Hajime Isayama might be one of the greats. Honestly, it sucks hearing about people who still don't get just how genius Attack on Titan is, but I'm writing this review to perhaps eliminate such notions that this manga/show is just another mediocre, mid-tier shounen.

I'd rather not make a broad complaint the focal point of a review in which I hope to change the mind of the group I'm bitching about, but if you did find yourself to be one of the many who dismissed the anime back in 2013 when people wouldn't shut up about it, I beg you to pick it back up and try again.

Attack on Titan's genius doesn't reside in any one component of storytelling; it isn't just the characters, it isn't just the story, it isn't just the art, etc (you get the point). Nay, Attack on Titan's genius is in its presentation as a whole. Foreign literature and television is one of the most challenging mediums to master, especially when specifically considering anime and manga. Much of the world already harbors some unfortunate preconceived notions about the medium, making it difficult to communicate through it effectively outside of Japan -- this is exactly why some shows flop outside of Japan, yet excel in the homeland. When it comes to American viewers specifically, you need a fine balance of two fundamentals to effectively reach your audience: accessibility and complexity. Attack on Titan might be one of the first shows to perfectly hold these two tenets of storytelling in perfect equilibrium, as this show has one of the widest fanbases on the planet.

Attack on Titan's popularity is no fluke either. Sure, the character work in season 1 was mediocre at best, but it succeeded immensely in laying down important groundwork and worldbuilding to appeal to all audiences whilst still working towards a more complex world with increasingly layered plot elements and setups. By season 3, it hooked many who stuck with the show, and managed to demonstrate its prowess as far as stories with rich lore and complex characters are concerned. Finally, Attack on Titan had hit its real stride.

So, where do we stand now? Well, the "final season" (LOL) is being animated currently, and the manga is coming to and end in a mere couple of months. Despite the lack of focus on the manga in this review, I feel as though I have adequately communicated the strengths of the manga. Yes, some moments of Attack on Titan are just made for the big screen, but as far as worldbuilding and character development are concerned, the manga is still managing to find new ways to innovate.

To prospective readers, yes, there are still plenty of twists and the writing only gets better. Though the themes might be pretty common and relatively prevalent in nearly every work, the characters and the circumstances in the world enrich the ideas presented to the audience, in a way that feels ever so refreshing. I am confident that Attack on Titan will do down as one of the classics in just a few years, and deservedly so. Isayama had one of the most calculated and planned stories in existence, and knew exactly how to present it to the world. Hopefully, he doesn't find a way to ruin everything in the next three chapters.