Attack on Titan, vol. 28 review

(Image from Amazon.jp used here for review purposes only.)

Attack on Titan, vol. 28, Hajime Isayama. Grade: B
I stopped by the nearby bookstore to buy a newspaper for the school on my way in, and I discovered that book 28 had just come out. I grabbed a copy, but was kind of shocked when the clerk rang it up and it came to almost 1,000 yen ($9 USD). I was a bit rushed for time, and didn't want to complain about the price, but I would have preferred something closer to $5. Later, I checked out the book and discovered that it had been packed with two stick pins commemorating the 10th anniversary of the series. The pins are boring, and not worth the mark up.

The volume starts out with the survey team and a second group coming close to blows over who is the biggest set of traitors regarding the disappearance of Eren and a bunch of the Marle turncoats. Dot Pixis intervenes and tells them this is not the time for squabbling among themselves. If things go sour now, they'll all die. There are two points of interest at the moment - Jeek's secret location, and finding what the other Marlean's are doing. Hanji and team are to make sure Eren doesn't reach Jeek first. Hanji stops by the kitchens that Nicolo, one of the turncoats, works at. The Survey team accosts the chef, and Jean tried to drink one of the bottles of wine on the shelves. The chef grabs it from him, and pretends it's really expensive and not meant for the normal rank and file soldiers. At this time, the Blouse family, along with the orphans they're caring for, which include Falco and Gabi, come to the kitchen for a free meal. Gabi recognizes a fellow Marlean and feigns stomach cramps (to rush for the toilets), then corners Nicolo in a wine cellar. She gushes out what had happened to them, and proudly boasts of killing Sasha Blouse. The chef goes into a murderous rage and swings the wine bottle down at her, but Falco steps in to protect her and gets smashed in the head instead. The chef drags the two into the dining room, telling Mr. and Mrs. Blouse that the girl they've been tending is the one that killed their daughter (Nicolo is distraught because Sasha had been the only one who liked his cooking). Arwin overhears the shouting, and the rest of the team arrives to see the chef and Mr. Blouse preparing to kill Gabi. But, Blouse is the forgiving type and talks the chef into putting the knife down. Unfortunately, Kaya, the girl that had befriended Gabi and who worshiped Sasha, is upset at having been betrayed and she attacks Gabi with a knife, only to have Mikasa get in the way.

Mikasa and Arwin take Gabi into the kitchen, where they run into Eren. He's a completely changed person, and he confronts his two former friends. He insults Arwin for being overtaken by Bertoldt's memories and personality, and says he hates Mikasa for having protected him only because he's got royal blood in his veins and she's an Ackerman (genetically predisposed to act as royal bodyguards). Eren claims to be doing what he is simply to be freely in control of his own life. Arwin attacks him and Eren easily beats the boy into a pulp as Mikasa watches on helplessly. Some of the military turncoats arrive and take Hanji, Jean and the others captives, while the question of what to do with the witnesses (the Blouse family) is left unanswered. Incidentally, Falco is still lying on the floor, unresponsive. Seems that some of the wine from the bottle had gotten into his mouth. Nicolo tells them that he'd been told the wine contains Jeek's blood, which had been served to most of the upper echelons over the last few weeks.

Out in the woods, Levi is getting an update on what's been happening in the city. He and Jeek get into a bit of a verbal tug of war (over Jeek's being commanded to read a specific book over for the 8th time). Jeek asks if there's any wine left, and Levi says it's mostly gone now (there are about 30 men in the camp guarding Jeek, and Levi is the only one that didn't drink the wine). Jeek suddenly makes a break for freedom, using his command over his own titan blood to turn everyone but Levi into a monster. Levi is conflicted over having to kill his own men, or face being ripped into pieces by them, but this doesn't last long. Jeek keeps three of the new titans with him to carry him through the woods, but Levi soon catches up to them and slays all three monsters. Jeek unhappily turns into the Simian, and Levi defeats him, too. When Jeek wakes up, he has a lightning spike embedded in his stomach, with the primer cord wrapped around his neck. Levi tells him to not thrash around too much, or he's going to be blown in two. Jeek asks where his glasses are, and goes into a flashback on being told they're lost. (Note: A whole bunch of people in the city get the shakes when Jeek sends out his command to everyone to turn into titans, including Pixis and Coney, showing exactly who had been drinking the tainted wine.)

Long, long ago, Jeek's parents, Grisha (Eren's father) and Dina, had planned for Jeek to get into the Marle army to try to become the successor to one of the Titan wielders. Things work out well for them when the previous Simian user, Kusavar, takes a liking to Jeek. Unfortunately, the plan includes Grisha and Dina sacrificing themselves, and after several years that comes to a head when Jeek confesses to Kusavar, and the older man talks the boy into betraying his own parents. Some more years go by, and Kusavar (who had become the Simian as part of his science research), says that war is bad for everyone. Long ago, he'd married a Marle woman and they had one child, but his wife didn't know his background. When she found out he was an Eldian, she slit her daughter's throat and then her own. The teenaged-Jeek tries to comfort him, saying that none of what's been happening to them is their fault, and the close-up of Kusavar's face highlights that his glasses were eventually handed over to his successor. Jeek recovers from his flashback, mutters about wanting a peaceful death, and then yanks the lightning spike's primer cord. Levi leaps to safety as Jeek's body is blown into a nearby field.

Summary: Lots of talking, and a bit more flashback. Arwin and Mikasa are in custody, Eren's location is unknown, and Levi needs to find what remains of Jeek again. The story is getting all twisted and confused, and I am looking forward to it ending. Volume 29 is expected out in August. Recommended only if you like the series.