Shingeki No Kyojin (a.k.a. Attack On Titan) has ended its second season on a high note. Not only is it one of my favorite anime, but it’s also one of the most interesting. I’ve recapped each episode once a week, so here’s my review of the full season!
Attack On Titan Season 1 isn’t perfect. It’s most certainly good, but the show has quite a few problems, mainly involving its characters. I love the show, but I’ll tell it how it is: the characters in Season 1? They ain’t that interesting. Season 2 makes it its job to fix it and does it tremendously well. Every single episode in this season, save for the finale, has a lot to say about the characters. That was one of the best parts about this season. Honestly, it’s a bit ironic. This season has fewer episodes but has a lot more character development.
Another great thing about this season was its action. This is some of the most well-animated, violent, fun, and relentless action I have ever seen. The action sequences are so much better than Season 1 for one major reason: Emotional connection. Since we are now onto the second round of Scouts v Titans, the stakes are higher and if a character dies, chances are they’re going to be one of the more major ones.
Now, I’m going to talk about my issues with the season. First off, I would like to say this to the writers. If you want to hold the interest of fans, do not have an episode where four people talk in a tree for 20 minutes. I mean, what the hell? That episode, “Opening”, was by far the worst in the series. Yeah, that’s right: the SERIES. Season 1 at least didn’t have any bad episodes, but Season 2…yeah, “Opening” was pretty forgettable.
I’ve always admired the combination of horror and action for this show, but it kind of dragged this season. To be honest, a lot of the episodes felt a bit soap-opera-like. In addition, the only things the show did to freak me out were the different designs of the Titans. There honestly wasn’t that much tenseness in this season, which bugged me.
Another big problem this season faced was the Beast Titan. Sure, this dude looks cool, and he’ll definitely be showing up in Season 3. But he’s barely in this season. He makes an appearance in only a few episodes, and I just wished more could’ve been seen of him. We’re let in on his abilities very early, so we know what he’s capable of. However, it really isn’t made clear what his role is.
THE VERDICT
Attack On Titan Season 2 is not perfect, but it is better than its predecessor in a lot of ways. However, there are things that Season 1 does better. The writing isn’t amazing, but the action, characters, and music make for a compelling second run. I’m going to give Season 2 an A-.
