#after 100 years paradis did get made into this threat that “united the world” but that was never the point

[murasakiyuzu]

me when i think im fighting the powerful external threat but then it turns out im the powerful external threat to everyone else

[perfectackeracy]

Shingeki no Kyojin chapter 99 review (+ theories)

This is it: the beginning of the end.

This chapter kickstarts the current objectives of the warriors through Zeke’s plan and Eren’s intrusion at the festival. Throughout the chapter, there was a current feeling of uneasiness running through my spine. I knew this chapter wasn’t going to be pleasant, but I really fear someone is going to die next chapter. Be it Falco who lived his usefulness to Eren, Pieck or Porco who fell into a trap by some sort of mysterious enemy, or anybody in the crowd.

Why yes, I feel that at the end of chapter 100, several people are going to pull out their titan form. Welcome to the Eldian wars 2.0!

Content-wise, it was rich: the true History of the world came to light, so did Eren’s identity. The situation of the deceased or dying warriors’ parents was revealed, Pieck’s unit has a fanclub, some mysterious soldier has been spotted and the warriors are currently being targeted.

Eren and Reiner’s meeting

Before the play

During the speech

The History of the World

Summary

Follow me under the cut!

Not doing any WTF CR because we all know there’s a grammatical fuckup elsewhere that gets fixed in the Kodansha version.

Eren and Reiner’s meeting

Eren rubbing salt in Reiner’s wounds - Ch. 99

That was my worst fear from last month and it turned out to be more awful than I thought: what Eren is doing is not only preventing Reiner to pull out his titan: he’s holding the Marleans in the building as hostages and making Reiner listen to the whole story, just to give him a taste of his own medicine.

The chapter doesn’t start immediately on their dialogue. As unexpected as it was, we’ve got a flashback continuing from Bertolt’s theory about that hanged man. It ended on Bertolt’s gut telling the hanged man wanted some judgement on his actions, right when we’re cutting back to the present time. That still doesn’t confirm whether Reiner or Annie killed the hanged man, but it nails us on Bertolt’s interpretation being correct and Reiner becoming this man for a short moment. Before being found dead, he told the warrior trio his sin: running away and leaving up three kids. This is what Reiner did on a bigger scale: he left his three companions on Paradis, and he’s constantly fearing someone might come at him for that. That’s why Reiner kept torturing himself over unconsciously helping Eren up. That’s why he tried to kill himself two chapters ago. And now that Eren is right in front of him, he’s having a mental breakdown, trembling and shaking.

Reiner losing control - Ch. 99

Eren, well, as I suspected, didn’t let his rage go. I’m very pleased with what Isayama is doing with him as an antagonist. First of all, he doesn’t let suspicions up and is exploiting Falco’s naivety, so he can become his aide. Then, upset at his grandpa because he asked Eren to leave Falco alone, he brought up his regrets, as a jab against him. Lastly, in this chapter, he’s parroting Reiner’s previous wishes (making it home) and words (“We were only children, we didn’t know anything”) as a twist of the knife in the wound, while holding him and Falco hostages and implying the reason as to why he came here (wiping all his enemies out).

Such hatred in his eyes – Ch. 99

He doesn’t let out a single sweat drop, not even after Willy’s extra lines. He’s pretty much determined. I couldn’t help but think he was pissed to be ratted out like that, but that just means he’s going to unleash the rage of his titan very soon. Of course, the whole history doesn’t come at any surprise to him: he got it from Grisha’s memories and Kruger’s. The history, the Great War, the king fleeing to Paradis, the reason why Marley sent warriors on Paradis… the extra segment however was supported by two sources: Dina’s testimony about her line disagreeing with Karl Fritz’s and… this.

“How dare she tell me to bow down like that?“ - Ch. 90

Now we’ve got an explanation for Eren’s reaction in chapter 90. The words said on stage were Karl Fritz’ vow, heard four years ago from Frieda’s mouth. Frieda was basically telling Grisha to accept their fate, because no one can atone enough for the sins Paradis went through. Grisha and Eren, whose mindset was incompatible with the King’s got pissed and swore revenge on the ones humiliating them: be it the King, Marley or the whole world. That’s how they intend to regain their dignity but doing so would wake the Eldian Empire up. No matter how advances technology is now, the threat of wall titans steamrolling the world is real.

My only wish for Eren at this point is to become… fucking brutal. Throughout his journey on Paradis, he was mostly kidnapped and was often assisted in his battles. Now that he awoken the Coordinate, I’m pretty much expecting him to steamroll a whole crowd with his titan limbs alone. I want his threat in chapter 90 to have weight or else he’s going to be just a joke instead of a lethal joke who should’ve never been granted divine powers.

Before the play

The actors’ lodge - Ch. 99

Willy’s personality gets even more fleshed as, not only a charismatic man, but a nervous one. To be frank, in his situation, anybody would be: he was about to reveal the truth to the whole world, with a high chance of failure if he wasn’t convincing enough. That and adding the truth according to the memories inherited by the Tybur family puts on more weight.

Kiyomi cheering for Willy - Ch. 99

It was nice to see that the Asian lady, Kiyomi Azumabito, came to encourage him. I didn’t expect her to gain any more relevance after her incident with Udo, but it turns out that yes. And while she remains polite she doesn’t seem to support Marley fully, aware that the contents of the play are made to restore the Eldians’ dignity. She knows they’re treated like dirt. She doesn’t need to hear more: her visit is over.

Another surprise from the side of the privileged guests:

This man - Ch. 99

Seriously, it’s been years we were waiting for him and he’s finally appearing in the flesh. Annie’s father. The main reason why she wanted to come back. And the only resemblance they share is the size (he’s smaller than Karina) and the eye shape. He’s walking with a cane which is pretty like Annie’s story in her VN. I guess it’s considered as canon evidence, then? He’s living up to his prestige, but still pretty much in denial about his daughter not coming back. I guess that solidifies the possibility that Annie’s crystal is a death seal, then.

Also, can Bertolt’s family get any more depressing? We’ve got indications of his family and one of his parents (referred as male in the CR translation) was bedridden and passed away. The popular theory is Bertolt becoming an honorary Marlean to help his sick parent at first. That would imply he was a Gabi-type of prodigy: the ones you don’t see for decades. It’s likely they passed away, giving up any hopes their son would show up again. I’d still love to have a picture though. Maybe in a future flashback, because the families met for Reiner’s return from Paradis, alone.

I gotta add: the Hoovers and the Leonharts are the perfect representations of their fanbase. Papa Leonhart deeply believes Annie is alive and is desperate for her return with every day passing, while Hoover-san was proud of his caring son and ended up dying (inside and out).

The warriors’ on their seats - Ch. 99

We also have a look at the general assembly. The army, the politicians, the diplomats… everybody assisted at Willy’s public declaration. With many people of importance, the security must be airtight. Indeed, it’s the perfect opportunity to launch an attack and make a maximum of damages.

And then the curtain rises, things are already off…

During the speech

The end of the original speech - Ch. 99

Just as the curtain rose, the cadets noticed Reiner and Falco’s absence. And shortly after that, some mysterious soldier appears to separate the warriors from the main scene. Clearly, this can’t be a coincidence: Eren wanted Reiner to listen to the speech in a basement full of people, this soldier appears as the trumpets were blown to separate Zeke, Pieck and Porco from the cadets. The latter is a signal. It’s a coup planned. By who is an excellent question.

Magath ordered reports from the most insignificant anomaly because his suspicions were high as soon as Zeke warned him about Eren. And not just Eren: the same “mice” from his colony. General Calvi was quickly alerted at the end of Willy’s speech.

Then, this fake soldier called Zeke “Yeager” and ordered him to go at the front gate. Pieck recognizing him and Zeke being called that way already ticked these two off. Something is up.

Pieck’s panzer unit - Ch. 99

And because something is up, Pieck let a warning sign to her dear panzer unit. Best girl has a fanclub even in this dark, dark world. That’s lovely. What I noticed is this soldier trapping Porco and Pieck right before Willy begins his second and unexpected segment. The one ratting Eren publicly and explicitly.

My question is: who is Eren’s ally? Someone from Paradis or someone from Kruger’s old network of restorationists?

I still have trouble believing it’s someone from Paradis. Namely someone from the SC. Many people argued about him being Connie, but considering how people grow in this manga, you can’t expect him to be suddenly 20 cm taller in four years, when the growth spurt goes at 4 cm at best. Besides, it’s not the correct eye color. Connie has lighter eyes; this guy has darker eyes. Plus joining Eren at this point implies he would’ve gotten some edge during the timeskip and that guard feels very OOC for him.

It’s hard to think it can be someone from Paradis at all: until the whole colonization of Paradis took place, their inhabitants had no contact with the outside world. And even then, the island is isolated. You can’t just enter the country and organize a plan with tight surveillance around when you barely know how the underground networks in Marley function. Even the warriors needed some time before acting. The SC? They’re a mess: it’s going to be hard for Eren to find people in there who agree with him. The only exception I can see is Levi because it gives him an excuse to die. Otherwise, with Hange at command, fat chances.

The best bet is someone from Kruger’s old network. I doubt the restorationist movement died with how Marley treats Eldians, currently. The last purge with Grisha made it more quiet, but some people just wait for the messiah to come back to deliver them and make Eldia great again. What if this person was the one piloting one of the missing ships and simply took Eren with him? He doesn’t even have to report his arrival. Just sail somewhere where he can’t be found. The only hints I have of him belonging to the restorationists are A) calling Zeke “Yeager” because Zeke is well-known for destroying their movement 20 years ago, on top of being their former leader’s son and B) Him having no interest to chat with the Eldians, as a reflection of Marley’s mentality on Eldians in the restorationists’ point of view.

I’m willing to buy the hypothesis Eren found his own fanclub, thirsting on freedom and restoring Eldia’s pride. Would be an interesting turn of events to see Eren becoming the leader of his own party.

Lastly, I want to talk about the contents of Willy’s piece itself.

The History of the World

King Karl Fritz CXLV - Ch. 99

From Zeke’s plan, Willy originally had to mention about how much of a threat the island of Paradis was, so the reputation of Eldians would be preserved. However, there was one pebble slipping in Zeke’s plan while he was making an announcement: Eren. Hence why Zeke modified the plan with Magath’s help, to target his younger brother, specifically.

The play goes exactly as the books say: the Eldian Empire rose from Ymir Fritz’s ascension to power and escalated to the Great War after subjecting the world and inflict damages upon damages, with an extremely high body count from two thousand years ago: three times the current human population. Then, the houses holding each titan power began to fight each other for dominance.

What the books didn’t mention is how the civil war began. The first part of the play told us the legend of Helos: the Marlean hero who trampled the houses and made them destroy each other. He joined himself to the Tybur family and exiled Karl Fritz on Paradis. You have some symbolism between the legend and the reality: the reality features Magath, the new Helos, and Willy, the Tybur, fighting hand to hand to change Marley’s future and improve Eldians’ lives, through interior renovations. Add Zeke Fritz Yeager -who didn’t need to be tamed, he joined hands with these two- to the mix and you have the Peace trio (ZMW).

As the story goes, King Fritz took as many Eldians as he could and retreated to Paradis, where he forged the present society of the walls with his giant titans. Willy’s concluding his speech on a flashforward to the present. He omitted the part where the restorationists tried to crush Marley.

Willy taking a break - Ch. 99

Of course, he’s saving it for the second part.

The second part, the truth, is revealed to the world. The one saying King Karl Fritz CXLV gave up on the Eldian Empire. He took pity of the oppressed, conspired with the Tyburs and gave up on his functions, to live a life with his people on Paradis, to atone for his sins, and enjoy his peace with people who knew nothing of the world, enclosed in these walls till either his power gets taken away or the people inside the walls die.

“Along with the liberation of Marley from its many years of persecution. If Marley grows strong and attempts to take the lives of the royal family or its Founding Titan… I will accept it. If Marley wishes to exterminate all Eldians… I will accept it. That is how the Eldians’ crimes were. They could never be atoned for. Eldians… Titans… They never should have existed in the first place. I will accept the responsibility of righting this wrong. But. Until the day that this retribution comes, I want to live inside the walls… I want to enjoy this brief paradise, this world without conflict. Please, I ask that you only grant me this.”

He’s kinda like a saint. Except he’s condemning now ignorant people to death, these “fools” unaware of their past sins. And this is where he clashes with the beliefs of the Attack Titan, who would never accept such a thing: Kruger didn’t consider him as a true king because he abandoned his people, Grisha neither and he ended up eating Frieda and killing the whole Reiss family, Eren even less and that’s why he’s here.

The other people have trouble swallowing this. Reiner is aware of this because of the Tybur’s information and Annie’s infiltration job. Gabi and the others are quite shocked by that, so is Karina. Calvi is staring at the scene without frowning his eyebrows while other diplomats like Ogweno are perturbed. The chapter ends on Willy pointing out the real threat: the current holder of the Attack and Founding titans, Eren Yeager. He’s now framed as the world’s public enemy and can no longer hide in safety. Zeke cornered him all along.

The reason why Willy revealed Karl Fritz’s agenda is to paint him in a positive light, because his goals align with the world’s and the Mainland Eldians’ for atoning for their sins in war. However, it was only a matter of time before a bunch of people become so dissatisfied with his choice, they’re choosing to face the world, to stand up against it.

Summary

I find this clash of ideologies interesting. The King had initially good intentions, but the population would meet the enemy with utter incomprehension and clash with it. Zeke commented the King unfortunately played his people like a fiddle. Kruger, Grisha and Dina found the King shameful for abandoning its people outside and keeping them ignorant inside. Meanwhile, you have Marley who grew power-hungry and built its empire on the remnant of their Eldian soldiers and titan powers at disposition. While 6 -7 with the Attack- of the 9 houses were no more, it was their main weapon to crush their enemies. It even came to the point where they need to crush Paradis to gain resources. The Mainland Eldians accept their fate as a way of atonement and some are happy with it, despite Marley turning into the oppressor. Of course, Magath isn’t happy with it and wishes to reform the army. Willy also wishes to advance things and try to improve the Mainland Eldians’ lives. Zeke, the warchief, helps them. The third party is the restorationists, sick of being treated like martyrs and having to bow like dogs in front of their masters, so they conspire to overthrow the authority and honor their freedom, completely ignoring why they are in this situation. Of course, Zeke denounced them before they even tempted anything, but Paradis had to pay for it instead. And now Marley is under threat.

Considering what might happen… a Clash of Titans 2.0? Eren has now a couple of witnesses who spotted him and Falco became more than inconvenient. Wouldn’t surprise me if he tried to kill him. Him positioning just in the backstage is of no coincidence, especially when the warriors are separated. If anything, I think Eren is trying to kill/eat Willy. That’s the most reasonable conclusion I can make. He knows Reiner isn’t going to attempt anything because of the innocent civilians above their heads.

Listed the key points here.

Can you feel the death toll rising for next chapter? I sure can.

[sparda3g]

Attack on Titan Chapter 99 Review

We are only one chapter away from the big 100 and already I got crazy chills from their confrontation alone. In fact, it’s the embodiment of two worlds colliding for one explosive event. Eren and Reiner have finally met face-to-face as the festival begins with a disturbing vibe that it will shake the nation forever. The action has yet engaged but its intensified atmosphere and exhilarating face-off is enough to leave you nerve-wrecking for what’s about to happen.

The start of the chapter is such a grim transition for Reiner. The regretful feeling from the past about the man hanged himself is a cruel way to describe the chapter’s focus. Reiner in the past didn’t think too highly about that man. That man did abandon his family in order to save himself and it ultimately led him to suicide. Maybe the man wants someone to judge his action. This crawls back at Reiner because now he’s being judged by the man who he betrayed.

The confrontation between Eren and Reiner got me goose bumps, chills, and downright absorbed. The intensity between the two is mind boggling. If anything, Eren reigns supreme throughout the chapter and it made me feel so bad for Reiner. Eren was just a tyrant in comparison; after all, he is in the enemy territory, so he has nothing to lose. That threat with his blood without Falco knowing was gut-wrenching. My God!

It’s a bit thought-provoking with Willy and Kiyomi. Willy has been a nervous wreck before the play, which I don’t know if there’s a real reason behind that or not. What’s questioning is that after they share their gratitude, Kiyomi and her men leaves the scene; didn’t stay for the play. I don’t know how this will play into a bigger role, but it certainly worth noting for the future.

The setting has nearly everyone in the audience seat, including the father of Annie. Reiner’s mother meets with him, recollecting the honor the lost soldiers gained. The interesting part is Annie’s father believes that she is still alive. I don’t know if this is Isayama’s way of hinting of her return soon. It’s still up for debate on whether she will return active or remain in that crystal. The soldiers emphasize clearly that the area is good enough to cause a massive stir to the entire world. It’s the matter of when that trigger will be pulled.

Once again, I feel really bad for Reiner in this chapter. He acts like an innocent man having a gun pointing at his face and it only takes a trigger to end it. Eren acts like he was playing mind game as well as taking advantage of his nervous breakdown.  The reflection of Reiner’s goal causes him to lose himself while Eren tries to calm him down. I couldn’t stand any more of Reiner’s suffering. It’s hard to make it out of Eren’s intention and the confusion would only grow.

It’s clever for Eren to entrapped Reiner and Falco below the surface, enough to hear the story of Titans from Willy. The story is intriguing but disturbing on how he made his side of the story with Helos as the savior of the world. Whether it’s true or not, it does appeal the masses and they bought it in every part of it. When it got to the present or 4 years ago timeline, that’s when the biasness kicks in.

It completely paints the Paradis Island people as terrorists to humanity. That said it is arguable to say that this shows the two sides of war and that is a convincing point. The idea however is to reference Reiner’s action when breaking the wall down. It slowly consumes his mind and how Eren reminded him on what he said back at the betrayal scene; thrown to the island knowing nothing about anything. It’s hauntingly sad for Reiner to revisit those nightmarish thoughts.

There’s an interesting twist that is most likely connected to Eren’s ominous plan; unless it was someone else planning this. Pieck and Porco were escorted to somewhere else, when all the suddenly the guard that was with them cut the rope to activate a trapdoor. What the hell is going on…

My guess is that Connie was the one behind that trap. It’s hard to tell but I’m only referring to Pieck’s comment since she feels she has met him before. If I recalled correctly, she has met him before in the last arc. I know he doesn’t have a buzz cut from an angle, but time skip can do wonders. Plus he has nice beard, so there’s that. Don’t ask.

I can’t also help but think the actor that’s playing as Helos may be a Survey Corps member in disguise. It might be just me since the way how it was paneled suggested with the zoomed in chin area. That said I want to gamble on Jean since perhaps chin is like a connection to horse face. I’m grasping straws but you never know.

Oddly enough, the most bizarre bomb drop is from Willy Tybur, and this makes me raise so many questions. He had been nervous throughout his run as himself since the intro. Now he finally got up to the stage and drop a megaton news breaking that the story of Helos as the savior is a complete lie. Not only that it harmed the credibility but it also devalued Tybur Family’s position. Why would he go out of his way to reveal it now?

It has a bizarre segue to the true story of the savior, which leads to King Fritz to be the rightful one. The atmosphere becomes eerie with religious and grim imagery. What’s startling is how Willy now proclaims that the family made a pact with the King, which sounds questionable if you ask me. I know the first story was told made them look like the dominant family, but this newly released story tried to reconnect their position.

According to Willy, the King wanted peace and only the royal blood shall use the Founding Titan. Unfortunately, due to it being stolen, chaos is on the rise and it’s all thanks to the one and only Eren Jaeger. He’s the devil! The devil! Basically, the main objective of the play is to spread the words to everyone that Eren is their prime target and they must unite to take out the common enemy. In fact, it is said that King and Tybur see Eldians as a threat to mankind, so to correct the mistake, they will eliminate them.

The setup throughout the chapter is fascinating and highly suspicious. Everything has a lot going on and each of them leaves a lot of questions. We got many key characters moving around places, including Zeke. It feels rather coordinated with its placement. It could be a coincidence but that would be too convenient. Willy’s intention does feel odd with his choice of exploitation. Eren’s plan is left in vague with a reference towards Reiner’s goal: to save the world.

The presentation is very exhilarating. Isayama did a fantastic job on creating the suspense and captivating scenes. Eren was the ruler and Reiner was the slave; completely got him in the palm of his hand. Many keynotes from previous chapters and flashbacks come in play in a meaningful, powerful way and it pays off well.

The paneling with a page that could have been just a page is pretty effective and made Willy’s story very convincing. The flow of narration is well addressed and you can feel the imagery coming to life. The atmosphere leaves you hanging on the edge of the seat with each passing pages. There’s a clear sign that chaos is about to happen at any minute.

This chapter exploits why the flashbacks, the inner depth of its lore of Marley, and the slow build for recurring characters to return is most necessary. The impact is profoundly strong with each of new discoveries and mysteries. I feel sorry for Falco for making the worst case scenario into a reality. If chapter 100 ensue chaos, we’re in for some crazy shit then. Get ready...