Chainsaw Man Chapter 125, Apple Thief Review: A Polite Primal Fear.

Way back in the International Assassins Arc of Chainsaw Man Part One, we met the Darkness Devil.
This terrifying entity was the first Primal Fear Tatsuki Fujimoto introduced us to; a Devil so powerful and created from a fear so primal that the Devil itself had never experienced death.
There was no reasoning with the Darkness Devil.
If it wanted you dead then you were probably dead, which is why it is so weird to read Chapter 125, “Apple Thief”, and see the Falling Devil being so unusually polite.
Well, as polite as a Devil can be, anyway, as the chapter starts with her brutally gathering ten eyes and four ears for her dish, after which, she goes to a supermarket like any average shopper would.
We then see her engaging in an oddly respectful talk with a staff member, who she has made fall up to the ceiling.
The Falling Devil asks the worker if she has a variety of apple that goes well with human flesh, a question which honestly got a chuckle out of me because how does the Falling Devil expect this woman to know that.
As for the worker, she is too terrified to respond, until the Falling Devil assures her that she has no intention of killing her unless attacked.
After leaving the shop, the Falling Devil remembers she forgot an ingredient, again, just like any regular shopper, only the ingredient she forgot is a human head.
Displaying more bizarre yet disturbing politeness, she asks if anyone is willing to spare a head.
It is then that a group of unwilling volunteers arrive, as a group of Devil Hunters take on the Falling Devil with sniper rifles.
They reduce her to a pile of limbs and guts but, being a Primal Fear, this is naturally not enough to kill the Falling Devil, who says she would rather avoid meaningless slaughter, before asking for a head again.
She only kills the attacking Devil Hunters and destroys much of the surrounding area when they attack her again but she seems to do this fairly reluctantly since she sighs beforehand.
Again, it is quite bizarre to see this powerful Devil act polite while killing and mutilating people left and right.
It is also quite interesting how the Falling Devil seems reluctant to hurt anyone outside of her goal to serve up some people as food for the Devils, including Asa and Yoru.
Speaking of those two, with the head now in her hands, all the Falling Devil needs to do is make Asa fall and then her dish will be complete.
Before she can do so, however, Denji finally shows up, ripping through the Falling Devil and accusing her of stealing apples… you know, as opposed to all of the murder and mutilation she just committed.
Denji has his priorities straight, although that is nothing new for him.
Another thing that is not new for Denji is being sliced up into pieces while he fights.
Good thing he’s basically immortal.
Unfortunately, so is the Falling Devil, as she seems completley unfazed by Denji ripping her apart, as she complains this is the first time that she has been on the menu, which is the end of the chapter.
I wonder if this is Fujimoto foreshadowing that Chainsaw Man will eat the Falling Devil, thereby erasing the fear of falling from humanity?
Although, if this does happen then it could have a lot of unintended consequences, since I would argue that a fear of falling actually helps out humans a great deal.
As for Denji finally showing up to fight the Falling Devil, there is a theory going around that this is actually not Denji but the Chainsaw Man imposter who killed Yuko.
While this is possible, I doubt this is the imposter because we saw Nayuta convince Denji to go fight a few chapters ago.
Most likely, Denji will have to team up with Asa and Yoru to defeat the Falling Devil and then whatever Primal Fear comes next.
All in all, “Apple Thief” was quite a short Chainsaw Man chapter but one with interesting characterization for the Falling Devil.
It also ended on a great cliffhanger, which has me excited for Denji and the Falling Devil’s fight going forward.

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.

Attack on Titan Chapter 125 Predictions.

Chapter 124 of Attack on Titan, “Thaw”, had a lot of great twists and turns that caused me to reconsider how long the manga has left.
I originally thought that the series would finish at Chapter 130 but, after reading “Thaw”, I now believe that 134, or even 138, is a more appropriate finishing point, given how many plot points just emerged.
And, with all these new storylines, there comes new theories that I would like to get into.
So, let’s start with the biggest question generated by Chapter 124,

Now That Annie Is Free, What Will She Do?

By far the biggest twist of “Thaw” was the long, long, long, long lllooonnngg awaited return of Annie Leonhart.
She was gone for so long that many, including myself, feared that she may never return.
In all honesty, Annie is a character that I have conflicted feelings about.
I do like her character but nowhere near to the extent of others, and I wanted her to come back more so Hajime Isayama could tie up that plot point rather than for her character.
Now that she is free, though, it will be interesting to see what role she has to play in the final battle.
There is no doubt that she will side against Eren because her father is in Marley but how she will be able to help is a mystery.
Some have predicted that Annie’s Female Titan may be able to draw in the Wall Titans with her scream but this seems a bit of a stretch.
As for how she will get to the battlefield, I am sure Hitch will be involved in that since she is the one guarding her.
I can just imagine their conversation, with Hitch explaining to Annie, in her usual sassy fashion, everything that has happened over the four years that she has been asleep.
Another theory I have is that Annie could run into Levi and Hange, which is how they could return to the story.
The reason I think this is because it could cause a lot of conflict because Annie murdered Levi’s entire squad in the Female Titan Arc.
The only person Levi hates more than her is Zeke so it would be interesting to see the Levi and Annie fight again, that is if Levi can with the state he is currently in.
One thing I certainly hope Isayama doesn’t do is sweep Annie’s crimes under the rug.
Out of her, Reiner and Bertholdt, she is the one whose thoughts on killing the Scouts we have seen the least so I want to see how this affected her.
It will also be interesting to see her interact with Armin, since he now has Bertholdt’s memories and an obvious crush on her.
The thing I am positive about is that the next chapter will be primarily centered around Annie.
Some have speculated it will be a flashback chapter to her past but I doubt this because we already know most of her backstory.
We may get a brief flashback but I think Chapter 125 will focus mostly on Annie in the present.
And it will certainly be intriguing to see what role she has to play in trying to stop Eren’s Rumbling.

What Will Happen With Falco And Connie?

Another unexpected development in Chapter 124 was Connie kidnapping Falco to feed him to his Titan mother so she can turn back into a human.
Opinions on Connie seem to be mixed after him doing this but I do understand his motivations.
Connie has lost almost everyone he cares about and, now that he thinks the fighting is about to end, he wants to save his mum, no matter the cost.
There are many theories about what could happen with this plot point and one of the most prominent of those is that Connie will run into Hange who will feed Falco to Levi instead.
However, this is a theory that I am very much against for three reasons.
First of all, it makes Porco’s sacrifice pointless.
Second of all, I don’t want Levi to be more overpowered than he already is (plus I don’t think Ackermans can turn into Titans).
And, third of all, I don’t see Falco dying here because it doesn’t tie into his arc.
I want to see Falco struggle with the guilt of accidentally killing his brother and try to use the powers of his recently acquired Jaw Titan in this dangerous situation.
But if Falco is not going to die then what was the point of Connie taking him?
Some are saying Connie will be eaten by his own mother but, again, I don’t see this happening because what would the point be in him, as an important character, dying when none of his friends are there to react to it?
There is the possibility that Connie taking Falco could lead to some characters returning to the story but, rather than Hange and Levi, I think this would be the perfect opportunity to bring Historia back.
I have been rooting for Historia to come into contact with the holder of the Jaw Titan to experience Ymir’s memories for a long time and if she is near Ragako, then she could very well interfere with Connie’s plan and touch Falco, gaining some of these memories.
Although, I have no idea why Historia would even be near Ragako so I may be wrong about this.
I just hope that Connie does not end up succeeding in feeding Falco to his mother or Levi because I feel this would ruin Falco’s arc.

What’s With the Parallels Between Gabi and Eren?

In “Thaw” there was a scene of Gabi tying up her in front of a mirror that was eerily similar to a scene from Chapter 106 where Eren did the same thing.
This is just one of many parallels between Eren and Gabi and has caused many to wonder if Gabi will go on to kill Eren and gain his Titan powers, thus fulfilling the role of Helos.
Now, while I am a Gabi defender, I do not want this to happen.
If Eren is going to be killed by someone, it would make a lot more sense for it to be Mikasa, Armin or Reiner that does the deed because they are the characters that have the biggest connection to him.
Along with this, Gabi already nearly killed Eren in Chapter 119 so it would seem repetitive.
Still, the parallels have to be there for a reason so it will be interesting to see what that reason is.
But, if Gabi does kill Eren, then the fandom will absolutely explode.
She is so hated that many people have said they will hate the series if this happens.
Personally, I won’t hate it if Gabi does kill Eren but I would rather it be another character.

Where Are Zeke, Pieck and Magath?

The characters in Shiganshina that we did not see in Chapter 124 were Zeke, Pieck and Magath, causing many to wonder where they are.
Well, I think it is safe to say that the three of them are together, with Pieck and Magath likely having captured Zeke.
Magath was on top of the wall with Pieck in Chapter 122 but she probably grabbed him so that would make him safe.
The next time we see Pieck is in Chapter 123 when she hears Eren’s proclamation in the Path dimension, and Zeke appears to be next to her so it would be logical for her to grab him.
I don’t imagine him putting up much of a fight after his plan of sterilizing all Eldians was destroyed by Eren.
However, I doubt Zeke will be out of the fight for long because in Chapter 124 it seems that Eren cannot control the Titans that he transformed.
This makes sense because of Zeke’s royal blood and could make him the center piece in a plan to defeat Eren.
Even though I hope we don’t get a Code Geass ending, I can see the Scouts teaming up with the Warriors for this plan.
I would actually be excited about that because we would see many of these characters talking for the first time.
It would be fascinating to see Armin’s intellect go up against Pieck’s.
Another theory is Zeke’s consciousness being trapped in the Path dimension but I am not sure what Zeke could do from there.
In any case, despite believing these three characters are alive, I am unsure if they will show up next chapter because I expect to be mainly centered around Annie’s return.

Why Is Floch Arresting the Volunteers?

“So you’re alive” is what Jean said when he saw Floch in Chapter 124, voicing the frustration of many fans.
Immediately after being revealed to have survived, Floch continued with making the readers hate him by pointing a gun at a depressed Yelena’s head and informing her that she and the rest of the volunteers are under arrest.
The reason for this is probably because of Yelena’s participation in Zeke’s euthanasia plan.
Floch probably knew Eren planned to initiate a full scale Rumbling and is acting on his orders by arresting them in the aftermath.
Although, there may be a more sinister reason Floch is arresting the volunteers.
This is that he may plan to execute all of them so that the only people left after Eren’s Rumbling will be Eldians.
Many of these Volunteers would be enraged if their country is destroyed, and would want to take vengeance, so Floch could plan to execute them before any such acts took place.
But would Eren allow this?
Well, given how he is about to destroy the world and kill billions of people, I don’t think he would hesitate to order this if it kept his friends safe.
This is merely speculative, though.
Also, I think Floch will meet some firm resistance from the Scouts.
We could see Keith get involved in this, since he is getting more well deserved screen time lately.
But it is Jean who I am most excited to see face off against Floch.
To me, Floch is a representation of what Jean could have become had he never joined the Scouts so he would make a great endgame fight for him.
Whether this or any of the other theories I mentioned turn out to be true, though, will have to be seen in Chapter 125.
There are some rumors that it will release around the end of December but it is probably best not to get your hopes up in case the chapter drops at the regular time.