Discussing the AoT no Requiem Part 2 Fanfiction Review

“It is a rewrite of the last three chapters of Attack on Titan (137, 138, 139) and combined into ONE long chapter updated into parts.” 

Read the fan made comic for yourself over on their website. 

Check out my thoughts on Part One of the fanfic here.

Wooo! This certainly was an improvement from Part One. 

I don’t even know what to say. Reading through certain scenes and memories in this chapter actually gave me hope. Hope that there could have been another way.  

Hope that Isayama didn’t have to self-destruct his 10+ years of hard work and writing in an effort for a corporate money grab, or to appease a certain portion of the fanbase. 

This fanfic/doujin managed to answer questions we never got at the end of Attack on Titan’s manga series. 

Why did Hanji suddenly devolve as a character? (And subsequently throw her life away in a vain suicide attempt?) 

What on earth did Eren say to Floch to get him on his side? After season three the two seemingly hated each other, and then during the Raid on Liberio Floch is Eren’s biggest hypeman. Why were we never shown how they got there?  

I know we had that panel of Eren telling Floch his plans for The Fumbling, but honestly why on Paradis Island was that the only viable explanation? 

Why did Armin never learn from his talk no jutsu until now?  

In the past, Armin made a bluff to save Eren’s life once they discovered his titan abilities. In chapter 139, that is a direct parallel to his actions in season one – Armin throws down his weapons, and proclaims a shaky peace even he really doesn’t believe in.  

Despite Armin trying to work with the old Military Regime on Paradis, they still plotted to use, exploit, and then steal Eren’s Attack Titan. 

Come chapter 139.5, we see that Paradis is destroyed.   

Just as Armin’s failed talk no jutsu with Bertholdt during the Retaking of Shiganshina, where Armin uses the exact same line on Bertholdt – not realize he’d changed. Armin continually does the same things over and over again, expecting different results. 

Like Hange, Mikasa, and a few others in The Alliance of Good Eldians, they are literally insane. 

I loved that AoT no Requiem actually addressed this.  

From the bottom of my heart, I was genuinely pleased to see Armin be called out as a hypocrite, acknowledge his own wrongdoing, and then decide to still be the optimist – knowing it might not be right. 

I firmly believe that was true to his character. 

It wasn’t the Armin of the ‘canon’ manga, who doesn’t agree with the Attack on Liberio, but goes along with it anyway to buy Paradis more time. The same Armin who realized that Paradis needed Eren, and without him all hope would be lost. 

The Armin who then, in an instant, is suddenly in love with traitor Annie (which to be fair their somewhat love-interest connection was built up a bit in season 1/2 when she didn’t want to kill him amongst other things) and refuses to protect his homeland is insane. 

The Armin, and Hange, who accompany Eren with the rest of Squad Levi to Marley and hear that the entire world has no interest in working things out – but still wants to try anyway – is insane. 

The Armin, and Hange who witness Willy’s declaration of war, and are then upset with Eren despite acknowledging that he may have been in the right simply because “genocide is bad but we left Paradis no other options” is not the fucking answer. And I am seriously so glad this was addressed, because seriously what the hell Hange? 

Or rather, what the hell Isayama? 

How can you write two characters literally acknowledging on different occasions that Eren is actually in the right, but still deny his goal because their enemy’s “genocide” is “not the answer” but apparently Paradis’ is? 

How can Erwin, Grisha, and Eren freaking Kruger be retconned into suddenly being pacifist when Kruger literally all but says “the end justifies the means”? 

Captain Erwin Smith realizing how many comrades he has led to his death, but still giving his life in a suicide charge because being freed from the oppressive military government and false king was more important to him? To honor his comrades, instead of his selfish tendencies? 

Especially since Erwin literally said to Levi that after they take care of the problems inside the walls, they needed to “eliminate the threats” outside of the walls?  

Like c’mon people. 

Here I am months later still pissed that these absolutely outstanding characters were sidelined for this pacifist eremika bullshit that is still peddled on Twitter daily for no goddamn reason. 

Also, AoT no Requiem answered why on earth Historia would ask Eren “what do you think about me having a child?” – which was fantastic! 

Historia wasn’t Crista, and she still had thoughts, actions, and the buildup of her and Eren’s dynamic from the Uprising arc.  

It’s crazy. In less than twenty minutes I find myself invested in characters like Armin, Hange, and Historia again when the actual author of the series made me throw those feelings away.  

Most of all – I’m happy we got the secret wedding panel that may have been teased in Eren’s flashback panels. I’m happy that Eren was the father of Historia’s baby in this universe, and that she had been working with Floch and even the Farmer against the military police.  

It’s something I really wanted to (and quite honestly expected to) see before we got to the canon ending of Chapter 139. 

I don’t know if I’m rambling or not at this point – but I just want to end with some quotes of the fantastic dialogue in AoT no Requiem Part 2: 

Child Eren Yeager telling Armin “‘If we destroy all of our enemies…we’ll be the freest people in the whole wide world!” 

Founder Eren telling Armin “”Between our homes and theirs…what difference does it make to you?” 

“Eldia’s future..won’t be built on speeches and dialogue…but on BLOOD. I Will end this war.” 

Armin telling Eren “Then you’re nothing but a slave to your own selfishness!!” with child Eren having one fist balled up, and Eren looking how he looked when Grisha bitched out before Eren quite literally jumped through time and space and forced Grisha to murder the Reiss children. 

(Because we know that Eren hates nothing more than being called a slave. Or cattle.) 

“If we don’t fight, we will die. That’s our reality and no amount of talking will ever change that.” 

“…If you cannot give up your humanity to do what is necessary…then nothing you say will ever change anything!” 

King Floch’s infinite wisdom and utter rawness “…But destroying the entire world…? That’s only something a devil can do. You expect me to believe you when you couldn’t even sacrifice Armin for Erwin?” 

“…Then why haven’t you told the others?” “Because…they won’t be able to do what is necessary.” Which answers why Eren stopped relying on his friends when things got tough in less than a full page. (Why couldn’t we get this from Isayama?) 

“So…Eren…what would you think…about me having a child?” 

“…you weren’t meant to see that.” 😅 

“You talk of destroying this cycle, but all you’ve done…!!…Is condemn your child to be a child of a monster!!” with the surprised Zeke pikachu face panel that might mean he: 

realized that Eren betrayed him again by having a child  

remember his experience with their father Grisha 

feel like he made a mistake, and was wrong somewhere down the line 

So many miscalculations to explore concerning Zeke. 

The whole “I don’t want to fight my best friend” line was a nice way to end this part. 

So, what did you think of that chapter? 

Did you also want to slow clap at certain moments while reading this killer dialogue?  

Beautiful art, awesome soundtrack… 

It felt like an old peak SnK chapter. It even made me feel like a proud Yeagerist again, even for just a few moments.  

But, tell me your thoughts.  

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, I’d love to hear from you! Also be sure to follow us for more Shingeki no Kyojin! 

Recommended: Was Zeke Targeted by Tom Ksaver to Inherit the Beast Titan? 

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