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進撃の巨人 [Shingeki no Kyojin] #1-5
Attack on Titan: Colossal Edition 1
THE COLOSSAL EPIC BEGINS!
This volume includes Vol. 1-5 of Attack on Titan in an extra-large 7x10.5-inch size, with 15 COLOR PAGES never published in any other book - not even in Japan!
For eons, humans ruled the natural world. But a century ago, everything changed when the Titans appeared. Giant, grotesque parodies of the human form, these sexless monsters consumed all but a few thousand human beings, who took refuge behind giant walls. Today, the threat of the Titans is a distant memory, and a boy named Eren yearns to explore the world beyond the wall. But what began as a childish dream will become an all-too-real nightmare when a Titan finally knocks a hole in the wall, and humanity is once again on the brink of extinction.
This volume includes Vol. 1-5 of Attack on Titan in an extra-large 7x10.5-inch size, with 15 COLOR PAGES never published in any other book - not even in Japan!
For eons, humans ruled the natural world. But a century ago, everything changed when the Titans appeared. Giant, grotesque parodies of the human form, these sexless monsters consumed all but a few thousand human beings, who took refuge behind giant walls. Today, the threat of the Titans is a distant memory, and a boy named Eren yearns to explore the world beyond the wall. But what began as a childish dream will become an all-too-real nightmare when a Titan finally knocks a hole in the wall, and humanity is once again on the brink of extinction.
970 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
100 people are currently reading
1499 people want to read
About the author
Hajime Isayama
617 books4,629 followersJapanese name: 諫山創
Hajime Isayama (諫山 創 Isayama Hajime, born 1986) is a Japanese manga artist from Ōyama, Ōita. His first and currently ongoing serial, Attack on Titan, has sold over 22 million copies as of July 2013. He has mentioned Tsutomu Nihei, Ryōji Minagawa, Kentaro Miura, Hideki Arai and Tōru Mitsumine as artists he respects, but stated that the manga that had the biggest influence on him was ARMS.
Hajime Isayama (諫山 創 Isayama Hajime, born 1986) is a Japanese manga artist from Ōyama, Ōita. His first and currently ongoing serial, Attack on Titan, has sold over 22 million copies as of July 2013. He has mentioned Tsutomu Nihei, Ryōji Minagawa, Kentaro Miura, Hideki Arai and Tōru Mitsumine as artists he respects, but stated that the manga that had the biggest influence on him was ARMS.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
June 12, 2022
*3.8 stars, rounded up
Volume one: 3 stars
Volume two: 4 stars
Volume three: 4 stars
Volume four: 4 stars
Volume five: 4 stars
Volume one: 3 stars
Volume two: 4 stars
Volume three: 4 stars
Volume four: 4 stars
Volume five: 4 stars
February 3, 2025
This omnibus collects chapters 1-22 (volumes 1-5).
Having watched most of the anime and knowing already more or less the whole story through articles, discussions, and other indirect sources, I finally decided it was high time to sit down and read the entire thing more systematically.
Having watched most of the anime and knowing already more or less the whole story through articles, discussions, and other indirect sources, I finally decided it was high time to sit down and read the entire thing more systematically.
February 16, 2022
Like many who have been in the anime and manga sphere for a while, I've watched bits and bobs of the Attack on Titan anime, but this is the first time I've sat down and read it properly. Just as sad and depressing as I remember, Isayama excels at creating a dystopian world. He isn't afraid to build up wonderful characters only to have them destroyed a volume later; talk about pulling a Game of Thrones. That being said, it's not visually pleasant to look at, with scratchy line art that looks more like a first draft than a finished product. In some ways, this style lends to the horror and theme of despair, but there are still moments where you might find yourself saying 'what am I even looking at?'. This is not for everyone, and if you just want to sit down with a cup of tea and have a good time, this is absolutely not for you. However, if you're a fan of horror and want to start a long journey with a roster of memorable characters, give this a go.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: suicide, extreme graphic violence
January 13, 2021
Ramping up to watch season 4 of Attack on Titan I planned on reading the manga from the start. Buying these Colossal Editions was well worth it. A massive collection, huge as hell, but oh so pretty with much nicer paper material and the action gets to shine thanks to the size of each page.
It also helps that Attack on Titan is an amazing story. Eren is just a boy trapped behind a wall with his people who survive day by day to stay safe from giant scary titan like creatures who eat people. After a brutal attack on him and his people he decides to take arms when he's older and join the scouts to stop the titans. It sounds typical but once the action begins, and the depressing outcome shows, many will die, and this is why attack on titan is so good.
No one is really safe. Yes, there's a set amount of characters who are there that probably won't die right away. BUT the risk of death, watching others getting killed, it's terrifying. Not to mention the action is both vicieral and brutal. Having Eren go head to head with these titans is amazing. But watching a titan vs a titan? Oh so good.
The slowdown after the major first arc is jarring. It is a flashback, and while I get the idea, I think the placement wasn't the best. Saying that, everything else is fantastic. The ending leaves you hyped for the next arc. The story is thick with mystery but oh so many wonderful "Oh my god" moments. If you haven't gotten into attack on titan I'd suggest reading these OR watching the excellent anime. Well worth your time.
It also helps that Attack on Titan is an amazing story. Eren is just a boy trapped behind a wall with his people who survive day by day to stay safe from giant scary titan like creatures who eat people. After a brutal attack on him and his people he decides to take arms when he's older and join the scouts to stop the titans. It sounds typical but once the action begins, and the depressing outcome shows, many will die, and this is why attack on titan is so good.
No one is really safe. Yes, there's a set amount of characters who are there that probably won't die right away. BUT the risk of death, watching others getting killed, it's terrifying. Not to mention the action is both vicieral and brutal. Having Eren go head to head with these titans is amazing. But watching a titan vs a titan? Oh so good.
The slowdown after the major first arc is jarring. It is a flashback, and while I get the idea, I think the placement wasn't the best. Saying that, everything else is fantastic. The ending leaves you hyped for the next arc. The story is thick with mystery but oh so many wonderful "Oh my god" moments. If you haven't gotten into attack on titan I'd suggest reading these OR watching the excellent anime. Well worth your time.
September 20, 2015
Absolutely fantastic. An intense, hardcore sci-fi dystopian world that has been invaded by humanity's "natural enemy", the Titans. This omnibus edition collects volumes 1-5 and is a massive, oversized tome. A beautiful book to add to your collection and one I'm glad to own. I prefer to read older manga in these omnibus editions as there is nothing like sitting down for an epic mass reading of several volumes at once and this volume delivers on all levels. Published in an oversized edition, the gorgeous, creepy art is maximized, each individual volume features a few full-colour pages. The paper is quality and it has a lay-flat binding. Well worth the money, especially when bought at a discount on-line. This is my first time reading the story, but it's been on my want-to-read for some time now and the availability of the omnibus edition pushed me to get started. It's a must-read for manga enthusiasts; a highly intelligent, futuristic military story. Just don't get attached to any characters as no one is safe from the author's sword; I got quite involved on an emotional level as well.
November 18, 2023
4.5⭐
As I wrapped up Dragon Ball Z and I talked to my friend about it, I told him that he could pick whatever I read next. He isn't really a big reader, but he is an anime watching fiend. This is what he decided I should read. And I've always been avoiding it. I'm not sure why, but once things get too popular I tend to stay away from them.
Holy Moly am I glad he chose this though! It was a fantastic start to the series!
On the back of this Colossal edition there is a quote from i09 that says "Japan's equivalent of The Walking Dead." I don't think that I could agree with that more. But it also doesn't mean there aren't many differences. This is very much its own thing.
I'm already invested in the characters, the world, the story. Every chapter I finished, I wanted to continue on to the next. There were twists and turns in the story. I was definitely caught off guard more than once. One thing I will say that I really appreciated about the story was that every time I had a question or thought something really convenient happened, it always ended up getting explained later. Or if not fully explained at least it was addressed that it had happened. At first I just chalked up to anime/manga stuff because I have seen that so many times before. But nope! I was happily shown that these things are going to be explained.
At first I was overwhelmed with all the characters introduced. I was like I'm not gonna remember all these people. But again, my fears weren't founded. While they overdue it a little you soon remember all the people you need to.
This post apocalyptic story is something to be devoured. It's fast paced and exhilarating. I am very impressed and couldn't be more excited to fire up the next volume!
As I wrapped up Dragon Ball Z and I talked to my friend about it, I told him that he could pick whatever I read next. He isn't really a big reader, but he is an anime watching fiend. This is what he decided I should read. And I've always been avoiding it. I'm not sure why, but once things get too popular I tend to stay away from them.
Holy Moly am I glad he chose this though! It was a fantastic start to the series!
On the back of this Colossal edition there is a quote from i09 that says "Japan's equivalent of The Walking Dead." I don't think that I could agree with that more. But it also doesn't mean there aren't many differences. This is very much its own thing.
I'm already invested in the characters, the world, the story. Every chapter I finished, I wanted to continue on to the next. There were twists and turns in the story. I was definitely caught off guard more than once. One thing I will say that I really appreciated about the story was that every time I had a question or thought something really convenient happened, it always ended up getting explained later. Or if not fully explained at least it was addressed that it had happened. At first I just chalked up to anime/manga stuff because I have seen that so many times before. But nope! I was happily shown that these things are going to be explained.
At first I was overwhelmed with all the characters introduced. I was like I'm not gonna remember all these people. But again, my fears weren't founded. While they overdue it a little you soon remember all the people you need to.
This post apocalyptic story is something to be devoured. It's fast paced and exhilarating. I am very impressed and couldn't be more excited to fire up the next volume!
July 9, 2022
I used to be too good for anime. A hater, if you will. That changed when my partner sat me down and had me watch Attack on Titan. The show is incredibly faithful to the manga, and the manga is just awesome. The story, the lore, the artistry are all so good. I’m caught up with the show, and I can’t wait to keep reading the series and finish the manga.
June 27, 2022
Book: Attack on Titan: Colossal Edition 1
Author: Hajime Isayama
Rating: 5 Out of 5 Stars
I’m going to go ahead and say it. I predict that this will be my new favourite manga series. I’ve been having such a great time with the world and characters. Every time I turn the page, I find something else that I like and learn something new about the world.
We follow a world in which humanity has been invaded by these Titans, which eat humans. Humans have been forced to build walls and live behind them. There aren’t many left. These walls are supposed to be titan-proof. Humans seem to have forgotten about the dangers outside. Eren, one of our main characters, wants to go beyond the wall. They do well until the way comes with a Colossal Titan breaking through the wall. A colossal Titan is something that humans haven’t seen before. They are bigger, faster, and meaner. It starts killing people. No one knows what has changed and it sparks fear. Throughout the series, we learn that humans don’t know all that much about Titans, which makes them even scarier.
Time passes and our characters have grown. Eren has decided that he wants to join the group that goes behind the wall to look for Titans. This has been a childhood dream of his. It doesn’t come easy. I like that the author does this. I like that we have a main character who wants something and has to work very hard to get it. It makes the characters relatable and gives us someone to cheer for. Not only do we have Eren, but we have characters from all paths of life. We have the hardcore military guys, the ones who were looking for something to do, and the ones who want to do the right thing. All of them have the common goal of defeating the Titans and taking by their world. This group of unlikely characters have been forced together and are now dependent on each other. The author does take the time to allow these bonds to grow. I have seen other reviews that say that this slows the plot down. It does, I will give them credit. However, I felt that it needed to happen. We needed to take the time to show this character development. Not only are their lives at stake, but the people around them. If they are going to survive in this harsh world, they need each other.
Do they get along right away? No. However, whenever people start dying, we start to see them go into their roles. If they go down, then it puts humanity closer to becoming extinct. The world is depending on the. The stakes are high. This sense of high stakes is carried out throughout the book. We know that things are bad from the artwork. However, the way the characters act drives the point home. You don’t know who is safe, you don’t know who is going to survive this series. The way everything flows on the page and the way everything interacts does get your heart racing. Many times truly thought that our characters were not going to make it out okay. Spoiler alert: They didn’t.
This is what I like when the stakes are high. I want to feel that fear. I want to believe that everyone and everything is not going to be okay. The fact that the author did this and did so feel makes me enjoy this series so much more. I don’t like it whenever we have high stakes and, yet, our characters lose nothing. I want to see them suffer and feel pain. I want them to stop and think that there is a chance that they could die. These are things that readers need to feel.
Overall, I am very impressed. I can see why this series is so popular and so loved. I have not watched any of the anime and I don’t know if it will. Whenever I read manga and watch the anime, I tend not to enjoy the anime as much as the manga.
Author: Hajime Isayama
Rating: 5 Out of 5 Stars
I’m going to go ahead and say it. I predict that this will be my new favourite manga series. I’ve been having such a great time with the world and characters. Every time I turn the page, I find something else that I like and learn something new about the world.
We follow a world in which humanity has been invaded by these Titans, which eat humans. Humans have been forced to build walls and live behind them. There aren’t many left. These walls are supposed to be titan-proof. Humans seem to have forgotten about the dangers outside. Eren, one of our main characters, wants to go beyond the wall. They do well until the way comes with a Colossal Titan breaking through the wall. A colossal Titan is something that humans haven’t seen before. They are bigger, faster, and meaner. It starts killing people. No one knows what has changed and it sparks fear. Throughout the series, we learn that humans don’t know all that much about Titans, which makes them even scarier.
Time passes and our characters have grown. Eren has decided that he wants to join the group that goes behind the wall to look for Titans. This has been a childhood dream of his. It doesn’t come easy. I like that the author does this. I like that we have a main character who wants something and has to work very hard to get it. It makes the characters relatable and gives us someone to cheer for. Not only do we have Eren, but we have characters from all paths of life. We have the hardcore military guys, the ones who were looking for something to do, and the ones who want to do the right thing. All of them have the common goal of defeating the Titans and taking by their world. This group of unlikely characters have been forced together and are now dependent on each other. The author does take the time to allow these bonds to grow. I have seen other reviews that say that this slows the plot down. It does, I will give them credit. However, I felt that it needed to happen. We needed to take the time to show this character development. Not only are their lives at stake, but the people around them. If they are going to survive in this harsh world, they need each other.
Do they get along right away? No. However, whenever people start dying, we start to see them go into their roles. If they go down, then it puts humanity closer to becoming extinct. The world is depending on the. The stakes are high. This sense of high stakes is carried out throughout the book. We know that things are bad from the artwork. However, the way the characters act drives the point home. You don’t know who is safe, you don’t know who is going to survive this series. The way everything flows on the page and the way everything interacts does get your heart racing. Many times truly thought that our characters were not going to make it out okay. Spoiler alert: They didn’t.
This is what I like when the stakes are high. I want to feel that fear. I want to believe that everyone and everything is not going to be okay. The fact that the author did this and did so feel makes me enjoy this series so much more. I don’t like it whenever we have high stakes and, yet, our characters lose nothing. I want to see them suffer and feel pain. I want them to stop and think that there is a chance that they could die. These are things that readers need to feel.
Overall, I am very impressed. I can see why this series is so popular and so loved. I have not watched any of the anime and I don’t know if it will. Whenever I read manga and watch the anime, I tend not to enjoy the anime as much as the manga.
October 20, 2020
This is a review of the entire series.
Attack on Titan takes place in a horrifying dystopian fantasy world that somewhat mirrors our own, like an apocalyptic Europe where the last remnants of humanity live behind massive, skyscraper-sized walls to protect themselves from the giant, man-eating monsters known as Titans lurking just beyond them. The walls have successfully protected humanity for a hundred years, yet that short era of false peace comes to an end when a colossal titan bigger and deadlier than any other of its kind brings judgement to the last survivors of the world. The story follows an ambitious and hotheaded young boy named Eren Yeager, who vows to take revenge on the titans after they break down the walls of his city, killing his mother and thousands of innocent people right before his very eyes.
The story begins with Eren having a disturbing nightmare. At first, the nightmare appears to be a senseless series of violent images that don’t seem to mean anything in particular and the images we see are quite easy to forget about when you view them without any kind of context. It’s not until a hundred chapters later that the nightmare and the events that follow it begin to come together. Incredible foreshadowing is a reoccurring thing in Attack on Titan. The most minor and seemingly insignificant characters and events always end up having major significance much later down the road. The further you get into the series, the more you begin to realize that the author had every single plot point, revelation and twist planned out before he ever even published the first chapter. Speaking of which, the name of the first chapter (to you, 2000 years from now) is a huge foreshadowing in itself, but we’ll touch on that later.
After Eren wakes up from his nightmare, we are introduced to Armin and Mikasa. Armin is Eren’s best friend and he fills Eren’s head with dreams of seeing the outside world beyond the walls, telling him stories of oceans, deserts, mountains, volcanoes and all sorts of things they could never imagine witnessing with their own eyes if they continue to spend the rest of their lives hiding in mundane safety behind the walls. Armin is frail and timid, but he’s incredibly smart and proves his worth as a brilliant tactician. He’s also very loyal and protects his friends when the going gets tough.
Mikasa is Eren’s adopted sister who watches over him and comes to the rescue whenever he’s in trouble using her superhuman combat abilities, a signature trait of the Ackerman bloodline that’s been passed down to her by her warrior ancestors. After their relatively peaceful lives are torn apart by a titan invasion, Eren, Armin and Mikasa enlist themselves in the survey corp, an organization of soldiers and tacticians that are trained in the art of killing titans and defending civilians from their wrath using a pair of swords and a device known as 3D Maneuver Gear.
The 3D Maneuver Gear was created to be able to navigate through a three dimensional space. With it, a person can travel from point to point at extremely fast speeds by firing steel wires with hooks attached on the ends so they can latch onto structures and titans. This is a very unique way of portraying tiny humans being able to stand a chance against giant titans in combat. The weakness of all titans is the nape of the neck, and the only way to reach the nape is to perform all kinds of twists and turns in midair with the maneuver gear until you can give yourself an opening.
After being put through years of brutal military training, Eren and his friends are prepared to lay their lives on the line to exterminate every last titan in the world and bring freedom to humanity once more. But Eren doesn’t yet realize that he isn’t prepared for the many horrors that lie beyond the walls he grew up in. There’s more than just titans out there that want him and his friends dead.
The biggest strengths of Attack on Titan are the numerous plot twists and the layers of mystery that are evident from the very beginning. Some of the twists are so massive, that they literally change the genre of the entire series because of the new perspectives they bring. It can go from survival horror, to psychological mystery, to political thriller at the drop of a hat and none of it is ever done just for shock value. There isn’t a single twist or plot point that wasn’t already planned out from chapter one. All the pieces of the puzzle are right in front of you the moment you begin reading, you just don’t realize they’re there until much later. Because of the amount of planning ahead at play here, Attack on Titan has a truly impressive level of re-readability. The constantly shifting genres and conflicts is what keeps it fresh and exciting. There are human vs titan conflicts, titan vs other titan conflicts, and finally, there’s the tried and true conflict of humans vs humans.
That’s always been a recurring theme in most dystopian fantasy and horror stories. Even when the world is destroyed and overrun with monsters, humans will still clash and tear each other to pieces. I’m happy to say that the human vs human conflict in Attack on Titan is extremely different from what you would normally expect from a series like this. It’s not like the average zombie apocalypse movie where people kill each other and cause havoc just because there’s no law and they’re free to do whatever the hell they want, there’s a much bigger twist behind the cruelty of the humans pulling the strings from behind the scenes. I won’t delve too deep into that because of spoilers, but let’s just say that there are no real winners or good guys here, morality is extremely gray in Attack on Titan and it only continues to get more complex and conflicted the longer it goes on. Near the very end of the series, I honestly couldn’t bring myself to root for or against anyone, I just watched helplessly from the sidelines as the chaos unfolded. There are so many good characters on every side that it was making my head spin around in circles because I couldn’t decide what the best outcome could possibly be. And I absolutely loved the ridiculous levels of tension this conflict caused.
All in all, I can’t believe how good Attack on Titan turned out to be. Let me just say that the early chapters of the series are extremely misleading and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Just like everything else in this series, the misleading nature of the early chapters is totally intentional. I went into this series expecting a straightforward, action-packed monster movie type of story like Jurassic Park or Godzilla, and it does start out that way to be perfectly fair. But it progresses into one of the most genius stories I’ve ever seen, that’s rich with psychological depth, human morality, countless twists and even quite a bit of intelligent commentary on the unspeakable tragedies of war. Don’t let the simple premise of Attack on Titan fool you, there’s so much more to it than I’m sure anyone could’ve possibly predicted when the series first started being published.
***
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Attack on Titan takes place in a horrifying dystopian fantasy world that somewhat mirrors our own, like an apocalyptic Europe where the last remnants of humanity live behind massive, skyscraper-sized walls to protect themselves from the giant, man-eating monsters known as Titans lurking just beyond them. The walls have successfully protected humanity for a hundred years, yet that short era of false peace comes to an end when a colossal titan bigger and deadlier than any other of its kind brings judgement to the last survivors of the world. The story follows an ambitious and hotheaded young boy named Eren Yeager, who vows to take revenge on the titans after they break down the walls of his city, killing his mother and thousands of innocent people right before his very eyes.
The story begins with Eren having a disturbing nightmare. At first, the nightmare appears to be a senseless series of violent images that don’t seem to mean anything in particular and the images we see are quite easy to forget about when you view them without any kind of context. It’s not until a hundred chapters later that the nightmare and the events that follow it begin to come together. Incredible foreshadowing is a reoccurring thing in Attack on Titan. The most minor and seemingly insignificant characters and events always end up having major significance much later down the road. The further you get into the series, the more you begin to realize that the author had every single plot point, revelation and twist planned out before he ever even published the first chapter. Speaking of which, the name of the first chapter (to you, 2000 years from now) is a huge foreshadowing in itself, but we’ll touch on that later.
After Eren wakes up from his nightmare, we are introduced to Armin and Mikasa. Armin is Eren’s best friend and he fills Eren’s head with dreams of seeing the outside world beyond the walls, telling him stories of oceans, deserts, mountains, volcanoes and all sorts of things they could never imagine witnessing with their own eyes if they continue to spend the rest of their lives hiding in mundane safety behind the walls. Armin is frail and timid, but he’s incredibly smart and proves his worth as a brilliant tactician. He’s also very loyal and protects his friends when the going gets tough.
Mikasa is Eren’s adopted sister who watches over him and comes to the rescue whenever he’s in trouble using her superhuman combat abilities, a signature trait of the Ackerman bloodline that’s been passed down to her by her warrior ancestors. After their relatively peaceful lives are torn apart by a titan invasion, Eren, Armin and Mikasa enlist themselves in the survey corp, an organization of soldiers and tacticians that are trained in the art of killing titans and defending civilians from their wrath using a pair of swords and a device known as 3D Maneuver Gear.
The 3D Maneuver Gear was created to be able to navigate through a three dimensional space. With it, a person can travel from point to point at extremely fast speeds by firing steel wires with hooks attached on the ends so they can latch onto structures and titans. This is a very unique way of portraying tiny humans being able to stand a chance against giant titans in combat. The weakness of all titans is the nape of the neck, and the only way to reach the nape is to perform all kinds of twists and turns in midair with the maneuver gear until you can give yourself an opening.
After being put through years of brutal military training, Eren and his friends are prepared to lay their lives on the line to exterminate every last titan in the world and bring freedom to humanity once more. But Eren doesn’t yet realize that he isn’t prepared for the many horrors that lie beyond the walls he grew up in. There’s more than just titans out there that want him and his friends dead.
The biggest strengths of Attack on Titan are the numerous plot twists and the layers of mystery that are evident from the very beginning. Some of the twists are so massive, that they literally change the genre of the entire series because of the new perspectives they bring. It can go from survival horror, to psychological mystery, to political thriller at the drop of a hat and none of it is ever done just for shock value. There isn’t a single twist or plot point that wasn’t already planned out from chapter one. All the pieces of the puzzle are right in front of you the moment you begin reading, you just don’t realize they’re there until much later. Because of the amount of planning ahead at play here, Attack on Titan has a truly impressive level of re-readability. The constantly shifting genres and conflicts is what keeps it fresh and exciting. There are human vs titan conflicts, titan vs other titan conflicts, and finally, there’s the tried and true conflict of humans vs humans.
That’s always been a recurring theme in most dystopian fantasy and horror stories. Even when the world is destroyed and overrun with monsters, humans will still clash and tear each other to pieces. I’m happy to say that the human vs human conflict in Attack on Titan is extremely different from what you would normally expect from a series like this. It’s not like the average zombie apocalypse movie where people kill each other and cause havoc just because there’s no law and they’re free to do whatever the hell they want, there’s a much bigger twist behind the cruelty of the humans pulling the strings from behind the scenes. I won’t delve too deep into that because of spoilers, but let’s just say that there are no real winners or good guys here, morality is extremely gray in Attack on Titan and it only continues to get more complex and conflicted the longer it goes on. Near the very end of the series, I honestly couldn’t bring myself to root for or against anyone, I just watched helplessly from the sidelines as the chaos unfolded. There are so many good characters on every side that it was making my head spin around in circles because I couldn’t decide what the best outcome could possibly be. And I absolutely loved the ridiculous levels of tension this conflict caused.
All in all, I can’t believe how good Attack on Titan turned out to be. Let me just say that the early chapters of the series are extremely misleading and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Just like everything else in this series, the misleading nature of the early chapters is totally intentional. I went into this series expecting a straightforward, action-packed monster movie type of story like Jurassic Park or Godzilla, and it does start out that way to be perfectly fair. But it progresses into one of the most genius stories I’ve ever seen, that’s rich with psychological depth, human morality, countless twists and even quite a bit of intelligent commentary on the unspeakable tragedies of war. Don’t let the simple premise of Attack on Titan fool you, there’s so much more to it than I’m sure anyone could’ve possibly predicted when the series first started being published.
***
My Social Media
My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
My Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/michael_sor...
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July 18, 2024
I'm sooo in love with this series, the anime is incredible and glad I bit the bullet to get the manga Colossal Editions. I love the extra large pages to see the artwork better! Can't wait to read the rest!
October 3, 2024
I don’t usually count manga on here but these are, in fact, colossal
September 6, 2023
4.2 biblio
August 1, 2014
If you have not read these yet, you need to think about what you are doing with your life! I have fallen in love with Attack on Titan. If you are a fan of gore and a good plot that doesn't follow the normal anime/manga slice of life theme, pick this up!
Story follows a young boy and his best friends who inhabit a small enclosed area on earth. They have never seen the outside world, the Titans had appeared and wiped out almost all mankind. Not much is known about them, their only chance of survival was to remain inside the gates where they are safe; that is, until the largest Titan they've ever seen shows up and busts down the wall!
Seriously, it's a page turner and the show is just as great. Highly recommend!
Story follows a young boy and his best friends who inhabit a small enclosed area on earth. They have never seen the outside world, the Titans had appeared and wiped out almost all mankind. Not much is known about them, their only chance of survival was to remain inside the gates where they are safe; that is, until the largest Titan they've ever seen shows up and busts down the wall!
Seriously, it's a page turner and the show is just as great. Highly recommend!
June 8, 2016
Don't fall asleep while you're reading this in bed, you'll break your nose! But at least you'll be entertained while your nose is healing...
There's something really disturbing about a giant without any dangle-bags though. They remind me of large toys that are coming to eat us. "Tastes like chicken?"
This is excellent stuff. I love graphic novels! And this is a classic for a reason. If you've never read manga, start with this. If you love manga and have never read this... well, we'll get your head checked later.
There's something really disturbing about a giant without any dangle-bags though. They remind me of large toys that are coming to eat us. "Tastes like chicken?"
This is excellent stuff. I love graphic novels! And this is a classic for a reason. If you've never read manga, start with this. If you love manga and have never read this... well, we'll get your head checked later.
January 25, 2023
Tavaly egyszer már nekirugaszkodtam ennek a sorozatnak, de akkor az első kötet után nem jutottam tovább. Nem arról van szó, hogy nem tetszett, egyszerűen csak nem került sor a többi kötetre. Viszont egy ideje már motoszkált bennem, hogy igenis szeretném végre megtudni, hogy mi a történet folytatása. Most azért is ilyen gyűjteményes formában vágtam neki az Attack on Titannak, mert abban bíztam, ha messzebbre kerülök a történetben, akkor nagyobb esélyem is lesz rákapni. Nos, a terv bevált. Rákaptam. De nagyon. Egyszerűen annyira érdekes az alapszituáció, nem kevésbé az, ahogyan megközelíti, hogy szerintem elég nehéz nem függőjévé válni. A karakterek nagyon a szívemhez nőttek és imádom, hogy nem lehet megmondani ki a negatív vagy pozitív szereplő, mert teljesen változatos tulajdonságokkal rendelkeznek és mindegyiküket lehet kedvelni vagy épp utálni valamiért. (Úgyhogy én a következő kb. 6000 oldalon szerintem mindenkiért izgulni fogok.)
A nagy rajongás ellenére most azért tartok egy kis szünetet, mert véletlen sem szeretnék besokallni a történettől, de az biztos, hogy nagyon hamar vissza fogok térni ebbe a véres és kegyetlen világba.
A nagy rajongás ellenére most azért tartok egy kis szünetet, mert véletlen sem szeretnék besokallni a történettől, de az biztos, hogy nagyon hamar vissza fogok térni ebbe a véres és kegyetlen világba.
January 10, 2021
When the reader wants the sequel, the prequel, and side stories, you know you have something great on your hands. The story is intriguing, the characters are interesting, and the Titans are gnarly looking. The action is hard to follow at times, but I can forgive that for now. Sign me up for the Survey Corps!
October 7, 2018
After watching the anime a while ago, I finally decided to pick up the manga. I enjoyed reading this so much that I got through this whopper in less than a day; I can't wait to continue with this series.
Read
April 15, 2017I just wrote a long ass review and it was lost somehow.. what you should know is that I loved it, the pacing is a lot quicker in the manga, how the fuck did he imagine all of this.
And 5/5 Stars
And 5/5 Stars
Want to read
May 11, 2019--Attack on Titan: Colossal Edition 1
Cover Art Gallery
Side Story: Captain Levi
Side Story: Ilse's Notebook
Interview with Hajime Isayama
Cover Art Gallery
Side Story: Captain Levi
Side Story: Ilse's Notebook
Interview with Hajime Isayama
March 16, 2021
This series owns my soul and lives in my mind rent free and I would give my heart for these characters.
just. [clenches fist] 😭
just. [clenches fist] 😭
June 12, 2021
Sehr gute Story, in der Edition auch viel interessantes Zusatzmaterial.
August 30, 2022
LETS GO!!!!
September 13, 2023
Enjoyment 8/10
Concept 9/10
Execution 8/10
Art 7/10
Dialogue 6/10
Plot & Logic 6/10
Pacing & Structure 8/10
Characters 7/10
Intrigue 8/10
Rating: 3.69/5
Concept 9/10
Execution 8/10
Art 7/10
Dialogue 6/10
Plot & Logic 6/10
Pacing & Structure 8/10
Characters 7/10
Intrigue 8/10
Rating: 3.69/5
January 28, 2025
The mediocre story, cliche characters and frankly incompetent artwork make AOT one of the most baffling emperor's new clothes events of recent years. Won't read the rest of it.
April 16, 2025
immaculate 🤌
September 16, 2021
Vol 1-5
Inizio super promettente e coinvolgente come lo ricordavo. I disegni non sono il top ma in qualche modo si addicono perfettamente al grottesco della storia.
Inizio super promettente e coinvolgente come lo ricordavo. I disegni non sono il top ma in qualche modo si addicono perfettamente al grottesco della storia.
August 23, 2018
I did not expect to like this so much. In 2013, I became aware of the series as the anime aired. I wasn't entirely interested at first, but I started seeing the show described as being about "flesh mecha," that is, a giant robot series with giant organic humanoids instead of metal robots, a twist from even the biomechanical giant cyborgs of Evangelion. So I downloaded the entire first season of the anime shortly after it finished and I had access to a "batch" torrent.
It didn't take long for Attack on Titan's popularity to explode. I started seeing the series praised by countless "normies," including my dear friend Stan, with whom I sometimes disagreed in matters of "taste," especially with regard to Japanese media, wherein he seemed to prefer more visceral "turn your brain off" stuff, and didn't seem to be aware of such things as The Tatami Galaxy or Serial Experiments Lain, which I so enjoyed. So Attack on Titan stayed on the back burner for a long time. I thought, because it was so popular, it probably had to be kinda shit.
In 2014, I checked out the first volume of the manga from my local library, curious to see how "fun" it might be. I struggled through the amateurish art and the melodramatic, "edgy" narrative. After Eren got eaten in the last chapter of that volume, I read the little interview with the author at the end, wherein I was spoiled that Eren got a Titan form. With this "twist" possibly ruined, I wasn't too upset, but I did kinda lose my drive to read onward, and certainly to finally watch the show I'd downloaded some time ago.
The next year, I ended up watching the live action movies. I saw the first one on my own, because I was meant to see it with friends, but I simply didn't feel like going out that day. Pressured by my being such a bastard, I decided I should not skip seeing the second film with them, so I had to download the first. As a whole, both were pretty okay (I especially liked the scenes with Titan!Eren punching shit like Ultraman), but my friends informed me the overall plot and "feel" of the films was not accurately evocative of the manga/anime, and so I still didn't really feel like progressing with the series.
A few weeks ago, I finally started watching the anime. The reason was silly: I saw a Funko Pop figure of Mikasa at my friends' apartment (different friends from the previous group), and I figured maybe this is a decent cue to attempt to get into the series. I thus watched the first five episodes before deciding I wanted to read a chunk of the manga first, before watching the anime adaptation thereof. Always I had the idea that, should I buy Attack on Titan's manga, I'd prefer the "Colossal Edition" collections. This had been an idea for years, through my many aborted attempts at willing myself to seriously check Attack on Titan out. I bit the bullet and bought the book, and it wasn't bad at all.
I don't feel like discussing the narrative too much, other than to say I feel it has progressed well enough. I don't think it is by any means the greatest story of all time, and indeed I find it pretty schlocky, but I prefer not to dwell too much on Narrative regardless, and ultimately this is entertaining enough that I care to have the manga's mysteries uncovered as I read. One thing that bothered me was how so much of this compilation is dedicated to flashbacks to military training, breaking the flow of the narrative right after the introduction of the Levi character, after the successful attempt at plugging a whole in the Wall. The anime episodes (which I saw before reading the manga chapters) took place in a more chronologically appropriate setting, progressing more naturally after the Titan attack when the main cast were little kids. In the anime, the inclusion of this "flashback" as not-a-flashback seems to serve as a means of establishing light-hearted humor to make the Colossus Titan's second appearance, and the ensuing chaos, seem that much more shocking. The placement of these chapters in the manga is kinda dumb, but overall they "feel" better here, not really seeming to exist only to add more "edge" to the narrative. The courtroom scenes were a rather interesting break from the action, though I fear they may set a standard to push this kinda-sorta low-brow series toward a false sense of intellectualism, as befell shit like Game of Thrones. The Female Titan's appearance was pretty cool, too.
Re-reading Volume 1, and proceeding through Volume 5, I've grown much more fond of the art. At first I dismissed Isayama's style as reflecting a shitty artist who is too stubborn to have someone else draw for him as he focuses on writing. Now, I see that Isayama may very well be a "good" artist, who happens to use a rough, apparently-unfinished style of drawing for creative purposes. It isn't unlike later chapters of Hunter x Hunter, wherein one can see that Togashi is truly a genius at drawing, despite the sketch-like quality of some illustrations. Curiously, Attack on Titan has much in common with Shuzo Oshimi's Happiness manga, also published in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shonen Magazine - both series use non-traditional methods of shading, &c., to set themselves apart from common shonen manga. As it happens, Attack on Titan fits well among other manga I truly enjoy, with its apparently-nonprofessional manner of art-style: the aforementioned HxH and Happiness, but also Girls' Last Tour, Onani Master Kurosawa (my favorite manga), and arguably Parasyte (at the very least, the characters' hair in that series stand out for their broad strokes, compared to the finer penciling of their bodies and clothes).
It didn't take long for Attack on Titan's popularity to explode. I started seeing the series praised by countless "normies," including my dear friend Stan, with whom I sometimes disagreed in matters of "taste," especially with regard to Japanese media, wherein he seemed to prefer more visceral "turn your brain off" stuff, and didn't seem to be aware of such things as The Tatami Galaxy or Serial Experiments Lain, which I so enjoyed. So Attack on Titan stayed on the back burner for a long time. I thought, because it was so popular, it probably had to be kinda shit.
In 2014, I checked out the first volume of the manga from my local library, curious to see how "fun" it might be. I struggled through the amateurish art and the melodramatic, "edgy" narrative. After Eren got eaten in the last chapter of that volume, I read the little interview with the author at the end, wherein I was spoiled that Eren got a Titan form. With this "twist" possibly ruined, I wasn't too upset, but I did kinda lose my drive to read onward, and certainly to finally watch the show I'd downloaded some time ago.
The next year, I ended up watching the live action movies. I saw the first one on my own, because I was meant to see it with friends, but I simply didn't feel like going out that day. Pressured by my being such a bastard, I decided I should not skip seeing the second film with them, so I had to download the first. As a whole, both were pretty okay (I especially liked the scenes with Titan!Eren punching shit like Ultraman), but my friends informed me the overall plot and "feel" of the films was not accurately evocative of the manga/anime, and so I still didn't really feel like progressing with the series.
A few weeks ago, I finally started watching the anime. The reason was silly: I saw a Funko Pop figure of Mikasa at my friends' apartment (different friends from the previous group), and I figured maybe this is a decent cue to attempt to get into the series. I thus watched the first five episodes before deciding I wanted to read a chunk of the manga first, before watching the anime adaptation thereof. Always I had the idea that, should I buy Attack on Titan's manga, I'd prefer the "Colossal Edition" collections. This had been an idea for years, through my many aborted attempts at willing myself to seriously check Attack on Titan out. I bit the bullet and bought the book, and it wasn't bad at all.
I don't feel like discussing the narrative too much, other than to say I feel it has progressed well enough. I don't think it is by any means the greatest story of all time, and indeed I find it pretty schlocky, but I prefer not to dwell too much on Narrative regardless, and ultimately this is entertaining enough that I care to have the manga's mysteries uncovered as I read. One thing that bothered me was how so much of this compilation is dedicated to flashbacks to military training, breaking the flow of the narrative right after the introduction of the Levi character, after the successful attempt at plugging a whole in the Wall. The anime episodes (which I saw before reading the manga chapters) took place in a more chronologically appropriate setting, progressing more naturally after the Titan attack when the main cast were little kids. In the anime, the inclusion of this "flashback" as not-a-flashback seems to serve as a means of establishing light-hearted humor to make the Colossus Titan's second appearance, and the ensuing chaos, seem that much more shocking. The placement of these chapters in the manga is kinda dumb, but overall they "feel" better here, not really seeming to exist only to add more "edge" to the narrative. The courtroom scenes were a rather interesting break from the action, though I fear they may set a standard to push this kinda-sorta low-brow series toward a false sense of intellectualism, as befell shit like Game of Thrones. The Female Titan's appearance was pretty cool, too.
Re-reading Volume 1, and proceeding through Volume 5, I've grown much more fond of the art. At first I dismissed Isayama's style as reflecting a shitty artist who is too stubborn to have someone else draw for him as he focuses on writing. Now, I see that Isayama may very well be a "good" artist, who happens to use a rough, apparently-unfinished style of drawing for creative purposes. It isn't unlike later chapters of Hunter x Hunter, wherein one can see that Togashi is truly a genius at drawing, despite the sketch-like quality of some illustrations. Curiously, Attack on Titan has much in common with Shuzo Oshimi's Happiness manga, also published in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shonen Magazine - both series use non-traditional methods of shading, &c., to set themselves apart from common shonen manga. As it happens, Attack on Titan fits well among other manga I truly enjoy, with its apparently-nonprofessional manner of art-style: the aforementioned HxH and Happiness, but also Girls' Last Tour, Onani Master Kurosawa (my favorite manga), and arguably Parasyte (at the very least, the characters' hair in that series stand out for their broad strokes, compared to the finer penciling of their bodies and clothes).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2016
I'm a sucker for apocalyptic dystopian stories and this is simply a marvelous story. It's such a simple setting .. the fight of humanity trapped within walls against monsters that have taken over everything outside of the walls, but for some reason it's completely thrilling to me (even though I can't stand zombie tales .. and these are pretty much gigantic zombies). I loved the artwork despite its crudity, but I struggled to keep some of the characters apart as they look so much alike. This massive volume also came with some colored extra images which were quite beautiful to look at.
February 15, 2015
If you love the anime then, for me, this surpasses it.
It's the same story, but told in a different order. Things seem to be placed a lot better (ie the training) in order to have a greater impact in relation to the main story and I prefer the story being told this way. A stunning, super-sized edition of volumes 1-5.
It's the same story, but told in a different order. Things seem to be placed a lot better (ie the training) in order to have a greater impact in relation to the main story and I prefer the story being told this way. A stunning, super-sized edition of volumes 1-5.
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