Attack on Titan
Plot / Story
It’s been a hundred years since they appeared. The creatures that drove mankind to the brink of extinction. Those monsters that know nothing but killing. We know nothing about them. We don’t know why they are here. Our only hope is to pull together. We have to make a stand. Walls. Walls will hold them. I dread the day that we must fall behind walls and hide. Behind the walls is survival, but behind the walls we live like cattle. Behind the walls we are safe from them. Those things who’s name we fear… Titans.
Not bad, right? Our anime plops us into a world where mankind is nearly hunted to extinction by humanoid monsters known as titans. No one knows where they came from or why they are here, but they are deadly. Even mankind’s most skilled fighters are not enough to stop them. The only choice mankind had was to build walls. Towering walls. Mankind joined together in their time of agony, building massive walls to keep out the demonic titans. For a hundred years the walls held. It got to the point where civilians inside the walls doubted the need for a military, they doubted the need to try and take back land from the titans. All it took was one day, the day when the giant titan towered over the wall. Not a soul could hide from its gaze. With one kick, he reminded mankind why they should fear the titans.
At the time of this, our main characters (Erin, Armin, and Mikasa), are only children. They watched in horror as their home was flooded by titans. They fled as the military failed to protect the people. Erin watched the horror of his mother getting bitten in half as he ran away. After safely arriving inside the second wall, Erin vows to kill every last titan. As soon as they are of age, all three of our main characters join the military.
As our heroes go through their recruit training, more problems arise. The giant titan returns without warning, and with a friend. Together, the giant titan and armored titan smash through the second layer of the wall. This allows more titans to flood inside the walls. Facing another tragedy, our heroes and other members of the military try to fight back the best they can. Death is the only way to describe the resulting battles.
Sequels
So as of right now, there isn’t really any sequels to AoT. There is a movie called Wings of Freedom, but that isn’t really a sequel to this series. However, the second season of the anime has been confirmed to launch in February 2016, which is rather exciting. The second season supposedly is going to be more political, rather than run and gun like the first season. This is promising since the first season left a lot of questions unanswered, I mean, a lot. There is also a live action movie in the works, though that is more of a remake rather than a sequel.
Overall
As a whole, this series is interesting, but quite boring. There are a lot of in between scenes that just leave you bored. The action scenes are pretty cool, even though it’s pretty much everyone dying. The story itself is rather confusing, since the series refuses to answer any questions. The editing, however, is quite superb. The editor does a nice job of cliffhangers that make you just have to watch the next episode, then the next, and the next. My advice, set aside a whole day, because once you start the first episode, you will keep looking to the next one to find answers.