Wikipedia

Attack on Titan: No Regrets

Attack on Titan: No Regrets (Japanese: 進撃の巨人 悔いなき選択, Hepburn: Shingeki no Kyojin Kui Naki Sentaku) is a Japanese manga series written by Gun Snark and illustrated by Hikaru Suruga, based on a visual novel of the same name. The series is a prequel spin-off of Hajime Isayama's popular Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人, Shingeki no Kyojin) manga. The story follows the character of Levi Ackerman before he joins the Survey Corps.

Attack on Titan: No Regrets
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Levi Ackerman
進撃の巨人 悔いなき選択
(Shingeki no Kyojin Kui Naki Sentaku)
Genre
Video game
Kui Naki Sentaku
DeveloperNitroplus
Designed byGun Snark
GenreVisual novel
Released
  • September 18, 2013 (preview)
  • December 18, 2013
Manga
Written byGun Snark
Illustrated byHikaru Suruga
Published byKodansha
English publisher
MagazineAria
DemographicShōjo
Original runSeptember 28, 2013 – June 28, 2014
Volumes2
Original animation DVD
Directed byTetsurō Araki
Produced by
  • Tetsuya Kinoshita
  • Shintarō Kawakubo
  • Kenji Sumiya
Written byYasuko Kobayashi
Music byHiroyuki Sawano
StudioWit Studio
Licensed by
  • NA: Kodansha Comics
Released December 9, 2014 – April 9, 2015
Runtime22 minutes
Episodes2
icon Anime and manga portal

The series is published by Kodansha in Japan and by Kodansha USA in the North America. A two-part original animation DVD was released in 2014 and 2015.

Plot

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The story is a prequel to Attack on Titan that follows Levi during his days as a criminal in the underground city, when he was with his two best friends Isabel Magnolia and Farlan Church before Erwin Smith recruits him into the Survey Corps.

Conception and development

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Before Suruga began the manga, her editor-in-chief suggested that she visit the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel so she could better visualize the Underground where Levi and the others live at the beginning of the story. It was while there that Suruga was first able to picture how large an 18-meter tall Titan actually would be.[vol. 1]: 162 

While drawing Levi, Suruga attempted to make him appear younger than he does in Attack on Titan. She noted that his lack of emotiveness made it difficult to choose which expressions to give him while drawing.[vol. 1]: 182  With Isabel, Suruga attempted to convey a "lively, energetic" character who, while "very cute", was just as capable at fighting Titans as anyone else.[vol. 1]: 183  Suruga had difficulty drawing Farlan's face, as she wanted to give him characteristics that would clearly distinguish him from the other two main characters. Despite that, she found it surprisingly easy to copy the character's hairstyle from Namaniku ATK's original design.[vol. 1]: 184 

Media

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Visual novel

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Two visual novels written by Gun Snark (砂阿久雁, Sunaaku Gan) of Nitroplus, titled Kui Naki Sentaku [Yokoku] (悔いなき選択[予告], "A Choice With No Regrets: Preview") and Kui Naki Sentaku (悔いなき選択, "A Choice With No Regrets"), were released with the third and sixth Blu-ray sets of the Attack on Titan anime, on September 18, 2013, and December 18, 2013, respectively.[2] The character designs were provided by Namaniku ATK, also of Nitroplus.[vol. 1]: 183, 184 

Manga

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The series was written by Gun Snark and illustrated by Hikaru Suruga (駿河ヒカル, Suruga Hikaru). A prologue chapter was published in the November 2013 issue of Kodansha's magazine Aria on September 28, 2013.[3][4] The prologue was republished in the December issue on October 28, 2013, after the first issue to contain it quickly sold out.[5] The series regular began in the January 2014 issue on November 28, 2013.[4] Kodansha made the decision to increase the magazine's print run 5-fold (500%) due to the series' popularity, starting with the January 2014 issue.[6] When they reprinted the issue on December 16, 2013, they increased the number of copies again, making the total print run a 10-fold (1000%) increase over the previously recorded monthly sales of 13,667 copies.[7] A special chapter was published in the May 2014 issue of Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Sirius magazine on March 25, 2014.[8] The series ended in the August 2014 issue on June 28, 2014.[9]

After the first volume was released, the decision to reprint it came on the same day.[10] A booklet containing a set of character sketches and the prologue chapter was bundled with a special edition of the volume.[11] A complete color edition containing the entire series would be released on December 5, 2017.[12] Kodansha USA announced their license to the series at their New York Comic Con panel on October 11, 2013.[13]

Volumes

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No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 April 9, 2014978-4-06-376961-6 [14]
978-4-06-362271-3[15] (special edition)		June 24, 2014[16]978-1-61262-941-4
  1. "The Wings of Freedom" (自由の翼, Jiyū no Tsubasa)
  2. "One Arrow" (一矢, Isshi)
  3. "... of Revolution" (変革の…, Henkaku no...)
  4. "Proof" (証明, Shōmei)
  • Bonus: "Prologue" (プロローグ, Purorōgu)[a]
2 August 8, 2014978-4-06-377046-9 [18]
978-4-06-362277-5[19] (special edition)		October 28, 2014[20]978-1-61262-943-8
  1. "Hearts" (心臓, Shinzō)
  2. "Living Creatures" (生き物, Ikimono)
  3. "Those Three" (3人, San Nin)
  4. "Choices" (選択, Sentaku)

Anime

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A two-episode original animation DVD adaptation was announced in the 14th volume of Attack on Titan.[21] The OADs were produced by the same staff that produced the Attack on Titan television series. The episodes were directed by Tetsurō Araki and written by Yasuko Kobayashi, with animation by Wit Studio.[21] Character designs were provided by Kyoji Asano.[21] The insert song is "So ist es immer" (Just Like it Always is) by Hiroyuki Sawano.[22] The OADs starred Hiroshi Kamiya as Levi, Daisuke Ono as Erwin,[21] Kōji Yusa as Furlan, and Mariya Ise as Isabel.[23] The first episode was included with the 15th volume of Attack on Titan on December 9, 2014, and the second episode was included with the 16th volume on April 9, 2015.[21]

On January 15, 2016, Kodansha Comics announced that they would release the two episodes with the special editions of the 18th and 19th English volumes of the manga,[24] on April 5, 2016[25] and August 2, 2016, respectively.[26] On December 15, 2021, it was announced that Attack on Titan's OADs would be released subtitled by Funimation and Crunchyroll on December 19, with the dubbed release following in 2022.[27] On May 2, 2022, it was announced that the dub will be released weekly starting on May 8, 2022.[28] The No Regrets OADs were released from May 29 to June 5.

Episode list

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No.TitleDirected byAnimation direction byOriginal release dateEnglish release dateRef.
0.5A"No Regrets: Part 1"
"Kui Naki Sentaku (Zenpen)" (Japanese: 悔いなき選択 (前編))		Masashi Koeduka, Shintaro ItogaAyumi YamadaDecember 9, 2014 (2014-12-09)[29]April 5, 2016 (subtitled)
May 29, 2022 (dubbed)		[30]
Several years before Levi became Captain of the Scout Regiment, he lived in the Underground District where citizens never get sunlight and are not allowed to venture outside unless they get citizenship. He was part of a band of thieves alongside his junior partner Furlan Church. The two had gotten their hands on ODM gear and taught themselves how to use it for heists. They take in a teenager, Isabel Magnolia, after saving her from the guards for trying to get an injured bird back to the surface. One day, a mysterious man from the surface uses a hostage to ensure that the trio take on a job for him, promising them citizenship to live aboveground. During a heist, the trio is arrested by the Scouts, led by Erwin, whom Levi meets for the first time. Erwin offers to clear Levi and the others of their crimes in exchange for joining them as soldiers.
0.5B"No Regrets: Part 2"
"Kui Naki Sentaku (Kōhen)" (Japanese: 悔いなき選択 (後編))		Masayuki Miyaji, Shintaro Itoga, Tetsurō ArakiMegumi Tomita, Satonobu KikuchiApril 9, 2015 (2015-04-09)[31]August 2, 2016 (subtitled)
June 5, 2022 (dubbed)		[32]
Levi, Furlan, and Isabel begin their lives as Scouts. In reality, they joined to complete the assignment by the mysterious man, which is to assassinate Erwin and steal a document in his possession. During their first expedition with the Scouts, Levi and Furlan successfully get their first Titan kills. As a storm hits, Levi decides to use it to ambush Erwin, but discovers that Titans have killed his squad, including Furlan and Isabel. Devastated, he brutally takes down the last Titan. He then learns that Erwin had been carrying a fake document and the man who'd given them the assignment has been caught for his crimes; Erwin knew about Levi's mission from the start. Before Levi can break down, Erwin tells him not to regret his decisions as no one can tell the outcome, and tells Levi to stay with them. Levi figures that Erwin's goals are higher than he can see and decides to continue following him.

Reception

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The manga has over 1.5 million copies in print in Japan.[33] The first volume of the manga had 500,000 copies in print by April 2014, having sold 140,186 copies within the first five days of its release.[10] The volume was also the 57th best-selling manga volume in Japan in 2014.[34] The first volume of the English translation appeared on the New York Times Manga Best Sellers list for 18 nonconsecutive weeks,[35] while the second volume was on the list for 12 weeks.[36]

Reviewing the first volume for The Fandom Post, Kate O’Neil gave it a grade of B. Noting Levi's status as a fan-favorite character, she wrote: "I often wonder at how much of the backstory in these spin-offs was the result of the original author's notes or the spin-off writer responding to the desires of the fanbase." She also commented that the art is "handled by someone other than the author, which means that characters are actually well proportioned and the perspective is solid."[37]

Notes

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  1. ^ The prologue chapter was not included in the original Japanese edition of the manga, and was instead published in a booklet that was released with a special edition of the first volume.[11] It was, however, included in the English release by Kodansha USA.[17]

Works cited

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  • Vol. 1 (ch. 1–4): Suruga, Hikaru; Snark, Gun (2014). Attack on Titan: No Regrets 1. Kodansha USA. ISBN 978-1-61262-941-4.
  • Vol. 2 (ch. 5–8): Suruga, Hikaru; Snark, Gun (2014). Attack on Titan: No Regrets 2. Kodansha USA. ISBN 978-1-61262-943-8.

References

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  1. ^ a b Covel, Casey (March 18, 2015). "Review: Attack on Titan: No Regrets Vol. 1". Geeks Under Grace. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Loo, Egan (May 18, 2013). "Attack on Titan Blu-rays Add Visual Novels by Nitro+ Staff". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  3. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (August 27, 2013). "Attack on Titan Spinoff Manga to Run in Aria Shōjo Magazine". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Loveridge, Lyenzee (October 2, 2013). "K: Days of Blue Spinoff Manga Launches Next Month". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  5. ^ Nelkin, Sarah (October 8, 2013). "Aria Reprints Attack on Titan Shōjo Prologue After It Sells Out". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  6. ^ Loo, Egan (November 11, 2013). "Attack on Titan Spinoff Causes Magazine's Print Run to Jump 500%". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  7. ^ Loo, Egan (December 10, 2013). "Attack on Titan Spinoff Causes Magazine's Print Run to Increase 10-Fold". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  8. ^ Nelkin, Sarah (February 26, 2014). "3 Attack on Titan Spin-Off Manga Series Get Special Chapters in Sirius". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  9. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (May 27, 2014). "Attack on Titan: No Regrets Manga to End Next Month". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  10. ^ a b Loo, Egan (April 20, 2014). "Attack on Titan: No Regrets #1 Has 500,000 Copies in Print". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  11. ^ a b 進撃の巨人リヴァイ外伝1巻本日発売、小冊子付き特装版も [Attack on Titan Levi side story volume 1 released today, includes special edition with booklet]. Natalie. April 9, 2014. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  12. ^ "Attack on Titan: No Regrets Complete Color Edition". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  13. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (October 11, 2016). "Kodansha Comics Adds Attack on Titan: Before the Fall, No Regrets Spinoff Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  14. ^ 進撃の巨人 悔いなき選択（１） [Attack on Titan: No Regrets (1)]. Kodansha (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  15. ^ 進撃の巨人 悔いなき選択（１）特装版 [Attack on Titan: No Regrets (1) Special Edition]. Kodansha (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  16. ^ "Attack on Titan: No Regrets 1". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  17. ^ Snark, Gun (2014). Attack on Titan: No Regrets 1. Kodansha Comics. ISBN 978-1612629414.
  18. ^ 進撃の巨人 悔いなき選択（２）＜完＞ [Attack on Titan: No Regrets (1) (end)]. Kodansha (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  19. ^ 進撃の巨人 悔いなき選択（２）特装版＜完＞ [Attack on Titan: No Regrets (1) Special Edition (end)]. Kodansha (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  20. ^ "Attack on Titan: No Regrets 2". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  21. ^ a b c d e Loo, Egan (August 5, 2014). "Attack on Titan: No Regrets Spinoff Gets Anime DVDs". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 6, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  22. ^ Nelkin, Sarah (October 31, 2014). "Hiroyuki Sawano Performs Attack on Titan Film's Ending Theme 'YAMANAIAME'". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  23. ^ Nelkin, Sarah (September 12, 2014). "Attack on Titan: No Regrets Anime's Promo Previews 1st Episode". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  24. ^ Ressler, Karen (January 15, 2016). "Kodansha USA to Release Attack on Titan: No Regrets Anime DVD With Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  25. ^ "Attack on Titan 18 Special Edition w/DVD". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  26. ^ "Attack on Titan 19 Special Edition w/DVD". Penguin Random House. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  27. ^ Mateo, Alex (December 15, 2021). "Funimation, Crunchyroll Stream 8 Attack on Titan OADs". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  28. ^ Dempsey, Liam (May 2, 2022). "Crunchyroll to Launch Attack on Titan OAD English Dub Starting May 8". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  29. ^ ＤＶＤ付き 進撃の巨人（１５）限定版 [Attack on Titan (15) Limited Edition with DVD]. Kodansha. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  30. ^ Hajime Isayama (2016). Attack on Titan Vol.18 Special Edition: "No Regrets" Part One (Liner notes). Kodansha USA.
  31. ^ ＤＶＤ付き 進撃の巨人（１６）限定版 [Attack on Titan (16) Limited Edition with DVD]. Kodansha. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  32. ^ Hajime Isayama (2016). Attack on Titan Vol.19 Special Edition: "No Regrets" Part Two (Liner notes). Kodansha USA.
  33. ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu (April 8, 2017). "Full Color Edition of "Attack on Titan" Spin-Off Manga "No Regrets" to be Released in June". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  34. ^ Loo, Egan (January 2, 2015). "Top-Selling Manga in Japan by Volume: 2014". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  35. ^ "Best Sellers – Manga". The New York Times. April 19, 2015. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  36. ^ "Best Sellers – Manga". The New York Times. February 8, 2015. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  37. ^ O’Neil, Kate (June 17, 2014). "Attack On Titan: No Regrets Vol. #01 Manga Review". The Fandom Post. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
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