Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 59--You Can't Go Back

Have I mentioned yet that I love the attention to character development in this series? Because I really, really do.


Let's start with the cliffhanger. It turns out that the theory about Armin shooting the woman was correct! Props to Isayama for pulling off that misdirection in the previous chapter. This is the first time in a while where a small deviation from the plan hasn't resulted in the death of a character a lot of people are attached to. The kids still live to fight another day.


However, in keeping with the spirit of the series, every victory comes at a cost. Despite the fact that Armin saved Jean's life, killing someone else takes him to the emotional breaking point. He's become what he's feared since the "we're not good people" speech. He hasn't even killed a Titan yet! Also, it's implied that Armin thinks that there's something seriously wrong with him. He asks Mikasa if she reacted the same way (obviously referring to when she and Eren killed her kidnappers). He questions how he was able to shoot before the woman did. Even worse, the way he brings it up shows that he already knows that it was because she hesitated. He's wondering if her death was necessary at all.


But as Levi points out, he can't take back that choice. Regardless of whether it was the best thing to do or not, they'll never know now. The important thing is that they're still alive, so there's no point in dwelling on a possibility that doesn't matter anymore. For example, Jean made the opposite choice Armin did, which ended up putting himself and the rest of the group in danger. But while those were the consequences, that doesn't necessarily mean that his choice was wrong either.

I'm glad that this chapter slowed down the pace a bit to discuss all of this. The story has been hinting at something big happening to Armin for a while now, and now his statements about sacrifice for the greater good and finding the strength to protect his friends are coming back in a big way. Armin's a strategist at heart, not a killer (although the plan he created off the top of his head a few chapters ago that ended up being the MP's strategy against them speaks a lot to his potential ruthlessness). It was important to see his reaction instead of simply showing him kill the minor character in a blaze of glory and move on to the next action scene. As much as I wanted to know what was going on with Eren and Historia after the end of the previous chapter, I'm glad that this series takes its character arcs seriously.

And speaking of supporting characters...


I honestly thought that we'd never see Marlo and Hitch again. Or at least, not until Annie got out of her crystal. Then again, Reeves had only one scene before he showed up again and randomly became important, and at least we know who these two are!

 
They also shed some more light on how tightly concentrated the power structure really is in the conspiracy. This chapter makes it clear than the wider Military Police is not in on any of this. While it makes sense that lower-ranking members weren't told the truth about Annie, the fact that the truth didn't get out at all, not even to the people she was living with, says a lot about how much information is being controlled within the walls, and how its manipulated to sway people's loyalty. We've seen it in this arc by how the Scouting Legion has been branded as criminals, and then again at the beginning of this chapter with the reporter asking how to spin the barfight story to the general masses. Misinformation is a dangerous but powerful tool. Even at risk to her life, Hitch still gets angry at Levi based on her assumption that he caused Annie's death.

 
But the real enemies and allies are revealed when the truth comes out. I think that keeping so many secrets will eventually be the Interior Squad's downfall, regardless of whether or not their plan to take out the Scouting Legion succeeds. Too many people are starting to question things, even those within their ranks. It's shown that Nile has no clue what's going on either, despite his rank within the Military Police. However, the wording in the English translation makes it a bit unclear whether he knew about the new gear but thought that it was still being developed or if this was the first time he'd heard about it. Either way, it's implied that he's turned a blind eye towards the First Brigade for a while but probably won't for much longer.

Also, I don't understand why the new gear would be useless against Titans. It's an obvious upgrade. Unless that's just more misinformation...?

 
Anyway, back to Marlo and Hitch. I'm pleasantly surprised by their complete flip in loyalty once they figure out they're being lied to. It also plays well as a good little redemption sidebar for Marlo to fight against the corruption he said he hated when we first saw him. I'm impressed by Hitch as well, since she acted more like the kind of person who only had her own best interest first, which is a mindset that goes well with the Military Police.


This makes it doubly interesting that Jean decides to test their new loyalty on his own. If events had gone a little differently, he probably would've been a misinformed new member of the Military Police just like them. Jean started out as only caring about himself and wanting to get deeper inside the walls to save his own skin. He's grown a lot since then, but he's taken a bit of a backslide in this recent arc now that they aren't fighting Titans but other people instead. And despite what I said above about his choice to hesitate not necessarily being wrong, he did put his team in a horrible position, and passed that choice on to Armin.

 
Jean has become the kind of character who will do anything for his team, so I have to be honest; for a second I really thought that he was going to kill Marlo and Hitch just to prove to the others that he could. I'm glad I was wrong about that. Instead, Jean reveals what he's learned: if they're going to get through this they can't just look out for themselves. They have to trust each other completely. This is some pretty fantastic character development starting to come full circle here. I doubt that Jean will hesitate again.


And now our heroes head out to their next battle. Any bets that they'll come crashing in just as Reiss is about to reveal something important?

Ok, so far we've had shirtless Eren, shirtless Erwin, and now shirtless Levi. Who's next?

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