Board Thread:Manga/@comment-24407809-20160709015000/@comment-24407809-20160709042526

WARNING: RANT COMING

So, once again a main character survives an extreme set of circumstances that should have definitely killed them, but didn't for... reasons. And just like Hange's survival of the Bert-bomb (man, that name has really grown on me), no explanation is given whatsoever for the character's miraculous survival. Oh, and Reiner escapes death again, but that honestly doesn't surprise me anymore. The dude's like a cockroach. You could stab him in the heart, cut his nape, decapitate him, drink his spinal fluid, and feed whatever was left to your dog, and the dude would still survive. And I doubt we'd get an explanation for that survival, either. Honestly, I'm not sure how Isayama got such a reputation for being sadistic, considering the fact that he always ends up keeping his characters alive, no matter what they go through.

As for the whole "Armin or Erwin" situation, I'm pretty sure I can guess how it will turn out, given the fact that Isayama doesn't want to seem to change his writing style: both of them will survive. And I can already predict how they're going to survive: Mikasa will fight Levi for the Serum (which will take up most of a chapter), and Levi will beat her because Levi is Levi. After this, Eren will beg him one last time to spare Armin, and the chapter will end with Levi injecting someone (the person's face is kept off-panel, to keep the audience in "suspense").

In the next chapter, it will be revealed that Levi injected Armin, who is transformed into a Titan. However, mindless Titan-Armin lashes out against his comrades, and Bertolt escapes in the confusion. With no shifter for Armin to eat, Squad Levi is forced to tie him down (in a similar way to how Sonny and Bean were tied down when they were captured). After securing Titan-Armin, Hange goes to see Erwin and announces that he will survive his injuries because the rocks didn't actually hit any vital organs (as can be seen here):

Oh, and at some point after this, Titan-Armin is fed the Quadrupedal Titan to return him to normal. This way, everyone gets to survive! Yippee! >:/

END OF RANT

Now, on to the more interesting part of this chapter: Zeke. We get another look at Zeke's personality this chapter, and it is just as intriguing as last time! The way Zeke interacts with Eren in this chapter really adds some humanity to his character, and shows a softer side to him that we haven't seen before. Granted, we did see some regret from him when he slaughtered the Corps soldiers during their death charge in Chapter 80, but that was more akin to someone sympathizing with an animal they had to put down. But, perhaps most intriguing, are his comments about Grisha, and his promise to "save" Eren. The fact that Zeke feels he needs to "save" Eren from his current situation really adds a layer of depth to his character and his motivations, and raises some amazing questions about the history of the Hometown and the Walls. Especially when you add in Zeke's comments from chapter 80 about the soldiers not knowing what they're fighting for do to the First King stealing their memories of the outside world.

All in all, this chapter could have been a slam dunk in quality, and one of the best chapters in a long line of good AOT chapters, but I feel it was dragged down by the abundant plot armor for all of the characters. Specifically, Armin's illogical survival just to set up Levi's big choice between saving Armin and sacrificing Erwin, or saving Erwin and sacrificing Armin (even though anyone who's been paying close attention to the series will know Isayama won't kill off either).