Welcome to the latest edition of the Multiversity Manga Club! We at Multiversity Comics are huge fans of all kinds of comics, but our coverage admittedly skews toward American and European books. Nevertheless, manga, or Japanese comics, has a huge presence in the world of graphic story-telling, as anyone who has frequented a book store chain over the last decade can attest. I myself have only dabbled in the medium throughout the years, primarily through my love of “Dragon Ball Z.” With the hope of presenting a more concerted effort to highlight the fascinating world of manga, I’ll be selecting a specific work each month and inviting readers to join me in reading and examining the book.
This month I chose to look at “Attack on Titan,” the third best-selling manga property of 2015 (after previous Manga Club entry “One Piece” and “The Seven Deadly Sins”). Though a little background research indicates that the series’ popularity may be decreasing of late, I still wanted to take some time to see what the fuss was about. My previous attempts at approaching the both the manga and the anime ended with relative disinterest. However I can now say that I find “Attack on Titan” to be a compelling and addicting read.
Written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama
In this post-apocalytpic sci-fi story, humanity has been devastated by the bizarre, giant humanoids known as the Titans. Little is known about where they came from or why they are bent on consuming mankind. Seemingly unintelligent, they have roamed the world for years, killing everyone they see. For the past century, what’s left of man has hidden in a giant, three-walled city. People believe their 100-meter-high walls will protect them from the Titans, but the sudden appearance of an immense Titan is about to change everything.
First off, I want to address my previous misgivings with “Attack on Titan,” especially regarding the art. In my intro post I referred to Isayama’s work as “mediocre.” For that I must I apologize, as I could not have been further off the mark. Isayama’s ability to craft a complex, dynamic scene is extremely impressive. Furthermore, his use of panels and perspective to guide reader perception and expectation toward some truly shocking moments. One in particular, a scene that perfectly captures the grim tone of the series, features a character giving CPR to a downed comrade over the course of several dramatic panels. On the turn of the page, we find that the soldier has in fact been severed in half by a Titan, a case of brilliant yet horrifying misdirection.
The main problem I had with the art was a seeming lack of consistency in Titans. Isayama’s Titans a nearly humanoid, so I often took the occasionally odd representation of overlarge heads or small, spindly arms to be a lacking in Isayama’s sense of anatomical scale. What I mistook as artistic failing actually seems to be simple world-development; some Titans just look like that. I recognize my fault and submit it as a cautionary tale of early judgement. Now I even have a sickening appreciation for these malformed titans. Seeing one of the smaller titans attempt to cram a terrified human into its mouth is definitely one of the most frightening and psychologically scarring things I’ve seen in a comic in quite some time.
Appreciation of Isayama’s art is only one thing I gained in my read through of the first four volumes of “Attack on Titan.” The comparison to “The Walking Dead,” while a bit sensational, is fairly spot on. The story’s ability to ramp up the horror, the destruction, and the ultimate misfortune creates a similar roller coster reading experience. Unlike “The Walking Dead,” there’s much less downtime, at least in these early volumes. The majority of the present story revolves around the titular Titan attacks, with flashbacks to peace time fleshing out the extended cast. The cast is, arguably, the area where the book falters most. It’s often hard to distinguish the main supporting cast from the redshirts, leading me to regularly question whether a main(ish) character had or hadn’t become Titan food. The main characters, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, feel slightly one-dimensional at this point. Armin, the quiet scholar, arguably has the most developed arc, though it’s arguable that the coldness of Eren and Mikasa results from their respective past traumas. The flashbacks do a solid job of creating compelling backstories for these characters, developing connections with the reader and driving the conflict in the present. The flashbacks also highlight side characters like Jean, allowing the “A” plot to focus on the action at hand.
Continued belowPartway through the second volume, I lost the ability to voluntarily stop reading. Each volume (except for, arguably, the fourth) ends in a satisfying cliffhanger that demands immediate follow-up. The real hooks, however, are the fascinating world building and the budding mysteries. The world of “Attack on Titan” is meted out with both vague myth and meticulous detail. Notes regarding the three walled city, the gear used by the military, and the Titans themselves are great segues between chapters. Isayama goes into great detail describing the vertical maneuvering system, the high concept device that allows for character’s dynamic, Spider-man-esque movement. The four part military structure and apparent caste-like system, in which higher classes live closer to the center ring of the city, allow for interesting character dynamics and choices to arise. Side chapters, like the one introducing the character Levi, help flesh out the world outside of the context of the story at hand.
The origins of the Titans takes on a mythical quality, with their appearance taking place a hundred years prior to the beginning of the story. Likewise, the state of the world outside the walled city is unknown. Stories of legendary places like the “burning water” or the “sea of sand” are all that remain. The most captivating mystery is, thankfully, one that I had managed to avoid prior to reading the series. I’ll avoid talking about it here, so that others may have the same unadulterated experience I had. I will say, however, that it completely turns the story on its head, breaking out of the preconceived “Walking Dead” mode into fascinating new territory. I highly recommend reading to at least this point, at the end of volume two, before writing off the series entirely.
Four volumes into “Attack on Titan” and I’m definitely ready for more. I’m eager to continue the main series, as well as some of the spin-off series. While occasionally over-the-top, “Titan” does a great job of depicting loss, tragedy, and fear while also managing to remain exciting and even hopeful. The world of “Attack on Titan” isn’t one I’d like to live in, but it’s definitely one I can get lost in.
