Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

"I was so moved, especially seeing those soldiers who were initially terrified but resolutely faced the giants they feared for the sake of their families, one by one going to their deaths, exchanging great sacrifices for victory... It made my blood boil!"

"The sacrifices are just too cruel... Everyone dies, and the plot is full of unexpected and swift cuts."

"You'll get used to it... It's the same with manga. Riko-sensei is probably the manga artist who loves to throw out angst the most!"

"Yeah, I thought that Mina character was an important supporting character, but she died so quickly..."

"All the soldiers in Eren's squad were wiped out the moment they encountered the Titan. If Eren hadn't been a Titan, he would have died too."

"So why? Why can Eren transform into a Titan?"

"That's because of... his father. Never mind, I won't spoil it. Just read the manga. The manga has already reached the part where the truth is revealed."

"Yes, let's read the comic. The whole truth has been revealed in the comic now!"

……

If 2008 was the year that Attack on Titan and Eri Aragaki saw a significant boost in popularity...

So 2009 was the year that Attack on Titan and Eri Aragaki completely solidified their status as popular manga artists!

Especially after the anime aired in the second half of the year...

It's completely blown up!

Just like what happened after the anime adaptation of Eri Aragaki's previous life as Attack on Titan aired!

Even worse!

Because this version of Attack on Titan is backed by the giant JUMP!

Shueisha is a leading manga publisher with far stronger marketing and distribution capabilities than other publishers, and the Attack on Titan anime received better treatment during its broadcast.

Meanwhile, looking at the excellent ratings and DVD sales of the Attack on Titan anime...

Attack on Titan merchandise, reprinted volumes, and even various copyright collaborations are all being pursued at an alarming rate!

So why is it said that a comic artist's income basically depends on the success of the anime after it airs?

Because that's the reason!

After the anime airs and achieves excellent results, various merchandise, reprints of collected volumes, and copyright collaborations will follow in a frenzy.

This income is enough to increase a cartoonist's earnings tenfold in a short period of time!

Besides revenue from the Japanese domestic market, there's also revenue from overseas markets...

The Attack on Titan anime is also doing very well!

For example... JUMP's official version just opened up the Republic Market last year!

Chapter 221 Peak of Popularity

The Attack on Titan anime was initially not able to be directly imported into China.

For the first month, Xiao Nanliang waited for online translation groups to provide the resources he wanted to watch.

He thoroughly enjoyed watching it during the summer vacation. Although the resources from the translation group were updated about a week slower than those from Japan, it didn't matter!

Anyway, Xiao Nanliang isn't in Japan. Although I've only heard rumors, I don't really have any real feeling about it.

After the summer vacation, since he was in his first year of high school, he wasn't too nervous at the beginning of the new semester.

Therefore, he can still enjoy watching the Attack on Titan anime on weekends.

The birth of the Attack on Titan anime quickly attracted many viewers who only watched the anime and did not read the manga to become fans.

The most obvious example is the Giants fan group he joined, which saw its membership grow from about two hundred to a full 1,500 in just a few weeks.

This is not the upper limit of Giant Interactive's current fan growth; it is merely the upper limit of the Penguin group.

Most of the new group members were attracted by the animation.

They hadn't read the manga, so they didn't know what Reiner would do next, who the Female Titan was, or what would happen to Levi's squad.

They were discussing the latest episode and Attack on Titan's exploration of despair, freedom, and human courage.

Xiao Nanliang would sometimes watch their chats in the group, and he felt both gratified and moved.

It's gratifying that more people are finally seeing the giants, and it's touching that these newcomers are experiencing the same excitement he felt when he first got into the game.

They would argue in the group about who was the strongest member of the Survey Corps, watch a particular battle scene repeatedly, and shout and yell when a character died.

Xiao Nanliang had all these reactions back then. Now, seeing them like this, it was like seeing himself—himself when reading the comic book, and himself now watching the anime…

New viewers in the group are discussing the upcoming plot of Attack on Titan every day, and they're having a great time.

Some of them went directly to buy the individual volumes, read through the entire comic from the beginning, and then shared their knowledge with those who were updating the group.

Some people didn't buy the comics, but just listened to others talk about them in the group, and before they knew it, they couldn't resist going to the bookstore themselves.

Some people started by just browsing casually, but became increasingly engrossed, eventually changing their profile pictures and signatures to characters from Attack on Titan.

As a result, sales of the Attack on Titan manga volume also surged again.

When Xiao Nanliang returned to school, he discovered that Attack on Titan fans were everywhere.

He started high school after the summer vacation. Although he was admitted to a key high school in the county, it was clear that not all students in key high schools were the kind of good kids that parents talked about who didn't like watching cartoons but loved studying.

In fact, top-tier high schools may be more likely to produce otaku who love ACG culture.

During breaks, the boys in their class talk about giants all the time.

After all, Attack on Titan is the most popular anime this year, bar none.

Naturally, the level of discussion among otaku skyrocketed.

After a while, even those in the class who didn't watch anime much were influenced by this atmosphere and started asking the people around them, "What is Attack on Titan about?"

Later, it was confirmed that the Attack on Titan anime would be imported to the Republic's video websites.

Although it's an abridged version, at least it's been updated and synchronized.

This further amplified its popularity.

Previously, people could only watch content through translation groups in online groups, but now they can watch the official version directly by opening video websites.

Although the censored version lacks some of the more impactful scenes, at least the update time is similar to that in Japan, and the experience is much better than before.

The anime adaptation of Attack on Titan has received excellent reviews online.

On rating websites, Attack on Titan's ratings have remained consistently high since its premiere, with the vast majority of tens of thousands of reviews being five stars.

"Yay! I'm going to get hooked on a new high-scoring Japanese anime!"

"Attack on Titan is really good. I'm completely hooked and I look forward to the weekly update."

"This comic perfectly illustrates that humanity's hymn is a hymn to courage!"

"In a world teeming with giants and shrouded in despair, only human courage can break the deadlock and pursue freedom!"

"I really like one line from the opening theme song: 'We are not the prey, we are the hunters!'"

"The best and most meaningful new anime series in the last two years!! I was completely engrossed in it!!"

"As a two-year fan of Attack on Titan, I'm extremely satisfied. The animation is superb; it truly lives up to the reputation of Japanese animation!"

"It's not just that the animation production team is amazing, but also that the original Attack on Titan work is excellent. Last year, Attack on Titan won first place in Japan's 'This Manga is Amazing' poll."

"And Attack on Titan has already surpassed One Piece to become the most popular manga within JUMP!"

"I was just kidding about the name 'Naraka: Bleach' and 'Sea of ​​Death and Fire,' but I think 'Attack on Titan' is even better than 'Naraka: Bleach' and 'Sea of ​​Death and Fire.'"

"That's true. I can't get into Bleach, Naruto, or One Piece at all. I can barely watch Bleach. As for Naruto, I can't stand the plot, and as for One Piece, I can't stand the art style."

"That's right. Bleach is fine, but I can't watch any of One Piece or Naruto."

"I really don't like the art style of One Piece, but why Naruto?"

"I feel like all the characters in it are so outrageous, especially that Konoha villager. In the anime, he seems to bully others all day long for no reason. What kind of Will of Fire is that? I think it's the Will of Conqueror!"

Here, the protagonist is even protecting the village; I can't think of any reason to protect a village like this.

"Haha, God-f***ing Will of Domination!"

"And Sakura, I don't even want to talk about her..."

"Exactly, at least the giants look much more normal, okay?"

……

In the anime's comment section, new and old viewers mingled together, discussing this week's plot while urging for the next episode.

As new viewers joined the fandom, the anime, in turn, boosted manga sales, creating a very healthy cycle.

Meanwhile, Attack on Titan merchandise, such as dolls, figurines, keychains, clothing, and backpacks, has sold extremely well in the Republic.

Some viewers who only watch the anime and never read comics may still not buy the collected volumes of the comics.

But... they actually buy these merchandise items instead.

It's important to know that the net profit from peripheral products is often higher than that from the individual volumes of the comic book.

Therefore, Attack on Titan also generates extremely high profits in the Republic's peripheral markets.

……

Besides the booming market in the Republic, there is also... the European and American markets.

The European and American markets are also the main consumer markets for Japanese anime, especially for anime DVDs. Many European and American DVD stores will put new anime DVDs on their shelves.

As word-of-mouth spread online, and with Shueisha focusing almost entirely on promoting "Attack on Titan" in the second half of the year, many fans in Europe and America began buying DVDs to watch it.

And then it got out of control.

It's important to know that Attack on Titan had an extremely large influence in Europe and America in its previous form.

It even reached an exaggerated level.

It was so popular that it consistently held the number one spot in streaming viewership from the first season to the final season.

When the trailer for the final season was released, it immediately rose to the top of Netflix's ratings in many countries, even reaching number one.