Shingeki no Kyojin referred to as SnK from hereon out: you see it everywhereconventions online the book store etc. So for those fortunate enough to have missed the hype train by a few years here is a review to help you decide whether or not you want to get on. This may be a long review so please bear with me. There may be spoilers as well they will be marked. Story 70/100: What gets most interested is the story. In a world set in what is presumed to be that of steampunk is full of mysteries and horrors as the characters are caged in enormous walls that protect them from one enemy: the titans. Just a gist of what goes on mostly throughout the story. What I enjoy about the story is that it focuses on one enemy unlike many other shows of the same genre where they fight one enemy for three chapters then move on into a powerup party. However the execution of this seemingly interesting plot is sadly subpar. Like many others the first few episodes/chapters can be exciting with the action and introduction of the world and characters. While I read reviews of people getting the shakes crying and covering their mouths in horror over the anime I decided to read the mangait seemed to be right up my alley. Sadly it didnt deliver. My face was about as blank as a clean slate while reading and it still is after over a half a hundred chapters. SnK is an actionoriented plotdriven story. A plotdriven story is as its name suggests: focusing on the plot moving forward and toward the main goal. Characters can be given little light to shine in these kinds of stories. However what this show does wrong is it tries to not only be plotdriven but characterdriven as well. Characterdriven is when the story focuses more on the development of the characters in order to have you attached to them you know just in case something happens that will make you wish the author was dead. Isayama the author tries hard to focus on both themes and I applaud him for that. A good story has both but it can also go wrong. The story begins to go downhill after the Clash of Titans arc. It becomes very politicalheavydont get me wrongI love me some good Game of Thronesstyle politics where humans are pitted against each otherbut this just doesnt fit with this story. It is long dragged out and quite frankly a bit boring. There are revelations but some of them many fans may have already guessed in the the beginning. Another thing I would like to finalize about the story is the mysteriesI love worldbuilding mysteries. Where did the Titans come from? Are the natural? What are they? But when my then7 year old brother could understand the mysteries you are putting on the table something is off. Well either that or it may because hes gifted with intelligence and caught on early. Art 60/100: I love me some good art. But SnK does not have good art. In the beginning it looked like my 5 year old sister drew it with her eyes closed. A very major turnoff for many including me who tends to look at aesthetics after story. If a story has below subpar art it makes it hard for to get through. SnK does just that. The art is atrocious but gets better over time. Not Touya Mikanagi good but OK. You can see whats going on because its clearer than before however often times it suffers a bad case of BLEACHso much ink you dont know if thats a character or a bush. Character 60/100: The characters. Oh the characters. I have been in so many arguments about the characters its not even funny anymore. Cringeworthy? Some. Archetypal? Some. Underdeveloped? Most of them. The characters without a doubt are memorable. Not because of how good they are but because of their names and appearances. ErenI have not much to say about Eren. At times he is the typical shounen main character who screams a lot to a depressing suicidal idiot. I never really enjoyed his character and with the direction he is going I dislike him even further. Mikasathe stoic ravenhaired beauty who happens to be one of the strongest soldiers. I get Isayama wanted strong female characters but sometimes he goes overboard. With Mikasa especially. He goes to great lengths to show she is stronger than everyone else. She can do things Eren for some reason cant do Even though he is pretty much capable of doing. Carrying crates? Who cant carry crates Eren? Another flaw is that she focuses too much on Eren. She hasnt really developed. I would like for her to care for others not just ask if they are OK. Thats not development. Thats just asking if they are OK. If she was done better I could see myself liking her but shes too far gone. ArminI love love love Armin. At first I was a bit iffy about him because he was the intelligentinfo dumper and I dont like those. However he began to grow on me and voila He was one of the first to develop I love the direction hes going. From the cowardly kid he was in the beginning to the calculating decent manipulator like Erwin. The rest of the characters have been decently fleshed out but more and more of them are becoming prominent and are lacking in the development department big time. Overall 60/100Overall it is decent story but definitely doesnt deserve the hype its receiving. However if you like a shounen that is a bit different in some areas than this is the manga for you.