ATTACK ON TITAN Vol. 11

ATTACK ON TITAN Vol. 11

Writer/Artist: Hajime Isayama

$10.99, Kodansha Comics, 192 pgs.

ISBN 978-1612626772

A hundred years ago, colossal man-eating humanoid monsters called Titans almost eradicated mankind. Now the remnants of humanity live in walled cities, ever-fearful of Titan attack. Eren Yaeger, a member of the Scout Regiment--a military cadre that uses "Vertical Moving Equipment" to engage Titans in hand-to-hand combat--discovers he has the ability to actually transform into a Titan. Driven from their home, Eren and his companions embark on campaign to reclaim lands lost to the enemy. In this eleventh volume, humanity has just won a critical victory thanks to Eren's help, but there still remains the matter of identifying the traitors to the human cause and their relationship to the mysterious Colossus Titan...    

ATTACK ON TITAN, if you can't tell from the previous paragraph, is just plain nuts. The series' unique combination of soap opera, post-apocalypse survival horror, and over-the-top action have made ATTACK ON TITAN a monster success, despite the series' many rough edges. To be blunt, the art is inconsistent and often rather crude by manga's typically precise standards, and even if one makes allowances for translation, the writing is unrefined. ATTACK ON TITAN is still incredibly entertaining, though. After all, it basically combines elements of The Walking Deadwith kaiju (giant monsters) and technology-assisted aerial martial arts. What's not to love about such a delightfully ridiculous and entirely awesome combination?   

TIPS FOR LIBRARIANS: Manga are marketed less by genre and more by demographic categories. ATTACK ON TITAN is a seinen manga, meaning that, demographically speaking, the publisher expects it to appeal to adult male readers. That doesn't mean only adult male readers will enjoy it, but there you have it. I discuss the demography of manga in greater detail in my book on graphic novel collection development, available FREE from http://www.cmichaelhall.com. Understanding manga demography will be of great help to your collection development efforts.

READERS ADVISORY NOTES: As I mentioned in the review, this series has elements that appeal to a broad range of readers. Fans of zombies, kaiju, and big, big action scenes (they go on for tens of pages at a time) will approve. The violence and language are more adult than what readers of many popular manga might be accustomed to, though, so bear that in mind when making your suggestions.

CONTENT ADVISORY: Graphic violence, adult language

Review©2014, C. Michael Hall.