Chapter 71 of "Attack on Titan," also known as "Shingeki No Kyojin," has been released, and intriguing flashbacks were revealed.
Chapter 70 of "Attack on Titan" ended in a cliffhanger after Eren identified the mysterious "Survey Corps" member, whom his dad ran into after getting out of the cave as the instructor, Keith Shadis. The closing pages also showed Reiner, in his armored titan form, flat on the ground with his armor chipped after getting beaten up by the beast titan. While Bertolt was pulling Reiner out of his titan's carcass, the ape-like titan declared that Annie's rescue comes second to "reclaiming the coordinates."
Chapter 71 picked up where Chapter 70 left off, with Eren and company heading to Shadis for an inquiry on how the instructor ran into his father on that day, under those circumstances. On their way to the training camp, it was revealed that the old man was the twelfth commander of the Survey Corps, making him Erwin Smith's predecessor. The instructor himself confirmed this when Levi commented how much he has changed during the five years that they haven't seen each other.
Shadis proceeded to reveal that he knew Eren's parents. "Eren, you remind me of your mother. The fangs I see lurking beneath are unmistakably your father's," the instructor commented. However, the former "Survey Corps" commander followed up by saying he was but a bystander who knew nothing other than a "story with no benefit to humanity whatsoever."
Proceeding with the story, Keith had a flashback of when he met Grisha, Eren's father, outside the wall, in front of Wall Maria. The latter did not have any memory of anything else other than his name, Grisha Yeager, and that he's a doctor. Thinking to himself, Shadis noted: "It did seem true that something impaired his memory, and he seemed particularly interested in how humans lived." Having explained to Grisha how things worked and his views of the circumstances that humanity is faced with, the amnesiac commented that Keith and the "Survey Corps" are the pride of humanity.
While the two men were talking, the server Carla, Eren's future mother, came up to them and commented on how Grisha should not be persuaded by "sweet-talk" into joining the corps. "I wouldn't be of any use anyway. The 'Survey Corps' needs more special, more chosen individuals," her future husband retorted. Keith pondered on the words "special" and "chosen" while noting that it was the first time they attributed them to him.
As time passed by, Shadis witnessed the transformation of his newly-found friend into a reliable member of society, something that he could not seem to accomplish even after getting promoted as commander. Keith came to the realization that he, as an average man, lacked the capacity to accomplish great deeds. He fell on his knees, thinking: "Average men aren't able to accomplish anything."
Having witnessed the tactical brilliance of Erwin Smith, the then commander Shadis considered him to be a "special" man and offered the younger subordinate his position. He then decided to head for the capital to file his report. On his way there, all hell broke loose as the Titans breached Wall Maria.
Amid the rushing crowd of people fleeing for their lives, he heard someone shout his name. As he turned back, he saw that it was Grisha. With the seemingly hopeless situation, Grisha asked for Keith's help in finding his family, which he suspected to be in the shelter. Grisha found the young Eren, who then told him that the titans ate Carla.
After learning what happened, Grisha encouraged his son to take revenge, and even with the Shadis' disapproval, he took his boy to the woods and asked the worried commander to refrain from getting involved. A few moments later, a flash of light was seen from the mountains, which Keith mistook for thunder. When he arrived at the scene, he found no one else but an unconscious young Eren Yeager, whom he carried back to the shelter.
With the instructor's story concluded, an emotional Hange confronted Shadis and pointed out that the former commander ran away from reality for childish reasons based on an inferiority complex. Eren stopped his colleague and said: "I wasn't special at all. It's just.. that I was the son of a special man."
"That was the only reason I was the power of the Titans. I'm glad I can be sure of that now," he added. The instructor, however, countered Eren's convictions about himself using the words of his mother. "He doesn't need to be great. He's already great because he was born into this world," was what Carla said, according to Keith's flashback.
The last pages of the chapter revealed how instructor Shadis tried to protect Eren by discouraging him from joining "Survey Corps." Part of his scheme involved tampering with Eren's belt when he was a recruit at the training camp in hopes that the boy would fail the test. But alas, the young Yeager managed to pass. In front of the struggling boy who can barely keep his balance, Keith thought to himself that in the end, he was nothing but a bystander who was powerless to change anything, certainly not the boy's fate.
Chapter 71 is an affirmation that Hajime Isayama's masterpiece is carefully laid out and was given ample thought. That is why it is possible to create an in-depth revelation such as this. Most liken it to Severus Snape's storyline in Harry Potter.
Chapter 72 of "Attack on Titan" will be released in the second week of August.
