This is more along the lines of an advisory, but if you haven’t seen “Attack on Titan” yet, there is something you should be aware of.

Now, the show has not really reached a conclusion of sorts. Sure, we’ve passed the 13-episode mark, but it is far from even a coupler point, so a full review will be done at a later point (and don’t worry, there will be a review for this show).

I have been catching this on Anime Season, a pretty decent website, but they have a couple of ‘specials’ that I want to warn you about, and the bottom line is: don’t watch them yet. I will explain.

Specials differ, in my opinion, from OVAs, as they have a real bearing on the show, whereas OVAs are either tales that were too hot to put in (like for “Ikki Tousen” and “Ladies vs. Butlers”) or a tale told long after the series closed out (like Mahoromatic’s “I’m Back”). “Girls Und Panzer” has both of them and they use the specials as recap shows or a meet-and-greet for those just coming to the show and want to know if they should watch.

For “Titan”, the first special is Episode 13.5, which is their recap show, giving you a flavor and highlights as to what has gone before. However, trying to squeeze all that happens over 300 minutes into 24 minutes is a daunting task. Even if you want to treat this as a kind of overview or a sampler to decide if you want to see the show (Pssst! You WANT to see the show. Just ditch 13.5 and get right into the first episode), it’s just a bit too episodic. You can watch it, but if you choose to watch it, make it later, after the aforementioned 13 shows pass by, as there are some spoilers.

The second one is rather strange and falls under what I call the “Darker than Black” Syndrome. If you ever saw that show, you know it was a grim, dramatic, depressing tale that ran for 25 episodes. Episode 26 was light, comedic and silly, but it confused people, as some of the characters in that episode hadn’t made it to the end of the show. So what’s going on? It was a goofy tale to help relieve the stress and tension that show generated, but if they had put it in the lineup where it should have gone, it would have damaged the credibility of the show and it may have been an obstacle too great to overcome as you swing back into the harshness of that world.

As you can see above, the 7-minute “AOT” Picture Drama 1 special is done entirely in chibi-style, played for goofy laughs. Now, it is certainly a change of pace from the despairing, almost murderous nature of the original show, but it could easily undermine the overall effect that the show is aiming at. There is nothing wrong with the segments; for some, it offers a different insight into the show and the chibi seems to be making fun of themselves, by retreading animation and having the characters act against the grain. But it just may not be at the right time.

I you feel that you can successfully separate the goofy from the gory and not have it affect your enjoyment of either, then go for it, but just be cautious. “Titan” is a marvellous show and you shouldn’t hold its comedic efforts against it.