Attack on Titan

For related items, see Attack on Titan (disambiguation).

"AoT" redirects here. For other uses, see AOT (disambiguation).

Attack on Titan
Cover of Attack on Titan volume 1 featuring Eren Yeager about to attack the oncoming Colossal Titan.
Genre	Adventure, dark fantasy, post-apocalyptic
Manga
Written by	Hajime Isayama
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	NA Kodansha USA
Magazine	Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	September 9, 2009 – present
Volumes	28
Novels
Before the Fall Harsh Mistress of the City Lost Girls
Manga
Junior High Before the Fall No Regrets Spoof on Titan Lost Girls
Anime television series
Directed by	Tetsurō Araki (Season 1, Chief 2–) Masashi Koizuka (Seasons 2–)
Produced by	Tetsuya Kinoshita Kensuke Tateishi George Wada Toshihiro Maeda Shin Furukawa (Season 1) Tomohito Nagase (Season 1) Tetsuya Endō (Season 2–) Yasuyuki Nishiya (Season 2–)
Written by	Yasuko Kobayashi
Music by	Hiroyuki Sawano
Studio	Wit Studio Production I.G (Production cooperation)
Licensed by	AUS / BI / NA Funimation
Original network	MBS, Tokyo MX, BS11, FBS, TOS, HTB, TV Aichi, Gunma TV, GYT, TV Saitama, tvk, CTC, RSK, BSN, RCC, SBC, TBC, SBS, IBC, RKK, ITC (Seasons 1–2) NHK G(Season 3)
English network	AU SBS 2 HK TVB Pearl SEA Aniplus Asia US Adult Swim (Toonami)
Original run	April 7, 2013 – present
Episodes	59 + 8 OVA
Anime film
Attack on Titan – Part 1: Crimson Bow and Arrow Attack on Titan – Part 2: Wings of Freedom
Directed by	Tetsurō Araki
Written by	Yasuko Kobayashi
Music by	Hiroyuki Sawano
Studio	Wit Studio Production I.G (Production cooperation)
Licensed by	NA Funimation
Released	November 22, 2014 (Part 1) July 27, 2015 (Part 2)
Runtime	120 minutes each
Anime film
Attack on Titan: The Roar of Awakening
Directed by	Tetsurō Araki Masashi Koizuka
Written by	Yasuko Kobayashi
Music by	Hiroyuki Sawano
Studio	Wit Studio
Licensed by	AUS Madman Entertainment NA Funimation UK Anime Limited
Released	January 13, 2018
Runtime	120 minutes
Live-action
Attack on Titan (2015 film) Attack on Titan: Counter Rockets (2015 miniseries) Attack on Titan: End of the World (2015 film)
Video games
Shingeki no Kyojin Shingeki no Kyojin -Hangeki no Tsubasa- Lost in the Cruel World Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains No Regrets In the Forest of the Night, Burning Bright Wall Sina, Goodbye Shingeki no Kyojin -Hangeki no Tsubasa- Online Shingeki no Kyojin -Jiyū e no Hōkō- Shingeki no Kyojin Banda Attack on Typing Attack on Titan Attack on Titan 2

Attack on Titan (Japanese: 進撃の巨人, Hepburn: Shingeki no Kyojin, lit. "Advancing Giant") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. The series began in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine on September 9, 2009, and has been collected into 27 tankōbon volumes as of December 2018 . It is set in a world where humanity lives in cities surrounded by enormous walls protecting the humans from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as titans.

Attack on Titan has become a critical and commercial success. As of December 2018 , the manga has 88 million tankōbon copies in print worldwide (78 million in Japan and 10 million outside of Japan), making it one of the best-selling manga series. The anime adaptation has been well received by critics with the first two seasons being met with universal critical acclaim with praise for its story, animation, music, voice acting and characters, although reception for its third season has been more mixed. However, the anime has proved to be extremely successful in both the U.S. and Japan, thus boosting the series' popularity. Although it also gained fame in neighboring Asian countries, political interpretations of the series caused controversies in China and South Korea.

Synopsis

Setting

Over 100 years before the beginning of the story on an alternate world, giant humanoid creatures called Titans (巨人, Kyojin) suddenly appeared and started devouring humans without remorse or reason; they completely ignore other wildlife. Nearly wiped out, what remains of humanity now resides within three enormous curtain walls: the outermost is Wall Maria (ウォール・マリア, Wōru Maria); the middle wall is Wall Rose (ウォール・ローゼ, Wōru Rōze, sometimes pronounced like rosé) and the innermost is Wall Sheena (ウォール・シーナ, Wōru Shīna, alt. "Wall Sina"). Inside these walls, humanity has lived in uneasy peace for one hundred years, with many people growing up without ever having seen a Titan. This all changes one day when a giant 60-meter (200 ft)-tall Colossus Titan mysteriously appears after a strike of lightning and breaches the outer wall (which is 50 meters tall) of the Shiganshina district, a town surrounded by part of Wall Maria, allowing the smaller Titans to invade the district. An Armored Titan smashes through the gate in Wall Maria, forcing humankind to abandon the land between Wall Maria and Wall Rose, evacuating the remaining population into the inner districts. The sudden influx of population causes turmoil and famine.

The Titans are giant humanoid figures ranging between 3 and 15 meters (10 and 50 ft) tall and are usually masculine in body structure but lack reproductive organs. Although they do not appear to need food, they instinctively attack and eat humans on sight; it is mentioned that they derive their energy from sunlight. Furthermore, the Titans also do not have a proper digestive tract; once they have eaten their fill of human prey, Titans will vomit large, slimy balls, derisively referred to as "hairballs", as shown in the episode where the squad retakes Trost. Finally, their skin is tough and difficult to penetrate, and they regenerate quickly from injuries, except for a weak spot at the nape of their neck.

Combating the Titans is the military, which is divided into three branches. Foremost in the story is the Survey Corps (調査兵団, Chōsa Heidan), which goes out into Titan territory to try to reclaim the land. The Survey Corps is heavily derided in society because of its apparently senseless high casualty rate and little sense of progress. The second and largest branch is the Garrison Regiment (駐屯兵団, Chūton Heidan), which guards the walls and the civilian populace. The third branch is the Military Police Brigade (憲兵団, Kenpeidan), which guards the royal family and lives relatively relaxed lives in the innermost wall, although this eventually results in fraud, corruption, and political subterfuge. The soldiers use a grappling, tethering system called Vertical Maneuvering Equipment (立体機動装置, Rittai Kidō Sōchi) that allows them to jump onto (and swing from) walls, trees, or nearby buildings to attack Titans with dual swords, and use gas canisters which to propel themselves. However, despite it being the soldiers' primary line of both offense and defense against the Titans, it is useless in open and flat terrain like fields.

It is later revealed that the Titans were created when Ymir Fritz found the "source of all organic life", and thus became the Founding Titan, which gave her the ability to become a Titan and to create and control the other Titans. When Ymir died as a side effect of having the Titan ability for 13 years, her power was divided among nine who received this same fate, and as such have their abilities passed upon death to other Subjects of Ymir, also known the Eldian people, their home country known as Eldia. These Titans consist of the Founding Titan, the Attack Titan, the Colossal Titan, the Armored Titan, the Female Titan, the Beast Titan, the Jaw Titan, the Cart Titan, and the War Hammer Titan. The Founding Titan remained with the Fritz family as Eldia's 145th King Karl Fritz, corrupted and power-hungry, arranged for his country's fall by the country of Marley and took a handful of his people to the island of Paradis. There, he used countless Colossus Titan bodies to make the walls and erased the memories of most of the people he brought with him with his Titan power, so they did not know anything about the outside world. As the memories of those with Titan powers are passed with them when they are passed to another, his descendants were influenced into continuing his work of ruling the Eldians in the walls through fear from the shadows, while the Eldians in Marley suffer as second-class citizens with some being exiled to Paradis as the Titans that terrorize the island's residents.

Plot

Main article: List of Attack on Titan characters

Eren Jaeger lives with his foster sister Mikasa Ackerman and best friend Armin Arlert in the town of Shiganshina adjacent to Wall Maria, outermost of three circular walls protecting humanity from man-eating Titans said to have killed all other humans one hundred years prior. When Shiganshina and Wall Maria are breached by the Colossal and Armored Titans, invading Titans force humanity to retreat behind Wall Rose. After a titan devours his mother and his father disappears, a vengeful Eren enlists in the military along with Mikasa and Armin.

Five years later, the three cadet graduates are positioned in Trost district adjacent to Wall Rose when the Colossal Titan breaches the city gate. During the subsequent Titan invasion, Eren is eaten but survives after creating and controlling a Titan's body. Previously unaware of his abilities, Eren suspects his father's basement holds answers. Although Eren seals Trost's breach using his Titan power, many consider him a potential threat and a military tribunal assigns him to the Survey Corps under Captain Levi's watch, with many of Eren's friends following suit.

During an expedition to Shiganshina, a Female Titan unsuccessfully attempts to capture Eren. Despite the expedition's failure, Armin deduces the Female Titan's identity as a fellow cadet from their class named Annie Leonhart with abilities akin to Eren's. Annie encases herself in crystal following her capture in Stohess, collateral damage revealing the walls are formed from massive Titans within them. Following the mysterious appearance of the Beast Titan behind Wall Rose, Eren is kidnapped by his fellow cadets Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover, exposed as the Titans who compromised Wall Maria. They and Annie were dispatched by an unknown party to capture the "Coordinate", an ability to control titans which they suspect Eren possesses. Eren manifests this power during an encounter with the titan who killed his mother, allowing him and the pursuing Survey Corps to escape. The Corps theorize that Titans were originally humans, and may regain their human form by consuming an individual with Titan power, acquiring those abilities for themselves.

Persecuted by the military police, the Survey Corps discover the royal government seats a figurehead king and suppresses technological advancement. Eren's comrade Historia Reiss learns she is the illegitimate child of the walls' true ruler Rod Reiss, who has her and Eren kidnapped. Rod reveals his ancestor created the walls using the power of the Founding Titan, intending to confine humanity and erasing their memories. The Reiss family passed down the King's power and will until Eren's father Grisha stole the power of the Founding Titan during Wall Maria's fall, and passed its power to Eren by turning him into a Titan via an injection and allowing himself to be devoured. Rod intends for Historia to become a Titan and eat Eren to reclaim the Reiss family's power, but Historia refuses and aids the Survey Corps' rescue of Eren and rebellion against the monarchy. Following Rod's defeat, the military assumes power and crowns Historia queen. Although Eren's lack of royal ancestry inhibits the Founding Titan's power, he obtains an ability to create permanent structures, which the Survey Corps use in their next expedition to seal the breach in Wall Maria. However, the group are ambushed by Reiner, Bertolt and their superior Zeke, the Beast Titan. The Survey Corps subdue Bertolt and drive off the other enemy Titans, but most of the expedition members are killed during the battle with Armin and Commander Erwin Smith left mortally wounded. Levi, armed with a single injection taken from Rod, decides to save Armin over Erwin. Armin devours Bertolt and acquires the Colossal Titan's powers.

Before returning home, the survivors recover Grisha's memoirs from the Yeagers' basement. His writings state that human civilization is actually thriving and the people of the walls are members of the Eldian race, whose common ancestor Ymir Fritz acquired the Power of the Titans, granting her progeny the unique potential to become Titans and inherit nine Titan powers. Ymir's descendants dominated world history for centuries until 100 years prior to the series' beginning, when the 145th Eldian King retreated to Paradis Island and established the three walls with the Founding Titan, threatening to retaliate with the titans comprising the walls should his peace be disturbed. The nation of Marley conquered the remaining Eldians, quarantining them in ghettos and passing the seven captured Titan Powers to indoctrinated Eldian "Warriors" for furthering Marley's national interests. Grisha conspired with other Eldian dissidents to acquire the Founding Titan before Marley and free their people but was outed by his son Zeke Yeager, Eren's half-brother and the future Beast Titan, and sentenced to life as a mindless Titan wandering Paradis. However, Grisha was saved by his movement's informant, who entrusted his Titan power and mission to Grisha and sent him to infiltrate the walls and recover the Founding Titan. Eren learns that despite his lack of royal ancestry, he may be able to use the Founding Titan's full "Coordinate" power through physical contact with a titan of royal blood.

Four years after the Battle of Shiganshina, a conflict between Marley and a combined offensive sees the emergence of conventional weapons capable of defeating Titans. Fearing the military obsolescence of Eldians will lead to their genocide, the Warriors work with the influential Tybur family, retainers of the War Hammer Titan, to recruit global support for a resumed offensive on Paradis. The family's patriarch, Willy Tybur, holds a rally in the Eldian ghetto of Liberio with foreign dignitaries in attendance and reveals that the 145th King lamented the Eldians' history, arranged the fall of the Eldian Empire and would have allowed for his people's genocide had his will and power not been stolen. Eren, having infiltrated Marley on his own, confronts Reiner before assassinating Willy Tybur as he labels Eren a threat to world peace and declares war on Paradis. With the aid of the Survey Corps in the ensuing battle, Eren steals the War Hammer Titan's power and Zeke defects to Paradis. Eren and the Survey Corps return to Paradis with Zeke via airship, but Eren's friend Sasha is killed by Gabi Braun, Warrior candidate and Reiner's cousin who stowed away along with her friend Falco Grice.

Flashbacks depict the preceding four years on Paradis, during which Zeke's followers arrived and introduced Paradis to modern technology and the friendly nation of Hizuru. Through his emissary Yelena, Zeke proposed passing his Titan power to Historia, which would enable Eren to use the Founding Titan's full power to deter foreign invasion until Hizuru modernizes Paradis. Because users of Titan power die thirteen years after their acquisition, the proposition demanded that Historia produce heirs to ensure the availability of the Founding Titan's power. Eren disapproved of this arrangement and instead infiltrated Marley alone and without authorization, coercing the Survey Corps's assistance.

In the present, Eren is detained for insubordination and his friends express doubt in his loyalties to them and Paradis over Zeke, citing Eren's role in Sasha's death. It is revealed that Historia is pregnant, preventing the Corps from immediately passing the Beast Titan to her and forcing them to place Zeke under Levi's watch. Suspected of arranging Historia's pregnancy to prolong Zeke's life, Yelena and her followers are arrested. The military's leaders distrust Eren and plan to relinquish his power following the discovery of his secret correspondence with Zeke and Yelena, prompting nationalist rebels loyal to Eren to assassinate the commander-in-chief. Eren escapes his cell and seeks out Zeke alongside his supporters, now called the Yeagerists. Meanwhile, the Warriors infiltrate Paradis in advance of an multinational counterattack against the island. Zeke tries to escape from Levi but is defeated & captured. Levi transports him to somewhere, during which thunder spear blast unexpectedly leaving both of them mortally wounded. But Zeke is saved by a mysterious titan and found by Yeagerists, Hange escapes with Levi's remains. Pieck holds Eren at gunpoint, but suddenly switches side and says she will reveal others hideout — it turns out to be trap and Jaw titan attacks Eren, he transforms into Titan and sees Marleyan airships over him and realize Reiner is leading the attack.

Production

Hajime Isayama created a 65-page one-shot version of Attack on Titan in 2006. In a 2018 interview with NHK, Isayama revealed that his inspiration for the series came from his hometown of Hita, Ōita, while wondering if there were monsters beyond the walls bordering the town. Originally, he also offered his work to the Weekly Shōnen Jump department at Shueisha, where he was advised to modify his style and story to be more suitable for Jump. He declined and instead decided to take it to the Weekly Shōnen Magazine department at Kodansha. Before serialization began in 2009, he had already thought of ideas for twists, although they are fleshed out as the series progresses. The author initially based the scenery in the manga on that of his hometown, which is surrounded by mountains. While working at an internet cafe, Isayama encountered a customer who grabbed him by the collar. It was this incident that showed him "the fear of meeting a person I can't communicate with," which is the feeling that he conveys through the Titans. When designing the appearances of the Titans, he uses several models such as martial artist Yushin Okami for Eren Yeager's Titan form as well as Brock Lesnar for the Armored Titan. George Wada, the anime's producer, stated that the "Wall of Fear" was influenced by the isolated and enclosed nature of Japanese culture. He also said that the inner feelings of every individual is one of the series' main influences. Isayama later would confirm that Attack on Titan was inspired in part by Muv-Luv Alternative, the second visual novel in the Muv-Luv visual novel series.

Isayama estimated his basic monthly timeline as one week to storyboard and three weeks to actually draw the chapter. The story is planned out in advance, even marking down in which collected volumes a specific "truth" will be revealed. In September 2013, he stated that he was aiming to end the series in 20 collected volumes. Originally, Isayama planned to give the series a tragic conclusion similar to that of the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Mist, where every character dies. However, positive response to the manga and anime has caused the author to contemplate changing the ending due to the impact it could have on fans.

On November 16, 2018, Isayama reported saying that the final chapter is now in development and did a documentary about it.

Media

Manga

Main article: List of Attack on Titan chapters

Hajime Isayama's original manga serial, Attack on Titan commenced publication in Kodansha's monthly publication Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine starting with the September 2009 issue. The first tankōbon collected volume was released on March 17, 2010. The most recent, volume 22, was released on April 7, 2017. In November 2014, the manga had 45 million copies in print. By September 2016, the number had increased to 60 million. The series' twelfth collected volume was given a first printing of 2.2 million copies, making Attack on Titan one of only two manga series ever to get an initial print surpassing 2 million, the other being One Piece. 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.

A comedic spin-off of the series, titled Attack on Titan: Junior High (進撃！巨人中学校, Shingeki! Kyojin Chūgakkō) and written by Saki Nakagawa, began serialization in Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine's May 2012 issue. It follows the main characters as they battle the Titans while in junior high school. Another manga series based on the prequel light novels Attack on Titan: Before the Fall started running in Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Sirius from August 2013, drawn by Satoshi Shiki. An additional spin-off based on the No Regrets visual novel was serialized in the shōjo manga magazine Aria, titled Attack on Titan: No Regrets (進撃の巨人 悔いなき選択, Shingeki no Kyojin: Kuinaki Sentaku). It is written by Gun Snark and illustrated by Hikaru Suruga. It focuses on the origins of Captain Levi, one of the most prominent characters in the main series. A yonkoma spin-off, called Spoof on Titan (寸劇の巨人, Sungeki no Kyojin, "Titan Short Skits") and drawn by hounori, was released on Kodansha's Manga Box smartphone and tablet application from December 2013 to December 30, 2014 in both Japanese and English. A manga adaptation of Hiroshi Seko's Attack on Titan: Lost Girls novel, written and illustrated by Ryōsuke Fuji, began publication in Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine on August 9, 2015.

In North America, the series is published in English by Kodansha USA. They published the first volume on June 19, 2012,. The fifteenth was released on April 7, 2015. By July 2015, the manga had 2.5 million copies in circulation in North America. The first three spin-off manga have also been licensed by Kodansha USA, who published the first volume of each between March and June 2014. It announced its license to Spoof on Titan at the New York Comic Con in October 2015, and its acquisition of Lost Girls in March 2016.

Novels

Main article: List of Attack on Titan chapters § Novels

A light novel series titled Attack on Titan: Before the Fall (進撃の巨人 Before the fall), written by Ryō Suzukaze and illustrated by Thores Shibamoto, began on April 1, 2011. Its story is set before the events of the manga and it was published by Kodansha in three volumes. While the first tells the story of Angel, the blacksmith who develops the first prototypes of the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, and the following two follow a young man who was found as a baby in the stomach of a Titan. A second light novel series called Attack on Titan: Harsh Mistress of the City (進撃の巨人　隔絶都市の女王, Shingeki no Kyojin Kakuzetsu Toshi no Joō), written by Ryō Kawakami and illustrated by Range Murata, was published between August 1, 2014 and May 1, 2015. Vertical released the novels in North America in 2014 and 2015. A novel titled Attack on Titan: Lost Girls (進撃の巨人 Lost Girls), written by Hiroshi Seko, was published on December 9, 2014. It comprises three short stories featuring Mikasa and Annie Leonhart, titled "Lost in the cruel world", "Wall Sina, Goodbye", and "Lost Girls". It was also released in English by Vertical, in 2016. Garrison Girl: An Attack on Titan Novel, a novel created by American writer Rachel Aaron was published by Quirk Books on August 7, 2018. It is centered on Rosalie Dumarque, who defies her family to join military garrison.

Anime

Main article: Attack on Titan (TV series)

An anime television series adaptation produced by Wit Studio (a subsidiary of IG Port) aired on MBS between April 7, 2013 and September 29, 2013, directed by Tetsurō Araki with Yūki Kaji starring as Eren, Yui Ishikawa voicing Mikasa and Marina Inoue as Armin. Both Funimation and Crunchyroll simulcast the series on their respective websites, and Funimation began releasing the series on North American home video in 2014. The first season was acquired for distribution in the UK by Manga Entertainment, with season 2 handled by Sony Pictures UK. Madman Entertainment acquired the show for distribution in Australia and New Zealand, and streamed the series on Madman Screening Room and AnimeLab. The final episode was also aired in Japanese theaters. The anime had some production issues with needing more animators with Wit Studios' character designer, Kyoji Asano tweeting and looking for active animators to work on the anime. An OVA version of the "Ilse's Notebook" special chapter from tankōbon volume 5 was originally scheduled to be released on August 9, 2013, bundled with the volume 11 limited edition, but was postponed and included with a limited edition of volume 12, released on December 9, 2013, instead. The OVA was bundled on subtitled DVD with the English limited edition release of the 17th manga volume, released on December 1, 2015. A second OVA was released on April 9, 2014, bundled with the 13th volume of the series, this one focused on the members of the 104th Training Corps. Two additional OVA episodes, based on the Attack on Titan: No Regrets prequel manga, were bundled with the 15th and 16th volumes of the main series, released on December 9, 2014 and April 9, 2015, respectively. The anime previously aired on Adult Swim's Toonami block. In Australia, the anime aired on SBS 2 on Tuesdays, in Japanese with English subtitles, with the first episode having aired on September 30.

The anime was compiled into two animated theatrical films with new voice acting from the same cast. The first film Attack on Titan – Part 1: Crimson Bow and Arrow (「進撃の巨人」前編～紅蓮の弓矢～, Shingeki no Kyojin Zenpen ~Guren no Yumiya~) covers the first 13 episodes and was released on November 22, 2014, while the second film Attack on Titan – Part 2: Wings of Freedom (「進撃の巨人」後編～自由の翼～, Shingeki no Kyojin Kōhen ~Jiyū no Tsubasa~) adapts the remaining episodes and adds new opening and ending footage. It was released on June 27, 2015. A rebroadcast of the first season was aired from January 9, 2016 on NHK's BS Premium channel. The compilation films were also broadcast in January 2017 on MBS.

A second season of the anime series was announced on the opening day of the first theatrical film, which was originally set to be released in 2016. It was then confirmed in the January 2017 issue of the Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine that the second season would premiere in April 2017. Masashi Koizuka directed the second season, with Araki acting as chief director. It has also been licensed by Funimation. It ran for 12 episodes.

An anime television adaptation of the Attack on Titan: Junior High manga spin-off began airing in October 2015. The series was directed by Yoshihide Ibata at Production I.G, with series composition by Midori Gotou, character design by Yuuko Yahiro, and music by Asami Tachibana. Linked Horizon performed the opening theme "Youth Like Fireworks". The ending theme, "Ground's Counterattack" ("Hangeki no Daichi"), is performed by the voice actors for Eren, Mikasa, and Jean. A rebroadcast of the series was aired during January 2016.

The second season of the anime series premiered between April 1, 2017 and June 17, 2017. The season premiere was simulcast on Funimation, Crunchyroll, and the former's VRV channel at 10:30 AM EST. That same day, it was also announced that the second season of Attack on Titan would premiere on Toonami on April 29. It was subsequently announced on April 3 that the second season would premiere one week earlier, on April 22 instead.

Following the broadcast of the second season's last episode, a third season was announced. It premiered on NHK General TV in July 2018; however, it will not be broadcast on MBS and other UHF channels.

A three part OVA of Attack on Titan: Lost Girls was released in 2017 and 2018 with the limited editions of volumes 24, 25, and 26.

A third compilation film was announced alongside the release date of the anime series' third season at the "Shingeki no Kyojin" Reading & Live Event Orchestra "Attack Oto Taikan 2" event, titled Attack on Titan: The Roar of Awakening (「進撃の巨人」 ～覚醒の咆哮～, Shingeki no Kyojin ~Kakusei no Hōkō~). The film recapped the events of the anime series' second season and was released on January 13, 2018.

A trailer for the third season was released on April 27, 2018. Funimation announced that they would air the worldwide premiere of the first episode at Anime Expo on July 8, 2018. They also announced that the first episode would air in theaters in the US and Canada alongside Attack on Titan: Roar of Awakening on July 10, 2018. The series' third season premiered in Japan on July 23, 2018, with its first part running to October 15, 2018. Part 2 of the series' third season will premiere on April 28, 2019.

Video games

• There have been four video game adaptations of Attack on Titan developed by Nitroplus staffers in collaboration with Production I.G. Nitroplus clarified that the studio as a company is not involved in the Attack on Titan Blu-ray Disc games, while individual staffers are. The games are visual novels and were included in the first copies of the third and sixth Blu-ray Disc volumes of the anime. The games cover spin-off stories about the characters of Attack on Titan. Isayama supervised the development of the games.
• The third Blu-ray volume was released on September 18 with Seko's Lost in the Cruel World visual novel about Mikasa, and a preview of Gun Snark's

No Regrets (悔いなき選択, Kuinaki Sentaku, lit. "A Choice with No Regrets"). The sixth Blu-ray volume was released on December 18 with the full version of No Regrets about Levi and Erwin's past, Jin Haganeya's visual novel In the Forest of the Night, Burning Bright about Eren and Levi, and Seko's Wall Sina, Goodbye visual novel about Annie.

• An action game, titled

Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains (進撃の巨人 ～反撃の翼～, Shingeki no Kyojin ~Hangeki no Tsubasa~, subtitle lit. "Wings of Counterattack"), was developed by Spike Chunsoft for the Nintendo 3DS and released in Japan on December 5, 2013, North America on May 12, 2015 and Europe on July 2, 2015.

• A smartphone social game, titled

Attack on Titan: Howl Toward Freedom (Shingeki no Kyojin ~Jiyū e no Hōkō~) is in development by Mobage for iOS and Android platforms. In the game, players play as a character who has been exiled from Wall Rose. Players must build and fortify a town outside the wall and expand it by manufacturing items as well as using Titans and exploiting resources from other players.

• A set of Attack on Titan costumes was added to Dead or Alive 5 Last Round in July 2016, alongside a playable arena based on Wall Rose during an attack by the Colossal Titan.
• Additionally, Attack on Titan gameplay and merchandise has been featured in a crossover event with Nexon MMORPG MapleStory in its Japanese and GMS versions.
• Another game, Attack on Titan, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita, published by Koei Tecmo and developed by Omega Force, was announced at Gamescom 2015. It was released on February 18, 2016 in Japan. Later was confirmed to be released worldwide along with PC and Xbox One versions.
• Capcom were developing an Attack on Titan arcade game named Shingeki no Kyojin: Team Battle, but the development was frozen by 2018.
• Attack on Titan: Escape from Certain Death was announced to be in development for the Nintendo 3DS in Famitsu magazine in October 2016. The game was initially supposed to be launched on March 30, 2017 but was later postponed to May 11, 2017.
• Attack on Titan 2: Future Coordinates was released on November 30, 2017 in Japan.
• A sequel game to Koei Tecmo's Attack on Titan, Attack on Titan 2, was announced in August 2017 and released in March 2018.
• An expansion for Attack on Titan 2, Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle is scheduled to be released in Japan on July 4, 2019, and in North America and Europe on July 5, and will be available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One (with Xbox One X support), and on PC through Steam.

Live-action

Main article: Attack on Titan (film)

A live-action film was announced to be in production in October 2011. In December 2012, it was reported that Tetsuya Nakashima left his position as director. According to film distributor Toho, Nakashima had considerable creative differences on the scriptwriting and other matters. In December 2013, Shinji Higuchi was revealed to be directing, and would also be responsible with the special effects. Writer Yūsuke Watanabe and critic/subculture expert Tomohiro Machiyama were announced to be scripting the movie with series creator Isayama. In July 2014, it was revealed that two films will be released in the summer of 2015. It was also revealed that some major characters would be cut from the line up, most noticeably Levi Ackerman and Erwin Smith. A teaser trailer for the first live-action film was released in March 2015. The following month, Toho released the second trailer for the first film, and announced the second installment would be called Attack on Titan: End of the World. In June 2015, a third trailer for the first film was released, revealing the Three-Dimensional Maneuvering Gear, as well as confirming the film would be released in IMAX theaters in Japan.

A live-action miniseries, titled Shingeki no Kyojin: Hangeki no Noroshi (進撃の巨人 反撃の狼煙, "Attack on Titan: Counter Rockets") and utilizing the same actors as the films, started streaming on NTT DoCoMo's online-video service dTV on August 15, 2015. The three episode series focuses on Zoë Hange and her research of the Titans, as well as how the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment was created.

Deadline Hollywood reported on January 17, 2017 that Warner Bros. is in negotiations to secure the film rights to the Attack on Titan franchise. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them producer David Heyman would be on board to produce a proposed two-film project that would remake the 2015 Japanese live-action film adaptations. A day later, however, Kodansha representatives said there were no negotiations with Warner Bros. However, on October 29, 2018, it was revealed that Warner Bros. and Kodansha finalized a deal to produce a live action adaptation with It director Andy Muschietti signing on to direct the film.

A Stage Play titled LIVE IMPACT was announced on the wraparound jacket band on Volume 21. It was scheduled to run from July 28 to September 3, 2017. The Stage Play was cancelled after one of the staff members being involved in an accident.

Other media

Two guidebooks to the manga titled Inside and Outside were released on April 9 and September 9, 2013, featuring concept art, character profiles and interviews. They were combined into one and released in North America on September 16, 2014, by Kodansha USA.

A 16-minute drama CD was created with the anime's staff and included in the January 2014 issue of Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine.

On November 3, 2014, American writer C. B. Cebulski revealed that a crossover between Attack on Titan and Marvel Comics was in the works. Cebulski scripts the scenario written by the original author Hajime Isayama. The one-shot crossover featured Spider-Man, the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy facing off against several Titans, including the Colossal Titan, the Armored Titan, and the Female Titan on the streets of New York City. During Free Comic Book Day 2015, Marvel's Secret Wars preview included an 8-page presentation "Attack on Avengers" by creator Hajime Isayama with art by Gerardo Sandoval. It was announced at the 2015 New York Comic-Con that an American comic book titled Attack on Titan Anthology will be published.

From January 23 to May 10, 2015, Universal Studios Japan hosted attractions based on Attack on Titan. "The Real" Attack on Titan Experience features a life-size 15 meter tall Eren titan engaging a 14 meter tall female titan in combat. Other attractions include a ground level titan, which visitors can pose with. From May 31 to August 25, 2019, Universal Studios Japan is again set to host attractions for Attack on Titan as part of the "Cool Japan" program, including "immersive effects on a grand scale" according to editor Shintaro Kawakubo.

Reception

Attack on Titan won the Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2011, was nominated for the 4th Manga Taishō Award and both the 16th and 18th annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. The 2012 edition of Kono Manga ga Sugoi!, which surveys people in the manga and publishing industry, named Attack on Titan the eighth best manga series for male readers, while the 2014 edition named it the sixth best. Attack on Titan was the top favorite manga for Yomiuri Shimbun's Sugoi Japan Awards in 2015. Attack on Titan was the second highest selling manga series of 2013, with 15,933,801 copies sold in a single year. In April 2014, Oricon reported that 30 million volumes of the series have been sold. In the first half of 2014 it topped the chart, ending One Piece's five-year reign as the highest selling series in that period, with Isayama surprised about it and thanking the readers. By the end of the year, it was the second best selling manga with 11,728,368 copies sold. In 2015, the series sold 8,778,048 copies ranking third for the year, and 6,544,081 in 2016 for the fourth rank. Attack on Titan was the second best-selling manga of 2017 with sales of 6,622,781 copies, behind only One Piece. The manga's publisher, Kodansha, credits Attack on Titan for the company's first revenue increase in eighteen years. The anime is noted to have helped in boosting the series' sales while Mainichi Shimbun called it a "once-in-a-decade hit."

Six of the seven English volumes published in North America at the time charted on The New York Times Manga Best Seller list for the week of October 13, 2013, and volume one was on the list for 81 weeks straight. In June 2015, the first volume clocked in at its 100th week on the top 10 chart, having sold 2.5 million copies. It also currently holds the title of appearing on the list for a volume with 121 weeks. Volume one was also number one on Nielsen BookScan's list of top 20 graphic novels in American bookstores for October 2013, and for the month of September, the series had more volumes on the list than any other series. The Young Adult Library Services Association in the United States named the series one of its "Great Graphic Novels for Teens" in 2013. Kodansha USA's English release won the 2014 Harvey Award for Best American Edition of Foreign Material. Attack on Titan was the only manga to be nominated for the 2015 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Graphic Novel/Comic.

Many have analyzed Attack on Titan as representing "the hopelessness felt by young people in today's society." while writer Mao Yamawaki called it a "coming-of-age story of the boys and girls at its core," with a new mystery every episode. It is these mysteries that critic Tomofusa Kure says amplifies readers' expectations. The artwork of the manga has been criticized as crude by some reviewers, with Isayama himself admitting his drawings are "amateurish." However, those same critics stated that after years of serialization, the art has been improving, and Kure believes that had the illustrations been "refined", it would not have conveyed the "eeriness" that is a key characteristic of the work. In a short review, Jason Thompson noted how the characters conveniently receive "power-ups" to create plot twists, but concluded that these said plot twists and the manga's post-apocalyptic world are "too good to miss."

Political interpretations

The series has gained a strong popularity in not only Japan but also throughout the world. For instance, coverage of the anime appeared on the front page of the Hong Kong free newspaper am730 on May 27, 2013, concerning its popularity within Hong Kong as well as in Mainland China and Taiwan. The series also attracted criticism: the South Korean Electronic Times magazine accused Attack on Titan of having a militaristic message that serves Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's political leanings; while the series also resonated with Hong Kong youths who saw the invading Titans as a metaphor for mainland China. Hong Kong media commentator Wong Yeung-tat praised Isayama's style and the versatility of Attack on Titan's setting, which opens itself to readers' various interpretations. In 2013, after media linked to a 2010 blog post by Isayama indicating that the design of the character Dot Pixis was based on the Imperial Japanese General Akiyama Yoshifuru, an Internet flame war about the general's war record (e.g. allowing the Port Arthur massacre to occur) ensued on his blog and included death threats to the author. Because many of the threats written in Japanese had grammatical errors, it is believed that they were written by people outside of Japan.

China ban

On June 12, 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture forbade distribution of Attack on Titan along with 38 other anime and manga titles.

External links

• Official manga website
• Official anime website
• Attack on Titan at Kodansha Comics
• Attack on Titan at Funimation
• Attack on Titan at the Internet Movie Database
• Attack on Titan at Rotten Tomatoes
• Attack on Titan (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Attack on Titan Website

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