Attack on Titan Chapter 126 Predictions.

Chapter 125 of Attack on Titan set up a lot of plot points to be resolved before the story goes into the final battle.
I am now sure that we are in the prelude to the big finale, a calm before the storm if you will.
Although, given that the Rumbling is currently happening, I feel like calling the current situation calm would be the understatement of the century.
In any case, if my belief that the manga will end at Chapter 134 is correct, then the next few chapters will spend most of their time wrapping up certain plot points and character arcs.
We will definitely see this with whatever way the plot point that my first question is about concludes.

How will Jean and Mikasa take down Floch?

“Sunset” proved my prediction that Floch arrested all of the volunteers to stop them from rising up in the aftermath of the Rumbling to be correct.
Thankfully, though, my theory that he would try to execute them all turned out to be wrong.
Still, Floch needs to be taken down and it looks like Jean and Mikasa are being set up to do that.
Jean has been really conflicted since the Rumbling started, trying to convince himself that the fighting is over, while being disturbed by the injustice Floch commits against the volunteers.
As for Mikasa, she has also been struggling a lot with what to do now that the Rumbling has happened and that she no longer understands Eren anymore.
However, both look set to emerge from their states of indecision in an effort to take Floch down.
Jean has had a lot of conflict with Floch previously so it would make sense for him to be involved and, as for Mikasa, Armin told her to think for herself and stopping Floch is the perfect scenario for her to do that.
I just hope that neither of them die in the attempt.
I think Mikasa is safe but Jean defeating Floch, who represents what he could have become, could be the conclusion of his character arc, resulting in his death.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope this doesn’t happen.

Will Hange and Levi team up with Pieck and Magath?

Levi fans everywhere rejoiced when humanity’s strongest soldier himself was revealed to be alive as the cliffhanger of Chapter 125.
Having saved his life, Hange has dragged his unconscious body on a horse to the outskirts of Shiganshina where they meet Pieck and Magath who Hange engages in conversation with.
It will be very interesting to see how these four characters interact because they are meeting for the first time but the outcome of this meeting is anyone’s guess.
Some has suggested that Hange could find a way to feed Pieck to Levi but I am against this for multiple reasons.
For one thing, we don’t even know if Ackermans can become Titans.
Not only this but I would rather see Levi struggle with his injures than become a Titan Shifter, and Pieck being fed to him really does not tie into her arc.
The only Titan Shifter I can see being fed to Levi would be Zeke because it would resolve their conflict but we don’t have any indication of where Zeke is yet.
Therefore, I think it is more likely that Hange will make an alliance with Pieck and Magath in an attempt to stop the Rumbling.
However, I just want to say that this does not mean a Code Geass ending.
Honestly, I have been against that being the ending for Attack on Titan ever since it was first theorized.
But I am not against the Scouts and Warriors teaming up for an attempt to stop Eren.
I just hope that it does not end with it being revealed that Eren’s plan was to become an enemy to unite the world because that would just not work in this story’s context.
In any case, I am excited to see how the four characters will interact in Chapter 126.

Does Falco have Ymir’s memories?

Another big plot point that continued in Chapter 125, is Connie taking Falco to feed him to his mother so she can be revived.
As I have said in previous predictions posts, I do not believe that Connie will succeed in feeding Falco to Mrs Springer and that Armin and Gabi will most likely find a way to talk him out of it.
However, what I do believe is that Falco will see Ymir’s memories in Chapter 126.
Isayama seemed to be hinting that Falco had them when he thought that Connie looked familiar.
Some have speculated that Falco just recognized Connie from the airship when Sasha was killed but I think him having Ymir’s memories is more likely because of the plot significance it could have.
I think right as the two reach Connie’s village and Falco sees Mrs Springer, he will experience one of Ymir’s memories.
And not just any memory, but the one from Utgard Castle where Ymir laughed at Connie for thinking that his mother was a Titan to distract him from the painful truth.
This would both make Falco realise he is now a Titan Shifter because he is seeing someone’s memories, and also make him realise that Connie plans to feed him to his Titanized mother.
However, once Falco realizes he inadvertently killed his brother, Colt, when he transformed, I actually see him deciding to allow Connie to kill him out of guilt.
But, like I said, I think Connie will have second thoughts or be stopped by Armin and Gabi because I don’t see the point in Falco dying here.
Besides, if Falco does experience Ymir’s memories, it sets him up for another big plot point; meeting Historia who I believe is in Ragako.

Why I think Historia will be in Ragako.

With Attack on Titan supposedly in its last prelude before the final battle, I think this would be the perfect time to reintroduce Historia to the plot.
And what better way to do that than for her to be in hiding at Ragako village?
Now, you might be wondering why she would be hiding out there because of the Titan but that is why I think she probably is there.
No one in their right mind would put the queen near a dangerous Titan and it is this thought that would keep people from suspecting Ragako.
However, since the Titan cannot move, it poses as no threat to Historia, so the village serves as both a safe place for Historia to hide and a place that no one would expect her to be.
Also, Historia being in Ragako village would be perfect for the plot because she could interact with Falco, who might have Ymir’s memories.
This could give Historia closure and also motivate her to name her child after Ymir.
And if her child really will be the reincarnation of Ymir Fritz, like I think, then this moment will have huge plot significance.
Speaking of the child, Historia showing up here would also be a good point for Isayama to reveal exactly what the hell is going on with her baby and how Eren is involved.
We know from the memory flash in Chapter 120 that he met with Historia and I really hope we get to see that interaction soon.

Is Eren really planning to destroy the world?

After reading Chapter 122, I was certain that Eren’s plan is to destroy the world with the Rumbling.
However, each following chapter has raised my doubts about this and I am now wondering if Eren has some alternate plan that only he knows about.
One of the biggest questions about Eren’s supposed plan is that, if he is trying to destroy the world, why would he announce this to all Eldians, including the ones in Marley and other countries in the world?
Wouldn’t this just allow these Eldians to warn their captors of the oncoming apocalypse and give them time to prepare?
Unless, of course, Eren wanted them to hear this message so they would act.
In Chapter 125, Annie’s father was one of the many Eldians in Liberio who tried to convince a group of Marleyan guards that the Rumbling had been activated.
However, because of the racist beliefs of the Marleyans, Mr Leonhart and the other Eldians were placed under arrest, causing Mr Leonhart to fight back, supposedly starting an uprising in the internment zone.
Perhaps this is also happening in other internment zones around the world, as the Eldians panic about the Rumbling and their captors not listening to them.
If this is what is happening then Eren may have sent out his warning to motivate the Eldians to fight against their oppressors.
Maybe this was so there would be too much chaos for the world to stop the Rumbling or maybe Eren wants to help the Eldians by doing this, in which case his plan is something other than destroying the world.
Again, I hope this is not Eren pulling a Lelouch, I would much rather his plan be something more original and actually make sense in the context of Attack on Titan’s world.

An idea for a tragic ending.

Back in Chapter 110, when Darius Zachary was assassinated, a crowd of Eldians were shown chanting, “devote your hearts!”
And so a phrase that was once meant to inspire hope for humanity’s survival was turned into a fanatical slogan.
However, until the most recent chapter, this was not brought up again so I thought Isayama may have forgotten about it.
Then, in “Sunset”, we saw these fanatics again, cheering on Eren, despite him killing some of their own people by unleashing the Rumbling.
But, instead of everyone present being fully on board, many citizens who had lost loved ones were disgusted by Eren’s actions and argued with those in support of him, almost starting a riot.
There were other signs of division in Chapter 125, like when Keith told the recruits to act like they supported the Yeagerists but to never lose sight of themselves.
All of this points towards a possible way for the story to end that has tragic implications.
My new theory is that, whether or not the Rumbling actually destroys most of the world, the cycle of hatred against the Eldians will end.
However, this does not mean the cycle of hatred ends, it is merely redirected to something else.
Instead of it being Eldians against the rest of the world, by the end of the story it will be those who support what Eren did vs those who don’t.
So, while the Eldians are now free from racial discrimination, ideological discrimination grips the world and threatens to tear it apart once more.
This could be the tragic ending for Attack on Titan.
Eren frees all of his people from persecution, only to inadvertently start a new cycle of hatred and persecution based off people’s opinions and beliefs.
This would create a bittersweet finale that speaks to our current world on a thematic level as cycles of hatred regarding things like race and politics are constantly regurgitated.
And, even if this is not where the obvious ideological differences people in the series are having leads, it will be interesting to see where this plot point goes.

My Hero Academia, Season Four Episode 14, Bright Future Review: A Loss for the Heroes and a Gain for the Villains.

Coming into My Hero Academia’s fourteenth episode of season four, “Bright Future”, I was very excited to see the adaptation of two fantastic scenes from the manga that had me feeling very different emotions.
However, unfortunately, while one of these scenes was perfectly adapted, the other lost a lot of its impact.
This scene is the League of Villains’ attack on the police transport that is taking Overhaul away.
After they stop the transport, and Dabi and Mr Compress kill the sand hero Snatch, Shigaraki and Compress amputate Overhaul’s arms, leaving him quirkless, and steal his quirk removing bullets.
The reason this scene is a downgrade in comparison to the manga comes down to censorship.
The moment where Compress amputates Overhaul’s arm is shot in a way that removes most of the violence, making many viewers not even realise that Compress had taken Overhaul’s arm.
As for the death of Snatch, if you missed Dabi’s comment about him probably being dead, you would have no idea that Snatch was killed from being compressed in the fire because it was done so tame.
Maybe they should have added a scene of Dabi crushing the compressed ball with Snatch in it to make his death more clear.
I was also a little disappointed that some of the manga panels did not make the cut.
Other than these instances, though, the scene is still done well, with great voice acting, especially from Koki Uchiyama who voices Shigaraki.
And, even though I was slightly disappointed by this scene’s adaptation, the adaptation of Nighteye’s death could not have been more perfect.
Everything from the voice acting, to the music is handled so well to the point that it almost made me tear up.
Shin-ichiro Miki does a great job as the dying hero, who makes amends with All Might and Deku, before telling his protege, Mirio, that he will be a fine hero and to keep smiling for a brighter future.
The moment the life fades from his eyes is emotionally palpable and a sad end to a very dark arc.
Thankfully, Nighteye’s hope for smiles will be fulfilled with the rest of the season because the upcoming Cultural Festival arc is very uplifting compared to the Overhaul arc’s darker tone.
I have watched the trailer for the second part of the season and it looks like it will be just as well as adapted as previous scenes in the season.
All in all, “Bright Future” is another good episode of My Hero Academia.
Yes, the adaptation of the League of Villains is a real downgrade from the manga, but the Nighteye death scene more than made up for this with its emotional weight.
Anyway, now that the sad times are over, we can move on to the happier times with the next arc, which I am really looking forward to.

The Irishman Review: Amazing De-Aging Effects in a Long Film.

Martin Scorsese has had a long career of fantastic crime dramas from Goodfellas, to Casino, to The Departed, to many more.
As such, coming into The Irishman, I felt like I was going to see another riveting film on par with many of his prior movies.
Honestly, though, this expectation may have been a bit naive.
That is not to say that The Irishman is bad because it is certainly a good film, but there was nothing about it that made it feel like I was seeing something new.
The most impressive thing about the film is its fantastic de-aging effects, which allows the characters played by Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci to age across the decades that the film depicts.
The only problem I had with the effects was that sometimes the actors’ eyes looked a little off but, Aside from this, it was flawless.

The de-aging effects of *The Irishman* are so good that I cannot tell you at what time De Niro has no effects done to his face.

The Irishman follows the crime fueled life of Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a man who “paints houses”, a euphemism for murder in the criminal underworld.
Under orders from his friend Russel Bufalino (Pesci), Frank eventually comes to know and befriend the leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino).
The film then follows these three characters through Frank’s experiences in the criminal underworld and the fatal effects these experiences have.
For starters, the three actors all do a really good job with their characters, especially De Niro and Pacino because I could really feel the bond that their characters had.
The friendship between Sheeran and Hoffa, and what it ultimately culminates in, is the most interesting part of the movie for me; even if the outcome may not be true to life because no one really knows how these events really unfolded.

de niro and pacino — While probably not true, the way Sheeran and Hoffa’s friendship pans out in the film is tragic.

Another impressive thing about The Irishman is how it goes about portraying Sheeran’s supposed murders, with them often being quick and realistic, lacking an over dramatic feel, although this works in the film’s favor.
However, despite these good things, I still cannot say The Irishman is anything spectacular.
For one thing, the film is way too long, coming in at 209 minutes.
The over three hour runtime was not exactly warranted and I felt quite a few scenes could have been condescend or cut.
Also, as I said, The Irishman does not really add anything all that new to the crime drama genre.
I felt like I was watching just a typical crime film rather than one directed by Scorsese.
Still, the film is enjoyable and I would recommend it based off the great performances and amazing de-aging effects.
If you don’t mind the over three hour runtime then you should give it a watch.

My Hero Academia Season Four, Episode Thirteen, Infinite 100% Review: Exceeding The Manga.

I remember reading the fight between Deku and Overhaul in the My Hero Academia manga and being absolutely blown away by it.
The creativity and intensity of the battle was just incredible and I could not wait to see it animated.
Well, that finally happened with episode thirteen of season four, “Infinite 100%”, and I was even more blown away than when I first read it.
Talk about exceeding the manga.
Everything was just incredibly done this episode, from the voice acting, to the animation, to the music.
I would actually say that this is now my favourite episode of My Hero Academia so far because of how emotionally epic it is.
The scene where Deku successfully grabs Eri is just magnificent with the fantastic OST MightU playing as he grabs her.
The greatness of this scene continues as Deku moves so fast that he can’t even be seen, and the resulting shock wave created by his speed happens in a spellbinding silence.
From here, the fight gets more epic as Overhaul merges with Katsukame in a last ditch effort to get Eri back.
Realising that Eri’s rewind quirk allows him to maintain One For All at 100%, Deku takes on his foe at full power in what can only be described as a slaughter.
Seriously, despite Overhaul’s strength he did not lay a finger on Deku who punched him to oblivion in what has to be the series’ greatest animation so far.
With Overhaul defeated, the episode ends with Nighteye realizing that Deku has changed the future he saw, leaving hope for All Might.
Along with Deku’s great fight with Overhaul, there is also a lot of development for the villains as well, with Toga tricking Uraraka and the other heroes to ambush Overhaul at the beginning of the episode.
We will see more of the League next episode in a scene that will be very intense and I am eager to see how it will be animated.
As for Overhaul, we also finally got to see what his full plan was and it was pretty ingenious.
He basically wanted to use Eri’s rewind quirk to create a bullet that could get rid of quirks and a bullet that would restore them, which they would sell both to the heroes and villains, creating a monopoly that only they could control.
Just one problem.
It would mean they would have to experiment on and torture an innocent little girl.
This fact is established pretty disgustingly, as we see how Overhaul began his experiments on Eri when he was trying to figure out what her quirk was,
Thankfully, the boss of the Hissaikai is not as monstrous as Overhaul, being horrified at the man’s callous nature.
Sadly, this does not end well for him because Overhaul uses his quirk to make him catatonic when he refuses to follow through on this plan, leaving Overhaul free to experiment on the girl.
Eri really has the most tragic backstory in My Hero Academia.
First she accidentally kills her father with her quirk, then her mother abandons her, and then she is tortured and experimented on by a complete monster who wants to use her for his own gain.
Well, now that she has been rescued, we can hope to see happy times for Eri.
There is one scene in particular in the upcoming Gentle Arc that I am especially looking forward to.
However, before we get to the happy times, we have to go through more loss in the next episode, which will certainly make for a sad viewing experience.
Overall, I would say that “Infinite 100%” is now my favourite episode of My Hero Academia with its fantastic fight scenes, character growth, music, voice acting, and animation.
It all just comes together to create a flawless episode.

Jumanji: The Next Level Review. Another Fun Time at the Movies.

Funny story.
As I was sitting through the first twenty minutes of Jumanji: The Next Level, an audience member in the row in front of me turned to the guy next to him and asked, “hey, this is Jumanji, right?”
He must not have seen the first film and not realised that the teenage characters would become the video game ones so thought he wandered into the wrong movie.
In any case, I’m sure the guy was glad not have walked out because of this mistake because Jumanji: The Next Level is a good time that is about on par with the first film.

the next level.jpg — *The Next Level* is just as good as *Welcome to the Jungle.*

Directed again by Jack Kasdan, the sequel continues to follow the adventures of Spencer (Alex Wolff), Fridge (Ser’Darius Blain), Martha (Morgan Turner) and Bethany (Madison Iseman) after Spencer goes into the game willingly and the others mount a rescue.
Unfortunately for them, the busted state they left the game in leads to some unforeseen consequences, most prominent of which is Spencer’s grandfather, Eddie, and his estranged friend, Milo, also being sucked into the game.
Taking on the roles of their Avatars, Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), Franklin Finbar (Kevin Hart), Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan), and Sheldon Oberon (Jack Black), the characters set off to rescue Spencer and save Jumanji again.
One of the things I really enjoyed about the film was how it went in new directions to shape the story.
Rather than a retread of the first movie, Jumanji: The Next Level tries different things, resulting in various hilarious scenarios.
The best of these is definitely Johnson and Hart playing elderly men stuck in heroic video game characters’ bodies.
This results both in many fantastic comedic moments and also a lot of growth for the two characters of Eddie and Milo.
These two elements combine with a joke at the end of the film that left me howling with laughter.

his whole left side is shutting down — There are so many great gags with Eddie and Milo being stuck in their Avatars’ bodies.

Another improvement from the first movie is the villain, who this time is Jurgen the Brutal (Rory McCann).
In Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the villain was very forgettable to the point that I can’t even remember his name.
Granted, Jurgen is not much better here but the film knows this because, with the exception of the game cut scene that introduces him as the threat, it only places Jurgen in scenes with the characters.
The villain of the first film had entire scenes to himself that did not work, so only placing Jurgen in scenes with our main characters is for the better.
What is not for the better is some of the directions the story takes.
Like I said, I do like a lot of the new routes that are taken in this film but there are a few that just don’t work.
The biggest example of these is a storyline involving a horse that ends with revolving a character’s arc poorly.
I honestly imagined this character’s story ending another way after the movie was over and I thought it was way better.

The horse storyline is definitely the weakest of the film.

But, despite this problem, I still find the film to be a solid sequel that people will have fun with.
Jumanji: The Next Level is an enjoyable film that makes for a fun time at the movies.

My Hero Academia Season Four Episode Twelve, Unforeseen Hope Review: A Dark Future.

For an episode titled “Unforeseen Hope”, My Hero Academia’s twelfth episode of the fourth season is almost anything but hopeful.
The heroes just seem to get kicked down every time they get up this episode, with Overhaul utilizing his quirk in the most unique and disturbing of ways.
He actually destroys his and Nemoto’s bodies and then fuses them together to create an even more powerful form.
This goes to show not only how powerful Overhaul is but also how cruel he is, especially in comparison to the League of Villains.
Despite not being good people, the League actually do care about one another.
Overhaul, on the other hand, appears to not be capable of empathy at all, throwing his allies away like pawns and using them for his own gain.
This is taken even further with his treatment of Eri, as a flashback shows he cruelly dissembled and reassembled her every time her body got too tired to handle the experimentation.
Honestly, Overhaul is giving All For One a run for his money in terms of evilness.
Still, you cannot deny his intelligence in using his quirk the way he did, which even allows him to defeat Nighteye’s foresight, mortally wounding him.
Nighteye, a character who can literally see into the future, being defeated by Overhaul shows how much of a threat he is.
Not only this, but Nighteye’s foresight also predicts a dark future, as the hero says he saw that Overhaul would kill him and Deku before escaping with Eri.
Along with this, we also got more of an insight into Nighteye’s reasoning for not using his quirk, as he believes that by using it on All Might he has condemned his friend to a horrible death.
However, despite all this misery, I do suppose the episode title is right in one way as Deku promises to change the future and save Eri.
It will be hard for him to do so, though, because he will have to contend both with Overhaul’s over powered strength and his emotional manipulation of Eri, as shown when he uses Nemoto’s quirk to guilt trip her into coming back to him.
Poor Eri.
I just want to wrap her up in Lemillion’s cape and never let her go (epic foreshadowing).
In any case, alongside the great fight with Overhaul, we also got more insight into Rock Lock and the League.
Rock Lock’s development shows us why he was so tough on Deku and Mirio because he has a kid of his own and was just looking out for them.
As for the League, it appears they have made a new plan to make Overhaul “cry like a baby”, as Toga put it; something I will be very interested to see.
The episode ends with the party literally being crashed as Ryuko, Ochako, Tsuyu, and Nejire smash through the ceiling using the Eight Bullets member Rikiya Katsukame.
Overall, “Unforeseen Hope ” is another great episode of My Hero Academia.
My only big criticism is that I feel some of the shots of Overhaul’s new form look a bit off animation wise because of how static he is, which really drew me out of the action and drama.
Other than this, though, “Unforeseen Hope” is a crazy episode that is sure to lead to an even crazier one.

His Dark Materials Episode Eight, Betrayal Review: Worst. Parents. Ever.

Before coming into the final episode of the first season of His Dark Materials, “Betrayal”, I read a YouTube comment that went something along the lines of “poor Roger.”
After reading this, it was pretty apparent that my suspicions from the cliffhanger of the previous episode, that Asriel wanted Roger for a very dark reason, would turn out to be true.
And, all I can think after watching the Jamie Childs directed finale, “Betrayal”, is that Lyra has the worst parents ever.
Seriously, I have no idea why I thought Asriel would turn out to be a good person when he is in love with Coulter; you know, the woman willing to sacrifice children to get what she wants.
It only makes sense that Asriel has the same ruthlessness to achieve his goal, which turns out to be the case when he murders Roger in order to open a bridge to the multiverse.
James McAvoy does a fantastic job as Asriel in this scene as he tries to justify his actions to Roger while he is about to murder him.

Roger says that Asriel looked at him like a hungry wolf and that was definitely the case.

Both he and Coulter are fascinating in their ruthlessness and hypocrisy, willing to kill many children to achieve their goals while remaining adamant that nothing must happen to Lyra.
It is this hypocrisy that leads Coulter to refuse to follow Asriel into the multiverse because she wants to find their daughter.
This makes it ironic that Lyra follows Asriel into the multiverse immediately afterwards to stop him, separating her again from Coulter.
Honestly, Asriel leaving Lyra at Jordan College was the only good thing he ever did for her.
As well as the fascinating aspects of Asriel and Coulter’s characters, another interesting feature is the explanation of why the Magisterium fears Dust, believing it to be the cause of human sin.
Asriel wants to escape from the grip of the Magisterium, which is why he sacrifices Roger so cruelly.
Before this, we did get more scenes of Roger and Lyra bonding to make his death all the more tragic because we can see how good of a friend he was.
The scene of Roger’s demise is expertly handled with the acting from both Dafne Keen and Llewin Loyd, and the sound design, giving it an extra emotional punch.

The tragedy of Roger’s death is sold by the great shots and editing as well.

As for Will, his role is almost as important with his entry into Lyra’s dimension being built up right up until the two enter the bridges at the end of the episode.
This was a nice case of editing for the end of “Betrayal” and opens up some interesting directions for the second season to go with both characters exploring the other’s universes.
The two are definitely linked.

into the multiverse.jpg — Both Lyra and Will entering the multiverse at the end of the episode sets up their journeys in season two.

Now, for the issues I had with the episode, which is mainly down to a few things that did not make much sense, like when the armoured bears showed up out of nowhere to help Lyra and Iorek.
I’m pretty sure they did not come with them in the previous episode so when did they get there?
Also, Roger definitely distrusts Asriel so it does not make sense for him to follow the man so willingly.
Then there is the lack of Lee and Serafina because it felt like they were set up to return and help Lyra this episode but they were nowhere in sight.
Overall, though, “Betrayal” is a fitting finale for the season that ends a lot of character arcs in a satisfying, yet tragic, way.
I am certainly looking forward to the second season.

Attack on Titan Chapter 125, After Glow Review: Uprisings Are Brewing.

After Chapter 124 of Attack on Titan, I was interested to see how Hajime Isayama would use Annie in the story but was slightly skeptical that he could make me care for her after she was gone for so long.
Well, he just proved me wrong again because Chapter 125, “After Glow” provided more insight into Annie’s past, putting her relationship with her father in an entirely new light.
As I expected, Annie encounters Hitch who, after some persuasion and threats, agrees to take Annie to the battlefield.
Along the way, Annie answers Hitch’s question about why she killed so many people to achieve her goal.
Annie reveals that, like Reiner, she is the offspring of an affair between an Eldian and a Marleyan, which resulted in her being cast aside.
The man we previously thought was Annie’s father adopted her in order to force her to become a warrior so he could become an honorary Marleyan.
Having never known love, Annie viewed all life as meaningless, including her own, until the day of her departure.
Realizing he was wrong and that he sees Annie as his daughter, Mr Leonhart breaks down and begs Annie to come home to him.
This being the only love Annie has experienced causes her to focus on returning to him to such an extent that she is willing to kill hundreds if not thousands to do it.
She says she would do all the terrible things she’s done again if it helps her get back to her father.
All of this information really helped me understand Annie a lot more than I had previously, and painted her in a flawed yet very relatable light.
However, as Hitch points out, if the Rumbling succeeds then Annie’s father will be killed.
Speaking of, the chapter then cuts to Mr Leonhart himself in Liberio where he and the other Eldians try to convince their Marleyan guards that the Rumbling has been activated.
However, because of their racism, the Marleyans believe this may be the start of an uprising so place them all under arrest.
Remembering Annie’s promise to come home, Mr Leonhart fights back using his martial skills and looks to be setting the uprising that the Marleyan guards feared happening into motion.
It will be interesting to see if such an uprising has any effect, especially considering Eren’s plan to destroy the world.
A part of me is now wondering if Eren broadcast his message to all Eldians to start these uprisings across the world.
Unfortunately, Paradis looks prime for uprisings as well, or at least a civil war.
At the beginning of “After Glow”, Eren releasing the wall Titans is revealed to have accidentally killed probably hundreds of people from falling rubble.
This has caused quite the divide in Stohess, with some commending Eren and some condemning him.
All of this infighting can lead to nothing good, with a part of me wondering if this will tie into a bittersweet ending for the manga.
Eren could succeed in destroying the world, ending hatred for Eldians, but a new cycle of violence begins between those who worship him and those who despise him.
Either way, it is pretty chilling to see Erwin’s heroic catchphrase of “dedicate your hearts” being turned into a cult-like chant.
And then there is Keith, who tells the recruits who are now on his side to wait for their chance to make a stand, preparing them for their own uprising when the chance comes.
Along with this, Keith’s scene also shows how great this chapter is at transitioning, with every scene being connected somewhat.
When Annie talks of her father the scene cuts to him, when Mr Leonhart attacks the Marleyan guard and a shot is fired the scene cuts to Keith hearing a gunshot, and when Keith stands up the scene cuts to Armin sitting down.
During this moment, we get what is definitely the most intense scene between Armin and Mikasa in the manga.
Armin is at his breaking point and Mikasa feels lost, asking what she should do and what they are going to do about Eren.
Frustrated at this, Armin tells Mikasa to think for herself, yells at her that they don’t have time to focus on Eren, and finally reflects that Erwin should have been revived instead of him.
Armin saying this pretty much foreshadows that he will eventually prove he was the right choice and I can’t wait to see how he will prove this.
As for Mikasa, her character development in this final arc is the best she has had so far.
I’ve always liked Mikasa but there have been a lot of missed opportunities with her character, especially in the Uprising Arc.
So, her developing by slowly becoming more independent and moving away from Eren is great.
At the end of the scene she even notices her scarf is gone, which was probably taken by Louise and will come up again later.
We then get probably the funniest part of the chapter when Gabi says her goodbyes to the Braus family, before she and Armin go to rescue Falco.
Kaya tells Gabi that her name is strange and Mia is better causing Gabi to comedically exclaim, before the two embrace as a goodbye.
Now, a lot of people appear to be criticizing Armin for trying to help Gabi save Falco but I think it makes perfect sense because it is the best way to get the warriors on their side and end the conflict on Paradis.
If Connie kills Falco then they can kiss their chance at peace goodbye.
Connie only cares about bringing his mum back, though, which is understandable.
Still we can see from the look on his face as he takes Falco to Ragako that he is conflicted but the memories of his mother strengthens his resolve.
Although, it is pretty weird that Falco is not tied up in this scene.
He was at the end of Chapter 124 and it would be safest for Connie to transport him like that.
Even if Falco does not know he is a Titan Shifter, he will quickly catch on when Connie tries to fed him to his mother and fight back.
Also, Falco does seem a little too trusting of Connie here, taking what he told him at face value immediately.
Did he learn nothing from being manipulated by Eren in Liberio?
On the upside, Falco has no memory of killing his brother when he transformed so him learning this should create some great and tragic character development for him.
Along with this, Falco seems to recognize Connie, even though Connie doesn’t know him.
Now, this could just be Falco recognizing Connie from when he and Gabi got on the airship, but I actually think this is pointing to him getting Ymir’s memories.
And, if my prediction that him and Connie will run into Historia is correct, then this could have a huge impact.
Either way, I highly doubt Connie will succeed in feeding Falco to his mum because Armin and Gabi are on their way to try and talk him out of it.
Just as they will have to stop Connie, it looks like Jean and Mikasa will have to stop Floch as well who reveals he knew Eren’s plan and places all of the volunteers, including Onyankopon and Yelena, under arrest.
I am surprised Floch didn’t just execute them all there because he must know they will cause trouble but, thankfully for whatever reason, he decided to hold off on that, only executing one of the volunteers who fought back.
And what an execution that was because it is one of the goriest deaths in the entire manga.
The bullet from Floch’s gun rearranged the man’s entire face, with his jaw becoming unhinged.
We can see that Floch feels no remorse for killing this nameless volunteer because he then happily tells Jean that they are free and he is now a hero.
Jean actually seems to momentarily be happy about this until he sees the look on Onyankopon’s face and hears Floch say he can go back to being “the arrogant bastard you were.”
Here’s the thing Floch, Jean is definitely not that person anymore and will most likely take a stand against you.
I see Floch as what Jean could have been so a fight between the two seems highly likely.
Let’s just hope Jean doesn’t get himself killed in that fight.
In any case, upon arriving on the scene, Mikasa questions Floch about the whereabouts of Levi and Hange, only for him to say Zeke killed them.
Isayama may as well have inserted the “why are you lying” meme because the end of the chapter proves Floch is a liar.
As Pieck and Magath look at the airships fleeing Paradis to warn the rest of the world of the Rumbling, Hange appears behind them with an injured Levi in tow, calling him “a completely harmless man who failed to die.”
It will be interesting to see what Levi’s role to play in the finale is with how bandaged up he is.
Some have speculated he will be turned into a Shifter but I have already established that that this is the last thing I want to happen.
It would be way more interesting for him to struggle with his injuries.
I do wonder what Hange’s plan in talking to Pieck is, though, and how she plans to convince them to help her out.
She certainly took a big risk by showing herself to them.
I smell a team up between the warriors and scouts coming.
It would be very exciting if this did happen because then we will see many characters interact for the first time.
Overall, “After Glow” is a solid chapter of Attack on Titan.
There is not a lot of action but superb character development that could eventually lead to a plan to take the fight to Eren.

My Hero Academia Season Four Episode 11, Lemillion Review: A Hero’s Sacrifice.

For a long time, the tenth episode of season two, “Shoto Todoroki: Origin” was my favourite episode of My Hero Academia.
Well, I can easily say that the episode just got beaten by the eleventh of season four, “Lemillion”, which features the heroic sacrifice of Mirio Togata.
Not of his life but his quirk.
The build up to this moment is excellent, with the opening of Overhaul revealing the bullets that can remove a quirk forever serving as sinister foreshadowing for what is to come.
Before this tragic moment occurs, though, the episode picks up from where “Temp Squad” left off with Mimic attempting to crush both the heroes and the League of Villains.
However, this does not go well for him because Deku manages to expose his hiding place, giving Aizawa enough time to disable his quirk and take him off the playing field.
With Mimic out of the picture, the episode then cuts to Mirio catching up to Overhaul and his right hand man Chronostasis, who have Eri.
However, before he can do anything, he is attacked by the two remaining members of the Eight Bullets of the Hassaikai, Shin Nemoto and Deidoro Sakai, who both have pretty tough quirks to get through.
Nemoto’s is confession, which allows him to make any person answer his questions truthfully; a quirk that he uses pretty humorously on Twice and Toga in a flashback.
As for Sakai, his quirk is Slosh, which means he can transfer his drunkenness to other people.
For the brief time the two minions of Overhaul are on screen they have a pretty comedic dynamic, with one gag of Sakai throwing a bottle at Nemoto leaving me in fits of laughter.
The laughter fades quickly, however, as Mirio fights past them and reaches Overhaul, ripping Eri from Chronostasis’ arms and declaring to Eri that he will be her hero.
This leads to Overhaul chastising Eri, cruelly calling her cursed.
Mirio is outraged that he would say that to his own daughter, leading to one of the most chilling moments in the episode where Overhaul removes his glove, coldly reveals that he has no children, and then immediately going on the attack.
On a side note, while I do believe the sub of My Hero Academia is better than the dub, the English voice actor of Overhaul, Kellen Goff, does a great job here, especially with the chuckle of amusement he adds to his voice.
The following fight between Mirio and Overhaul is fantastic, with both of their quirks being brilliantly used.
From Overhaul deconstructing the ground and then reconstructing it as deadly spikes, to Mirio using his permeation to pass through Eri to kick Chronostasis and then shield Eri with his cape only to ambush the two.
Mirio would have beaten Overhaul had it not been for Nemoto who, through his blind devotion to Overhaul, managed to crawl to the battlefield.
Receiving a quirk removing bullet from the young head, Nemoto realizes the only way he will be able to hit Mirio is to trick him into shielding Eri.
And so Mirio’s sacrifice commences, with him taking the bullet for Eri with a smile on his face, comforting her.
We then get a flashback to Mirio’s journey to becoming a hero and Overhaul’s gleeful cry (completely ignoring Nemoto’s pleas for recognition) makes us think that Mirio’s dream is over.
Until this perception is completely shattered as Mirio keeps fighting, despite losing his quirk, and manages to hold Overhaul off and protect Eri until help arrives.
As Mirio says, no matter what he’s still Lemillion.
This is by far the most inspirational scene of My Hero Academia with everything coming together from the voice acting, to the animation, to the music, it’s all fantastic.
The episode really shows why I placed Mirio at number eight on my top 10 My Hero Academia characters list.
“Lemillion” is, without a doubt, my favourite episode of the entire series so far.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Review – More Like The Rise of Retcons.

The reactions to Disney’s new Star Wars trilogy have been… interesting to say the least.
It constantly feels like the extreme fans are at one another’s throats with each subsequent movie.
Personally, I enjoyed the first two films in this new trilogy.
I still love The Force Awakens, with it being my third favourite movie in the saga, next to A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
As for The Last Jedi, I thought it was a great film when I first watched it but, upon multiple rewatches, it became clear that it did have a lot of issues.
Even so, I enjoy the film but, sadly, the same cannot be said for The Rise of Skywalker, once again directed by J.J Abrams.
The funny thing is that this review was initially supposed to be positive but I quickly realised that I was writing down more negatives than positives about the film so it did not constitute being called a good film.
I would say that The Rise of Skywalker is the most flawed installment in this new trilogy.
Right from the start, I knew we were in trouble because the opening crawl details things that we should have been shown rather than told.
Following this, the first act is a complete mess that feels completely lacking in soul.
I found it incredibly difficult to care as the central characters of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac) jumped from planet to planet, searching for a MacGuffin.
Even worse, when Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is sent by a somehow alive Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) to kill Rey it causes the movie to deliver a whole bunch of retcons to try and undo all of the twists in The Last Jedi that many vocal fans had issue with.
The most evident of these is Palpatine himself.
With Snoke gone, they just shoehorned in Palpatine with absolutely no setup.

Palpatine basically serves as the replacement big bad guy after Snoke and it is blatantly obvious that his return was not planned.

And that is my big problem with this new trilogy.
Disney clearly had absolutely no plan when making these films and it creates a story that just doesn’t connect into a cohesive whole.
Look at the prequels.
Those films may be worse than these ones but George Lucas did have a plan on where the story would go.
Granted, he did not do a good job at adapting this plan but he still had one.
However, I will not say that The Rise of Skywalker is awful.
What saves the film from that is that it does get better after the first act and this is in no small part to the connection between Rey and Kylo Ren.
Kylo Ren is the best character in this trilogy and Adam Driver does an amazing job as him.
Although, I personally did not care for where their connection went at the end because it seemed kind of pointless.
Another positive is Princess Leia, with this film serving as a fitting goodbye to Carrie Fisher who tragically passed away.
She is put into the film using archived footage and it feels very respectful.

leia 1.jpg — Carrie Fisher got a meaningful sendoff in this film.

What does not feel respectful is the treatment of characters like Finn and Rose.
Finn got dealt a bad hand after The Force Awakens where his arc was repeated in The Last Jedi and is virtually nonexistent here but it is Rose’s actor Kelly Marie Tran who I feel the most sorry for.
She got a big role in the The Last Jedi but was not well received and got so much hate, some of it racially motivated, that it forced her off social media, and now she is pushed into a role as a side character in this film.
You could remove Rose from The Rise of Skywalker entirely and nothing would change.
Another jarring thing is the spy subplot in this film, which was completely pointless and felt like it was created to adapt to changes made in The Last Jedi, just like everything else.
Aside from Kylo Ren, his connection with Rey and the treatment of Leia, there are only a few other things I can say I liked about this movie.
One is the action, which is fun as always but with no standout moment, and some of the jokes that did land.

c3po and r2d2.jpg — There was one joke between C3PO and R2D2 that had me burst out into laughter.

Other than this, though, The Rise of Skywalker is a mess that does not flow well with the other two films in this trilogy.
If only those running the whole thing like Kathleen Kennedy had put their foot down and tried to put together a plan for creating a cohesive story.
At the very least this should have been done after The Force Awakens.
In conclusion, I will say I consider The Force Awakens to be a great film, The Last Jedi to be a good film with a lot of problems, and The Rise of Skywalker to be a mess with only a few redeeming qualities, all coming together to create a story that just does not flow.
On the bright side, at least this new trilogy is not as bad as the prequels.