Hajime Isayama
L'attacco dei giganti

The blood explodes in the jaws of the titan and drips down, thick, to be swallowed by the colossal being below, thus feeding it and giving it new strength. The first sensation is traumatic when starting this highly debated anime series of recent years. The violence unfolds almost with a pornographic taste, insisting on macabre details to punish, to uglify the viewer and put them in the psychological conditions of the protagonist people, who live within colossal walls to defend themselves from the attacks of these demons.

It is not a perfect work, far from it. Narratively, there are some heaviness and unnecessary digressions, small not-so-welcome diegetic jumps, but the fundamental ideas deserve to be considered. The management of the information possessed by the characters and the viewer is brilliant, and the development of the war is accompanied by an increasingly defined knowledge of the past, the world, and the people populating the land.

The creatures make an impression, both for the deliberately retro style (of some) and for their expressionless ferocity. They eat and eat, showing no signs of consciousness. Then others appear, different, and it is interesting to gradually discover who they are. Surprises are not lacking, and in some aspects, they remind me (albeit with significant differences) of certain figures from Evangelion. An Eva 01 as a model of the ultimate messianic-demonic creature.

While not shining for clarity on some dynamics (due to the vast amount of information that emerges over time), the anime offers moments of ferocious action, peaks of tactical intelligence that clash in some great scenes extending over several episodes. I found great enjoyment in the strategic games between monsters (this time intelligent) and humans who move mid-air thanks to grapples and gas motors that make them "fly," then using deadly blades to kill the enemies by hitting their only weak spot.

The problematic morality of both factions is also intriguing. The sacrifice of lives is cynically always accounted for because war knows no compromises. Even the protagonists themselves, like the young Eren, will soon have to bend to increasingly frightening logic. Human relationships among them become suffocating over time, and the friendship that seemed crystal clear turns into something different. The imminent apocalypse and the world unfolding, the dark force they harbor, and the mysterious roots of their people, all leave a deep mark on their personalities, changing them. Man and titan influence each other.

Accurate in its key moments, surgical in mixing intelligence and cannibalistic ferocity, the narrative frays somewhat in the larger constructs, especially due to the long-standing reticence and the dispersion among perhaps too many characters. The deep motivations have now emerged (we are halfway through the last season, the finale next winter) and with them some interpretations referring to the great themes of the twentieth century. Not a trivial matter for a shonen, addressing genocide, the oppression of peoples, and ethnic segregation. Censorship and the importance of armaments. The thirst for power. As we approach the finale, a grim vision of history emerges as a chain of abuses and revenges that mutually justify one another in an endless tragedy. Or rather, with a possible end (maybe), but I don't want to spoil the macabre pleasure of discovering it.