So I've just recently got into the boom of season 4, of course speaking of anime. I am not the type of a person who gets hooked immediately to what people like, but it got to me after a while and I've started reading manga, because I've heard it's further than anime, and I don't like waiting, so here I am reviewing it.

I've watched this series previously with my brother, back in 2014-2015, but it was from time to time, and I wasn't always on the same page with the story. Well, I am glad I caught up with this series. I thought this is just another edgy story, about a hero who becomes vile for a little or no reason at all, but damn.. How much was I dissapointed.

-- Story (9/10) --

Well, I gotta give a 9 here. Why? The story might seem boring at first, it's just another shounen type of thingy. Main hero wants to get a revenge, he has a goal and it seems he's the best in line to achieve it. After you see it, you want to drop this manga, but you don't. Be glad that you didn't.

The story gets better after those first chapters. Characters get development, and the story drags you into some sort of a mystery. First you think those creatures are monsters, but then you slowly discover that something is not right. As you follow through the story, you get to know what actually happens in the world of Shingeki no Kyojin, and it is truly worse than just some big titan monsters.

This story is tragic. It is entertaining, but it is also sad. People want to cut their own throats to actually survive, and they keep going with the cycle of death, not even thinking about peace in the first place. All of these people are all the same, but they still think that someone is worse or better, and it just shows how tragic it turns out to be for both sides. This is what I love about this story - it feels so real. Why does it feel so real? Because it is so close to situations that could happen in the real world. People not finding a compromise, when it's just one step away. I think many people can relate that story to our world.

I also think that many people can take a lesson from that story. Our life is not all about revenge, hatred, or other goals that are important for you - you, as a single person. We first have to forgive to break from a cycle. It hurts, it hurts like hell - but this is what forgiving is all about. About burying your own pride and accepting other people's mistakes. If we actually care about others, we got to stop thinking about ourselves for a moment.

This is what Shingeki no Kyojin teaches us. It shows us how tragic some of those decisions are. It shows us how many people we can hurt in an instant, not even thinking about it twice. And our mistakes are going deeper, and deeper with every second.

-- Art (9/10) --

I liked the art. There's nothing much to say about it. I love that this art is not in a constant, since it's so hard to keep a really good quality and stable releases. We occasionally get a really awesome and detailed panel, and that's fine.

-- Character (10/10) --

Okay, so this is the part where some of the people may not agree with me. But I got to say it - that Mikasa is rather one of the worst developed characters. It is rather a side character to just build Eren's development from one of the sides. She doesn't have her own character, it's just all about Eren. Kinda same thing happens with Armin, which is, I'd say, a really flat character.

Then why 10/10, you may ask? Well, this is because some of these characters are really exceptional and I got to give the author a big plus for that. If we ignore some of these flat characters and dig through to the characters like Historia, Eren, Reiner, Erwin, Ymir, Kenny Ackerman - and how deep and well constructed they are, we actually discover gold.

I don't want to spoil so much, but I'd especially want to speak about Reiner. This character is just next level among all of these. It's about all of these factors - his split personality, his motives, his character, his mistakes and his failure. He feels so real and relatable, that it is so hard to describe. What truly shows how amazing this character is, is how you actually feel about him throughout this series. First you don't know him, then you like him, then you hate him, and finally you understand and pity him. This is what actually shows that he is a great and well developed character.

I'd also want to point out Erwin, since I think that'd not be a huge spoiler here talking about his character. It's just how he really feels like an army's commander. How he feels human and at the same time it's almost like you can't grasp humanity in him. His development is amazing, his plans, his logic. Especially his development, where he gets through the episode of letting his dreams go, and actually sacrificing everything for the sake of humanity.

-- Enjoyment (10/10) --

I gotta say it, I may be a weirdo because of that, but I don't care - I've cried a lot while reading this series. I've cried a lot while reading Reiner's story, while getting along with some of these characters. This story is not really enjoyable, I'd not call it "enjoyable", because it is sad and tragic. It's entertaining, but at the same time it hurts you a lot. You see tragedy of each certain character and it really pains you. And it is intentional. But why? Because it teaches us a lot of things, for example how we should not let our hatred let loose just because of our own goals, or our own revenge. This is why enjoyment is on 10/10, because it's just a new whole level. This series doesn't just introduce a new world to us, a new story, threat, or whatever it is. It teaches us some really important things, and this is a big props for that.


OVERALL (9.5/10) - (rounding it up to 10/10 in main review's overall score)

I think this manga is something else than just a comic book. It's on the same level as the other series like GoT, Vikings, or whatever else it is. It may be a blasphemy for some people, that I am comparing a comic book series to series with real actors, but what does it change? If the characters feel real, if they show true emotions and if all of that is well written, why not compare it to something like that?