Attack on Titan (Manga)

Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人) is a manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It was first published in 2009, and is serialized in Bessatsu Shounen Magazine and is currently on its 19th volume.

Title
The original Japanese title "Shingeki no Kyojin" has a dual meaning. The literal meaning is "Advancing Titan(s)" (or more literally "Advancing Giant(s)"). However in Japanese, it can also be taken as "Advance Toward the Titan(s)" which is what the localized title resembles: "Attack on Titan".

Plot Summary
The series follows the story of Eren Yeager, his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman, and their friend Armin Arlert. After the outermost Wall is breached by Titans, including the 60-meter tall skinless Colossus Titan and the abnormally intelligent Armored Titan and his mother dying in the resulting destruction, Eren vows revenge against the Titans and later enlists in the military, accompanied by both Mikasa and Armin. Years later during his first battle against the Titans, Eren discovers that he has the ability to transform into a Titan at will. Seen as a threat to mankind by some and as a ray of hope by others, Eren joins his companions in a desperate fight to protect what remains of their society while looking for answers to the mysteries surrounding the Titans, the Walls and his own existence as well.

Reception
Since its serialization, it has become a best seller in both Japan and the United States. Its popularity has also inspired an anime adaptation and a number of spin-offs; including 5 manga series (one of which got its own anime adaptation series as well), 6 novels, 6 visual novels, 2 live-action movies and a live-action web miniseries. A second season of the main anime is expected to be released at some point of 2016 or 2017.

As of July 2015, the manga had 52.5 million copies in print, with 50 million copies in Japan and 2.5 million copies overseas since it was first released. This made it the 35th best-selling manga in history and the 16th still ongoing at that point. Volume 12 received a first printing of 2.5 million copies, making the series one of the only two manga series ever to get an initial print surpassing 2 million, next to One Piece. Volume 13 sold 2,750,000 copies in its first printing and holds the first print run record for its publisher,.

Since 2013, after the boost of its popularity following the release of the first season of the anime, it has consistently ranked among the 3 best-selling mangas in Japan. In the first half of 2014 it reached the top of the chart, ending One Piece ' s five-year reign as the highest selling series in that period. The author, Hajime Isayama, was surprised about this and thanked the readers. It finished the year in second place with almost 12 million copies sold. In the first half of 2016, it ranked 3rd, making it the best-selling monthly manga overall and the best-selling manga by Kodansha, surpassing by more than 1.6 million copies the second most popular title of the publisher, The Seven Deadly Sins.

Its numbers since 2011 are as follows:


 * 2011 - 11th (3,766,194 copies sold).
 * 2012 - 15th (2,682,504 copies sold).
 * 2013 - 2nd (15,933,801 copies sold).
 * 2014 - 2nd (11,728,368 copies sold).
 * 2015 - 3rd (8,778,048 copies sold).

Attack on Titan won the in the shōnen category in 2011, and was nominated for the 4th  Award and both the 16th and 18th annual. The 2012 edition of Kono Manga ga Sugoi! named it the 8th best manga series for male readers, while the 2014 edition named it the 6th best. It ranked #1 in the Yomiuri Shimbun ' s Sugoi Japan Awards for favorite manga series in 2015.

Kodansha has credited the series for the company's first revenue increase in 18 years, while  called it a "once-in-a-decade hit".