Attack on Titan (Film Review)

Shingeki no Kyojin, otherwise known as Attack on Titan has become one of the biggest anime sensations in the past decade.  In just six years the manga has sold over 50 million copies, boosted immensely by its anime which increased series hype to the point where people unaware what “anime” was knew about Attack on Titan.  With such massive popularity it was inevitable an Attack on Titan movie would be made, and while there’s been talk of a U.S. release, Japan has fittingly struck first in a two-part film series—this review covering part one.

But first there’s two questions which need addressing: my opinion on the Attack on Titan series, and on adaptation changes.  The first is simple, I love the Attack on Titan manga—I’d consider it my favorite ongoing shounen series, if it wasn’t for the ever-slowly running Hunter x Hunter (so I guess it’s my favorite ongoing shounen series not on constant hiatus).  I’m less enthusiastic about the anime adaptation, primarily due to its plot changes, rearranged sequences and filler scenes—giving the series a more typical shounen design (both the animation and OST are amazing however), which leads to the second question.  While I typically disapprove changes made to manga-based anime, I’m accepting towards necessary changes made to movies based upon comics (as well as books and TV series).  Pacing is key for films, and with a typically shorter runtime than the other three mediums, changes must be made to engage viewers while avoiding:

1. Rushed plot/scenes
2. Information overflow
3. Too many characters
4. An incredibly long and lethargic runtime

For example, the film’s background is vastly different from the manga and anime’s—here the Attack on Titan world appears to be an apocalyptic version of our own.  Scattered throughout the film are military wreckage such as helicopters, planes and dud bombs with bikini ladies painted on top—the characters are also seen riding cars rather than horses.  The film hints about a “huge bomb” which created massive radiation only the Titans can survive in; these clues point towards modern civilization being destroyed by nuclear war, with the Titans a result of nuclear mutation—an understandably simpler redesign from the manga’s mysterious and increasingly complex backstory, which would have been difficult to convey in a three hour, two-part film (around the same length as 6 episodes, or less than one-fourth of season one).

The film is more aligned with horror-thriller than the manga’s action-thriller.  The film’s greatest aspect is its take on the series’ primary antagonists, THE TITANS—amplifying their disturbing nature to new, grotesquely-impressive levels.  Most Titans are played by actual actors with basic CGI editing, making them just human enough to give their slasher smiles an even ghastlier appearance!  The film does a great job executing the Titan’s terrifying nature, having them slaughter the panicked masses in horrifically gruesome devouring scenes.  These scenes are as disturbing as they are frightening—one scene involves the Titans having an all you can eat buffet on men, women and children, trapped in a church they foolishly barricaded to stop the massive beasts (a pool of blood seeps from beneath as the screams get loud and then eerily silent).  The only Titan made with complete CGI is the Colossal Titan, which was clearly given a large budget—looking remarkably well-made and given a freakish cry to help build up the imminent Titan attack.  The film noticeably minimizes 3D gear usage, focusing more on terrain survival than fierce air combat—a peculiar change which nonetheless works effectively alongside the film’s horror genre.

Too much change however, and a director may find themselves angering the fan base (who will most likely be the film’s primary income) by destroying an already effective story—which is exactly where the Attack on Titan film goes horribly wrong, standardizing plot and characters to the most typical shounen stereotypes.  When it comes to the film’s cast, I’ll be ignoring any changes, additions, or deletions (…Levi) to side characters, focusing on the series main trio and the film’s pale substitutes.  Eren (played here by Haruma Miura) has devolved into a standard courageous hero—his beef with the Titans is dialed down from near-psychotic levels of vengeance to angrily fighting to be free and explore the world.  Such ideals are present in manga Eren’s personality, but were mixed with determined rage and a violent protectiveness which could border on insane.  In the film Eren’s determined rage is replaced with virtuous courage, while his protective nature lacks brutal violence.  The film eliminates most of Eren’s darker personality, which in turn makes him a much less appealing character. 

While I’m completely okay with the film using an all Japanese cast (though I question the validity behind why such change meant the elimination of several side-characters…Levi), a problem arises with the entire cast having black hair.  Movie Armin (who has noticeably blonde hair in the series) possesses a black hairstyle near-exact to Eren’s own; not only does this change make Armin look nothing like his original character, but also confusingly similar in appearance to Eren.  I won’t write much about Armin (played by Kanata Hongō), because there’s not much to write about, the film having reduced his role to the “brainy sidekick” who makes strange inventions yet plot-wise does nothing significant—save for one inconsequential scene made purely to “prove” his usefulness (the scene could have easily been removed without affecting the plot in the slightest).

And then there’s Mikasa…oh dear lord what did they do to you!?  Let’s compare first impressions: in the manga’s first chapter Mikasa is shown to be Eren’s responsible adopted sibling; her personality is stoic and tough, yet it’s clear she cares deeply for her friends and family.  Mikasa is also a capable badass, scaring off several older bullies with a simple glare.  In the film Mikasa (played by Kiko Mizuhara) is first shown…drying clothes in an apron…ok not a good sign, but her personality…has been completely altered to a meek girl whose only goal is to be romantically involved with Eren—is it possible the writers accidentally mixed Attack on Titan with Naruto when designing the female lead.  Seriously though, what the hell!?  Mikasa has been given a complete 180 transformation into a frustratingly typical, damsel in distress love interest.  Well to be fair the film’s second half makes her closer to the manga’s badass counterpart, yet the personality is still one-dimensionally revolved around pure romance!  Yes the manga has romantic subtext between Mikasa and Eren, but such subtext is given a well-made backstory as too why such affection exists.  Without such context their romance feels trite, along with severely reducing Mikasa and Eren’s complex personalities.

These character changes are but a few flawed changes to an already effective story—another example would be the film’s overindulgence with romantic subplots, playing up sexual themes and fan service to gratuitous levels.  The Attack on Titan film standardizes exactly what makes the Attack on Titan manga (and anime to a lesser extent) so entertaining, unique, and different from the typical shounen genre.  The film does a terrific job with the Titans, but it’s as if the writers believed Titans were the only thing intriguing the series readers and viewers.  Naturally Titans are what grab people’s attention in the first place, but a story about monster attacks can only take a series so far.  It’s what’s in-between the monster attacks which keep people reading and watching; the mysteries, the characters, the multi-layered plot, the examination of human psychology, the grey morality line between protagonists and antagonists—this is what keeps Attack on Titan from becoming a simple fad, and exactly what the film is missing.