What Makes Attack On Titan So Great?

If you are a fan of the Attack on Titan series and someone asks you that what makes this series so great. What will be your answer? Is it the Story? Is it character development? Is it the foreshadowing? Even if you try to explain it to someone, it will be a difficult task as it is hard to explain this series. Afterall this series is not like every other shonen where the power of friendship will save the main character every time.

Here we have gathered some key points which make this series so unique yet so popular amongst anime fans. If you are trying to watch Attack on Titan for the first time or you just want your friends to watch this anime,
this guide will help you a lot.

Attack on Titan is written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. Since the start of the publishing, Attack on Titan manga has already sold 100 million copies worldwide. As of writing, it is the 10th largest selling manga of all time. Here are the three main points which make this manga so great

1- Characters
2- Foreshadowing
3- Message

1- Characters

First and foremost thing which make this series so popular is the unique and attractive characters. Every character in this series has its own flaws and strength.

For example, take the character of Levi; he is humanity’s strongest soldier. At first glance, he has no flaws; but if you look closely, you will see that he is not confident about his height, or no matter what he tries to do, he always loses his closest friends. You see, even though he is humanity’s strongest soldier, he is not perfect.

If you look at the character development of Eren, first he seems to be a child who cries at everything, then he turns into an angry boy who wants to kill all the titans. After gaining the memories of his father Grisha after touching Historia’s hand, he becomes depressed. If you look closely, Eren Yeager has one of the greatest character development in anime. Similarly, every character in the series has unique character attributes.

2- Foreshadowing

Coming to the more important point than the character development is “Foreshadowing” and how foreshadowing was set up from the very first
panel of the manga. One of the best things about this series is how many clues Isayama left behind from the start for anymajor event that has happened. Here I am talking about manga because you can read manga at your own pace which can not be done while watching anime.

Be aware that there will be some spoilers ahead, so if you have not read the Manga, turn back now.

Let us start from the very first chapter, tree beneath which Eren was sitting has nine branches representing nine titan shifters.

It is just amazing to see how much further the author had planned as we get to know about the nine titans way after the first chapter release.

Hajime Isayama had left small clues about Colossal Titan and Armored Titan before the reveal that they were Bertholt and Reiner all along.

In chapter 40, When Cadet Corps were in a bad situation, you can see Bertholt ready to transform into a titan as he can be seen almost biting his hand.

Actually, this information was recently revealed almost 5 years after the release of the chapter, as not many people picked this small clue till recently.

Coming back to the very first chapter, In one panel, you can see Eren crying while looking at Mikasa. Mikasa asks Eren, “Why are you crying?”

Instead of answering her question, Eren touches his face as he also does not know why is he crying?

This is actually one of the biggest mysteries in Attack on Titan, as we still do not know what these panels meant and, at the time of writing, only 1 to 2% manga is left. This scene is not included in the anime adaptation. Many fans believe that these panels are linked with the ending of the series.

These manga panels actually give us a little hint about the tragic ending of the series as the author has already said that Attack on Titan will not have a happy ending. Recently, Eren’s voice (Yuki Kaji) actor actually admitted that he cried while reading the script of the final season of Attack on Titan. He said that he was very depressed after reading the script and messaged Hajime Isayama about it.

3- Message

As I explained earlier, the characters of Attack on Titan are not perfect. They have both the qualities, good and bad. They make mistakes over and over again as humans do in real life.

One of the main messages in this series is that “World is cruel but it is also beautiful”. Attack on Titan characters live in a world full of titans. Their comrades die while fighting titans every day as the world is so cruel. But they also make friends along the way fighting for their lives, sharing memories, food, and emotions, which makes the world beautiful.

“If you do not give up, you can overcome it” is also one of the messages given by this story. For example, in chapter 2 of the manga, Eren says that he will destroy all the titans while knowing that he does not have the power to do so, but he will not give up and will continue fighting to the end. It is the power of will that keeps him going.

There is no doubt in my mind that The Final Season of Attack on Titan will shock everyone as so much has changed from the previous three seasons. In season 4, there are no good and bad, but there are moral grays.


Stay updated with the latest anime and manga developments by following us on Google News!