Attack On Titan

Attack On Titan

Attack on Titan (Japanese: 進撃の巨人 Hepburn: Shingeki no Kyojin?, lit. "Advancing Giants") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. The series began in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine on September 9, 2009, and has been collected into 18 tankōbon volumes as of December 2015. It is set in a world where humanity lives in the surrounding cities surrounded by enormous walls; a defense against the Titans, gigantic humanoids that eat humans seemingly without reason. The story initially centers on Eren Yeager, his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman and childhood friend Armin Arlert, who joins the military to fight the Titans after their home town is invaded and Eren's mother is eaten. However, as the story progresses and the truths about the Titans are slowly revealed to the reader, the narrative shifts to encompass Historia Reiss, squad leader Levi, and other supporting characters.

A spin-off light novel series began in December 2011, and has received a manga adaptation. An additional light novel series and three additional spin-off manga series are also being serialized. A television anime adaptation produced by Wit Studio andProduction I.G aired in Japan on MBS between April and September 2013 and a second season is confirmed to be released in 2016. Four video game adaptations developed by Nitroplus staffers in collaboration with Production I.G were announced to be released as bonus content for the third and sixth volumes of the Blu-ray Disc release of the anime, with another game developed by Spike Chunsoft for the Nintendo 3DS. A two-part live-action film adaptation, Attack on Titan and Attack on Titan: End of the World, was also produced by Toho and premiered in 2015. Attack on Titan and three spin-off manga are published in North America by Kodansha Comics USA, while the novels are published by Vertical. An anime adaptation of the Junior High spin-off manga, produced by Production I.G, began airing in October 2015. The anime has been licensed by Funimation Entertainment for North America, byManga Entertainment for the UK, and by Madman Entertainment for Australasia.

Attack on Titan has become a commercial success. As of July 2015, the manga has 52.5 million copies in print, with 50 million copies in Japan and 2.5 million copies overseas.[5] The release of the anime also saw a boost in the series' popularity, with it having received critical acclaim for its atmosphere and story. Although it also gained fame in neighboring Asian countries, the series' themes have been a subject of controversy.

Setting

Over 100 years before the beginning of the story, giant humanoid creatures called Titans (巨人 Kyojin) suddenly appeared and nearly wiped out humanity, devouring them without remorse or reason. What remains of humanity now resides within three enormous concentric walls: the outermost is Wall Maria (ウォール・マリア Wōru Maria); the middle wall is Wall Rose (ウォール・ローゼ Wōru Rōze, sometimes pronounced like rosé) and the innermost is Wall Sheena (ウォール・シーナ Wōru Shīna, alt. "Wall Sina"). Inside these walls, humanity has lived in peace for one hundred years; many people growing up without ever having seen a Titan. This all changes when one day, a giant 60-meter (200 ft)-tall Titan mysteriously appears after a strike of lightning and breaches the outer wall of the Shiganshina district, a town at Wall Maria, allowing the smaller Titans to invade the district. AnArmored Titan smashes clean through Wall Maria, forcing mankind to abandon the land between Wall Maria and Wall Rose, evacuating the remaining population into the inner districts. The sudden influx of population causes turmoil and famine.

The Titans are giant humanoid figures about 3–15 meters (10–50 ft) tall and are usually masculine in body structure but lack reproductive organs. Although they do not appear to need food, they instinctively attack and eat humans on sight; it is mentioned that they derive their energy from sunlight. In addition the Titans also do not have a proper digestive tract; once they have eaten their fill of human prey, titans will vomit their meal into large, slimy balls, derisively referred to as "hairballs". Finally, their skin is tough and difficult to penetrate, and they regenerate quickly from injuries, save for a weak spot at the nape of their neck.

Combating the Titans is the military, which is divided into three branches. Foremost in the story is the Survey Corps (調査兵団 Chōsa Heidan), which goes out into Titan territory to try to reclaim the land. The Survey Corps are heavily derided in society because of their high casualty rate and little sense of progress. The second and largest branch is the Garrison Regiment (駐屯兵団 Chūton Heidan), which guards the walls and the civilian populace. The third branch is the Military Police Brigade (憲兵団 Kenpeidan), who guards the royal family and live relatively relaxed lives, although this eventually results in fraud, corruption, and political subterfuge. The soldiers use a tethering system called Vertical Maneuvering Equipment (立体機動装置 Rittai Kidō Sōchi) acting as a grappling system, allowing them to jump onto (and swing from) walls, trees, or nearby buildings to attack Titans. However, despite it being the soldiers' primary line of defense against the Titans, it is useless in open and flat terrain like fields.

Plot

Main article: List of Attack on Titan characters

The story of Attack on Titan revolves around the adventures of Eren Yeager, his foster sister, Mikasa Ackerman, and their childhood friend, Armin Arlert. After the wall which protects their hometown of Shinganshina is breached by Titans, Eren watches in horror as one of them eats his mother. Vowing to kill all the Titans, Eren enlists in the military, along with his friends.

Five years later, the three cadet graduates are positioned in Trost District, one of the border towns jutting out of Wall Rose, when the Titans attack again. In the ensuing battle, Eren is eaten by one of the Titans before Armin's eyes. A Titan later appears and begins fighting the other Titans while ignoring humans; the Titan is revealed to be Eren, who has developed the ability to transform into one. Though he is seen as a threat by some, he helps the military take back Trost District. After being placed on trial for being a danger to the humans, he is taken in by the Survey Corps' Special Operations Squad, led by Captain Levi.

In an expedition to Shinganshina, the Scouts are attacked by a Female Titan who attempts to capture Eren. Although the Scouts are able to briefly capture the Female Titan, she breaks free and devastates Levi's squad, forcing the expedition to retreat. Armin determines that the Female Titan is Annie, one of the cadets who taught Eren to fight, and devises a plan to capture her at Stohess. During this operation, collateral damage reveals that Titans reside in and make up the walls surrounding the human settlements.

Some of Eren's friends are also revealed to be able to transform into Titans and had been sent as spies by an unknown party to find something called "The Coordinate". It is later confirmed that the Coordinate is the power to control other Titans at will, and that Eren holds that power. The royal family and the Military Police track Eren and his friend Krista Lenz, who is actually Historia Reiss, the successor to the real king, Rod Reiss, as the current king is but a figurehead.

The Survey Corps, losing all will to follow the current government, stage a successful rebellion to overthrow the monarchy, culminating with the death of Rod by the hands of his own daughter, who becomes the new queen. It is then revealed that the Reiss Family was responsible for the creation of the walls 100 years ago using the Coordinate, which was stolen by Eren's father Grisha, who then transferred it to Eren's body by turning him into a Titan before allowing his son to devour him. Eren also obtains a new power that allows him to create massive and permanent structures that the Survey Corps intend to use in order to seal the breach in Shinganshina and reclaim Wall Maria.

Watch it for Free here.