once I’ve finished watching them.
To sum it up…
And I think that’s about it! I’m still feeling very emosh about this show, and I may of course keep coming back and adding to this list because I’m probably going to think of more things to add. But I feel like I’ve covered all the main points.
