Yeah, binging a series is the media equivalent of ravenously eating a whole cake in one sitting. May feel nice while doing it, but you'll get a lot more enjoyment and appreciation out of it by eating no more than one piece a day. It's rather disgusting, really. That said, I did binge the majority of season 1 way back in 2013. The hype was more intense than the sugar rush of a five-layer wedding cake.
@@LinkEX Exactly, that's why my friends who binge watch this was not so excited like me. Yes it's still fun but you'll miss so much because the show give you so much information especially season 3
I binged season 1-2 before s3 came out, and my love for the show grew when i started to watch weekly, because i would have time to think about the show or maybe watch the episode again. But even if you binge the show, there maybe so much you have missed, that you can watch it like 2-3 times and still find things you have missed.
Lowart did a video on the anime vs manga adaptation. From the first season alone, you can tell Isayama immediately readjusted himself to enhance his writing style since season 3, it's practically been a literal panel to panel recreation.
@@paperboy1116 season 3 had crazy amount of changes done (additional kidnapping scene for some odd reason as an example) to the story and characters. Supposedly to fix passing issues of the manga... even season 1 had less changes! Anyway, his writing style did improve significantly.
@@malcolmparham1991 Even masterpieces like Death Note and Code Geass felt dragged out despite its episode numbers. AOT is simply not the case, every episode and arc had its purpose.
@@someromaboo The only reason that I wouldn't ask is, that I can only guess how much work a 2 hour video would be. But on the topic of "being interested" - well...SIGN ME UP!
Another thing that helps Attack on Titan's anime pacing is the consistent pacing of the manga's release dates. Isayama basically always releases a chapter once a month on a Wednesday. So it's a monthly series, many other anime are weekly. Animes use filler to give the mangaka time to plan/write new material. Isayama already knows the ending and planned out the manga. He's just executing it and I assume adjusting certain elements.
@@belli4933 imagine the pain that it must be that your editor comes to you, slightly bulging, red eyes "can you please not kill this character right now?" (Wich is probably why they ignored sasha for most of that scene with the pastor nick and hanji)
@@belli4933 1 week to story board and 3 weeks to draw is his routine. I think drawing weekly manga is way harder tho, not shitting on Isayama. 50 pages vs 18x4=72 pages
That is a very interesting point. I think filler can interrupt the pacing of the story which makes it harder for people to stay committed to the story. I also agree that because of the pacing of the manga it gave the creator more time to tie certain moments together like in the declaration of war. I would have never thought to do that.
The editor has been very helpful in building the story as Isayama has said in various interviews. The editor has kept Isayama focused on what he wants to tell and achieve. If we want to be storytellers we should work with editors that pay attention to the story.
Another amazing thing about the climax of "Declaration of War" is its false resolution towards the end. Eren's speech implies that maybe he no longer wants to go ahead with the attack, giving us and Reiner a little bit of false hope, defusing the situation just a little... And then lightning crackles. In general the first episodes of season 4 are incredible. The POV shift is weird at first, you're not sure where this is going, but once Eren shows up you realise that this is the moment we've been leading up to all along.
i was super confused until the episode eren showed up because the change in the POV was so quick and i thought i wouldnt have enough time to keep up, but the whole thing came together so good i love this show so much
Totally! I was so confused by the pov shift and because its been so long since i last watched aot i wasnt even sure if this was aot. Then reiner showed up, then zeke was shown, all of them were shown to be at home, their home and i slowly got into the arc. But out of the blue, eren and his half covered blue eyes came along, pure excitement, then this episode with erens and rainers confrontation. It surely was a slow and confusing build up to the final season, but after watching the warhammer ep I’m totally invested in aot again.
I really like that you put a good emphasis on the fact that there is no one pacing technique that is superior and that it ultimately depends on the audience. When I first watched AoT back in 2012, I found the break-neck story beats and pathos-ridden character reactions almost too much. I could barely hang on to any one character, they were all in constant life-or-death struggles and dropped like flies to the point that I couldn't even see a point to it all. It felt gratuitous and the mindless titans contrived. But when the Female Titan was suspected of being an infiltrator and sapient, I got intrigued enough to see things through. Because truly, what would drive a regular person to do something this horrible? And then came the first twist that truly made this story shine. We had this quiet little moment where Ymir witnessed Reiner nonchalantly reading the label on a tin can he shouldn't be able to, as it was written in a language unknown to the supposed survivors of the entire humanity. That little moment was pivotal, because it reveals that not only something is off with Reiner and that he is not from the walls, it implies that somewhere out there there is also technology capable of canning goods, printing labels and so on. When Reiner revealed to Eren that in truth, he was on a mission, I got hooked. Because what could be so important to warrant the supposed extermination of humanity by these rather well-intentioned kids we've seen grow alongside the main trio? And that's when the story keeps growing and growing, reaching the ultimate crescendo here, where the tables are completely flipped. We follow the tale of a young boy out for revenge, and as he grows, we realize just how gruesome his quest becomes if he wishes to truly carry it out. Worse, by experiencing the story up until the Marley introduction with the basement, we've been shown everything as to why the world not just fears, but hates the Eldians to the point of wanting them entirely erased and any atrocities against these otherwise regular people seem justified. Most impressive of all, we probably get Eren still, even as he now marches down a very, very dark point. That's the most impressive part of all. The long game of the careful reveal of the main mystery and themes behind the story that very slowly shift before we truly notice where we are is what makes Isayama a genius writer.
You kinda got the tin scene completely wrong lol, it reveals absolutely nothing about Reiner. Watch it again for your own amusement: ruclips.net/video/OYWsECLqfO4/видео.html
It was Ymir who read the Herring can, not Reiner. Which caused Reiner to be extremely suspicious of her because he knows she's not a warrior so how would she even possibly know what that can was
Yeah my bad bois, been like five years since I watched that season (and some four since I read that part of the manga) so I misremembered who does what. Even so, the scene with the tin can is pivotal because it implies about the existence of a greater world out there and really hooks you into that mystery.
"How have we gone from covering multiple years in a single episode to spending half an arc on a fuckin horse" Gigguk nailed the potential pacing issues lol
At least the horses were moving. How did they go from multiple years in a single episode to 2 back to back episodes of internal monologue and Pixis screaming?
I hope this starts a new wave of other creators to watch this masterpiece. There’s SO much in AoT, you can go into many different topics for this story. Including the subtle romance. Yeah, that’s right.
This is so true. I am very inspired from this story. AOT shows us how important it is to be affective in pacing a story and keeping the readers engaged in the story. I also agree that this story is a masterpiece. I just read the most recent chapter too.
AOT is something realistic where other authors do not , because most authors want to "escape" reality , and isayana embraces reality and using it to form his story , and that's why AOT is more memorable and far reaching audience in my opinion.
@redwill17 Agreed. Now I’m just starting to buy some manga for it, including prequels like No Regrets and ‘Lost Girls. But definitely going to buy some 4th season manga books to finally catch up with the manga in general.
@@joaoassumpcao3347 Can’t believe I’m growing addicted to that ship. Recently rewatch Season one and yeah I can see the growing romance between them. Also don’t forget about the relationship between the Historia, now Queen of the walls and the (former) Female Jaw Titan Ymir in Season 2 as an obvious highlight.
Oh, how wrong you are, my good sir... I would love nothing more than a 2+ hour breakdown of something. Getting into all the nitty gritty and how a thing all weaves together.
I love how when Eren transforms, he doesn't just appear--he bursts out from behind the stage like one of Willy Tybur's titan projections come to life. The impact of his appearance destroys the stage. It's so great!
As much credit as you give Declaration of War for it's micro pacing, as a manga reader, the anime was even more impressive. Their decisions to cut and paste certain events in the plot the change the way they function gives greater effect to the climax episode and in the next episode, (which I know you have not seen at the time of recording) by adding back in the conversation between Magath and Willy, it gives a greater meaning to Eren's entrance. It's easy to say that 21 minutes lead up to the climax of a 22 minute episode. But the actual execution of it in which they have trimmed unnecessary fat whilst also bloating the most important micro pacing elements to build tension is just immaculate.
There's also the fact that adding the Willy/Magath convo in the next episode means we go through all of Declaration of War truly not knowing what Eren will do. Overall, the pacing of this season has been the most impressive thing about it. The rearrangement of events and added scenes just feel right, with the only area having cut content being Reiner's past, but from what I hear there are still opportunities in the future for that stuff to get implemented like Annie's role in the fall of Wall Rose.
Sir. HOW DARE YOU assume I would not want to sit through a 2 hour video of yours. Do you KNOW how excited I was seeing this video was 25 minutes long?!? You are the single best educational content I watch on RUclips, and I’m not even interested in writing or storytelling myself, it’s just amazing to know and appreciate all that goes into making a good story. Please make 2 hour long videos.
The fact alone that Attack on Titan spent the first four episodes on 5 years demonstrates it's genius and why it was willing to be different than most anime. I know dudes who ducked out after episode 2 because they assumed Eren was going to be 10-years-old for the whole first season. They were accustomed to Naruto and other shonen anime that love using "he's just a kid now but wait until he's older" as an excuse to marinate the plot... For comparison, most shonen stories use a tournament arc to expand the cast and focus on the secondary characters. For Naruto that started episode 20. Attack on Titan did it in episode 5. Five. FIVE. The absolute worst drawback one can even name for doing this is that we didn't know Thomas, or Marco, or Frank and Hannah as well as if we'd spent a season on them before they died. This is true. (Granted I still know their names, don't I?) But if that's the only sacrifice so that AOT can have exceptional pacing, then its a sacrifice worth having. Every time the pace kept moving along in the present but would dip into those 3 years in training to give us tidbits like "Annie taught Eren how to fight" or "Reiner always encouraged Armin and Eren to do their best", I felt like I just didn't deserve an anime so well-made. The plot is about how betrayed Eren felt by Annie and Reiner. These tidbits didn't need to be their own episodes to be given to me. They didn't need to be hidden nuggets of foreshadowing put in the middle of The Marco Episode or The Hannah and Frank Episode. Hannah did CPR on her eviscerated boyfriend. That's sad. I don't need them to have Standard Horrific Anime Backstories that are revealed to me in an entire episode where they are the minor antagonists because of some slight misunderstanding that gets cleared up by the end of the episode, and then they become friends with Eren and Armin to feel sad about that. Being so in denial that your boyfriend is dead because he's missing the lower half of his body that you try to bring him back with CPR is sad enough. Thank you, Attack on Titan. I don't deserve you.
I agree I went to college and they didnt really teach us alot on pacing. There needs to be a bigger discussion on this. AOT is an amazing story as well.
I had felt since I watched Declaration of War that it was quite possibly the most tense episode in the series but I could never have spelled it out as eloquently as you did. Thank you for highlighting the genius of the episode's direction. I'll be recommending anyone who says this episode was ruined just because they had a different soundtrack in mind for a certain scene to watch this video
Contrast Declaration of War with the previous episode where Reiner, Porco, Pieck, Gabi, Falco, Udo and Zofia were enjoying themselves at the festival food stands. Then at night, Eren shows up and demand a talk with Reiner and then transform burst into rage which killed Willy Tybur. Holy shit . The buildup plot to the whole thing is mindblowing.
My daughter and I just binged every episode of AoT over the course of the last few weeks. I've been explaining it as "spending quality time with my teenager." I mean it was, but...
You perfectly summed up my exact feelings towards this episode and the show in general. My highest compliments to the directors, animators, and voice actors for making this masterpiece!
I once read that Eren in a typical shounen protagonist in a story that is meant to deconstruct the typical set up that most shounen stories have. He has everything that would make a normal hero in another sort of fighting manga, but the story of Attack on Titan deliberately leads all the characters away from what the standard is.
I like how they gave us the extra episodes to flesh out the characters but didn’t include them in the main storyline as to mess with the pacing. They aren’t filler episodes but lore episodes. I personally was frothing at the mouth for more.
that episode, declaration of war, is ALL about suspense you know shit is bout to go down from the very start, you know Eren cut his hand he can turn any second. They even letting you think that maybe Eren wouldn't do that because he understand. til the last moment, he turn and the bomb under the table goes off
I think another aspect of Attack on Titan is how rewatchable it is. On a rewatch/reread, you spot nice little details and foreshadowing that the author Isayama sprinkled into the story. Also, Attack on Titan perfectly implements JJ Abrams Mystery Box idea and I'm surprised no one has done a video about that aspect.
I swear I was literally just thinking about how amazing the pacing of this show was. Never have I ever watched a series and be so invested in each episode that I keep coming back over and over again. Seriously respect to the creators for doing such a great job♥️
There's actually a bit near the end that really got me thinking. "Expand and contract". It made me realize that pacing is a lot like breathing. You can take a deep breath, filling the body (or in this case, the story) with as much oxygen as you can to breath as much life into yourself as you can, but no matter how deeply you breath, you will eventually need to exhale, processing and dealing with the aftermath of you inhaling. But you can't exhale forever either. You need to take another breath to keep things going. So inhale and exhale, expand then contract as needed. (Great video btw. I think you did a good job of explaining your points.)
Two years ago my friend and I were talking about AoT's pacing and how it reveals the story in a nuanced way. Completely agree that Eren's "death" was more impactful in season 1 episode 8 rather than 18. It shifted the narrative immediately. I remember watching it wondering if I had been wrong to think he was the main character. It did a great job transitioning the focus of the narrative without alienating the audience. Too much time then the switch would have been upsetting.
I watched it to young to understand lots of the little details. I regret that, I watched it because my older brother was watching it. It was still great but years later I realize how much I didn’t understand. I’ve rewatched it a few times now.
@@ekalorschmekalor2885 In my opinion having a narrator needlessly having to explain every action and emotion of the characters killed the chimaera ant arc for me when people keep saying it's one of the best arc of an anime, it was not definitely my cup of tean when it comes to that kind of narrative. But Meruem's and the Chimaera ants characterization, Gon's berserk, Killua's amazing transformation, and other plot points in general is what still made it amazing for me and worth for having to tolerate that kind of pacing with the Narrator having to interrupt every minute. Sure for a lot of you it was necessary so certain specific action and emotions by the characters are informed by us, but I think it's better to show than to tell.
@@fatezero8662 In my opinion, it was a very interesting way to interrogate story telling conventions in Shonen, but I can see how it can be a bit much.
We got OVA episodes that flush out Annie, Levi, Mikasa, Christa, Jean, and Hange Zoe. So there are side episodes for side characters, but they don’t need to be in season 1 as it would waste time.
Watching this video made me understand something that was in the back of my head since the first time I've watched season 4, in the same way that the first season has two introductions, the whole series also does. When you stop to think about it, everything before the moment that eren, and the other characters, discovers the truth that is hidden in the cellar, works exactly like a backstory. The first, second and almost all of the third season were just an introduction to the world of aot, the cellar secrets teaches us that the world is even more complex then we thought, and everything that happened works for us to feel so invested in the characters on season 4. A normal cliche anime would have began the story in the happenings of the fourth season, and used cheap flashbacks to teach us the motives that drives the characters, but isayama took his time and did that with surgical precision. And I personally think that's why the show seems to change even its entire genre as it progresses.
Really dude, a two hour video from you would be phenomenal. I think I have learned more from this video than in the entire last semester of my film school.
I do adhere to the 3-episode rule when watching anime, and I do drop shows that don't hook me by the third episode. I watch for pacing and ability to execute a plot more than I look for character and story. XD Anime is great for creating unique micro-genres and stories, but the capacity to execute them is what makes a series worth watching.
The only thing I have to say that is that declaration of war chapter went down exactly as it did in the episode so I think the credit goes way to the author than the studio writers who made the ep since all they did was essentially trace the chapter into animation
Not really , credit to pacing definitely goes to the director. How quickly willy speaks and how the music subtly builds up the tension is what makes the episode succeed. When you read the manga you control the pacing, this is different. I'm confident Isayama sensei envisioned this the same way, but credit for the greatness of this episode definitely go to Mappa. (And the voice actors too )
I would love nothing more than to hear about the various techniques that AoT employs in its storytelling, so by all means please do more with AoT. This video was very interesting and fun to listen to. You just earned a like and sub. Keep up the amazing work!
referencing your statement at 19:26 I think it really helps to explain and makes me understand why we get what we get in each episode, you know that's the reason why we don't get episode 5 and 6 in one episode.
Seriously? I would watch a 2 hour breakdown on how to pace things. That would be amazing, but I also realize that it's basically sitting down for a free lecture. So do what you will, but make sure you're compensating yourself for your time! Thanks for the great video, it was excellent as always. Take care man
This was an amazing video!! Definitely wouldn’t have minded another 1 & 1/2 hours! I also rewatched AoT the week before Season 4 aired and was shocked by how much more I appreciated the story than when I first watched it. I couldn’t really explain why I enjoyed it so much more, but this video really breaks it down! It’s crazy how you can watch a show like AoT and really enjoy it, but not understand the intricacies that make it enjoyable to watch
One BIG reason for the poor pacing in a lot of anime, especially long-running anime: filler/anime-only story elements or plotlines. All the examples given for well-paced anime are ones that happen to have very low filler/anime-only content AND conveniently use the season format.
You binged 60 episodes. Your video made me binge the new season and just for the fifth episode I thank you. Edit: Holy Shit episode 6 is great too. Now to watch your video lol
Thank you for this video. I’ve been writing a story for almost 5 years now, and the most challenging part for me is PACING! So again, thank you. These analysis videos really help.
Just commenting to confirm if you ever wanted to make a 2 hour video I’d be more than hyped to watch. Best analysis on RUclips. I can’t fockin wait for episode 6
Anime comparison like AoT which consist of Canon episodes only compare to Dragon ball Z, Naruto etc which have the most longest on going consist of 70% filler episodes should not be compared at first place. The best comparison should be with those which have 12,25 and 75 episodes overall.
This is true, shows like Black Clover are built to have pacing that is more haphazard and mixed due to their long running nature. With those shows, it's more about spending a long journey with a group of characters rather than watching a tightly paced story unfold. It's like an open world RPG vs a linear platformer or shooter, both require different pacing and expectations.
Cobra Kai is probably the best paced show I've ever seen. You can literally binge all three seasons because of how it moves forward. Attack on Titan is amazing but it's slow moments feel extremely slow on a rewatch.
You articulated so much of what makes AOT so enthralling into comprehensible sentences, something that I struggle with when I convince people to watch it. Thank you for this. I can't wait for more analyses in the future.
I have followed your channel for a while now (love Bojack Horseman), and also recently binge watched attack on Titan. I was so excited to see you had a video of this! Great material! Thank you!
In my first viewing of the show, I just assumed the entire first season was going to be them training to be soldiers, but that was over in like an episode and a half...
never assume shit and simply watch it godamn it, that's the problem with people watching shows now, just assuming shit from the start and not watching with an open mind
@@DamageMaximo the assumption is fair given what anime is. Many anime would probably have made the first season all about the training and the end of the season would have been Trost.
Ngl this is one of the only shows ive stuck with where at a point i had to look up spoilers to see if i wanted to keep going. I looked shit up after season 2 because it was incredibly unsatisfying up to that point. Im glad i stuck with it tho because season 3 and 4 are amazing
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I love how the entire comment section is people going "What the fuck made u think we don't want that 2 hour video"
Lol it's great
Wtf you think I don’t want a 2 hour video??
@@HxH2011DRA Dude, I see you again!
@@samueloak1600 ello
@@HxH2011DRA hello there
To be fair, if you were going to binge anything, this was the series to binge
Yeah, binging a series is the media equivalent of ravenously eating a whole cake in one sitting.
May feel nice while doing it, but you'll get a lot more enjoyment and appreciation out of it by eating no more than one piece a day.
It's rather disgusting, really.
That said, I did binge the majority of season 1 way back in 2013. The hype was more intense than the sugar rush of a five-layer wedding cake.
@@LinkEX binge-shaming?
@@LinkEX Exactly, that's why my friends who binge watch this was not so excited like me. Yes it's still fun but you'll miss so much because the show give you so much information especially season 3
I binged season 1-2 before s3 came out, and my love for the show grew when i started to watch weekly, because i would have time to think about the show or maybe watch the episode again. But even if you binge the show, there maybe so much you have missed, that you can watch it like 2-3 times and still find things you have missed.
hell yeah
Isayama is a genius writer, the manga is really captivating.
Lowart did a video on the anime vs manga adaptation. From the first season alone, you can tell Isayama immediately readjusted himself to enhance his writing style since season 3, it's practically been a literal panel to panel recreation.
@@paperboy1116 season 3 had crazy amount of changes done (additional kidnapping scene for some odd reason as an example) to the story and characters. Supposedly to fix passing issues of the manga... even season 1 had less changes!
Anyway, his writing style did improve significantly.
Getting you hyped for nothing isn't good writing
@@appleslover would you kindly give an example of something worth the hype than?
@@somestuff7876 A thing!
"None of you want to sit through a 2 hour video"
Bold of you to assume that.
this should have been to the top. but maybe an hour is enough,
I would watch Savage Books lecture about pacing for as long as he had to spare, personally, but I may be a niche viewer XD
AOT is easily one of the most well written works of fiction I've encountered. Hearing that it is ending soon saddens me quite a bit.
Its good that it will end soon. No need to drag out a conclusion like naruto and dragon ball
My guy!!
fr :(
@@malcolmparham1991 Even masterpieces like Death Note and Code Geass felt dragged out despite its episode numbers. AOT is simply not the case, every episode and arc had its purpose.
Every time I see you, I'm going to comment "Mustache"
Savage Books: None of you want to sit through a two hour video.
Me: uh, yes I do.
same here - petition for a 2 hour aot Savage Books video
By you??? YES
i gladly would
"Noone wants to hear a 2 hour long video..." EXCUSE YOU!
Yeah I would totally sit through 2 hours of Savage books talking about Attack on Titan's pacing. Genuinely sounds like an interesting video.
@@someromaboo The only reason that I wouldn't ask is, that I can only guess how much work a 2 hour video would be. But on the topic of "being interested" - well...SIGN ME UP!
Faxs
Literally what I was about to write!
yeah I use this as a thing to have on whilst writing papers for uni
More content is more good!
Another thing that helps Attack on Titan's anime pacing is the consistent pacing of the manga's release dates. Isayama basically always releases a chapter once a month on a Wednesday. So it's a monthly series, many other anime are weekly. Animes use filler to give the mangaka time to plan/write new material. Isayama already knows the ending and planned out the manga. He's just executing it and I assume adjusting certain elements.
He also needs to draw almost 50 pages of manga every month
@@belli4933 imagine the pain that it must be that your editor comes to you, slightly bulging, red eyes "can you please not kill this character right now?"
(Wich is probably why they ignored sasha for most of that scene with the pastor nick and hanji)
@@belli4933 1 week to story board and 3 weeks to draw is his routine. I think drawing weekly manga is way harder tho, not shitting on Isayama. 50 pages vs 18x4=72 pages
That is a very interesting point. I think filler can interrupt the pacing of the story which makes it harder for people to stay committed to the story. I also agree that because of the pacing of the manga it gave the creator more time to tie certain moments together like in the declaration of war. I would have never thought to do that.
The editor has been very helpful in building the story as Isayama has said in various interviews. The editor has kept Isayama focused on what he wants to tell and achieve. If we want to be storytellers we should work with editors that pay attention to the story.
Another amazing thing about the climax of "Declaration of War" is its false resolution towards the end. Eren's speech implies that maybe he no longer wants to go ahead with the attack, giving us and Reiner a little bit of false hope, defusing the situation just a little... And then lightning crackles.
In general the first episodes of season 4 are incredible. The POV shift is weird at first, you're not sure where this is going, but once Eren shows up you realise that this is the moment we've been leading up to all along.
The point of view change is one of the things that made this season more mysterious and interesting
i was super confused until the episode eren showed up because the change in the POV was so quick and i thought i wouldnt have enough time to keep up, but the whole thing came together so good i love this show so much
Totally! I was so confused by the pov shift and because its been so long since i last watched aot i wasnt even sure if this was aot. Then reiner showed up, then zeke was shown, all of them were shown to be at home, their home and i slowly got into the arc. But out of the blue, eren and his half covered blue eyes came along, pure excitement, then this episode with erens and rainers confrontation. It surely was a slow and confusing build up to the final season, but after watching the warhammer ep I’m totally invested in aot again.
Declaration of War is definitely one of my favorite episodes in the series so far and I'm so hyped for episode 6 today
:D it was a gud episode
really gud
really really good
holy shit that's GOOD!
@@DamageMaximo Yeah waiting for episode 7 for Levi to kick Beast's Ass.
@@experimantal4921 me too, cant wait to see it animated
@@experimantal4921 he already did in episode: “ Assault”.
@@Loozy I mean how was it in the manga? Was it an actual fight in the manga because MAPPA just skipped it than.
I really like that you put a good emphasis on the fact that there is no one pacing technique that is superior and that it ultimately depends on the audience. When I first watched AoT back in 2012, I found the break-neck story beats and pathos-ridden character reactions almost too much. I could barely hang on to any one character, they were all in constant life-or-death struggles and dropped like flies to the point that I couldn't even see a point to it all. It felt gratuitous and the mindless titans contrived. But when the Female Titan was suspected of being an infiltrator and sapient, I got intrigued enough to see things through. Because truly, what would drive a regular person to do something this horrible?
And then came the first twist that truly made this story shine. We had this quiet little moment where Ymir witnessed Reiner nonchalantly reading the label on a tin can he shouldn't be able to, as it was written in a language unknown to the supposed survivors of the entire humanity. That little moment was pivotal, because it reveals that not only something is off with Reiner and that he is not from the walls, it implies that somewhere out there there is also technology capable of canning goods, printing labels and so on. When Reiner revealed to Eren that in truth, he was on a mission, I got hooked. Because what could be so important to warrant the supposed extermination of humanity by these rather well-intentioned kids we've seen grow alongside the main trio?
And that's when the story keeps growing and growing, reaching the ultimate crescendo here, where the tables are completely flipped. We follow the tale of a young boy out for revenge, and as he grows, we realize just how gruesome his quest becomes if he wishes to truly carry it out. Worse, by experiencing the story up until the Marley introduction with the basement, we've been shown everything as to why the world not just fears, but hates the Eldians to the point of wanting them entirely erased and any atrocities against these otherwise regular people seem justified. Most impressive of all, we probably get Eren still, even as he now marches down a very, very dark point.
That's the most impressive part of all. The long game of the careful reveal of the main mystery and themes behind the story that very slowly shift before we truly notice where we are is what makes Isayama a genius writer.
You kinda got the tin scene completely wrong lol, it reveals absolutely nothing about Reiner. Watch it again for your own amusement:
ruclips.net/video/OYWsECLqfO4/видео.html
It was Ymir who read the Herring can, not Reiner. Which caused Reiner to be extremely suspicious of her because he knows she's not a warrior so how would she even possibly know what that can was
@@roberteriksen6434 It actually reveals, because Herring is a fish found mostly on the ocean. But op probably misinterpreted the scene anyway lol
Um.. attack on titan started in 2013
Yeah my bad bois, been like five years since I watched that season (and some four since I read that part of the manga) so I misremembered who does what. Even so, the scene with the tin can is pivotal because it implies about the existence of a greater world out there and really hooks you into that mystery.
"How have we gone from covering multiple years in a single episode to spending half an arc on a fuckin horse"
Gigguk nailed the potential pacing issues lol
At least the horses were moving. How did they go from multiple years in a single episode to 2 back to back episodes of internal monologue and Pixis screaming?
That vid was great
The entire war arc lasted two days but took up half of shippuden
@@choxoletyo8518 we don’t talk about that monstrosity. Ruined narutos legacy, worst arc in shounen
@@bigsmall2842 *Most disappointing arc
I hope this starts a new wave of other creators to watch this masterpiece. There’s SO much in AoT, you can go into many different topics for this story. Including the subtle romance. Yeah, that’s right.
Looking at you, crystal girl, don't think I didn't notice how you treat Armin
This is so true. I am very inspired from this story. AOT shows us how important it is to be affective in pacing a story and keeping the readers engaged in the story. I also agree that this story is a masterpiece. I just read the most recent chapter too.
AOT is something realistic where other authors do not , because most authors want to "escape" reality , and isayana embraces reality and using it to form his story , and that's why AOT is more memorable and far reaching audience in my opinion.
@redwill17 Agreed. Now I’m just starting to buy some manga for it, including prequels like No Regrets and ‘Lost Girls. But definitely going to buy some 4th season manga books to finally catch up with the manga in general.
@@joaoassumpcao3347 Can’t believe I’m growing addicted to that ship. Recently rewatch Season one and yeah I can see the growing romance between them.
Also don’t forget about the relationship between the Historia, now Queen of the walls and the (former) Female Jaw Titan Ymir in Season 2 as an obvious highlight.
I saw “Savage Books” and “Attack on Titan” in the same notification, and I had to click xD
Sameeee
Exactly!!!
I almost peed, just to add some internet spice here.
HUGE SAME
SAMEEE I SQUEALED
Oh, how wrong you are, my good sir... I would love nothing more than a 2+ hour breakdown of something. Getting into all the nitty gritty and how a thing all weaves together.
As you can see trough this comment section, YES, WE WANT THE 2+ HOURS BREAKDOWN.
I love how when Eren transforms, he doesn't just appear--he bursts out from behind the stage like one of Willy Tybur's titan projections come to life. The impact of his appearance destroys the stage. It's so great!
As much credit as you give Declaration of War for it's micro pacing, as a manga reader, the anime was even more impressive. Their decisions to cut and paste certain events in the plot the change the way they function gives greater effect to the climax episode and in the next episode, (which I know you have not seen at the time of recording) by adding back in the conversation between Magath and Willy, it gives a greater meaning to Eren's entrance. It's easy to say that 21 minutes lead up to the climax of a 22 minute episode. But the actual execution of it in which they have trimmed unnecessary fat whilst also bloating the most important micro pacing elements to build tension is just immaculate.
There's also the fact that adding the Willy/Magath convo in the next episode means we go through all of Declaration of War truly not knowing what Eren will do. Overall, the pacing of this season has been the most impressive thing about it. The rearrangement of events and added scenes just feel right, with the only area having cut content being Reiner's past, but from what I hear there are still opportunities in the future for that stuff to get implemented like Annie's role in the fall of Wall Rose.
I know I'm 3 years late but why would you ever think we don't want a 2 hour video?
I'm not even a writer and I'm having such a good time watching this
Sir. HOW DARE YOU assume I would not want to sit through a 2 hour video of yours. Do you KNOW how excited I was seeing this video was 25 minutes long?!?
You are the single best educational content I watch on RUclips, and I’m not even interested in writing or storytelling myself, it’s just amazing to know and appreciate all that goes into making a good story.
Please make 2 hour long videos.
The fact alone that Attack on Titan spent the first four episodes on 5 years demonstrates it's genius and why it was willing to be different than most anime. I know dudes who ducked out after episode 2 because they assumed Eren was going to be 10-years-old for the whole first season. They were accustomed to Naruto and other shonen anime that love using "he's just a kid now but wait until he's older" as an excuse to marinate the plot... For comparison, most shonen stories use a tournament arc to expand the cast and focus on the secondary characters. For Naruto that started episode 20. Attack on Titan did it in episode 5. Five. FIVE.
The absolute worst drawback one can even name for doing this is that we didn't know Thomas, or Marco, or Frank and Hannah as well as if we'd spent a season on them before they died. This is true. (Granted I still know their names, don't I?) But if that's the only sacrifice so that AOT can have exceptional pacing, then its a sacrifice worth having.
Every time the pace kept moving along in the present but would dip into those 3 years in training to give us tidbits like "Annie taught Eren how to fight" or "Reiner always encouraged Armin and Eren to do their best", I felt like I just didn't deserve an anime so well-made. The plot is about how betrayed Eren felt by Annie and Reiner. These tidbits didn't need to be their own episodes to be given to me. They didn't need to be hidden nuggets of foreshadowing put in the middle of The Marco Episode or The Hannah and Frank Episode. Hannah did CPR on her eviscerated boyfriend. That's sad. I don't need them to have Standard Horrific Anime Backstories that are revealed to me in an entire episode where they are the minor antagonists because of some slight misunderstanding that gets cleared up by the end of the episode, and then they become friends with Eren and Armin to feel sad about that. Being so in denial that your boyfriend is dead because he's missing the lower half of his body that you try to bring him back with CPR is sad enough.
Thank you, Attack on Titan. I don't deserve you.
Willys speech was just genuinely so enthralling, I felt like the marleyans just eyes glued onto the stage presence he had
4:58 - What is Pacing?
6:25 - Macro Pacing
7:54 - Act 1 Pace
8:29 - Act 2 Pace
8:53 - Act 3 Pace
9:18 - AoT S1 Act1 Pace
10:08 - AoT S1 Act2 Pace
11:07 - AoT S1 Act3 Pace
18:39 - Micro Pacing
Good job, man.
The fact Attack on Titan is an example of how to teach pacing is just cool!
I agree I went to college and they didnt really teach us alot on pacing. There needs to be a bigger discussion on this. AOT is an amazing story as well.
You say that we don't want a 2-hour video on pacing, but we all know that it's exactly what we need (please, please, please)
A properly paced 2 hour long video would be the ultimate lesson in pacing, tbh.
I had felt since I watched Declaration of War that it was quite possibly the most tense episode in the series but I could never have spelled it out as eloquently as you did. Thank you for highlighting the genius of the episode's direction. I'll be recommending anyone who says this episode was ruined just because they had a different soundtrack in mind for a certain scene to watch this video
Contrast Declaration of War with the previous episode where Reiner, Porco, Pieck, Gabi, Falco, Udo and Zofia were enjoying themselves at the festival food stands. Then at night, Eren shows up and demand a talk with Reiner and then transform burst into rage which killed Willy Tybur. Holy shit . The buildup plot to the whole thing is mindblowing.
Credit for pacing decisions goes to Hajime Isayama, the author of the attack on titan manga.
To wit and mappa studio also
Yeah the majority of it should go to Isayama he wrote this years ago the studio just changed minors scenes and kept the rest of everything
Angel Nuñez credit to Isayama sensei of course lmao n to wit n mappa to lol
@@rifqiiszaree3393 To add to that, credit goes to Isayama sensei's editor as well
>"None of you want to sit through a 2 hour long video"
You underestimate my addiction to video essays and my love of your voice.
I like the built up when eren grows his leg back and stays very calm, it feels like something is going to go down
My daughter and I just binged every episode of AoT over the course of the last few weeks. I've been explaining it as "spending quality time with my teenager."
I mean it was, but...
It’s without any doubt one of the greatest stories ever wrote or told and the greatest mystery story of all time
You perfectly summed up my exact feelings towards this episode and the show in general. My highest compliments to the directors, animators, and voice actors for making this masterpiece!
I once read that Eren in a typical shounen protagonist in a story that is meant to deconstruct the typical set up that most shounen stories have. He has everything that would make a normal hero in another sort of fighting manga, but the story of Attack on Titan deliberately leads all the characters away from what the standard is.
You can notice pretty quickly into the series this isn't a shonen
How the hell you wrote, recorded and edited all this in under a week I shall never know. Bravo
Finally, a video that truly appreciates the genius of Attack on Titans.
Loved it.
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I like how they gave us the extra episodes to flesh out the characters but didn’t include them in the main storyline as to mess with the pacing. They aren’t filler episodes but lore episodes. I personally was frothing at the mouth for more.
that episode, declaration of war, is ALL about suspense
you know shit is bout to go down from the very start, you know Eren cut his hand he can turn any second. They even letting you think that maybe Eren wouldn't do that because he understand.
til the last moment, he turn and the bomb under the table goes off
Rewatch AoT with your knowledge now and that'll be the reason why this series is a unique piece of storytelling.
The “to be continued” at a good scene.
Perhaps the best analysis on RUclips as to why so many of us love AoT. It’s like a 25 min literature class on an anime😹
I think another aspect of Attack on Titan is how rewatchable it is. On a rewatch/reread, you spot nice little details and foreshadowing that the author Isayama sprinkled into the story. Also, Attack on Titan perfectly implements JJ Abrams Mystery Box idea and I'm surprised no one has done a video about that aspect.
7:35 "None of you want to set through a 2 hour video".
I... I feel personally insulted.
Bold of you to assume I wouldn't want to listen to your amazing voice for 2 hours
I'm pretty sure the Anime re-arranged early events from the Manga. That's why the recruitment arc was so fast - cuz it was a flashback in the Manga.
So basically the manga had the issue that the anime would've had if it jumped right into Eren's first day as a scout.
The seconde intro is still just an intro for the thrid intro, A.K.A the basement in season 3 part 2
*Spoilers below*
Which is just an introduction to the fourth introduction (The Final Season's climax).
"How Attack on Titan's Pacing Keeps you Coming Back"
Bold of you to assume I ever left
He's talking about the time between each season.
Hahah that's right. Im just wanting to see the next episode waiting for the sunday to come
I swear I was literally just thinking about how amazing the pacing of this show was. Never have I ever watched a series and be so invested in each episode that I keep coming back over and over again. Seriously respect to the creators for doing such a great job♥️
I really appreciate how your break down of one of the least discussed, but most important aspects of this show’s construction
I would totally be down for the 2 hour video breaking down pacing, especially as an aspiring writer.
For the record, I think a lot of us would LOVE to watch a two hour video of yours.
There's actually a bit near the end that really got me thinking. "Expand and contract". It made me realize that pacing is a lot like breathing. You can take a deep breath, filling the body (or in this case, the story) with as much oxygen as you can to breath as much life into yourself as you can, but no matter how deeply you breath, you will eventually need to exhale, processing and dealing with the aftermath of you inhaling. But you can't exhale forever either. You need to take another breath to keep things going. So inhale and exhale, expand then contract as needed.
(Great video btw. I think you did a good job of explaining your points.)
when you said, "we are so used to the medium making us groan over poor pacing," it made me have war flashbacks to haruhi suzimiya and the endless 8.
Im at the moment halfway finishing s3 with my little brother, ill for sure come back to this once im done!!!! So glad you made a video about this
Two years ago my friend and I were talking about AoT's pacing and how it reveals the story in a nuanced way. Completely agree that Eren's "death" was more impactful in season 1 episode 8 rather than 18. It shifted the narrative immediately. I remember watching it wondering if I had been wrong to think he was the main character. It did a great job transitioning the focus of the narrative without alienating the audience. Too much time then the switch would have been upsetting.
I need more aot video essays like this! There can never be enough appreciation for the writing and cinematography and symbolism in aot
I watched it to young to understand lots of the little details. I regret that, I watched it because my older brother was watching it. It was still great but years later I realize how much I didn’t understand. I’ve rewatched it a few times now.
Then compare this to Hunter x Hunter where they spend two entire episodes going up stairs.
Bruh, 15 episodes will pass and the narrator will be like "It has been 3 minutes" lmao
When did that happen?
@@crystalmcgill2884 in the chimera ant arc when they invaded, 10 episodes passed and the narrator was like "its been 30 seconds"
@@ekalorschmekalor2885 In my opinion having a narrator needlessly having to explain every action and emotion of the characters killed the chimaera ant arc for me when people keep saying it's one of the best arc of an anime, it was not definitely my cup of tean when it comes to that kind of narrative.
But Meruem's and the Chimaera ants characterization, Gon's berserk, Killua's amazing transformation, and other plot points in general is what still made it amazing for me and worth for having to tolerate that kind of pacing with the Narrator having to interrupt every minute.
Sure for a lot of you it was necessary so certain specific action and emotions by the characters are informed by us, but I think it's better to show than to tell.
@@fatezero8662 In my opinion, it was a very interesting way to interrogate story telling conventions in Shonen, but I can see how it can be a bit much.
if you were going to talk about AOT for 2 hours, i'd toss the popcorn in the microwave and cancel plans. Make it happen my dude
We got OVA episodes that flush out Annie, Levi, Mikasa, Christa, Jean, and Hange Zoe. So there are side episodes for side characters, but they don’t need to be in season 1 as it would waste time.
Only now I found out about the final season being out. I'm gonna binge watch the whole thing now.
i did the same last week and now im up to date with the anime lol
2 hours and break down every episode I would watch that please do it
Watching this video made me understand something that was in the back of my head since the first time I've watched season 4, in the same way that the first season has two introductions, the whole series also does. When you stop to think about it, everything before the moment that eren, and the other characters, discovers the truth that is hidden in the cellar, works exactly like a backstory. The first, second and almost all of the third season were just an introduction to the world of aot, the cellar secrets teaches us that the world is even more complex then we thought, and everything that happened works for us to feel so invested in the characters on season 4. A normal cliche anime would have began the story in the happenings of the fourth season, and used cheap flashbacks to teach us the motives that drives the characters, but isayama took his time and did that with surgical precision. And I personally think that's why the show seems to change even its entire genre as it progresses.
I knew this video would be good when it had my favourite anime and my favourite fiction analysis RUclipsr
Really dude, a two hour video from you would be phenomenal. I think I have learned more from this video than in the entire last semester of my film school.
I do adhere to the 3-episode rule when watching anime, and I do drop shows that don't hook me by the third episode. I watch for pacing and ability to execute a plot more than I look for character and story. XD Anime is great for creating unique micro-genres and stories, but the capacity to execute them is what makes a series worth watching.
that dbz mention gave me war flashbacks, all those weeks tuning in for the namek saga and a good few episodes taken up just by the frieza fight
I had to wait two whole months back in the day 😭😭😭
Yea, the fight was cool but at some point the lack of plot really gets to you
The only thing I have to say that is that declaration of war chapter went down exactly as it did in the episode so I think the credit goes way to the author than the studio writers who made the ep since all they did was essentially trace the chapter into animation
Not really , credit to pacing definitely goes to the director. How quickly willy speaks and how the music subtly builds up the tension is what makes the episode succeed. When you read the manga you control the pacing, this is different. I'm confident Isayama sensei envisioned this the same way, but credit for the greatness of this episode definitely go to Mappa. (And the voice actors too )
This video was so good, but the background Zelda music was even better, so relaxing.
I would love nothing more than to hear about the various techniques that AoT employs in its storytelling, so by all means please do more with AoT. This video was very interesting and fun to listen to.
You just earned a like and sub. Keep up the amazing work!
The pacing of AoT is amazing but I think you should make a video on the foreshadowing in the series as well
referencing your statement at 19:26 I think it really helps to explain and makes me understand why we get what we get in each episode, you know that's the reason why we don't get episode 5 and 6 in one episode.
Seriously? I would watch a 2 hour breakdown on how to pace things. That would be amazing, but I also realize that it's basically sitting down for a free lecture. So do what you will, but make sure you're compensating yourself for your time! Thanks for the great video, it was excellent as always. Take care man
Just sittin' here waiting for that episode 6 to become available to watch.
Oh and that wait was worth it, holy shit what an episode
I know, right? Now the wait begins for next week... :'D ...
same yo
And now episode 7 came out like an hour ago
@@Kotoamatsukami6910 Thanks for the reminder, bud! :D
This was an amazing video!! Definitely wouldn’t have minded another 1 & 1/2 hours!
I also rewatched AoT the week before Season 4 aired and was shocked by how much more I appreciated the story than when I first watched it. I couldn’t really explain why I enjoyed it so much more, but this video really breaks it down!
It’s crazy how you can watch a show like AoT and really enjoy it, but not understand the intricacies that make it enjoyable to watch
One BIG reason for the poor pacing in a lot of anime, especially long-running anime: filler/anime-only story elements or plotlines. All the examples given for well-paced anime are ones that happen to have very low filler/anime-only content AND conveniently use the season format.
This video is 2 and a half years old and the season still ain’t over, Jesus Christ😭
You binged 60 episodes. Your video made me binge the new season and just for the fifth episode I thank you.
Edit: Holy Shit episode 6 is great too.
Now to watch your video lol
Ep7’s pacing is so Got tier 🔥❤️ the improved cgi, ost everything its non stop ... thats the episode i keep repeating and repeating and got 10.10
Thank you for this video. I’ve been writing a story for almost 5 years now, and the most challenging part for me is PACING! So again, thank you. These analysis videos really help.
that botw ost on the background made this vid feel way more comfortable
Just commenting to confirm if you ever wanted to make a 2 hour video I’d be more than hyped to watch. Best analysis on RUclips. I can’t fockin wait for episode 6
I think i speak for everyone when i say we do, indeed, want to sit through a two hour video
Anime comparison like AoT which consist of Canon episodes only compare to Dragon ball Z, Naruto etc which have the most longest on going consist of 70% filler episodes should not be compared at first place.
The best comparison should be with those which have 12,25 and 75 episodes overall.
This is true, shows like Black Clover are built to have pacing that is more haphazard and mixed due to their long running nature. With those shows, it's more about spending a long journey with a group of characters rather than watching a tightly paced story unfold. It's like an open world RPG vs a linear platformer or shooter, both require different pacing and expectations.
It should be compared to FMAB, Code Geass, Death Note, Evangelion and etc.
It makes me happy that Savage Books just recently binged AOT like I just did over the weekend, time to finally discuss with fellow fans
You don't know how happy I was to find out that you made a video about my favorite anime.
If you binge watch a show, and you aren't bored.
That's for me a great paced show.
Yes, MHA, AoT are definitely one of those.
Plus Jujutsu Kaisen judging from that profile picture :P
Dude,you are the best teacher i ever had.
Cobra Kai is probably the best paced show I've ever seen. You can literally binge all three seasons because of how it moves forward. Attack on Titan is amazing but it's slow moments feel extremely slow on a rewatch.
You articulated so much of what makes AOT so enthralling into comprehensible sentences, something that I struggle with when I convince people to watch it. Thank you for this. I can't wait for more analyses in the future.
It's like the pace is fast because there is so much story when in reality its just regular pacing, shits great
Watching attack on Titan w Zelda Music in the background was something i never knew i needed.
I have followed your channel for a while now (love Bojack Horseman), and also recently binge watched attack on Titan. I was so excited to see you had a video of this! Great material! Thank you!
“There is immaculate pacing in anime like The Promised Neverland...”
I actually said “oh no” out loud.
In my first viewing of the show, I just assumed the entire first season was going to be them training to be soldiers, but that was over in like an episode and a half...
never assume shit and simply watch it godamn it, that's the problem with people watching shows now, just assuming shit from the start and not watching with an open mind
@@DamageMaximo the assumption is fair given what anime is. Many anime would probably have made the first season all about the training and the end of the season would have been Trost.
@@DamageMaximo ?
For the record, Id love to sit through a 2 hour video of this shit lol
The DBZ Frieza bit... 5 minutes took so long cuz they move so fast... It's slowed down so that we can comprehend it
This was one of the best videos on Attack on Titan I've ever seen and its barely touching on the plot or themes. Just amazing!
If we didn’t want a two hour video breaking stuff down we wouldn’t watch channels like yours. That being said amazing video. Keep it up!
Damn if its popularity now is on the low end, I can't imagine how popular it must have been back then
It was insane from what I remember, thankfully it seems to be getting back to that level thanks to S3 Part 2 and this current season.
Ngl this is one of the only shows ive stuck with where at a point i had to look up spoilers to see if i wanted to keep going. I looked shit up after season 2 because it was incredibly unsatisfying up to that point. Im glad i stuck with it tho because season 3 and 4 are amazing