Shingeki no Kyojin
This was the reaction when I was reading the manga of Shingeki no Kyojin (SNK).
Honestly, I stumbled across the manga before the anime aired. But I didn't care to read it because the synopsis didn't really capture my attention. And probably because the cover of the manga didn't looked very welcoming ..
Thanks to the pianist TheIshter, I viewed his cover on the opening of SNK and found the real opening later. It was so epic that I changed my mind about not reading it. After noticing how the people in the internet went crazy about the anime, I decided to read the manga first.
The story is very original. So here's the synopsis.
Several hundred years ago, the human population was pushed to the brink of extinction by giants/titans. The few remaining survivors managed protect themselves by building walls as high as 50 meters, surrounding them and allowed them to live in peace for 100 years. Flash forward to the present, Eren and his foster sister, Mikasa saw the city walls destroyed by a colossal titan which stood 60 meters tall. After the two kids witness their mother eaten alive by a titan, Eren vowed to kill every single titan.
Well, it does seem like a simple story line but there's more to it. What I like the most is the story is realistic, and there are a lot of unexpected events so you won't get bored. Personally, I do not the think the manga is extremely interesting, it's just that there are incidents in the manga left me go like, 'Huh? What is happening?' and made me continue reading so I can get the answers.
But yeah, it's also nice to read something new.
The main point of the whole story is titans attacking mankind and humans trying to strike back to get their lands back. That explains the English title 'Attack On Titan' which is obviously grammatically incorrect (That's why I always use SNK).
Titans play a huge role in the story. An average titan's height may range from three to fifteen meters. The titans have the human body shape and look like human but with some of their body parts deformed. Some can have a huge head and some have small limbs. But given with their huge body size, they don't seem to possess intelligence. They can't communicate with humans, they just want to eat them.
It's strange that the titans don't show interest in other creatures and animals, but only humans. No one knows their origin or how they reproduce themselves (titans have no sexual organs). And titans are great enemies to humans because they aren't easily to kill. Cutting their limbs or even severing heads is useless because titans have fast regenerating ability. The only way to kill them is to slice off the nape of the back of the neck.
Here let me show you a sneak peek how titans smile.
CHEEEESEEEEIEATHUMANS.
I really didn't want to write so much like how I did when I introduce Psycho-Pass, but I just can't stop, ugh.
Okaaaay, here are the main heroes in the story. I shall introduce them before I write too much. The art of the anime and the manga is slightly different but I'll use the anime's character design because it's colourful. *vomits rainbow*
Eren Jaegar
Eren had always desired to explore the outer walls despite being infested with titans. Although humanity had lived in peace for 100 years, he believed that the walls might be breached one day, so he has this wish to wipe off the titans and claim the lands once more. After his death of his mother, his determination to destroy the titans grew stronger.
Mikasa Ackerman
I think it's quite obvious that Mikasa is Eren's foster sister so I won't bother to hide the spoiler. Unlike Eren who is reckless, Mikasa is always calm and cares dearly of her friends and family. She is extremely talented in the 3DMG and is the top student in military training.
Armin Arlelt
Armin is Eren and Mikasa's childhood friend. He isn't as brave as Eren or physically strong like Mikasa, but has proven his skills through his innate capability for forming strategies and his high intelligence. He joins the military because he doesn't like to just sit back and do nothing.
Of course there are many more characters but this is realistic manga/anime about titans attacking humans so don't expect to see everyone till the end of the manga living happily ever after (I think). In fact I think viewers of the anime have no idea how the story goes yet so they might be very surprised. The anime currently has four episodes but the manga is already way ahead.
To go against the titans, there is a military which is divided into three squads : the Scouting Legion, the Stationary Guard and the Military Police. All soldiers must undergo the same training before choosing which squad to work for.
The Scouting Legion, the Military Police and the Stationary Guard.
The Scouting Legion is in charge of the exploration and the eventual reclamation of human territory from Titan-infested land, which they always fail. They participate most in titan combat among the other squads. While most soldiers do not survive on their first expeditions, the remaining soldiers become experienced and has their survival rates increased, making them veterans.
Obviously, you're gonna see Eren in the Scouting Legion.
The Military Police is the most prestigous due to their work allowing them to live within the Inner Wall. Not only do they maintain order, they serve as the king's guard. Only the top 10 students in military training are allowed to apply for this squad.
While Eren is dying to kill titans, most people are just training their asses off so they can get into the Military Police, safe inside the walls and beside the king, away from the titans.
The Stationary Guard is the largest of the Military divisions which protects and maintains order within the Walls. Given the fatality rate of the Scouting Legion and the limited entry of the Military Police, most soldiers join the Stationary Guard.
Anyway, to counter attack the titans, humans have created the Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear (3DMG). The gear itself takes the form of a body harness that encompasses much of the body below the neck. Though using it will allow a skilled user great mobility, it carries a large risk of overtaxing the user's muscles,thus special physical conditioning is required to use this gear. Some tools involved in the apparatus include hand grips, piston-shot grapple-hooks, gas powered mechanism, iron wire propeller with plug in blades.
It's an awesome weapon (until it runs out of gas) and it's best to watch the anime to witness how the gear works.
Well, I didn't bothered at first to watch the anime because I already know the story from the manga. But if I wanted to introduce this manga/anime I think it will be better to read and watch both.
The art in the anime is better than the manga in my opinion, at least until this point which is four episodes. The story line in the anime is same with the manga and for now there are no extra or less characters from the manga. I don't think the anime will go out topic from such serious manga so ..
Oh, the animation is very nice and the artists have done a good job displaying the usage of the 3DMG. I guess it must have been a pain in the neck to draw battle scenes. I'm looking forward to the *MINOR SPOILER ALERT* battles among titans which is more fast moving. *SPOILER ENDED*.
All I can say is, if you can't wait for the story, then read the manga. If you prefer more dramatic scenes and enjoy moving animations, watch the anime. Both are equally good, but I had always prefer reading mangas.
Source :
The websites are useless for me because I can't read Japanese ..
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You have no idea how happy I was.
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