I'm not necessarily talking about the main series today, of course, and instead looking at the two-part manga spinoff of the Japanese series, "No Regrets."
It's one of three AOT spinoffs, the two others being pretty good and one of them I've actually reviewed on this site a while ago. The other two are also going to be running for a bit of a longer time, with Attack on Titan: Before the Fall set to release it's third English volume in two weeks and "Junior High" set to release, uh, soon.
Oddly enough, though, "No Regrets" is the only one of them to get an anime out of them. Albeit a limited OVA series, but still, it's interesting to see how the shortest of them all is getting its own anime. Not by unpopular demand, though.
During the anime, or heck even the manga, there's a certain character that recurs that you always see stealing the spotlight from our main hero, Eren Jeagar. That man, you already know, Captain Levi!
Known for cleaning Titans and killing homes.
Wait...
Yup, this is the series revolving around Levi's backstory. It doesn't get into the nitty-gritty of it all, just showing his rise from where he is in the underground city--mentioned in episode 24 of Attack on Titan by the way--to joining the Survey Corps. I won't spoil anything in this discussion, but, I'll just say that it's limited to that. We don't see much of his history prior to where we begin our journey and don't see anything after. Within the AOT timeline, it should be noted that Levi joining the Survey Corps at the end (and yes, there is a difference from when he registers in my mind) is only a few years before he meets Eren, and Erwin isn't nearly a Squad Commander nor does he hold much influence over the corps at that point.
While I would have liked to have seen more afterward, I'm sure those holes will be filled in with an OVA. Already, with one of the OVAs, "Ilse's Notebook" we got to see early adventures of the corps but it was pretty self-contained to a single day, but an important revelation.
Getting back on track to the miniseries itself, I was slightly disappointed when I found out the second volume was the final one, but that was prior to reading it. The first volume was cool, it was very interesting, but the second one is the volume you'll remember most of the series.
Picture it like the splitting of the seventh "Harry Potter" book. The first movie was still great but it was exposition heavy and was setting up big events to come in the proceeding one, and as such, the second story delivered. With character deaths.
And knowing Attack on Titan, there could be no shortage of that.
As a prequel series, though, it's fantastic. Characters from the main series that you come to love are shown here, though not in a serious light. I already mentioned Erwin, though he is a HUGE character in this series, but fan-favorite Zoe Hange-san is also in the book too, bringing the expected comic relief. It's one of those things where you can't help but chuckle at the early interactions between Hange and Levi knowing how they'll interact in the coming years.
The new characters introduced here are pretty cool, too, Furlan and Isabel. While not necessarily the angel-devil on Levi's shoulders, as the soon-to-be captain often agrees with Furlan, the two are very opposite in that Furlan is serious and Isabel is laid-back, not really worrying about much because she thinks their little squad is invincible.
Having said that, I LOVE Isabel!
This girl is so rad, man! She's got just the right amount of spunk and logic to keep her head on around very dangerous people, but keeps the atmosphere light at all times. She isn't really the source of energy for the group but speaks more to their inner confidence. She's the one that speaks what's already on the minds of Furlan and Levi. Plus, the way her and Hange interact is hilarious. She easily jumped to probably one of my favorite, if not favorite, Attack on Titan female character. All in two volumes, nice!
Levi also doesn't make a significant change from his appearance in the main series to this one, and this series does a great job of showing what his progression was from a leader of hoodlums to a member of the most hated group in humanity. By the end of it all, Levi and Erwin's relationship isn't necessarily cemented, but you can easily see why their respect for each other is in place.
What I also like about the series is how it shows Levi's discomfort with his surroundings. Rarely do you see Levi out of sorts, even when thrown in a perilous situation. But here, he and Furlan constantly feel like they've met their match, something that was cool to see and was a good stepping-stone for Levi's character. His struggle to kill Erwin, which isn't a spoiler because this decision comes by the second chapter, is played very well throughout the two volumes and all the way through to the end.
To the book's credit, too, Erwin is a great character, showing how he was as a young leader of the Survey Corps. You get the same old decision-making but this time there is a lot more push-back to what he does because nobody's really accepted his insane ideas. Plus, we get to see the birth, I believe, of the scouting formation evident in the 57th Expedition Arc. So that was awesome.
The title of the series is definitely something that comes up again and again throughout the series and even hearkens back to a moment in the main series. There are many decisions that Levi has to make that he would, as the name suggests, possibly regret down the line. In the first volume alone, there's his decision to go after Erwin, his possible regretting joining the Survey Corps, and him regretting making Furlan and Isabel join him. The series gets its name from a moment at the end of the second volume, and it's a moment that goes back to the original terror Attack on Titan played off of.
It was a moment that showed a vulnerable Levi alone in a wide open plain, beyond Wall Maria. So it wasn't like there was a stronghold beyond the farthest wall for them to run to, no, they were in full-on Titan territory. I really, really liked that moment, and the title makes so much sense by the time it happens and by the time you've wiped away your tears.
But that single decision goes all the way back, or forward?, to when Eren was faced with the choice of fighting the Female Titan in the Forest of Giant Trees or letting Squad Levi and the Survey Corps take care of it. Levi's words, "the only thing we are allowed to do is believe that we won't regret the choice we made; so, choose for yourself whichever decision you regret the least" ring true when talking to Eren. Knowing what he's gone through now and looking back, it's clear that where there was some pain you could see, now I can see the full truth of those words to both himself and to his ally, Eren, to whom he still regards at least somewhat.
Is the sequel a necessary one for you to read in order to fully understand the lore of Attack on Titan? No, there are many more interesting things happening right now (VIVA LA REVOLUTION 2015 YEAH!!). But, if you're a fan of Captain Levi, if you're a fan of the series in general, this is a must-read. It introduces new characters, sheds light on old ones, and is an amazing series to read that reels you back to the early days where death was not as prominent, when you figured that certain characters were invincible and awesome.
I didn't expect much out of the story, just some information on Captain Levi in like four volumes of manga detailing his journey into the Survey Corps and leading up to him meeting Eren. Instead we got an action-packed, emotional, and very suspenseful (despite knowing what would happen between Levi and Erwin, so good job there) story detailing an already cool character. Even though it's only two volumes long, I can see now why it warrants two OVAs and the praise it's been getting. Because, heck, I'm giving it great praise! Check it out if you haven't already, you don't know what you're missing!
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