Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) - generic discussion thread

[Randrak42]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

The purist approach to adaptation places an unreasonable limitation on creativity and innovation, in my opinion. There have been several movie adaptations of popular Jane Austen novels, for example, and hardly any of them are "pure" transfers from text to screen, line for line, scene for scene. Then, there are more radical interpretations, like the BBC's contemporary update to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. It is absolutely faithful to source material? Hell no. But does it work? Hell yes.

The Sherlock series are a reinterpretation of the original books, unlike an anime adaptation of a manga/VN/LN which are meant to tell the same story through a different medium. There is a clear difference between to the two.

But hey, I'm a "purist" and that's how I feel...what can you do?

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

But that's a meta-discussion for another day, another thread. For the record, I'm with creb:

Based on what little I've seen in the manga, Eren still strikes me as a generic shounen male lead, hot-headed and impetuous. So, I disagree that Eren is presented more sympathetically in the manga than in the anime. To me, he's generally unlikeable in both mediums.

But he does score points for effort, and for being quite cool on occasion. I'll grant him at least that much.

But that's an opinion you formed using canon material (the manga) and I'm fine with that (I compeltely do not agree with the generic shounen male lead line but whatever). Like I said, I'm just not ok with filler/anime-only scenes helping give the wrong impression of a character to anime only viewers.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Randrak42

The Sherlock series are a reinterpretation of the original books, unlike an anime adaptation of a manga/VN/LN which are meant to tell the same story through a different medium. There is a clear difference between to the two.

Why is that a rule? Kenji Kamiyama completely re-interpreted the first novel of the Moribito series to produce one of the best anime in recent years: Seirei no Moribito. And he did so with the author Nahoko Uehashi's full support. Wandering Son the anime was also substantially different from its manga source material and, despite my initial misgivings about the anime's approach, I have to give Mari Okada credit for re-interpreting the story the way she did.

(And, for that matter, when has there ever been a "faithful" adaptation of Ghost in the Shell from manga to anime? Every anime director of the franchise, from the movies to the Stand Alone Complex TV series, took a different approach in interpreting the source material, and each succeeded in his own way.)

Originally Posted by Randrak42

But hey, I'm a "purist" and that's how I feel...what can you do?

Not much. It's your choice, of course. Just as it's my choice to always encourage different takes on source material. Peter Jackson got away with it for his adaptation of the Lord of the Rings saga. I don't see why other creators can't be given the same slack.

Of course, there's the question of whether they botched it or not (I don't feel it was the case here in Shingeki no Kyojin, and I'm not alone in feeling that way). But, again, that's subjective and not really worth arguing over.

[Randrak42]

Let's agree to disagree on that matter then, I like anime to stay faithful to the original series and you're fine with it. Different strokes as they say.

[Hooves]

I like how Armin and Mikasa can't tell what Eren was actually thinking. Misaka focusing more on how he's the family part to her, while Armin think he's showing off how awesome he pulled it off. While Eren was actually thinking that he doesn't need Mikasa to babysit him anymore, and that he can fight the Eoten without someone holding his hand.

[larethian]

I suddenly just had the thought that

Spoilers

Spoiler for speculation with reference to Claymore manga beyond its anime

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[Miraluka]

[HandofFate]

potato girl is hilarious.
*prays for her safety*

[TinyRedLeaf]

Sasha must not die, or I'll vent my rage on potato-sellers the world over.

Originally Posted by Wilfriback

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I get the feeling that it won't be long before Sasha Braus becomes a new meme-face.

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Someone should tell Xellos-_^ that he's got a new mascot for his potato-farming investment plans...

[PreSage]

Mikasa is one of the best female leads I've encountered in anime. I just totally love her character...and she's grown up to be quite beautiful - but you can tell she's going to be a heartbreaker.

[Guido]

Listening to both Bertold and Reiners' account on the day their village got attack by the Titans it sent me that dreadful feeling of suspense and restlessness. I felt that I was in that same room like Bertold, and my stomach sunk low the moment he beheld the Titan peering through the window.

That's the type of reaction that reminded me the onslaught from the first two episodes. I give kudos to the staff for making use of the flashbacks to keep the visceral reactions still fresh, and the conversation amongst survivors establishes the boundaries between those who have experienced the horro live in the flesh, and those who don't and just still living in their comfort bubble before yet experiencing the ultimate gruesome trial to survive.

Eren has the guts, but he has too and too much a long way to go. Training for the Gear maneuver was no pushover to him on his first shot than what it sounded and looked at first glance.
Secondly, as long as they do not know more about their enemy, they'll be sent to the battlefield as livestock to be massacred.

[Quadratic]

Wow, these first 3 episodes have been really good.
Truth be told, I dislike Yū Kobayashi's voice in general (it's grating at times), and I dislike Yūki Kaji's crying (bad flashbacks of Accel World with 'boo hoo hoo, I'm a loser but all the pretty girls love me, boo hoo hoo').

Anyway, with it being 3 episodes in, it sounds like the perfect opportunity to be disappointed with the rest of the show!
Without any spoilers, will this show actually follow through with what we've seen (survival/'Attack on Titan', etc) or will it be like SAO where the whole survival aspect ends up being secondary/trivialized, and it's really about the main character building a harem in a survival setting?

Originally Posted by Spectacular_Insanity

I don't get why people are so hung-up on the relationship between Mikasa and Eren. For one thing, this isn't a romance, though everyone is obviously trying to make it one. For another, they're both traumatized kids who threw themselves into a haphazard military organization in the hope of being able to fight against an overwhelming force.

I hope you are right, because if this was a "typical" shounen show (in this day and age...), then the romance flags are being raised left and right.
eg.
Flag 1: Eren has a sister.
Flag 2: She's actually not blood related!
Flag 3: Mikasa's violence on Eren.
Flag 4: Mikasa force feeding Eren.

I am expecting Sasha flags and the blonde girl flags to be raised soon, as well.
I'd be surprised if none of this happens!

[Iron Maw]

Originally Posted by HandofFate

potato girl is hilarious.
*prays for her safety*

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Sasha must not die, or I'll vent my rage on potato-sellers the world over.

You two jinxing her isn't helping.

[Excorsism]

I thought the segment before the ED was really nicely executed. Both the song and the scenes. OST when!?

[Ridwan]

Originally Posted by Wilfriback

Originally Posted by Quadratic

I'd be surprised if none of this happens!

You will be.

[Spectacular_Insanity]

Originally Posted by Iron Maw

You two jinxing her isn't helping.

Sasha is a bumbling cute character that seems innocent and somewhat oblivious.

She's like the soldier in a war movie that smiles too much and talks about his girlfriend back home that he plans to marry after the war is over.

She has a massive bulls-eye painted on her forehead, you realize that right? If anyone dies, she'll probably be the first. And in the most gruesome way possible.

Originally Posted by Ridwan

That's just unfair to the Titans. If Simon was in this series there would be no tension whatsoever. We would all be like GIGA TROLOLOL BREAKER. Show over. 24 minutes tops, including intro/outro.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Quadratic

Without any spoilers, will this show actually follow through with what we've seen (survival/'Attack on Titan', etc) or will it be like SAO where the whole survival aspect ends up being secondary/trivialized, and it's really about the main character building a harem in a survival setting?


I hope you are right, because if this was a "typical" shounen show (in this day and age...), then the romance flags are being raised left and right.
eg.
Flag 1: Eren has a sister.
Flag 2: She's actually not blood related!
Flag 3: Mikasa's violence on Eren.
Flag 4: Mikasa force feeding Eren.

I am expecting Sasha flags and the blonde girl flags to be raised soon, as well.
I'd be surprised if none of this happens!

The ship has already sailed.

Originally Posted by Tenzen12

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shiping war

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Eren X Armin ftw!

Originally Posted by Iron Maw

You two jinxing her isn't helping.

Erm, fools are supposed to be immune to Titans...

I'd pity the Titan that tramples a potato field when Sasha's around...

[totoum]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Based on what little I've seen in the manga, Eren still strikes me as a generic shounen male lead, hot-headed and impetuous.

There's more to the "naruto shounen male leads" than that , he somewhat shares that aspect with them (and still, a guy like Naruto is a really bigger troublemaker than Eren, at least Eren doesn't vandalize town property) and he doesn't seem to lack talent (Naruto originally failed to graduate ninja academy or take Rin from Ao no exorcist who really has trouble with his studies)

Not that AoT doesn't like to play with those tropes,this episode was heading down a pretty conventional road with the hero having big ambitions but also lacking talent (he keeps falling down) and he'd have to work extra hard to be on the levels of the others, except he didn't lack talent,it was faulty equipment, that's a huge difference to me.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by totoum

There's more to the "naruto shounen male leads" than that , he somewhat shares that aspect with them (and still, a guy like Naruto is a really bigger troublemaker than Eren, at least Eren doesn't vandalize town property) and he doesn't seem to lack talent (Naruto originally failed to graduate ninja academy or take Rin from Ao no exorcist who really has trouble with his studies)

Not that AoT doesn't like to play with those tropes,this episode was heading down a pretty conventional road with the hero having big ambitions but also lacking talent (he keeps falling down) and he'd have to work extra hard to be on the levels of the others, except he didn't lack talent,it was faulty equipment, that's a huge difference to me.

As I said, Eren scores points for effort and for being cool at times (such as his refusal to back down at a time when everyone else was quivering in fear). But at most other times, he's a blowhard who is painfully unaware of the cost of what he wishes for. He's not very likeable, either, because of the way he treats Mikasa (but that's something I can well understand; to him, she's an annoying know-it-all who contradicts him or shows him up at every turn).

He's no doubt different from Naruto and I most certainly do not feel that every shounen hero is exactly the same. But Eren definitely descends from the broad template used for most protagonists in this genre.

He'll probably change as the story progresses. At least, I'd hope so. That should be the set-up, in any case: to present a flawed character who becomes stronger as the plot develops. If Eren were perfect to be begin with, there would be little room for progression, no?

[Panzerklein]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Eren X Armin ftw!

Yah, only men can bring happiness to each others .

[totoum]

@TinyRedLeaf

Oh,I can understand him not being likable,it's more Creb's mention of the name Naruto I take issue with (that makes me sound like I hate Naruto but I really don't )


It's just that to me you're using a very broad template there,so I guess if I go by that template I can see where you're coming from.