Guren no yumiya
Attack on Titan is a series that I really enjoy and even if what eventually got me to continue watching was the plot or the characters the thing that made the strongest impression was its openings. The first, second and third are absolutely fantastic, immediately drawing the viewer in and getting them hyped for the upcoming episode. Someone even said that the openings made them feel patriotic for a country that does not even exist! In this post, I will only do a brief analysis of the first opening, Guren no Yumiya.
The song opens on a chorus sung in German that says something along the lines of "they are the prey and we are the hunters" followed by an image of the walls surrounded by chains which clearly evokes the idea that despite the walls being the protection of the citizens they also serve as a trap that limits their freedom. In many cases Eren, one of the main characters states that they live like livestock inside the walls.
Next a shot of the main trio appears, all bloody and with defeated expressions on their face as they look down. This shows how the incursion of the titans has affected their friendship to the point where they are not able to look each other in the eye. Mikasa, the girl on the left raises her gaze towards Eren which shows their relationship and how protective she is of him. Armin, stands to the right, portraying how in the show, despite being friends with the other two he spends most of his time thinking to himself.
Above there is a shot of the soldiers and the titans, with the camera work and colours a strong dichotomy is created. Whilst the soldiers have a balanced composition with a bleached white and steady camera that makes everything seem perfectly clean, the titans have shaky camera work, not unlike that of found footage and the positions of the titans is nowhere near symmetrical, moreover, the lighting is much darker. This continues throughout the opening, filming which is the good side and the evil side in a very clear separation.
There is an interesting point where these two effects bleed into each other, namely the aforementioned shot with the trio. They have darker lighting and their camera work is not as unpolluted as when only the soldiers appear, meanwhile we can see a brighter light coming from behind them. This shows how good has been defeated in one battle.
Lastly, there is an incredible, continuous action shot that really sells the viewer on the idea of the 3D maneuver gear as a tool hype. The movements of the characters that appear are interesting as they move through the city to kill titans. This also serves as a subtle piece of characterisation: Annie's movements seem mechanic and precise, whilst Mikasa's have an air of elegance and fluidity to them. Meanwhile Eren runs and jumps in an erratic and unplanned manner. These aspects reflect the character's personalities in the show perfectly.
If you have not watched the opening, you can watch it below:
The song opens on a chorus sung in German that says something along the lines of "they are the prey and we are the hunters" followed by an image of the walls surrounded by chains which clearly evokes the idea that despite the walls being the protection of the citizens they also serve as a trap that limits their freedom. In many cases Eren, one of the main characters states that they live like livestock inside the walls.
Next a shot of the main trio appears, all bloody and with defeated expressions on their face as they look down. This shows how the incursion of the titans has affected their friendship to the point where they are not able to look each other in the eye. Mikasa, the girl on the left raises her gaze towards Eren which shows their relationship and how protective she is of him. Armin, stands to the right, portraying how in the show, despite being friends with the other two he spends most of his time thinking to himself.
Above there is a shot of the soldiers and the titans, with the camera work and colours a strong dichotomy is created. Whilst the soldiers have a balanced composition with a bleached white and steady camera that makes everything seem perfectly clean, the titans have shaky camera work, not unlike that of found footage and the positions of the titans is nowhere near symmetrical, moreover, the lighting is much darker. This continues throughout the opening, filming which is the good side and the evil side in a very clear separation.
There is an interesting point where these two effects bleed into each other, namely the aforementioned shot with the trio. They have darker lighting and their camera work is not as unpolluted as when only the soldiers appear, meanwhile we can see a brighter light coming from behind them. This shows how good has been defeated in one battle.
Lastly, there is an incredible, continuous action shot that really sells the viewer on the idea of the 3D maneuver gear as a tool hype. The movements of the characters that appear are interesting as they move through the city to kill titans. This also serves as a subtle piece of characterisation: Annie's movements seem mechanic and precise, whilst Mikasa's have an air of elegance and fluidity to them. Meanwhile Eren runs and jumps in an erratic and unplanned manner. These aspects reflect the character's personalities in the show perfectly.
If you have not watched the opening, you can watch it below:
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