The Characteristic of Bravery in Attack on Titan - Alina

The Characteristic of Bravery in Attack on Titan

Imagine living in a city surrounded by three huge thick walls. You wonder what might be outside the wall, how the outside of this city looks like. You hear tales about huge monsters that look like humans invading the city and how they eat the people inside. This is the setting of a manga called Attack on Titan. In this blog, I will be talking about book one in the series. 

Attack on Titan is a story of a boy named Kuklo. His mother, a widow, who’s husband was eaten by a titan, was known as a titan worshiper, which was a group of people who worshiped these colossal human resembling monsters. She was pregnant with her son when a titan came and ate her. After throwing up all the people that he swallowed, the Survey Corps, which are people like the military who help protect the people from the titans, find the baby. This starts a rumor that new titans are born from titan vomit. Because of this rumor, Kuklo is imprisoned. 13 years later, we learn that Kuklo is being imprisoned by a rich family. He is being beaten by the son of this family. The son says he is doing this because he wants to practice fighting the titans outside the wall, and boasts about his bravery. The daughter, Sharle, is scared due to the fact that there is a titan in her house. She plans on killing Kuklo at night, and when she goes to his cell with a knife, she realizes that he looks and acts like a regular human. 

After noticing Kuklo’s little knowledge about this city surrounded by titans, she begins to teach him about titans and tells him about how people call him the titans son. Kuklo is determined to see a titan for himself, so he and Sharle come up with a plan to escape. Eventually they escape and venture out to the wall that protects the city from the titans. 

In my opinion, Attack on Titan seems like a must read from what I have read so far of the series. Kuklo, the main character of the book, is a very strong and admirable character. After being imprisoned for so many years and getting beat up by Xavi, Sharle’s brother, he doesn’t break and has a lot of patience, which later in the book helps him escape his imprisonment. Even after having no one to help him except Sharle, Kuklo is determined to see a titan after learning from Sharle that he is known as the titans son. He has an unbelievable amount of patience and strength which is portrayed many times throughout the book. The manga really brings Kuklo to life because they show all the emotions that he is feeling: revenge, anger, happiness, urgency, etc. The manga really portrays his emotions well. Kuklo is a very complex character due to the struggles that he has faced during his life and how he manages to withstand peoples comments and actions against him. 

There are many characters, even though the series just begins, but another admirable character in the book is Sharle. Sharle is the only daughter of the family that imprisoned Kuklo, and she helps Kuklo learn about the titans and also helps him escape his imprisonment. She also tells Kuklo that she feels like the only reason that she was born was to get married off. She escapes with him so that she can escape her marriage and helps him go on his adventure to see a titan. 

Sharle has an incredible amount of bravery in this story. She sneaks into Kuklo’s prison continuously to provide him with food and teach him things about titans. She also teaches him to speak and helps him escape. Even though her father would disapprove, she still does all of these things. She knows the judgment that she would face if someone ever found out, but she wants to help Kuklo as much as possible. Another reason why Sharle has so much bravery is that she chose to escape her family to live a life where she had more meaning. She knew about how dangerous and risky the idea was, but she did it anyway, since it meant a better life for her. The manga really brings her to life by revealing her feelings. An example is when Sharle is explaining to Kuklo why she feels useless in her family. She explains that she feels like the only reason she was born was to be married off to a rich family. The manga voices her inner thoughts, which is really helpful to the reader trying to understand her emotions. 

All in all, Attack on Titan is a series which you should try out. The tale is very intense and action-packed, and the artwork is very detailed and attractive. The book relates to a lot of significant topics that we can relate to today, such as the ideas of slavery and racism.