Review by Frank Plowright

There’s a visually startling beginning to Attack on Titan 10 in which the Titans of assorted size don’t seem to be concentrating on the job at hand. Hajime Isayama continues the desperate battle from Attack on Titan 9, but some Titans, in assorted sizes, seem to be frolicking instead of battling. It makes for a bizarre looking spread, but also offers a laugh before the following desperation.

As the sample art shows, the attacking Titans have managed to find away into the tower defended by the main cast, and things look ever bleaker for those within. Isayama ensures things become worse, and then pulls the writer’s trick of perpetuating the suspense by diving into a flashback, and then a flashback within a flashback. It’s worthwhile, though, as the heart to heart between Ymir and Krista informs the present, but the drawback is Isayama again having one character reveal a secret to another that’s not shared with the audience.

The emotional core of this segment is very much from the darkest before the dawn box of tricks, but it’s well played, and will have readers seeing Ymir in a different light. The bigger picture also surprises as Isayama asks why everyone’s thinking the tower absolutely has to be protected when it can actually serve a different purpose.

Rather than drag the battle on too long, Isayama moves forward, and the final chapter is an assessment of events and progress. It drops another surprise about the Titans, and raises suspicions about the integrity of a core character. Simultaneously Reiner tempts Eren with the possibility of a visit to their hometown. Rather than linger on the suspense to continue matters in Attack on Titan 11, Isamaya sets all hell loose and only then draws a line.

Despite being primarily a battle sequence, the ongoing plots move forward, and some matters are going to have to be worked through next time. Both this and the following volume are part of the larger sized fourth Attack on Titan Omnibus.