Attack on Titan Original Manga - Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人, Shingeki no Kyojin, lit. "The Attack Titan") is a Japanese manga series both written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It is published in the monthly publication Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine by Kodansha and it was released in September 2009. The first tankōbon volume was published on March 17, 2010. The most recent one, volume 30, was released on December 9, 2019.
In November 2014, the Attack on Titan manga had 45 million copies in print, which increased to 100 million by December 2019. Volume 12 was given a first printing of 2.2 million copies, making Attack on Titan one of only two manga series to get an initial printing surpassing 2 million, the other one being One Piece. Likewise, Volume 13 has the highest initial first print of the series so far, with 2,750,000 copies. It is also the first print run record for its publisher, Kodansha.
Attack on Titan Story Background
A human called Ymir Fritz became a humanoid giant called a Titan 1,800 years ago, after making a contract with the “Devil of All Earth”. As the inheritor of the Titan’s power only can live for 13 years more, she died 13 years later, and her abilities were divided and passed on through her daughters before being divided into nine individuals who ended up establishing the Eldian Empire. The Founding Titan, one of those Nine Titans, remained with the Fritz family, they conquered the nation of Marley and they ruled over it for 1,700 years.
However, a century before the events occurred in the main story, the Eldian king Karl Fritz was disappointed with the legacy of his family and organized his nation’s downfall with Marley making the Eldians that remained into second class citizens and threatening to exile them to Paradis as mindless Pure Titans. Karl used the Founding Titan’s power to erase the memories of Eldians. For those who were unaffected, either were bribed into nobility or made into outcasts like the Ackermann family, who served the Fritz family.
Because of the influence of Karl in his direct descendants in order to continue the deception, the Eldians of Paradis island believe that they are the only humans that remain on Earth, and assumed that the reason why is because of the Titans. Unlike those who possess the Titan power, the Pure Titans are mindless and are barely conscious of what they are doing. They only instinctively attack and eat any human on sight. Their skin is hard and very difficult to penetrate. Also they can regenerate quickly from all injuries, except for a spot at the nape of their neck, making it the only way to kill them.
With the objective of killing these Titans, the Paradis Eldians developed their own military devices and departments. The first one is the Survey Corps. They are the group to take back the territory invaded by Titans. The second and largest branch is the Garrison Regiment, who guard the walls and its population. The third is the Military Police Brigade, who guard the royal family and have relatively relaxed lives in the innermost wall.
The soldiers use a grappling, tethering system called “Vertical Maneuvering Equipment” which allows them to jump onto walls, trees and very tall places to attack and kill Titans with dual swords, using gas canisters to propel themselves. However, even though this is the soldiers’ primary line of both offense and defense against the Titans, it does not work in open and flat spaces, like fields.
Attack on Titan Plot
The story begins with Eren Jaeger living peacefully with his family, his adopted sister Mikasa Ackermann and his only friend Armin Arlert. They live in Shiganshina District, one of the main cities located in Wall Maria.
However, everything changes when the Colossal Titan creates a huge breach that allows the entry of the Titans into the city. During the attack, Eren watches in horror how a Titan eats his mother while his father disappears after handing Eren the key to the basement of his house. After the disappearance of his father, Eren swears to kill all the Titans and decides to enlist in the 104th Training Corps along with his friends.
Five years later, the three young friends have graduated as cadets and at that time live in the Trost District, one of the border cities that stands out from Wall Rose. The same gigantic Titan appears and the same story is repeated. In the subsequent battle, Eren manages to save Armin from being eaten by a Titan at the cost of being devoured. While all hope of survival seemed to be extinguished, an atypical Titan appears attacking the other Titans instead of the humans. This Titan is revealed as Eren who for some reason can transform into a Titan, to everyone’s surprise.
Although some people, such as the nobles, the clergy and the Military Police consider Eren as a threat even after helping them to recover the Trost District, other see this ability as an opportunity to save humanity. Eren is subjected to a military trial in which it was finally decided that he should be part of the Survey Corps, assigning him to the Special Operations Squad under the command of Captain Levi.
As the story continues, many mysteries are revealed regarding Eren’s ability to transform into Titan, that goes from the reasons why he got such power to the fact that he is not the only one who possesses this ability. The origins of the Titans, the revelation of their true enemies, and the decisions Eren must make about the future of humanity, of his friends and his own are also discovered.