Attack on Titan (2014)

[進撃の巨人]

Volume 14

Author/Artist: Hajime Isayama
Publisher: KC Magazine

Synopsis:
Erwin decides that the only way to save humanity is to turn against the royal family, but the Survey Corps has been decimated and the Military Police will not suffer rebellion lightly.

Story/Characters:
As you might imagine, once Erwin decides to overthrow the government, things get nasty real quick and both sides get their hands pretty dirty. There's some black humor in an MP interrogator criticizing Hans and Levi for their torture techniques while being tortured by them, but this is where we're at now. This volume marks the formal introduction of Kenny the Ripper. Imagine Clint Eastwood's psychopathic second cousin and you've got a start on what this guy is like. With him comes the dreaded Central Military Police. Levi really shines when they throw down. There's always been an element of political intrigue to the story and now we're really getting a view of just how dirty the inner workings of the kingdom are. There's nary a Titan in sight, though, and you may find that disappointing.

Art:
There's a lot more action in this volume and that's of course where Isayama shines. Some of the art looks a bit rushed, but I guess we all have deadlines. I want to make a special note of one panel with the absolute creepiest image of Armin in the series, beaten only by the excised "Gesumin" panel. That boy's cracking hard, folks.

Conclusion:
I think that even people who aren't entirely on board for this whole rebellion plotline will at least be happy to see things actually start to happen. Our heroes starting to jump off the slippery slope may not be taken well, but this was never a series for a sunny view of humanity. Personally, I'm still invested in the story, but some fans may feel that it's going in a direction they didn't sign up for.

Rating:
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