Attack on Titan Character Encyclopedia - Attack on Titan
The Attack on Titan Character Encyclopedia is the fourth official guidebook based on the Attack on Titan manga series. It was originally published on August 8, 2017 in Japan by Kodansha and comprises a total of 176 pages. It was later published in English by Kodansha Comics USA on July 10th, 2018.
This guidebook contains detailed explanations of over 200 characters within the series from the protagonist Eren and the rest of the 104th Training Corps members, to the various citizens that live within the Walls, and even more. With many of the main characters, information like their birthdates, their heights, and some of their unique catchphrases are given. The Nine Titans are also listed along with their respective powers and abilities. A guide to several characters who live outside the Walls is also given. The guidebook also includes an interview with the original creator Hajime Isayama, where he reveals some of the inspirations behind his characters.
Content
Attack on Titan Character Encyclopedia contains a detailed summary of many characters from the Attack on Titan series. These characters are divided into the sections that are based on what group they belong to. The different sections and examples of characters that belong to them are as follows:
The 104th Training Corps
- Eren Jaeger
- Mikasa Ackermann
- Armin Arlert
- Jean Kirstein
- Connie Springer
- Sasha Blouse
- Krista Lenz
- Ymir
- Annie Leonhart
- Reiner Braun
The Survey Corps:
The Military Police Brigade:
- Nile Dok
- Marlowe
- Hitch
The Garrison Regiment:
- Hannes
- Kitz Weilman
- Ian Dietrich
- Rico Brzenska
- Mitabi Jarnach
The Character Encyclopedia also offers details about the Royal Government that rules over Paradis Island and other characters associated with it. From its capital in Mitras, the city within the walls was ruled by a king with no real connection to the royal family while the Reiss family, the legitimate descendants of the Fritz family, secretly ruled from the shadows. After the coup d’état led by the military, however, a large majority of the former government was displaced in favor of a military-led system that had a true descendant of the royal family ruling once again. Currently Historia Reiss is the ruler of the government within the Walls.
There is also a contextualization about various citizens that live inside the Walls. This section includes details about the Eldian citizens that suffer the various Titan attacks and their struggles as they are forced to evacuate their homes. For 100 years, they had lived a relatively peaceful life until the Colossal Titan broke through Wall Maria and destroyed the Shiganshina District.
Characters that live outside the Walls are included in this encyclopedia as well. These people live in an area called Marley and is where many of those with the powers of the Nine Titans came from. In general, many from Marley think that Eldians are “demons” that deserve to be eradicated, which also leads to heavy discrimination toward Eldians living within Marleyan territory.
Furthermore, there are a few sections devoted to Titans. One section focuses on specific areas that are often inhabited by Titans, while another explains the history of the Nine Titans and who owns each power currently. Each of the Nine Titan powers were first transmitted to the Eldian people almost 2,000 years ago, after the death of Ymir Fritz, the first person with the power of the Titans. Each Titan has its own name and individual history of inheritors and include the following:
Founding Titan: Currently held by Eren Jaeger; formerly held by Karl Fritz, Ymir Fritz, Uri Reiss , Frieda Reiss, and Grisha Jaeger
Attack Titan: Currently held by Eren Jaeger; formerly held by Eren Kruger and Grisha Jaeger
Colossal Titan: Currently held by Armin Arlert; formerly held by Bertolt Hoover
Armored Titan: Currently held by Reiner Braun
Female Titan: Currently held by Annie Leonhart
*Beast Titan: Currently held by Zeke Jaeger
Jaw Titan: Currently held by Falco Grice; formerly held by Marcel Galliard, Porco Galliard and Ymir
Cart Titan: Currently held by Pieck
War Hammer Titan: Currently held by Eren Jaeger; formerly held by the unnamed younger sister of Willy Tyber
In the final few sections of the book, the focus shifts from the individual characters themselves to the creative process involved in creating the series. Pages that include the inspirations for some of the characters in the series are spread throughout the book, but there is also a rather lengthy interview in the very last major section. In addition, there is some extra information about the history of the Jaeger family and the Survey Corps that is shown through the perspective of Keith Shadis.
There are also a few small sections that describe the life of the girl that became the first Titan, Ymir Fritz. Ymir was the first human that obtained the power of the Nine Titans, though at the time, each power was consolidated into one. She was a slave of the Eldian king, who used her power for bringing prosperity to Eldia while destroying Marley and the rest of the world in the process. 13 years after acquiring the power of the Titans, she died while protecting the king. After Ymir’s death, her three daughters were forced to eat her to pass on her power. As Ymir’s power was divided among her three children, the original power split and eventually became the Nine Titans. Once she died, she was transported to an afterlife-like world, where she continued to serve the will of the Royal Family, as she was still the source of power of the Founding Titan, even after death.