Discussion Thoughts on Volume 8

[Sigma]

The English release of Volume 8 was several weeks ago but there were a few interesting things I noticed when I read it.

Solider or Warrior - When Annie was speaking to Armin and the others at the entrance to the tunnel she said "I couldn't become a soldier" whereas in the scans she said "warrior." I think this is unfortunate as this is a very important nuance that people who read the official release might not pick up on.

Hired Thugs - When Annie was ambushed at the entrance of the tunnel who the hell were the guys who tried to restrain her? They weren't wearing Scouting Legion uniforms and all looked a bit too out of shape to be members. Did the Scouting Legion hire thugs to detain her in anticipation that she could abruptly transform and kill them (as she did)?

Jean's Hair - When he's posing as Eren in the carriage his hair is died black. Later when he's standing next to Eren's bed, his hair is blond again.

Blond Cult Woman - Shortly before Annie crashed into the church and crushed to death a bunch of people the cult members are shown in a circle praying. A blond woman is focused in two panels and briefly opens one of her eyes before Annie falls through and crushed her to death. Her body is specifically shown to be crushed. Is there any significance in this? Could she be a relative of Krista's? A half-sister maybe?

Annie's Hoodie - In the flashback Annie has of her father she is wearing a hoodie that looks identical to the one she wears under her uniform. It obviously can't be the exact same one though, since she'd have grown too big for it. I guess she just likes hoodies, or maybe it has some sort of sentimental value to her.

Throwing Mikasa - Did Eren throw Mikasa so she could catch up to Annie when she was climbing the wall? It was never really explained but I'm guessing that's what happened. It must have been tough for Eren to throw her hard enough to make it to the wall without splattering her all over the side of it.

Two Art Errors - The first is when Eren bites his hand in the underground tunnel. He is then shown with blood all over his mouth except for one panel where Mikasa tells him that life is cruel. On the next page he then has blood on his mouth again.

The other error is that in a flashback panel Eren has of Annie right before they fight in Titan form, Annie is shown with the scouting legion emblem on her jacket, as are the other recruits who would have been in training at the time.

 

[Yumpo]

Soldier or Warrior - Sadly, this is the case when speeding up translations. There's not really that much time to correct the work. I guess no translation is perfect no matter how official it is.
Jean's Hair - He was wearing a wig. It was evident in the anime.
Blond Cult Woman - Possibly. But I'm more inclined to think that it's an emphasis on how Annie is actually horrified when accidentally killing civilians.
Annie's Hoodie - It's probably just their hometown's culture/fashion since Bertolt, Reiner and Berwick were wearing hoodies as well in their flashbacks. And since Annie is still wearing a hoodie while Bert and Reiner aren't anymore, then it's probably just like you said, it's her preference and maybe because of its sentimental values. Or maybe it's a reminder to herself that she shouldn't associate with people within the walls. And it may stand as a symbol that she's the one who is actually the most attached with going back to their hometown and doing the mission.
Throwing Mikasa - It was kind of implied. It didn't look like she was using gas as she went upwards, and Armin was on top of Eren's hand when he wasn't even there before Mikasa reached Annie.
Two Art Errors - Actually there's plenty of art errors in this manga. Even chapter 48 has a glaring one.

 

[lolnameless]

Jean's Hair - The drawings change from time to time, I suspect that even Isayama doesn't like this, the lines are increasingly sketchy/fuzzy. For instance, I liked the cute Mikasa in the first few volumes, I don't like how she looks like from now :S

Blond Cult Woman - Nah, if she is Historia's mom, then she should know more stuff, then what the hell is she doing there? She is just a weak soul that Isayama grabs his chance to criticize religion, that's why this manga is popular.

 

[kannazuki]

Oh geez. Later editions will hopefully fix the soldier/warrior thing. Hopefully...

I hope there's some importance (within the story) to that poor blonde getting crushed. She gets so much focus, it seems she must be significant somehow. Nick was talking about how only a "pure soul" could stop the evil or something like that, and she looks stereotypically "pure," so uh, whoops. In a way it's both amusing (thematically) and horrifying (from a humane perspective).

 

[Sigma]

Two Art Errors - Actually there's plenty of art errors in this manga. Even chapter 48 has a glaring one.

That's interesting. Someone should start a thread so we can see them all. What is the one in 48 you're talking about?

 

[kannazuki]

I think that's the infamous one in which Reiner's titan arm is supposed to have been protecting Bertolt (and Eren) from a certain point on, but he's seen from behind with that arm down in one panel and then it's back to being as if he never moved it.