After rewatching Attack on Titan, I think it's really overrated

I recently rewatched AoT from start to finish, after not having seen it for a few years. And despite it being one of my favorite series the first couple times I watched it, this time I saw it a bit differently. I think it might be my least favorite of the big "dark" anime (Promised Neverland, Demon Slayer, JJK, Chainsaw Man, etc)<br><br>I know this is the internet, so you all have your opinions too, so share them if you want, but that's not my goal. I just want to discuss the show itself. If you want to attack me personally for not liking a show, then I recommend doing literally anything else.<br><br>amarosa of my problems I have with the show can be broken down into two categories: poor storytelling, and poor character writing. I think the show consistently wastes potential by failing to utilize its cast, failing to fully explore its world, and failing to create satisfying plot progression. I also think the story regularly relies on conveniences and plot armor to move itself forward, which regularly takes me out of the show.<br><br>The world of AoT is honestly one of the most interesting settings I've ever come across. But I really don't think it's fleshed out very well. AoT relies of mystery a lot, almost to a fault. We are constantly presented with questions, but the answers we get are typically vague and lead to even more questions. And by the end of it all, we don't really know much more about the world than we did at the beginning. I really don't think AoT uses its setting to its fullest potential.<br><br>This is a big one for me. I don't really like *any* of the characters. I don't particularly dislike any of them, but I also don't care about any of them, and I don't think any of them are particularly interesting or well-written. I don't think any of the characters in AoT are very relatable or realistic, and that makes it hard for me to connect with them. Armin is a super genius on the level of Light Yagami or Lelouch, so he's basically invincible. Eren is just a really angry and powerful kid. Gabi is just a shell of Falco. And so on. I think Armin is probably the most well-written character in the series, and even then I don't think he's a very good character. But I think the rest of the cast is lacking.<br><br>I also don't think any of the character's motivations are very realistic. This is probably because the world of AoT is kind of built around the narrative of the story, rather than vice versa, so the story can't always be adapted to the world in a way that makes sense. But I think that's poor storytelling. The characters in AoT aren't really in charge of their own destinies, because they are often simply reacting to whatever the story presents to them. This is especially true for Eren and his friends. I think the narrative regularly uses this to its advantage. For example, if they had just talked things out with Floch, he would have never joined Eren in the first place. But the story needs conflict so it just doesn't happen. And with all the recent events on Paradis, I think the story might be its most unrealistic yet. It just feels like no one in their right mind would do what these characters are doing.<br><br>A lot of people hate how condescending the story can be when it comes to themes and morals. But I think there's a lot to say for that. Historically, "war is bad" has never really been a hard sell. I mean, no one realized how bad war was until they actually saw it for themselves. And it's difficult to convince people to care about the concerns of "another country" when you don't really know anything about them. I don't think the people of Marley would be swayed by a speech from Armin, for example. So I think the show fails to recognize this. I think it fails to realize how hard it is to "make peace" in reality. It's not just a matter of having a conversation. You have to convince hundreds of thousands of people to change their minds, and you have to change both sides. I think that's why the show is so critical of Marley, because it know it can't win over the people of Marley, so it just demonizes them instead. And to be honest, I don't really think I agree with the show's themes. I don't think "war is inherently bad". I think war is a necessary evil, unfortunately. I don't think we would have been able to defeat the Axis in WWII, for example, if we had just made peace with them. I don't think the show realizes this. Maybe I just haven't seen it yet, but I would like to see some nuance. As it is, I don't think the show presents any real solutions to its problems. It just kind of says "war is bad" and calls it a day.<br><br>Another thing that I think the story regularly does is use random conveniences to set up the plot it wants to create. A lot of times, this is just plot armor. Armin consistently outsmarts much smarter characters, and I regularly find myself wondering how he managed to do something so complicated and out of his league so easily. But I think more than anything this is the result of poor pacing. I think the show regularly relies on these conveniences as a way to stall the plot until the writing team has gotten its shit together. And I think that's a big problem. The pacing in AoT is so inconsistent its frustrating. I don't think the show does a very good job at balancing action and dialogue, and I often find myself skimming through the dialogue because it's so boring, and then immediately after, it will be super interesting and action-packed. I don't think the show uses dialogue very well at all. It regularly uses it as a way to info dump, and it doesn't always make sense in the context of the characters and the situation. But I think the dialogue is the best part of the show, so I don't think it's all bad.<br><br>The last thing I want to mention is probably the biggest reason I don't like AoT. It's the show's lack of escalation. I think any good story should gradually build itself up as it progresses, but AoT consistently fails to do that. I think this is likely because the show relies so heavily on convenient plot devices, but I think the show regularly fails to create satisfying plot progression. At the end of the day, we really don't know much more about the world than we did at the beginning. We don't really know anything about the Titans, or the origins of humanity, or anything like that. I mean, there's a lot to be said for mystery, but I think AoT abuses it. I think by the end of the show, we should know more or less everything about the world its set in, but at this point I just don't think that's going to happen.<br><br>tl;dr I think AoT is really overrated and has a lot of flaws that regularly take away from my viewing experience, and after rewatching it, I don't think I like it very much