Attack on Titan

I should be working on something else at the moment. Something that has a crucial deadline, but I feel like my brain has fried itself out right now. So instead of working on the project I have due on Monday, I'll tell you about a new manga series I read a few weeks ago.

As I stated earlier last month, I've been reading graphic novels during my lunch hours. Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama is the horror, action manga set after humanity has been decimated by the giant humanoid Titans. One hundred years have passed since the first attack and humans have rallied together behind a walled city that has three separate walls that progressively get taller. No one knows why the Titans attack and eat humans. The few brave humans who go out scouting end up being brought back in pieces. There's only one weak spot on a Titan's body--no, not on it's Achilles heel that would be way to convenient. It's the back of its neck. In order to fight the Titans, the military fighters use air mechanical equipment that allow them to run and climb faster, and jump higher. All seems well within the walled city until a giant Titan peeks over the city's first wall and then all heck breaks loose.

Notice I haven't talked about the characters in the previous paragraph. This ensemble cast blends together with little back story given to any one character in the first volume. The military has both male and female characters and leaders which I give huge props to the author for since so many times the female characters aren't the strong ones in the military--or heaven forbid, are the ones who need protection. There is one exception to the ensemble cast, by the end of the first volume, you begin to learn more about Eren, a young fighter who wants to see the world. He is the most intriguing to me as a reader and you will definitely get a shock at the end of the first volume about him--so be sure to grab volume 2 as well!

The art is a bit odd--Sometimes it's brilliant in its showing movement; other times, it's very ordinary and rough for an action manga. The horror part of the series is when the Titans attack. Yes, it has the action scenes, but it also shows the Titans chomping off people's arms and heads or even gulping them whole.

When I got back from lunch, I immediately began gushing about it to a coworker who reads manga. Then promptly grabbed volume 2 for the next day's lunch! I thoroughly enjoy manga that manages to surprise me. This one does that and more. Take a chance and pick it up today at the library!