Board Thread:Manga/@comment-27321453-20181109001854/@comment-4383890-20181112054251

CaptFredricks wrote: Penguinluver1431 wrote:

Tumblr is a bit more mixed in their reception. Most found it either acceptable or awful, but no one outright said it was the best thing since sliced bread. Of course, everyone and their mothers is concerned about Falco and the Gabi hate is still alive (both of which I agree with), and yeah definitely a lot of discourse about the Hizuru clan and just how involved they are with Zeke's apparent plan. Lot of people demonizing Nicolo (I'm neutral about it due to the aforementioned Falco/Gabi opinion above), but definitely quite a bit of hate for Mikasa and Mr. Blouse, which tbh I feel as well. Mr. Blouse was pathetic so I was pretty disappointed that he's this month's FA, and Mikasa....well, I don't like her anymore, lost a LOT of respect for her. I get the whole 'forgiveness' thing Isayama is going for, but honestly I don't care, what Mikasa did left a very sour taste in my mouth.

I already gave my overall ranking of this chapter so I'm not gonna keep repeating it. I really don't pay attention to Tumblr.

I never said it was the best thing since sliced bread, but I don't understand the hate levied against it. I can see why some people might not like arcs like this one and Uprising as much because they don't have a lot to do with the Titans, but they are fabulous world/character building arcs and I personally love them the most for it.

See, it's so hard for me to demonize anyone in this series because they *all* have complex motivations and there's no real black and white (unlike what Gabi was brainwashed to think). So even after Gabi killed my waifu Sasha, I couldn't bring myself to hate her because I understand that Gabi grew up being brainwashed by Marley to hate the Paradisian "devils", and she also saw people she cared about killed right in front of her.

Why hate for Mikasa? Because she stayed Kaya's hand? Mr. Blouse had just given an (IMO) epic speech about why the cycle of hatred needs to end, and that the adults should not pass it down to their children (this reminded me so much of the Fishman Island arc in One Piece, because it dealt with very similar themes), but Kaya had a knee-jerk reaction (just like Gabi had on the airship) and tried to take vengeance for Sasha. The adults in the room (minus Nikolo) understood that the cycle of violence needs to end. It's been going on and on for centuries. They truly want the hostilities to cease with the next generation.

Why do you think Mr. Blouse was pathetic? I'm honestly very curious. I think he was quite the opposite. It takes a lot of courage and fortitude to look your daughter's killer in the eye and not seek vengeance or retribution. He understands that the world is not black and white and his child was caught up in the "forest" of the world. While he may not truly forgive Gabi, he has no desire to harm her, because in the end, what would it accomplish? If he had killed her, would it bring Sasha back? Would it take away the pain of her death? No, and he knows that.

I'd also like to know why you lost respect for Mikasa. If she had let Kaya kill Gabi, what kind of example would she be setting? Enough blood has been spilled already, and she knows this. Again, taking a life as retribution for another life taken is not the answer.

You seem to want some kind of revenge series, which is not what Isayama is going for. His story and his characters' motivations are *much* more complex than that. And for that, I am glad. I think the hate for this chapter, at least for me, is that it still continues the Marley arc, which I've made no secret of my utter disdain for it. I still regard it as the worst written arc in any manga series I have ever read. Then again, I've also discussed my disdain for the big basement reveal that introduced the concept of Marley and a great big outside world with Nazi parallels, which to me was the most disappointing and uninteresting plot twist ever. I still enjoyed the Marley arc because it at least had something to do with Titans, specifically the true Royal family's connection to the Founding Titan. Everything about the Marley arc, about the pointlessness of revenge and war, is just such a letdown for me.

And yes, my loss of respect for Mikasa is because she stayed Kaya's hand. Not because she protected Kaya's innocence, but because she turned her back on her late friend Sasha, a girl she thought of as a sister, and instead protects her loathsome and despicable murderer (no redemption arc is going to make me unhate Gabi). And since protecting Gabi likely means Mikasa will oppose Eren and side with Hange's "let's just make peace with Marley" BS, I have lost all respect for her and no longer care about her character arc.

Same goes for Sasha's dad. Someone else was mentioning in the poll discussions that real-life parents who have had their children murdered sometimes forgive their killer, or at the very least not endorse any kind of death penalty. I always have, and always will, consider those kinds of parents to be weak and pathetic cowards just like Mr. Blouse. No father would just let his daughter's killer off the hook, his forgiveness speech was not only unrealistic but also inexcusable. Maybe killing Gabi won't bring Sasha back, but it should certainly bring peace of mind to to her loved ones knowing she was at least avenged. For Mr. Blouse to just betray his own daughter like that...hell, Kaya, who wasn't even related by blood, had a more realistic reaction than Mr. Blouse, so I'm not exactly gonna be nominating Mr. Blouse for Dad of the Year, because the whole "forgive and forget" thing is nothing more than shameful cowardice.

I'm not actively trying to be negative there, I've just been very disappointed with the direction this series has been going in, as well as some of the decisions the author has made with his characters.