jeanandthedreamofhorses

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

‘Anime Japan’ March 2023: Attack On Titan Stage Event

Preamble

Every March in Tokyo, representatives of different anime studios and shops put up stalls at the Tokyo Big Site Exhibition Hall to advertise upcoming anime and related goods. ‘Anime Japan’ is also a locus for interviews with voice actors. This year, Kaji Yuki (Eren), Ishikawa Yui (Mikasa), and Inoue Marina (Armin) went to promote Part 3 of The Final Season.

I couldn’t pass up the chance to go. However, there is limited space at the Stage Events, and the success of an application is determined by lottery. I applied for five events and got rejected from four – but as fate would have it, I got the ticket for SNK! I was as excited as Armin at the ocean. I of course went in my Survey Corps cloak.

Two caveats: photographs were not permitted, so none are provided. Also, my Japanese isn’t perfect, but I’m confident I got the gist of what they were saying.

The Event

The three seiyuu expressed sadness at the series coming to an end, and at how this would be their last time at Anime Japan after ten years. They thanked the presenter for having been their ‘MC’ for all this time.

On the projector, a scene from the last episode relevant to each of their characters was played. First up was Armin and his love confession to Annie on the ship (no pun intended). Inoue expressed interest in the complex feelings between them, and is curious to see where it goes because, unlike the other two, she hasn’t read the ending yet.

Next was Mikasa, who was given the redux of her “See you later, Eren” scene from the start of the series. Ishikawa was really excited for everyone to understand the meaning of those words, but managed to hold herself back from spoiling us.

Finally we had Eren with his breakdown in front of Ramzi. Kaji referred to this scene as Eren expressing his honne. In Japanese culture it is often said that people have a public face, tatemae, and a private face, honne. This is very true of Eren. Kaji commented that, although Eren is acting like a scary titan, this scene shows us he is human at heart after all.

Kaji found it very difficult to talk about the scene further without spoiling anything, but what he did say was very interesting. He expressed his inner conflict over Eren’s actions: acknowledging their awfulness, but understanding the desire to protect the people close to you. Having been with the character for such a long time now, he told us that, ultimately, he wants to be his ally. This was immediately followed up with a pained expression and the rider that “it’s complicated”.

I was really impressed by how deeply Kaji understands Eren. It’s exactly what you’d want from a lead actor, to have such a connection with their character. Interestingly, the word he used for ‘ally’, 味方 (mikata), is the same one Historia uses when she rescues Eren.

After this, the presenter mentioned perhaps the biggest event from the last episode: Hange’s death. Kaji reflected that, although it’s tragic, Hange must be happy to be with their senpai again.

Then came various announcements of events for the SNK anime’s 10th anniversary. You can find all these on the anime’s Twitter page. The merchandise collab with the Gudetama ‘Lazy Egg’ character drew a laugh from everyone.

Another landmark was SNK Radio’s 100th episode. Kaji was fiercely proud of this. He gave a booming YOROSHIKU ONEGAISHIMASU and an inordinately deep bow when he asked us to tune in.

A video compiling key moments from across all four seasons was then played on the projector. Inoue was conflicted, wanting to go “Woah!” on the one hand, but also “Nooo” because it’s ending. Ishikawa agreed there was a certain painful feeling.

The actors will be giving their last interview for the series at K Arena, Yokohama in 2024. Like Inoue, Kaji said he can’t look forward to it because he doesn’t want everything to end – but that he is excited nevertheless. There was a cute moment when a baby started crying and Kaji joked around with a dad in the crowd.

For the finale, the audience were instructed to stand and give a Survey Corps salute on Kaji’s SHINZO WO SASAGEYO, which filled the hall without the aid of a microphone. Ishikawa smiled and waved in my general direction while she left, so I can die content.

The Red Stage, where this interview took place, had no room for ticketless bystanders, so I really was lucky to get in. At the Blue Stage, I was able to peek over the stanchions to watch the BokuYaba and Tokyo Revengers interviews. I didn’t take notes on these, but I can sum up what I remember if anyone’s interested.

#shingeki no kyojin #snk news #attack on titan #aot news #anime japan 2023 #kaji yuki #ishikawa yui #inoue marina #snk spoilers #aot spoilers #sorry for taking until May to make this post

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

Various SNK merchandise I’ve either purchased or spotted in Japan.

First row left is my purchases from Universal Studios Japan. Middle is my purchases from the SNK Museum in Hita: playing cards, Hita tourism postcards, and a file sleeve made from Hita cedar wood. Right is Erehisu munching on an advertisement.

Second row is my three Eren stickers: teen Eren says “I’ll slaughter you!”, adult Eren says “If you don’t fight, you can’t win. Fight. Fight.”, and titan Eren says “Not a single one left from this world!” There’s also a mousepad and four file sleeves a co-worker gave me when she heard I like SNK - including one from the Final Exhibition.

The fourth row is a crossover merchandising campaign with Sanrio (the Hello Kitty company). It’s pretty hilarious seeing the characters playing with kawaii animals in their Final Season appearances. When Reiner’s not contemplating suicide and Eren’s not committing genocide, they play with Hello Kitty. If you’re wondering why there are so many Erwin plushies, it was done in anticipation of his October birthday; but you could also find Eren and Levi.

Finally, the SNK ice cream. I found this in your typical supermarket, and it was definitely designed to appeal to EM fans. In each pack there’s a chance of drawing an ice cream stick with one of the Nine Titans on it.

#shingeki no kyojin #erehisu #erekuri #merchandise #snk

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

Interview with Isayama at the Hita SNK Museum

Several months ago I visited the official SNK Museum in Isayama’s hometown of Hita. You can see everything else about it here, but the most interesting part for me was a recorded interview with Isayama. I didn’t film it because I didn’t have time and didn’t know if it was allowed, but I did write notes to keep the content fresh in my memory.

My record of Isayama’s comments is in bold; the rest is context and my own thoughts.

Growing Up in Oyama

Hita is part of Oita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu. Oyama, where Isayama grew up, is a part of Hita today, but during his childhood it was an independent town. It’s an area surrounded by mountains, and its name literally means ‘big mountain’. Here’s a picture by the dam for reference:

When asked what it was like growing up there, Isayama commented on the sense of seclusion that came from these mountain borders. He said that, while Oyama seemed big to him, he was vaguely aware there were bigger cities out there, like Hita. He knew that past that was Fukuoka (the biggest city in Kyushu), and that past that was the sea – and beyond there, even more places.

It was intriguing to me that, for the young Isayama, the edge of his known world was Kyushu. He didn’t even mention the rest of Japan: it was equally as foreign to him as other countries. Oyama’s large mountains seem directly analogous to the Walls, cutting off its people from the rest of Japan just as the Walls cut Paradis off from the world. Young Isayama was in a similar state of ignorance to what lies beyond as the Paradis Eldians. And just as they believed themselves the entirety of humanity, so did Oyama seem a world unto itself to Isayama.

The way Isayama spoke about the outside world, it felt to me as though he had struggled to wrap his head around it. Perhaps he had felt curiosity, like the young Armin; but perhaps he had also felt fear at the enormity of a world so far beyond what he knew. I say this because all this reminded me of Eren pointing across the ocean in Chapter 90. 

He was so disappointed that the edge of the ocean was not the edge of the world, like he had always thought, and so overwhelmed by the presence of so much complex human life on the other side. It enervates him to the point he admits, in Chapter 131, to wanting to just wipe it all clean.

I wonder if Isayama felt something similar in regard to a wider world existing beyond Kyushu. He did say in another interview that he had often wanted the world to “go to hell”, and fantasised about living in a world without people: just like Eren had wanted the outside world to be uninhabited.

–Would you say part of you wished the world would be destroyed?

Isayama: What, like, “Screw the world, let it all go to hell”? Yeah, I used to really think that quite a bit — like, I’d wonder what it would be like to live in a world without people, like in I Am Legend.

While this was Isayama’s unique experience in Oyama, I wonder if this attitude is something felt by many Japanese people. The country famously cut itself off from the world for two hundred odd years just like Paradis, and to this day the idea that the Japanese are fundamentally different from the other peoples of the world is propagated in Japanese schools and media: a kind of ‘Japanese exceptionalism’. The consequence is an insular attitude among many Japanese people, where Japan feels also a ‘world unto itself’; even though it incorporates culture from around the world, it does so in a uniquely Japanese fashion. 

So, the perspective of Eren and the Paradis Eldians may resonate across Japanese culture as a whole. The potential of this attitude to result in ultranationalism and extremism, as it did in Japan in the 30s, is also portrayed in the manga through the behaviour of many Jaegerists.

What Is SNK about?

If he were to put it in a sentence, he wanted to tell a story about someone who starts as a victim but ends up as an aggressor. He thought it would be interesting for this person to become a monster just like the one that attacked him.

This was very interesting. Not only had this been Isayama’s plan from the start, but it also confirms it’s at the core of SNK’s purpose as a story.

How Does He Feel about the Museum?

Isayama thinks manga is about showing everyone the most embarrassing sides of yourself. So, while he’s very embarrassed for stuff like his childhood drawings to be on display, he thinks it’s a good thing.

This is the first time I’ve seen it phrased this way, but I think this attitude to storytelling is one I share. Putting all your vulnerabilities, all the thoughts you’re too afraid to say directly, to the forefront. This attitude is evident in Isayama’s dedication to portraying human weakness as well as courage: Carla calling out ‘don’t go’ after telling Eren to run being the quintessential example (I’m sure this was mentioned in another interview, but I can’t find it - sorry).

Perhaps one of the ‘embarrassing sides’ of himself Isayama showed us was his childhood feelings about the outside world?

Isayama’s Drawing Methods

Sometimes he draws a panel he thinks is no good, so he cuts it out and redoes it. But in cases where the assistants have already gone to the trouble of toning these rejects, he can’t bear to throw them away. Instead, he sticks drawing paper on the other side of them and presses them against a light-box, so he can trace the old outline for his second attempt. He then erases the pencil lines, inks them, and has them toned.

I just thought this was wholesome.

I don’t know if you can find the interview online, but if you’re in Japan, please check out the museum! It’s well worth it.

#shingeki no kyojin #snk meta #eren jaeger #eren yeager #hajime isayama #interview #snk spoilers #aot spoilers #history #japanese culture

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

SNK Museum and Statues in Isayama’s Hometown, Hita!

I’ve been living in Japan for the better part of a year now, and it’s given me the opportunity to visit some holy sites for SNK. What could be holier than the hometown of its creator? 

Isayama was born in Oyama, now part of the city of Hita. The city has definitely clocked onto the potential for tourism, setting up an SNK Museum and statues of Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and Levi. These are obviously awesome, but also simply being in Oyama you can see how much of an influence it had on SNK. 

Sorry not all the pictures are good quality - I took a lot.

Naturally I suited up in my Survey Corps cloak for my expedition, and when outside the SNK Museum a Japanese mother pointed me out to her young son: “Look, that man (onii-san) is in the Survey Corps. Isn’t that cool?” Needless to say, I was chuffed. Again I questioned why this kid who looked about 8 was familiar with SNK, but this is really something you have to get used to in Japan.

The museum was wonderful, and it’s free to enter! At the reception desk there were flowers and balloons set out for Levi and Erwin’s birthdays (they must have not been moved since October and December).

Past that, in the first room, you’re greeted by an amazing paper-mache Colossus Titan and a lantern in the shape of the Armoured Titan’s head. Beneath the Colossus is a giant version of Volume 1, the largest manga volume in the world. You can also see super-high quality figures of the Colossus and of a fight between Eren’s Titan and the Armoured Titan.

There are then rooms displaying SNK artworks by Isayama, manga panels, drafts, and promotional pictures. Here are just a few:

Isayama’s process in drawing the cover for Volume 24:

Early concept drawings for SNK:

Diagrams for machinery. You can see how much thought he put into the functionality of even minor things, like the elevator in the Trost supply depot:

An early Survey Corps logo:

Names (rough drafts) for Chapter 1. You can see the design for Armin was different:

High School AU promotional art for tourism in Hita:

Drawings for other manga ideas:

A calendar drawn by Isayama in his school days, and the logo for the school sports team he designed:

Drawings from his childhood. You can already see a love for monsters and grotesque faces (middle left):

Also on display was a replica of Isayama’s wedding cake, a Colossus Titan head!

And here is a replica of Isayama’s desk set-up when drawing SNK. I took a shot at it.

There was also a room where you can leave a message on a post-it note. If you go there, please try to find mine. It translates as follows:

“Favourite Character: Historia [I’m sure there was already of ton of Erens, I needed to give my girl some rep]

I’m from England. I have an English SNK blog called ‘jeanandthedreamofhorses’. I love this series!!!”

The most interesting part of the museum was a recorded interview with the man himself. Since this is of great interest to the meta community, I wrote notes on it in a separate post.

Once you exit the museum, there is, of course, a shop, which sells unique SNK goods. I bought a pack of SNK playing cards and a collection of Hita postcards with SNK characters superimposed on them. I also bought a file sleeve with my favourite volume cover, 17, on it. Only this sleeve is special - it’s made from Hita’s famous cedar wood, and it smells great.

After the museum I went to Oyama Dam, where they built the statues of Eren, Mikasa, and Armin as children. They stare up at the dam as though it were Wall Maria, and you only need a little imagination to see the head of the Colossus Titan poking past it. Actually, there was an AR app where you could literally see that, but it didn’t work on my phone.

Isayama impressed his handprint at the base, together with his name and ‘Mikasa thumbs-up’ signature.

You can see from these pictures what a place of verdant, hilly beauty Oyama is. I wonder if growing up in such a place inspired by the beautiful landscapes in SNK, even if they have a more European basis. Certainly, the mountains surrounding Oyama (Oyama literally means ‘big mountain’) inspired the Walls, as he explicitly says in the aforementioned interview, as well as the feeling of being cut-off from wider civilisation, as is the situation of Paradis.

And the final stop was the Levi statue outside Hita Station. This statue, like the ones at Oyama Dam, was humorously recorded as being commissioned by the ‘Hita Revitilisation Council of Attackers’. The increased interest in Hita due to SNK has done a lot to revitalise the economy of the small city.

Aside from SNK attractions, I also explored Mameda District with its Edo era buildings and enjoyed Hita-style yakisoba.

All this was made possible thanks to my friend and guide, Wakasa Kenya. If you find yourself in Kyushu, look him up! He’ll drive you anywhere on the island and can give you very detailed information in English.

And if you go to Hita, make sure to dedicate your hearts!

#shingeki no kyojin #snk #aot #attack on titan #snk tourism

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

‘Attack On Titan XR Ride’ in Osaka’s USJ

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been living in Japan for the better part of a year now, and one opportunity I absolutely did not want to pass up was to see the Attack On Titan XR Ride at Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, before it closed down in August. It’s been a few months, so my memory might not be perfect, but I’ll do my best to describe it to you.

The courtyard in front of the ride was decorated with a Colossus Titan head, banners for the different regiments, and statues of Eren, Mikasa, and Armin.

There was also a shop selling unique merchandise where I bought a very high-quality and cosy Survey Corps cape to wear in the gargantuan queue for the ride.

A 3D animation that looks like the A.O.T. video games plays outside the ride while you’re waiting. A pair of closed windows by the entrance is opened up by Armin (it’s really a screen, but you can’t tell that til he opens them, so it’s a nice surprise). He then gives you instructions for the ride with interruptions from Eren, Mikasa, and Levi (who flies in in 3DMG gear in a very extra manner). About halfway through Hange butts in and takes over Armin’s explanation. They all have their Japanese anime voices.

The setting is that you’re on a Survey Corps expedition in Wall Maria, around Season 1-2 era. Once you enter the building, you go inside a hexagonal room surrounded by screens like window slits, through which you can see a Wall Maria town. Armin is talking to you over the speakers, when suddenly you hear the THUMP THUMP THUMP of titan feet, and outside the windows their feet come into view! One crouches down and you can see its face (I think it was the Peering Titan, the one that ate Mina).

Armin tells us we’re getting out of here, and the screens depict our descent as Armin lowers us down an elevator, like the one in the Battle of Trost when they’re trapped at the supply depot. When we reach the bottom, Armin tells us we need to retreat to Wall Rose, and a guide in Survey Corps cosplay ushers us through a door.

Past this door is where the real queue begins. It took about an hour or so, but it was made more enjoyable than the outside wait by the atmosphere and pretense that you’re on your way to evacuate. Music from the anime plays over the speakers, and the ride safety information that plays on the screens is done in the same manner as the ‘Current Publicly Available Information’ slides from the anime, and is narrated by Hange.

Eventually you get to the rollercoaster proper, sit down and fit a VR helmet over your eyes. You see a POV experience of the video-game style animation, with you going through a tunnel seated in a horse-drawn cart. When the ride gets started, and you leave the tunnel, you see the Colossus Titan tearing up the town. The twists and turns of the rollercoaster are portrayed as your carriage running up and down the falling debris, and even getting caught in the hand of the Colossus!

Luckily, Mikasa saves you, accompanied by Eren and Armin, and she asks if you’re okay. Levi appears to beat back a sea of Pure Titans trying to grab at you, saying something cool - probably “get a move on” or something (there were no English subtitles on the actual ride).

Eventually, you get out of the collapsing town and plunge down to a grassy plain. Here, you see the Armoured Titan charging at you, but Eren turns into a Titan and keeps it occupied. At one point, Sasha dashes past you on a horse. She drops her potato and looks back to it, wailing mournfully.

You’re almost at Wall Rose now, but the Beast Titan is blocking your path, saying something in that wonderfully deep voice of his. Eren’s Titan returns to you and you ride up his arm. At his shoulder, you abandon your cart and start zipping around in 3DMG with your comrades, the rollercoaster getting very wild at this point. You see Hange swinging by laughing maniacally.  With your combined strength you’re able to attack and immobilise the Beast and swing past him into Wall Rose.

The entry into Wall Rose is very sudden and you’re on a cart again with Eren. You can see all the townsfolk cheering your arrival, and the other comrades who fought with you are lined up on a podium doing the Survey Corps salute. Eren compliments your efforts and the ride ends. And no, sadly, Historia was not present, nor Jean, Connie, and Erwin 🥲.

While I was getting off, I heard a little girl shout “Levi kakkoii!” (Levi’s so cool!). Dunno if someone younger than 10 know about SNK, but at least she had fun.

Outside the gate is a food stall with an SNK aesthetic (third picture). They sold food themed off the characters: I remember there being a Mikasa steamed bun.

I didn’t eat there, though, because I already planned to have lunch at the SNK restaurant opposite the ride (fourth row). Inside, there was music from the anime playing together with clips from the show on a TV screen, up to the latest season. The set meal options were the Eren Plate, the Levi Plate (with tea, of course), and, for kids, the Mikasa Plate. You could also get desserts themed after Mikasa, Armin, and Levi, and a cup for your drink with one of the Shiganshina or Veteran trio on it.

You can guess what I chose. This Japanese conversation occurred with the woman behind the counter:

Her: “An Eren Plate with an Eren Cup. You really like Eren, huh?”

Me: “Yes, I’m a Jaegerist.” (joking!)

As you can see in my photo, the Plate Meal has an aesthetic like the anime without being such simple grub as the Survey Corps often have to eat. It was expensive, but damn, it wasn’t just because it had a picture of Eren sticking it out. It was one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever had. Also, I got to keep the cup.

Between the ride and lunch, I wandered around the rest of USJ and went on the Spider-Man VR ride - surpisingly themed to the 90s cartoon, which was very nostalgic. Japanese J. Jonah Jameson is a treat, and a recording of Stan Lee even thanked us for going on the ride at the end. I also saw Harry Potter, Jaws, and Jurassic Park attractions. Sadly, the queue for the Mushroom Kingdom was too long.

While I was wandering about, staff members from attractions totally unrelated to SNK would notice my cloak, give me a Survey Corps salute, and thank me for my service. This was probably an instruction given to all the staff, but damn if it didn’t make me feel good. Although, if they really wanted to make me feel like I’m in the series, they would berate me as a waste of tax money.

It was a 10/10 experience, the closest one can get to feeling like they’re really in the society of the Walls. Sadly it is now lost to time, but I hope this post allowed you all to enjoy it vicariously.

#shingeki no kyojin #snk #aot #snk tourism #attack on titan

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

I'm in Japan!

First of all, I’d like to apologise for not making my hiatus the last ten months official. I’ve been extremely busy, both working a full-time job and adapting to life in another country. I’ve moved to Japan!

Being here I’ve of course taken the chance to see some great SNK stuff: I went on the Attack On Titan XR Ride at Universal Studios Japan, and I visited the SNK Museum and statues in Isayama’s hometown of Hita. I have individual posts about these queued.

Feel free to ask me anything about Japan. SNK is still popular here. The heavy hitters right now are Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Spy X Family, but everyone knows what SNK is. In fact, I even heard Apple Seed playing at a school sports festival.

#notice #self

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

“Everything unconditional belongs in pathology.”

—F. Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, §154 (excerpt).

#another of the greats! #Nietzsche #not snk #reblog

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

Rest in peace, Takahashi Kazuki. Thank you for my childhood.

#kazuki takahashi #yugioh #not snk

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

Doodles

#erehisu #erekuri #reblog #nsfw

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

Day 1: Mythology

#i absolutely love the loki/sigyn motif with these two #it works so well #erehisu #erekuri #reblog

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

school castes is more or less canon ig, now that the gothkasa and nerdmin easter egg from chapter 120 has actually been animated... (and in such detail too???)

....which means that historia crushing on eren is canon too :3

#cant believe the way some people still try to act like we pulled eh out of our arse #bruh we got shipbaited hard #isa knew what he was doing #erehisu #erekuri #reblog

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

i just wanna kno what isayama was smoking when he made ch. 130's erehisu conversation... eren n historia alone at the farm together... the emphasis on the sunset... gazing into eachothers eyes... talkin abt having babies... this scene had the potential to genuinely be the most romantic scene in attack on titan (in my opinion).

idk it's something abt the trust eren had in historia to keep his secret, and the trust historia had in him in return. when they were in their lowest moments, they found solace in eachother, and because of that, they both understood the other so well, probably more than anyone else. thats what i love about this ship.

it feels so bittersweet to look back on this chapter, and 106-107, knowing that it was all for nothing in the end :(

#erehisu #erekuri #reblog #i'd kill the whole world for u but just as a friend bro

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

#erehisu #erekuri #reblog

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

That convo between zeke and eren in marley will always be funny to me because it technically went down like

Zeke: mikasa's willing to snap a titan's neck in half for you, thats how much your step sister loves you

Eren: *zones out* (god i fucking miss my wife)

#erehisu #erekuri #reblog #excellent addition

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

Translation:

Rod: “Historia you should sometimes go shopping with dad”

Historia: “sorry, i am going to the exhibition with my boyfriend”

lmao Isayama memelord.

#erehisu #erekuri #reblog

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

walking his niece

#pfft #reblog

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

I was supposed to study some statues to practice but I got distracted TwT

#erehisu #erekuri #reblog #dat back tho 😍