I can't speak for the manga, but I think the anime was done well for the most part, albeit predictable. Story could definitely use some work. Whenever there wasn't some battle going on, it felt like it was dragging and the background information of the world and everything else wasn't particularly interesting. Characters died too often so there is hardly any development on that front. The animation is amazing though. :O Even if you think it's poorly written, it still warrants a watch at least. It is still an entertaining show.

This made me rewatch Smash Eater 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofihv2X6Vj4

When you mentioned Attack on the Titan I was hoping to hear some Hiroyuki Sawano music since he's composing for Monolith Soft's X.  I'm not too familiar with his other works outside the two(¹ ²) "X" trailers, and by the credits on the Smash video it wasn't his work used?