by Recently, there has been a trend of adapting hit manga into anime. Many anime shows have created a buzz among the public and increased sales of original works by making changes or adding action scenes. This time, we have selected five anime that are just as highly rated as their original works. We will explain the unique appeal of the anime version while comparing it with the original work. (Text by Hebon)
“Attack on Titan”
Director: (1st) Tetsuro Araki, (2nd-3rd) Masashi Koizuka, (4th) Yuichiro Hayashi Original work: Hajime Isayama Series composition: (1st-3rd) Yasuko Kobayashi, (4th) Koji Seko Cast: Yuki Kaji, Yuki Ishikawa, Marina Inoue, Kisho Taniyama, Yu Shimamura, Hiroshi Kamiya, Daisuke Ono, Yu Kobayashi, Romi Park, Hiro Shimono, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Ryota Osaka, Takehito Koyasu, Shiori Mikami, Tomohisa Hashizume, Saki Fujita [Synopsis] A hugely popular series serialized in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine (Kodansha) by Hajime Isayama.
The series began serialization in 2009 and exceeded 1 million copies in circulation by the second volume. Its popularity was further fuelled by its anime adaptation in 2013, and the 13th volume released in 2014 set a new record in Kodansha’s history with a first edition of 2.75 million copies. Its popularity is not limited to Japan; it has been published in over 180 countries worldwide. As of 2023, the series has sold over 140 million copies, making it a monster work.
The story is about humanity on the brink of extinction due to the sudden appearance of giants. Humanity built a massive triple wall to escape the threat of the giants and found peace within it for 100 years. However, one day, a colossal titan broke the wall, and humanity was again exposed to the threat of the giants.
Eren, a boy who lost his hometown and mother to the Titans, becomes a soldier who fights against them and vows to exterminate them. [Points to note] The breathless, raging development and the soldiers who continue to fight even in despair are fascinating. There are many cruel developments, and readers will be crying many times.
However, the subsequent shocking development comes soon, so strangely, the sad feeling does not last long. Once you start reading, you will always want to know what happens next, and you will find yourself reading more and more. And the characters who live in such a cruel world while gritting their teeth are all cool, and they will capture readers’ hearts.
This anime adaptation of such an excellent manga is faithful to the original but adds additional descriptions and hints that complement the original. The most notable scenes are the action scenes using the 3D Maneuvering Gear.
The way they fly and fight in the air with wires and gas is so impressive that just watching the animation is enough to move you. Also, since this is Isayama’s debut work, the illustrations were not stable in the early days of the original. Still, the anime allows you to enjoy the best illustrations from the first episode. If there are people who have avoided the original because of the illustrations, I recommend anime.
