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snkpolls · 3 years

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SnK Episodes 73 & 74 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 135 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

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RATE EPISODE 73: SAVAGERY 129 responses

As expected, this highly anticipated episode didn’t fail to deliver and fans absolutely loved it, with over 95% giving it a 4-5 star rating.

I loved the episode 73. The fight between Levi and Zeke was spectacular! The animation was 10/10, definitely worth watching. Good, old Kenny's theme brought memories back. I have to admit that Mappa made Levi look hundred times better and definitely more masculine.

RATE EPISODE 74: SOLE SALVATION 128 responses

While episode 74 generated slightly less enthusiasm across the board, it still managed to garner a high rating from respondents.

when i read the manga version, i wasn't that much moved by zeke's backstory. but with the music, voice and color additions... it's fucking heartbreaking. mappa did an outstanding job. and the tension when he activated the thunder spear???? the animation? we were blessed. ALSO! the movement of the bodies when they threw the ball looked so realistic! it's a tiny detail that i loved.

Zook

WHICH WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF EPISODE 73? 128 responses

Levi vs. Zeke 2.0 got the largest piece of the pie, getting 23.4% of the vote. Behind that was the moment when Levi had to kill his comrades in titan form (14.8%), Armin punching Eren in the face (14.1%), Eren disparaging Armin and Mikasa (11.7%), and at 8.6%, that one screenshot of Armin the entire fandom was thirsting over. Shoutout to the person in the comments who wanted Mikasa to pin them down (the pollster writing this feels the same!).

💥🐒 mOnKe and Lebi 🍄and Jean go BOOM 🐎💥

For me, the real gem of EMA talk isn't that one Armin frame that everyone's going crazy about. It's the frame before it, that low angle of Mikasa half sitting on the table holding Armin down. Holy...I wanted to be Armin so bad right at that moment.

WHICH WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF EPISODE 74? 127 responses

35.4% felt the most memorable scene from this episode was the ending scene where Zeke triggers the thunderspear and sends Levi flying. Behind that was the moment where Zeke listens to Grisha yelling through the door (18.1%), Zeke and Ksaver coming up with the euthenasia plan together (8.7%) and Ksaver telling Zeke to sell out his parents (7.9%).

EPISODE 73 IS TITLED, “SAVAGERY.” OF THE OPTIONS BELOW, WHICH CHARACTER DO YOU THINK BEST EXEMPLIFIED THIS WORD? 128 responses

In an episode filled with both verbal and physical violence, we asked which character you thought best exemplified the episode’s title. 35.2% felt that Eren was the worst offender with his words and actions against Armin and Mikasa. 29.7% felt that Levi’s violent acts against Zeke were deserving of the title “savagery.” Only 22.7% felt that Floch most suited the episode title, while just a small handful, 12.5%, felt that Zeke is the one most deserving of the term.

HOW BADLY DID YOU FEEL ABOUT LEVI HAVING TO KILL HIS OWN SQUAD? 127 responses

The majority felt, on at least some level, sorrow for what Levi had to do in order to survive and catch up to Zeke. Though a small handful didn’t feel too bad for our Captain.

ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW WOULD YOU RATE LEVI VS. ZEKE 2.0? 127 responses

In general, the fight received positive reception. Though it wasn’t all hype, as the highest ranking was actually a 4 and not a 5. It was hype, but not quite hype enough for us manga readers.

I loved Levi vs Zeke 2.0 but they really should have used the instrumental version instead of K21, I laughed out loud when I heard that beacuse I felt like it took all the seriousness from the scene

levi and zeke goat

WHY DO YOU THINK FLOCH MADE THE RECRUITS BATTER INSTRUCTOR SHADIS? 128 responses

The majority of respondents feel that Floch’s motivations are a mix of factors. For those who did think there was a more specific reason, though, 16.4% felt it’s simply a matter of Floch having a massive ego trip. 10.2% feel that Floch truly believes what he says about taking out the old and bringing in the new, and 7.8% believe Floch simply wanted to make an example out of Shadis (presumably alluding to the fate of those who resist the Yeagerists).

He was testing if the recruits can go this far

He wants to intimidate people into joining his cause by using violence and threats of arrest and also make them feel empowered by his ideals.

Standard protocol when there's a change of regime, you'd want to eliminate the old guards' influence ASAP.

That's how fascism works

All of the above and the fact that he's a fascist.

HOW CUTE WAS BITTY ZEKE? 130 responses

After a long time waiting, we finally got to see child Zeke in animated form. The vast majority think he was cute as a button, ready to pinch his little baby cheeks! Only a small handful think bby Zeke is anything but cute.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT GRISHA’S TREATMENT OF ZEKE? 130 responses

This chapter created more controversy surrounding Grisha after it’s publication. In general, fans still aren’t particularly proud of Grisha’s behavior. 36.9% felt that Zeke didn’t deserve any of the treatment he got from his father, and 24.6% outright want to give Grisha the award for worst parent in the entire series. 24.6% don’t approve of Grisha’s behavior, but they do empathize with the way Grisha must have felt. 10.8% feel that while he could have treated Zeke better, he also could have been much worse.

Zeke was a sweet child but no child deserves to be treated like that regardless of how nice or well behaved they are. Grisha is disgusting.

Grisha was a large dick and asshole and he deserved the all punishment he got.

Grisha is a terrible father but such a well written character

it's crazy to me how people really thought grisha wasn't that in the wrong in terms of how he raised zeke.

DO YOU FEEL THAT ZEKE WOULD HAVE GROWN INTO AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT KIND OF PERSON IF GRISHA HAD TREATED HIM BETTER? 129 responses

Just over half of respondents think it’s possible Zeke could have become a different kind of person if he’d had a brighter and happier childhood, though they didn’t want to say for sure as they feel that Grisha’s treatment wasn’t the sole reason why Zeke sees the world the way he does. 41.9% believe that the outcome of Zeke’s mindset would have been completely different. Only a few think that he would have come to the same conclusions about the world either way.

Unless Grisha gives up being a restorationist I don't see it as better treatment, if he does then yes

Yes. The whole point for the euthanasia plan was that Eldian children don't have to go through what he went through.

WHO DO YOU THINK HAD A BIGGER IMPACT IN SHAPING ZEKE’S WORLDVIEW? 126 responses

When it comes to “father figures” in Zeke’s life, 65.1% believe that Ksaver holds much more responsibility than Grisha does when it comes to the way Zeke views the world.

WHO TURNED OUT MORE LIKE GRISHA, IN YOUR OPINION? 128 responses

Between Grisha’s two sons, 68% of respondents feel that Eren is the brother who turned out much more similarly to Grisha, leaving only 32% who feel the opposite and think Zeke ultimately turned out more like Grisha in the end (For those who are curious, 81% of anime-only fans feel that Eren is the one who turned out more like Grisha).

WHO WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO PUNCH IN THE FACE AFTER THESE EPISODES? 129 responses

There was a lot that happened in these episodes that could have bred resentment from fans. From the options provided, 35.7% of respondents would most like to punch Floch in the face. 22.5% wish to channel their inner Armin and give Eren a sock to the face. 14.7% felt more visceral toward Grisha. 11.6% don’t want to punch anyone at all. For those who wanna punch the pollsters, meet us out back at 16:00 hours.

Floch sucks

HOW DO YOU FEEL FINALLY GETTING TO SEE THE PAINFUL EMA CONVERSATION IN ANIME FORM? 127 responses

A lot has happened since chapter 112 published, but the chapter still continues to stick with us and spark conversation. With such a highly anticipated scene finally being animated, we wanted to know how you felt seeing the scene reimagined with music, voice acting and color. 29.9% just felt that the chapter hits much differently now after the contents of chapter 138. 25.2% had a much harder time watching the scene in anime form than they felt reading the manga. 12.6% felt even more strongly, expressing extreme heartbreak over E/MA’s breakup. Only a handful of respondents felt the scene hit much harder in the manga.

I'm over it, I felt nothing. Props to Yuki Kaji though, his voice acting is as amazing as ever.

I liked both manga and anime versions, but hearing Armin's sharp intakes of breath from being hit ;~; MY POOR BABY!

M M G H, boi

mmgh

There is no pain, only support for whatever horny animator drew that shot of Armin.

I love EMA emotionally destroying each other and Mappa made it SO FUCKING GOOD, I watched this scene like 100 times

Eren = me | Armin's fist = EMA scene punching me across my expressionless face | Mikasa = my anime-only gf

BEFORE THE FINAL CHAPTER HITS, WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS EREN’S “TRAIN OF THOUGHT” IN REGARDS TO HIS WORDS IN THIS CONVERSATION? 126 responses

With the last chapter just over a week away, we’re hoping to finally get some closure in terms of Eren’s characterization and the choices he’s made. 42.9% believe that Eren chose to be cruel to his friends in the hope it would drive them to be willing to put an end to Eren’s life. 24.6% felt the opposite, hoping that Eren would push them into a corner where they wouldn’t interfere with his plan at all. 18.3% still aren’t sure what to think. Will we get answers, Isayama?!

He wants to "free" Mikasa and armin from himself because he knew he was gonna die

Probably the first option but there might be some truth to what he was saying.

He definitely wanted to push them away and antagonize them but I'm still not completely sure why. I don't feel we've gotten a satisfying explanation.

He chose to be cruel to Mikasa and Armin in an attempt to make it so they wouldn't mourn him when he was dead and could be free of him entirely.

Eren still has heart warming feelings to Mikasa and - by being cruel - he wanted her to let him go (and most likely) kill him. His feelings to Armin however are much colder and they don't seem to like each other anymore. They are way too different. Armin and Eren are like two deities who will always fight each other.

Like he said in 138, he wanted to push them away so they would move on from his death and live happily without him.

SOME DIALOGUE FROM THE EMA CONVERSATION WAS CUT OR SHORTENED. WHICH PART(S) DID YOU MISS THE MOST? 125 responses

Due to time constraints, the EMA conversation took a big hit in terms of how much content was cut from it. Of the cuts we noticed, the dialogue snippets that were most missed by manga readers were; Eren bringing up Armin’s good judgement when they were younger, Eren telling Mikasa that the “real her” disappeared in the mountain cabin, the mention of Ackermans being a “byproduct” of titan science, and the mention that Ackermans manifest the power of titans in human form.

OVERALL, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE AFOREMENTIONED CUTS? 123 responses

When it comes to how manga readers actually felt about the cuts in the EMA conversation, 35% agreed that they felt bitter about them, while still understanding that there was probably little other choice. 22% think it was just too watered down and cut down the impact significantly. 14.6% didn’t care, 11.4% felt the cuts were actually a positive thing, and 10.6% feel that the manga is simply just the superior medium for this series.

I find it interesting that the titan science stuff was cut and wonder if maybe Isayama agreed to those cuts bc he knows he won't have time to really explain in the last chapter of the manga.

Oof, too many important informations have been cut.

I'm okay either way!

Although I would've loved to see all of those aforementioned cuts animated, I understand why they had to be cut in the first place, so I'm not bitter by it at all. I still think the conversation still had the impact it was intended to have.

I kind of understand why some dialogues would have to be cut but it lessened the impact of how Eren tried to hurt his friends which I personally think is too much even if he might have good intentions in doing so. I also like how MAPPA rearranges scenes to better fit the airtime limitation of each episode.

MAPPA CHANGED EREN’S EXPRESSION AFTER HE WAS CALLED OUT BY ARMIN. THOUGHTS? 127 responses

A small change can impact a lot… or perhaps not. 34.6% felt let down by the change in Eren’s facial expression after Armin calls him out for hurting Mikasa, feeling that his original expression spoke volumes about his true feelings about what he’d done. 28.3% didn’t notice any change at all and so are unaffected. 15.7% are on a similar page and feel that there really wasn’t enough of a difference to gripe about anything, and 9.4% actually preferred the way MAPPA handled Eren in this snippet.

as they did when mikasa calls him out in liberio, they harden his expressionstry to make him look like a heartless monster with no empathy for his friends. this expression hinted that he was hurt by telling all of that to his friends, so his self sacrifice motivations can be misunderstood by anime onlies, or worse: they may even think it comes out of nowhere.

The manga was just superior here, from his expression to the fact that Armin did manage to make him bleed. It was disappointing.

I read this chapter way too long ago, I don't remember this stuff

He looks a lot more hurt and regretful in the Manga. Anime just looks annoyed.

Not a big deal to me. Manga is definitely superior though.

In the manga Eren was more human, while here we can clearly see his anger towards Armin's words.

THE ANIME ADAPTATION CUT OUT A BIT OF CONTEXT IN REGARDS TO LEVI STATING THAT THEY WILL FEED A YEAGERIST TO HISTORIA AFTER SHE GIVES BIRTH. DO YOU THINK THIS MAKES THINGS CONFUSING FOR THE ANIME-ONLIES? 123 responses

Historia’s pregnancy plot continues to get the shaft (for better or for worse), with the mention of her eventually eating the Yeagerist that eats Zeke being cut out entirely. 39% of respondents felt that this was a poor choice on MAPPA’s part, feeling that it will make things confusing for anime only fans (“why would they feed Zeke to a Yeagerist?”). 26% feel the opposite, and think anime only fans should be able to put 2 and 2 together to realize where Levi was going with his idea. 22% aren’t sure if it actually makes things confusing, and 10.6% just don’t care.

I'm not sure how confusing this makes it for anime-onlies but them cutting out mentions of her pregnancy makes it seem even less important than it already does.

That plan was shut down so quickly it doesn't matter

I don't/didn't really understand this. None of the Yeagerist have royal blood... maybe I'm missing something. I figured he was just joking? Bc, tactically, what does Historia eating a Yeagerist do or have to do with anything?

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ADAPTATION OF THE ZEKE RUNNING PANEL? 124 responses

When Zeke ran from Levi in the manga, the scene was memed to death. 46.8% of respondents weren’t disappointed in MAPPA’s adaptation and felt it was just as enjoyable as it was in the manga. 29.8% felt even more strongly, thinking MAPPA did an even better job than Isayama had done. 17.7% still prefer the manga version.

It was funny in the manga but not in the anime and that's probably for the best given the weight of what's about to happen.

I honestly don't remember the running panel lmao

Funny monke

HOW WELL WAS ZEKE’S BACKSTORY ADAPTED, IN YOUR OPINION? 126 responses

60.3% felt that MAPPA did an incredible job with executing Zeke’s backstory in the anime, with the impact feeling even greater than it did in the original manga. 37.3% agree to a lesser degree, simply being pleased that it was faithful to the source material and feel thankful enough for that. Only a sliver of the pie felt that MAPPA didn’t deliver well on this or didn’t care.

Made him too sympathetic/made grisha look even worse

MAPPA REPLACED THE MONKEY PLUSHIE WITH A RAM PLUSHIE IN KSAVER’S VISION. THOUGHTS? 125 responses

We got a couple of Easter Eggs in this episode, with one of them being the inclusion of a ram plushie in place of the monkey doll that was in the manga. Knowing now that Ksaver’s Beast Titan was a ram, we were curious how many of you caught this. 55.2% absolutely loved the easter egg, and 31.2% just felt that it was neat. A few were confused, missed monke, or wanted to squish the adorable plushie. Baa!

I jumped out of my seat seeing that little fecker. I was literally like "...!!!! THE RAM!!! WE KNOW KSAVER'S TITAN NOW SO THEY PUT IN A RAM!! YOU..!!! ISAYAMAAAAA!!" It was hilarious XD

THE DOLLS IN KSAVER’S VISION APPEAR TO RESEMBLE ARMIN, MIKASA AND HISTORIA. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS? 121 responses

Aside from the ram plushie were also dolls that some thought seemed to resemble Armin, Mikasa and Historia. We got very mixed responses on this question. 20.7% felt that it was simply just a fun easter egg and didn’t hold any kind of narrative meaning. 19% were unsure what to think at all. 16.5% think the third doll actually represents Ymir Fritz and not Historia. 15.7% felt it was meant to represent the three people Eren is working hardest to protect, and 9.1% didn’t think they represented anything.

i thought that was ymir fritz, zeke, and either eren or levi

I think the two dolls inside the box look more like Gabi and Falco but I'm not sure who the doll with the pink dress is, Ymir Fritz maybe?

I didn't even notice this, lmao. I'm bored of overthinking things like this, there's one chapter left y'all.

Oh, I thought it was Eren, Zeke and Ymir lol.

Reminds me of the Eren doll in the Lost Girls OVA.

The box represents those who we will see in the final chapter. Sorry Historia :'(

All of the above xD

The doll isn't Historia - It's Ymir Frtiz - and her position under the wagon means that Eren values Mikasa and Eren more than Ymir/anything else. I think the wagon is also significant to that bit where Eren confessed to the squad that they were the most important people in his life, and that he doesn't want anything bad to happen to them.

EREN TELLS ZEKE, “I’LL PUT AN END TO 2,000 YEARS OF TITAN DOMINATION.” EVEN AFTER EVERYTHING, DO YOU BELIEVE IT’S POSSIBLE THAT THIS WAS HIS TRUE INTENTION, AND THAT HE CAN STILL BE THE ONE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN? 122 responses

Will there be a final twist in the series finale? 34.4% seem to think so, hoping that Eren’s words will ring true and he will somehow abolish titans from the world. 23% feel similarly, though they think he knew his actions would lead to the catalyst to rid titans from the world, rather than him doing it himself. 12.3% feel the opposite, and think Eren was simply just lying to Zeke about bringing an end to the titan power, and 9.8% think he’s just too dead at this point to accomplish anything. 19.7% aren’t sure what to predict.

Yes, ending the era of titans and setting Eldians free is one of Eren's goals.

GIVEN THAT ZEKE’S FLASHBACK ELEMENTS FROM 115 WERE ALSO ADAPTED IN THIS CHAPTER, DO YOU THINK THE FINAL EPISODE WILL HAVE ANY ANIME-ONLY SCENES? 124 responses

The episode has already aired and we can now confirm that there were no additional scenes. 41.9% were correct in their hunch that the remaining contents would be enough to fill an entire episode - in fact, they didn't even end up animating all of it! What about Levi and Hange?!

Since we won't reach Ch. 121 or 122 I don't really care.

Since Mappa took over, not anymore :(

What tou MEAN ”the final episode”?!

HOW DO YOU FEEL KNOWING THAT ANIME ONLY FANS WON’T HAVE A SOLID ANSWER ON LEVI’S FATE FOR MONTHS? 127 responses

We didn’t expect this question to come off as cruel as it now feels after MAPPA didn’t even throw us a bone in episode 75 about Levi’s fate. That being said, 29.1% are ready to snack on their popcorn while they watch anime onlies worry and theorize over Levi’s fate. 21.3% are simply feeling mischievous. 9.4% think it’s cruel to take any delight in anime watchers’ woes, as we also had to experience the same thing for several months. 33.9% think it will be next to impossible for anime only fans to avoid being spoiled about Levi’s fate.

It should be fairly obvious he's alive when they show Hange jumping in the river with him next episode.

Good. I think most of them will assume he's not dead yet though.

Maybe it will inspire some of them to read the manga to find out.

Ugh, I hope they won't be complaining as much as the manga readers did even though it was obvious he's not dead.

THE PREVIEW ONLY REVEALED ONE SCENE TO US. SO INSTEAD, WHICH MOMENT FROM CHAPTER 115/116 ARE YOU MOST ANTICIPATING? 126 responses

31% of respondents were most looking forward to the moment where Pieck declared Eren as the enemy. 23% had most anticipated seeing Ymir revive Zeke (rip) and 19.8% were most looking forward to seeing Hange dive into the river with Levi’s injured body (double rip). 10.3% were most anticipating the scene with Eren, Pieck and Gabi in the jail room, and 7.1% were most hyped about Marley’s airships showing up onto the scene.

WE’VE ONLY GOT ONE EPISODE LEFT FOR THIS RUN! HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT IT? 125 responses

59.2% were feeling hyped to get an announcement about a part 2 of the season. 24%, on the other hand, are bummed out and have a new void to fill in their heart while they wait. 11.2% feel similarly and on a greater level… the seasons between the SnK anime seasons are just the worst anime seasons of all!

Too distracted by manga-ending-anxiety to feel much about it

Disappointed. It's not actually the final season.

I'm ready for this season of heartbreak to be over thank you just put me out of my misery and stop dragging me along behind the car

I can't believe it's near ending already

DO YOU THINK WE WILL GET AN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE NEXT ANIME INSTALLMENT NEXT WEEK? 122 responses

54.1% of respondents were hopeful for a part 2 announcement and the good news is that MAPPA didn’t let them down. 19.7% were right on the nose with this one!

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODES?

GOAT

The scene with Levi's comrades turning into Titans was one of the most visually stunning moments for me; the whole panning out throughout as they all started turning sort of gave me chills. Levi's reaction to it all, and ultimately having to kill them too was heartbreaking. Honestly that entire scene was quite gripping. I hate to admit that watching it in anime form has sort of solidified me resonating with Zeke in regards to his relationship with Grisha. Dude just wanted to spend time with his freaking dad and instead went through all of that, I don't blame him for the resentment at all. Still a douche for some of the stuff he's done. And ersonally I prefer him over Eren. Eren never went through that kind of treatment from Grisha and ended up... like that. Also!!!!!! Love me some Bertholdt crumbs, thank you Mappa! God, I miss him. :(

The removal of mostly anything mentioning titan scientists/research and Ackermans being a byproduct of titan science makes me wonder if Isayama regretted introducing that. I was already disappointed the manga didn't expand on that and the anime made it worse. Almost nonexistent tbh. Loved seeing Zeke's backstory, like all the other children in this series, he deserved better.

The ost during Floch's speech was brilliant. Young Zeke and Grisha VAs also. Makes me want to adopt Zeke right there. Not sure if Pieck and Porco already appeared as background characters (in ep 13&14) there were some figures that looked like them so I can't wait for the next episode!

Nah, I just loved them

These were one of the best of the season!

i just want more, also i loved MAPPA's style so far

In those episodes, the emotions weren't as strong as in the manga. I didn't feel much. And for the EMA talk... well, I liked Eren's neutral expression in the manga better, it was more fitted. And the animation of his "fight" with Armin was absolutely terrible, and it's sad to say that when you know that Mappa can do so much better.

*points at Zeke* WITNESSED!!

MAPPA stans Armin, it shows, and I am 100% here for it.

Being aware if latest chapters, I see young Zeke with different eyes

Mappa has done a fabulous job so far. The only thing I hoped for is that they should not have made the face difference so obvious from previous seasons to the last one, for the benefit of anime-only people. Yes, they stayed true to the manga, but their animators had to have control over it, which is what happened in S1 where girls had some sort of gloss on their lips and Yams requested for them to be removed in succeeding episodes.. that tells me that the animators/mappa have some semblance of control over how the characters look

I think MAPPA is doing a good job with the episodes.

Feels. That is all.

I really loved how Mappa executed that scene wint Ksaver's wife's murder/suicide. In the manga, they just outright depict it happening in the room. In the anime, they blended it in with the present surroundings. It literally gave me the chills. I do worry that the missing dialogue from the EMA scene, especially Eren explaining how Mikasa's dedication to him is nothing but science. I also worry about him not mentioning the slave/freedom thing, bc afaik the dialogue in the leaked panel of 139 says ""you are free"", and I always thought it was gonna be related to that.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 118 responses

Thanks again to everyone who participated! We will post the poll for episode 75 soon!

In the meantime, please feel free to send us up to 5 of your favorite characters via ask or submission for our ongoing popularity poll - that poll will close on the 10th of April! :D

#snk poll #snk polls #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #snk #aot #snk spoilers #snk s4

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randomposterofstuff · 3 years

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Why I still appreciate AOT/SNK despite how it ended

Hi, all!

I still have a lot of thoughts running rampant in my mind. I plan to express each idea individually. By this, I mean that one idea will be the subject matter of one post. I have many thoughts, and it would be a really long post if I include all of them in just one. Haha.

But for this particular post, I would like to express that even though I have mixed feelings about the conclusion, I still appreciate Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin. I admit that I only joined the fandom recently. Haha. But I became invested in the story and its characters fairly quickly.

I have mixed feelings about the ending. And as of now, they lean more towards disappointment and frustration. (I will elaborate more on what I think of it in another post.) Haha. But despite this, the series still gave us many, many incredible scenes and exciting plot lines. Furthermore, it also offered critical insights on complex subject matters.

Fair warning: This is another lengthy post. Haha.

A. It is entertaining

AOT/SNK is very entertaining. The action scenes alone had us on the edges of our seats. And those epic fight scenes were nicely complemented by compelling storylines involving deception, mystery, and power struggles. A personal favorite scene of mine is Levi Ackerman’s fight scene against Kenny’s Anti-Personnel Squad. The action and the conspiracy which led to it were amazing and jaw-dropping. (Side note: Ackerman Supremacy forever!)

B. It offers critical input on relevant issues

But the series is more than just enjoyable. It is also critical and reflective. Many people have said that AOT/SNK is a commentary on the many ills that plague human civilization and society. And I agree with this.

The series has invited us to think critically about war, violence, and trauma and their various effects on different people. It also has encouraged us to reflect on the power of information and perspectives.

1. AOT/SNK on war, trauma, violence and their effects

It showed us how a once innocent girl like Mikasa Ackerman became a highly skilled combatant because she feared losing her loved ones to violence. After witnessing her parents get killed in front of her while she was helpless to do anything, Mikasa became motivated to fight to protect the very few precious people left in her life.

It showed us how a former thug like Levi Ackerman realized that he could put his exceptional skills to better use by staying with the Survey Corps/Scouting Regiment instead of returning to the Underground. When he lost Isabel and Furlan to Titans, he felt unadulterated rage and pain. This also caused him to see the threat that the Titans posed to humans and influenced his decision to remain as a soldier.

It showed us how a once self-centered Jean Kirchstein transformed into a dedicated soldier and reliable leader after seeing the decimated corpse of his closest friend and companion. Jean’s change of heart was admirable. However, it was unfortunate that the change was caused by something as tragic as losing Marco.

It also showed us how a cowardly Floch Forester became a violent and narrow-minded extremist. When he was first introduced, he was afraid of dying in battle. But the war and struggle against Marley caused him to view anyone who wasn’t an Eldian as the enemy, even if they were only unarmed civilians. Ironically, his extremist views had made him a braver fighter. At one point, he had even told his allies to dedicate their hearts to the new Eldian Empire.

2. AOT/SNK on the effects of prejudice, propaganda, and indoctrination

I think that the series had also brilliantly portrayed how prejudice, propaganda, and indoctrination affect different people from different sides.

i. Propaganda in Marley

It showed us how the current generations of Eldians were forced to pay for their ancestors' sins. The old Eldian empire under King Fritz and his successors until Karl Fritz mercilessly conquered lands and destroyed many lives. Understandably, this caused the other nations and peoples of the olden times to hate Eldians. However, this hatred was unfortunately passed down from generation to generation. The crimes of the old Eldian Empire were committed thousands of years ago. Yet, the Eldians who were borncenturies afterward were still despised and viewed as devils.

This millennia-old hatred was also used by Marley to spread propaganda to keep itself in power and to keep Eldians in the internment zones across the world in check. They taught Eldians that because of their ancestors' sins and their supernatural ability to transform into Titans, they were monsters and plagues upon the Earth. They were also taught that they needed to repent to absolve themselves of the crimes of their forefathers.

This propaganda led to many Eldians believing that they deserved to be treated poorly and that they had to work hard to be respected as actual people. This mindset was what allowed the Marleyan Warrior Program to become successful. One privilege that came with being a Warrior of Marley and a family member of such Warrior was being granted honorary Marleyan citizenship. It was viewed as an honor and a sign of respect.

It was because of this that Gabi and Reiner Braun both aspired to become Warriors. Gabi trained as a Warrior because she wanted to prove to the world that there are Eldians who are good people. She herself had admitted that the struggles she faced as an Eldian were what motivated her to work hard. On Reiner’s part, he joined the program because he assumed that becoming an honorary Marleyan would complete his broken family. He thought his Marleyan father would live together with him and his Eldian mother once he became a Warrior. But alas, he was proven wrong since his father rejected him despite his efforts.

On the flip side, it also caused other Eldians to become hateful and resentful of superpowers like Marley. They were tired of being treated as second-class citizens and formed the Eldian Restorationist Movement. The Restorationists believed that Marley was feeding them deceitful propaganda. While this is indeed true, they instead believed that the source of all Titan power, who they reverently called the great Founder Ymir, was a benevolent being who would never harm anyone. It was eventually revealed that this was not true either.

The Restorationists had extreme views. These views caused Grisha Yeager to use his first son Zeke as a means to an end. The Restorationists had wanted to overthrow Marley utilizing the power of the Titans. And Grisha had immediately offered his son without any hesitation to their cause by enrolling him into the Warrior Program to become a spy for them. The Yeager patriarch was so focused and engrossed with their goal that he had neglected to act as an actual father to his then young son. He was more invested in Zeke's progress as a Warrior candidate than in the latter's growth and happiness as his son.

ii. Propaganda in Paradis

It was also revealed that the inhabitants within the Walls were also taught propaganda. As readers and viewers, we all know that the people of Paradis were initially ignorant of the truth of the world and of the Titans because King Karl Fritz erased the memories of the island’s first inhabitants. We all knew that most of them believed that they were the last living humans in the world and that the rest were wiped out by Titans around 100 years ago. The misinformation spread by Karl Fritz endangered the people of Paradis. It cultivated and propagated ignorance which left them vulnerable to attacks from other nations.

As such, they were clueless and defenseless against the Warriors of Marley when they first attacked. And they would’ve continued to be defenseless had it not been for Grisha’s journals and the memory-related powers of Eren’s Attack Titan. The lack of information and the misinformation they received had placed them in great jeopardy.

When the truth came to light, the Eldians of Paradis were divided. One side sought to broker for peace with the other nations. They wished to show that the people of the island mean no harm. The people of this side were willing to overlook the terrible deeds that Marley had committed if it meant that they could finally achieve true peace.

The other side saw the other nations, especially Marley, as enemies who wished to exterminate them. They were disgusted and infuriated by what Marley had done. These Eldians wanted to take arms and fight for the establishment and freedom of the new Eldian Empire.

2. AOT/SNK on the power of narrative in relation to the cycle of hatred

One thing that the series masterfully executed is the portrayal of the importance of narratives.

i. The Paradis Perspective

During the first arc, it was shown how helpless the people inside the Walls were when Titans attacked the Shiganshina District. We also saw the trauma that a young Eren Yeager experienced when he saw his mother get eaten by a Titan. We witnessed first-hand how a young child lost his parents and his home. And how this loss cultivated his understandable anger and became his primary motivation for becoming a soldier for humanity.

Fans, readers, and viewers sympathized and supported Eren because of this. By presenting how the destruction affected him, we all rooted for him and his allies. This narrative also showed us how countless soldiers of the Survey Corps/Scouting Regiment lost their lives during the fight against the Titans. From a spectator's point of view, the Titans were beasts that killed humans who were significantly weaker and smaller than them and monsters that laid waste wherever they went. As such, this perspective had led many of us to resent Bertolt, Annie, and Reiner when they were revealed to be the Colossal, Female, and Armored Titans, respectively.

ii. The Marleyan Perspective

But this all changed when we were shown the Marleyan perspective. When the Marleyan Arc began, we were shown how Eldians on the other side of the sea were poorly treated. We saw how they were brainwashed to believe that Paradis Island's inhabitants were the true devils beyond salvation, whereas they could still be redeemed. When these things were gradually revealed to us, we eventually understood why Bertolt, Annie, and Reiner did the terrible things they did. Because of these revelations, we started to become more sympathetic towards the Warriors.

The power of narrative was especially emphasized in the Raid on Liberio. During Willy Tybur’s declaration of war against Paradis, he revealed the world's true history and King Karl Fritz's plan. He also announced that the founding Titan's power was stolen from the royal family inside the Walls by Eren and that the latter had planned to use it to attach the rest of the world.

Not soon after his announcement, Eren transformed and attacked the people in attendance. The Survey Corps had also arrived to provide manpower and backup. In the process, hundreds of civilians and visiting dignitaries were killed.

All of these things lent credence to the propaganda about Eldians being devils. From the eyes of a bystander, Eren and the Survey Corps were murderers who destroyed a city full of innocents. This was how Gabi Braun viewed them at the time. She was raised with Marley's propaganda. As such, her already present hatred was amplified when she saw her hometown get destroyed and her friends and neighbors get killed in front of her. While her general prejudice towards the Eldians of Paradis was unjustified, the pain and anger she felt during the Raid on Liberio were very much valid and understandable.

iii. On the cycle of hatred and how to end it

It is because of these narratives that the cycle of violence continued on for so long. No one narrative is more right or less wrong than the other. This is because the losses and struggles that each side suffered were all very real and very valid. It is not fair to quantify the validity of a person’s pain.

The neglect and loneliness that Zeke felt as a child were valid. The grief and rage Gabi felt when her friends were killed were also valid. The heartache that Niccolo experienced when Sasha died was also valid. The depression and trauma Reiner sustained after his mission on Paradis Island were likewise valid. The hurt Connie felt when he was betrayed by people he trusted was valid. Jean's sadness at losing Marco and Sasha was valid. The anguish Levi felt when he was left with no choice but to slaughter his transformed comrades was valid. The point here is that no one's pain is more valid than that of others. There are different types of pain, and they are all valid.

It is from these losses and pain that anger stems. Anger is a very valid emotion. However, the way people choose to act on their anger is not always valid. On this, the choice to express anger through violence is the root cause of the cycle of hatred. It is also what perpetuates the vicious cycle. I think that this message was executed well in the scene where Niccolo confronts Gabi and reveals her as Sasha’s killer to the Brauses.

It is also during this scene that the answer to ending the cycle of hatred was explained through the wise words of Mr. Braus.

Screenshots taken from Season 4, Episode 13 of the Attack on Titan anime.

Mr. Braus acknowledged that the world is like a giant forest where violence is nearly always afoot. He understood that violence will continue to exist unless people put a stop to hatred. He sagely advised that it is up to the older generations to bear the sins of the past and their effects and consequences. This is so that the youth of the future could live in peace. And he backed his words with action by choosing not to take revenge on Gabi despite his own grief and pain.

The series also showed that another answer to ending the cycle was through understanding. This was exemplified through Gabi’s character development. Prior to her arrival on Paradis, she thought that its inhabitants were devils that were beyond redemption. But after spending time with the Brauses, she became enlightened. Gabi eventually realized that she was wrong about her prejudices. And it was because of this realization that her hatred disappeared, and she asked for forgiveness.

Screenshot taken from Chapter 118 of the Shingeki no Kyojin manga.

----

Final Words: There are actually a lot more things that the series had touched upon. But I don't think that I can comprehensively cover all of them in this post. Hahaha. In any case, I still like AOT/SNK because overall, it is an epic tale full of action, mystery, intrigue, and most of all, valuable lessons and insights to ponder upon. I know that many fans feel that the ending ruined the series for them. And I understand why they feel that way. But personally, I think that many great things about it deserve to be appreciated. I know that not everyone will agree with me, but this is my take on it.

So, despite my disappointment and issues with Ch. 139, I still thank Isayama-sensei for giving us Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin. Thank you, Isayama! Shinzou Wo Sasageyo!

#aot anime #attack on titan #aot #shingeki no kyojin #snk #mikasa ackerman #levi ackerman #jean kirschstein #gabi braun #connie springer #ackerman supremacy #reiner braun

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snkpolls · 5 years

Text

SnK Chapter 114 Results

The chapter poll closed with 1081 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

RATE THE CHAPTER 1,038 responses

This arc continues to impress, with almost half of respondents giving it 5 stars, and only 3.5% giving it a highly negative rating. That said, the amount of 5 ratings is down 11.9% from last month, which itself was down 17% from 112.

That was an amazing way to conclude vol. 28, arguably making it the best volume of this arc so far. Not only Levi did get hoisted by his own petard, but it was a fantastic way to flesh out more Zeke as an actual character instead of a plot device meant to trigger the rumbling.

Amazing chapter. I was certain Zeke had his own goals, but I was not able to see it coming. I love where the story seems to be going.

Easily top 10 worst AOT chapters of all time

Excellent chapter. Expected nothing from Zeke's backstory and was pleasantly surprised to see how well it turned out. Also good job on leaving hints at his true motivations since RtS and making the whole thing come together in such a thematically impactful way.

This chapter has been just another in a rung of disappointing chapters that has taken characters like Eren and done so much damage to them I am concerned there is no recovery for them even if they begin to change in a better way.

One of the best chapters

This has to be my most favorite chapter of this series thus far! I absolutely loved finally getting some crucial insight on Zeke and learning about what has been secretly buried within his heart for the entirety of his life.

There was no Floch this chapter, therefore what a waste

Imho this is the best chapter we've had since 101

Not as exciting as the recent chapters

Not the most exciting chapter, but it wasn't boring either. We got to finally visit the source of Zeke's motivations and what his true mission is, which has been a mystery for a long time. Now we just need to know what Eren is thinking and why he treated his friends the way he did..

WHAT WAS THIS CHAPTER’S MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? 1,057 responses

Garnering over ¼ of the votes, Zeke dramatically detonating the thunderspear made a huge impact on us readers, followed by 22.4% finding themselves grappling with Levi’s uncertain fate on the last page. Bringing up 3rd at 20.4% was Zeke and Xaver’s plan to commit eldian genocide through titan eugenics.

Oh god, I did not know fear until I saw Levi being blown away. I was cool with him dying fighting his comrades, but christ, I can't stand the thought of him being critically injured or something. Going out in a blaze of glory is one thing, but no longer being humanity's strongest soldier? That's honestly more painful for me

Zeke's childhood was sad - but we knew that. Doesn't justify genocide - even 'gentle' genocide via sterilization. It felt more like a way of getting pieces in place for the final showdown.

Levi loses his right arm like Erwin! Fuckyeah

Levi better be crippled. Tension in the story increased a lot with him being maimed.

Zeke, you're a cool guy, but that ""Cockblock all eldians"" plan? It ain't gonna happen. The world is a cruel place with or without titans.

WHAT WAS THE BEST REVEAL IN THIS CHAPTER? 1,054 responses

In a chapter full of infodrops, 65.2% found the reveal that the Founding titan can manipulate Eldian DNA to be the most fascinating among them. 15.5% chose the curtain being pulled back a bit on Zeke turning in his parents, revealing Xaver convinced him to. 12.1% chose the tie in to season 2’s ED, with the battle of Lago. 3.7% were taken aback with Xaver’s tragic backstory, selecting it as the best reveal, and 1.9% selecting his profession as a titan researcher. 1.6% of you were shocked to learn that Xaver was able to hide his Eldian status.

I really love the DNA manipulation reveal, it changes a lot of things and allows for a bunch of new theories.

This chapter hasn't changed much for me aside from the revelation that the FT can alter Eldian DNA.

Now we have more questions (like always happens) like if Kruger was involved with Xaver and the decision to turn in Zeke's parents.

There's more backstory for Xaver.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE REVEAL OF ZEKE’S PLAN? 1,060 responses

Zekerets revealed! Zeke’s master plan to end the world’s suffering through euthanizing the Eldian race was met to mostly mixed responses. 34.8% felt the reveal was alright and gave it a 3, with 32.2% bumping it up to a 4. 15.2% gave it the highest rating, and 17.9% voted unfavorably.

I think Zeke's motive fits his character and the stories themes perfectly. I can understand some people's disappointment expecting him to have some deus ex machina that'll solve all the stories problems and save the Eldians. But I find this far more realistic.

Zeke's ideology is classic "greater good" rhetoric.

Was hoping Zeke would be more morally gray rather than a blatant antagonist so I'm a little disappointed, but I also thought this was genuinely an amazing chapter. My heart broke for young Zeke.

This isn't freedom, neither salvation. This is giving up of his own people lives, because of his own view of the world.

It’s funny, Mikasa’s ‘this world is cruel...’ line is probably the one that best sums up the world of Shingeki. But whilst Mikasa can see the good in the world, Zeke only sees the cruelty, and determines that there is no need to live in a world where people are so endlessly cruel to Eldians. A world in which they are a mistake.

I also like the thematic continuity of how Zeke’s plan was revealed, and how it fit perfectly with what we’ve seen already of how characters discover that “the world is a cruel place”, and how their individual life experiences and relationships lead them to completely different conclusions. I much prefer this kind of big reveal that adds depth to the story & writing, as opposed to something completely sensationalist just for a shock factor

DO YOU THINK EREN IS AWARE OF ZEKE’S PLAN? 1,059 responses

At 52%, just over half of respondents believe that Zeke has let Eren in on his plan, while 16% are sure Eren is oblivious to it. The remaining respondents don't want to say for sure either way.

I think Eren is fully aware of Zeke's plan, but is only letting it go on until Eren gets closer to his own goal, whatever that may be.

I really hope Eren doesn't know Zeke's actual plan. I have a shred of hope left for him and if he agrees to genocide that's out the window

DO YOU THINK EREN AGREES/WILL AGREE WITH ZEKE’S PLAN? 1,056 responses

Over 76% of respondents agree that Eren hasn't gone totally off the deep end and will oppose Zeke's euthanasia plan. A small percentage feel Eren will see things the same as Zeke, while 16% remain uncertain either way. We can all probably agree we need to see his point of view soon, though.

Eren thoughts when?

Zeke as of now represents the perfect opposition to Eren's philosophy and the incoming conflict which will eventually push them to stand against each other is bound to be interesting.

Something is missing here. Zeke and Eren could do their "Eldian Euthanasia" right when they secretly met in Liberio. There has to be more to Zeke's plan.

With the conflicting plans almost confirmed, Jaegerbowl incoming?

I don't think Eren is double-crossing Zeke/only using him/intending to betray him. While I doubt Eren will agree to Zeke's plan, I think it'd be a bit too predictable and underwhelming if Isayama simply decided to do the brother vs brother route now, especially when we haven't seen them properly interact.

There'll be conflict, but maybe not in the way most of the fandom seems to be anticipating.

This chapter firmly confirms that unless Eren has agreed to go along with Zeke's plans, one of them is playing the other.

Eren is definitely either unaware of his bro's endgame or not truly on Zeke's side but pretending he is. I hope it's the latter because that would be so much more interesting to me than Eren being manipulated. I also think there's setup: Zeke projected on Eren literally the first time he ever saw him, thinks Eren is the only other person who understands, and seems like a deeply lonely person on the inside. The inevitable Yeager brothers clash will be awesome either way; they're total opposites. I am dying for Eren PoV soon, ugh.

WAS ZEKE’S CHOICE TO TURN IN HIS PARENTS JUSTIFIED? 1,049 responses

The vast majority (71.1%) agree with Zeke’s decision to report his parents to the Marleyan authorities. Most of those (59.1%) follow Zeke’s own logic: that it at least spared his grandparents and himself, while the remaining 12% simply believe that Grisha and Dina deserved what happened to them. In contrast, almost a quarter think Zeke should have instead tried a little bit harder to talk some sense into Grisha and Dina. Sadly, only 4.6% of respondents believe that he could have saved his parents.

I can't blame Zeke that he betrayed his parents. It was the best decision, to save the life of his grandparents and his own, cause they shouldn't be punished for the sins of Grisha and Dina.

He didn't have a choice. He was manipulated and was just an abused child. A better question, I think, should have been "Was Xaver justified in forcing Zeke to turn in his parents?"

Seriously, I don't feel sorry for Grisha and Dina. Zeke tries to warn them, but they don't listen to him and if you don't want to hear, then you have to be punished and take the consequences.

IN A SERIES FILLED WITH TRAGIC BACKSTORIES, WHERE DOES ZEKE’S RANK? 1,051 responses

Zeke finally got a chance to step up to the plate of tragic backstory, and hit a bit of a bunt. It did the job, but didn’t exceed the home runs hit by Reiner and some others. The majority, at 44.3% felt that while tragic, it doesn’t quite merit eradicating his entire race. Interestingly, the average rating of the chapter increases the more tragic you found Zeke’s childhood, finding the chapter to be more of a narrative success.

Bold of Isayama to think a sad backstory would make me stop wanting Zeke to get rekt.

Zeke's childhood wasn't as tragic as Reiner's. They both had to deal with a lot of problems, but Zeke at least had Xavier and grandparents who cared about him. They gave him love he needed.

I never thought it was possible to make me not hate Zeke Jaeger. But somehow now I barely hate him at all. We'll see how Season 3.2 changes that.

I did enjoy Zeke's backstory but I also found it kind of underwhelming. IDK

Zeke has been my favorite character for years now. Glad to see my instincts were right. He is not the villain people used to think he was.

He was always thought to be a 900 IQ mastermind, but in reality he was even less talented than Reiner was.

Zeke’s flashbacks were very well executed, with the perfect combination of tragic and disturbing, and just the right amount of the classic Isayama “grey morality” to stir up some debate. Each backstory reveal like this is an exercise in empathy, in which we are asked to sympathise with a character just enough to understand where they’re coming from and the suffering they’ve undergone. By having their resulting crimes/actions as bad as they are however (i.e. mass murder), the story does NOT require us to forgive or justify what they’ve done. Rather, it simply invites us to expand our perspective and see the bigger picture, that horrible individuals are both victims and perpetrators of horrible environments; basically, how bad people are made, not born.

Zeke did nothing wrong, he is just a sad little monkey.

TOM XAVER SAID THAT DINA AND GRISHA NEVER LOVED ZEKE. WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1,058 responses

Was Xaver being manipulative? Dramatic? Truthful? Luckily for Zeke, most of us (87.7%) do think that his parents at least loved him in some capacity. Unluckily for Zeke, almost a quarter believe that his parents loved him less than they loved their dreams of restoring their lost empire. Only 12.3% believe that Xaver’s words were honest, and that Grisha and Dina never loved their son - only seeing him as a tool to be used.

I think Dina did love Zeke, but loved the mission more. Grisha however, I think only ever saw him as their "savior", and never took the time to truly think of him as his son.

I used to believe that Zeke was some cruel psychopath. Now I see that he was just a sensitive, unloved child who was forced into some crazy plans of his trash parents. He never wanted to fight, that was not his nature.

Xaver telling Zeke "your parents never loved you" was incredibly manipulative but also (maybe) an attempt at making a bad situation less bad. If Xaver had said, "I know they love you but... " Zeke would have been consumed with guilt for condemning his parents to death. On the flip side, believing he was never loved likely added to the feeling of wishing he'd never been born, and thus the mess we are in.

WAS GRISHA WRONG TO VENTURE OUTSIDE THE WALLS? 1,056 responses

For all of Grisha’s flaws, most of us don’t quite blame him for what happened on that fateful day 37 years ago, when he dared to venture outside the internment zone walls with his little sister Faye. 40% defend him - arguing that he was just a child himself. Only 2.1% blame him, citing that things would have gone fine if he had just followed society’s rules. A little more than a third of us don’t believe that he was personally in the wrong, but that he should not have endangered his sister.

Zeke wasn't so wrong about what happen to Faye, Grisha's curiosity and carelessness cost's the life of his sister.

Grisha, Xaver, Zeke... none of them were ever special or any kind of masterminds but just normal people driven to extreme due to their awful lives.

WHO DO YOU THINK TURNED OUT MORE LIKE GRISHA? 1,048 responses

Unsurprisingly, 80% of respondents believe that Eren is the brother takes after Grisha the most. Heated and bold claims of striving for freedom surely had a part to play in that.

I don't know whether Eren or Zeke will turn out more like Grisha until we find out how they both turn out

I've been saying during months that Grisha destroyed both of his sons, and now we finally have the evidence. They've both taken opposite paths (being different or the same as him) and will end fighting each other, unless Levi manages to accomplish his promise somehow.

Grisha had never really screamed Eren quite as much as this chapter, which truly makes me think how unbelievable it is that Eren inherited his father's titan and his memories along with it, including the absolute regret he felt over how he handled things with the Eldian Restoration Movement and Zeke (read: putting his desire for freedom above people) and then became exactly like him. He literally learned nothing.

UP TO THIS POINT, WHO DO YOU FEEL IS/ARE THE WORST PARENT/PARENTAL FIGURE(S) IN THE SERIES? 1,046 responses

If this story has shown us anything, it’s that Isayama is marvelously skilled at creating problematic parent characters. Rod Reiss still wins the award for worst parent, but Grisha and Dina collectively come in second place after this chapter - with a quarter of respondents choosing them. Other (dis)honorable mentions go to Alma and Karina, who still managed to scrape up more than 15% of the vote each.

Grisha because he had a kid just to use as a tool TWICE!!!

Karina and Alma can share the title. :/

Let me pick more than one xD(Also Alma and Karina both suck)

There is a tie: Karina + Grisha/Dina + Alma + Rod.

They all have their faults as parents so it's hard to focus solely on one option.

They all sucked in their own way

Tom's wife

I don't know why people are letting Grisha's parents off the hook. They are just as awful at parenting as he was (who tells their grandson that his father was responsible for his aunt's gruesome murder? Also, they were pumping him full of just as much propaganda as his parents). Honestly though, that entire family was screwed from the beginning.

Everyone but Carla

Isayama: Worst parents? Worst childhood? Hold my beer. Now I wonder what did Isayama counter when he was young.

DO YOU THINK XAVER WAS A GOOD PERSON? 1,054 responses

Most of us felt positively about Mr. Xaver after seeing his backstory, with 65.4% feeling he had good interests at heart for Zeke. More of us are uncertain about his true motives, with 8.9% feeling he wasn’t genuine at all.

Xaver's doing that freaky "hide true emotions behind opaque glass lenses" thing that Zeke did a lot, giving me a concern

Definitely enjoy Zeke less as a villain now, but hope Kruger and Xaver keep on being creepy enough to make up for it.

It’s Xaver, not Xavier; spell it properly r/SnK!!!

Xaver is a kind and wise monky man, but with lots of secrets. Hoping to see more of him in the future.

Even though Xaver may be a schemer, he met Zeke by chance, so I believe in him.

About Tom Xaver...for me he looks friendly and I feel bad for him too, as he said that his wife killed their son and herself as she found out, that she has married an eldia. I guess, she doesn't want to take the consequences, cause it isn't allowed for marleyans to have a romantic relationship to an eldia. It was really sweet, that Xaver see's in Zeke his own son and was more a father figure to Zeke.

Zeke’s “watch this, Mr Xaver” is kind of sad; it’s obvious that Zeke respected him more than anyone else in his life...and he was just using Zeke. I wonder if Zeke realised that at any point during his adult life...

THE MONKEY TOY HAS MADE A REAPPEARANCE. DO YOU THINK THIS IS SIGNIFICANT? 1,053 responses

62% of us felt that Zeke’s cute monkey toy, featured prominently in both Grisha’s and Xaver’s memories, has some significance to the plot going forward.

I feel like the Monkey Toy is a plushie of the Beast Titan, like each of the seven Titans in Marley have toys based on them. Xaver's son and Zeke being shown to have them is probably done to show that, but I wouldn't be surprised it is used as delayed foreshadowing as a writing technique to foreshadow who Xaver and Zeke will turn into later on.

I'm glad to see that somebody else noticed the monkey toy; I was really excited that it showed up again.

DO YOU THINK XAVER WAS WORKING WITH KRUGER? 1,039 responses

The fandom is almost perfectly split with regard to Tom Xaver, and whether or not he was aligned with Eren Kruger. Half of us have donned our tin foil hats and are ready for the conspiracy to be unveiled, while the other half is more optimistic that Xaver was an authentic part of Zeke’s life - or at least independent from the Owl’s schemes.

Both Grisha and Zeke were groomed since childhood to inherit titan-shifting powers by Kruger and Xaver.

I don't know if Xaver is/was working together with Kruger and I kinda doubt that. Maybe Kruger used Xaver, cause he was a researcher from the titan-science about the information, but who knows? We don't have any proof of this.

If Xaver isn't the doctor who falsified Kruger's documents I will shit on my own head

WHICH TITAN DO YOU THINK IS THE “BEST” TITAN? 1,052 responses

A typo in the official translation lead to an interesting question: Which would be the best titan to inherit? The Warhammer titan wins out with its ability to create almost anything. The supposed ultimate titan, the Founding, came in second place, while the raging Attack Titan fought its way into third. The Armored Titan racked up 7.9%, the Female Titan got 6.9%, and the Beast Titan garnered 4.8% for best titan. The icon for the titans, the Colossal obtained 4.7% of the vote, with the Jaw titan following with 3.3%. The poor Cart Titan got a measly 2.1% of the vote.

Part of me wonders if an inherent trait of the beast titan is to create war? For the sake of conflict?

The whole Titan and World History is what I'm interested the most.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS AFTER THIS CHAPTER?

This more introspective chapter drastically changed opinions on a few characters, while others who had less focus were rather unchanged. The main character of the chapter, Zeke, saw his favorability increase a bit with his time in the spotlight. His parents weren’t as lucky, with Grisha tanking the hardest after we see him through Zeke’s young eyes. We also got to know Xaver for the first time, and the new info lead most to becoming fans of his. Magath, Eren, and Levi remained at about the same level, with Levi going up the most of the three in his time of peril.

I miss eren, I love zeke and grisha is a bastard

Levi is - as always - an arrogant midget who paid for his silliness, finally (he knows that a shifter can regenerate from the brain, and he still uses a single spear!). Historia will save all the Eldians asses from suicidal Zeke in the end - she has her agenda, but Eren is still a mystery to me. Grisha is the worst character and Dina truly disappoint me.

I get that Levi is the most popular character, but dear god am i tired of everything revolving around him. can we have one sequence of events without it being the Levi Drama Hour

Xaver good boi

I have to say, the Marley arc was a real turning point for how I felt about Zeke. He went from 'someone I love to hate and want to see suffer' to 'I can't believe I actually kinda like this guy'. Then his betrayal happened, and while I didn't go back to hating him as viscerally as before, I couldn't help but feel a bit bitter about the whole thing. But this chapter. This. Damn. Chapter. It was everything I could ever need to fall in love with his character. Don't get me wrong! He's still wrong, on so many different levels and I definitely do NOT want him to succeed with his plans! But I hope, in the end, he can find some peace for himself.

But is it Xaver or Xavier tho?

DOES ZEKE’S RATIONALE FOR KILLING PEOPLE HELP JUSTIFY IT? 1,050 responses

With all of his Zekerets seemingly revealed, Zeke attempts to explain why he’s snuffed out so many souls over the course of the story. Almost half of the fandom, at 46.6% understand what he’s saying, but don’t think it justifies his past actions. On the other hand, 41.5% don’t buy a single word coming out of his mouth.

Justification isn't the right word. It gives me a means of understanding his reasoning, and I sympathise more because of it. But racial cleansing is not justifiable, no matter how little you value your own life., but given his history, that is also understandable

At the end of the day he's no different than all the other people that built mountains of corpses to stand upon so everyone could hear them preach about peace.

His mindset and feelings of defeat are completely understandable but nothing ever justifies killing people the way he does.

His parents and Xaver made him this way. It can't be helped. I think he's lying to himself. He clearly enjoyed torturing people. It was like a game to him. I think he isn't sane.

There’s always a “reason” for what people do, but it doesn’t always justify their actions.

No. But, I understand where he is coming from, and it's just truly heartbreaking that this was the solution that he feels is best for all Eldians.

Aah man. This is probably one of the only times I understand an antagonist’s desire to destroy humanity/a race

Fuck him, he killed our precious Erwin

WHICH END GAME SCENARIO DO YOU THINK IS MOST LIKELY? 1,048 responses

At 62%, the majority of voters feel that the end game will be to free the Eldian people from the power of the titans. 13% feel that the titan power will remain, but that the rest of the world will learn to stop viewing them as monsters and 10% feel that Eldians will all die.

DNA will be the solution to remove curse

I can’t help but to draw parallels with the real world. I want more than anything for Marley to stop holding Eldians to the crimes of their ancestors and to talk with each other instead of further alienating each other.

WHICH IS THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS? 997 responses

The conundrum to end all conundrums. If peace doesn’t end up being on the table, one side has to go. Just over ¾ of the fandom, at 76% feel that bringing an end to the Eldians would be a lesser evil than wiping out the rest of the world.

I think at this point it's clear there's no 'good' way to solve the Eldians' problems, unfortunately.

Genocide can never be the lesser evil. Murder is never justified.

Neither Zeke nor Eren's plan qualify as the lesser of two evils, imo. The point is that they are both deeply flawed goals that bring a lot of misery. Neither are desirable outcomes.

I can't see either out of 'killing all Eldians' or 'killing the rest of the world' as the lesser of two evils, even if killing all Eldians is technically lesser in numbers terms. They're both just evil.

I actually find some comfort in the fact that Zeke sees no way out of this situation for the Eldians. He has no ultimate Zekeret plan, he genuinely believes the situation is impossible for them. Which is exactly how us fans feel since literally any possible solution that would either make any form of sense or wouldn't be massively unrealistic, or an overly optimistic stretch are non-existent right now.

Zeke knows that peace between humans and eldians is impossible and eldians will never be accepted in the world. Instead of crushing humans, he decided to remove the eldian race.

If I'm to choose between two evils, then I prefer not to choose at all. Fuck that, I'll find another way or die trying.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU THINK ARE TRUE OF YMIR FRITZ? 1,029 responses

Ymir Fritz is the biggest mystery within the world of SNK, and for us as well. The only place most of the fandom seems to agree on her is that she’ll likely be important to the story’s ending, with 77.3%. 52.9% are putting the new info given this chapter about biological manipulation to use, theorizing she used that to create titans. 50.3% believe she came in contact with the source, whereas 21.7% think the devil was responsible. 34.3% believe PATHS are at play and she has, is, or will contact Eren. The majority of respondents don’t believe the ramblings of Grisha and the restorationists, with only 14.3% believing she was in fact a benevolent person. Interestingly, people who selected that she is benevolent, as well as those who think paths contact with Eren is likely, on average had every other option chosen far more as well.

Honestly, Ymir Fritz was probably just a girl that wanted to save her people and had no idea what she was doing.

The true History will be play a huge part about the end, I guess.

Another friend discussed the idea of maybe the beast titan being the organic source/devil that Ymir made contact with. Just fun ideas to throw around.

WHAT CONDITION DO YOU THINK LEVI IS IN PHYSICALLY? 1,052 responses

Captain Levi has made it through his fair share of death-defying ordeals, but this time he may not have escaped unscathed. 35.9% of respondents believe he’s done it once again, escaping with only minor injuries. 28.6% feel the captain is in more dire straits, losing both an arm and a leg. 24.5% feel he lost just an arm, similar to Commander Erwin. Only 4.8% feel the Captain has breathed his last.

He's been through worse. Not worried

Best case scenario he's missing just his right foot. Worst case (assuming he lives), Levi is half his original height.

He has Ackerhacks, he's fine

Hope he's dead. Too op

One thing I haven't seen anybody mention, Levi was holding a sword before the explosion. I think it's possible the dude might've been impaled by his blade, in which case he might be screwed.

He will probably fall into the river and be led somewhere by the stream. Maybe to end like Kenny with a last discussion or memory.

He’s not dead... yet

WHAT ARE YOU MOST HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER? 1,054 responses

With a whopping ¾ of respondents worried about Levi’s fate (followed by nearly 50% wondering what happened to Zeke), the majority of us are hoping Isayama doesn’t leave us on this cliffhanger for too long. Historia brings up 3rd, possibly based on the theory that she’ll find Levi and help him?

I wanna see Floch get jumped tbh I used to stan but I can’t anymore

I'm afraid that Isayama killed Levi

I'm just over here waiting to see what Reiner and friends are up to, probably getting the whereabouts of Annie and attempting to free her

At this point my pet theory is Historia somehow swooping in Valkyrie-style and making everything better. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

I don't think Levi is dead, he's a survivor! If any man can, Levi Ackerman can!

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES?

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER?

Chapter 112 - Zeke is using Eren. Chapter 113 - Zeke and Eren are working together. Chapter 114 - Eren is using Zeke. It's quite amazing how fast it changed.

What's the right, what's the truth, what to believe?

I was absolutely blown away by how artfully Xavier's back story was told. Those panels are haunting, and beautiful, and so well constructed. The kind of thing that will definitely stick with me for a long time. Isayama has become a truly amazing artist.

I have so much respect for Ymir. Despite having the shittiest childhood, she ended up being one of the most emotionally stable characters.

THE CHAPTER OF MY LIFE and Leave baby zeke alone you monsters *i meant you fandom*

At least Isyama knows how to make the final boss sympathetic. Even if his writing in most places leaves a little more to be desired, I am definitely enjoying the story for the story's sake.

Really miss Pieck…

[Levi] has a bruised ego, due to being so fucKING STUPID YOU DUMBFUCK WHY WOULD YOU GIVE THE ENEMY A BOMB

If you don't think Levi was remembering his choice in chapter 84 when Zeke said that stuff about saving the soldiers he killed you're wrong.

Should have gone for the head, Captain.

this chapter makes me feel like us readers have been caught in the final explosion, too. I see so many people who hated or disliked Zeke before, sympathize with him now.

I don't know how a person can stand and say one person deserves to die and I sure as hell don't know how one person can say whole nation deserves deaths. This is genocide, not euthanasia, but Hitler and Stalin would've approved this plan.

So, my dislike of Zeke aside, kid went through some shit. Every one only wanted to push their own ideas and agendas onto him to guarantee their own safety. He reminds me of Reiner, sans the rebellious parents. He went through just as much as Zeke did as a kid, but Reiner is racked with guilt over what he's been forced to do. Zeke hasn't shown any genuine sympathy; even Eren managed to look lifeless and affected by his self directed actions in Marley. And that kid LOVES killing people.

The fandom theories for his actions were setting people up for disappointment. This is a story about common people who are forced into abhorrent positions and have to make the best out of shitty circumstances.

I feel like Zeke's plan is perfectly valid if we take a step back and see the Eldian race as what it is. Each individual is an intelligent WOMD linked to a hivemind with limitless potential for change. Suddenly the Eldian people don't look as harmless. As readers however we've only been following from one perspective, and didn't fully get to see how terrifying the Eldian empire was.

[Zeke’s] whole plan sounds unbelivably stupid that even Hanji and Armin's "let's just talk lol" sounds more reasonable in comparison

As more chapters release, I'm struggling to fathom how Annie would become relevant to the plot line later on, or if ever.

The manga is reaching levels of depression I couldn’t think it was possible to reach inside me. Maybe it’s because of how long I follow AoT. This is a very tragic and sad story, Isayama is telling us, and I think it has more in store to come. Brace yourselves, my fellow soldiers....

If Levi is going down, let it be a glorious end, not like that. Just give him some satisfaction finally, no crippling please, he's suffered enough. Come on Yams, I believe in you :)

This chapter really tugged at my heartstrings. As a reader, being aware of and mourning Zeke's lost childhood doesn't excuse his behaviour as an adult, however, I'm really glad we finally got to hear Zeke's side of the story.

I'm really tired of Isayama using cliffhangers to stir people into a frenzy and this chapter was the worst of it. People wanting Zeke's spinal fluid to have gotten into Levi's wounds (I guess so he can turn into a titan), Levi having the ability to regenerate or turn into a freaking titan out of nowhere because Ackermans' powers do come from PATHS also. Really? All of that sounds horrible and I really hope none of it happens.

I was hoping for this chapter to not be as bad as the chapters normally are since Isayama married and shit bu holy fuck I was wrong. The happier this man the sadder we get.

Zeke should be a Final Fantasy villian instead of an SnK antagonist

Cool motive, still genocide.

im eating a cucumber

#snk 114 #snk chapter 114 #snk polls #snk poll results

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