Notes

The greatest strengths of Attack on Titan that make it a paradigm of storytelling in the modern era are its ability to weave a narrative in a cohesive fashion from start to finish and its masterful world-building. The world of Attack on Titan is the catalyst for the development of not only characters, but the integration of genre. What makes Attack on Titan special is how its characters are bred as a child of the world itself rather than an anomaly that is placed into the world as a direct opposition to its structure and morals. As a result, character motivation and introductions are inherently created from the issues that plague their development and course of life. For comparison's sake, Goku is a character that through most of Dragon Ball, with the exception of the Saiyan through Frieza Saga, is simply placed into the world because it is what the story calls for, a strong character to face against an onslaught of adversaries. On the other hand, a character like Reiner from Attack on Titan is a byproduct of the state of life and society within their world. Reiner marks a character that, despite possible objections, is raised as a warrior due to the circumstances of his birth land. This mindset leads to complications when he is exposed to a new way of life that shows an alternative to the narrative he has been convinced of. Reiner becomes mentally unstable due to the conflicting way of life that co-exist within the world of Attack on Titan, which he has embraced. Due to these circumstances, Reiner is ultimately made a character with legitimate development and reasonable existence because of how Attack on Titan crafts its characters with the world in mind. This comparison is not to discredit Goku as a character, but to call attention to how instrumental world-building is to shaping Attack on Titan's variables. There are plenty of other stories that attempt to follow this method and succeed, such as Shulk's arc within Xenoblade Chronicles, yet Attack on Titan's emphasis on this aspect is why the audience praises this area, especially.

Concerning the topic of genre, Attack on Titan is a show that has evolved to incorporate a wide catalogue of archetypes that include major ones like horror and mystery in addition to sub-genres like military, post-apocalyptic, and strangely enough mecha. The beginning episodes heavily rely on the themes of desperation and fear to establish a grim landscape, which steadily adds in mecha ideals with the addition of Titan Shifters later in Season 1. Consistently persistent are the many questions that plague the viewer's mind to give the world itself an identity, a world with a backstory and arc in of itself. Season 2 slips quickly back into the horror genre as evident with the party's trek into the dark of night, which acts as a reminder that Attack on Titan is not concerned with trading out its core concepts. The show is focused on being multi-faceted and offering the audience with an experience that carves a unique identity with the space of each genre.