Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan (Manga Discussion)

Seems to be the case.

I didn't expect Jean would have to take over as tactical leader from Armin, but I suppose in hindsight it makes sense. Although Armin has previously been able to think fast on his feet at times, too...

I think this whole thing with Bertholdt is throwing Armin off his game.

Well. That chapter was...something.

Looks like things have gotten pretty bad for the heroes, as per the usual for an arc climax. I wonder how they're gonna get themselves out of this one - the basement and Erwin's serum are the obvious answers, but I'm not sure how they'd use either at this point in time. And how many people are even left in the SC at this point? Eren's group, Erwin, Levi, possibly Hange's squad, and a few newbies? Geez.

The baseball mentions were also interesting, especially since IIRC the chapter title referenced it as well. Maybe baseball used to exist in the SNK universe until the first king mindwiped it from the wall population? If so, the setting might be post-apocalyptic after all.

Soccer pwns Rugby. Can Baseball be beaten?

I like what the mangaka's doing with Armin & Jean. Less happy about Sasha and Connie still being the comedy relief. Though at least something's being done with them other than getting killed off. Makes me wonder if the rest of the trainee squads will get similar plot armor.

After all the (makes me happy) chess moves, I think I'm going to be sad if this arc's resolved ala Deus Ex Machina / Eren's Scream ability. Or... if he gets another power up, I'm going to be making Kung Fu Panda 3 jokes in this thread.

Well Eren is being all useless again.

I swear, why do I even bother with that kid? He really can't do anything.

Eren isn't useless. He just keeps getting thrown into problems he isn't ready for.

Eren was the first and only person to confront the colossal titan in Trost, and would have won if Bertolt wasn't capable of leaving his titan and destroying it in seconds.

Eren vs Annie was him trying to fight the person who taught him how to fight and possess the ability to armor herself. Same thing for round two.

Eren vs Reiner round 1: He basically won that fight but then Bertolt landed on him. In round two he held him down long enough for the other soldiers to blow his up and Reiner only survive through a power that hasn't been foreshadowed and doesn't really make any sense.

Without Eren, the wall country would have lost. That is not useless.

Fair enough.

It just feels like...despite all the stuff you mention, he never really accomplishes anything.

Everyone else is doing awesome stuff, while Eren is getting captured, screwed at the last second, and overall set up against stuff (like you said) that he isn't ready for, which makes all his preparations seem meaningless.

And, huh... saving every single named character and all the Recon Forces with his titan-controlling powers during the arc climax? I mean, come on, you know that You Can't Thwart Stage One. :P

edited 12th Mar '16 7:18:40 AM by Cozzer

I know I know. Once it's brought up, Eren does a lot, but it seems like things are always so against him that it's easy to forget what he's actually accomplished.

He also closed the hole in Wall Maria, incidentally. Not being able to defeat a 60 meter tall titan can't really be held against him. >.>

I know that. Like I said, it just feels like the deck is always stacked against him, he's always getting saved, and he's always getting denied an actual victory whenever he's close to pulling something off.

If you want to be really cynical, even the sealing of the hole never went pear shaped due to him losing control and attacking Mikasa, and it was because Armin snapped him out of it, and truckload of soldiers gave their lives providing a distraction that he pulled it off.

Yes, I know I shouldn't act like he completely useless, but sometimes it feels like it's really easy to forget what he has done.

Maybe I'm just too hard on him. I should be happy that a series doesn't have the hero do everything and bullshit his way to victory.

I was talking about the hole he closed a few chapters ago actually, but I see what you mean. The author just seems to hate Eren, or to like seeing him suffer.

Well, it's true that he did almost nothing in the latest arc. :P

So why don't they just make 3DMG for Erengelion? I bet Monkey Trouble wouldn't be expecting that.

Square-cube law. You can't just make larger 3dmg without at the least changing the design a whole lot. Titans get around this because they aren't just large humans.

Engineering is usually far better than biology at dealing with that issue, however.

Because a Titan with 3DMG would be too awesome.

square-cube law for the moment, what target could the giant hooks anchor on to?

Walls, and 60 meter titans.

Using something that's not that much heavier than you as an anchor for something like that strikes me as a Bad Idea. The walls might work, but it kinds of limits the usefulness of the device.

And, I mean, if you're not Eren fighting Bert, it's fairly useless even if there are walls to anchor on.

Yeah, 3D gear for giants seems kinda impractical in this setting and not really useful.

Still, holy shit, things are getting worse. What Zeke's doing with the rocks is very clever, though, pitching them like baseballs so they fly at high speed but crushing them mid-throw so they become the artillery equivalent of shotgun pellets.

And I think Checkov is gonna fire that gun soon in the form of the vial. Levi has it, so chances are he's probably gonna use it, since there's not really any other viable candidates around at the moment.

edited 15th Mar '16 9:57:47 PM by Cronosonic

BERT! BERT! BERT!

Fuck 'em up, Bert!!!

Spoilers be out.

HOLY SHIT JUST GOT REAL, BATMAN! Team Levi needs aloe, and Erwin needs syringe-kun stat! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD

edited 7th Apr '16 8:41:36 PM by TheAirman

Chapter's out.

Even Mikasa can't do much against a motivated Bert! Things are looking pretty bleak for everyone. And Erwin... is probably going to die here. He took up most of the chapter by explaining his desires, motivations, and generally talking all the others into going on a desperate suicide attack with him. Him saying how he really, really wants to know what's in the basement sounds like a last regrets sort of thing - that and the image of all the dead Scouting Legion soldiers standing behind him really hit me hard. Really, if there's any time he might die, it would be right now. Even with the Chekhov's Gun of the titan serum syringe, I find it unlikely that he'll survive.

You can tell just how Levi is affected by this, because he went ahead and told Erwin to do it. "I will make the choice." No kidding! For Levi, who ever since he joined the Legion has been hanging onto Erwin's every word, trusting in him, to make that decision on his own, that's really telling.

The best part of his speech to the recruits by far was how they must give meaning to the deaths and tragedies of those they left behind - to refuse to go easy into the night, and entrust those desires to those living.