The first episode of “Attack on Titan” is titled: “To You, 2,000 Years From Now.”
The title sets up one of the major themes of the series: Generations and what we pass on.
Whether to our friends, family or society, all of our choices have ripples that will carry through long after we’re gone.
It’s a profound message from a show ostensibly about man-eating giants.
“Attack on Titan” premiered on April 17, 2013, and recently held its series finale on Nov. 5 of this year.
In that time, the show became a critical and popular phenomenon topping viewership numbers, landing a Billboard-charting theme song and even sparking a major political controversy in the U.S. House of Representatives.
But the series was also a standby for myself personally, having first watched it in the autumn after my college graduation and following it through the ups and downs of the past decade.
With the series now ended, I couldn’t help but share my thoughts as my review this month.
Adapted from the Japanese manga (graphic novel) series by author Hajime Isayama, “Attack on Titan” tells the story of the last remnants of human society living within the safety of a ring of massive stone walls.
Kept at bay are the titans: man-eating giants that devour anyone who dares leave the safety of the walls.
When the titans breach the fortification one fateful day, they kill the mother of a young boy, Eren Jaeger.
Vowing to destroy the titans and see the world beyond the walls, Jaeger enlists in the Survey Corps, a military force that seeks to reclaim the world from the tyranny of the titans.
It’s as classic a set-up as Luke Skywalker heading out to fight the Empire. But for as popular a series as it is, “Attack on Titan” doesn’t shy away from showing the costs of that fight.
The Survey Corps, for all their honor and heroics, are often shown charging into hopeless odds, losing scores of comrades only to return to a public that resents them for how much taxpayer money they cost.
And as the fight for freedom tears at friendships, government and society itself, the question grows: what cost are you willing to pay to win a seemingly endless fight?
For so deeply political of a story as it becomes, the series has drawn parallels to a number of real-world events, from World War II to more modern conflicts.
And I think it speaks to the strength of the writing of the series that one can find genuine online conversations where young fans say: “Hey, this is just like ‘Attack on Titan’” and discuss the effects of war on our own real-world societies.
Beyond being a fantasy story, most critics nowadays describe the show as ostensibly a “war story.” and I can personally say that the series evolved my own view on real-world military service for the better.
That just as “MASH” and “Saving Private Ryan” let past generations identify with soldiers on screen, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that a significant number of millennials will now recall Cmdr. Erwin Smith’s “My Soldiers Rage” speech when thinking of fallen service members.
But beyond the many themes of the series that I could ramble on about, there’s the fact that the show is just plain exciting.
The Survey Corps soldiers use grappling hook harnesses to swing around the battlefield like Spider-man and wield massive blades to cut down the titans in their path.
The visuals are gorgeously rendered. and the music? One of my favorite tracks personally from the soundtrack is the song “Vogel im Käfig (Bird in Cage).”
The cliffhangers and reveals in the story are breathtaking, with a scene in Season 2 often hailed as one of the best twists in modern storytelling.
I’ll forever be grateful that I got to watch that episode on the night it premiered and I’ll always remember literally shouting and jumping around when that moment happened.
And, yes, without giving anything away, I feel like the series finale managed to land such a massive story as well as it could.
But it also marked the end of a chapter for myself as well. Across 10 years and four homes, I’ve followed this show.
I have a Wings of Freedom pendant sitting on my office desk right in front of me as I type this.
For as bleak as the series could get, it has a hopefulness at its core.
That if you dedicate your heart, your efforts will be rewarded.
Thanks to everyone involved for a great 10 years.
I give “Attack on Titan” 5 Stars out of 5.
Have you seen “Attack on Titan”? What did you think? Email Ben Rowe at browe@pressrepublican.com with your thoughts and takeaways.