Things I like about Attack on Titan:
• The anime’s theme song is incredible. I jam out to it while studying, walking the dog, cooking dinner, etc.
• Those uniforms are a cosplayer’s dream. Been to a con lately? You’ll see enough Scout Regiment soldiers to fight off an actual titan.
• Subversion of gender roles.
• Erwin Smith is totally unphased by whatever hellish situation he finds himself in. Sometimes, when I need to appear powerful and confident, I impersonate Commander Erwin. Works surprisingly well.
Things I dislike about Attack on Titan:
• Sadly, Goodreads reviews have a character count.
Actual storytelling in Attack on Titan is… rare. Almost nonexistent. Like pandas. If you cut the inner monologues and panels of characters looking shocked, each manga volume would be four pages long. Did we forget that crucial exposition scene that explains what the heck is going on here? Oops! Just cram a flashback into the middle of the action! Important plotlines like the key in the Shinganshina basement... we'll just forget about that for ten volumes at a time. Plot progression in Attack in Titan is nonexistent, as each arc ends in a Pyrrhic victory and is then discarded.
On a similar note, let’s talk about some of those big reveals. Some (like the identity of the Female Titan) make absolutely no sense and have never been explained. Some (the identity of the Colossal and Armored Titans) are so ridiculous they made me laugh hysterically. Boom! He’s a titan! And she’s a titan! Everyone’s a titan! (To be sung to the tune of "Everything is Awesome" from the LEGO movie) How did Character X become a titan? What motivates Character Y to betray humanity? Logistically, how are these human titans organized by brainless, man-eating lumps of flesh? And how did the Female Titan get from Wall Sina to the 57th Expedition without anyone noticing? Can she apparate? Are we actually inside the Wizarding World?
Attack on Titan might be meaningful if we saw actual characters. Instead... Eren has rage. Levi is tough. Erwin is cool. Armin is smart. Mikasa is so bland that she might erase herself. It is impossible to get swept up in their struggles, to feel any sort of pain when they are devoured, because they are as simple and lifeless as the Titans themselves. When a major twist happens, I have to remember who that character is (Christa…? She’s that chick who finds Jean’s horse, right? And Berthold? Have we ever seen him before? I think he might have said ‘Yes, sir’ somewhere during the battle against the Female Titan).
The anime has the same flaws, but it is freaking gorgeous. Sometimes their shots look like live action. Sometimes their shots look better than live action. So when everything in the anime goes to hell, just watch the pretty scenery. Not possible in the manga. On top of all the other flaws, it’s just sloppy. Compare Attack on Titan to, say, a volume by CLAMP. Warning: Attack on Titan will look like scribbles on a restaurant napkin.