Board Thread:Manga/@comment-34196931-20190708230504/@comment-35822279-20190708235451

I though this was a pretty great chapter that was incredibly close to being perfect except for some minor flaws and one not so minor flaw.

Pros:

- The battle is surprisingly vicious and chaotic even when compared to the rest of the series with lots of casualties (4 Major characters died in one chapter this must be the most since Trost and there is possibly two even bigger than these characters) and for once it feels like barely any strategy is at play but it's a good thing as it really sells the desperation of the characters and two nations trying to fight for their very existence. Overall this is the most tense this series has felt since Trost and I absolutely love it.

- Visually this chapter is great with some truly incredible panels (Colt embracing Falco in a truly apocalyptic image but also beautiful, Porco's sacrifice) and impressive gore on display making for a very visceral reading experience.

- The twist regarding Falco was a welcome development as I thought Reiner would die not Porco and it fits Porco and the Jaw Titan (truly the titan of sacrifice) with Porco sacrificing everything for Reiner after hating him for so long and growing past being a prideful hothead (something that has been in development for a long time) and it was nice to see a shifter die from realistic wounds for once. Overall I felt this was just a few developments short of being a perfect moment as I would have liked to see Porco react to his defeat in Liberio and have a talk with Reiner to set this moment even more.

- Isayama once again deserves special commendation for capturing the essence of chaos while not creating a muddled mess of a chapter (clean transitions, multiple fronts and characters handled well etc.)

-  the thematic cohesion of this chapter was excellent with Isayama stitching together multiple characters and stories to create something that was deeply resonant in the emotional bonds brothers have and how far individuals will go to protect those they love.

- Finally I have to admit that Zeke's moment with Colt was fantastic really showing the best sides of this character in his intense love for Eren which humanizes him greatly but also how inhumane he is in his relentless pursuit of both protecting Eren and securing his twisted version of peace as Zeke clearly emphasized with Colt but didn't relent to put him and Falco down and that captured this characters best elements in a way that hasn't been done before. As while Zeke is still ultimately not exactly unique in the world of anime (Persona 3, Eva, Gurren Lagann etc. all have similar characters) this showed Isayama successfully differentiante him away from other nihilist types.

Cons:

- This might come across as maddeningly repetive but the ending wasn't great with a straight up bait ending that really undermined what was going on and I wish that Isayama would have a bit more confidence in himself as a writer as he is quite talented and shouldn't rely on cheap schlocky tricks to keep the audience invested. It just feels like he wrote himself into a hole here as either Eren dies and the fanbase is angered (even though I prefer this as it is genuinely subversive) or Eren pulls out a cheap trick like memory manipulation (oh no Gabi shot a Marleyan!), his body is somehow a LMD from Marvel, his head grows spider legs like The Thing (which would be hiliraous), or he regenerates his entire body but either way it greatly damages the stakes when characters can survive situations like this and I can only hope that Isayama sticks with it (fingers crossed for Zeke plays baseball and goes berserk).