Attack on Titan: Behind the Threat
- Details
- Written by Domenico Maria D'Adamo
L’ Attacco dei Giganti, Attack on Titan, Ataque a los Titanes, are but a few of the foreign titles for a work that has managed to carve a niche for itself as a major pop phenomenon, and that is known in its motherland under the very well known title Shingeki no Kyojin (進撃の巨⼈).
Born from the creative mind of young mangaka Hajime Isayama, in 2011 the work gained the prestigious Kodansha prize as best Shounen, as well as being nominated in the 16th edition of the Osamu Tezuka Prize and the Manga Taishou. The manga has also been animated as a series, and counts two live action films bound to be sold out.
Due to its radical visual style and the themes, the work is part of the recent wave of action / horror shounen, a genre that had no difficulty finding a target audience. What sets apart this work from the competition is Isayama's own brand of innovation, one that finds its roots in the experiences Isayama went through as a teenager.
The story takes place in a a parallel Middle Ages of sorts, resembling that epoque's Europe save for a few steampunk touches when it comes to weaponry. The human race, whose safety is ensured by the huge walls protecting its cities, is shaken by the appearance of colossal cannibals, dubbed 'giants'. We witness the young protagonist Eren Jager and his adoptive sister, Mikasa Ackermann's evolution into fighters, ready to defend humanity at the cost of their lives. Other will join them into a makeshift army of sorts.
Plot twists, climaxes and a touch of gore contribute to create a narration that is sure to captivate any reader looking for a heroic and adventurous escape from reality.
Still, Attack on Titan offers more metaphors than meets the eye: the walls and lands beyond embody Isayama's desire to discover the vastness of the real world (he grew up in a small mountain town in Oita). The horrible creatures threatening humanity have the semblance of nature's most horrible creature, man itself. Violence, bullying and intimidation become then monsters, against which there is no resort but fighting.