Attack on Titan #1-14 + Levi side story

Attack on Titan #1-14 + Levi side story

Originally released in 2009

Written by Hajime Isayama

Art by Hajime Isayama

Attack on Titan was a big deal a few years ago, but it's something that I missed out on, so when I saw that the entire series was available on Humble Bundle for cheap, I picked it up.  The series takes place in a walled city which is menaced by naked giants known as Titans - the wall's generally been good to keep them out, but the titan on the cover, the Colossal Titan, is tall enough that he can see over it. (I don't know much about the series, but the image of the Colossal Titan's head peaking over the wall is one that I've seen several times)

At first, this sight seems to be a dream that the protagonist, Eren Yeager, is having.  As of now, the village is living in a time of peace - the wall is fifty meters tall, dwarfing the Titans outside of it, and sturdy enough to keep any of them out.  Most people are happy with surviving, but Eren's questioning this whole system and wants to see the world outside the walls.

Eren wants to join the Survey Corps. to achieve that, though his friend Mikasa seems to be aware that the Survey Corps. have a rough life - on the latest expedition, roughly one fifth of the group that set out survived, and the leader of that group admits that they accomplished absolutely nothing and are no closer to beating the Titans back or finding out what they are.

Eren's mother is adamant that he shouldn't join the Survey Corps., though his father (a doctor who has to go on a boat trip) figures that his curiosity shouldn't be discouraged, and promises to show Eren some kind of secret that's been locked in their basement once he gets back. (by my understanding, it takes a long time for this secret to get revealed)

The third member of Eren's friend group, Armin, is someone who's more likely to talk things out rather than getting into fights. He also wants to find out what life is like outside of the walls, though unlike Eren, he recognizes the danger and is too scared to act on it.

By the end of the first chapter, Eren's dream proves to be prophetic - somehow, a Titan that's over fifty meters tall (three or four times the height of other Titans) managed to sneak up on the village, kicking a hole in the wall and allowing other Titans to go through.

Some of the rubble from the wall crushes Eren's house with his mother still inside of it. Her legs were crushed, though a man named Hannes arrives who has a debt to the Yeager family.  At the mother's urging, Hannes saves the children rather than trying to kill the Titan, though this means that Eren's mother is left in front of the Titan and unable to move - as a result, she is quickly devoured as Eren watches.

As the survivors of humanity are forced to abandon the outer wall, Eren makes a vow to kill every Titan. Five years later, Eren's made it to the top ten of his training corps. - graduates can choose to reinforce the walls or explore the world outside of them, and only the top ten are allowed to serve in the Military Police Brigade, living a cushy life in the innermost section of the wall where (barring some sort of massive catastrophe) they'll be safe for the rest of their lives since there's not much chance that the Titans will make it that far.  One graduate, a man named Jean, is eager to join the Military Police Brigade for the safety that it provides, putting him at odds with Eren, who feels like that attitude is like giving up on stopping the Titans.

Mikasa has superhuman strength, and despite her obvious skill (she ranked at the top of the class), she chooses to do whatever Eren's doing, figuring that he needs her around to protect him.  Armin also intends to join the Survey Corps.; while he's low-ranked when it comes to combat skills, he doesn't want to sit around and wait to die.  

There's a mystery surrounding Eren's father, who vanished shortly after the death of Eren's mother. Eren has amnesia about what specifically happened, but he vaguely remembers his dad injecting something into Eren's arm while crying.  There seems to be a slight boost in optimism with no major attacks in five years, and Eren feels like humanity's counterattack can begin.

Then the Colossal Titan appears in front of the wall, with not a single person noticing.  I think I've read somewhere that some humans can turn into Titans in this series; maybe all Titans used to be humans, but I think that some people can change back and forth.  I'm guessing that's the case here, because it's either that or every single person in a city that's on the verge of destruction is completely oblivious to something the size of Godzilla until it's right next to them.

Fortunately, the Titan is stopped before he can do too much damage, though he's not killed; the smoke that the Titan generates becomes too thick for anyone to see and he vanishes.  Still, he left a hole in the gate, and that's enough for other Titans to press the advantage, forcing Eren and the rest of the trainees into action. (Mikasa wants to stay and protect Eren, though she's forced to help with the evacuation)  Frozen with fear, Armin is picked up by a Titan who tries to eat him.

However, Eren pulls Armin out from the Titan's mouth.  This seemingly costs Eren his life, as the Titan bites down and severs Eren's arm, but this is the fourth chapter and he's the main character, so as definitive as this appears to be, he'll likely survive. (I'm not ruling out the possibility of him being a decoy protagonist who inspires Armin to become the new main character, but with a very personal reason for revenge against the Titans and several mysteries surrounding his father, I doubt that Eren's actually dead - I get that Attack on Titan is darker than normal for a shonen manga, but Death Note seems even darker, and that didn't have Light Yagami killed by the end of the first volume)

As the second volume begins, Armin is one of the few survivors of his group; despite most of them starting off optimistic and even trying to see who would kill the most Titans, most of them are dead, and Armin is too traumatized to be of much help.

Elsewhere, Mikasa helps with the evacuation efforts, demonstrating why she's the top of her class by easily killing the few Titans who manage to slip through.  A mother and child that thank her cause her to involuntarily think back to how she came to live with the Yeagers; her parents were killed by slave traders who wanted to sell Mikasa and her mother into slavery (as they're the only Asian people behind the wall), and Eren displayed an almost psychotic level of violence to save her, using a knife to murder two grown men, with Mikasa being convinced to kill the third.

In the present, the civilians have evacuated, and the order is given to climb the wall and fall back, but the people who are fighting the Titans are low on the gas that allows them to propel themselves through the air.  The supplies are being kept in a building that is surrounded by Titans, but Mikasa convinces the others to fight until the end.  While she puts up a valiant effort, Mikasa runs out of gas and lands on the ground between two Titans, vowing to keep fighting a hopeless battle.

And then one of the Titans punches the other one in the face.  Unfortunately, the PDF version from Humble Bundle has double page spreads as two separate pages, taking away from the impact of the image.

Mikasa is baffled by what she sees, as the idea of a Titan killing another Titan is completely unheard of.  Furthermore, this Titan is intelligent, fighting like a martial artist and targeting the Titans' weak point (the back of their necks).

Jean and some of the other soldiers manage to get to the gas supplies, though the building is quickly swarmed by dozens of Titans.  There's seemingly no way out, though the rogue Titan clears the way again, and Mikasa convinces everyone present that, whether or not it's on the side of humans, it doesn't seem to mean them any harm, as it keeps ignoring people and targeting Titans.

Armin may be useless in a fight at this point, but he demonstrates his worth as a strategist by coming up with a plan to kill the smaller Titans that are in the building so they can safely escape.  Outside, the rogue Titan finally collapses, having been overwhelmed by the predatory Titans, and as it dies, Eren appears out of the back of his neck.

I've reached the end of volume 2, and so far, the series does a good job with establishing the near-hopelessness of humanity's situation and the alien nature of the Titans.  Given that they ignore animals and hadn't attacked the human settlement for a century, it's clear that they don't need to eat in order to survive, and yet they consistently target and eat humans anyway.

The start of volume 3 introduces Levi Ackerman, a member of the Survey Corps. who's billed as the strongest soldier in humanity's forces.  He bears some similarities to Eren, though weirdly enough, the chapter where he's introduced is a side story rather than a numbered chapter.

Back in the numbered chapters, Eren regains consciousness.  Given what just happened, the rest of the soldiers are wary at best or ready to kill him at worst, and it doesn't help that these are his first words (though he's referring to the Titans):

Eren is asked if he's a human or a Titan; he's baffled by the question, having no memory of what just happened to him, but even though he answers "human", his superior still decides to have him executed via cannon because nobody can prove that he's human.  As the cannon is aimed at him, his movement causes the basement key, which is on a string around his neck, to become visible, and seeing that restores enough of his memory for him to recall his dad telling him that the basement contains the truth, and that the injection gave him the power to become a Titan.

Biting into his hand, he becomes a Titan to keep Armin and Mikasa safe, as neither one will leave his side despite his impending execution.  Eren has two plans, but he ultimately leaves the choice up to Armin, and whether or not Armin thinks he can convince everyone else that Eren isn't a threat.

The highest-ranking official in the area, Commander Pixis, calls off the execution, and he's willing to hear what they have to say as he's been filled in on the known details.  Pixis intends to have Eren plug up the hole now, in his Titan form, so he can stop the Titans from getting any further and show that he's on humanity's side at the same time.

Pixis comes up with a cover story to explain Eren's transformation so that he'll no longer be seen as a target by the military, and a plan is devised to take back territory.  Humanity has been on the defensive, being whittled down to almost nothing, but with Eren's power, they can finally launch an Attack on Titan[s].

..Except the plan almost immediately runs into a setback because Eren flies into a berserk rage upon transforming, attacking Mikasa instead of plugging the hole with a massive boulder.  Armin tries to get through to Eren, reminding him of his mother's death, but Eren is dazed and stuck in a vision of his past.

Eren's eventually snapped out of it and blocks off the hole, with Levi and the rest of the Survey Corps. arriving to wipe out any remaining Titans inside the walls - it's a victory, one of the rare victories that humanity has had, though given the sheer cost of human lives, it doesn't really feel like it.

It's a strong start to the series, and it does a good job at showing humanity fighting back from the brink of near-extinction.  Eren's Titan transformation makes the setting feel less hopeless, but even then, it's wild, uncontrollable, and as a result it's unreliable and seemingly best used as a last resort.  The friendship between Eren, Mikasa, and Armin gives the series a tiny smidgen of optimism, as their bond and trust in each other seems unbreakable even in the face of death, and I found myself hooked with what was going on despite the bleak tone.