Shingeki no Kyojin: Kuinaki Sentaku

Quick review that will act as information to what you can expect.

Basically the story of Levi and how he got to the Survey Crops. It follows him in his underground days with his two companions Isabel and Farlan. His life at this point was him more or less owning the underground in terms of his reputation. Erwin comes along and tries to recruit him. From thereon, you can expect to see the early days of Levi and his team in the Survey Crops.

The story is more or less what Attack on Titan already is. A dark world full of despair. So you can go read it for yourself if you really want to, but I don't think this is canon anyways. This is just one of the earliest views of Levi's experience on the frontlines of humanity, and how the same thing goes over and over again in the main story, that is, the darkness of the AOT world. The same is for art. Multiple scenes of great drawings here and there but I prefer the original manga compared to this. I think there is a slight difference, especially with fight scenes, in that the original is better, but this version has good quality in its own respect.

Quite a nice add on to the story would recommend this if you are a die-hard fan. I believe that there aren't any differences between this and the anime OVA of it. So choose your pick from that.

A somewhat surprisingly contained story with talented art to support it. I felt that a side story or two possibly had more value than the main story but that doesn't mean the story wasn't gratifying. However, if you are pressed for time or you are indifferent to Levi but want slightly more Shingeki no Kyojin, I could recommend you to wiki the story and instead read the final interaction between Levi and Erwin. That may seem snide but I genuinely believe that it is applicable to many or most Shingeki no Kyojin fans.

Basically, this is a complementary manga to the world of Shingeki no Kyojin but offers too little information on Levi's origins and lacks exposition and commentary to such a unique world. The supporting characters are only there for that exact purpose; to carry the story forward. Interactions involving the supporting cast are basic and only towards the very end, in my opinion, do they contribute anything of value to the narrative which happens to reinforce Levi's resolve.

Commendation has to be credited to the author and artist for creating a successful spin-off which surely was a difficult task. Without my research, Hajime Isayama's editor must've done his best to capture and communicate his mangaka's vision to the author's of this spin-off. Despite the barrier of making something inside another's fictional property. Hikaru Suruga's art was highly consistent and has great talent but suffers ultimately just from the fact that he isn't Isayama. Perhaps this applies to other areas too but there is no point discussing what could've been better had Isayama made this.