Board Thread:Manga/@comment-27321453-20181008195355/@comment-35822279-20181009000021

I thought this was a meh chapter as it had many interesting elements but also many weak components that dragged it down into being a passable but not particularly engaging read.

Pros:

- Yelena was the mvp of this chapter for me as her conversation with Pixis was intriguing (I loved that Pixis was astute enough to call bullshit on her) and I like that her motivations and actions are becoming more murky as it makes her more interesting then being Zeke's answer to Mikasa. Also props to her for taking advantage of weaklings in Paradis like Floch and manipulating them to the hilt.

- It was nice to get some real traction in Eren's plot thread and fortunately it seems like the set up for the next arc is officially over. The next arc definitely looks like a real winner and I am positively excited for it.

- the best moment in the chapter for me was Pieck on the bench as it's great to see that the Warriors have already arrived and i'm excited to see how there counter attack goes (will Annie be rescued, does Pieck fuel the political misfires of Paradis, does Reiner defuse Zeke's plan in time etc.)

Cons:

- Zackley's death was a misfire for me as it is legitimately shocking I'll give it that but it's unfortunate that his death was based around a dank meme that was one of the anime and manga's worst moments as a complete tonal misfire that made me loss all respect for Zackley as a character and unfortunately the sh*t machine's return was another tonal misfire making a serious moment a borderline joke. It's just unfortunate as I thought Zackley was incredibly intriguing in the first season of the anime (I watched Season 1 + 2 before I read the manga) but now his entire existence boils down to being a comically over the top throw away character.

- the chapter felt oddly muted for a chapter that was literally explosive as everything was just like yea this is a thing that happened and then it just ended. Outside of the Yelena front it again felt like setup for something better but in the end while not a great individual read I feel that these chapters will be far more enjoyable as a collective.

- The tone was the thing that I disliked the most in this chapter as it went from a political thriller to LOL MEMES in the span of pages and it just never settled on a consistent tone. It's disappointing to see Isayama fall into this trap in this chapter as he is usually very strong in this area but here the tone was just wrong with oddly placed meta moments clashing with the series usually realistic tone to create something that didn't really work as either a light and poppy filler chapter or a serious political/spy drama about secrets and lies because of it. It might sound like I'm being overtly negative on this issue but tonal problems is my pet peeve when it comes to media of any kind (even music can fall prey to this) and unfortunately this has been a plague for me recently as most writers seem to want to have their cake (serious issues and themes) and eat it too (jokes) which makes their products come across as being written by a schizophrenic and it was disheartening to see Attack On Titan fall prey to this epidemic if only briefly.