[@Garattee]

At the beginning of the anime it was genuinely dark and gritty, both in its atmosphere and its plot. Additionally, the characters avoided most of the stereotypes characteristic of modern anime, and when they did not avoid it (such as with Eren's aggressive "I can do anything as long as try hard enough" attitude) it did not work out well for the characters. Admittedly, it essentially became a mecha anime later, sapping a considerable amount of the appeal, though by that time we were all too invested to turn away. It still had plenty to offer in terms of darkness and grittiness, but much of horror of the titular Titans was done away with.