Attack on Titan: Lost Girls, Vol. 1

Attack on Titan: Lost Girls, Vol. 1
Written by Hiroshi Seko, Art by Ryosuke Fuji, Attack on Titan originally created by Hajime Isayama, Translation by Ko Ransom
Kodansha Comics, 192 pp.
Rating: OT (16+)

From writer Hiroshi Seko and artist, Ryosuke Fuji, comes the latest Attack on Titan spin off series, Attack on Titan: Lost Girls! This short, two volume series focuses on the women of the franchise, with Annie Leonhart taking center stage in this volume. Annie finds herself dragged into an investigation which takes her to the grimy back alleys of Stohess District in search of the wealthy businessman’s missing daughter.

I wasn’t too sure about this going into it, the Attack on Titan spin off series have been a little hit or miss for me, but by the end I was kind of wishing we could get more detective featuring Annie. Her sullen, bored attitude and fighting skills seem like they’d be perfect for the cynical gumshoe archetype. It’s also an interesting little corner of the world that really hasn’t been dealt with too much in the main series. That said, the story doesn’t really add anything vitally important or revelatory to Annie’s story. It’s interesting and engaging to see her playing detective, but there’s not vital or essential here.

All she needs is a fedora and a drinking habit.

The artwork is fine, but it lacks the grime and lived in feel that makes the main series such a joy to look at. It’s a bit too clean and at times the settings seem a tad too modern. The writing also feels off at times, with bits of more typical shonen-y gags, and panels that verge on chibified characters. The humor feels a bit out of a place, as does the accompanying dialogue. The clean artwork also failed to really convey the mood and atmosphere that this kind of investigation would seem to call for. The crime ridden, run down section of Stohess doesn’t look that different from the rest of it. Aside from having an uncanny number of lazy eyed inhabitants, it looks no different from the rest of Stohess under Ryosuke Fuji’s pen. This is a shame, too, since there is this vague noir-ish feel to the story of blackmail, drug smuggling, and murder.

On a final note, if you’re a newcomer to Attack on Titan and haven’t read the first eight volumes, or haven’t seen the first season of the anime adaption, you’ll probably want to skip this as the first volume contains some rather heavy spoilers for that portion of the series.

While Attack on Titan: Lost Girls, Vol. 1 offers no great insight into Annie, it is a fun little spin-off and an enjoyable read. The art is average and fails to properly convey mood or atmosphere, but at least the action and story telling is clear and easy to follow. The done-in-one nature of Attack on Titan: Lost Girls, Vol. 1, and the short length of the series overall seems like it’d be a decent way to get a quick Attack on Titan fix if the main series release schedule leaves you jonsing.

Attack on Titan: Lost Girls, Vol. 1 is available now from Kodansha Comics. Review copy provided by the publisher.