If you are a hardcore “Attack on Titan” fan or one looking for a lighthearted, fun and crazy animated series, will want to give “Attack on Titan: Junior High” a try!
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TITLE: Attack on Titan: Junior High
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 2015-2016
DURATION: Episodes 1-12 (204 Minutes)
BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen), English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0, Subtitles: English
COMPANY: FUNimation
RATED: TV 14
Release Date: March 21, 2017
Originally created by Hajime Isayama, Saki Nakagawa
Directed by Yoshihide Ibata
Series Composition by Midori Gotou
Script by Midori Gotou, Shun Fukudome, Yoshihide Ibata
Music by Asama Tachibana
Character Design: KYuuko Yahiro
Art Director: Kazuhiro Arai
Anime Production by Production I.G.
Featuring the following voice talent:
Yui Ishikawa/Trina Nishimura as Mikasa Ackerman
Yuuki Kaji/Bryce Papenbrook as Eren Jaeger
Marina Inoue/Josh Grelle as Armin Arlelt
Daisuke Ono/J. Michael Tatum as Erwin Smith
Hiro Shimono/Clifford Chapin as Conny Springer
Hiroshi Kamiya/Matthew Mercer as Levi
Kenta Miyake/Jason Douglas as Mike Zacharias
Kishô Taniyama/Mike McFarland as Jean Kirschtein
Romi Park/Jessica Calvello as Hanji (Hange Zoe)
Ryota Ohsaka/Austin Tindle as Marco Bodt
Saki Fujita/Elizabeth Maxwell as Ymir
Shiori Mikami/Bryn Apprill as Christa Renz
Tomohisa Hashizume/David Matranga as Bertholt Fubar (Bertholdt Hoover)
Yoshimasa Hosoya/Robert McCollum as Reiner Braun
Yu Kobayashi/Ashly Bursch as Sasha Braus
Yu Shimamura/Lauren Landa as Annie Leonhart
The hit show Attack on Titan is reimagined in this feel-good junior high microseries! See all your favorite characters getting into middle school shenanigans complete with secret love interests, class presidents, and chaotic cultural festivals.
Eren and his friends are the hapless first-year students at Attack Junior High, a unique school for both humans and Titans alike. That’s right… Titans go to class, too – in their own gigantic classrooms with their larger-than-life school supplies and benches as big as buildings!
Back in 2006, Hajime Isayama wrote a 65-page one-shot of “Shingeki no Kyojin”. Inspired during an encounter with an irate customer while working at an internet cafe, the encounter would eventually be the basis of his hit series which is known internationally as “Attack on Titan”.
In 2009, “Shingeki no Kyojin” began serialization in Kodanasha’s “Bessatsu Shonen Magazine” and is currently on its 13th tankobon volume. With several light novel volumes, multiple video games, manga spin-offs and two live-action films, many would discover “Attack on Titan†thanks to the anime series.
But around 2012, Saki Nakagawa created “Shingeki! Kyojin Chugakko” (Attack on Titan: Junior High), a parody of Isayama’s popular manga series which would receive an anime adaptation in 2015-2016.
The story features younger, chibi versions of the characters as they attend “Class 1-04” at Attack Junior High School.
“Attack on Titan: Junior High” features the following main characters:
Eren Yeager – A hotheaded teenager who wants to destroy the Titans for stealing his lunch. He loves cheeseburgers and his determination to exterminate Titans surprises his classmates.
Mikasa Ackerman – A stoic student who scares her peers. She is very close to Erin and is often depressed. She wants to protect Eren and Armin from trouble.
Armin Arlert – Eren and Mikasas friend who often wears a futon over his head to avoid catching a cold. He is very intelligent despite his low self-esteem.
Reiner Braun – A muscular student who has a crush on Krista.
Bertolt Hoover – A boy who is tall and quiet and has a crush on Annie Leonhart.
Levi Ackerman – A third year student and the leader of the secret underground club – Scout Regiment. He can knock out a Titan with a single slap from his paper fan.
Annie Leonhart – She loves eating cheeseburgers and is introverted. She is the rival of Mikasa.
Jean Kirstein – An egotistic guy who wants to become popular with girls. He has a crush on Mikasa and is Eren’s rival.
Hange Zoe – Levi’s classmate and deputy leader of the Scout Regiment Club. She is a fanatic when it comes to studying Titans.
VIDEO:
“Attack on Titan: Junior High” is presented in 1080p High Definition. Animation shows slight softness considering it’s an animated TV series. A colorful series, characters are well-shaded and backgrounds reflect the series cartoony nature.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Attack on Titan: Junior High” is presented in Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and English Dolby TrueHD 5.1. While both voice acting soundtracks are well-done (utilizing the same voice talent from the “Attack on Titan” animated series), as one can expect from the English soundtrack receiving a 5.1 lossless treatment, while the Japanese is crystal clear through the front channels, the English soundtrack is immersive. Great use of sound effects from the surround channels and also great use of LFE for ambiance and during action sequences.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Attack on Titan: Junior High” comes with the following special features:
- Episode 3 Commentary -Featuring audio commentary by Mike McFarland (ADR Director), Josh Grelle (voice of Armin Artlet) and Trina Nishimura (voice of Mikasa Ackerman).
- Episode 8 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Mike McFarland (ADR Director), Rob Mcallum (voice of Reiner Braun), J. Michael Tatum (script writer and voice of Erwin Smith) and Caitlin Glass (voice of Petra Ral)
- Episode 12 Video Commentary – Featuring video commentary by Mike McFarland (ADR Director), Josh Grelle (voice of Armin Artlet) and Trina Nishimura (voice of Mikasa Ackerman)
- Promo videos – Featuring original Japanese PV.
- Web Previews – Featuring the original web prviews for the series.
- Commercials – Original Japanese CM.
- Textless Opening and Closing Song
- Trailers – FUNimation trailers
EXTRAS:
“Attack on Titan: Junior High” features the series on Blu-ray and DVD and comes with a slipcover.
“Attack on Titan” has won over anime fans all over the world. Featuring violence, drama and action, the second season of the series is currently airing in Japan, with a third being announced for 2018.
Meanwhile, during the break between the first and second season, Production I.G. made an adaptation of Saki Nakagawa’s parody of the series, “Attack on Titan: Junior High”.
A lighthearted anime series that even children can watch, the series revolves around a group of junior high students who must brave the Titans who climb over the wall in order to eat the students’ lunches. And for Eren, he is addicted to cheeseburgers and when they steal his food, he became even more determined to stop the Titans, despite his fellow students not having the same drive as he does.
With his friends Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert consantly saving Eren from trouble, you have a little childhood romance as Bertolt Hoover is a shy guy who likes Annie Leonhart but is much too shy to do anything about it. And you have the buff and angry Reiner Braun who has fallen for Krista.
But when Eren and Annie find out they share a love towards cheeseburgers, this causes Mikasa to become jealous and become Annie’s rival.
The series also tackles student problems such Sasha and Connie failing tests, Jean discovering a love letter in his locker, Sports Day game competitions and ghosts pranking the school.
For the most part, the series is lighthearted, fun and for those who can enjoy a parody of the series, may find “Attack on Titan: Junior High” to be entertaining. But one should not expect to see bloody violence or anything like that in this series. Characters are made in chibi super-deformed format and Titans are reduced to lunch-stealing behemoths.
Animation for the most part looks good on Blu-ray and the voice acting benefits from the use of both the original series voice talent for the Japanese and English dub. You also get two audio commentaries and a video commentary plus PV, commercials and much more!
Overall, if you are a hardcore “Attack on Titan” fan or one looking for a lighthearted, fun and crazy animated series, will want to give “Attack on Titan: Junior High” a try!
Click here to purchase this Blu-ray on Amazon