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Zorak
Nov 7, 2005
CLICK HERE FOR THE ANIME THREAD

It is the dusk of mankind.



Colossal titans or giants, preying on mankind, have driven it to the brink of extinction.



All that remains is a single city, surrounded by walls fifty meters tall. The colossal giants are invincible, they are ruthless. They cannot be reasoned with. They are like no other beast or creature. They seek only to consume humans.



Humanity's dusk is drawing short, for the giants are invading once more.

-----------
Shingeki no Kyojin is a manga by Isayama Hajime, serialized in Kodansha's monthly "Bessatsu Shonen Magazine". Only starting publication a couple years ago, it won the Kodansha Award for Shounen manga in 2011, was nominated for a several others, and is reviewing/ranking extremely high. It is the #2-#3 best selling manga in Japan, which is pretty incredible given that it's only a little along now.

It... is what I'd say is a shounen ("for boys") manga in name only. It has much more in common with Berserk or Gantz than anything. The fact that the author apparently tried getting it published in Weekly Shounen Jump is bloody hilarious. This poo poo is brutal, it's nihilistic, it's pretty bloody dark. It is also fairly gory so if that bothers you, might want to step out now while you have the chance!



On the left is Eren Jaeger. Eren is hotheaded and dreams of humanity being able to drive back the giants and finally live outside the walls, and see all the amazing things in the world that he has heard of only in whispers. He wants to join the Scouts, the city's only "aggressive" force that moves outside the walls. He gets in a lot of fights with other kids.

On the right is Mikasa Ackerman. Mikasa is more withdrawn, and is much more concerned with keeping the people around her safe, Eren included. Mikasa is living with Eren and his parents (his father, Dr. Jaeger, being an extremely well renown doctor in the city). She also gets in a lot of fights, largely because she's covering Eren's rear end (she's a much better fighter than him).

Personally, I find the manga very engrossing. It is pretty much ":stare:: the manga". While it is very much the story of Eren and Mikasa, the giants themselves are probably the biggest draw point of the story, because they are creepy as gently caress. Very few manga can I say are able to show monsters that I'd honestly say are pretty creepy in execution and not just fantastic or silly. Kentaro Miura's Berserk is one, Junji Ito's works are another. This is definitely up there. The giants themselves are like combinations of the Colossi from Shadow of Colossus, the Bodies exhibit, and a lot of :stare: twists on human morphology.

The direction the manga is taking is incredibly gently caress YES as well. There's complicated intrigue, very realistic character actions and motivations (you know the whole "character who is too stupid to figure out what's really obvious to the audience" thing? Never happens!). I'm really enjoying following it. The author really has chops despite it apparently being his first manga.

You can purchase the existing volumes from Amazon, as well as get Kindle versions!

Bon Appetit!

Zorak fucked around with this message at 06:12 on Apr 7, 2014

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gimme the GOD DAMN candy
Jul 1, 2007
Love this. Wish it got released more often.

Zorak
Nov 7, 2005
It's a monthly mag, what can you do? It's also not taken off yet over here, so most of the scans have been from the volumes.

Cake Attack
Mar 26, 2010

This sounds pretty interesting, thanks for making the thread, I'll be sure to check it out when I have the time.

Reiche
Jan 28, 2009

I like my coffee with cream and lsd.
Awesome! I just read this last night after someone linked to the top selling manga list and now I can't wait for more to com out.

I'm really liking the combat method they use to fight the titans. It's certainly unique and the author really takes care in explaining how it works (he even jokes that he needed a science-buddy to explain it properly).

Reiche fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Jun 2, 2011

verbal enema
May 23, 2009

onlymarfans.com
Just read the first chapter and am really enjoying it so far I just don't like these tall people why they gotta be suck jerks :(

Demicol
Nov 8, 2009

I've been thinking for long that I should make a thread about this. Hope this gets people interested so that another group might pick up translating this,the only one at the moment seems to only translate full volumes.

bofa salesman
Nov 6, 2009

Read a couple of chapters and this is pretty awesome so far.

verbal enema
May 23, 2009

onlymarfans.com
Really enjoying the break down of certain things in the manga at the end of each chapter.

Also No-Skin Titan is a boss

Sir Gladu
Nov 26, 2008

Oh my god, thank you for this, I just read the first fight between the main character and a titan and it's awesome. I got the same "drat, is he really going toe-to-toe with that beast?" excitement than when I went through Berserk.

So yeah, looks like "Berserk" + "Shadow of the Colossus" is a winning recipe.

gimme the GOD DAMN candy
Jul 1, 2007
I like how even with their awesome, high speed, well-coordinated aerial combat style and fairly dumb opponents, it is all still only marginally effective.

DrSunshine
Mar 23, 2009

Did I just say that out loud~~?!!!
This looks like a really unusual concept for a manga. I'm definitely reading this!

Though I have to admit the first thing I thought of when I read the OP was "Ok, so is this The Troll Hunter: The Manga?" :v:

verbal enema
May 23, 2009

onlymarfans.com
Chapter 4 :stare:

McTimmy
Feb 29, 2008
Looks like there are raws available up to Chapter 18. Haven't checked them all to avoid spoilering things to much, but 11, 12 and 13 are legit anyway.

Also Manga rules etc.

GreenBuckanneer
Sep 15, 2007

On chapter 3 so far. Getting some weird vibes from this, I hope they don't ever fully explain the titans cause right now that's the driving thing for me.

Sled
May 20, 2004

Musashi not only wields a sword but also a pair of pistols.
Just caught up on 10 chapters: holy poo poo, this manga owns. I do agree that this has more in common with Gantz than other manga I've read...but its nothing like Gantz. Its fairly unique. If I had to describe it to someone, I'd say its a drama about war versus an unknown enemy. I hope the writer doesn't ruin the story by clearly defining what/who(?) the antagonists are, at least anytime soon. Although, if he manages to define what the enemy is and keep the story interesting as it has been, he'll be a truly amazing writer and I'll eat my words.

PlayerOne
May 1, 2004
I like to eat pizza and sleep. I think ninja are cool.

McTimmy posted:

Looks like there are raws available up to Chapter 18. Haven't checked them all to avoid spoilering things to much, but 11, 12 and 13 are legit anyway.

Also Manga rules etc.

Mangareader has chapters 10-13 translated, they are all just listed as chapter 10. The chapter 10 on somemanga is just a side chapter, i.e., not chapter 10.

Cake Attack
Mar 26, 2010

PlayerOne posted:

Mangareader has chapters 10-13 translated, they are all just listed as chapter 10. The chapter 10 on somemanga is just a side chapter, i.e., not chapter 10.

Thanks for this, I'd been reading on SM and thought something was off about chapter 10.

verbal enema
May 23, 2009

onlymarfans.com
Why did they have to kill Buddha Nishimoto Titan in chapter 8 :(

Reiche
Jan 28, 2009

I like my coffee with cream and lsd.

MeinGott posted:

Why did they have to kill Buddha Nishimoto Titan in chapter 8 :(

Once I saw how human some of the titans looked, I've been unconsciously looking for real-life cameos. I highly doubt it though.

Komrade
Oct 20, 2008

He loved Big Brother.
This is the first manga I've ever felt the need to post for. I'm loving blown away by how good this is only ten chapters in. This and Steins;Gate will be occupying me for quite some time.

Zorak
Nov 7, 2005
As people pointed out: use the Mangareader version right now. The chapters are labeled shittily on Mangareader, but it actually has 3 more chapters than the Somemanga version (that's a lotta chapters)

So uhhhhhhh what the gently caress IS going on with Erin anyways? Did his dad do research on the Giants, and if so, why the hell didn't he publish anything about it before or do anything about it before this point :stare:

verbal enema
May 23, 2009

onlymarfans.com

Reiche posted:

Once I saw how human some of the titans looked, I've been unconsciously looking for real-life cameos. I highly doubt it though.

I've actually been doing my best not to look at the titans too much since they make me physically uncomfortable but he didn't and now I miss him. I was trying to see if any titans had resemblances also but gently caress man I don't like looking at them :( I don't like the thought of being eaten by a large person. I blame Odysseus.

Revdomezehis
Jul 26, 2003
OMG a Moose!

Zorak posted:

So uhhhhhhh what the gently caress IS going on with Erin anyways? Did his dad do research on the Giants, and if so, why the hell didn't he publish anything about it before or do anything about it before this point :stare:

Well judging by what was said in the Mangareader chapters about the myth of how the titans came about, I'd say Erin's father is somehow connected to a group of people who originally created the titans to try to bring people together against a common enemy. Would also explain why he didn't reveal any of this information before, kinda hard to say "I'll help you defeat these enemies, after all, I made them. :smugdog: "

Zorak
Nov 7, 2005

Revdomezehis posted:

Well judging by what was said in the Mangareader chapters about the myth of how the titans came about, I'd say Erin's father is somehow connected to a group of people who originally created the titans to try to bring people together against a common enemy. Would also explain why he didn't reveal any of this information before, kinda hard to say "I'll help you defeat these enemies, after all, I made them. :smugdog: "

Well thing is, they've been around for over a hundred years from the sound of it, and the stuck-behind-walls thing just contracted to where it was a hundred years ago, right? Or am I looking at it wrong? In any case, it'd be kind of hard for him to be a specific cause if he's way too young, and furthermore, I think him revealing that would be better than everyone dying. Unless, uh... he just expected humanity to live behind the Rose wall forever :stare:

Revdomezehis
Jul 26, 2003
OMG a Moose!
Well like I said, connected to them somehow, ie, Erin is the great-great-great grandson of the lead scientist guy who made the titans sort of thing. And yeah, I read it as Titans came to existence, ate humans for a while, last of the humans started living behind the wall a hundred years ago.

That said though, I still think even knowing someone in his family made the titans would be enough for everyone to want to tear Erin's family limb from limb. That or perhaps his father keeps leaving because the group that made the titans is still conducting experiments. Possibly on how to get rid of them temporarily or some such. Or the alternative, that new group is why there is suddenly a new titan just big enough to destroy the walls humans have lived behind for so long.


Either way this is all just loads of speculation based off of what's out so far. If I did this much speculation when there was only the first 13 chapters of Berserk I'm sure they would be just as off the wall as mine probably are about this manga. :argh:

IShallRiseAgain
Sep 12, 2008

Well ain't that precious?

I'm thinking that the story is actually set in the future, and the giants were created by humanity. The reason the giants eat humans is because they need to in order to reproduce. The weak spot for every giant is actually what is left of the original human used to produce the giant. Eren's father was driven mad by this knowledge and that is why he kept it a secret and ran off to do something

tsob
Sep 26, 2006

Chalalala~

Revdomezehis posted:

Well judging by what was said in the Mangareader chapters about the myth of how the titans came about, I'd say Erin's father is somehow connected to a group of people who originally created the titans to try to bring people together against a common enemy. Would also explain why he didn't reveal any of this information before, kinda hard to say "I'll help you defeat these enemies, after all, I made them. :smugdog: "

Given that it was the general dude who said that, and he just stated it as a myth I'd imagine it's just him making small talk as part of the overall tone and point the mangaka is trying to make. That humans fight each other regardless of how many or few of us there are. I doubt it's actually part of the backstory. As to why Eren's dad was able to make Eren a Titan and just buggered off afterwards? No loving clue. Maybe he injected some Titan blood he collected over the years in to Eren or something as simple as that?

Either way this manga rules hard. The art is weird. Buildings, walls, cities are all beautiful. Very clean, simple stuff - but with lots of it laid out to an impressively detailed degree in the wider shots. Organic stuff, humans, titans, clothes etc. are all really rough though. Looking forward to seeing what the art looks like in a year or three when the mangaka gets more of a handle on drawing them, and doing so on a deadline with a few more assistants around to help.

I'm especially impressed by how the writing manages to get just bleak enough to make you really despair and then gives a good moment of hope, or just straight up "gently caress YES!" awesomeness before going back to building up the bleakness again.

IShallRiseAgain posted:

I'm thinking that the story is actually set in the future, and the giants were created by humanity. The reason the giants eat humans is because they need to in order to reproduce. The weak spot for every giant is actually what is left of the original human used to produce the giant. Eren's father was driven mad by this knowledge and that is why he kept it a secret and ran off to do something

Good theory.

GreenBuckanneer
Sep 15, 2007

aaaaaaaaaaaaa I finished it, what happens to eren titan ffuuucccckk

How often does this come out and how often is it translated? Please tell me this isn't Claymore or Berserk...

Sindai
Jan 24, 2007
i want to achieve immortality through not dying

Serious Frolicking posted:

I like how even with their awesome, high speed, well-coordinated aerial combat style and fairly dumb opponents, it is all still only marginally effective.
It's hard to tell in manga format but the titans seem to be pretty fast in their own right, considering they have a fairly good record of catching soldiers in midair.

Also drat Mikasa owns.

Sindai fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Jun 2, 2011

Elysiume
Aug 13, 2009

Alone, she fights.

IShallRiseAgain posted:

I'm thinking that the story is actually set in the future, and the giants were created by humanity. The reason the giants eat humans is because they need to in order to reproduce. The weak spot for every giant is actually what is left of the original human used to produce the giant. Eren's father was driven mad by this knowledge and that is why he kept it a secret and ran off to do something
Based on the latest chapter, it looks like Eren is sitting at the nape of the neck. If every titan has a human there, it would makes sense that killing the human stops the titan. As for how humans become titans, uh, I have no idea.

Also, wow, this manga is amazing. Really, really, just, quite fantastic.

GreenBuckanneer
Sep 15, 2007

Elysiume posted:

Based on the latest chapter, it looks like Eren is sitting at the nape of the neck. If every titan has a human there, it would makes sense that killing the human stops the titan. As for how humans become titans, uh, I have no idea.

Also, wow, this manga is amazing. Really, really, just, quite fantastic.

Dude, don't put these theories in my head. Especially ones that make sense. I won't be able to get any sleep tonight.

tsob
Sep 26, 2006

Chalalala~

Elysiume posted:

Based on the latest chapter, it looks like Eren is sitting at the nape of the neck. If every titan has a human there, it would makes sense that killing the human stops the titan. As for how humans become titans, uh, I have no idea.

Also, wow, this manga is amazing. Really, really, just, quite fantastic.

The fact that Eren attacked and ignored the pleas of even Misaka when he went in weak and sickly makes this a good possibility really. Maybe there's some other faction of humans out there raising very weak humans and growing them in to Titans to keep control or something?

Zorak
Nov 7, 2005

tsob posted:

The fact that Eren attacked and ignored the pleas of even Misaka when he went in weak and sickly makes this a good possibility really. Maybe there's some other faction of humans out there raising very weak humans and growing them in to Titans to keep control or something?

Thing is The other Titans are still gunning to kill/ eat Eren, so that seems to show he's something unnatural.

Elysiume
Aug 13, 2009

Alone, she fights.

tsob posted:

The fact that Eren attacked and ignored the pleas of even Misaka when he went in weak and sickly makes this a good possibility really. Maybe there's some other faction of humans out there raising very weak humans and growing them in to Titans to keep control or something?
It's hard to tell whether he was being aggressive or just attacking the humans because there were no nearby titans. When he first spawned as a titan, he had an overwhelming desire to kill titans. Lacking any easy targets, maybe he reverts to a more standard titan mindset?

verbal enema
May 23, 2009

onlymarfans.com
Fuuuuuck this manga is so drat good! Zorak thank you so much!

i love how even though Mikasa is normally stoned faced, whenever Eren just DECLARES HE'S DOING THIS NO MATTER WHAT she is always " :stare: ok yeah do it up"

verbal enema fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Jun 2, 2011

tsob
Sep 26, 2006

Chalalala~

MeinGott posted:

Fuuuuuck this manga is so drat good! Zorak thank you so much!

i love how even though Mikasa is normally stoned faced, whenever Eren just DECLARES HE'S DOING THIS NO MATTER WHAT she is always " :stare: ok yeah do it up"

My favorite thing about her is that even she thought Eren was dead she didn't freak out, she didn't blame Armin - she just resolved to live on and honor his memory. And it affected her despite her determination, just in a sublte, human error way.

The flashback to her youth was hosed up to. Eren is a hardcore sonuvabitch.

dis astranagant
Dec 14, 2006

I feel compelled to post but this manga has taken my words. I almost wish I'd never seen this thread, so that in 20 years I could find this finished and read the poo poo out of it all at once

best friend massage
Sep 12, 2010
I just started reading this, and I haven't been this entertained by a manga in ages. I am reading the gently caress out of this. I'm about to start the third volume, and I don't know if I'll be able to wait for volume 4 to come out.

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verbal enema
May 23, 2009

onlymarfans.com

tsob posted:

My favorite thing about her is that even she thought Eren was dead she didn't freak out, she didn't blame Armin - she just resolved to live on and honor his memory. And it affected her despite her determination, just in a sublte, human error way.

When I read that I was very satisfied in a way that a manga has not done in awhile.

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