Attack on Titan Chapter 134, In the Depths of Despair Review: Suffer the Children.

Another month, another incredible Attack on Titan chapter.
Chapter 134, “In the Depths of Despair” sees the final battle of the story between Eren and the Alliance finally commence.
It’s funny to think that I thought the final battle was beginning all the way back in Chapter 116, which was more than a year ago.
How far the manga has come since then, with admittedly less than stellar chapters like Chapter 126, but mostly incredible ones like chapters 119, 121, 122, 123, 130, 131, and 132.
Well, now I am happy to say that “In the Depths of Despair” is the same quality as these fantastic chapters, delivering plenty of epic moments.
More than that though, the chapter lives up to its name, displaying quite a bit of despair, most of it in regards to children.
This is made clear right from the beginning of “In the Depths of Despair”, where Historia is shown to be giving birth, right as the worldwide genocide of the Rumbling is happening.
Talk about bad timing.
In all seriousness, Historia giving birth now does raise a lot of questions because Levi said there was still a few months before the baby’s arrival and, canonically, this was five days ago.
Levi being wrong here could be a mistake by writer Hajime Isayama or it could be a purposeful detail put in by him, which could have interesting implications for the pregnancy subplot.
I will be discussing this in my predictions post for Chapter 135.
In any case, Historia’s soon-to-be-born baby is not the only child we see in this chapter because we also get a lot of spotlight on other children suffering due to Eren’s Rumbling.
There’s the children aboard the train with the Eldians from Liberio who find that all the airships have left, meaning they cannot escape the Rumbling and will likely be crushed if Eren is not stopped.
Most chilling of all is a baby seen among a fleeing crowd of thousands, stuck between the Rumbling and a cliff.
The people among this crowd are left with the choice of either death by being crushed or death by falling and probably drowning in the sea.
Following this disturbing reveal of their choice in fate, we see a case of unsettling attention to detail by Isayama as a woman among the countless number of people facing their imminent deaths looks a lot like the pregnant woman who Eren saw in Chapter 130.
When Eren looked at her then, it caused him to wonder what his mother would think.
Well, now Eren seems to have pushed such thoughts aside because this pregnant woman has given birth since he saw them, and now Eren is condemning the both of them to their deaths.
In a most likely futile but no less touching attempt to save her child, the woman throws her baby into the crowd as she falls off the cliff.
The baby is catched by another woman and, in a beautifully haunting panel that is now probably my favourite of the entire manga, the countless citizens, doomed to die in the Rumbling, reach out to protect this child against the inevitable, incoming death.
It is the children who truly suffer the most in this chapter, with Historia’s baby being born at the beginning potentially foreshadowing the new life for Paradis children while, in the rest of the world, millions of children are ruthlessly slaughtered in Eren’s genocide.
Children being the biggest victims here is also astutely pointed out by the leading general at Fort Salta who, I just want to say, really grabbed me this chapter, despite us not knowing his name or backstory.
Some say that his speech to his fellow soldiers was forced and contrived but I really disagree with this.
In all honesty, I found it to be one of the most beautiful speeches of the entire story that ties into the themes incredibly well.
This can be seen through his realization of how the hate they gave has now been returned to them through the devil that is Eren and now the ones who will pay the most for this adult hubris is the children.
The profoundness of this speech even causes Karina to come to a realization of how she used Reiner, making her break down and declare how she was never a good mother to him, with Annie’s father saying he was the same way with his daughter.
Her breakdown made it all the more epic when Reiner transformed at the end to fight Zeke’s Beast Titan, which Eren appears to be controlling through the Warhammer Titan.
There were a lot of predictions about how Eren would take out the airships heading for him at the end of the last chapter.
I guessed that he would use the Warhammer Titan to create spears for the Wall Titans to throw at the airships like javelins.
However, nobody predicted that Eren would use Zeke to do it.
It just goes to show how unpredictable Isayama can be with his story.
Now that Zeke is back, it looks like Levi is completely ready to take him on, so it will be interesting to see how their longstanding rivalry ends.
The true star of this chapter for me though was surprisingly not Eren, Levi or the unnamed, bearded general who gave the brilliant speech, but Onyankopon.
Seriously, the guy did an incredible job avoiding the debris sent flying at them by a controlled Zeke.
Onyankopon refused to bail out with the Alliance, instead flying them as close as he could to Eren so they could have the best shot at beating him, planning to make an emergency landing once they had jumped out of the plane.
I just hope he can survive now, since he has served his purpose in the story of delivering the Alliance to the final battle.
Speaking of, we finally know what the final audio that was displayed at Attack on Titan’s final exhibition was all about.
Seeing Armin jump out of the plane and yell out, “Eren!”, just like he did in that audio, gave me goosebumps.
The chapter then ends with the Alliance fighters landing on Eren, and Armin stating that he plans to ask Eren how he is free once he rips him from his Titan.
This is a triumphant ending to “In the Depths of Despair”, which, in all likelihood, will not remain very triumphant as the endgame plays out.
This is the final battle and I, for one, fear that a lot of main characters deaths and a lot of heartbreak will come as the story concludes.
Overall, Chapter 134 is another incredible chapter of Attack on Titan.
The first half is full of despair, with the suffering of children being put on full display, while the second half is an epic and triumphant beginning to the final battle than will, sadly, most likely end in tragedy.
It looks like we only have one more volume left of Attack on Titan, with the story potentially ending at Chapter 138 or 139, and I am prepared to be emotionally destroyed by it.

My Hero Academia Chapter 290: Dabi’s Dance, Review – The Greatest Chapter Yet.

Even though I’m a manga reader, I decided in the past not to review every chapter of My Hero Academia, due to the chapters coming out on a weekly basis.
I didn’t want to get too far behind on other reviews I had planned but there were definitely some chapters I considered reviewing, especially from the most recent arc, which I can already say is the best arc of the story so far, even though it hasn’t ended yet.
And, of course, the best arc just had the greatest chapter of My Hero Academia so far, a chapter so amazing that I just couldn’t not review it, Chapter 290 “Dabi’s Dance.”
It was so amazing that I was more hyped about it afterwards than the latest Attack on Titan chapter.
And, since Attack on Titan is my favorite story, that should show you how amazing I think the chapter is.
You probably already know the big twist of “Dabi’s Dance.”
It was trending all over Twitter, during one of the most controversial presidential elections in US history, no less.
However, it’s not difficult to see why this occurred because Chapter 290 finally confirms one of the biggest My Hero Academia fan theories, that Dabi is Touya Todoroki, the supposed dead son of Endeavor and brother of Shouto.
Not only this but the reveal also comes a full 100 chapters after Dabi first met Endeavor in Chapter 190.
Now, when I started reading the manga over a year ago, I kind of fell down the rabbit hole of the Dabi being Touya fan theory community.
There was so much evidence that Dabi being Touya was basically treated as fact by the entire fandom, myself included.
So, if everyone knew that the twist was coming then it should have been pretty much impossible for the writer, Kohei Horikoshi, to amaze us with the revelation, right?
Wrong, because “Dabi’s Dance” is the perfect example of a predictable twist not being a bad thing.
I’ve always found twists that I have guessed to be very rewarding so long as they are well written, and the Dabi twist is incredibly written at that.
Dabi literally brought all of hero society to its knees single handedly, just by talking.
The revelation that Endeavor abused his family and drove his own son to villainy may be the final crack that shatters the glass holding hero society together.
The build up to this twist is incredible, as the chapter starts with Rei Todoroki seeing her scarred son when Skeptic hacks his video that reveals the truth about Endeavor onto every screen in Japan.
This is an extremely important moment because Rei was getting better and about to leave the hospital but, now that she’s learned that her son is a deranged mass murderer, this could set her recovery months, even years back, if she ever recovers at all.
Then there is Natsuo and Fuyumi, whose reactions we haven’t seen but are likely to be just as devastating, especially Natsuo’s because he was so close to Touya before his “death.”
The contrast between Dabi revealing his identity on TV to revealing his identity to Endeavor is also striking.
On TV, Dabi is poised and collective but, in front of Endeavor, he is cruel and gleefully maniacal, and dances in a moment that is extremely reminiscent of Todd Phillips’ Joker and, as someone who loves that film, I can say that this was a fantastic homage.
Dabi also reveals just how ruthlessly smart he was in preparing for this moment, sending Starservant and Ending after Endeavor, all to build him up as a hero to make his fall all the more painful.
I cannot wait until this moment gets adapted in the anime, just to see how the voice actors of Dabi, both Japanese and English, say such fantastic lines like, “The past never dies!” and, “So let’s tango, you and me – Enji Todoroki! A dance with your son, here in hell!”
Accompanying these terrific lines are some truly excellent panels that show off Horikoshi’s great art style, from Dabi removing his hair dye to reveal his identity, to his manic face, to Endeavor and Shouto’s shocked reactions, it all looks fantastic.
Along with the Dabi reveal, we also get some great moments from characters like Shouto and Nejire, who team up in the beginning to try and take down Shigaraki, before Gigantomachina inevitably arrives to rescue his master.
Bakugo is also conscious in Iida’s arms but, despite him saying he wants to achieve an “Absolute Victory”, with how injured he is, I doubt he can do much.
Yet, the end of the chapter does show that the plane which is theorized to be bringing Best Jeanist is almost there so maybe Bakugo will get to do something to show off to his mentor, before revealing his hero name.
The real highlight of this chapter though is definitely Dabi’s reveal, due to the implications it has for the rest of the story, as shown by the brief look at Endeavor’s biggest fan Can’t-Ya-See-Kun reacting to Dabi’s revelation.
I am extremely intrigued to see how the rest of the public will react not just to Endeavor’s past but to their newfound distrust of hero society as a whole.
One thing I have my fingers crossed for is that the next chapter will be “Touya Todoroki: Origin”, explaining what exactly happened to Touya and how he became Dabi in the first place.
There are a few missing pieces to this puzzle and I hope the next few chapters can resolve them as the story dives head first into the Todoroki family conflict.
“Dabi’s Dance” is my favourite chapter of My Hero Academia so far and has instantly propelled Dabi to one of the most interesting characters in the story.

Eden of the East Review: A Fantastic Beginning That Falls Off Slightly at the End.

The last anime we watched at my university anime club this year, Kenji Kamiyama’s Eden of the East was an anime that instantly got my vote to watch for its hilarious and intriguing first episode.
This is probably the first thing that will strike you about Eden of the East: its mystery.
The anime follows Akira Takizawa (Ryōhei Kimura), who awakens with amnesia outside the White House, naked and holding a gun.
The first person he encounters is Saki Morimi (Saori Hayami), a woman on her graduation trip who is surprisingly helpful to the naked man with a gun.
This is the basic premise of the first episode and the situation is as hilarious as it sounds.

The hilarity of Takizawa and Saki’s first meeting had the whole anime club roaring with laughter.

What was also a nice surprise of this first episode is its quality in the voice acting, especially from the English-speaking characters.
Whenever characters speak English in anime, they are usually voiced by people who don’t usually speak the language so it becomes rather hard to take it seriously.
Eden of the East does the opposite of this, having plenty of English speaking voice actors accompanying the Japanese cast and I appreciate the show for putting in the effort.
Another thing I appreciate is the great bond between Takizawa and Saki, which is kind of surprising since how they meet, with Takizawa being naked and with a gun, would result in any clear headed person running for their lives, but not Saki.
What most likely helps lessen the notion of improbability that their growing relationship has on the viewer is the two’s fantastic chemistry, with their bond being a highlight just two episodes in.

Takizawa and Saki’s bond is fantastically done despite its incredibly unlikely origins.

So, with these two great characters and an intriguing plot that could be particularly hilarious at times, I was all for seeing where the mysteries of this show would go.
And, honestly, I was slightly disappointed.
That is not to say the ending of the show is bad, it’s still pretty good.
But I much preferred the first few episodes, which set up the mystery, rather than the last couple of episodes that ended the show in a pretty rushed fashion.
For example, Takizawa does something in the final episode that Saki does mention in narration during the first episode, however, other than this initial narration, I don’t think there was any other setup for this happening.

Despite having some scenes that felt way too implausible and an ending decision that felt kind of abrupt, I still really enjoyed *Eden of the East*.

Despite my problems with the ending of the show though, I know this is not the end of the story because there are apparently two movies I need to see to know how this whole mystery of the game that Takizawa has become involved in wraps up.
According to the people I’ve talked to, these movies weren’t particularly well received but I’ll have to judge that for myself when I get around to it.
In any case, I found Eden of the East to be a solid show, all in all.
The chemistry between Takizawa and Saki is great, the humor is top notch, and the mystery does keep you intrigued throughout, even if I felt the story did not work in places, especially with the end to the show.
Still, I have the movies to check out so I hope they can wrap up the mysteries that were laid out in the first few episodes well.

Attack on Titan Chapter 134 Predictions.

After the meeting in Paths between Eren and the Alliance in Chapter 133 of Attack on Titan, 134 looks set to be the last chapter before the final battle begins.
With this final battle fast approaching, there are a lot of possibilities for what could happen in the next chapter.
Probably the biggest but easiest question to answer from Chapter 133 comes from the cliffhanger, this question being,

Do the airships stand a chance against Eren?

The end of “Sinners” saw a group of airships approaching Eren’s massive Titan to bomb him but, honestly, does anyone really expect them to cause any significant trouble for Eren?
They’ll probably only serve as a way to slow him down to give time for the Alliance to reach him for the final battle.
If anything, the more interesting question is how Eren will take care of them?
I think the most coolest way for him to get rid of them would be to create spikes with the Warhammer Titan power and then use the Wall Titans to throw them at the thirteen airships like javelins.
That should make quick work of them.
Of course, all it would take is one bomb from the airships to kill Eren but, given that he has the Warhammer Titan power, I don’t see him being in the nape.
Like the Alliance guessed, he is most likely elsewhere.
It would be kind of funny if he was still on Paradis.
That would really screw the Alliance’s chances of defeating him.
In all honesty though, there is only one way that I can see the airships causing any significant damage to Eren before the Alliance gets to him.

Will the army have created their own ODM Gear?

Back in Chapter 107, Zeke showed Kiyomi the ODM Gear and mentioned that it was a Marleyan project.
Since then, there has been no mention of it so what if the Marley government has been secretly developing it for the perfect usage.
This could be that usage as soldiers on the airships could use their ODM gear to attack the Wall Titans.
Granted, they’d still all get fried like Hange did but it could be a way to slow the Rumbling down significantly.
Of course this could have just been a throw away comment and we could see nothing like this.

Will the plane only be half fueled play into the story?

At the beginning of Chapter 133, Onyankopon mentions the plane only being half full because they didn’t have the time to completely fill it up with the approaching Rumbling.
Granted, Onyankopon did say he would get the Alliance there no matter what but the plane only being half full is rather ominous.
I don’t see any of the key Alliance members dying next chapter but Onyankopon’s purpose in the story is to fly the plane so, now that he’s fulfilling that purpose, this could be the moment where he bites the bullet.
I can see him just about to run out of fuel as the Alliance reaches Eren and use the last of that fuel to kamikaze the plane into Eren with the explosives, giving the alliance a chance to fight him.
Guess, we’ll just have to wait and see if this happens next chapter.

Will we see Zeke?

And now we have the question that every reader has been asking for months.
Where the heck is the monkey?
Seriously, we’re about to enter the final battle and we have yet to see where Zeke is.
All signs point to him being inside Eren’s Founding Titan form, with even the Alliance guessing this but we don’t have visible proof.
Well, with the final battle probably about to begin in the next few chapters, I think Chapter 134 would be the perfect time to reintroduce Zeke.
The chapter could start with a brief flashback to Chapter 122, where we see him get absorbed into Eren’s Titan and see his perspective of the Rumbling.
With Zeke introduced back into the plot, we can then have more buildup for his final showdown with Levi and potentially Connie as well.
Another interesting thing to note is that if Zeke really is in Eren’s Titan then he is probably close to his grandparents, who are most likely in the train heading for Fort Salta with the rest of the Eldians from Liberio, so they could possibly have a final scene together.
Speaking of these characters…

What is the purpose of the Liberio Eldians?

“Sinners” revealed that many of the families of the Warriors, including Annie’s, Gabi’s, Falco’s, Pieck’s, and Reiner’s had escaped from Liberio on a train lead by Annie’s father.
He has led them to Fort Salta but, as soon as they reach it, the airships they were planning to use to escape fly off to confront the Rumbling, just as it arrives.
This puts all these Eldians in a very dangerous situation.
Now, I don’t expect them to die before the Alliance arrives because what would be the point for them to die without their families seeing?
However, after the Alliance does make it, all bets are off.
I honestly have no idea if they’ll live or not.
They might all survive, they might all die, or some might live and some might die.
If Onyankopon doesn’t end up going full kamikaze on Eren’s Titan then he could pilot an airship that takes these families to safety.
Whether this ends up happening or not though, the one thing I am certain of is that Annie will reunite with her father.
Although, this reunion could go either way with it being happy or tragic.
My money’s on tragic, knowing how Hajime Isayama said he wants to hurt the reader.

Will Falco succeed in transforming into the Bird Titan?

After all the jokes and fan theories about Falco becoming a flying Titan, Chapter 133 actually revealed that Falco could most likely do this because of how he ingested the Beast Titan’s spinal fluid.
While slightly flawed in its setup, I am happy that this is happening because it means Annie, Falco, Gabi, Yelena, and potentially Kiyomi can be there for the final battle.
The question is though, can Falco really do this when he has no experience flying before?
While this may seem a bit abrupt, it’s practically assured that he’s going to learn to fly next chapter or, at the very latest, Chapter 135.
Isayama wouldn’t set up Falco doing this just for it to not payoff.
So, the boat crew will most likely be off on Falco’s flying Titan next chapter to probably save the Alliance at the last minute, similar to how Zeke helped Eren at the end of Chapter 117.
All of this makes me excited for the Chapter 134, which I am sure will end with the Alliance reaching Eren to commence the final battle.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans Review. Raise Your Flag!!!

When I first reviewed Attack on Titan, I basically called it the Game of Thrones of anime on account of how many characters were dying.
After reading the rest of the series so far, though, I know this is far from the case.
And now, after finishing Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans, which we started but never finished at my university anime club, I can see that the Game of Thrones title suits the Gundam series a lot more.
Iron Blooded Orphans made me wonder just how bloody the other Gundam anime could be, with constant brutal deaths from the large cast of characters, which resulted in a tragic yet fitting ending.
Directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai and developed by Sunrise, the show follows Mikazuki Augus (Kengo Kawanishi) and Orga Itsuka (Yoshimasa Hosoya), two child soldiers who form the organization known as Tekkadan, with their first mission being to escort the maiden of revolution Kudelia Aina Bernstein (Yuka Terasaki) to earth.
What follows is a long and bloody journey both before, during, and long after the mission has ended with, as I said, many brutal and shocking deaths occurring.

Try not to get too attached to the characters because they’ll probably die horribly.

Although many of these deaths are telegraphed before they happen, they still carry huge emotional weight that makes you feel for the characters.
Whether these deaths be in massive Gundam fights or Godfather style assassinations, they always hit you where it hurts.
This is helped by how great the characters are.
Orga is definitely my favourite with me caring for him, even when his naïve desire to see Tekkadan succeed as quickly as possible inevitably lead them all down a tragic path.
As for Mikazuki, I was surprised by how much I liked him as a character, considering he is pretty emotionless.
Usually, I find it hard to connect with such characters but I think it completely worked for him.

Mikazuki may not express much emotion but I still understood and cared about him.

The other members of Tekkadan like Eugene (Yuchiro Yumehara), Akihiro (Yasuaki Takumi) and Biscuit (Natsuki Hanae) are just as interesting to watch.
Not only this but the antagonists are also understandable, with the anime subverting my expectations on what McGillis’ (Takahiro Sakurai) role would be in the story and also again surprising me with Galieo’s (Masaya Matsukaze) great character arc.
Although, I will say that McGillis’ creepy marriage to Galieo’s nine-year-old sister Almiria (Ai Kakuma) should have obviously been changed.
Seriously, even though we see nothing happen (thankfully) they should have aged her up to make it not feel like grooming.
Sadly, this is not the only problems with the villains as the ones in season two have plot armour that I felt like borderlined on the ridiculous at times.
This is especially the case with Iok (Nobunaga Shimazaki) who can burn in the fiery pits of hell for all I care.
He is easily my most hated anime character of all time with his narcissistic stupidity leading to the deaths of multiple characters.

The mocking name given to him by the fans “Idiok” is perfect for this unbearably unlikeable character.

However, I’m pretty sure we are supposed to hate Iok, so I can’t fault the anime for this because the writers did their job at making him detestable.
As for the animation and music, both are stellar, with there not being one weak moment from either.
The Gundam battles look especially fantastic and this is best showcased in the action packed final episodes, where the tragedy concludes with a bittersweet ending that left me sad yet satisfied, although I will admit it is a divisive end.
I honestly considered giving Iron Blooded Orphans five stars but its problems with some of the villains, namely McGillis’ relationship with Almiria (ew) and the plot armour for the antagonists in season two, held me back.
Still, this does not change the fact that it is a fantastic anime that is a tragic thrill ride from start to finish.
Just prepare to be emotionally crushed by the end.

Noragami Review: I Need Season Three.

This year, I took on the role of an executive at the anime club, meaning I could suggest some anime for us all to watch.
One of these anime I suggested was Noragami, a show with two seasons, which I had heard a lot of good things about.
The first episode showed a lot of promise and many of my fellow students also seemed to like it, so it was one of the anime chosen for us to watch this semester.
And I, for one, am already hooked and need a season three.
Adapted from the manga by Adachitoka and directed by Kotaro Tamura, the anime follows the stray god Yato (Hiroshia Kamiya), who dreams of becoming famous and having millions of worshippers one day.
When an ordinary girl, Hiyori Iki (Maaya Uchida), finds herself able to interact with the world of spirits and gods after and accident, Yato agrees to help her get her back to normal, for the small price of five yen, of course.
With the help of Yato’s Regalia – a spirit of a dead person who can turn into a weapon for a god when they are given a name – Yukine (Yūki Kaji), the three go on many misadventures, both hilarious and dark, as they slowly begin to feel more like a family.

The growing friendship between Yato, Hiyori and Yukine is a great thing to see.

The situations that these three great characters find themselves in being either comedic or grim is highlighted by Yato himself, who can go from looking as harmless as a puppy to full on murderous swordsman in the span of a minute.
This dark side to Yato is often spurned on by Nora (Rie Kugimiya), Yato’s former Regalia who just brings out the worst in him.
Yato’s past with Nora is an interesting part of the story, making for a lot of fun speculation to have before the reveal of what he has really done.
And what Yato did in the past has gained him a few enemies, most notably Bishamon (Miyuki Sawashiro), who holds a massive grudge and relentlessly pursues him with the help of her Regalia Kazuma (Jun Fukuyama), who is definitely my favourite character in the show.

Kazuma’s amazing growth in the second season makes him one of the anime’s best characters.

It is his and Bishamon’s storyline that lead to the greatest arc of the anime in the first part of season two, which created a lot of intense moments with members of my anime club both cheering and screaming in horror at what was happening.
The second half of season two also introduced another one of my favourite characters Ebisu (Ryōtarō Okiayu), who I really wasn’t expecting to like when he was introduced.
However, he more than exceeded my expectations due to his fantastic interactions with Yato, resulting in a moment that actually got tears out of me in the final episode.

I was surprised by how much I liked Ebisu and look forward to see what his role will be.

As you can probably tell, season two “Aragato” is definitely my favourite season but season one is also a lot of fun with great humor, character development, and intense action.
Combine this with some fantastic openings “Gora wa Machiawse” and “Kyouran Hey Kids!!” which we were all singing along to by the end and you have yourself a really good time.
Noragami is a great anime that I will wait for a season three with crossed fingers, before probably caving in and reading the manga.

Kill La Kill Review: SYSTEM ERROR: FANSERVICE OVERLOAD!

Before I started watching Kill la Kill, I tried to remember what I had heard about it before.
Well, of all the things I could have forgotten, I somehow didn’t remember hearing that this was an anime with a lot of fan service.
So, you can imagine my surprise when I first saw our hero Ryuko (Ami Koshimizu) wearing Senketsu (Toshiniko Seki).
It made me worried that the show would just devolve into one of those anime that put fan service over story or whose fan service often got in the way of that story, like with Code Geass.
Thankfully, the exact opposite happened because, in an unexpected twist for me, Kill la Kill is an anime that revels in its fan service in such an over the top way that it somehow worked entirely.
Fan service is literally at the center of the story with the good guys being nudists.
This created a story that was both intense to watch, due to its story, and hilarious to see unfold, due to its purposefully out there eye candy.

Unlike other anime, *Kill la Kill* handles its over the top fan service in a perfect way.

Directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi and written by Kazuki Nakashima, Kill la Kill follows Ryuko Matoi who goes to Hoonouji Academy to confront the mysterious student council president, Satsuki Kiryuin (Ryoka Yuzuki), about who killed her father.
However, before she can get answers, she’ll have to fight through the various other students of the Academy, all while wearing the revealing Senketsu, a sentient uniform constructed from the even more mysterious Life Fibers.
The rivalry between Ryuko and Satsuki is great, as is the supporting cast, like the elite four, Ira Gamagori (Tetsu Inada), Uzu Sanageyama (Nobuyuki Hiyama), Nonon Jakuzure (Mayumi Shintani) and Houka Inumata (Hiroyuki Yoshino).
My favourite character would have to be Mako Mankanshoku (Ayu Suzaki), who is the kind of friend everyone would like to have.
Except for the whole, you know, going mad with power thing.
Thankfully, that was a one-time thing though.
In all seriousness, Mako is an enjoyably funny character with the great animation helping show off her eccentricities.

As for the animation, it is fantastic throughout.
I was captivated by it right from the very first episode and this continued to the very end.
Studio Trigger sure does have amazing animation for a lot of their anime.
As for the score, Hiroyuki Sawano once again kills it with some absolutely fantastic songs and music.
I especially like the themes for the main villains of the anime, Ragyo Kuryuin (Romi Park) and Nui Harime (Yukari Tamura), which were fire.
Speaking of Ragyo, I think we can all agree that she takes the title for worst mother in the history of ever.
Seriously, it doesn’t get much worse than planning a worldwide genocide with alien clothes and sexually assaulting your own daughters.
Well, at least the anime did a good job of making you hate her guts.
As for Nui, she is also a villain that I had a lot of fun watching, with her innocent design giving a false sense of security that hides the complete psychopath underneath.

Nui is a great villain who certainly leaves an impression when she first appears.

All of the characters are great and combining them with a good story, intense action highlighted by fantastic animation, a terrific score, and surprisingly well handled, over the top fan service, you get a really good result.
Kill La Kill is a great anime that has me intrigued to check out more of Studio Triggers’ work.

Attack on Titan Chapter 133, Sinners Review: No Bargaining With the Devil.

If Chapter 133 of Attack on Titan, “Sinners,” proved anything, it is that Hajime Isayama’s epic story is about to enter its final battle.
“Sinners” is the build up to that battle, centering on the stories of the Alliance, those on the boat, and the escaped Eldians of Liberio, all of them heading to Fort Salta, either to fight in the final confrontation or to escape it.
Starting with the Alliance, their opening section is definitely the most interesting part of the chapter.
Beginning with Armin talking to Onyankopon, the moment deliberately parallels Onyankopon’s introduction in Chapter 104, as Armin says he is counting on him just like Hange did showing that Armin is truly stepping into the Commander role after Hange’s tragic sacrifice last chapter.
Speaking of Hange, Onyankopon saying that he would get the plane to Fort Salta because it was Hange’s last hope was very touching.
What is concerning is that, because of the approaching Rumbling, the Alliance didn’t have enough time to fully fuel the plane, so it is only half full.
Onyankopon says he will get them to Fort Salta but I get the feeling that it’s going to have to involve some sacrifice.
Maybe Onyankopon will kamikaze Eren’s Titan form as a way to give the Alliance an advantage.
Following their talk, Armin goes to finally make a strategy for confronting Eren with the rest of the Alliance.
A few ideas are thrown around, like Pieck suggesting Armin blow Eren up with his Colossal Titan, for example.
One of the more interesting ideas is Levi suggesting that they find where Zeke is located in Eren’s Titan and then kill him to stop the Rumbling.
I’m not sure how I feel about this plan because, if Eren does lose his connection to the Founding Titan, wouldn’t that just make the Wall Titans rampage without direction, making the situation worse?
It would be a bit stupid if killing Zeke just stopped the Wall Titans in place.
In any case, I don’t think the way to completely stop Eren is going to be simply killing Zeke.
If anything, I think Zeke and Levi’s final confrontation will most likely be a way for Levi to let go of his promise to Erwin and move on from it.
As Kenny said, everyone is “a slave to something,” and Levi is a slave to killing Zeke.
Hopefully, Levi can become free of this in future chapters.
As for who is truly free in this chapter, I honestly could not say.
After Reiner speculates that Eren wants them to stop him, possibly pulling a Lelouch as has been speculated by some readers, Eren brings all of the Alliance into the Paths Dimension to talk with them.
This results in some time and space shenanigans where Mikasa, Armin, Jean and Connie try to run to Eren, only to end up exactly back where they started with Levi, Reiner and Pieck.
Eren tells them that he has purposefully not altered their Titans because he believes they should be free to fight him if they wish to, debunking the theory that it was Zeke creating the Titans.
However, where one theory falls, even more arise, especially surrounding Eren and Ymir.
The two are seen side by side in the Paths Dimension, both in child form, with their eyes darkened.
Many theories have emerged from this moment, from Ymir is controlling Eren, to both Eren and Ymir are slaves, to Eren is somehow communicating with the Alliance in the past, you name it.
I find the most interesting question to be concerning if Reiner is actually right or not.
Does Eren want the Alliance to stop him?
Whatever the answer to this question is, I don’t think it’s going to end with a Zero Requiem for the very reason that Reiner brought up Eren wanting them to stop him this chapter.
If someone suggested in Code Geass that Lelouch was being the bad guy so that when his friend killed him the world would have been at peace then it would have ruined the twist.
So, I don’t think the final battle will end in this way.
Either way, the Paths scene is extremely intense, with all of Eren’s friends emotionally calling out to him and Eren coldly stating that if they want to try and kill him, “You are free to do so.”
Guess there really is no bargaining with the Devil.
With Eren’s remark, the Alliance are released into the real world in which only a second has passed and Onyankopon is confused by their traumatized states.
Levi then acknowledges Armin as Commander and asks what their next move is, followed by a determined look from the new Commander.
This makes me wonder if Armin really will throw away the talk option and decide to try and kill Eren to save humanity.
The entire Alliance talk and Paths scene is great, with a lot of amazing character interaction, like Jean and Connie reconciling with Reiner over their past crimes.
Then the chapter shifts to easily the most polarizing scene of “Sinners,” cutting to the members of the Alliance who stayed behind on Kiyomi’s ship.
The reason this scene is so divisive is because Falco reveals that he thinks he may be able to fly because previous Beast Titans could, and he was transformed by Zeke’s spinal fluid before he became the Jaw Titan.
Many people are calling this reveal contrived and out of nowhere but the setup was clearly there.
A flying Titan has been brought up ever since Chapter 93 where it was used as a joke.
Not to mention that Falco has been linked with birds constantly since his appearance, his name being Italian for falcon, him talking to a bird during his first appearance, and his Titan form literally looking like a bird.
Although, I will say there probably should have been more build up for the previous Beast Titans being able to fly.
We have only seen previous Beast Titans in ape form, so if it can really take the form of other animals, if that is what is being suggested here, then there should have been a few showcases of this, like maybe showing Tom Ksaver’s Titan form or have the panel of the first Beast Titan in chapter 122 be a different animal.
Still, there was some build up to it, and I am happy that Falco can fly because it means he can take the rest of the Alliance to join the final battle, which is something I wanted to happen, so I think this works, even if it should have had more set up.
Another reveal this chapter is the Female Titan’s power, which is to manifest other Titan powers, possibly by ingesting spinal fluid.
This may be in reference to Eren drinking the Armor serum and Galliard and Marcel’s Jaw Titans having armoured faces though, so it may not be too important.
Whether it is or not though, I cannot deny that Annie was the best part of this scene, with her experiencing considerable growth, remembering her father and the good times she had both with the Warriors and the 104th.
Now, it looks like she will join Gabi, Falco, and possibly Yelena because I suspect she will be coming, at the final battle, using Falco’s flying Jaw Titan to reach the Alliance.
Let’s just hope this doesn’t end in tragedy for Annie and Armin’s relationship as I have been predicting for a while.
Along with Annie, Kiyomi also got some much needed development, with her expressing her regrets for helping to bring Eren and Zeke together all for profit and the honor of her clan.
At this point though, I have no idea what role, if any, she has to play in the story going forward.
With there being no development in my theory that she would have a connection with Kruger and Ksaver, all that feels left for her is her established connection with Mikasa, which I hope pays off in some way.
Cutting away from Kiyomi’s ship, the chapter then pivots to its last scene with a train approaching Fort Salta, the location of the final battle.
And who is on this train?
Why, it’s none other than the Eldians who escaped from Liberio, lead by Annie’s father.
They took a train driver and his family hostage and are planning to take that train to escape on Fort Salta’s airships.
Looks like Annie will get a reunion with her father but, once again, probably in a tragic sense.
I will say though that Mr Leonhart is really starting to grow on me as a character.
Even though he knows their situation may be hopeless, he is leading his fellow Eldians in the blind hope that they will survive and that he may see his daughter again someday.
We also get some character growth from the Warriors’ families, like Gabi’s parents finally realizing they were wrong to send their daughter into the Warrior program and Pieck’s father refusing to throw his honorary Marleyan armband away because of how she sacrificed everything to get him it.
This character growth is cut short by the sight of the approaching Rumbling and a group of airships going to bomb it, hoping to blow all of the Titans away, ending the chapter.
Seriously, though, we all know that these airships don’t have a chance in hell.
Sure, they may kill a few Wall Titans but I doubt they would be a significant obstacle for Eren.
I think what Eren will do is just use the power of the Warhammer Titan to create some spears and then have the Wall Titans throw them at the airships like javelins.
That should be enough to take them out.
In all likelihood, all the airships’ attack could probably do is buy enough time for the Warrior’s family so that the Alliance can arrive in time to engage Eren in the final battle, which will most likely be the cliffhanger for the next chapter, ending Volume 33.
Overall, “Sinners” is another great chapter of Attack on Titan that builds to the final battle very well.
I predict that after the next chapter we will only have one more volume left before this fantastic story comes to an end, whether that ending be completely tragic or bittersweet (because it’s certainly not going to be happy).

Attack on Titan Chapter 133 Predictions.

Chapter 132 was an Attack on Titan chapter that hit really hard emotionally, delivering the tragic death of Hange, oh, and also Floch too, I suppose.
In all seriousness, Hange’s death proved that we really are in the final arc of the story and, right now, the Alliance are on their way to try and stop Eren from destroying the world.
The final battle is almost upon us, meaning the end of the story is also, and, once again, I will try to (and probably fail to) predict what will happen in the next chapter, 133.
Starting with…

Will the Alliance Reach Eren by the end of the Next Chapter?

“Wings of Freedom” ended with the plane that is carrying the Alliance escaping the Rumbling, following Hange’s sacrifice.
So, the question is, “when will they reach Eren?”
Given how quickly it took for the story to get the Alliance on the plane, once they reached Odiha, it only being one chapter, I honestly don’t expect we will have to wait too long to see their confrontation with him.
In all likelihood, we will either have the Alliance catching up with him as the cliffhanger next chapter, or the following one.
Personally, I think Chapter 134 would be a more appropriate point for this to happen because it would end the volume off on one hell of a cliffhanger and also leave the entirety of the last volume to depict the final battle.
Whatever chapter this happens though, I can definitely see that chapter ending just like the final audio, with Armin rushing to Eren using the ODM Gear and screaming his name to get his attention.
But, once the Alliance reach Eren, that raises another question about what will happen.

How Will the Alliance Deal With Eren?

Eren is practically a literal god at this point.
He not only has control of the Founding Titan, and thus all Titans, but he can also physically alter the bodies of all Subjects of Ymir, including the Alliance.
Therefore, I don’t think a fight would go in the Alliance’s favor.
Of course, this is not their plan, at least for now.
Right now, the Alliance’s plan, or at least the Scout part of the Alliance because I doubt Reiner and Pieck would stay true to this plan if it failed, is to talk to Eren in an effort to convince him to stop the Rumbling.
But, I also don’t think that Eren would just be willing to stop.
Like it or not, him and the Alliance are going to come to blows.
I’m not sure if Eren would try to kill any of them, considering that he is doing all of this to keep his friends safe, but we’re still not sure of everything that is going on inside his head.
In any case, if it does come to fighting, Chapter 132 gave the Alliance a small way of doing so, the bombs that the Jaegerists tried to use to blow up the plane.
Armin insisted that they take the bombs with them but is currently unsure if he wants to use them on Eren.
He may have no choice if he wants to save the world, though.
I can see the Alliance using these bombs to attack Eren’s nape in the hope of pulling him out of his gigantic Titan form.
However, given that he is in possession of the Warhammer Titan power, I can see Eren being located elsewhere in the Titan, making the Alliance’s job even harder.
Although, this my be where their trump card comes in.

Will Zeke Show up?

Zeke has been missing from the main story ever since Eren transformed in Chapter 122.
Since then, many have speculated about where he is.
One of the prevailing theories is that he is currently fused with Eren’s massive Titan and is being used to make sure Eren’s connection to royal blood, and thus the Founding Titan powers, stays in place.
Another part of this theory also states that his consciousness is in the Paths Dimension and he is now the one building the Alliance’s Titans in an effort to stop Eren.
However, if Zeke is the one who is keeping Eren’s hold on the Founding Titan power, then the Alliance’s best bet to stop Eren would be to remove Zeke or kill him.
This is where Levi could come in, bringing and end to the rivalry the two have had ever since the Return to Shiganshina Arc.
Another character that could play a role in Zeke’s downfall is Connie, whose fight with the Best Titan was possibly set up in the Uprising Arc, after he learned that Zeke had turned his entire family into Titans.
I can see Levi and Connie teaming up to take down Zeke, which could bring an end to both of their arcs.
Let’s just hope that, if this does happen, then their arcs don’t end with them dying, like Hange did last chapter.
Another option for Zeke’s story going forward though is that he could actually meet up with those in the Alliance who stayed behind and give them the motivation to go to the final battle.
Speaking of…

What Will Happen to Those Who Stayed Behind?

One thing that really concerned me about the story when I read Chapter 132 was that Annie, Gabi, Falco, Yelena, and Kiyomi, five characters who I consider to be far from having their character arcs completed, stayed behind while the rest of the Alliance went to stop Eren.
This disappointed me because I would like all the members of the Alliance to play some role in the finale, and get their chance to shine, and that can’t happen if they stay behind.
Annie still has her relationship with her father to be resolved, it felt like Gabi was being built up for something, Falco just got the Jaw Titan, Yelena’s obsession with Zeke needs to be concluded, and Kiyomi hasn’t done anything substantial except provide the plane.
I feel like these characters need to appear in the finale somehow and Zeke could play a role in that.
Maybe he knows something that those who went to stop Eren don’t and him telling the group that stayed behind this could encourage them to get back into the fight.
This could also be really interesting, considering Zeke’s connection with these characters.
Yelena is completely devoted to Zeke and Falco probably hates Zeke because he deliberately transformed Falco into a Titan, causing him to kill his own brother Colt.
This could lead to more compelling character interactions that we haven’t seen before.
Another viable option that could motivate those left behind to go after the rest of the Allince is the surviving Eldians from Liberio, including Annie’s father.
The last we saw of them, they were leading a revolt to escape the internment zone and flee from the Rumbling.
Maybe they escaped by boat and they will reach Kiyomi’s ship next chapter and Annie can finally reunite with her father.
These surviving Eldians could then convince them all to keep on fighting.
However, even if Annie, Gabi, Falco, Yelen and Kiyomi do decide to go help out the Alliance, how are they going to reach them in time?
I don’t think they could take the ship that far inland and, even if they could, there is now way they could catch up quickly enough.
They would need something that could fly, which leads me to the next theory.

Will Falco Fly?

I know, I know, this sounds extremely far fetched.
Granted, it’s not as far fetched as the theory I brought up in my last predictions post, that Eren could see using birds, but its still pretty out there.
Falco becoming a flying Titan has been speculated ever since Chapter 93, when Calvi asked the other Marleyan officers if they had any flying Titans.
As for Falco himself, he has been linked with birds right from his introduction.
The first time we see him he is deliriously telling a bird to fly away from the battle, his name is extremely similar to Falcon, and even his Titan looks like a bird, beak and all.
So, what if, somehow, Falco finds out that he can make his Titan fly and uses this to carry Annie, Gabi and the others to help the rest of the Alliance fight Eren?
I’ll admit that I always found the idea of Falco flying to be a little too contrived but, now that so many characters are out of the picture and we’re about to enter the final battle, I’d accept any way to get them back in the story, so long as it makes sense.
No matter what happens to these characters though, I hope Isayama can find a way to bring a satisfying end to their arcs, whether they are involved in the final battle or not.

Deca-Dence Review: Like Attack on Titan, if the Twist was Revealed Early.

I really have to thank the YouTuber Mother’s Basement for informing us about this little gem.
His video on Deca-Dence really intrigued me, enough so to make me pause the video and watch all the episodes that were out until that point before going back to watch the rest of his review.
Good thing I did too because I stopped watching the video literally seconds before the big twist of Deca-Dence was revealed and it is definitely best for you to see that twist for yourself.
Directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa and developed by Studio Nut, the anime is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has been hunted to the brink of extinction by the mysterious Gadoll.
Humanity’s only hope is the Deca-Dence, a massive robotic fist that can punch the lights out of these giant monsters.
Our heroine is Natsuame (Tomori Kusunoki), a young girl who lost her father and her arm years ago.
Upon being relegated to cleaning duty, Natsumae finds herself working alongside without a doubt the best character in the show Kaburagi (Katsuyuki Konishi).

Kaburagi is a fantastic character and his bond with Natsumae is the heart of the anime.

After an accident causes the two to fall into the midst of a battlefield, Natsumae sees Kaburagi’s skills with the weapons used by humans to kill minor Gadoll, which is most certainly nothing like the weaponry in Attack on Titan (note the sarcasm).
Natsumae then insists that Kaburagi teach her how to fight, unaware that he knows much more about their situation than he is letting on.
To say anything else would be too much of a spoiler, given the big twist in episode two.
However, I can guess from my description of this show that the first thing that came to your mind was Attack on Titan.
Not only did I purposefully point out how the weapons in this anime are similar to Attack on Titan’s ODM Gear, but I’m also sure that the whole humanity being driven to the brink of extinction thing and being forced to hide out sounded like a dead ringer too.
Indeed, the best way that I can describe Deca-Dence is like Attack on Titan if the world changing twist had happened in the second episode.
Still, despite these similarities, there are a lot of differences between the two animes and the features shared with Attack on Titan feels more like a way to draw the audience in before the show delves into the really interesting stuff.
By far the best aspect of Deca-Dence is the growing father daughter bond between Natsumae and Kaburagi.
This culminates in the fifth episode “Differential Gear”, which is definitely the best episode of the series.

The fifth episode takes the story to another level, ending on an amazing cliffhanger

Along with Natsumae and Kaburagi, there are other great characters like the adorable Pipe (Eri Kitamura), the intuitive Jill (Michio Murase), and the fighting addicted Donatello (Rikiya Koyama).
Although, I will say that, while the characters on Kaburagi’s side of the story are all interesting, for the most part, the characters on Natsumae’s side of the story are, unfortunately, pretty bland and not very interesting.
Another issue I have is with the epilogue in the final episode.
No spoilers here but I found it to be a little unsatisfying because I feel that it glossed over a lot of important details and potential character development for Natsumae’s friends, which, again, was sorely needed.

Even though Natsumae is a great character, her friends needed way more development and this ties into why I think the epilogue didn’t entirely work.

Despite these problems, the anime is still a lot of fun with great visuals, a fantastic score, and some laugh out loud moments, all with the fantastic bond between Natsumae and Kaburagi keeping it together.
Deca-Dence is a solid anime that feels like a complete story, without the need for a season two.