Library Read // Attack on Titan, Vol. 11 by Hajime Isayama

"DO YOU THINK THIS WORLD HAS A FUTURE?" Thanks to Eren's timely arrival, the 104th has managed to turn the tide at Wall Rose. But this momentary victory forces two more traitors into a corner - and the identity of the Titans who have been destroying the walls is revealed! What can Eren do against the two most dangerous monsters humanity has ever faced? And who else might be an enemy in disguise? ? PRAISE FOR THE HIT ANIME "A visceral and fantastically intense action/horror story." - Anime News Network ? "Japan's equivalent of The Walking Dead." - io9

The first book I've finished reading in the month of March in the year of 2021 is the next volume in the Attack on Titan series. Volume 11, as well as the corresponding episodes, felt rushed. Volume 10, leaving off on a high note of drama, tension, secrets, and reveals, couldn't be followed with one at the same action level. Things had to tone down a bit. It's like a trough-peak graph. We were at a peak and we recessed to a trough. But did we hit that absolute low? I don't think we did, but we were someone close. Or if we did, we sped through it and ended the volume expanding back towards that peak.

I still hate Mikasa. In fact most of my character preferences and dislikes have not changed from the anime to the manga, which I suppose means the adaptation was really solid. But I still don't like her needy clinginess to a character who gives her the cold shoulder on the regular. In my mind, we the viewer, or reader, had already at this point started to sympathize with the titans or question humanity, but I'm feeling like that must not have been the case after this read (again, working with the assumption of near-perfect adaptation). I know at some point the anime and manga start to differ wildly, and so I'm wondering if that sympathy will be shifted, assuming it even exists.

There have been some volumes that one could use to introduce someone to the series, but this was not one of them. The story picks up in the middle of an ongoing narrative and doesn't really provide any solid answers. We get more questions asked, building to a pay-off down the road, yes, but is it enough to convince someone to read on? I didn't think so. At some point I did consider rating this volume 3 stars but because of the anticipatory build at the end I will be giving it 4 stars.