There’s something wonderful about having your kids grow up to the point where they stop following your lead and forge out on their own—especially when they start sharing stuff with you that is nowhere near your radar.
Hence this post about Shingeki no Kyojin (AKA Attack on Titan).
Anime has always been something that I’ve been tangentially aware of. I’m a big fan of the Studio Ghibli stuff that John Lasseter’s been bringing over from Japan. But heretofore I’ve not been steeped in the gestalt of it.
That all changed with a reco from my daughter. And, (ba, ba, bum, bum, bum) I’m lovin’ it.
Who knew that a dystopian society filled with quasi-fascist philosophy, steampunky technology, and 50-meter-tall TITANS WHO EAT HUMANS! could be so engrossing (come to think of it, that makes total sense when you look at it that way.) As of this writing (25 episodes into it) I’m rooting for Eren, Misaka (who I dearly love), Jean, Captain Levi, Commander Erwin Smith, and big-eyed anime Armin as they seek to SAVE HUMANITY FROM THE SCOURGE OF TITANS!
It’s not without flaws or just what’s to my Midwestern American eyes and ears oddness (Dudes, what’s with the Teutonic fetish?). Some things lost in translation? Yes, especially when you throw in the odd Germanic phrase here and there.
It sports a very cool graphic look, really cinematic visual composition and framing, great action-animation, crazy music (love the speed metal guitar backing) and just plain…can’t turn your eyes away from it story. And the fact that I’m so into it undoubtedly kills it for my daughter (sorry.)
If you have an open mind, don’t have a problem with subtitles or graphic anime-style violence (seriously, there’s no easy way for a Titan to eat a human), and just want to let go and allow the Nipponese weirdness to wash over you, check out Shingeki no Kyojin @ animewaffles.tv (best resolution I can find.) It’s a wild ride.
And remember: SIE SIND DAS ESSEN UND WIR SIND DIE JAEGER!
(thanks, high school German. You actually work!)
– dp
Big HAI! for Shingeki no Kyojin
On Categories : #gettingcre8tive
