Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 73--Back to the Beginning

I got goosebumps from looking at this.

(A/N: The post deals with spoilers for the entire manga and contains some disturbing and graphic images. Please do not read unless you are caught up!)

This chapter opens with a few more redraws of earlier moments in the series, almost feeling like an anime-style recap. Unlike last time, there was not a direct comparison between the past and the present. I’m not sure what the point was other to fill up pages and reiterate the stakes once again—however, everyone who’s been reading up to this point is well aware that the characters have to close the hole in the wall.

There was one part that gave me pause though, and it’s in the wording on the page that ends the flashbacks. It sounds pretty ominous in comparison to the optimistic “overcoming the odds” narration from before. It makes it sound like the mission is doomed to fail no matter what they do. It’s possible that I could be reading more into this than what was intended, but Attack on Titan has primed me to expect the worst possible outcome at all times, so it’s hard to say. It could also be the case that this tone only exists in the English translation and that the Japanese version doesn’t sound that grim, but since I read Japanese at about a first grade level, I can’t comment on that either. Either way, I’m still thinking about my prediction from my write-up of the previous chapter that this might not be the end after all…

But whether or not that was supposed to be a sign of things to come will be answered in a future chapter. What we have now is the travel chapter, whose purpose seems to be to bring up a few dangling plot threads that will most likely be further addressed in this story arc.

Concerned Parent Hanji protecting the teenagers

The first is the nighttime activity of the Titans. The last time the series showed Titans moving around at night was way back at Castle Utgard, where the Ape Titan displayed at least some of his power to control mindless Titans. The Titan that the characters encounter in this chapter is “sleeping” (or just not moving due to a lack of light—either way, the open eyes give this an extra layer of creepy), but the contrast between this and the last time they encountered Titans in the dark feels like a deliberate reminder from the story for the readers. The characters don’t know that they’re heading towards the Ape Titan, but the readers do. Aside from being another installment of Titan Science Theory Corner With Hanji, it feels like the point was to remind the readers of what the Ape Titan is capable of and also gives a possible explanation for what happened before.

Hanji’s theory about moonlight makes sense since the previous experiments with Sonny and Bean showed that they will still capable of movement in lamplight. Also, in this chapter they’re cautioned to turn the lamps away from the “sleeping” Titan because of the chance that it might wake up. Maybe sunlight isn’t as necessary as the characters and readers have been led to believe—perhaps Titans only need a light source. This would mean that the Ape Titan may not be directly responsible for the Titans being able to move at night and attack Utgard. But if that’s true, how far does his power to control Titans extend?

But that’s also a question for another chapter, since the short Titan encounter causes Eren to confront some of his insecurities that the last two chapters have hinted at. He’s reminded that the whole mission hinges on his ability, and he starts shaking, getting frustrated with himself for feeling afraid.

I don’t think Eren has moved past that moment where he declared himself worthless. I also don’t think that he necessarily feels that way anymore, but over the last few chapters Eren has pushed himself more than was necessary. It felt like he was trying to prove his usefulness as the current holder of the coordinate by putting all thoughts about himself to one side and instead dedicating himself completely to the cause. In different circumstances this would be admirable, but for Eren it’s concerning. Just like what Carla said in the flashback during the previous chapter, Eren’s fine just the way he is—he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone.

But the current problem is that Eren doesn’t seem to realize that. The last chapter revealed that it’s been at least three months since the major action in this series began. Everything that Eren believed to be true and what drove him towards his revenge against the Titans in the first place has been proven wrong. His whole world has turned upside down, and that’s hard for anyone to handle, let alone a fifteen-year-old. That statement is not meant to be disparaging to teens—at fifteen I could barely handle the concept that my crush didn’t like me back, so I imagine I would’ve had a complete meltdown if I had to deal with even a quarter of the things Eren has already gone through at that age.

However, good friends are great at providing perspective when you’re falling too deep into your own angst, and that’s what Armin does for Eren here. Eren may have the biggest role (all he has to do is close the hole in the wall and save all of humanity, NO PRESSURE), but he’s not the only one who is afraid. Admin also reminds Eren why they were willing to sacrifice everything in the first place—for the sake of the dream that they shared. Not out of a feeling of obligation or proving their own worth, but because they wanted to be free.

I’m really glad that this was clarified after Eren brushed off Armin in the last chapter. That dream was also what Armin used to snap Eren out of his mindless Titan state way back during the Trost arc, so it felt terrible that Eren had lost that drive. I hope that even if that prediction about them growing apart does come true, they’ll still share that dream.

But now I'm worried about Armin because of his muted response

Also, this moment passed by quickly, but I liked how Mikasa let Armin handle things with Eren. She’s not as insistent about being Eren’s sole caretaker anymore.

But now the series isn’t putting things off any longer! They’re finally back at Shiganshina, ready to kick Titan butt and take names—

—If there was any Titan butt to kick. Hmm. That’s concerning. The only clue that Reiner and Bertoldt were there are the remains of the fire that Armin notices—if they were trying to hide it, they didn’t do a great job. Either they saw them coming and did it quickly, or it’s a plant to get them to go in a certain direction.

Even more concerning is the lack of mindless Titans. I’m sure this has to do with the Ape Titan, and I’m imagining one of two possibilities: 1) The Ape Titan took the mindless Titans and is waiting for the right moment to strike, or 2) he took the Titans and is heading to attack the Wall while Reiner and Bertoldt fight at Shiganshina. I don’t think the second one is a big possibility though, given his insistence two chapters ago about waiting for the coordinate to show up.

In the meantime, I’m just going to push down my suspicion that enjoy that fact that my favorite duo (Levi and Hanji) now finish each other’s sentences.

*adds image to "Levi doesn't emote" counter-argument folder*

Overall, even though this was a “calm before the storm” chapter, I enjoyed the new Titan theory and hope that Eren got at least a little more confidence back in himself or in his dream before the big fight that’s bound to happen soon. Who knows…maybe they’re baiting the Scouts to go to the basement first? Hopefully the series won’t keep us waiting too much longer!

Until next time, here's another mystery to consider: What is Bertoldt hiding in?

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