Whew. Ok. Shingeki no Kyojin is in one hell of a place right now huh?

Ever since the basement reveal and our trip to Marley the story of Shingeki no Kyojin has been at pretty intense levels of hype and chapter 104 has just enough to keep the hype train rolling.

We finally get a real look at Armin’s Colossal Titan and damn is it creepy looking. Rather than showing Armin laying waste to the Marley fleet in great detail, seeing the moments after the deed is done while Armin surveys the rubble and offers a somber nod to Bertholdt adds a nice touch of cold silence to a string of chapters that have essentially been non-stop action

The rest of 104 is very much not a quiet installment in Shingeki no Kyojin: Jean ‘maybe’ misses his kill shot on Pieck because of Falco and the battle between Porco and Eren/Mikasa is the central focus of the chapter. It looks like with Reiner temporarily out of commission Isayama has shifted his sadistic focus on Porco as well. I almost feel bad for the guy. Seeing both Zeke and Pieck get taken out so easily has him shook and a few bad moves lead to him giving up the Warhammer Titan to Eren.

The entire sequence of Eren using Porco to finally break through the Warhammer Titan’s last defense had me saying “Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shittttt!” out loud and serves as a real high point and easily the most plot significant moment of the chapter.

We still get one last shakeup before we’re stuck waiting around another month, though: After enough screaming from Gabi and Falco, Reiner finally stopped listening to The Smiths and dragged himself onto the battlefield with just enough time to save Porco.

Yes, Shinji Ikari finally realized that he mustn’t run away and got his ass inside that robot to save the day yet again along with Asuka and – wait which series am I talking about? Seriously though Reiner’s willingness to just throw in the towel and die is giving off some serious Shinji in The End of Evangelion vibes.

Ultimately, we got a handful of excellent moments in Shingeki no Kyojin 104 but aside from the Warhammer Titan getting taken out this installment packed less of a punch than the chapters of the past few months. The previous chapters with their litany of post-timeskip character reveals and Eren’s series-defining “Grim Reminder” to Marley mixed in with the Survey Corps being mid-escape at the chapter’s end can’t help but make 104 feel a bit transitional in the overall scheme of this electrifying arc.

Final Grade: B+