Attack on Titan, volume 1 is the first in a critically-acclaimed manga series that inspired the popular anime series of the same name. This story follows mankind’s struggle against monstrous giant humanoids with a taste for human flesh. Specifically, this volume focuses on the plight of three young people as they join the military to protect their home from the monsters. The novel uses detailed and beautiful illustration to tell a unique story. The characters in the story are young enough to be naively heroic, yet they have seen enough violence in their short lives that their heroism and willingness to sacrifice for each other is noble. The author thrusts the reader into the action of the story almost immediately, and this book does not suffer from the slow burn of many first issue graphic novels or origin stories. By the end of the book, a reader is looking forward to volume 2.
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 14 mild obscenities; 6 derogatory names; 3 scatological words; 2 anatomical terms.
Violence/Gore: Children threaten each other; soldiers have bloody wounds and tell of a battle with gory injuries; report of a battle in which monsters and humans are killed; discussion of tactics used to kill monsters;characters throw rocks at another; a fight between children with no major injury; a fist-fight; a few fights between monsters and humans resulting in major property damage, such as the destruction of buildings;humanoid monsters show the exposed musculature of their bodies instead of skin throughout the novel; a few graphically illustrated battle in which people are crushed by heavy objects and eaten by monsters; a character’s limb is amputated in combat, and this is illustrated graphically with blood shown.
Sex/Nudity: Mention of “sexual organs” in an anatomy lesson.
Note: Throughout the book, giant human-like monsters are naked, but they lack sexual organs and there is no sexual connotation.
Mature Subject Matter:
Bullying; death (parent, friend).
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Report of a character forcibly dosed with an unknown drug; adults drink alcohol.
