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REVIEW: Garrison Girl: An Attack on Titan Novel




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invalidname
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Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 2434
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 9:54 am Reply with quote
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According to Aaron's comments on the series' popular subreddit, Kodansha reached out to Quirk Books to specifically produce an Attack on Titan novel that could tap into America's YA novel market, which is something that I have never heard of happening before.

Not to gainsay the reviewer, but wasn't there also an anthology of Western comics writers and artists doing side-stories in the Attack on Titan world? How did that go over, and did it have the same "profoundly strange reading experience" feel that James reports from reading Garrison Girl?

Being able to tell a story with a very different style than than the harsh war-n-politics of the main AoT has some appeal, depending of course on the execution… I wonder if an analogy could be made to the Gundam spin-off Ecole du Ciel, which I think is more of a shojo than most Gundam suff (though I haven't read it, so I may be misinformed).
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Ethe





PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 10:45 am Reply with quote
I'm not a fan of YA literature, so I was bound to dislike this novel, but I bought it anyway 'cause, you know, it's still Attack on Titan.

What I like the most about the story is that it gives us a more in-depth look at the Garrison. Also, the Gobbler is a terrifying enemy: sure, it's silly how this titan is able to jump to the top of the walls like it's nothing, but he still works as the freaky monster he's supposed to be.

Other than that it was a pretty boring read. I like the romance in Attack on Titan, but not when it's given this much focus. If you're into that, you're probably gonna like this novel.
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Seif



Joined: 16 Nov 2004
Posts: 456
PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 5:11 pm Reply with quote
Does this have Light Novel art or is it just text?
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catandmouse



Joined: 02 Mar 2011
Posts: 212
PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 5:58 pm Reply with quote
What struck me from this review were the names of the characters.
Attack of Titan has decidetedly non-Japanese names for the majority of the characters, yet even though this novel obviously uses non-Japanese names, they sound like stock names used in countless other romance novels.
I can't opine on a book I haven't read, but the names in this novel just sound a bit too foreign ( for the attack on Titan world) in my opinion.
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James_Beckett
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Joined: 23 Nov 2015
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Location: USA
PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 6:03 pm Reply with quote
Seif wrote:
Does this have Light Novel art or is it just text?


No art outside of the cover; it's a typical Western YA book in that regard, too Anime hyper
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navycherub



Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 233
PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 11:00 pm Reply with quote
invalidname wrote:
Not to gainsay the reviewer, but wasn't there also an anthology of Western comics writers and artists doing side-stories in the Attack on Titan world? How did that go over, and did it have the same "profoundly strange reading experience" feel that James reports from reading Garrison Girl?


I don't mean to speak for the reviewer, but:

The anthology feels different because it's a collection of short stories that are more "inspired by" Attack on Titan than being actual stories in the Attack on Titan world for the most part. There's one that takes place at a comic convention, and another about an otherwise normal little girl who can control titans so she can get away with stuff at school. Scott Snyder's entry that opens the book is particularly different, being what seems like the beginning of an apocalypse story in our world involving the titans literally walking out of the ocean. That all being in contrast to this book, which grounds itself entirely in the original Attack on Titan world, making the very different tone stand out much more than that "just go nuts" mentality anthology.
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James_Beckett
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Joined: 23 Nov 2015
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 11:03 pm Reply with quote
navycherub wrote:
invalidname wrote:
Not to gainsay the reviewer, but wasn't there also an anthology of Western comics writers and artists doing side-stories in the Attack on Titan world? How did that go over, and did it have the same "profoundly strange reading experience" feel that James reports from reading Garrison Girl?


I don't mean to speak for the reviewer, but:

The anthology feels different because it's a collection of short stories that are more "inspired by" Attack on Titan than being actual stories in the Attack on Titan world for the most part. There's one that takes place at a comic convention, and another about an otherwise normal little girl who can control titans so she can get away with stuff at school. Scott Snyder's entry that opens the book is particularly different, being what seems like the beginning of an apocalypse story in our world involving the titans literally walking out of the ocean. That all being in contrast to this book, which grounds itself entirely in the original Attack on Titan world, making the very different tone stand out much more than that "just go nuts" mentality anthology.


Couldn't have said it better, myself!
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Flü



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 165
PostPosted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 5:51 am Reply with quote
catandmouse wrote:
What struck me from this review were the names of the characters.
Attack of Titan has decidetedly non-Japanese names for the majority of the characters, yet even though this novel obviously uses non-Japanese names, they sound like stock names used in countless other romance novels.
I can't opine on a book I haven't read, but the names in this novel just sound a bit too foreign ( for the attack on Titan world) in my opinion.

I agree, especially on Jackson "Jax" Cunningham which sounds like the most cliche "YA-romance badboi love-interest"-name they could've chosen.

Though despite how weird it is and how little it interests me as a story, I am happy for everyone involved in this project. Cross-cultural cooperation in media can have a lot of potential to diversify the stories and themes and also potentially open up larger markets for Japan-based franchises.
Also certainly better than doing that through white-washed blockbuster movies...
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Agent355



Joined: 12 Dec 2008
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Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready...
PostPosted: Tue Oct 16, 2018 12:33 am Reply with quote
Flü wrote:


Though despite how weird it is and how little it interests me as a story, I am happy for everyone involved in this project. Cross-cultural cooperation in media can have a lot of potential to diversify the stories and themes and also potentially open up larger markets for Japan-based franchises.
Also certainly better than doing that through white-washed blockbuster movies...

Agreed that this is pretty cool, but I won't be interested in reading the novel unless the main character shows up in the manga.
Flü wrote:
catandmouse wrote:
What struck me from this review were the names of the characters.
Attack of Titan has decidetedly non-Japanese names for the majority of the characters, yet even though this novel obviously uses non-Japanese names, they sound like stock names used in countless other romance novels.
I can't opine on a book I haven't read, but the names in this novel just sound a bit too foreign ( for the attack on Titan world) in my opinion.

I agree, especially on Jackson "Jax" Cunningham which sounds like the most cliche "YA-romance badboi love-interest"-name they could've chosen.

I hear you guys, but this is the series starring a titan hunter named Jaeger (German for hunter), and you can't get more on the nose than that!
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