Attack on Titan (2019)

[進撃の巨人]

Volume 29

Author/Artist: Hajime Isayama
Publisher: KC Magazine

Synopsis:
Zeke teeters on the brink of death after his attempt to escape from Levi.

Story/Characters:
The last volume left me wondering if I even had a dog in the fight anymore. I mean, the foundation of the series was gutted when the core trio was broken up and given the choice between the Yeager Faction and Marley, I get the same feeling I had watching Zeta Gundam where I hated everybody and wanted them all to die. (We'll see if Isayama is as obliging as Tomino was.) I guess we still have a decent chunk of the original cast we can root for, even if it's not clear what sort of endgame they should be aiming for. Onyankopon is still cool too.

We do get more insight into the grand plan, which is nice, but it may not improve any opinions. I do like that Connie speaks for the audience after what happened last volume and Jean's looking for a possible flip side to it. The thing is, even if there is a flip side to it, is that enough to mitigate the damage? I don't know, and it leaves me with a second half of the volume where I don't have a side and am just watching the spectacle play out. We're nearing the end of the story, but I fear that I'm not going to have any investment in how it ends. At this point, I'm just seeing things through.

Art:
The art is what you'd expect. We do get more action this volume, which has always been where this series shines. There is also some interesting imagery that I can't get into for spoiler reasons.

Other:
The high school AU takes an interesting turn in the fake preview.

Conclusion:
I don't feel quite as down about the series as I did last volume, but my enthusiasm has largely waned. We can still get behind the remainder of the 104th, but what exactly are they going to do beyond getting through the immediate threat? I don't know, but I guess I'm still holding on to the point where I'll keep following the story. Despite my continued misgivings about the direction of the story, I did like this volume more than the last one, so give it a read.

Rating:
Read It