Attack on Titan’smanga officially concluded in October 2021, withthe anime adaptation ending shortly afterwardin November 2023. Since its finale, fans have been eager for more content to expand the franchise. Although there have been occasionalhints thatAttack on Titanis not over for good,apart from theAttack on Titan: The Last Attackmovie, there have not been many major developments as of late.
For those interested in delving further into theAttack on Titanfandom, there is another option apart from the main series, the OVAs, and the spin-off movie that people often overlook, or are unaware of entirely.Attack on Titanreceived a spin-off manga entitledAttack on Titan: Junior High,and it has even been adapted into a 12-episode anime series.
Attack on Titan: Junior High Places the Characters in Middle School
The Spin-off Includes the Same Characters as the Original, but Transports Them to Their Middle School Pasts
Attack on Titan: Junior Highfeatures all the familiarcharacters from the originalAttack on Titanseries, but it isset in an alternative universe in which these characters are in middle school.The series ran for over four years, from April 2012 to July 2016, and the anime adaptation debuted in October 2015.Attack on Titan: Junior Highwas not created by Hajime Isayama, the original series' creator; it was written and illustrated by Saki Nakagawa, and was also published by Kodansha, the same publisher as Isayama’s original series.
The originalAttack on Titanstory can be very grim, rife with death and despair due to it taking place during a war between humanity and relentless, man-eating beasts called Titans. In stark contrast,Attack on Titan: Junior Hightakes a humorous approach by parodying the original seriesand changing the characters' location and ages. The art style ofAttack on Titan: Junior Highalso differs from the original series, portraying the various heroes as teenagers in a chibi style.
Attack on Titan: Junior High is a Hysterical Parody of the Original Series
The Spin-off Is Much More Humorous and Laid-Back Than the Original, Which Can Be Heartbreaking
Attack on Titan: Junior Highis brilliantbecause it remains as faithful as possible to the original series,while still dramatizing certain aspects of the characters' personalities and plot points for comedic effect.For example, Titans still exist inJunior High,but they are more of a bothersome nuisance, stealing cheeseburgers from students rather than causing any real harm like they do in the original series. Even the Titans themselves are drawn in a chibi art style, which makes them slightly less terrifying than they usually appear.
Additionally, well-known characters' idiosyncrasies are exaggerated in an amusing way.Eren Yeager’s goal inAttack on Titanis to destroy all the Titans because they killed his loved ones and other innocent citizens,while inJunior High,his primary aim is to defeat the Titans because they stole his lunch.Other traits heroes are known for, like Jean’s overconfidence and Mikasa’s crush on Eren, are played up to make the parody even more humorous, which makes the relatively lighthearted plots of the episodes even more comical.
The Manga is Available on Kodansha and the Anime is Streaming on Crunchyroll
The Anime Series is Twelve Episodes Long and the Manga is Five Volumes Long
Attack on Titan: Junior High’sfive manga volumes are available for purchase digitally onthe Kodansha websitefor around $12.99 USD per volume. The spin-off’sanime adaptation is streaming on Crunchyroll, and as of right now, only one twelve-episode season exists.Junior Highmay not be as widely known as the original manga or anime, butanyone who is currently missingAttack on Titanwill not regret checking out the humorous spin-off,since it includes all the same lovable characters, with a much more laid-back, relaxing feel that offers a respite from the heaviness of the original series.
