*Cue "Let's go to Takamagahara" from the (Hu) Tengai Makyo Zero (Digital Remix) OST for the SNES*

I may have never played that Japan-only RPG (that I don't think has EVER been fully translated into English, hence why I've not played it), but I'm bumping this up for complimenting the militantly somber mood that's in the air here.

It's great to see the sergeant cool off enough to let Greg join his army. I was concerned that he was going to be one of those stubbornly stereotypical drill sergeants that can be hard to like at times. While it's a shame that this comic has been abandoned, right when things were about to go down and get fired up and whatnot, the possibility that our sergeant here might even become likably sympathetic during the what-could've-been battle did have a chance at happening (and I would've been hype for that :D ).

I dunno 'bout you, but the tailshots that both Greg and the sergeant are showing at the bottom of this page (and were showing in the previous page) ARE helping me with staying awake during the exposition you're calling "boring". ;3

... Not that I was snoozing at any point during this (which I definitely was NOT!), but if I were, their tailshots would've woken me up, since many comics and scenes tend to stick to the front and side camera angles (especially the front), often neglecting the other angles (ex. top-down, from underneath, from behind). Thus, it's refreshing to see those often-neglected camera angles whenever they DO pop up, boosting dynamics & immersion, filling in some mysteries within the details, and even providing some tension-easing fanservice.

I suppose if you were looking for an excuse to throw in tailshots, it'd be for quiet moments like this, where little activity is actively going on, you're trying to build up to something in the background, and you're concerned that the audience might snooze during the foreshadowing.