#exactly how or when was lightning supposed to develop a positive relationship with humans

[sirdurbe]

*takes a drag from my cigarette* lightning and ryoken were supposed to be narrative foils, you guys. two sides of the same coin. ryoken wanted to make dr. kogami's vision of what the future should be happen and lightning wanted to prevent and defy it. at first they were each motivated to protect their own, but eventually they were willing to sacrifice the people who weren't just their allies, but their family. ryoken was determined to walk the path his father designed for him; lightning was determined to surpass the limits dr. kogami saw in them. but ultimately neither of them could escape him entirely, and when they finally clashed, they both lost. literally it was all right there and it wasn't even especially subtle.

but noooooooo, what if lightning was just born evil and professor child torture had a point 🤪 and what if his fellow child-torturing assistants suddenly had the moral high ground because Kidnapping And Tormenting Jin Was Only Okay When We Did It, And We Said We Were Sowwy. never mind the whole stupid retcon of lightning tormenting jin during the lost incident anyway, it had literally been established that the ignis weren't born until after the kids had been freed and all the data collected. ugh ugh ugh. i gotta do all the work around here, don't i

[lesbianakaashi]

The Forgotten Shounen: Katekyo Hitman Reborn

This is not a “Why you should watch/read khr” or anything like that. This is just me going into the deep dive and throwing my findings at you. I’m making this because khr used to be my favourite series when I was 15 (I had plushees, posters, tradingcards, the art book etc) and now as an adult I constantly find myself baffled at how unknow it seems to be.

1. Okay first what is khr?

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or just Reborn! is a series by Akira Amano which was published in Weekly Shounen Jump from 2004 to 2012 (with 42 volumes) and got an anime adaption which run from 2006 to 2010 on Tv Tokyo (with 202 episodes and one OVA).

2. What’s it about?

Khr is a parody of the italian mafia and plays in a world where the mafia is heavily influencial. The protagonist is the japanese middle schooler Sawada Tsunayoshi who is known as “No good Tsuna” because of his failing grades, general weak and cowardly personality and weak physics.

He becomes aware of the mafia world when a 2 year old baby called Reborn arrives at his house claiming to be the greatest hitman and declaring himself his home tutor. Reborn was send by the 9th head of the Vongola famiglia who is ready to retire and looking for a new heir. Which of course, is supposed to be Tsuna and now it's Reborns job to shape him into a worthy sucessor.

Tsuna rejects the violence of the mafia world and refuses the position as the 10th. Thanks to Reborn and his general craziness Tsuna meets different people and starts to make real friendships. Reborn wants 6 of those friends to be Tsuna's future guardians, basically a group of people which will be closest to him in the vongola famiglia. Tsuna might have no interest in those positions but the friendships he builds with them become really precious to him.

Reborns arrivial also brings in the enemies of the Vongola family which leads to Tsuna being forced to engage in battles. Generally Tsuna openly avoids fights and prefers to run away but will put himself in danger for his friends' sake or because of something Reborn did.

Through out the series Tsuna matures and gains strenght but he never becomes a power fantasy. He's just a guy with many flaws who grows through the human connections he makes.

Personally I think the relationship between Reborn and Tsuna is one of the best student teacher reltaionships in all of manga only topped by Mob and Reigen from Mob Psycho 100. Especially the last arc really underlines their unique relationship to me.

Furthermore, khr offers a new and unique battle system: The flames. I'm not gonna go into to too much detail but the general idea is that one fights with their dying will flame which basically turns off your the savety switch so you can fight with everything you have. The flames are seperated into different categories such as: sky, storm, mist, rain, sun, lightning and cloud and have different attributes asigned to each one. Tsuna's use of the sky flame and his transformation when using it is still one of my favourite shounen transformations to this day.

3. What happened?

The series did really well and then not so well over the course of its serialisation. After the manga got an anime adaption it increased in populairty and video games, light novels, and other products such as CDs were created based on the series. Reborn is one of the best selling series of Weekly Shōnen Jump and has sold around 30 Million volumes overall. It was and still is very popular in Japan but rather unknown in the west.

According to the article "The Rise and Fall of Weekly Shonen Jump: A Look at the Circulation of Weekly Jump" khr was the 10th bestselling series in Weekly Shōnen Jump, with a total of 7 million copies sold in 2007.

This number increasing to 15 milion in 2008. Which placed khr into the 4th best selling series of 2008 in Japan.

Between 2008 and 2010 those sales declined but still kept strong with khr as the 6th top selling manga in 2009, 8th best selling in 2010 and then 24th best selling in 2012.

In November 2014, readers of the Da Vinci magazine voted khr number 17 on a list of Weekly Shōnen Jump's greatest manga series of all time.

After the anime came to an apprupt stop in 2010 for unknown reasons the manga sells took a visible hit. (Apparently the studio wanted to put the anime on halt because they were busy with other projects and give Akira Amano time to develop her story but I couldn't find any source for this claim) Furthermore, the rushed last chapters of the manga in 2012 declined the popularity of the series even more. There's no offical statement as to why the manga was ended in such a way but it's reasonable to assume that Jump either cut it considering the decreasing sales or Akira Amano choose to end it for personal reasons.

Nontheless, Tsuna not being included in Jump Force (a fighting game where you can play as different characters from Jump) in 2019 even tho he made it in earlier Jump Stars games also underlines the decreased interest in the series.

Rumors on a reboot or anime adaption of the last two arcs surface from time to time but are genereally unlikely. Artland the studio which made khr has gone bankrupt around 2015-2016. It might be taken on by another studio but rather uncommen especially with such an old series.

4. Art style

The khr anime ended over 10 years ago and the old art style might not be appealing to newer audiences.

Especailly because the anime adaption follows Akira Amanos old art style which heavily developed within the years. Here a picture comparing characters in the new art style:

A modern anime adaption in the new art style would be aesthetically pleasing. It would probably look similiar to Psycho Pass since Akira Amano did the concept art for this series.

(My personal art student hot take is that both art styles are unique and fun. Up to this day Akira Amano still has my favourite art style and even if the amount folds in the characters clothing is a little extreme I love it dearly.)

5. Criticism

The show is not without flaws and even if I greatly enjoy it it wouldn't be right not to adress them.

Daily Life Arc:

A lot of people view the first 20 to 25 episodes as fillers and quickly lose intererst in the series. This is due to the fact that Akira Amano inteded the series to be a gag manga and focuses the first chapters on world building, character introduction and comical narratives. It's rumored that the decision to develop the story into a battle shounen was made because the sales weren't doing well enough at first. So the first chapters/episodes may seem titidious but are necessary for the story and the development of the characters. The tonal shift from a more gintama like gag manga to a darker battle focused story can also be offputting to some viewers.

Either way a lot of people blame this arc when discussing why khr never got an english dub or didn't end up on Toonami. I've also read that the manga never finished serializing in the north america. However, it finished in other western languages like german and spanish.

Censoring:

The anime censors A LOT. From Gokudera's smoking habit, Yamamoto's whole character arc which deals with heavy themes such as depression and suicidal thoughts. The general bloodiness of the manga was censored and sometimes whole chapters and characters were left out even if those were important to the devolopment of others.

Filler episodes:

Out of the 202 episodes the anime has around 29 filler episodes which makes roughly 14 %.

Sexism:

Even if Reborn was written by a woman most female characters are rather flat and their storylines often tied to a male character in one way or another.

Genereal things:

Khr, like many other long running series, is sometimes criticised for a lack of world building or unpopular narrative choices.

6. Hope?

Khr isn't exactly dead. As stated before the series is still very popular in Japan and still gets new merch pretty regulary. There are also petitions floating around for a reboot or a new anime season but those never get a lot of traction. Furthermore #Reborn2期アニメ化 (#Reborn2ndAnimation) used to get some traction on twitter not too long ago. Last year the Anime News Network did a poll on which anime the readers would like to see a rebooot of and khr placed second.

Either way here's a collection of recent khr things I could find.

- In 2018 a new bluray set was released in north america

- The khr stage play reached yet another new season

- A mobile game was released last year

- Currently ongoing anime cafe event called "Concerto di Vongola"

- Last month there was an event with the former VAs and stage play actors where they discussed their favourite khr episodes.

- There has been an increase in blind reacts to the openings on youtube which might bring in a new fan base. The biggest one I could find had around 90k views and was made in 2019. On this note check out the soundtrack. The first openeing Drawing Days by SPLAY still makes me go insane (but I'm biased of course)

There also renewed hope for a new season/reboot because Shaman King, Inuyasha and Bleach got anounced for new seasons after a long hiatus. It's important to keep in mind that the circumstances for those series are differnt tho. For example bleachs new anime is often tied to the immense success of the gatcha game.

7. Conclusion

Khr is a series which used to be a flagship for Weekly Shounen Jump and is deeply beloved by it's fans, especially in Japan. It influenced other shounen series like bnha. It would be nice to see it gaining a bigger fanbase in the west :)

[aiyassalt]

Claudia’s Character Assassination

This post is a follow up on my recent Claudia hot take in which I state that Claudia was another character intentionally ruined and demonized by the writers (not unlike Viren) for the sake of shipping.

I know what ya’ll are thinking: I’m just being a butthurt Claudia stan, but based on recent discoveries (such as a certain article from Polyon), I’m (mostly) making a case based on facts.

“Whoawhoawhoawhoa, aiya?” you cry. “Don’t you think you’re being ridiculous and going a bit too far with your Rayllum hate?!”

Au contraire, my friend, I’m not. An article published by Polygon in the last year (yes, I know. I’m late but whatever) came out and confirmed a few facts:

Callum/Claudia were supposed to be endgame or at least canon.  

Rayllum was never in the cards, but the writers, supposedly claim that they decided to switch things up during the storyboarding phase for S2.

“The Callum-Rayla romance sparked in a moment during the storyboarding phases of season 2, when the pair sat down for a heart-to-heart. A lingering glance on Rayla’s part prompted the writing team to consider the potential of the duo, and they continued developing it through the rest of season 2.”

However, further along in the article, the writer talks about how the staff are completely aware of fandom happenings and have developed a…”strategy” concerning fandom.

“The Dragon Prince writing staff are aware of the possible relationships their fans are hoping for, say the creators, and “good ships and trash ships” are a source of constant chatter and scrutiny in the writers’ room. After a season 2 creative retreat, a gallon of corn oil inspired writer Neil Mukhopadhyay to put a name to those moments that leave a bit too much room for romantic possibilities. “Shipping oil” became the go-to slang for when scenes felt slathered with dialogue or character blocking that could send the wrong message.”

So, it starts to become clear that Rayllum didn’t happen because the writers had a lightning bulb moment and realized it “made sense.” It has everything to do with trying to appeal to the fanbase’ wants and ideas of “appropriate” ships.

“Okay,” you say. “So the writers decided to make the juggernaut canon to make fans happy. So what! What’s the big deal? What does this have to do with Claudia?”

It has a lot to do with Claudia (and to a lesser extent, Soren) and it explains why the writing for her character in S3 felt incredibly off and dismissive for her. The writers talked about “shipping oil” for certain pairings and being concerned about “sending the wrong message.” What if the writers decided to possibly tone down certain shippy scenes? Or even go further and decided to cut out scenes or even rewrite certain character arcs to:

Accommodate the sudden pro-Rayllum direction they pushed the story towards and not threaten their endgame ship?

Make the Rayllum fans feel better and more confident about their OTP rather than feel insecure and threatened by “trash” ships getting an upper hand?

LBR, as much as Rayllum like to deny it, they’re not that secure about their ship. It’s why we see a portion of Rayllum fans continually bashing Claudia. Why, throughout S2, we started seeing an uptick of Rayllum fans calling Callum/Claudia problematic and/or abusive (no, I’m not joking or hyperbolizing; this actually happened) and trying to frame Soren/Rayla as “p*dophilic”.    

Think about it. S3 seems like it was written by a Rayllum fan with a (“hidden”) hate for Claudia. We never get to hear exactly her own thoughts about her father and her moral choices in S3. We don’t see her worrying and reeling with guilt over Callum and Ezran falling out with her. The girl we see clearly crying after telling Callum the truth about his dead father is suddenly not concerned about her childhood friends being in Xadia while she’s hearing rumors about Xadians possibly prepping for warfare. We witness Callum showing a baffling lack of concern for Claudia, a character who is supposed to be not only his childhood crush, but his childhood friend staying with her father who Callum acknowledged as someone who has changed for the worse (according to the books).  We get Nyx, a Skywing elf who possibly has never been in contact with humans, acting like a straight-up in-canon Rayluum shipper and being fine with a Human and Elf being in love rather than being disgusted. I would continue, but I don’t want to make an incredibly long post.  

And LBR: if Claudia (and Soren maybe) went with Callum and Rayla in S3 or S4, there would be trouble in paradise for the Rayllum ship and present more nuanced writing. Besides Callum x Claudia and Soren x Rayla having more chemistry than Rayllum, Claudia and Callum have more in common than Callum and Rayla do. And Soren and Rayla serve as better foils for one another and share more parallels together. Both Callum and Claudia are interested in magic, books, art, and history, had to serve as parental figures for their siblings, and are crafty and adaptive wildcards. Meanwhile Soren and Rayla are the youngest members of their individual organizations, good warriors who balance out each other’s weaknesses, and possess a lot of determination and ambition to prove themselves to their parental figures.

Imagine Soren and Rayla bonding over parents disappointing them and putting a lot on their shoulders. Imagine them confessing they have no idea what they want to do in life, and were put on their current career paths due to societal expectations. Imagine Claudia and Callum having a couple of tense moments due to her lying and trying to capture Zym, but eventually reconciling (basically, a gender reversed Zutara arc). Imagine Callum showing Claudia his Sky Magic moves and revealing it is possible for humans to do Primal Magic without needing a Primal Stone. Imagine Claudia then deciding to embark on training and dedicating herself to learn specific type of Primal Magic (such as Water or Moon, or even Earth) with Callum’s help. Imagine Callum and Claudia deciding to go on dates that also function as research trips to explore ruins and to discover the truth as to why and how the myth that humans can’t do Primal Magic was perpetuated. Imagine Rayla and Claudia’s initial interactions being full of hostility due to their past experiences and Claudia being a Dark Mage and Rayla going on a self-righteous anti-Dark Magic rant only for Claudia to break out of her typical goofy and upbeat persona and bring up the history of humans in Xadia and point out the birth of Dark Magic has nothing to do with humans wanting to kill creatures for the shits and giggles, but for survival and fighting against oppression. And as a result, Rayla actually undergoes actual character growth.

The scenarios I’ve described here sound 100x more interesting than the Rayllum Drama Desert mess. I’m also absolutely positive that they would absolutely make certain characters as more sympathetic (such as Viren, especially if Claudia defends Dark Mages), put a dent in Rayllum’s popularity and Rayla’s Perfect Waifu status and drive the Rayllum fandom bonkers. And the TDP writers knew it, which is why Claudia and Soren were given the arcs they have in S3.

I will never be over how Claudia was sacrificed at the altar of fandom pandering, and most of the fandom waving it off because, whatever, she’s no longer in the way and she’s an icky teenaged girl. Never. A refreshing character like her didn’t deserve the treatment she’s gotten thus far and will continue to get if the writers insist on pandering to vocal fan factions. Shame on the TDP writers for making such an ignorant, amateur, and disastrous move.

[lesserfandomappreciation]

Good to see you! Always glad to get a Red Shoes ask! How are you? And thank you! I really appreciate that! I’m working on getting a little better each day!  BTW, how did you develop your art style? It’s so cute!

Jelly boys (RSaT7D)

Merlin

Merlin loves his s/o. Truly, unapologetically with his whole heart and mind. He thinks he’s not obvious but mage, please. He openly swooned over Snow White what makes you think he’d be different with s/o, it’s just a matter of whether or not they notice. Knowing that Merlin is aware he one very lucky man and that most wished they could be so lucky. And are willing to try their luck, regardless of his s/o being in a relationship, thank you.

Drama prince. You’d think he was campaigning for dumbass of the year sometimes. 

He’s not jealous! Why would he be jealous? It’s not like he would care some scumy person with no sense of personal space hit on (Name) and tried to make them blush. Save the baseless accusation for someone who cares, says Merlin as he wraps an arm around s/o and refuses to leave their side some time the offender has already left. The idea of it really. 

You mentioned Jack’s jealousy and that brings up an interesting point when it comes to Merlin. Jack is secure in who he is and where his relationship stands. Merlin has only one of those things, and it’s the latter. From what we’ve seen, the wizard has a lot of deep-running insecurities that are tied from his sense of self-worth. Sure, he shows off, says “You just got Merlin’ed” unironically and gloats over some of his victories, but give him a moment to self-reflect and he runs from himself. He spent an entire year as a dwarf specifically because he put all his worth on his outward appearance.

This applies to his s/o in that Merlin doesn’t see himself as enough for them. (Name) is amazing, look at them go! Have you seen them? Have you seen him? They deserve the world and instead they’re stuck with him. Unlikely as he is to say it, Merlin is genuinely frightened of the day they wake up and realize they deserve someone fitting, better. 

Out of the three, his is the one that needs addressing the most. Jealousy in general isn’t inherently good or bad, but that depends on where it stems from. Jealousy based on self-hatred can have long-term problems for all parties involved if left unresolved. Merlin wants to be enough. Merlin needs reassurances, enforced boundaries and uplifting praises for him to realize that they’re not going anywhere. 

Prior to this pivotal moment, his go-to method to dealing with awful people was lightning, possibly getting pouty about it. Nowadays he’s unfortunately learned from Jack that unrelenting affection is a fantastic way to deal with unwanted attention and my, if it doesn’t work wonders.

He’s a monster now. Slides up to s/o, arm around them, flirting with them as if the person wasn’t there.

Still gets pouty a bit at times and needs cuddles. 

Arthur

I have to be honest, Arthur’s jealousy was a pain and half to figure out because it is hard to pin down. A jealous Arthur is nigh-impossible to tell apart from a generally protective and chivalrous Arthur. Dwarf-form, human-form, it doesn’t matter - if someone he cares about is struggling to defend themselves and the other person can’t take the hint he’s going to step up between, telling them to back off. 

The reason it’s so hard to tell apart because even Arthur isn’t 100% sure what he’s feeling in that moment with his s/o. For all the self-hyping the F7 gave themselves, Arthur and the others seem to have exactly 0 experience actually being in relationships (he thought a slap was a gesture of affection this man hasn’t a clue what he’s doing). Getting kissed by a thankful princess is worlds different from building a bond with someone, caring for someone. The first time Arthur is struck with jealousy, he’s not at all sure what he’s feeling. He just knows his heart is gripped tightly, his blood is running hot, and that he’s not about to let some scumbag continue to be rude to (Name). 

Look for his reaction afterward. That’s the ticket for an outsider looking in to figure out something’s up. When Arthur is protective (about anyone he cares about), the second the issue is dealt with he’s first concerned about their well-being and then pretty positive about being able to protect his loved ones. When Arthur is jealous though, he goes quiet afterwards. He’s not mad at anyone other than himself, because he doesn’t know why he got so fired up and he views (Name) getting harassed as a failure to protect them. He’s sullen, but will make an attempt to hide it if asked about it.

The jealousy Arthur experience comes from the same places as his protectiveness. Concern and duty. The incident with Snow White being in danger by guards and his doing nothing has definitely left an impact on him and it’s made his concern for others, even strangers, all the higher. In this case, the person he’s worried about is his s/o and that adds a burst of affection into his actions he’s not used to being there. Duty comes into play in terms of his beliefs and morals. Arthur has a really strong moral compass, with ideas on what is right being pounded into his brain early on. He likely has a sense of what he should be doing in a relationship, and what his “duties” are to his partner. They’re not all bad, but they do need a reality check. 

He’s ashamed to admit he’s jealous. He’s not supposed to get jealous - Arthur trusts his partner! Yet, he can’t deny he hates seeing them being harassed.

Also, the childish, selfish part of his mind he pretends to not have can’t stand that some schmuck is getting their attention when Prince Arthur is right here, hello? Don’t tell anyone, he’s embarassed. 

Arthur doesn’t need much in terms of redirecting. A good reminder that his s/o is grown and will absolutely call on him if they need his help quells a lot of his concerns. Time in the relationship also helps - the more he knows and builds his relationship with s/o the more relaxed he’s going to feel. He winds up being the guy who will look to s/o to see if he needs to put someone in a headlock. 

Should he get pouty (happens to everyone really), this man is such a slut for physical affection, hand-holding, hugs, sweet peppering kisses that any combination of them will get him to give the goofiest smile. 

Hans

Now here’s an interesting one. Hans is like Jack in that he’s secure in himself and his relationship. He trusts his s/o like crazy, respects boundaries, has enough emotional intelligence to know when he needs to step in versus when he wants to step in and follows through on that. But. He dislikes people disrespecting his s/o strongly, has pretty quick strong reactions (he knocked out Snow White with a pan), and puts his foot down with no wait time required.

When he spots someone pushing it what’s a guy to do but inject themselves into the conversation? It’s hardly his fault the sleazo ran off when Hans grabbed (Name)’s hand and talked to them sweetly, all while giving the offender the glare of a life time. 

Oh yes. Hans is that guy. Sure he could try to be tough (like Arthur) or pretend to be tough (like Merlin), but where’s the fun in that? This method lets people know (Name) 1) is taken. 2) in a very healthy/happy relationship 3) has a boyfriend who is right there and 4) their boyfriend will use a shield as a weapon if need be. It’s foolproof!

...Well, almost foolproof, save for the part where Hans decides to not talk about his feelings. Emotionally intelligent when it comes to others, Hans himself is not good about expressing his emotions. (Name) was the one who had to deal with that offender for so long, they’re the ones who were actually affected by the offender’s actions, Han’s feelings should be on the back burner then! This thought process is flawed. He views himself as the caretaker and not as someone to be cared for like he does for others, and that mindset is going to lead to a lot of bottled feelings if not dealt with early on. 

What Hans needs is honesty. Direct confrontation on this, because he will try to skirt around the issue instead of talking it out if possible. Once the direct communication is had, it’s a long journey of learning to be vulnerable, validation of feelings, and understanding what a relationship of equal give-and-take looks like that leads to him bettering his response to jealousy. 

Hans still is the guy who smoothly cuts in, but nowadays its followed up by a dual session in the kitchen where the both of them can get frustrations out by kneading some dough. Nothing like the promise of warm tasty bread to distract from the offenders from earlier. Along with floury kiss marks on the cheek. It’s the one time he doesn’t mind a mess in the kitchen. 

[that-shamrock-vibe]

TV Review: Young Justice Outsiders Part 1 (Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: The first part of Young Justice Outsiders is finally all available for viewing so I thought I would give my thoughts on Season 3 thus far, it won’t be in depth because for me this season hasn’t been but there are light spoilers so be warned.

General Reaction:

I have been a fan of Young Justice since I found out about the series, I love it. I love taking these sidekicks and putting them in the spotlight. It’s why I loved Teen Titans and Young Avengers. I guess because I discovered them while I was a teenager myself, season 1 aired in 2010 when I was 19 so technically that counts, that I relate to them but also the first two seasons of the show were so well done and made for gripping binge-worthy viewing.

So you can imagine that I, like many other fans of the show, was thrilled when after an injust cancellation it returned 5 years. The only problem is Young Justice: Outsiders lacks the spark and somewhat originality that the first two seasons had.

These first 13 episodes of season three lack centric main characters, a strong A-Storyline and, until the last 4 episodes, that gripping binge-worthiness I mentioned the first two seasons had. Instead we have an Easter-Egg season crammed with characters who are splintered into different groups who each have their own storylines that, again until near the end of the 13 episodes, don’t really tie-in with each other and feel like they each need their own shows to develop fully.

Also, there is another time jump between Season 2 and 3 which makes more sense here than it did between 1 and 2 because in real-time 5 years has passed since the end of Season 2 whereas there it seemed to be done to push ahead the story and give the franchise a Star Wars feel of making it a multi-media experience with the comic-book tie-in series filling in the space between 1 & 2.

What’s Good:

Alright so I want to be fair to the season because it does have some good aspects which I actually liked.

Fan Favourites:

I will get into the sheer volume of characters introduced to this season further down but for now I want to talk about the fan-favourites introduced who were somewhat fleshed out rather well.

Firstly Lady Shiva. I have never seen Lady Shiva before but I know she is a fan-favourite character and, considering the underwhelming performance of Talia al Ghul recently, a favored replacement for her. I still think Nyssa al Ghul is a good replacement particularly in Arrow but here I understand why people like her. I thought the fact she is the trainer of the new League of Shadows recruits as well as an Enforcer for The Light to be quite good, although I do find myself thinking that, as mentioned, Deathstroke was exactly in that position in the second season and he was barely used, I hope that’s not the case here.

Then there’s Cyborg. It’s about god-damn time they brought this guy in. Just when I thought this season was not going to get graphic or gory they give us Cyborg’s Post-New 52 origins and that imagery of Victor’s body after the explosion was so good for me. I also liked how they’ve updated the Cyborg look and now given him mood-lighting with Father Box control which causes an interesting relationship between him and new character Halo.

Finally there’s Terra. I am excited for what has been teased with Terra so far. The fact she was part of the Markovian Royal Family which was introduced in the first couple of episodes and then herself being properly introduced in the last episode with her Geokinetic powers, while not yet fully realized I am sure will be great.

Beast Boy:

So again this is very much a light spoiler review but what I will say is watch out and be patient for Beast Boy because he does not have that much to do at the start of the season and only really appears in snippets as the opening scenes of the episodes but in the penultimate episode of Season 3A it is all about Beast Boy and it’s probably my favourite episode despite one glaring aspect of it which is an Easter-Egg within the DC Multiverse.

What’s Bad:

Shifting Allegiances:

There is a big shake-up in how our heroes are affiliate themselves with in the first episode alone.

Not only do Batman and Black Lightning quit the Justice League, Batman taking other members with him for his own team, but the original Aquaman Arthur Curry, who has just had his own billion dollar movie released, is no longer in the League and instead his protege Aqualad has not only become the new Aquaman but the leader of the League.

Then there’s the Team which this series is supposed to focus on. Again there’s a shake-up in the roster and the team that is shown in the promotion is pretty much the team for this season but...because of all the other characters introduced this season we do not spend enough time getting to know the new team, the new members on the team or the reasons why the members of the team who were there at the end of last season aren’t there now.

For instance, it is kind of explained why Tigress and Superboy are no longer on the team as they’re part of Nightwing’s new team and therefore in that promo image not this one, but Guardian and Lagoon Boy all have left without explanation. We know what has happened to Beast Boy and Bumblebee has a kid and is pregnant again so that probably explains their reasoning. Guardian aka Mal Duncan and Lagoon Boy weren’t very interesting characters which maybe explains their absence in terms of production but in-canon that can’t be the only reason.

Arsenal was expelled from the team during Season 2 so his appearance in this line-up raised curiosity, but he only appears in one episode but not with a single member of this team and instead with his fellow Roy Harpers.

Then new team members Arrowette, Spoiler and Thirteen who were promoted are barely used. Yes Robin II aka Tim Drake leaves the team and takes Arrowette and Spoiler under his leadership to form their own team with new character Orphan, but Arrowette and Spoiler were both introduced as civillians in Season 2 yet nothing is done to reference that. In fact many people thought Arrowette was Artemis in a new suit at first.

Thirteen remains on the team but I do not think has a speaking line and if she does it’s forgettable. All I know about this character is she is the protege of Zatanna but she has her own problems this season apparently and so this completely new character is barely utilized properly.

Also Blue Beetle, Bart Allen as Kid Flash, Static and Wonder Girl are all returning characters yet hardly either seen, utilized or developed in this season. Static loses Black Lightning as a mentor and Wonder Girl is seemingly dumped by Tim Drake when he quits the team due to Batman leaving the League, but Blue Beetle and Bart Allen who were focal characters last season are blink and miss them characters this season...glorified cameos at best.

Too Many Characters:

This brings me on to my biggest issue with this season, there are way too many characters introduced and involved in this season. There are 13 episodes but it feels like they have a combined total of 130 characters introduced. We have new characters that we are supposed to focus on and new ones that seem to be there just to be there.

For instance, new characters like Cyborg, Forager, Halo and Geo-Force I get we are supposed to focus on, but Cyborg isn’t introduced until Episode 10 and then heavily focused on for 4 episodes, while the latter three are all introduced at the start of the season and slowly and organically developed.

Then there are characters like Steel and Katana who I almost forgot were introduced at the start of Episode 1 until Episode 10 when there were slightly more prominent.

Speaking of that Episode 1 Easter-Egg hunt, once Batman announces he is leaving the Justice League he makes it clear that four members of the league are resigning to join him, Katana, Plastic Man who was introduced in Season 1 and again to this day I cannot say if he’s actually had any speaking lines, Hardware who I have no clue as to who that is and Batwoman...Batwoman! You had probably the best LGBT superhero and yet she’s only seen in two images and that’s it. What, the, hell!

Then Episode 9 “Home Fires” is an episode full to the brim with Easter-Eggs, I can’t even call them characters because aside from maybe three of them none of them are focused on. Along with Bart Allen who actually has something to do here, Iris West-Allen actually has some comedic moments and then Karen aka Rocket who has some speaking lines and Lynn Stewart-Pierce who is the ex-wife of Black Lightning but isn’t as good here as Christine Adams portrays her on Black Lightning aside from the fact that in this continuity she is the sister of John Stewart aka Green Lantern.

Aside from them, there’s the introduction of Lois Lane with son Jonathan, the reintroduction of Red Tornado’s human-looking form John Smith with daughter Traya Sutton, a pregnant Bumblebee, Iris and Barry’s twins Dawn and Don, Mera and son of Aquaman Artur, Rocket’s sassy son Amisted and the re-introduction of Black Lightning and Lynn’s daughter Anissa and Jennifer Pierce.

Away from this storyline in the episode is the reintroduction and death of Ocean-Master along with the introduction of Lady Shiva who kills him and the introduction of Granny Goodness. All this was just in the one episode.

Then we have Ra’s al Ghul and his followers, I can’t say League anymore because Ra’s has left both the League and The Light and Deathstroke seems to have taken his place in both, we are reintroduced to his followers such as Ubu and the Sensei but also introduced to the cameos of Talia al Ghul, Damien Wayne and a mysterious Red-Hooded Ninja...

Also when we are finally reintroduced to Batman and his new team, the only one we see return is Katana along with new character Metamorpho...I don’t know who this character is but I like him.

Wonder Woman said it best in Episode 8 when there’s a meeting of all the leaders of these hero teams and says that between her, Batman, Aquaman(lad), Nightwing, Robin, Miss Martian and Oracle. they do in fact have 5 teams at their disposal. That is way too many teams to focus on in one season, particularly when 3 of those teams haven’t been properly established yet and the other two have had massively unexplained shake-ups.

Missed Opportunities:

As mentioned before, there is another time jump between Seasons 2 and 3, here it is two years rather than five as it was Between 1 and 2 which makes no sense because less real-time has passed in each gap but I digress.

However, once again due to this time jump, we miss out on some major development. The biggest crime being that one of comics most famous stories, The Killing Joke is seemingly told as Barbara goes from Batgirl to Oracle and able-bodied to wheelchair bound.

Now maybe Young Justice creators took inspiration from the only time that story has been told in film or television and thought just to skip it but then why not have a spin-off series centred on the Bat-Family, which has grown this season not just by Batwoman and Spoiler but also Orphan and Harper Row who in the comics becomes Bluebird to make a grand total of 10 Bat-Family members, so you can flesh out these characters and iconic stories.

What’s Teased:

Alright to end this review on a somewhat positive note I want to talk about what  is hopefully teased for the back-half of this season coming in June.

Terra:

Firstly we have Terra aka Tara Markov. Introduced at the start of this season but then formally introduced in Episode 13 as the Geokinetic Metahuman who is apparently enslaved on Bialya and later rescued by Nightwing’s team. However, the ending tease for the season shows Terra being taken in by the Team and secretly messaging Deathstroke who is now the leader of the League of Shadows having never apparently left the League apparently.

The only issue with this is it seems they’re playing out The Judas Contract which has also recently been told recently in the animated films. I mean it is clear at this point that they’re making the team in this series their version of the Teen Titans without calling them that but we shall see if we actually get to see this played out.

Red Hood and Damien Wayne:

Two Robins for the price of one. Jason Todd as an in-canon character was never physically shown on screen in the second season as he was apparently introduced and killed in that 5 year gap. However, with the introduction of this Red-Hooded Ninja who is under Ra’s al Ghul’s leadership with the exact same hairstyle as Jason Todd...it stands to reason that we will soon meet Red Hood in Season 3b.

Now as for Damien Wayne, Talia is introduced as a cameo this season as she watches Nightwing’s team flying away standing besides her father Ra’s holding a baby boy in her arm. It stands to reason that this is Damien and so unless we have a time-jump of 10 years I doubt we’ll see him again in any major capacity but the fact he has been introduced is big if the show reaches that 10 year gap.

Baby Sidekicks:

So as well as Damien, we have the infant forms of Don & Dawn Allen aka the Tornado Twins and Jonathan Samuel Kent aka a future Superboy. Also this season we meet Anissa and Jennifer Pierce who in the future become Lightning and Thunder respectively.

These pose as great teases but much like Damien, unless there’s a jump by 10 years I doubt they’ll be heavily focused on.

Apokolips Now:

Alright so Apokolips is DC’s hot topic at the moment, not only did they try to push it and Darkseid in the movies until Justice League fell flat but also the end tease of Season 2 showed Darkseid meeting with Vandal Savage and they are now apparently associates just as The Light were with The Reach in Season 2.

Now while any sort of Apokolips influence is minimal this season thus far, we do get an episode on New Genesis, a reintroduction to the Forever People as well as Mother Boxes and an introduction of Forager.

All this I feel is gearing up for Darkseid to either be the big bad of Season 3 overall or the overall villain of Season 4. Either way they are currently teasing Darkseid like they teased Thanos and that tease paid off in Infinity War so allow a series with those stakes.

Recommendation:

So overall I have to say, this season has a gripping ending but it took a very long time getting there. It never felt like a chore but at the same time the other two seasons gripped me from the start. I am still looking forward to Season 3b but I will be curious to see if the 5 month wait is worth it or not.

I will give this part of Season 3 a rating of 6/10, it was an okay start with a dragged out middle and an exciting ending. Hopefully the excitement will run the way through the rest of the season.

So that’s my review of Young Justice: Outsiders (Part 1) what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more TV Reviews as well as other posts.

[snkpolls]

SnK Chapter 98 Poll Results

The chapter 98 poll closed with a record 1,771 responses. Thank you to everyone for participating. 

  RATE THE CHAPTER (1,711 RESPONSES)

If you disliked this chapter, you were very much in the minority. Only 1% of respondents rated it poorly. Satisfaction with recent Marley chapters have been generally positive, but this is the highest rating since we started the poll.

This chapter was so fire I had to call 911 after I read it

Goddamned life ruining basements.

Sadly, SNK is eventually going to end, and having taken the time to properly explain its unique universe and its characters will that day leave to this world the completed masterpiece it has the potential to be

I gasped during the "I'm Dr. Yeagar'" scene, but I almost threw my phone from excitement from the "Hey, it's been 4 years huh Reiner." I was one of the people that thought I wouldn't care for the young Warriors, but damn, this chapter won me over. Especially Falco. The awesome character building scenes, the mystery behind Tybur & Magath, the attitude's of the vet Warriors, and Eren's new shred of awesomeness made this one of my favorite chapters.

Magath is still making me wet with his humanity, Willy needs a hug and some Hellos D, I can't believe the East Sea Clan is actually a thing (eeeek) and if Falco gets hurt I will die. Also where's Annie.

I think the entire chapter could be my favorite moment.

Willy and Magath vs Levi for clean house?

When Jaegerbowl became SUPER JAEGER BROTHERS, GET HYPE EVERYBODY

  ON THE SUPREME CUTENESS SCALE OF 10-10 HOW CUTE WAS ALL OF THIS??? (1,721 Responses)

Because of our own intense fangirling after reading this chapter, we had to lead off the poll with something fun. Thankfully most didn’t mind and agreed with us that this chapter was packed with supreme cuteness.

Remember when attack on titan was dark? Now it's all rainbows and unicorns. Jk, I loved this chapter.

   ON THE BEST DAD SCALE OF 420-10 HOW GREAT WAS REINER??? (1,721 Responses)

It’s also nice to see that 84% of us agree that Papa Reiner was just awesome! 275 people disagreed, including one commenter below.

Reiner accompanying the kids at the festival was SOOO DAMN CUTE

Reigner is my favourite moment every chapter.

This chapter was great. Seeing daddy Reiner was one of the sweetest moments in SNK

This may be an unpopular opinion but Reigner honestly feels like the least interesting character in the whole arc. We have all these shiny new characters that are in desperate need of character development and all we keep getting is more and more Reigner. Reigner this, Reigner that, Isayama is starting to sound like a bunch of Bertholdts. Where is the love for Colt, Porco, Ms Exactly Right, Theo and more? Grim Reminder 2.0 also needs to happen fast.

this one salty anon saying reiner is the least interesting character of marley are you in your right mind or are your standards simply just low

  THERE WERE SO MANY GREAT MOMENTS THAT WE’RE GONNA BREAK ‘EM INTO TWO QUESTIONS. BATCH ONE IS THE SWEET THINGS. WHICH OF THESE MOMENTS MADE YOU SMILE THE MOST? (1,720 Responses)

I love how difficult it was for people to choose a best moment. “Reiner as Marley’s Best Dad and ATM” eked out the number one slot by just 1 vote. “All of the above” was second and Falco’s near confession was a distant third.

Reiner awkwardly avoiding eye contact with Galliard.

Eren spending one month undercover by disguising himself as Sad Keanu

Porco being low-key supportive of Falco and the parallels it draws with his own life/relationship with Reiner.

Falco's proud face when he guides Reiner to the basement.

  BATCH TWO ARE THE SERIOUS THINGS. WHICH OF THESE MOMENTS MOST CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION? (1,718 Responses)

Basement Reveal 2.0 was our favorite moment. Twenty-four percent of the fandom couldn’t pick just one, making “All of the above” the number two selection. Eren meeting his grandfather and the mysterious Asian women round out the third and fourth pick.

When Reiner Meets Eren

The asian woman is about on par with basement 2 electric boogaloo but i could only pick one so im cheating a bit pls dont be angry

While you've mentioned all the moments that stood out most to me, I can say I definitely appreciated the variety of races drawn as they were distinct, reasonable designs. All in all, these are all awesome moments, it's hard to pick favorites in this chapter.

  DID YOU HAVE A FAVORITE MOMENT WE FAILED TO MENTION? (237 Responses)

You can sense the excitement for a chapter when 237 people take the time to gush in the comments section. If you want to read them all, you’ll need to visit the full poll results but here are a few.

Zeke's three-level comment about being a big brother (works for Colt, Porco and Zeke himself), also Zeke playing catch with Colt and Eren playing with Zeke's ball.

Eren basically slamming that baseball right in his gorgeous face is kinda one of the best moments!?!?

PORCO SMILING AT FALCO'S VICTORY

Gabi waking up. Those panels were so detailed on her face, I'm worried that little Gabi is waving her death flags. I almost had a heart attack because I thought for a second she was Mikasa when I first read through.

Gabi's relationship with Udo and Zofia and the "devil" line

Cory in the house finally meeting the fresh prince of bel-air

black people being not so stereotypical. they just looked like people, not over-cheerful big lipped afro hair stereotype or anything like that

The attitude and mystery of that old asian woman

  SEVERAL CHARACTERS HAD THEIR SASS GAME ON STRONG. WHO DID IT BEST? (1,718 Responses)

Eren’s “Good to see you made it back home” was declared the  sassiest line by a significant majority. Sassmaster Pieck was second with her slam about entrusting the Paradis operation to four kids. My personal favorite was Porco’s hugely sarcastic “We have some awfully bright officials leading us”, but only 5% agreed with me.

While “Good to see you made it back home” was the winner, it wasn’t without controversy. I saw several comments on Reddit and Tumblr from people who thought that Eren wasn’t being sassy when he said them. It’s possible I suppose, but unless a lot of has changed in the last four years, I find it hard to believe he was being sincere.

  WITH ALL THE NEW CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, IT’S TIME TO ASK AGAIN. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE OF THE NEW KIDDOS? (1,701 Responses)

Perfect little bean Falco wins by a landslide! Was there every any doubt? Gabi is far more polarizing but has maintained a loyal fanbase. She came in second with 16.9%. Zophia received 133 votes (7.8%). Colt received 98 votes (5.8%). The wine-spilling, multi-lingual, “not from around here” Udo received the fewest votes with 76 (4.5%).

Falco's smile, I just want to hug him as if he were my little brother/cousin ^^

Falco cemented his status as a cinammon roll. I'd hate for him to get toasted in the next chapter, considering what's about to go down in the basement!

Gabi's ego is charming.

CUTE ZOPHIE

Udo is the most precious kid and I love him a lot and if he dies, I die. (I keep saying this about all my faves but it's true.)

  ON A SCALE FROM 1-5 (1=STILL CAN’T STAND ‘EM; 5=DAMMIT I GOT SUCKED IN), HAS THE NEW CAST WON YOU OVER? (1,717 Responses)

Isayama deserves mad props for introducing a brand new cast and gradually making us care about them. More than 65% of us now have strong feelings for the Warriors and candidate kiddos .

Pieck. Just Pieck.

I can't believe I got sucked into Marley. This chapter just solidified my new found affection for 90% of the Marley characters, and even though I do miss the main cast I'm totally fine with more Marley chapters! Gabi went from hate to fave in a heartbeat. I must be sick? Not to mention all the pokkopikku moments... Honestly I'm in love with SNK all over again. RIP Me.

I used to not be very fond of the warrior cadets, but this chapter just filled me with love for those kids. My only problem is that I KNOW Isayama is trying to get me to sympathize with them before ultimately crushing my soul and having something terrible happen  :(

I still hate all the kids, but Reiner has got some brownie points with me now.

ANY THOUGHTS ON WHAT WILLY'S "SINGLE ANSWER" IS? (1,685 Responses)

Our single answer to Willy’s single answer is that we are all over the place with ideas. A slim majority believe that Willy is going to propose a genocide starting in Liberio, but there were almost 100 write ins with other options. Here are a few.

Definitely the elimination of Paradis

I think he found a way to turn even non-Eldians into titans and he will try to create some sort of balance of terror.

I think he'll give a long winded speech, and just when he's about to lay it all out, *loud boom* *lightning* Grim Reminder part 2

A possible solution for all of this is Eren eating all shifters and sealing himself in a crystal, like Annie, forever. We still haven't seen if Annie has aged inside the crystal or not though. I wonder if this is Willy's solution.

Someone will kill him before he tells the answer

High School Eldian Musical

I dunno.  But it sure as hell ain't anything good, that's for sure.  Just what are you up to, you slippery snake?

I have no idea but I'm 300% convinced that the Tiber family was in contact with the Reiss one the whole time (remember the "Armored - Braun" vial Rod Reiss had? That was Reiner's spinal fluid and how the frick frack it ended inside the Walls??). I think that will play a big role in whatever Willy Billy is planning to do.

I'd say gather Loki and the Avengers to obtain the nine titan powers, using it to control the the Eldians who'll win over foreign leaders and defeat Marley, then proceed to turn on said ambassadors as well as the Eldians they're controlling.

Destroy all perceptions that Eldians are the only ones who can turn titans and use the ambassadors as an example, bringing chaos

Dunno how plausible this is but...maybe he knows how to get rid of the Eldians's capacity to turn into titans, and that's his single answer ?

Either kill all non-Eldians or gain the coordinate and somehow mindwipe all Eldian and non-Eldians alike somehow. Or something idk. I just feel like mindwiping will come into play. Either that or unite Marley and Eldia and ally with the Asians and fight against literally the rest of the world.

Final solution, Willy Hitler

"We will allow the Paradisians to live in peace if they can win a game of baseball against our best team: The Warriors."

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  DO YOU THINK WILLY WILL ULTIMATELY BE THE BIG BAD OF THE SERIES? (1,710 Responses)

“Willy or wont he” be the big bad of the series? Gray morality wins. But whatever Willy has planned is making a large number of us uncomfortable.

This chapter made me feel really uneasy. Willy Tyber is throwing me off, and I'm really nervous for whatever he has planned next chapter. I feel like this was almost too good, too sweet, too happy. Something big is about to happen, I can feel it, and I know Tyber's gonna be at the center of it. I don't trust him, and I love that this chapter made me feel something this strongly. 

I feel like Willy's "If only the titans didn't exist" was a giveaway. Willy will try to remove all titan powers, either by killing all Eldians (he should know that's gonna be hard to accomplish), or by collecting all titan powers and locking it up idk how. But genocide is not out of the question. He might do it, but even if he does, I don't think I'll really see him as your typical "villain."

Well, damn guys... What if Willy's not even the bad guy, huh? He has shady plans of his own, no doubt... But to just say he's seeking genocide is too far fetched, in my honest opinion. Yes, I don't have a clue as to what he's going to do, but I'm not ready to label him a murderer yet. Maybe I just got charmed by that "Thor-like" haircut, but to me it seemed like he genuinely felt bad for closing his eyes on the treatment of Eldians, and wanted to change that. Of course, Paradis could be the scapegoat, but I don't know about that either. Oh well... We have to wait and see, I guess...

  WHO DO YOU THINK MAGATH'S INFORMANTS ARE THAT LET HIM KNOW ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF "MICE IN THE HOUSE"? (1,678 Responses)

Eren, Pieck, P A T H S and Colt received the most write-in votes (in that order), but the majority believe we haven’t met the person spying on the inside for Magath.

I didn't understand what they meant by this when I first read it, and I barely still know after reading it again after reading this question.

I wanted to say the SC being spies, but I really think it's either other countries' spies or just mean other countries' leaders/elites had arrived.

It would be interesting character-wise for Magath if he discovered Zeke was legitimately (I have my doubts) conspiring with Eren/Paradis. Magath could be more grey, should he prosecute Zeke, keep it to himself, or join in.

Probably some competent high-ranking Marleyan soldier but the ultimate plot-twist would be Pieck (imagine Zeke being the one snitched out by his most trusted warrior)

Zeke. If Zeke's working with Eren (and not just talking to him but actually helping him), then I think it's possible that Zeke's sort of double-crossing Magath. He could act like he's interested in cleansing Marley by ridding it of the "mice," or he's simply acting interested in Magath and Willy's plan so as to get inside info on what they're up to.

  DO YOU THINK EREN HAS BEEN CORRESPONDING WITH ZEKE? (1,714 Responses)

The baseball glove was proof positive for 86.1% of the fandom.

I wonder if Zeke realizes that it's Eren with whom he's communicating? He only saw Eren once, when his glasses were off, so even if they met in person, I'm not sure he'd recognize Eren.  Eren could be hiding his true identity from Zeke to avoid being stabbed in the back for the coordinate.

  DO YOU THINK ZEKE AND EREN ARE WORKING TOGETHER? (1,711 Responses)

The majority say yes!

We should ask Pieck if Zeke is working with Eren... Because Pieck is exactly right.

Zeke has no side. He is with Eren but he will also rat him out to Magath.

  DID ZEKE KNOW THAT EREN WAS IN THE BASEMENT AT THE FESTIVAL? (1,708 Responses)

Zeke looked at his watch and gave Falco permission to escort Reiner to the basement despite it being almost time for the program to begin. That, plus the baseball glove, is enough to convince 72.5% of us that Zeke was in on the Reiner/Eren reunion.

  DO YOU THINK A REZ (REINER, EREN, ZEKE) ALLIANCE IS GONNA HAPPEN? (1,708 Responses)

We were a little more divided here. Most are convinced Zeke and Eren are working together but they are less confident that Reiner will join them.

He doesn't forgive but does work with reigner and zeke.

I can see Eren working together with Zeke or actually manipulating and using him, while Zeke thinks he's his pure cinnamon roll brother. But I don't think a Reiner/Eren alliance will work. Like why would Reiner want to help Eren? Why would Isayama want to fucking ruin Bertolt's life after his dead even more?

I hope Reiner and Eren will be good boys and won't fight. I also hope November will come quickly.

I'm dying to know WHY Eren gave away his presence to Reiner. like WHY take such a risk omg. I gotta read the next chapter asap!!!!

  DO YOU THINK EREN IS OPERATING ALONE OR WITH SC PERMISSION? (1,717 Responses)

My personal feeling are in the #2 red zone here. More than half the fandom feels that Eren’s appearance in Marley is fully sanctioned by the Survey Corps.

If Eren really had gone rogue & left Paradis, that means Paradis are one 1 shifter less so more reason for them to recruit Annie as Eren's replacement

Why would they send Eren of all people to Marley? Eren is very well known as a person who can't easily control his emotions, and someone who isn't very good at acting. Just look how bad he did in the Stohess Arc. If he was the only person who could regenarate limbs, I'd understand. But why not send Armin? He has shown to be much better than Eren in both acting and manipulating people. He was also shown to have some slight understanding of Reiner's feelings, so why not him? How could they trust the most emotional person on the team? Has Eren really changed that much?

  TIME SKIP EREN SEEMS VERY DIFFERENT FROM HIS 15 YEAR OLD SELF, MAYBE COLDER, CERTAINLY MORE IN CONTROL OF HIS EMOTIONS. WHERE DO YOU THINK EREN NOW LANDS ON THE MORALITY SCALE? IS HE STILL “ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS”? (1,710 Responses)

This poll result surprised me. On the far extremes, 253 people think Eren is a cinnamon roll while 52 individuals categorize him as essentially scum of the earth. The majority seem to be taking a “wait and see attitude” about his intentions.

"Eren is the same old cinnamon roll"  .......Since when has Eren "I will destroy all titans/murder these rabid dogs masquerading as humans/make sure your death is the most painful possible" Yeager been a cinnamon roll?  Sin-amon roll, maybe.  But even that's kinda a stretch.

I think he: is older and wiser, has a better understanding of the world (and how cruel and unfair it is, I think he's kind of emo) and the memories are affecting him somewhat.

war changes a man

This kid has seen some shit. I don't doubt he's haunted as hell. And that's pretty haunted.

  IF EREN IS ACTING DIFFERENTLY, WHAT HAS INFLUENCED HIM THE MOST? (1,715 Responses)

Close to 60% of respondents believe the influence of Kruger and Grisha’s memories have made Eren a changed man. Basic maturity was the second pick with 30%. In third place, 6.6% of respondents think he hasn’t changed and believe that Eren’s cold demeanor is only an act.

A lot of things have changed Eren, starting from him losing his family and friends, seeing the titans,fighting them and discovering the truth about them, his father and his half-brother. Also seeing the state the Marleys and Eldians are now. So a lot of things have changed Eren and turned him into who he is now.

All except 'he hasn't changed' but I do think the memories had the most affect. Hell after he got those memories he didn't even care about the ocean anymore. I think he realized that there was no freedom inside the walls or outside of them. Which basically made his original goal to 'break humanity out of its cage and eliminate all the titans' meaningless. Really sad honesty.  

All of the coordinate boys get chill eventually

Blurrier moral realization combined with his dwindling lifespan

If we remember the kind if shit he went through it's only natural to assume that he changed. Just like Reiner, all his childhood dreams and goals were shattered to pieces when he saw the bigger picture.

Revenge against the people who genocides our folks generally do that to you.

depression's a bitch

He's coming more dickhead than before that's all

HE'S CHANGED GIVEN THE GARBAGE CIRCUMSTANCES

Marley pizza. That shit is life-changing. Reiner can testify.

  IF EREN’S ACTIONS BRING HARM TO THE WARRIORS OR CANDIDATES (FALCO OR PIECK, FOR INSTANCE), WOULD THIS IMPACT YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT HIM NEGATIVELY? (1,703 Responses)

I suppose the bottom line here is that the fandom likes the new kids, but they like Eren better. This is war and people get hurt. A slim majority will not hold it against Eren if his actions hurt the warriors or warrior candidates.

If Eren manipulated Falco and doesn't care about him, I will cry.

I LOVE REINER BRAUN AND EREN BETTER LEAVE HIM AND ALL THE OTHER MARLEYAN WARRIORS AND CANDIDATES ALONE

Can we discuss that all the Jaegers are probably ruining the lives of the Grice family? Grisha with the original, Zeke playing Colt, Eren adopting Falco... Poor kiddos.

PROTECT FALCO AT ALL THE COSTS

  HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT TO RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL CAST ON PARADIS? (1,712 Responses)

No matter how much we enjoy the current chapters, these poll numbers barely change. A significant portion of the fandom remains desperate to see the main cast.

Although a few fans are impatient to see the SC, I enjoy to see that Isayama is taking is time and is not rushing this part.

I still want the series to bring back the Paradis cast while staying in Marley. I have the feeling things are about to kick into overdrive next chapter, with the landmark chapter 100 incoming, and I'd love it if the finale remained in Marley while having the whole cast there. Have Paradis left for flashbacks/explanations and the epilogue, the mainland's a perfect staging ground for the end of this.

I swear to Ymir if we leave Marley in this cliffhanger there will be riots

I want the 104th back.

With the reveal of the Asian clan symbol (FINALLY), I strongly feel as though Mikasa and the rest of the Survey Corps are going to show up really soon. I expect them to finally return on issue #100, but on next month's issue would be even better!

ISAYAMA-SAN PLEASE SHOW TIME-SKIP LEVI.

  WHICH CHARACTERS DO YOU GENERALLY ENJOY THE MOST? (1,714 Responses)

RIP my beloved Vets :(

  WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? (1,695 Responses)

  ANY OTHER CHAPTER THOUGHTS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE?

Hajime Isayama blowing my mind

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGG *screams into the abyss*

With tgis new infomation its more liekly that the marleyans have sour cream

He [Willy] will tell the real story of how the titans came into existence, and by fusing all nine titan powers together you get the same powers as the original Ymir Fritz had so you can do some voodoo shit and "cure" all Eldians of their curse. Everyone gets to live happily ever after, oh, and Levi opens up his tea shop.

I really liked the scene with Eren playing with the baseball. He looked so calm

I really enjoyed the entire chapter. It felt like a break but it revealed a ton. I am so eager to keep reading.

P A T H S

Reiner looks so handsome in his uniform >.>

RIP Reiner's wallet

The Asian woman I need to know more

I appreciated the worldbuilding in this chapter. The festival scene in particular showed how big the scale was compared to Paradis. Leaning Eldians lived in other parts of the world and not only Marley, puts things into perspective about their goals. If Paradis is submitted, other Eldians would melt in the population slowly but surely. The REZ alliance or whatever its' called, is completely bull: Zeke isn't going to team up with someone going against his plans. Also Eren didn't mature. He still shares the same goal, but he became way more cunning about it thanks to Kruger and Grisha's memories. He inherited their democratic skills and would gladly use them against Reiner. He never forgave Reiner and isn't going to forgive him. Since Bert died and Shiganshina was rebuild, that alleviated his rage, but he feels like he has to take Reiner down.

It's not so much this chapter sucked, it's just that I'm so sick ok Marley, so I couldn't enjoy it that much

On a serious note, finding out that Grandad Yeager is also a trauma patient at the hospital was heart-breaking. But it makes sense: both of his children are dead and his grandson Zeke is due to "pass on his powers" (die) soon too. I wonder what he'll do if he finds out that Eren is his grandson too, is also a Titan AND has the Founding Titan power? Uh oh! Also worth happy screeching about: That symbol on the back of the Asian lady's kimono. That had to be a deliberate reveal? Is that the symbol of the East Sea Clan from whom Mikasa is descended from and will she reveal that symbol on her wrist?! Last but not least, Reiner gets his own basement reveal and Eren is in there!

The cult of reigner has affected the typesetters i must now retire to the forest where i will live as a hermit with the treefolk only coming out once a month to read the mangastream translation this is my vow so help me god and may the lord be my witness

I know I say this every month, but man is next chapter gonna be a doozy! Eren and Reiner finally meeting is going to stir up some feelings and arguments.

Is Willy going to let the cat out of the bag about the Tyburs being the power behind the leaders of Marley? Will the play be the true history of what happened after the Titan War?

With the reveal of the Asian clan symbol (FINALLY), I strongly feel as though Mikasa and the rest of the Survey Corps are going to show up really soon. I expect them to finally return on issue #100, but on next month's issue would be even better!

I think Willy is actually plotting to overthrow the Marleys and bring power to the Eldians Maybe he's joined forces with Eren and Zeke and we still don't know. I think he wants to restore the Eldian race.

I hope we get to know more about the actual history of "The Subjects of Ymir", perhaps in the form of a theatrical play on that stage. Where do people get this genocide thing from, only from the Nazi parallels? If Willy were planning it, then why did he talk about how the whole world wants exactly that to happen and how he thought up a solution to this problem? Really sounds like he's got something entirely DIFFERENT up his sleeve, and I guess it's got something to do with how Ymir created titans in the first place.

Is Willy going to let the cat out of the bag about the Tyburs being the power behind the leaders of Marley? Will the play be the true history of what happened after the Titan War?

Pieck and Porco are ALWAYS together what's up with that and also we never see Zeke's eyes in this chapter

Zhophia is a Annie relative, Udo is Naruto's son too (Boruto's brother).

Eren meeting Reiner has me so FUCKING HYPED for the next chapter that I so anxious for November. Isayama you damn torturer!!!!

Zeke is a majestic beast leaping for that ball.

Eren meeting Reiner has me so FUCKING HYPED for the next chapter that I so anxious for November. Isayama you damn torturer!!!!

99/100 hype is real