In early September we reported that the editor of Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan), Shintaro Kawakubo, had announced that there would be news for the franchise on October 4. Although not many details were revealed about it, The editor asked fans to follow a mysterious Twitter account titled “Shingeki FLY”so fans’ expectations quickly went up.
While some joked that the name “Shingeki FLY” was a mockery towards the end of the work itself (specifically because of the “Eren Paloma” meme), others began to wonder what author Hajime Isayama will be preparing for fans. It should be noted that the author has not given any hint of starting a new manga franchise, in the same way that the author of Kimetsu no Yaiba has remained inactive since the work ended.
But as always happens, before the official announcement there are always leaks, and the popular Japanese leaker Ryokutya was quick to give the first details about the next “project” of the franchise. That’s how it was this morning Shingeki no Kyojin fans were bitterly surprised that the title of the new project is actually the title of an upcoming illustration book which will be released on April 30, 2023 in Japan.
Titled “Shingeki no Kyojin Art Book FLY”, it is a 200-page book that will contain color illustrations made by the author Hajime Isayama himself. According to the description offered in the leak, it includes a facsimile (that is, an exact reproduction) of 57 pages of the last chapter of the manga and an additional content titled “Vol. 35”, which is described as an 18-page manga drawn by the author.
It is not specified if these eighteen pages will be complementary to the final chapter of the work or if they will be a completely different story., so fans will have to wait for more information about this promised “new project” of Shingeki no Kyojin. However, the disappointed reactions of fans who were expecting “something more” were immediate:
- «This is a joke?».
- «It looks like the ending will be extended, again. This is much better than a spin-off or a new manga».
- «I wonder if those eighteen pages are just something like a little side story. Isayama said that he wanted to write more about Levi and said that he had about fifteen pages planned, so this could be it».
- «If it’s an expansion of the manga, why didn’t they also use it in the anime?».
- «I knew there was no way Isayama would get to work on something big again.».
- «So an art book with some extra pages was what Isayama promised earlier this year? what a fucking surprise».
- «I don’t understand why create a Twitter account just to advertise an art book. Maybe I don’t understand how marketing works, but I don’t understand why they couldn’t just promote this on the franchise’s official account.».
- «The ending is not the end, it is the best definition that exists for Shingeki no Kyojin since it ended».
- «If the ending of Shingeki no Kyojin is so good, why does the author keep expanding it all the time to “fix” it?».
- «And the author continues to squeeze this franchise after this shitty ending».
Fountain: Ryokutya
