As I finished this volume, I was uncontrollably crying, like real sobbing. I don’t even like manga/anime, yet this story bewitched me. I started seeing the anime first but soon I realized I was getting lost very often, so I decided to give the manga a try. And damn, I was so right. Reading the manga helped me understand a lot of things, to the point I rewatched everything and I saw a million things I hadn’t realized on the first watch.

In this story I found my all time favorite manga/anime character: Eren. I’ve seen some people tend to misinterpret his character, but to me it was crystal clear since the beginning his motivations, his love for his friends, his sense of loyalty, his life mission of freeing the world from titans, his love to Mikasa and Armin specially.

Overall my favorite volumes were from vol 18 to vol 22, to me that was a perfect moment in the story with all the characters, the fights, the companionship between Eren and the Survey Corps, etc. I had a rough time with the next volumes, seeing Eren descend into his corruption arc, but the ending of this volume reaffirmed my conviction to love him.

He is no hero, he is no villain, he’s a complex character that did what he could with what he had. In the end, he was just a kid with the weight of the world on his shoulders. His main concern was protecting the people he loved over everything else, even himself.

To say I was heartbroken with the final 2 chapters it’s an understatement. I hadn’t cried that much for a book in quite a while. And I haven’t seen it animated, so I’m in for a ride yet.

I really liked the rest of the characters too. Mikasa and Armin hold a special place in my heart. Mikasa became my favorite FMC of an anime already, I love her so much, she’s so strong in so many ways and yes, I shipped her with Eren so badly. Armin too is very dear to me, not only was he one of the main motivations for Eren to seek freedom, he was a very important part of it, always dreaming about a better world, seeing places he had never seen, plotting and scheming so masterfully.

From the side characters I loved Levi and Hange, and I also really liked the other members of the 104th Survey Corps. I’ve seen this theory about the man in the epilogue being Jean, and I like it. Even the eldians from Marley grew on me eventually, I finally could look past Annie/Bertholt/Reiner’s betrayal and see they were just doing what they thought were right with what they knew.

Which brings me to the perfect depiction of the endless cycle of hate and war that this manga has. It masterfully portrays how in the end no matter what side you’re seeing, everyone believes they’re doing the right thing when facing oppression, everyone does what they think will be best for them and their loved ones. This story literally blew my mind, it transcends the manga/anime genre, to me this is one of the best stories I’ve ever seen/read, period.

I just need a second for my brain to catch up that this series is over. This caused me so much pain (in a good way) and just makes me so excited to see the final season