OP Sequence

OP: 「紅蓮の弓矢」 (Guren no Yumiya) by Linked Horizon

 

「二千年後の君へ」 (Ni Sen Nen Go No Kimi E)
“To You, In 2000 Years.”

What do you do when gigantic, virtually indestructible monstrosities are about to destroy mankind? You build an epic fortress made of towering walls to keep them out. But like those lyrics from Bastion’sBuild That Wall“…

I dig my hole you build a wall
I dig my hole you build a wall
One day that wall is gonna fall

Gon’ build that city on a hill
Gon’ build that city on a hill
Some day those tears are gonna spill

…if you think you’ll just be able to sit back and relax forever, you’re sorely mistaken. Because as surely as the sun rises, the fact is that nothing lasts forever (especially when it’s man made). One day, “that wall’s gonna fall, and tears are gonna spill.” And as it turns out—for our main cast in Mikasa (Ishikawa Yui) and Eren (Kaji Yuki), that fated day is today. A colossal Titan breaches the wall and tears apart the over 100 year “peace”—combining with the whole “your son died for nothing” moment when the Recon Corps came back and the death of Eren’s mother ending things here in the first episode (right in front of him, no less) to give a glimpse into just what this series is going to be. That is, it ain’t gonna be no walk in the park.

To say the least, there’s a dark backdrop to everything—and well, that’s exactly what drew me to the series in the first place. After all, humanity does some of their best work when pushed to the brink, and it’s without a doubt that the scenario presented here in Shingeki no Kyojin fits the bill. As such, there’s definitely a lot of expectation here in terms of the potential epicness that could result from humanity’s fight back against the Titans, and it’s something we get a glimpse of in the episode’s first moments. Considering also that it’s been said that the author of Shingeki (Isayama Hajime) is a friend of Muv-Luv Alternative’s creator and borrowed some elements from the latter’s work—which obviously, was quite superb—and well, let’s just say there’s a lot here in terms of potential.

And ultimately, that’s what this introduction gives us: a glimpse of the series’ potential and of the elements that drew viewers into it in the first place. For one, we get to see a lot of the concepts that the series is going to revolve around—specifically the insane odds they’re fighting against, the grounded nature of the weapons they use to fight, the reality that humanity is living within a self-imposed cage to survive, the importance of fighting to live on and preserve the memories of those that have fallen etc.—aspects that if done right, could culminate in a spectacular series. In addition, we’re treated to a glimpse of what to expect in terms of the soundtrack, which seems like it’ll be another superb work from Sawano Hiroyuki (who else heard bits and pieces from his Sengoku Basara OST in the beginning!?). To top things off, Production I.G. seems like it’ll provide a solid foundation in terms of animation as well and this first episode ends up being an exceptionally faithful adaptation too.

Ultimately, there’s not really much else to say here. All of the aforementioned just give this series quite the positive outlook in terms of future development, and it’s an understatement to say that I’m looking forward to watching/covering this series on a weekly basis. With things ending on a kind of cliffhanger to start things off already, it doesn’t look like this series is going to give particularly much in terms of breaks at all (and/or will come with its share of sudden surprises/developments), and that’s just the way I like it.

**Please do not discuss the manga past this point. Spoiler tags must be used if referencing future events in the manga, along with a brief description as to what the spoiler entails.

 

Preview

187 Comments

    1. Indeed. While I took a bit of an issue with the narmmy quality to that “your son died for nothing” speech, but barring that I was very much engrossed in the atmosphere, especially with the excellent timing and use of music. Bone chilling.

  1. Man, the pacing was so great. They’re taking their sweet time with this. I wonder, how much will they manage to cover though?

    The Opening is ABSOLUTELY spoiler free too.

    Eucalypt
  2. Holy… I don’t think a death can get that graphic. I’m gonna have nightmares… Shoot, why couldn’t Heneko be subbed yet? I need something happy to close tonight out. 🙁

    J_the_Man
  3. Damn, this show’s first episode definitely lived up to the hype.

    I love how the characters give such human like reactions.

    Hannes initially wanting to be a hero until paralyzed by fear when seeing a Titan up close. Eren’s mom saying “Don’t go” right before she got eaten. Powerful stuff.

    BBQ
    1. As Akemi Homura puts it best regarding human nature.

      “With kindness comes naivete. Courage becomes foolhardiness. Furthermore, dedication has no reward.”

      MasterDragonKnight
    2. This is surely beyond epic, not only you see the fear in the characters but you can almost taste it yourself. Together with the clever use of the music you realize that titans are not only the enemies of mankind, they are their very end; just their presense screams: you´re defeated, you lived this long just by our whin, you cannot stop us!.

      haseo0408
    3. Sawano Hiroyuki’s compositions are so in-tune with the themes of this series.. When the Titans break in, it’s just pure despair right there, gives you the shivers as if the Titans just said “We’re here, and your time has come.” Don’t even need words to convey that across.

      That aside, I love this series but I can never get past the ugliness and deformity of the Titans. Then again, they’re made to be the nemesis of mankind, so I guess it’s so you don’t feel sympathy for them at all?

      ImpetusZwei
  4. Mikasa… no words describe my love for her. Well, I don’t like Yuki Kaji, but Eren never was my favorite so… I don’t care much about it. About the Art, is awesome, compared to the manga is really, really great. The ost is awesome too. Censorship almost nonexistent, I’m glad for this and now we need wait and see how will be the next episodes.

    vane
    1. Though it clearly won’t happen I’m with you that Mikasa should be the real protagonist here. Eren’s character introduction was just so jarring and in your face. They literally had him scream at the audience “Look at how morally righteous I am compared to these complacent guards!” It was odd how everything else was written and executed so well that Eren’s handling would be so amateur. But whatever, it won’t be the first time I’ve loved a show despite disliking the protagonist.

      spike
      1. Eren has a strong point here, in te words of the vampire Lestat: “There is a huge difference between living and survival”.

        This what humanity has become: fodder, livestock, cowards unable to stand for what is rightfully theirs. I know it sounds tough, but the destruction of Eren´s city is a direct result of humanities lack of courage to fight back in those 100 years of peace.

        haseo0408
      2. Eren doesn’t have the moral high ground. He’s a self righteous punk, but that’s normal. His berating of the garrison wasn’t to make him seem appealing in contrast, but to show his naivety and foolhardy nature. But who doesn’t love a good fool getting up from his fall?

        bolton
      3. I think it´s the other way around Bolton-san, from what the preview tells Eren is going to have his resolve streghted by the desire of revenge against the Titans and the best way of doing that is for to join the Exploration Legion. You have to take into acount that his and Armin´s naive and foolish nature is what makes them the most sane individuals in that now death city.

        haseo0408
      4. fools are not stupid, they are naive. naivety is not something i associate with sanity or stupidity, naivety is part of being a kid, like eren. we could argue the value difference between wanting to live and wanting to survive all day, but it all comes down to perspective. eren has good points, but so does the garrison and the rest of the village. peace should be enjoyed, and a 100 years is a very long time, anyone would feel safe. you’re not insane for recognizing your position, nor are you insane for wanting something more. you are definitely foolhardy if you’re itching to take down some an army of fucking sentient life forms 50m+ tall that took down an entire village in one fell swoop.

        bolton
    2. The second Mikasa used ONE arm to throw Eren into a wall, she became #1 in my books.
      And style points for wearing a scarf in the middle of what looks like summer, although I’m sure it’s hiding a scar or something.

      Kentaiyoshimi
  5. The soundtrack is phenomenal. I mean, everything else is fantastically portrayed and the voice acting greatly adds to the atmosphere, but the soundtrack at the end. Wow, well done Hiroyuki. Well done Wit Studio.

    1. These days, DMCA harbor laws nor terms of Fair use will actually help to protect the site. It can’t stop some company from taking down the site. So the best Divine can do is to remove those completely.

      Cybersteel
    2. Technically it should be protected. But the incredible lack of anime OPs and EDs on YouTube basically points to the fact that anime companies feel incredibly threatened by their appearance, for whatever bizarre reason, and stop at nothing to get them removed.

      Tre
    3. ^ True

      But it doesn’t stop there. Most companies dealing in creative content mediums such as music and movies are guilty of doing that too. That is the world that we live in today.

      Cybersteel
  6. The first episode surpassed my already high expectations. I’m conflicted on whether to start reading the manga now or stick with the show. On a another note I find it odd that neither Crunchyroll nor Funimation picked it up for a simulcast. This was one of most anticipated shows of the season so you would think someone would be officially streaming it.

    Absaroka
  7. A powerful first episode that gives pause to the helplessness of human beings in the face of seemingly overwhelming power, indeed.

    One thing I find myself particularly fond of is my already growing detest for these creatures called Titans. Indeed, and not just because of what happened to Eren’s mother (though that was admittedly disturbing to watch) but because of those grins on their faces; as though a sense of enjoyment lies behind their seemingly low intelligence.

    Certainly, these Titans were crafted with the intent to make you hate them; and I will take an admittedly selfish pleasure in watching them fall from their proverbial pedestal on high.

    Looking forward to the next ep. ;>

    Ryan Ashlight
  8. The Titans also give me a bit of a Claymore vibe, with them reminding me a bit of an Awakened Being. The more medieval appearance of things also give me that impression. Definitely has that darker aspect too.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
      1. Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised, especially considering how human the Titans look. Hell, the Colossal one that breaches the wall looks pretty much a type of human biology mannequin with all the inside muscles and such showing.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
  9. One of the best scenes this episode, in my opinion was when Hannes faced the female titan, wanting to protect Eren, Mikasa and their mother. They pretty much nailed the facial expressions in this episode. You could tell just by looking at Hannes’s face that he got stiff by fear, and turned to one of the rules of survival. Don’t be the goddamn hero, especially if you know it’s way out of your league.

    Wuz
    1. Just one of many great scenes indeed. That other one with Moses’ mother was already quite something as well.

      “Where’s my son!?”
      “Here, have an arm.”
      “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!… but he was useful right?”
      “Nope.”

      Grimdark if I’ve ever seen it. These guys really have it rough, to say the least.

      1. Well, if you think of it this way, you can make a pretty clear distinctions in their faces, which makes it pretty clear what “gender” they are supposed to look like. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just stop there.

        Wuz
      2. I watched it live and was spamming my Twitter followers with all caps ahh I loved it so much.

        Is anyone else bothered as hell that they spoiled a certain something though?
        Show Spoiler ▼

        Kiseki
  10. I’m hooked after watching the first episode. Like some of you, I might pick up the manga because this is so good. This anime seems so realistic. It perfectly illustrated some qualities(fear, curiosity) that make humans what they are.

    pooop
  11. For those that read the manga:

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Tre
    1. Whoops, forgot to read the part about having to put a description on spoilers. There aren’t any particular spoilers in the tag there, just a basic question to manga readers.

      Tre
    2. To be honest, I think the reason it is added is for: (Read at your own risk, contains lots of spoilers)
      Show Spoiler ▼

      Titan
  12. Well, I’m glad that this season’s supposed #1 new series with Kaji Yuki voicing MC turned out better than GC…

    And that little comedic moment when the boys ran–not be because of Eren but of Mikasa lol

    Shiawase
      1. Noooo, what im worried about in the very first sequence- the one where Erens dreaming. Because THAT wasnt in the manga. Well, Im not so sure what to think of it yet, since neither in the manga nor in the anime there is much content. But it differs, so Im a bit worried…

        Libelula
    1. Long ago, the humans lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Titans attack. Only Eren, who has mastered ***** (major spoilers, so not going to say anything), can stop them.

      MasterDragonKnight
  13. Glad the hype is justified
    Awesome beginning
    I love that scene at the end, the emotions were well delivered
    The opening is so awesome, candidate for best opening of 2013
    My love for Sawano Hiroyuki’s music composition is higher than ever
    Hope that it keeps the quality til the end 🙂

    ShuA
  14. I refuse to watch this series (looks way too dark for me) but I have to chime in to say the following: Curse you Zephyr! You got the Bastion soundtrack stuck in my head again! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get Zia’s theme out of my head once I start thinking about it?!

    Wanderer
  15. What in the hell did I just watch? I’m already crying in the first episode!! I wonder if my psyche will be able to hold out until the end. I really want to go sit in the corner and rock myself back and forth. Did that damn Titan really have to rip her apart first??? He couldn’t just snap her neck and then eat her? *Sigh* moving on, it’s really awesome to see the characters being so human. Like most of you have pointed out already, when Hannes turned back to save the kids after being struck with fear, and how Eren’s mother almost cried out don’t go, which was truly truly heartbreaking. I am very excited and also worried about what I’m going to witness in the second episode seeing as how this first one just laid it all out there.

    P.S Mikasa……. I freaking love her already.

    Jani
  16. Absouletely fabulous I haven’t seen that quality ever.. In my homeland, lots of people hate, even loathe when it comes to the anime matter, but it has been issued in there! GLAD TO MEET YOU FOLK!!

    maße
  17. This episode sure live up to the expectation. The music is great, the pacing is just right, the OP is awesome, and the visual is absolutely stunning. Overall, it’s truly epic. I sure hope they can sustain this quality until the last episode (how many episode is this again?).

    By the way, considering how they already mastered the skill of producing great visuals and music but lacked in the story department, those Guilty Crown’s staffs should just stick with adapting series that have solid story like this one.

    On a side note, that titan’s face sure is much more trolling than the manga…

  18. Wow… this seriously doesn’t pull any punches. Intense is an understatement after that ending scene. Grimdark exponential. Overall a very impressive start, and kind of stating the obvious in that I’ll be watching next week.

    – The show must have quite the budget given its excellent visual quality. I thought the Titans were very well done. Those smiles are so creepy.

    – WTH? “Your son died. Here’s part of his arm. He died for nothing.” Way to empathize recon commander.

    – LOL “They’ve never broken through the wall in 100 years” Perfect example of What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Granted you knew that would happen, but still, someone just had to say it.

    – OK, I’m confused here. Isn’t this an old-style smoothbore cannon? Not sure if this is a spoiler topic, but why are they using big swords instead of guns/cannons? That cannon doesn’t look brand new so where’s the progression in weapon technology over the past 10, 50, 100 years? Not very impressed with “humanity” given the situation. I’m sure something will change, but as it stands, with the wall breached humanity is screwed.

    – Mikasa’s awesome <3.

    daikama
    1. My old joke is Dragons became extinct when humans developed canons… (Any Warhammer fantasy battle fan who witnessed Artillery Train of Nuln in action would agree…)
      I had a bit of same issue with MLA, there would be plenty of ways to deliver nukes to enemy hives and end the threat once and for all.
      Anyone had a comparison to “Shadow of the colossus”? The game involves slaying similarly giant enemies…

      ewok40k
    2. @diakama
      – The show must have quite the budget given its excellent visual quality. I thought the Titans were very well done. Those smiles are so creepy.
      I was sort of torn on that. Details in the drawings but limited animation. The Titans were toooo well done. I’m going to have nightmares.

      Medieval conditions and weaponry except for those bungee cord thingies. Need backstory. Supposed to be in the future right?

      Bear
  19. I really appreciate the lush visuals in this adaptation since I actually found the artwork in the early chapters of the manga to be terrible (to the point that it didn’t seem like a ‘professional’ work) – though it’s improved greatly over time. This series will at least ensure that the exposition of the story is presented in a visually worthy way.

    d
    1. To ground her character in reality and show that despite her ability to do the right and noble thing she’s still human and weak. Totally natural reaction to not want to die alone, especially knowing that it will be in a painful and gruesome way. Makes the fact that she was able to keep it together for her children long enough to send them away before breaking down even more impressive. Great storytelling and one of the highlights of the episode in my mind.

      spike
      1. i was fully expecting it, but it still gave me the chills. makes me think of all the other times you see characters put on the brave face and tell the others to go on without them or “i’ll hold them off!”, how many of them should have had this small part of the scene included but didn’t. shingeki no kyojin really drives the point home the ugliness of being human but also allows the viewers to admire the love and courage of having, even if it was for a small few seconds, the strength to put on the act for them. watching her physically strain to keep it under her breath was absolutely heart-wrenching.

        bolton
  20. Loved the OP, hated the titans (in a good way), and I’m gonna get nightmares for sure.

    All in all, I can’t wait for the next episode so I can scar myself some more 😀 LEZ GO!

    Mew
  21. Good and very high quality production here. The only thing I hate here is Kaji Yuki doing another wangst character again… I had enough of him from Guilty Crown..

    Nekomimimeido
  22. I think all of those who know this story, know what it truly is. And for that reason, there is no way in hell that a few episodes will cover what needs to be covered, without serious abridging of events, that I believe, would break the entirety of what it is about. In other words, I don’t like it. Just imagine if One Piece had to take out more than half the manga. Unthinkable. Sure, you’d still have it, but it would be bare bones. Same here.

    TheOrangeOne
  23. Alright, the whole episode felt epic. Majestic presentation, beautiful OST, the titans attack and human defenders remind me of Shadow of the Colossus, all and all very well…
    … until I saw that the MC is a carbon copy of a certain Shinn Asuka from GSD. If we’re going to live with an emo-based character that wants revenge even at the price of his companions or Mikasa (obvious death flag is way too obvious), then turn away and never return.
    Nevertheless, I’ll give this the benefit of the doubt with the 3 episode rule. The other thing that worry me is: How much of the novel has been made until now? Any risk to end with nothing at the end of the series?

    SeedStriker
  24. This episode was amazing.. the art is beautiful, the music thrilling.

    I found it interesting to see how they did the OP:
    E.g. blending in manga chapters and in contrast showing the detailed choreography of how the characters fight the Titans using their gear. It’s like they really want the audience to acknowledge that this anime is based on a great manga, but enables you to see the kind of fluid animations which otherwise happens only in your imagination when you read the manga.

    The gg subbers also used some other terms as the scanlators, for example “Recon Corps” in the anime vs “Scouting Legion” as in the manga. Of course the difference is in the end minimal, but there are times like these, where I wish to just understand the original japanese term itsself.

  25. Not bad, but needs more blood for the blood god… The highlights are the crazy action stuns this show potentially has, as per the OP, if done right. Wish MLA:TE had the same budget that was given here.

    gabgrave
  26. As a manga reader, i must say that the 1st ep of the anime surpass the 1st chapter of the manga. The ost and the way the angle of the camera view really enhance the already awesome scene.

    walaoa
  27. SUPERB ADAPTATION! Just like Dansai no Bunri Crime Edge, Shingeki no Kyojin’s first episode was flawless and adapted the plot and artstyle perfectly.

    The OP was god tier.Even though I knew what was going to happen, I still cried during the scene of Eren’s mom’s death, just like when I read it in the manga.The animation and music combined pulled my heart strings.

    I don’t know how many episodes they plan to do, but this anime definitely deserves to go all the way to the end.

    Do not spoil yourself and look at the following, this is for people who have read the manga!!!You have been warned!

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Magoiichi
    1. But sadly, this is not enough. Well Im gonna write something about the manga now, but I guess ist not a spoiler since I wont say ANYTHIN content-related. 22 episodes sadly is NEVER enough to cover the manga. Especially not with this pacing. And I sure as hell hope they dont start cutting stuff cause that would be such a waste. YOU HERE ME, SCRIPTWRITER? A WASTE!!! But then again, there is not a single moment in the manga where I could say “ok, arc is finished, questions answered, now time for a break”. Its a story that continues on and on…and once you got some questions answered you get the next ones.
      So for now Im REALLY afraid they will destroy everything by deviating from the source material. Id rather they stick with it and then just leave it at a giant cliff-hanger for all I care – so that theres a chance to pick it up someday once the manga is finished. But sadly, the dream-sequence at the beginning pointed into another direction:(

      Libelula
  28. I dunno, someones compare this Show with “Muv-Luv”. So because of that i wait until the 3rd Episode to see if i like it or not. Not that this show turn away from Titans and focus on fight between the Humans himself. Some kind of Town with Town, so that the Titans are not needed anymore

    Germanguy
    1. Muv-Luv the first 2 Episodes was full of Blood and Gore and Death, but then the rest of the Anime was just boring, compared to the start. Fighting between the Pilot Squads, mistrust of Country’s. Because that, i fear here the same

      Germanguy
    2. Ah, and here I thought I was the only one who was thinking like this. Mum Luv, the entire thing, spinoffs, whatever, is a huge piece of turd. I tried to like it. I really did but it kept focusing on those bland characters and make itself a harem wannabe than be an actual gruesome war series.

      Shingeki no Kyojin is nothing like this. Hell, if you look the tags to describe the manga, you’ll see ‘romance’ isn’t even there. That’s because it ain’t. It’s a dark series about humanity’s fight for its survival. Action, drama and a well-crafted mystery. The two series are about a fight against extinction but all comparisons end there. I felt insulted to see Shingeki no Kyojin (which is a masterpiece as far as I’m concerned) be compared to such a piece of trash.

      Nic
      1. Well, it has a similar theme in the surface: “The desperate fight of humanity against another superior creatures”. From what I heard, there are also some similarities including classes of the race and a similar method of developing it’s initially weak character (the difference is Titan doing it at the first episode while Alternative took two and half of a game before we reach the beginning of DOOM.)

        Titan use a more conventional way of “chomp”, while Alternative is kinda unique (I think nobody will dare to animate Extra and Unlimited, since ppl will asking “where the fuck is the alien”? a.k.a MuvLuv trilogy is only feasible in VN medium). However, “that” infamous scene is one of the most memorable scene in the entire series (probably could compete in “your most memorable scene in TV-Anime-Manga-VN-LN” contest)and mark the start of the roller coaster ride in MLA, while I think this one scene in titan is used an initial hook. I hope we will see much more epic moments such like this in future episodes :3

        I got no problem with romance. Epic anime (or story in general) is always an epic portrayal of humanity, and love is one of the integral element of human life (even when they are in a brink of extinction). Of course, execution is another issue. I think MLA will be better if they portrait romance more subtle (and remove the madafaka adult scenes from it), but it’s still fine for me. MLA accomplished it’s main idea : Present us (Takeru is a normal human, just like us) in the viewpoint of someone who was thrown to the grimdark world. But despite of that, human is still the same. They are still stupid sometimes, but the courageous one will inspire us about the value of life and death. I hope I could taste a similar idea in Shingeki no Kyoujin.

        And well, to achieve that… Eren, I’m looking at you : Develop yourself along with us viewers, and be a good protagonist!

        P.S Just don’t compare Titans with Total Eclipse. Total Eclipse is a fandisk that was previously made just to show another TSF from another countries and obviously can’t even compete with Titan at all. For a closer (possible) comparator of anime, let’s hope for a MLA : Schwarzesmarken adaptation since a good MLA adaption would be impossible for me.

        zeroyuki92
    3. Don’t worry, the first episode was merely a little taste of what’s in store later, I assure you it continues to get more interesting, and the blood and gore will definitely not stop there. In fact, It will get even more brutal than what you’ve seen.

      AzureNova
  29. First anime this season that got me on its own in comparison to second seasons I watch and the rest whichs piloting epsiodes I mostly found quite boring.

    Especially the first Flash of the Titan Hannes wanted to be the hero against – watching this in a dark room on a beamer in the middle of the night quite creepd me for a moment. Music was especially epic in this an the following scene.

    All in all very much potential right off the first episode, love it.

    nEmai
  30. Hannes was portrayed really well. He realised he was gonna die if he fought that and went for the save bet, saving the kids. It takes courage to admit your limits. His arguments were not wrong too. If they were to be forced to fight, that would mean things had gone really bad (as latter in the day happens).

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Ebisu
  31. O_____O

    OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE I JUST SEEN? And when you take into account that I watched this after Game of Thrones, it’s safe to say that all my feels are just spilling all over the place uncontrollably and I don’t think I’ll survive, I really don’t.

    This show is just… epic win on so many levels. Animation? Superb! Premise for plot? Epic! Characterizations? Believably realistic! Action? Awesome! Feelings? OMFG I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS!! I can’t even. I love it. ALL THE FREAKING AWARDS! I hope it continues in this epic and tragically beautiful fashion. Gawd, the mother you guys, the mother! And Hannes, it’s okay man! It’s okay to piss your pants and run like hell! You tried bro, you tried! This episode was just flawless and I haven’t even read the manga. I’m totally blown away. Haven’t felt like this about an anime in like ages I think. I’m excited for next week.

    Axel
  32. Oh how frustrating, I always hate the main seiyuu voice! Can’t help it, I always drop an anime whenever he’s at the center of character. Don’t they have a poll or something? annoying seiyuu in a role etc etc..? Don’t they ever learn?

    anyone felt the same here?

    oh wait, if its gonna be dubbed maybe I’ll watch the dub version.

    fairx
  33. Man I got the same goosebumps when I first watched Berserk. The soundtrack coupled with the weakness of being human theme is really setting this one apart from the others out of this season. Definitely worth following.

    yusuke
  34. Never read the manga but have heard about it. It was a great first episode and I’m trying not to touch the many a at all, this is gonna be hard. Its been a while for to get hooked onto a decent worth watching anime

    jojo
  35. Just from reading people’s comments I can see that by the end of the 1st season there are going to be some severely broken brains (unless everyone gives in and reads the manga).

    And seriously, you guys who watched Guilty Crown need some ptsd treatment or something. I have heard stories of the infinite horribleness of that show’s MC but having not watched Guilty Crown I didn’t notice anything wrong with Kaju Yuki’s voiceness.

    rava
  36. Late to the fore, but Oh. My. God. If there’s one way to build up the mood and anticipation, I’d be tempted to say that every other would-be anime aspiring to be awesome should take a leaf out of SnK’s book.

    The music. The atmosphere. The background. The art. The playing out of the scenes (especially when Eren’s mom got eaten) The VAs. Then the music.

    And that scene. The genre reads as ‘horror’, and it’s obvious this isn’t the are-you-afraid-of-the-dark, ghostie or just plain gore kind of horror. The inexorable moment, the slowing down of the motion, the desperation so well voiced by Kaji Yuuki, the well-timed exclusion of the sickening part where the body gets snapped in two…So well done.

    A definite follow for me.

    Owaranai
  37. Could someone explain to me the meaning behind that silent transition where Hannes froze upon looking at that Titan’s face, then turned tail and fled with the children? What made him change his decision to fight that monster? o_O

    pikaz
    1. my take was that he realized that he couldn’t win and, not only would he have thrown his own life away, but he would have left the children to be eaten by the Titan. He may have not done the “heroic” thing, but he did the best he could with a horrible situation.

      The other option is that he saw the Titan, messed his pants, and ran like a chicken.

      Bear
  38. well, well, now that I watched this episode, I’m on board~! I almost didn’t watch it, BTW.

    I didn’t really care for the manga since I was seriously turned off by rather crude drawing of these “titans”, but after watching this, I may actually checked it out for real -meaning more than 1 chapter. That’s how much I am intrigued, I tell ya~! Anytime I can feel “epic” while watching one -escaflowne, zetsuen no tempest, etc comes to mind-, I AM watching.

    One thing bothers me though. Why no guns, eh? They built 150+ feet tall walls for miles and miles AND invent weird cable things that-appears-to-be-over-100-feet-long shoot out from their waists for them to fly around, but couldn’t come up with primitive guns? Good grief! My American mind has a hard time getting past so many of these epic anime shows being always about primitive weapons like swords and arrows. Yeah, I get that all these epic types are almost always set in medieval (middle age) -hello Lord or the rings!!-, but geez. So infuriating~~. They could’ve had shot them and be done with, geez~~~~.

    I suppose having guns will destroy the balance. Guns, unlike swords and arrows, don’t need much expertise, but much, much more deadly and even these titans wouldn’t have a chance with human with guns. These titans are flesh and blood and walking around naked, so of course steel pallets coming at them faster than the speed of sound will rip through them and cause massive internal damages, often death. The same way no living animal, both real and imaginary like dragons, will have no chance against guns… Come to think of it, it’s basically prerequisite that they take out guns and missiles -or any other modern weapons made of steel that shoots faster than the speed of sound.

    deathtogeneric/formulaicshows
    1. Well there is no guns because

      Show Spoiler ▼

      I could be wrong though

      ginobi666
  39. This show’s gonna give me nightmares every week does it not? Nevertheless, it’s still interesting though, I don’t usually enjoy grimdark, but at least I have not seen one wholly unlikable character in this show.

    Cobeurn
  40. Best scene had to be when Hannes charged at the Titan and ran back to Eren and Misaka instead, stricken with fear. I was worried we would see him as a casualty first episode, but we got another death instead.

    Jel
  41. Don’t really care about the characters for now.

    What got my interest are:
    – what are those giants, their origin.
    – whats in the basement?
    – what is this world’s history? Is it like Turn-A and Broken Blade, once was of advance tech and sciences?
    – are there state alchemists somewhere there 😛

    Watching it for the revelation of what exactly are those giants.
    Will it be religious or scientific?

    Somehow got me thinking of Gantz, training for giant alien invaders 😛

    iron2000

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