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LilleahWest β Attack on Titan - Sketch and Viewing Journal
Published: 2013-09-30 20:40:36 +0000 UTC; Views: 14083; Favourites: 322; Downloads: 30
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for the love of all things, please... NO MANGA SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION! PLEASE!First of all you can watch this anime free and legally online via Crunchyroll right here (A membership gets you no commercials) www.crunchyroll.com/attack-on-β¦
Attack on Titan sketch and Viewing Journal
Note: all the following is stuff I started writing after episode 14, I wish I kept a reaction/thought journal sooner but oh well. I slammed through the first 13 episodes in 2 days and never stopped to collect my thoughts. I then waited a week before watching 14 at which time I tried to limit myself to 1-3 a week hoping to let the anime finish without me facing a cliffhanger where I have no choice but to wait a week.
About the drawing I made
I don't often use ref images but this subject being entirely new to me these are heavily referenced. How I obtained my references actually harkens back to how I very first learned to draw anime/people in general: by recording and pausing episodes of Dragonball Z.
Only being up to episode 14 at the time I desperately needed to avoid spoilers so I paused the actual episodes and drew freehand from there.
The quality of the show
My only real complaint with this show is the use of still frames, I mean come on, anime has gone past the need for that. Still frames bugged me in the old Berserk anime too but that show is over 10 years old so it got a pass. In Titan though when I see still artwork being panned across with the sounds of action/with talking happening I am just like ughhhhh and the show utilizes it more than I'd like.
Otherwise everything this top notch, compelling story, great animation, wonderful action scenes, greatly conveyed emotion, easy to follow characters (I have never memorized such a big cast so quickly) perfect voice acting and hot damn the music is superb. Also this is one of those anime that is short and sweet and to the point... as much as I love some longer anime like Naruto and One Piece I just can't seem to dedicate the time and focus to something that runs into the triple digits and is watered down with padding and filler...
The natural look of the show and lack of fanservice
Thank you creator of this, thank you.... There is no spikey colorful hair, no bright over the top outfits, no magic fireball powerups, everything is very naturally toned and down to earth. I also love the lack of over the top facial expressions and wacky moments, aside from Sasha's/Potato Girl's moment in episode 3 there has been none of this crap (not to say it is always crap when present in an anime, but it can ruin the feel of certain animes) And the fanservice is thankfully non existent; no huge boobed characters, no guy tripping and landing with his face in some chick's chest, no scantly clad characters... just thank you for not watering down the show's atmosphere with fanservice.
WARNING the following paragraphs contain MASSIVE SPOILERS for the entire anime
advert thy eyes and just quit reading if you are not done with the anime.
last chance to run away....
okay I warned you....
The plot twists
The.... Fucking... plot twists.
You should have seen me at episode 5, the whole ending from when Tomas gets eaten onward was mind boggling, but when Eren lost a leg, you should have SEEN ME WHEN HE GOT EATEN and not only did he get eaten but when the mouth closed his arm got bit off and went flying, holy uncle of crap, just shit holy shit (and the music at that scene holy Kermit on a cracker)
And then episode 7 happened with Mikasa ready to give up then turning to fight because it would be a dishonor to Eren to give up on life because he died, and then a second titan showed up, and you are like "shit she's surrounded, she's gonna die too ain't she"... and then THAT SECOND TITAN BEGAN KICKING ASS and saved her and the titan looked fucking awesome.
and then episode 8 happened and we learn that kickass titan was EREN.
*mind blown
Such great emotion at the end of ep 8
And the emotion from Mikasa when she saw it was Eren... that whole thing was just so touching. Her shock holding him, just holding him staring blankly forward, the disbelief that Eren was even in her arms, then that moment of fear as she listens for his heartbeat, and then the crying, her tears are a mix of joy, relief and the unreleased sorrow she has been holding since she learned of his supposed death, just so much mixed emotion in there and it is displayed perfectly (and if the dub fucks up her intense cry I will forever stick with the sub) And Armin too, his tears, his relief and disbelief, he did not just take Eren's regenerated hand into his own, he interlaced his fingers with Eren's, and that was a nice touch, so much more impact with that simple gesture.
Actually what grips me most about this show I think is the very raw real feeling emotion behind it all... hard to properly put into words other than I have found myself really emotionally invested in these characters, and the anime managed to do so very quickly, by the end of episode 1 it gripped me.
Yeah I had some spoilers
Spoilers suck, and they suck more when you do it to yourself. I partly spoiled myself about Eren after ep 6 because 6 did not expand on the situation at all, and I was so flabbergasted by him getting eaten that I was like "this is gonna pull a DBZ right... right... somehow... I mean, he's the main character, I liked him, holyshit is he really dead!? Is the show gonna be about Mikasa now?!" I needed some closure man because my mind was so torn between hoping he was somehow alive and resigning myself to him being dead.
However luckily I managed to just learn he is freed from the titan and no idea how... all I saw was the pic in a wiki article about him captioned "Eren emerging from the titan" so when I saw the episodes I thought the berserker/rouge titan would rip apart the bearded titan and Eren would have managed to stay alive the whole time and perhaps something like automail limbs exists in this world and we have just not seen that yet... Eren being the berserker titan was still a twist for me right up until the moment Mikasa saw the titan dissolving away and you saw something at the base of the neck, at that moment I went "shit it's Eren" (and re-watching the scene when him as a titan first shows up is so much deeper knowing it is him)
As of right now, at episode 14, I also have a blonde female titan already spoiled for me, and maybe a blonde male one (small screencap) (*edit nope also female titan)... and I get a feeling they are Armin and Mikasa and if they are then damnit spoilers for making me expect that to happen!!! I may also have to resend that lack of fanservice comment when the female titan shows up, maybe?
I have also stumbled across some images through looking for fanarts of other fnadoms (which, Titan fanarts trickling down into fandoms I normally look at is what alerted me to its potential and got me to watch it), such as one with Eren's titan defeated and a few others which atm look feel like I just saw some fecking spoilers... I hate spoilers...
Mikasa and Armin's reaction to Eren after episode 8
A small but poignant detail for me is how Mikasa and Armin react to Eren's titan form, their reaction goes beyond having no fear of him, there is no change in how they see him or feel about him, even after he looses control and attacks Mikasa they still treat and regard him the same as ever. Their bond runs so deep, it is so admirable how much these three love each other.
Characters who have to cope with who/what they are.
I am fond of plots where a character has to deal with having to live with themselves and what they are or what they have done, this goes double for the character if they strive to not let what haunts them get them down, and goes triple for those who have been outcast, looked down upon, feared or wanted dead.
Many of my favorite characters fall into this, Vash, Naruto, Rin, Ciel and Kenshin to name a few, and Eren plays into all three degrees beautifully... I mean, shit, it was already hammered in at episode 9 but by episode 14 was given so much more impact. His response to the guard calling him a monster, going on trial for his life because of what he is, facing the fact he tried to kill Mikasa (and it could just be my head canon but I cannot help but feel for that moment, staring at her in shock, in that moment I could feel how he would rather be executed than harm her) how he defended Mikasa against the accusations of her being a titan saying he is the only monster in that room... just, damn that episode hit home with seeing him cope with and embrace what he is in the face of dying because of what he is.
Characters who are "monsters"
Now on the thought of characters like Rin and Eren who both start off as innocent humans and later find themselves "monsters" complete with alternate monster forms, I want to touch on what makes Eren so much more interesting than Rin.
Both of them take on the status of being something that is a threat to mankind but Eren's titian form is a far more drastic change than Rin's demon form. Rin stays his typical attractive anime boy self just with flame, fangs, tail and pointy ear aspects. Eren's titan form is not only a far cry from what he normally looks like but it is actually monstrous and intimidating, and while I think it looks cool as all hell it is certainly is not "attractive anime boy"
When Eren takes on his monster form my brain has these moments where it's like "shit that actually is Eren in that hulking thing, that is Eren seeing through the eyes of that thing" the moment where he sees Mikasa and Armin on the ground while carrying the boulder, as his thoughts are running through his head, me realizing how he cannot even speak while as this thing... I dunno how to even describe it, it is a bit mind boggling to have Eren be a titan considering how titans were built up.
(and it just looks so cool)
Why is the Berserker/Rouge titan so damn cool?
It is a simple design really but I think that is part of what makes it so awesome. Eren's Titan form has no spikes, wings horns, nothing glows or is colorful, it has nothing flashy... his form is just brute strength coupled with a unique face... it's simple nature makes it feel more primal and thus I relate to it's awesome better than say some elaborate demon thing.
I love that his face is nothing like his human self, it has a hooked nose, a long chin, small eyes... and the teeth, I love the teeth, I love the skull look of the teeth, I looovve the jig-jog of the teeth with how the teeth in the back are higher. I love long pointy ears so instant double bonus points there, the muscle texture showing through his skin not only adds visual interest but empathizes his strength, and the long unruly hair just adds a nice feral touch.
My theory about the origins of titans as of episode 14
Lets see if I am right later: if Eren's father injected him with something to give him Titan powers then anyone can be a titan. Eren emerges from the back of the neck, the same place that has to be cut to kill a titan. Eren looses control of his titan form (or rather his consciousness is too weak and leaves him trapped within delusion as the titan body he made runs amok) Each titan is unique; fat, thin, young, old, blonde, brunet, etc.
With all this taken into mind I think every titan was a regular human. Perhaps as part of a human weapon project they were made, thing is a lot exist so either the project started out fine and they became uncontrollable man-eaters later after many were made, or someone wanted to wipe out the humans and made so many on purpose. My guess is if the human inside looses control and stays that way too long their flesh merges with the titan, but the life force of the titan still rests at the back of the neck where the human once was.
"Abnormals" (or aberrants depending on the sub) must be either variations of the injection or anomalies that naturally occur (which I think this is less likely). I am assuming at this point the more extreme Abnormals, the Colossal and Armored titans, are humans in control of their titan forms just as Eren is.
And I think the reason the Colossal titan only shows up every 5 years and so briefly might be because the form is such a strain on its human host... I mean we have seen some repercussions of Eren going titan, once with a nose bleed after he went partial titan, and him in a comatose state of exhaustion after the two times he went full titan.
Episodes 15 and 16
The most "meh" so far, I mean, episodes 3 and 4 had no fighting and were all about character development but I still really liked them... and sure 14 was all talk but damn was it fueled with emotion and suspense, despite the lack of titans and fighting 14 still had me on the edge of my seat.
Not to say these were bad eps, I know we need to slow down and get some information laid out, introduce some new folks, and switch gears as the story turns in another direction... but I just felt a little underwhelmed.
I am looking forward to what is coming though as they finally leave the walls.
(and looking forward to more Eren titan fuck yeah)
Also I dunno how much I trust Erwin.
Episode 17
As soon as Annie left the others to join the Military police I became suspicious that she might be the female titan that I had already had spoiled for me... I think that even more now after seeing it, cept for what was said about the female leading in the hoards of titans when the walls were broke... but then the titan showing Armin a moment of mercy not splatting him as soon as she saw it was not Eren just so makes me think it is her ...hmmm
Also yay back to action and stuff that makes me go "oh crap" (that crawling titan aghsdfhbffff)
Episode 18 and 19
First off I had a little wtf panic attack on the idea of Eren never transforming again.
Also thanks to a fecking spoiler I expected the female titan to get captured (why do people use spoilery images as covers to episodes? All the eps are lined up and I go to click on the next ep but down the line is some spoiler image related to that future ep used as a thumbnail cover for the ep and AHHHH) but it still was an epic moment (and boy is she pissed)
Episode 20 and 21
ahhh I thought I should just watch 1 tonight, ep 20, but it ended with my curiosity peaked so I watched another and then pluckit the end of ep 21 happened....
must... restrain... self... series will be done by Sunday.. can't..... slam..... through remaining 3 right now and then have to wait more than a day to end it...
fuck
that ep overall was awesome, seeing Eren fight as a titan again, the pure rage and fury he emits, and that ending jussssssssssssssst fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck
It is 3:30am and I am gonna have to play animal crossing for like an hour before I hype down enough to sleep .___.
fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck
Edit: rewatching a few eps, is the female titan gonna be Crista? I still really think it is Annie... but Annie is not IN the survey corps and they seem to think it is a spy within the survey corps ... so if not Annie then Crista, she has short blonde hair, someone asked where she was while the female titan was caught, and I was thinking when she brought back Jean's horse she is way too timid and cutesy and how has she not been eaten yet and in that scene she showed up after it left. If not the titan then maybe still involved somehow (such as she is a spy informing Annie and got her a survey corps uniform) because seriously how is she not dead?
Also all through 21 when Eren was after the female titan I kept spurting out loud "get her... get her gether geter geter geter!"
And I am guessing the female titan did something to make Eren think it was Annie is why he paused and the fecking got owned.
Episode 22
Well... that was all kinds of depressing...
damn...
And because they failed they have to hand Eren over... um shit... shitshitshit... what.
Okay Erwin should have marked him dead and hid him damnit.
Considering how political bullshit goes Eren may have been better off dealing with being taken by the female titan than dealing with being locked in a cell waiting to be executed....
...because, man, seeing Eren cry like that at the end, the loss of his comrades, the mission's failure, the way everyone looks down on them for their failure, dealing with his owl failure, knowing his chance to prove his titan self is a hope for mankind has been lost... and now he is only further wanted dead despite the fact his a good and devoted person...
Yeah this was all kinds of depressing...
Episode 23
I fucking called it
It was Annie.
Also I get it at the end why not just call Eren dead and hide since "handing him over" gave a chance to catch Annie.
I was just gonna watch 22 but it was so depressing and I did not want to speculate on what was going to happen to Eren since I already had an image of him behind bars fretting for his life again... I am glad I watched 23, now I can go to bed hyped for Sunday which is when I will finish the last two. It is currently Saturday 9/27 and 3am so I have less than two full days to go (not sure when Crunchyroll will have 25 up) I am so glad this ended on the kind of cliffhanger I can handle and even enjoy a bit, as in I am hyped for a grand battle vs wondering if someone is really dead lol.
Also I get a feeling we are not making it to the basement by the end of this season are we.
...that... fucking... KEY.
man I hope they are already making season 2, thing is I heard the manga itself is not done yet...
Oh and I feel like part of the point of this ep for the first half was to try and throw folks like me off Annie's trail, showing her be normal and what not.
episodes 24 and 25
THAT... FUCKING... KEY
alksijfdjhsdjkhgjkh
that key....
Trapped and unable to transform angst.
Actually a little too much angst about Eren not wanting to believe it is Annie/fight her, they were never that close... that drama dampened my "buzz" just a wee bit.... but then Eren transformed... and then Eren was literally on fire... ffffff
Confusing what the shit no no no what's happening moment when Annie did that thing to freeze herself and I thought Eren was about to get royally effed over.
That open ending where the story feels concluded enough for me to not freak the shit out needing more right this second and yet I really really need more at the same time.
That little bit at the very end where a bit of the wall crumbles and behind it is a titan face... da FUCK was that? (don't actually answer it though, spoilers are murder for my brain)
Dear gawd when is season 2 coming out.... fuuuuuuck.
Concluding thoughts
I have decided NOT to read the manga, I will wait years for the anime if I have to.
Attack on Titan was one of my best anime viewing experiences ever, if not THEE best anime viewing experience I have ever had.... and while I have nothing against mangas and have read the manga version of many of my favorite anime, especially if the anime never finished what the manga laid out or differed from it, this is a case where I want to experience this thrill ride again all fresh and new when more of this intriguing and amazing story gets animated.... and with the huge hype around this anime and the pure quality of both the production, characters and story telling I will be utterly shocked if more never gets animated.
I mean just about every little thing with this anime is just so good, amazing amazing music (seriously at times the music made this anime, this fact made all the more prominent in episode 13.5 seeing familiar scenes with different music) nice compact to the point interesting story (Sorry to the likes of One Piece and Naruto Shippuden, as much as I love you your content is just so watered down you lost me) top notch animation, engaging characters... and the emotion of this show, the way the characters are portrayed, I could not help but become emotionally invested with these characters.
Amazing anime, so sad it is over, I don't know what to look forward to now. I have been using this anime from ep 14 onward as a reward for myself, pacing the episodes not only to avoid being left hanging (since I luckily got into this very late so my viewing experience happened over the course of a month vs six months) but also as a treat, only watching eps on days where I worked overtime on commissions (I have been behind on customer work since the tragedy last summer) It has been so long, so long since an anime excited me like this, so long since I could not help but literally flail and verbally respond to what I was seeing as I watched it, the last time was, what Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, that was the last to get me so riled up and it did so only half as much and it was twice as long!
This anime was such a thrill, I am eagerly awaiting more.
So much love for this anime, so much love.
PS. Oh, sorry for ever doubting Erwin.
PLEASE, NO MANGA SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION, PLEASE!
Not even a "oh you will like this" or "oh the ending made me feel like this"
please .___.
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Comments: 24
Hey Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom comes out this year! Super hyped!!
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I really hope the dub doesn't screw up the emotion in this anime... BUT it IS Funimation doing the dubbing and I don't they've screwed up dubbing an anime before. I'm only on episode 12 and HOLY SHIT I was in such shock at the end of 11!! (Just started watching it and I am fucking hooked!!) Whoever they picked to dub Mikasa better be FUCKING good with emotion!! Same with who was picked for Eren and Armin!!
Okay ^^ I love this anime and I don't want to see it get ruined by dubbing...
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Funimation does have a few voices I know I do not want to hear used, so I am a tad nervous (and they have one voice actor I am getting tired of in general, they have like one person on staff to do a typical "little girl" voice and I hear her allllll the time, and outside of Ringo fom Casshern Sins her voice generally gets on my nerves... but not for Ringo for some reason)
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Yeah, I know what you mean. All I am hoping is that the anime doesn't get screwed up when it is dubbed.
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You like Attack on Titan holy crap yes I love you I want a Survey Corps jacket/cape.
It's cool to see some fan art from you!Β
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Β 
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Not really a spoiler, but they still haven't used the key to the basement in the manga. Idk if they'll ever get to it. If the anime is gonna follow the manga, it's got a loooong way to go. Hopefully we'll have Titan going for quite some time.
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OMG, When I saw this sketch, I didn't expect you to be into AoT! And I've never seen so much fangirling on one deviant! XD BAHAHA!Β
WELCOME TO THE FANDOM!!
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I have not watched it yet, so thanks for the link! I caught up on the manga, so all I will say is
Love your sketches, and I'm glad you are enjoying the show!
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Β I love you so frickin much <3 first of all, youre one of my fav costumers/fursuiters ever. Like ever. An Β now you like AOT whichi am in love Β with, Β and i have the exact same view of it as you. I didnt want to read the manga cuz iprefer to spend my time watching it and having it be fresh each episode, but due to people being so open with spoilers ive already had most of the identities spoiled. I went ahead and started themanga, cuz ifigured it would be spoiled eventually. and WONDERFUL sketches bythe way! Β Β
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Oh gosh I so want to look up some fanart and read some reviews but I fear manga spoilers...
It is so hard to be this into a story and yet avoid the fanfare to keep things spoiler free .___.
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I know 
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Ahhh F***K I think I just got the same spoiler you did, not gonna try and confirm it though since I want to purge the name from my brain and see if I can forget if I can but ffffffffff it was a name in a comment on a fanart piece of all the abnormal/assumed human titans from the anime... fffffffffff.
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XD i wish people were more discrete about it instead of ruining it for everyone
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OMFG! Your watching attack on titan?! YES!! Absolutely the best anime ive watched in ages! I love all the characters! But i gotta say i love Levi. How does one get such beautifull legs on such a short angry french man 
Well enough of my fan girling lol awesome drawing btw
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You are awesome. I love Levi!π
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I wholeheartedly agree with you when you said its the best anime viewing experience you may have ever had. I usually dislike anime but after the first couple episodes I was completely hooked!
However I am so hooked that I have read all the manga that has been released so far and its pure torture waiting each month for a new chapter haha!
The amount of shit that goes down is amazing and the pure grittiniess of the show I think is what had me hooked. I love "brink of extinction" human stories like this so it's perfect!
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over on FA i kept getting comments about how the last episode differs from the manga.
The following is typed as I read
okay so buzzing through the manga to find where the anime left off I founds the start of the last fight with Annie
... um Eren just straight up transformed from underground, so none of that trapped in the rubble angsting over fighting Annie that the anime did even happened in the manga... okay, explains why I felt a little over saturated with that. Also better impact with Mikasa's words right then and there sinking in and him being able to do it.
also left out Mikasa dealing with being responsible for Levi being hurt, I would have liked to have that in the anime.
Armin in Eren's hand, ahhh been wanting to see him as a titan physically interact with a human, I wish this got animated ffff
as intense it was to have Eren on fire berserk after her it is an awfully big change and it contradicts the manga's message of Eren being in control of his titan self... I wonder if they consulted with the creator on that. Also manga seems to lack that odd "they are merging" thing which still confuses me.
it's not Jean whacking away the at the crystal with Annie in it but that change works better for me.
and YES WHY IS THERE A TITAN INSIDE THE WALL
okay stopping here
shit this is getting too much into "new" territory
crap just reading that got me worked up
the wall is built around titans, I know we got a glimpse of that at the end of the anime but this just makes it all the more um real and "woah what"
must... not... read... further
*one more page
OH and the priest fecking knows tooo
OKAY
That's it
no more reading
fuck now I am all worked up *sits on her hands
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Arrgh see?! Shit just gets crazy in the book a bit faster and the emotion portrayed in the creator's story and art really sell it as well. I commend you for being able to resist reading, I sure as heck wasn't able to but I don't mind much that I'm so far ahead. I've always been one of those, read first, watch the movie later kinda person. Plus I'm so very impatient hahaha xD
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Most of the time I go backwards, most of my experiences are dub then sub then manga... which is great because I avoid the drama surrounding voice acting choice and whatnot X3
Thing is since anime are now being aired online right out of Japan I do find myself seeing subs first when it comes to the over the top popular stuff.
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