 The anime has been very successful in Japan , with average sales of 52 @,@ 052 across 9 volumes , with a total of 468 @,@ 468 as of August 2015 . It was the number one selling TV anime of 2013 in Japan . It was also the number one streaming anime from Funimation in 2014 and the number one fan favorite Funimation home video released of 2014 . The anime adaptation won multiple prizes during the 3rd Newtype Anime Awards , including Best Director , Best Script , Best Soundtrack , Best Theme Song , Top Female Character and Title of the Year . It received the award for Best TV Animation at the 2013 Animation Kobe Awards . It received the award for Animation of the Year at the 2014 Tokyo Anime Award , along with , Best Director , Best Screenplay and Best Music . It won the 2013 Digital Contents of the Year Award at Japan 's 19th annual Association of Media in Digital ( AMD ) Awards . Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network was sharply critical of the first two episodes of the anime adaptation . He did praise the show for " [ bringing ] back the terror of the fee @-@ fi @-@ fo @-@ fum set " , but then said that it " does not a good show make " . Kimlinger criticized Araki 's direction , saying he " clearly intends it to be powerful and unsettling , but it 's just crude and unpleasant . " On the other hand , other critics from Anime News Network praised much of the series . Rebecca Silverman said it " is both gorgeous and appalling in its visuals " , and " an excellent mix of what 18th century Gothic novelist Ann Radcliffe defined as horror versus terror : the one is physical , making you want to look away , and the other is intellectual , making you want to know what 's going to happen next . " Though there are several apocalyptic action shows , Carlo Santos noted that " few get as close to perfection as Attack on Titan does " . Santos described it as " a masterpiece of death and destruction " even if he only watched the first episode . Theron Martin of Anime News Network praised the musical score and the " intense , impactful first episode " despite his feeling that it has " limited animation " . Martin also compared Attack on Titan 's vibe and visual aesthetic to Claymore . 
