By Hajime Isayama. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Bessatsu Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

This volume continues to examine the morality of our heroes and the military in general, but doesn’t quite hit all my hot buttons like the last one did, so I enjoyed it more. We start off resolving the cliffhanger from last volume, and Armin’s defense of Jean, which horrifies him so much he’s throwing up. Armin is an interesting character, balancing the ‘innocent’ Survey Corps member side we’ve seen in Jean, Sasha and Connie with his tactical genius side, where he can casually come up with horrible plans and then toss them off with a ‘just kidding’. But he’d never killed anyone before. Levi fares much better here than he did in 14, telling Armin he did what he had to in order to save Jean while also saying that this does not mean getting his hands dirty is a good thing. Sadly, I’m led to believe that Levi is kinder to Armin than to Historia as he values Armin more as a soldier.

(I do sometimes wonder if Levi and Hange have a plan for what to do when/if Eren dies. I have to think step 1 is “Kill Mikasa by any means necessary before she becomes a berserker”.)

Meanwhile, back in the city, Erwin’s on trial for his life, and everyone still believes the Survey Corps have become terrorists. Indeed, we see two of the MPs, Marlowe and Hitch, looking for Levi and company, and it’s startling how little they know given that they’re supposed to be part of the ‘bad guys’ group. (They were probably my favorite part of the volume – I love everyone talking about how Marlowe’s idealistic dumbness reminds them of Eren, and Hitch’s mourning for Annie, and subsequent horror when she finds out Annie was the Female Titan, is beautifully portrayed, a rare case where I will praise the art.) Hange’s job is to try to convince the little people of the city, those who hide in its slums and those who report on it in the newspapers, to stop doing what the government says out of fear. She offers the Survey Corps’ protection, but more importantly, Flegel Reeves finds his inner badass and becomes someone that a town can rally behind.

Erwin’s trial resolves itself in a fairly cliched way, but the fact that the government falls for the cliche so easily shows off how stupid and corrupt they’ve become. There’s several people who were simply waiting for a good time to make a move, and this isn’t so much ‘doing what’s right’ as ‘getting revenge’. Also, the town is unsurprisingly a bit dubious about the military seizing power, and no one really expects them to ever let it go. I suspect that whatever’s happening with Historia and Eren will put that on the back burner for a while – she’s seemingly been ‘converted’ by her father to their cause, and the Royal Family definitely seem to have SOME power in their bloodline, enough that touching Eren brings back some old and horrible memories.

So next time we finally get an explanation for what’s been going on with Eren’s father, and (I’m hoping) find out that Historia is playing an elaborate double bluff. Till then, I will freely admit Attack on Titan has won me back, and as long as it stops torturing for the greater good or emotionally abusing young women to get what it wants, it can stay there. Recommended.

(As a side note, Sasha is barely in this, but I loved her simply wrapping her entire body around Mikasa’s head in joy when she finds out the Corps has been cleared. And then Hitch’s as well. Sasha may not just be into food is what I’m saying.)

By Hajime Isayama. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Bessatsu Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

The cover to this volume features Levi (surly), Hange (insane grin) and Erwin (pensive) at a bar, looking for all the world like they’re about to tear the reader of the book apart, and honestly it wouldn’t surprise me in the least at this point. In the last volume was all about realizing how corrupt the government is from top to bottom and that it was our heroes against the world, this volumes takes it further by showing that our heroes are also not without horribleness. The griminess that the last volume had only increases here, and I find myself missing Titans a bit.

I’ve been reading the new chapters as they’re released on Crunchyroll, and have been somewhat dreading this review, as this volume seems to feature all the things I like least about the series. I will start with the stuff that was very good. Isayama’s art is still questionable, but the battle sequence between Levi and… well, everyone else in the last two chapters is quite well done, and should be really fun to animate assuming a series ever gets that far. Erwin laying out his plan for a bloodless revolution, as well as his own tragic past, is well-handled, and explains a lot about the lengths he’s decided to go to. Kenny Ackerman is dangerously psychotic and over the top, and brings a fresh terror to the villains’ side. Jean, Connie and Sasha are fantastic for being the remaining moral core of the Survey Corps, even if I worry it’s because they’re meant to be “the softest”.

OK, let’s talk about the torture scenes. I hate them. I hate that our heroes are forced to resort to this, I have VERY MUCH that it actually WORKS. This is the wrong message to send to anyone, particularly young Japanese readers of a shonen magazine, and no, Hange kicking a table in anger at herself does not really help to gloss over the problem. I do not want to see “torture is bad, but it gets results” in any manga, ever. Particularly when it’s our heroes doing it. Case closed.

Secondly, there’s the scene with Levi emotionally and physically abusing Historia till she gives in to their demands, which I think I hate even more than the aforementioned torture. There’s a theme in this volume of “we have to get our hands dirty if we want to win and bring about peace”, and it’s not a message I want Attack on Titan to have. Historia, after the loss of Ymir and the revelation of her true identity, is clearly suffering from shellshock of a sort, and doing this is just mean. And, as others have mentioned, having someone say afterwards “I know he seems harsh, but he’s really sweet underneath” makes things worse, if that’s possible.

I have avoided mentioning the fact in these reviews, mostly as it wasn’t really relevant when it was just the Corps trying to figure out how to defeat 30-foot monsters and not get eaten, but now that we’re into political intrigue and justifying the means, it needs to be said: Isayama has been reported to be a war crimes apologist, and many in Korea have called for readers to boycott the series because of this. And now here we have Levi and Hange committing war crimes for “the greater good”. It makes me dislike them, which is a shame as I loved Hange a lot. It also makes me dislike this volume, and I’m wondering how much rope I’m going to give the series before it hangs itself. You’re on notice, Attack on Titan.

By Hajime Isayama and the editors at Kodansha. Released in Japan by Kodansha in two separate volumes, “Inside” and “Outside”. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

Shonen manga in Japan get quite popular, and as you’d expect, fans want to know absolutely everything about their favorite characters, things that wouldn’t necessarily come up in the manga proper. For those people, there are guidebooks like these – they consists of bios, recaps, examinations of all the little fiddly bits, character popularity polls, favorite quotes, etc. They allow the creator to reveal some information that would likely fit awkwardly if it had to be inserted into the story proper, and let fans understand the characters and story better – OMG, Jean is an Aries! Just like me!

For those familiar with these sorts of guides, the style is unsurprising, but if you aren’t, be prepared for lots of superlatives. At times it reads like a gossip magazine, with lots of punchy headlines and exclamation marks as it tells the story of the 104th training squad. These are two books released separately in Japan joined together, and sometimes you’re able to see that – the book has spoilers through Vol. 11 of the series, but much of the first half seems to have spoilers only through Vol. 9. It can also be somewhat inconsistent – the book takes pains not to discuss Reiner and Bertholt’s secrets in their bio, but has no issues revealing Ymir’s.

There’s a long interview with Isayama where he discusses the major influences on the series – many may be surprised to here one of the biggest was Muv Luv Alternative, though those who have read the visual novel itself may be less surprised – it’s darker than Higurashi. I was less surprised to hear about the influence of Saving Private Ryan in regards to the emotional reactions of the soldiers. The workings of the manga industry are briefly shown, as Isayama discusses how he was asked to move to a more expensive apartment so that he could fit his assistants in it – but then had to make the series a success or he couldn’t afford the apartment!

Where the guidebook excels is in giving a name and backstory to the minor characters like “girl who dies in Volume 2” or “that one guy whose name I can never remember”. Isayama’s art is terrible, especially at the start, and this guide is a boon for those who can’t really tell apart the 5-6 different soldiers with short blond hair. There’s also a lot of discussion of the mechanics of titans and how the vertical gear works, and to show it’s not all grim darkness there’s also some cute fake interviews with the cast, and Isayama drew some AU art based on reader suggestions, such as Sasha, Connie and Reiner forming a band.

Obviously this is not something that you want to pick up if you’re new to the series and wish to see what it’s about. Read the actual manga instead. For those who are fans of the manga, though, this gives you lots of facts and figures, reminds you of your favorite moments, and is a good go-to reference guide. Also, I think the original must call Sasha a boke about 80,000 times. “Airhead” is the translation here.