Faris Alrushud

RIYADH: Turki AlSheikh, the Chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA), has expressed his admiration for watching the popular Japanese anime series “Attack on Titan.”

Social media users have interacted with a video of the eighth episode of the Attack on Titan’s fourth season, published by Turki AlSheikh, on his official Twitter account that says “Goodbye sasha.”

The video attracted about 870,000 views, 18,200 likes and nearly 4,000 retweets within 48 hours.

https://twitter.com/Turki_alalshikh/status/1356042197284638722?s=20

The “Attack on Titan” has gained popularity among its followers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab world.

The Chairman of the GEA said that animation is an art that not only targets children, but all societal segments and age groups, citing the degree of admiration, popularity and views the animation works achieve around the world, particularly in the US and Japan.

In another tweet,  AlSheikh listed several other animation series that he is keen to watch such as: Naruto, One Piece, Kimetsu no Yaiba, Bleach, and Monster, which have gained popularity and attracted a high number of views in the Arab world, as evidenced by the hundreds of comments from people reacting to the post.   

https://twitter.com/Turki_alalshikh/status/1356276263296634889?s=20

The popular Japanese anime series “Attack on Titan” is written and illustrated by the Japanese Artist Hajime Isayama. The events that occur within the series take place in a fictional world where humans live in lands surrounded by three high-rise walls that protect them from man-eating giants referred to as ‘Titans.’ The events begin when one of the walls, named the ‘Wall of Maria’ is breached and the giants exterminate the third of humanity, ultimately leading to the unfolding of a series of adventures.

 “Attack on Titan” has been serialized in a Kodansha’s monthly magazine since September 2009. After that, it achieved unprecedented commercial success.

As of December of 2019, the manga series has sold over 100 million copies in print worldwide, due to its increasing and widespread popularity, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. Moreover, “Attack on Titan” has won several awards, including the Kodansha Manga Award, the Attilio Micheluzzi Award and Harvey Award.