Tag: Chapter 134

Chainsaw Man Chapter 134, Ordinary Happiness Review: The Imposter Makes His Move.

In Chapter 133 of Chainsaw Man, Yoshida told Denji that Public Saftey would kill Nayuta if he transformed again.
Despite this threat, Denji decided to continue being Chainsaw Man because he wanted both the fame from that, and to take care of Nayuta.
However, the beginning of Chapter 134, “Ordinary Happiness”, shows that Denji is beginning to doubt his resolve.
Whereas we once saw him proud to hear people talk about Chainsaw Man, in both good and bad ways, now we see him wander the halls of his school and the city streets, looking more and more depressed at every mention of his alter ego.
He does not even look happy that night when he is drying Nayuta’s hair and she tells him that members of the Chainsaw Man Church are fighting the police.
He even tells Nayuta that the Church’s days are numbered because he won’t be transforming anymore, as the fear of what will happen to Nayuta if he does has got to him.
This shows exactly how important Nayuta is to Denji because, prior to this moment, it seemed that Denji being recognized as Chainsaw Man was one of the most important things in the world to him.
Denji now tells Nayuta that he is content because, “nothing beats a normal life.”
Nayuta questions this, asking Denji if he really feels that way, which is quite similar to Kobeni asking Denji if he wants to be normal in Chapter 92.
In fact, I would say that Fujimoto is making a direct parallel to that scene because, just as Denji was inspired by people cheering for Chainsaw Man on the TV after Kobeni questioned him about a normal life, he now sees something entirely different on the TV after Nayuta questions him about the same thing.
On the TV, we once more see that Haruka is being questioned about the Chainsaw Man Church but he responds well to the drilling questions.
Then he gets one that should throw him off, “It’s not as though he (Chainsaw Man) gave you them (instructions) directly, right?!”
Rather than be thrown off, Haruka instead says that Chainsaw Man has guided him and offers to call him for everyone.
Excited, Denji runs for the phone, ready to pick it up, only for the Imposter to walk on stage and declare that he is Chainsaw Man, much to Denji’s shock.
We still do not get a good look at the Imposter’s face, since it is hidden behind his cap, but we can see that he has dark hair and stands tall, making me think that he might be Seigi Akoku from the Devil Hunter Club.
Whoever he is, the Imposter claims that he recieved his power from the Justice Devil and fights to create a world without Devils where there will be an Adam and Eve.
Before he can explain to the reader why Adam and Eve are required, Denji cuts him off by shouting in outrage over someone stealing his identity.
He then breaks down into tears and Nayuta comforts him, ending the chapter.
As for the Imposter, I will admit that him showing up did throw a wrench in my previous theory that he was working against Fami.
I figured since he helped Denji and Asa escape when Fami was trying to kill them that they were on opposite sides and that the mysterious figured who talked to Haruka last chapter was the Justice Devil.
Now it seems that it was the Imposter and he and Fami are actually working togethor.
I also can’t help but think that Yoshida may have a role in all this, since he threatened Nayuta’s life if Denji transformed again and now, as soon as Denji is considering hanging up the Chainsaw Man mantle, an Imposter appears to take his place.
I do wonder if Asa will buy the Imposter’s ruse, however, because there is a theory that she will know he is a fake because Denji told her he was only interested in sex while the Imposter speaks so benevolently.
It is a humorous theory but I think it could turn out to be true.
As for what comes next, I am uncertain about that.
Denji could either transform again to prove the Imposter a fraud, or he could decide to live a normal life, though Asa and Yoru will most likely pursue the Imposter, even if they do know he is not the real Chainsaw Man.
“Ordinary Happirness” is a solid  Chainsaw Man chapter, which is clearly building up future events for the story, whatever they may be.

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

5 stars
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.