#and that was made VERY clear by the end of the series through eldians and marlayans putting aside their differences to take out eren

[genericpuff]

And with that, 2000 years of history and 10+ years of an animated adaption later, Attack on Titan is over.

I wasn't planning on making an essay post about this but like all of my essay posts, it got crazy out of hand, so here we are. I have a lot to say on it and the more I wrote, the more I realized exactly what the Attack on Titan finale was about. It's cathartic. It's also kind of a big shitpost but not for the reasons you might think.

Spoilers for the Attack on Titan finale ahead! CW: DISCUSSION OF WAR AND GENOCIDE AHEAD!

Now for anyone who knows what I'm about to talk about (and anyone who follows my stuff here), I'm sure you're wondering , what side do I fall on in regards to Attack on Titan's ending? Am I about to talk shit about it? It's very divisive and somewhat inconclusive. It followed the exact ending in the manga which, while expected, was still disappointing to many who had hoped the anime would take some other path.

But I have to ask, could there have been any other way?

Eren committed mass genocide, bordering on extinction of the entire human race. There was no way that he was gonna come out of it redeemed or as a hero, and he knew it. He went straight up Walter White core here and like Walter White, he is not a hero.

The fact that the Marlayans have been constantly going to war with other countries using Eldians as their personal soldiers goes to show that for countries that seek out conquest, there's no target too small or insignificant that can't be marked as an "enemy", and we see that reflected in Eren as well, in his pursuing of "freedom", an ever-moving goalpost that can never truly be satisfied.

The Jaegerists were hellbent on creating a new empire on the bloodshed of Marley - 'an eye for an eye', so to speak.

Nothing was ever going to truly satisfy either 'side' in the conflict of humanity vs. Eldians because such conflicts' origins have been obfuscated in hundreds of years of history, propaganda, and generational trauma that has repeated itself for so long that many don't even know what they're fighting for anymore, aside from one thing - that they don't want to suffer, that they shouldn't have to suffer for the actions of their ancestors, that they want peace and happiness but don't know where to start with taking the first step.

I think people are disappointed in this ending because, let's face it, it's anime, and it's an anime adaption that took years to finish. We always want to see some kind of vindication from stories like these, but I think in having vindication, it ultimately removes the point altogether of what's being said.

As much as we may try to fight it, try to deny it, the course of human history travels in a circle. Conflict will always arise. History is written by the victors, and those victors will be seen as heroes by whichever side they're fighting for regardless of what heinous acts they may have committed to justify their salvation. And after all of that conflict, regardless of the result - time goes on, and new conflicts arise.

But I don't think that means we have to succumb to grief and suffering and that's a point that I'm seeing missed in a lot of the discussion around the finale. There's a very powerful scene between Armin and Zeke, in which Armin talks about how he was born to run up the hill with Mikasa and Eren. He recognizes fully that if his life isn't meant to be long, he can still cherish those small moments that he thinks back on fondly, the moments that defined his life with the people he cared about.

And that's really all life is. Small moments and experiences that stick with us until the end. The very act of being born in and of itself is a cosmic miracle that gives us the chance to experience things that bring us joy and stay with us forever - however short or long that 'forever' may be. We take these small moments for granted when we're comfortable, but we look for them the most when we're suffering.

If I can relate all this to another piece of media that says the same thing - albeit with a much brighter ending - FF XIV: Endwalker also asks a similar question to Attack on Titan - is the only meaning in life to suffer and die? Of course, by its end, we learn that while death and suffering is an inevitable part of life - not something that should be avoided - it shouldn't persuade us to give in to fear and despair as a constant state of being. And I think Attack on Titan goes for a very similar approach, albeit slightly more as a cautionary tale - a nihilistic reminder that ultimately, the losses and victories we find in our current point of history are still just that, a single point, a blip that will be forgotten until it's ultimately repeated, and there's no escaping that.

It cautions us that freedom cannot exist without constant vigilance for war and conflict. It cautions us that our values and core beliefs for attaining freedom, love and happiness can be twisted into a weapon to cause harm, vindication gained at the cost of another. It cautions us that when left in the wrong hands, power can and will be abused by the ignorant while propagandizing itself as "the greater good".

So why not just find the joy that we can? The friendships, the little moments, the things that bring us happiness even if only temporary. Conflict is inevitable, suffering is inevitable, but that doesn't mean life isn't worth living. "Happiness" is not a tangible end point - it's the side effect of living a meaningful life that's true to yourself.

Attack on Titan is over. Some will argue the ending was the only way, others will argue that there could have been another way and that the anime adaption had the chance to change it but still didn't for reasons beyond their comprehension.

But isn't that the whole point? We'll argue. We'll bargain. Many of the arguments made will reinforce our own beliefs further rather than sway us. Many of us will insist there had to be another way, just as Armin insisted that this couldn't have been the only way, that humanity must have had another option. Meanwhile, many of us will acknowledge that at the end of the day, this is the story Isayama wanted to tell, and regardless of whether or not it makes him an idiot toying with his audience and admitting defeat by lampshading it in the penultimate scene of Eren admitting to his own idiocy, this was the power given to him and he used it in the best way he knew how.

Much like in any conflict, there's one thing that unites both sides - the human need for joy, connection, and freedom.

We might not agree on how Attack on Titan ended, but we can agree that it was a hell of a ride, and I hope we can all agree that it was worth riding, even if it wasn't satisfying for everyone in the end. It brought many people together regardless of their backgrounds, experiences, and differences, and connected them through something they all loved for over ten years. And despite how big a part of our lives it was, life will still go on, and we'll move on to other things to watch, enjoy, and argue over. Isayama will move on to whatever awaits him next, knowing fully well that his choice was his own, that he created the series he wanted to create regardless of how people feel about it. We'll all look for our own forms of joy and happiness as life moves on around us, as conflicts come and go.

Isn't that really what freedom is at the end of the day?

#also ok i know this turned into a philosophical post but like #i'm still just talking about fucking anime #so please for the love of god i don't want to be seeing anyone using this post as a way to play devil's advocate on real actual war crimes #human conflict in and of itself is an enigmatic inevitability but blatant actions of genocide and colonization are not #and that was made VERY clear by the end of the series through eldians and marlayans putting aside their differences to take out eren #also ymir being in love with king fritz was a bit of a weird thing to do but that's for another post #i think it spoke more to her just being that desperate for connection that she fell into an abusive relationship #but idk it could have been executed better esp because a lot of the 'romance' in AoT is weird #still i really enjoyed the finale tbh and i don't think we're supposed to be left feeling strictly one way about it #the fact that we're arguing over whether or not the finale was good is literally just proving isayama right ngl LOL #attack on titan #attack on titan finale #attack on titan spoilers #shingeki no kyojin #shingeki no kyojin finale #shingeki no kyojin spoilers #essay post #long post #tw genocide #tw war

[hopeymchope]

One last time, for old time's sake: Fuck "Attack on Titan."

It's been a while since I've posted some hate about how badly Isayama killed SNK/AOT for me in its last third. That series — which was a big fave of mine for roughly 89 chapters — eventually just completely fucking shit the bed and then faceplanted right INTO the shit. I got pretty upset about it, and honestly? I STILL get riled up when I think about it.

(If your HOT TAKE in response to this is "Y R U so emoshunly invesstd in FICSHUNUL CHARAKTURS?????? LULZ" just stfu and gtfo, ok?)

But of course, I'm referring to how I felt RE: the manga's events and ultimate ending. Said ending is relevant once more, though, because just this past weekend? The anime hit its conclusion.

As a manga reader, I tried to hang in there for a LONG time after the unfortunate timeskip hit with Chapter 90. But they finally lost me so hard at Chapter 124 that I walked. And that's the reality for most of us who were angry and disgusted. We just... left. We stopped talking about it.

That's why, today, those who're still discussing AOT are almost all the die-hard fans who never stopped loving it. Which is part of why talking smack about AOT right now has got me feeling as paranoid as Sasha trying to stealth-cram a potato down her gullet.

Even so, I soldier forward. I've been thinking back on how bad this one hurt when it killed itself, which led me to looking over my old posts on the matter.

So, in "honor" of the end of the anime series, let me take a moment to look back on how they Shat on Titan.

One my first posts explaining the downward spiral was this long boi that attempted to summarize my MANY negative feelings at the time.

More thoughts on how it all went wrong in response to an Ask.

The timeskip was a mistake, and it felt wrong in many ways. This was the moment it began to most clearly go to hell... even though there WERE earlier warning signs.

...actually, I'd better rant about that some more.

For a while, we thought Isayama was maybe just screwing up an attempted "hate leads to more hate" message? (The ending of the series made it clear he was never trying to go there.)

Of course, at one point it was pointed out to me that the Eldians are maybe supposed to represent the history of Japan instead of the Jews, which... honestly doesn't help the situation very much, actually? It's still REALLY fucked up?

Thankfully, I wasn't totally alone in all this. (Even if it sometimes feels like I am.)

I did come back and read through the ending of the series, which... surprise!... sucked hard.

One last negative ask/response.

I see you wreckin' the tale of the peeps I loved And I'm like, "Fuck you" (ooh, ooh, ooh) The characters you had weren't enough, so I'm like, "Fuck you, and your story, too"

#anti-attack on titan #anti-aot #anti-snk #anti-shingeki no kyojin #snk negativity #aot negativity #anti-isayama #fuck #hate post #shat on titan

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

Critique of the Ending

After an unreasonably long wait, here are my thoughts on the ending in more detail. I’ve always tried my best to decipher the author’s reasons behind their narrative decisions instead of dismissing them off the bat if they rub me the wrong way. But, in the case of this final chapter, I can’t help but find it unworthy of all that came before it.

This critique is divided into four subsections: ‘An Irresponsible Plan’, ‘Underwhelming Heroes’, ‘Wasted Characters’, and ‘A Gimmicky Solution’. The ending launched so much new information at us that I can’t cover everything, but I have addressed those errors in plot, themes, tone, and characterisation that disappointed me most.

1. An Irresponsible Plan

The immense gamble Eren takes with Eldia’s future seems incommensurate with his previously established character.

At the cost of countless lives, Eren managed to achieve a state of affairs which is only mildly better for the Paradis Eldians. He has given them more time to build up their defences without forcing Historia to become a broodmare for the sake of the Rumbling deterrent, which is good; however, he has made Eldia neither safe nor free.

Eldia is terrified of the outside world and lives in constant fear that the enemy will one day arrive to massacre them all. In reaction to that fear, they have turned their focus inwards to provincialist nationalism, and it is clear they have no intentions of leaving the island.

Is this not the exact same situation that the Paradis Eldians were in at the start of the series? Fearing the titans outside the Walls, the Eldians contented themselves to live within its boundaries instead: although never without the lurking fear of the titans coming to break down the Walls like at Shiganshina.

Eren’s plan is even directly compared to that of the Tyburs. There is a sense of history repeating itself here - that Eren is only re-applying the band-aid that he spent the series ripping off.

How can it possibly be said, then, that Eren has secured freedom for his people when they remain as trapped, isolated, and narrow-minded as before? It is as though Eren has disowned his search for freedom throughout the series as mistaken, and has come to believe that The First King had it right after all. That’s not the ‘freedom at all costs’ Eren we know and love. He has abandoned the story that he started.

It’s true that Eren has made the predicament of the Eldians less dangerous for the time being. But Eren has only secured a temporary solution, in stark contrast to what he told Historia.

This conversation consequently becomes a plothole, as Eren has no reason to lie to Historia. If he wants her on his side, why would he pretend his plan was more brutal than it really was?

That aside, Eren has done the opposite of burying hatred: he has stoked its flames and burned it into living memory. Before, only the history books told of Eldian war crimes: now the world’s populace have experienced it first-hand. How many of them must have made the same vow as Eren did on the day his home and loved ones were taken from him?

If Eren had killed everyone outside the Walls like in his fake plan, this would not be a concern. Now, however, once the militaries of other nations have been restored, they will be sure to take revenge on Eldia - especially now that Eren has robbed Eldia of the Power of the Titans, their greatest asset.

Some may believe they got what they deserved, like the Marleyans at Fort Salta (although, frankly, I don’t believe this a very realistic reaction from a brainwashed populace - they’re essentially having their biases against the ‘Island Devils’ proven right). But it can’t be the case that everyone in every country would have the same opinion, especially children who were punished through no fault of their own.

Eren’s plan to deal with this inevitable political fallout is a long, long way from the jaded realism that he displayed in previous chapters. It is perfectly naïve to think that the world will forgive Eldia just because a handful of Eldians worked to stop Eren’s genocide. While it would puncture the lie that all ‘Island Devils’ are evil, it still remains the case that it was an Eldian who wrecked the world; and what’s more, it’s the people who supported Eren that are running the government of Eldia, not the defectors. The outside world still has every reason to hate the island.

On top of this, Eren engaged in this masterplan without knowing if his friends would even survive it. Who would he entrust to protect Eldia then? Again, it’s really not characteristic of Eren to take so many risks with something so important, and at such a tremendous cost of life.

And the additional chapters show that that revenge does eventually come - devastation that would never have happened if Eren hadn’t gambled with Eldia’s future like he had promised.

Simply put, the fruit of Eren’s plan - which he knew for sure would come about, thanks to his Titan power - was not nearly worth the cost. It makes the saccharine tone of the final chapter feel forced and bizarre.

None of these problems would exist if Eren had acted on the fake plan instead. By providing an alternate goal at the last minute, Isayama has made Eren’s actions seem uncharacteristically careless, following a plan that makes very little sense. The ending tries very hard to make us idolise Eren, but in doing so it has removed all his admirable qualities.

2. Underwhelming Heroes

Eren was a far more fascinating character when the narrative wasn’t trying hard to depict him in one moral light or the other. Eren’s cynical acceptance of a dog-eat-dog world and his conviction to achieve freedom for himself and the people he loves at all costs was extremely compelling, and worked in wonderful tandem with his characterisation over the course of the series.

The Eldian government wanted to put Historia and her descendants through a cycle of pain and misery in order to maintain a peace no more free than it was under King Fritz. Zeke wanted to wipe out his entire people for the sake of peace. Eren was the only one who sought freedom for his people at any cost, the only one who refused to accept a dehumanising compromise.

From the position of self-respect, it’s difficult not to admire Eren. Just like always, his character represents pure, concentrated willpower, a Free Will extremist of sorts, unwilling to bow to any greater power or to quietly accept the suffering of his friends.

But in order to stay true to those ideals, he must commit genocide on an unprecedented scale.

This was the real beauty of Attack On Titan. It began with simple ideas that everyone could agree with - ‘freedom from man-eating giants = good’ - and, over the course of the series, really explored the ambiguities inherent in ideas like ‘freedom’. The series became a battle between Eren and everyone else, a clash between justice and liberty, as Isayama himself put it.

Because of these developments, Eren became my all-time favourite character, and I had a great deal of respect for those fighting against him, too. They came to value ideals more important than their own lives or even the ties of friendship, neither entirely wrong, neither entirely right, and they were willing to fight to the death for what they believed in.

The ending robbed us of this. It forced a reconciliation between these irreconcilable ideas, and consequently the hero-worship poured onto Eren by the people who had been diametrically opposed to him feels incredibly unnatural.

As many people have pointed out, this scene goes directly against Armin’s characterisation prior, where he argued that nothing could justify a massacre on the scale of Eren’s Rumbling. Isayama even admitted that it was a failure on his part if Armin seemed to forgive Eren in the final chapter, but I don’t see how the chapter could be read in any other way. 

Eren should be more or less dead to Armin at this point. He might still have some hang-ups over their friendship, but Eren’s actions, by the ideals which Armin holds dear, were unforgivable, and they certainly should not be hugging, crying into each other’s arms, or thanking one another.

And it’s not just Armin, either. It is utterly bizarre for Reiner and Annie to be thanking Eren when it was only a fluke that their families weren’t massacred by him. And Jean, would the countless ‘bones turned to ashes’ left by Eren really consider his actions worth it?

By pouring praise on Eren in this manner, the 104th completely reject the ideals they had formerly embodied which made them powerful and heroic characters in the first place. The themes of the piece are killed dead.

After all, why should they praise Eren simply because his actions removed the Power of the Titans? Killing the titans had stopped being the 104th’s priority years ago. Ensuring Eldia’s freedom should definitely have taken precedence, yet they opposed Eren’s actions when they believed that to be his plan. Why is genocide only justified for the lesser of the two reasons? Especially when Eren’s true plan was so incredibly flawed, as outlined earlier.

It feels like a cheap way to have everyone get along again and remember Eren fondly. But just like Eren’s plan, the cost of this outcome was greater than its quality.

Eren’s ideals, too, are undermined by this ending. His fake plan was far more rooted in his characterisation than the plan revealed in the final chapter. Eren had, from the beginning, sworn to destroy all that stood in his way, and his fake plan revealed what that meant in its full capacity. Although Eren saw that the Rumbling was destined to happen, this was only a narrative means of confirming what Eren already knew in his gut: that there was no other way. 

Even without the vision, there’s little doubt that Eren would have come to the same conclusion. This is made explicit in the final chapter:

Eren’s real plan, on the other hand, had very little to do with his characterisation. While it still required a ruthless will to enact it, the actual goal is less tied to Eren’s character than that of his fake plan. As explained earlier, Eren only wanted to wipe out the titans because they were his enemies, and did not take issue with the titan power specifically.

Furthermore, unlike the fake plan, the real plan was not a conclusion Eren could possibly have reached by himself. He was only made aware of it through the power of the Attack Titan showing him his future memories. Not only does this ground the entirety of Eren’s actions in the Final Arc on a paradox, it also greatly diminishes Eren’s agency and independence as a character. Eren was essentially following a cosmic How-To guide, and this makes him considerably less impressive as an individual. 

You get the feeling just about anyone with enough ruthlessness could have done what Eren did: his actions were not intrinsic to the character that the series had been building up over the course of his story. He was no longer bullishly imposing his own desires, his own identity, onto a world that wanted to suppress them like he was before.

While this removal of agency from Eren is in keeping with Isayama’s comments about Eren being a ‘slave to the story’, it nevertheless produces a flatter and less interesting character than the one who strove for freedom in every capacity and at any cost.

The flattening of Eren’s character did not just extract his identity away from his actions, but also extracted his ideals from his identity. The Eren of the Final Arc was an extremely charismatic figure in how precisely he came to embody his ideal of ‘freedom at all costs’.

While it has always been clear that Eren wasn’t being wholly honest in 112, and was trying to push his friends away from him, the raw intensity of his emotions suggested that there was a grain of truth to the charade. Eren, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, has good reason to be angry at Armin for committing to naïve half-measures, and at Mikasa for mindlessly following him around instead of doing anything for the island. It was refreshing for the reader to see someone call it how it was.

But now, it’s been revealed that Eren wasn’t even mentally present for that moment. He didn’t know what he was doing, and all his critiques are reduced to ‘nonsense’. 

Since when is Eren such a good liar? Even when he was lying to Zeke, who really wanted to believe Eren, he didn’t totally buy it. In that scene, Eren is demure when he is lying, and only expresses emotion when his true thoughts peer through. See the difference between the honest Eren of the former picture and the lying Eren of the latter:

But the table scene in 112 was the one where Eren was the most passionate, most direct with his emotions. To say all that was 100% a lie is a huge discredit to the character that we came to appreciate across the Final Arc.

There was a great sense of accomplishment in Chapters 120-124, and later in 130-131, as all the puzzle pieces we had collected about Eren came together to form a coherent whole about why he was acting the way he was. Then, the final chapter came along and told us all that was fake, and that Eren’s real intention was something that we could never have possibly guessed in prior chapters because the information wasn’t there. Isayama had made us come to love a character that did not exist, and such a sudden and needless twist did not evoke admiration, but the sense of betrayal.

Almost all Eren’s Final Arc development is backtracked in the final chapter. His brutal realism is replaced by the untenable idealism discussed in Part 1. The misery inherent in his cold and detached demeanour at the atrocities he knows he must commit, has been replaced by an Eren that jokes and pals around with Armin as though nothing had changed. The mature gravitas of the previous Eren that made us respect him as a mover and shaker of history, has been substituted with an Eren that whines and cries at the idea of his crush getting over him.

On this note, Eren’s feelings for Mikasa were never established or built up throughout the story. The last emotional moment he shared with her before Chapter 123, when he is supposed to be in love with her, was in Chapter 50. That’s 73 chapters without any romantic progression. If Eren fell in love with Mikasa in Chapter 50, then why was this never hinted at since or addressed? He was still oblivious to her feelings in Chapter 70.

And if he was in love with her since childhood, why was this never hinted at or addressed either, like it was with Mikasa? In the early days, most of his interactions with Mikasa centre around his inferiority complex rather than a crush.

It’s difficult to see this confession as anything other than Isayama catering to the most popular ship without doing sufficient legwork beforehand.

Concerning Eren’s breakdown itself, I do have a sense of what Isayama was attempting here. He was attempting to show the weaker, human Eren behind the all-powerful mask he presented to others. However, this had already been done much more effectively in Chapter 131.

The Eren of Chapter 131 is sympathetic without being outright pathetic. We see the pain and torment behind the strong mask Eren presents, and we have a clear sense of how the Eren we knew before became the Eren that wrecked the world. The result is that our understanding of Eren is more rounded without undermining our respect for his character and his decision.

The Eren of Chapter 139, by contrast, comes across as childish and immature; and yet the narrative tries harder than ever to make us view him as a hero. Tonally, it’s extremely jarring. Changing Eren’s motivation, having him engage in comedic banter, and having him reconcile with his friends all seem part of an effort to rehabilitate Eren to the readership. I think most of us can agree, however, that Eren was a far more respectable character before any such rehabilitation was attempted, or even considered necessary.

3. Wasted Characters

I’m joining the general chorus when I say that Historia’s character was wasted and her pregnancy subplot never properly concluded. Although it served its tactical purpose in prolonging Zeke’s life, the subplot was extended beyond that point, and therefore warranted a final conclusion. Take this unconcluded flashback from Chapter 130:

We are never shown Eren’s reaction to those words, and it is never explained why Eren was thinking about it while Zeke talked about Mikasa. As things stand, the two scenes seem to be mashed together for no reason. Historia giving birth during the Rumbling, too, might be expected to hold some plot, character, or thematic significance, but all that ever comes from it is seeing Historia with her child four years later.

Her character ends on an anticlimax, which is made worse by the fact that we only see Historia’s political persona in the finale and none of her true thoughts. We never see what she thought of Eren’s death, nor do we see whether Eren spoke to her in the Paths like his other friends. We certainly never know why Eren lied to her about his plan; and despite Historia’s safety being a key motivator for his actions, Eren doesn’t mention her in the finale once.

This is very strange given how much their relationship is emphasised in the Final Arc. Eren was dead-set on protecting Historia, and she was the only one of his close friends who he told (what we thought was) his real plan. The Rumbling was the logical endpoint of their decision in the Uprising Arc to become ‘enemies of mankind’, and this, too, is referenced in canon.

Moreover, the logic Eren uses on Ymir to break free from her chains was the exact same sort he learned from Historia: who, in turn, learnt it from another Ymir.

Historia’s role in the Final Arc was therefore entwined not only with Eren, but also with the Founder, Ymir Fritz. 

Parallels between the two date back to the earliest days of the series, where Historia developed a close bond with someone who shared Ymir’s name as well as her struggles: the desire to be needed versus the desire to be free. Later, we discover Historia built her entire fake personality off of Ymir Fritz, and consequently she inherited those struggles too. The Final Arc begins Ymir’s backstory by retreading this exact scene, in essence introducing us to Ymir’s true self via Historia.

Ymir is Historia’s ancestor, as well as the first person to be turned into chattel to breed heirs for the Founder. Historia finds herself in the same situation in the Final Arc, and their similarities are symbolised by depicting Ymir, like Historia, pregnant in a rocking chair.

Of all the characters that Ymir might find a special connection with, surely it would be Historia. But instead, we are told that it is Mikasa.

It was a shocking reveal, not because of crafty and subtle storytelling, but because it was unfounded and unforeshadowed. Compared to Historia’s plethora of parallels, Mikasa only has one: their mutual desire to protect a loved one, and this is only ever explicitly paralleled with Ymir in the Final Chapter. Thrusting Mikasa so randomly into the spotlight seems, once again, to have been a change made to cater for Eremika shippers, leaving Historia’s character tragically unconcluded.

But it is not simply a matter of trading one character’s arc for another. Mikasa already had an excellent and complete arc before this change, and its inclusion actually served to undermine that arc and that character. Mikasa’s arc of moving beyond Eren does indeed conclude with her killing him and, as the extra panels inform us, moving beyond him. However, the execution is extremely jumbled.

If we are to believe that Mikasa has moved beyond Eren, then the fact that her entire paneltime in the last chapter is dedicated to mourning him severely undermines that fact. Presumably there must be periods in her life where she isn’t mourning him, but we never see any of them. The impression we receive is that, even if Mikasa has started a new family, she’s still hung up on Eren.

It’s not enough to say “Look, Mikasa is with (presumably) Jean now!” without depicting any development in their relationship. That’s just telling us that she’s moved on without actually showing it. Of course, there’s no reason Mikasa’s independence should be determined by which man she’s with - but if you are going to do that, you should at least depict the budding romance. Then, however, the ending would not be so focused on the Eremika relationship, and that’s clearly the audience Isayama and his editors were gunning for.

In the move to cater for nostalgia and to have the characters interacting with each other like they were at the beginning of the series, despite all that’s come to pass in between that time, many characters had their stories concluded unsatisfactorily. 

One particularly egregious example of this is Reiner. On the one hand, his arc is completed by saving the world from genocide instead of committing it. But that doesn’t mean his depression is gone. That doesn’t mean that that thoroughly compelling character from the Marley Arc, the haunted soldier with dead eyes and bloody hands, should be replaced by a comedy routine.

Like Eren, he is stripped of his maturity for the sake of presenting a lighter tone. And like Mikasa, Isayama tries to tell us his development rather than show it. When did Reiner acquire this new lease on life? When did he definitively overcome his suicidal tendencies and crippling PTSD?

Imagine this scene as an alternative: Reiner is being treated as a friend by the others, but he still has trouble palling around with them like he used to. He knows that the past can never be undone and that the weight of his actions will rest on his shoulders his entire life; but, with the support of the people around him, he is trying his best to live on in this cruel and beautiful world. So he tries, for the first time in a long time, to crack a smile.

But if Reiner must revert to his 17 year old self, then show that development. Don’t do a sudden timeskip where his behaviour is completely different if you have no intention of filling in those gaps. This depiction of Reiner exemplifies a problem endemic to the ending: its sudden and disorienting shift in tone.

4. A Gimmicky Solution

The comedy, the banter, the sentimentality: it’s all so different, even from the chapter that came right before it. Why Isayama wanted a ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’-style ending for a story about genocide is beyond me. Any story that tackles those themes should have an ending that is sombre and mature enough to be worthy of them, even if it ends on a hopeful note. But the overwhelming impression of the SNK ending is that it is immature.

There’s no better representation of this than the original final panels. I could scarcely believe that such a ridiculous and mawkish moment could even come from Isayama’s pen, and the fact that the serialisation ended with it? I can’t think of a greater disservice to everything that came before.

If the final chapter was intended to shock, it certainly achieved it: but, once again, it was only shocking because there was so little in the way of set-up and foreshadowing. This is also true of the crux of the chapter, the revelation of Eren’s real plan.

Just as readers enjoyed piecing information about Eren’s character together, we also enjoyed trying to decipher his plan. Eventually, it became apparent that Eren’s goal was the destruction of the outside world, and our sleuthing was rewarded with the Rumbling. It had neither been too obvious nor too obscure: Isayama had positioned the breadcrumbs perfectly.

But the ending put all our hard work to ruin. Another twist was suddenly inserted that we couldn’t possibly have guessed, because we weren’t provided with the material with which to guess it. There was nothing in the prior chapters to suggest that the Titan Power would disappear if Ymir witnessed someone killing the person they love. This crucial development was only revealed in the last chapter’s infodump.

The other great weakness of Eren’s real plan was its lack of thematic significance. Even though the story takes place in a fantasy world, it dealt with themes which were very real: war, prejudice, crime and punishment, sin and atonement, freedom and security. Eren’s fake plan represented an attempted solution that could feasibly happen - with nuclear weapons, for instance. It’s a terrible, nightmarish solution but a solution nonetheless. It fit the themes of ‘Eat or be eaten’ and ‘He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster’.

But the solution provided by his real plan could only ever occur within this fantasy world, because the Titan Power doesn’t actually exist. 

Had the fake plan been true, the series would be testing our convictions as to whether we agree with Eren or Armin, whether freedom or morality is more important. This is a question with no easy answer. But the real plan does provide a solution which every character gets on board with: and that solution is to have God witness someone killing the person they love to make the nukes disappear.

The solution provided by Eren’s real plan only works as a gimmick. A moment for the unobservant reader to go “Oh, that’s clever, I never saw that coming!” but one that has zero applicability to the real world. The ending robs the manga of its real-world relevance. For a series that has captured reality so well, in its representation of war-torn psyches, moral dilemmas, and existential dread, this is a real tragedy.

It makes the series cease to be art.

In one interview, Isayama said that he originally wanted the ending to make his fans feel hurt and betrayed. In another, it seems he changed his tune and toyed with the idea of a happy ending. It’s impossible to say which ending we got. Because a happy ending that runs so contrary to plot, tone, character, and themes is the greatest disappointment that we could have received, and we would, I’m sure, have been much more satisfied with the ‘kill-’em-all’ ending Isayama had originally been planning. 

SNK did not have to end tragically to be good: but at least such an ending would have been in keeping with everything that came before it, and would not trample the heart of the series in a misguided attempt at fanservice.

That, I’m afraid, is the only way in which I can perceive this ending.

#shingeki no kyojin #snk meta #snk 139 #eren jaeger #historia reiss #this went through way too many drafts #snk ending #snk spoilers #aot spoilers #mikasa ackerman #reiner braun #armin arlert #jean kirschtein

[imhaitusncarnate]

I have very mixed feelings on that aot ending

Ok so the politics of Attack on Titan have been discussed by a lot of people, some of whom have a very surface- level understanding of the story. I would like to start by giving my disclaimer that Attack on Tiatan ABSOLUTELY isn’t fascist, its anti racism, anti bigotry and anti discrimination themes are extremely apparent in it’s examination of the Eldians inside Marley, and fascist views held by characters such as Gabi are explicitly condemned in the text and made clear to be misguided and false. 

I would now like to draw everyone’s attention to the openings of seasons 1 and 2. 

Images like these combined with lyrics like these:

You pigs who sneer at our will to step over corpses and march onwards Enjoy the peace of livestock false prosperity "freedom" of the dying wolves that hunger

We dedicate and sacrifice our hearts

And also the use of german lyrics:

Sie sind das Essen und Wir sind die Jaeger! (they are the food and we are the hunters)

O, mein Freund! Jetzt hier ist ein Sieg. Dies ist der erste Glorie. O, mein Freund! Feiern wir diesen Sieg, für den nächsten Kampf!

(O, my friend! Now, here is a victory. This is the first glory. O, my friend! Let us celebrate this victory for the next battle!)

This is the stuff that lead me to believe that this is a deliberate use of fascist imagery. If the show just wanted to go for a militaristic vibe for the aesthetic of it, references this explicit to fascist propaganda and the use of German lyrics was not necessary. Also, lines like this:

And plenty of evidence that things were not what they seemed it the world of aot and that the overly simplistic view of good vs evil (humans vs the titans) was incorrect led me to believe that Attack on Titan was a deliberate deconstruction. That it was putting the audience into the mindset of the fascists to pull the rug from under their feet later. And I was right. Sort of.

As the story progresses, the world becomes a more and more complex political landscape and we are led to believe that this black and white mentality is wrong. We are also informed that the people who can transform into titans, the Eldians, are an opressed minority, explicitly paralleled to the Jews during nazi Germany, from their living in internment camps, to them being called devils, to their armbands, to a large number of them (our heroes) being confined in an island with walls circling them, which is revealed by Isayama to be Madagascar. The island that the nazis originally meant to confine the Jewish population in before arriving at the conclusion that that would be too costly, and that genocide was preferable. 

This is the first of the story’s mixed metaphors. While the show’s heart is in the right place, being sympathetic to the Eldians and showing their plight under marleyan opression and persecution, there is one problem. The reason for the opression of the Eldians is because the world is afraid of their power, as they are a race with the ability to transform into titans. There is, therefore, a tangible, justification for their internment. The Jews were not in any conceivable way a danger to anyone, they were simply scapegoated for the complex socioeconomic problems of Germany in the time period. Also, if we take a look at those openings again, we observe that the Eldians (our main characters) who wish to free themselves from their shackles are framed as fascists. So... what is that saying?

 The idea, as I see it, is that the story is condemning fanaticism in general, as a biproduct of a militaristic black and white worldview. The monstrous titans that our (framed as fascist) heroes fight against are revealed to be human, just like them.

The same is the case for the Eldian “devils” that the Marleyans fight against. Gabi, the character who is most fanatically against Eldians (despite being an Eldian herself) is comfronted with the humanity of the people she hates once she gets to know them.

Again, Isayama’s heart is on the right place here, trying to condemn bigotry, however the explicit referencing of history is the imagery is kind of misplaced, for the reasons I previously mentioned. Now let’s have a look at Eren Yeager.

Eren starts the story as a kind of messed up kid. He kills the human traffickers who kidnapped Mikasa while screaming:

I mean, in this case he is certainly justified, but his rage and anger are definitely not normal for a child his age.

This is Eren. He can’t stand injustice when he sees it. And injustice is what happens to him when the titans attack. His already fiery attitude and mindset is what leads him to this declaration of revenge:

That side of Eren is visible throughout the story and it’s foreshadowing for what he will later become

Eren, however, is a natural product of his environment. Ravaged by socioconomic inequality, with the rich living in the centre of the walls and the poor living in the outskirts, constantly under the threat of the titans and unable to obtain any kind of freedom, Eren’s philosophy of the need to be strong to overcome one’s enemies makes sense. The mantra “the strong prey on the weak”, that he ends up teaching Mikasa (another allusion to fascist ideology) is a biproduct of the world he lives in. He does not know of the political intricasies outside the walls. All he knows is he must kill the titans.

Eren’s titan is described as the “manifestation of humanity’s rage. It is huge and monstrous, and could be seen as a metaphor for vengeful hatred in general. Keep that in mind, it’s relevant for the ending.

This manufactured and false black and white worldview shapes him as a character, and it’s what eventually, after the arrival at the much desired ocean, leads him to this:

“Will we finally be free?”

In the continuation of the story, Eren falls toward the dark side more and more, to the point of committing atrocities and war crimes that are explicitly framed as being similar to what he suffered as a child (see his actions in Liberio). He even acknowledges that, telling Reiner, the person who committed said war crimes against him, that he essentially has no hard feelings and understands that the two of them are similar, doing what “needs to be done”. The character of Gabi, who, after what happens in Liberio, becomes obsessed with revenge against the Eldian “devils” is meant to be a foil for Eren, and his obsession with killing the titans after what happened to him. 

Extremely interesting is the way in which certain ideas and images are flipped in the later seasons. Namely, in season 4, we see a character who idolizes Mikasa and supports Eren’s plans in a scene where she spouts the same mantra of “the strong prey on the weak” and says that Mikasa saving her is what showed her that only with strength she can defeat her enemies. Mikasa tells her to shut up, and she proceeds to do the salute, that has been so glamorized by the show’s openings thus far. Now, it is done by a person from a military faction with a fanatic worldview. The direction doesn’t glamorize it at all. It is a nuanced, almost masterful deconstruction. 

Levi, who has always looked for reasons for why his comrades had t die, justifying their heroism and convincing himself that their deaths were not pointless, ends up here:

At this point, I was in love with Attack on Titan. From here, it only figures that Eren ends up attempting a genocide of the people outside the walls. He has essentally become what he hated the most, and he’s a natural result of the world that created him. Despite his noble intentions, he has turned into a monster. Mikasa, the prerson who loved him the most, completes her character arc by killing him, thus rejecting her blind devotion to him and being free, while at the same time continuing to love the person he once was. It’s a sad and tragic ending, painting Eren as a tragic character and making a pretty strong political point, despite having a few mixed metaphors.

And then, chapter 139 came out...

And Eren apparently pulled a Lelouch. This is a “I purposfully turned myself into a monster to save the world and make my friends into heroes for killing me” kind of thing. It is important to state that the manga makes it clear that Eren would have trampled the world even if they didn’t stop him, because of his urge to be free. However, that urge, that fighting spirit, end up being a good thing. The death of our heroes in battle apparently wasn’t pointless after all. They say goodbye with a salute

The Yeagerists, who were previously framed as fanatics, end up in charge of the government

It is important to state that the real event, the catalyst of the ending, is that killing Eren, who has turned himself literally into the manifestation of humanity’s rage (which has now, through the intricacies of the story, taken the political meaning of hatred and intergenerational trauma), eliminates the power of the titans. The titans are no more. This, in of itself, is good, and in keeping with the spirit of the political commentary thus far. However, the war, is still not over, and Eren’s mantra ends up being correct

So the only way for the war to end is one of the races to be wiped out? 

Also, despite Eren’s genocide being wrong, it is, in the end, justified, as a necessary evil by the story. An Ozymandias kind of moment in which the ends justify the means, but Eren himself has to die, because his crime was too great for him not to suffer punishment. Essentially, this chapter undoes all of the insightful commentary the story had made so far, by proving the ideology of its main character right. Story- wise this isn’t a bad ending, but if we take into account the political references the series has made, and its desire to explicitly tie itself with such imagery makes the ending leave a really bad taste in my mouth. What it essentally says, is that, yes, bigotry and racism are bad, yes, blind hatred is bad, but the general idea of might makes right and the impossibility of reconciliation are true. Armin, who has, throughuout the story, been Eren’s opposite, in terms of looking for peaceful solutions to conflict is rendered meaningless in the end, because him alongside with the other characters were all playing into Eren’s plans. The hearts of our main characters as recruits were in the right place, their fighting spirit admirable, and the overall worldview we are presented with in the beginning of the story remains more or less unchallenged. 

So where does that leave this imagery?

The conclusion is that one must think very carefully before including allegory in their work. I am not accusing Isayama for fascism, and I appreciate the efforts at deconstructing it throughout the story. However, in the end he did an oops I accidentally justified the mentality I was trying to condemn. I still like Attack on Titan, I believe it has artistic value and is overall a pretty good anime, I even agree with its politics to an extent. However, it is very important to critically examine the things we like, and see where they may have gone south. And this ending is that for me.

#attack on titan #aot #snk #shingeki no kyojin #snk spoilers #snk meta #aot meta #politics #anime

[silvadour]

Attack on Titan: The End of an Era - Final Chapter Review

Disclaimer: This blog post contains MASSIVE spoilers towards the ending of Attack on Titan as well as the greater series. If you wish not to be spoiled on certain story aspects and character revelations, I kindly suggest reading the manga or waiting for the 2nd half of the Final Season to be released in Winter 2022. Furthermore, if you are not caught up with this and read this post anyway, kindly refrain from spreading information presented here as not to spoil the experience for other readers and watchers that have yet to see the very end of the story.

And now without further ado, let is begin with the blog post.

Well, we’ve reached the endpoint, we arrived at that scenic view. Attack on Titan’s story has finally ended and if I’m being frank with you…I’m satisfied with it.

I have to say it’s always a weird feeling of coming to face the truth that a story you like and have invested many years reading has finally come to an end, there’s just an underlying feeling that you wanna deny the reality of it but you also can’t deny that sense of closure you gain from it either. While the series started way back in the year 2009, I did not get invested in the manga’s story until late 2013 when the anime’s first season finished airing. And my experience with AoT has been a strange one. As a young teen, I was impressed by the action on display so much that I began craving more of it like a crack-headed squirrel; this, in turn, led me to read through internet message boards and forums for possible new information on the stories developments which unsurprisingly led me to find spoilers of later events (particularly the case with Reiner and Bertholdt’s identities) However, even by the time I reached that revelation in the story in the existence of the Coordinate plot element came into play, I was aboard for the dramatic thrill ride ever since. And by the time I was reading it and the story shifted from fighting humanoid monsters to actual humans in the Royal Government/Coup d’etat arc, I started thinking of Attack on Titan as a rather niche series that only a few people could understand even with its ridiculous surge of popularity in the early 2010s, and I never could have anticipated back then on how emotionally attached I would be to this series nor how well it portrays a morally grey story where both participating parties of an ongoing war suffer from the circumstances of their character and nature.

The opening page to the series

As a modern monthly shonen series, I can say that it’s certainly a step above other manga of its type in how it re-frames familiar shonen archetypes in much more grounded and grim settings, and I find that it’s because of that grounded feeling found in its writing and setting that Attack on Titan has garnered such a large following for the elements in the story make themselves easier for audiences to distill themselves in similar situations, the narrative creates a sense of audience inclusivity that allows readers to imagine themselves in situations of survival. However, once I heard the series would end at 139 chapters apart of me was wondering if the series would have enough time to address aspects of established lore and give character arcs a fitting conclusion, and suffice it to say, the series accomplished that though some feelings on them I’m still processing. So knowing this I think it would be best to tackle the ending of Attack on Titan by discussing each of the established themes and characters one at a time, starting with the theme of freedom and liberty.

“To either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”

Freedom and Liberty:

One of the major recurring themes in the story of AoT is that of the nature of finding true freedom. Freedom as a concept is described as the ability to speak, act or think by one’s own accord; freedom can be individual yet it can also be shared with various individuals. The story always made the best attempts at portraying both the positive and negative aspects of freedom in a morally grey manner. While the idea of wanting to do something of your own will, it all becomes a different story altogether depending on what the actions initiated from that free will end up being. One person’s freedom would naturally come to blows with the freedom of a collective group and trying to determine who is more rightfully just in their expression is never given a clear cut answer, case in point Eren’s yearning to be free of a world where he and his people aren’t demonized or viewed as cattle comes to blows with the antagonists’ (the nation of Marley) yearning to freely put him and the other Subjects of Ymir in their place as the two parties eventually engage in a long-standing war that has spanned for centuries. In an essay by John Stuart Mill, he presents an argument for the nature of human liberty that frames it as a double-edged sword; while it may stand as a tool to defend oneself from oppression and tyranny, it in of itself can be used as a tool to enforce other individuals into compliance and agreement should they not initially comply to certain established schools of thought. The expression of freedom is never displayed in an absolute black and white morality as each of the opposing parties have valid justifications for their expressions of personal freedoms (the nation of Marley’s long history being under the terror of the old Eldian Empire, and the island of Paradis being constantly invaded by Titans from Marley due to their history), rather the expressions freedoms are made due to self-interest.

Zeke describing Marley’s plan of action in order to ensure its future as a world superpower.

This is seen numerous times throughout the series, Ymir (104th Cadet) being used as a scapegoat for the cult that took her in, Erwin’s planned scapegoat execution during the royal government arc to ensure the original monarchy’s total rule over the population within the walls, the world nations following the bandwagon of Eldian discrimination as a political tactic of gaining advantages for the development of their nations through the extortion of the many Eldians around the world. Even with the characters that are standing on the “good” side still hold feelings of seeking self-interest as they are allowed so, solely due to the fact to want and something and act upon is part of their birthright just like any other human; case in point Eren and Historia at their most standout moments before the time-skip which would eventually coalesce with Eren’s meeting of the Founder, Ymir Fritz. This now brings me to the man himself, Eren Yeager.

Eren Yeager/Ymir Fritz:

When I first got into Attack on Titan, my opinion on the writing for Eren, especially in the manga’s early run, landed generally around middling. However, over time as I got further invested in the TV adaptation, I made attempts on doing retrospective rewatches to see whether my opinions on certain aspects of the story had changed; and during this time I found that my opinion of Eren changed to that of a more positive one. Throughout the series I saw this driven teenager coming to terms with his situation as a potential key for his people’s future, learning to quell his anger, as well coming to face the reality of his various failures all to eventually crack under the weight of the expectations he has placed onto himself, finally re-discovering his self-worth through the relationships he’s made with people closest to him only to have his reality crash right into his face when he finally discovers the truth of the world which bruises his idealistic nature.

To many of the fans that have seen Eren’s exploits in the latest season, his change in character might have come as a jarring shift since he has shifted to focus on eradicating the Titans to now eradicating the invaders of his home island. While the shift to different targets might seem like a strange change on the surface, fundamentally, Eren Yeager is still relatively the same character he was initially portrayed as, the only difference is that some of his more notable traits such as his anger, his battle tactics, and self-expression have just been more hardened due to the nature of his and homeland’s circumstances.

Eren is a prime believer of freedom, that any person is entitled to live free without feeling as if their freedoms are being imposed by others, solely on the basis that they were born into the living world. Should someone pose a threat to his freedom, he will not hesitate to steal freedom from others. And from the beginning till the very ending of the series his character writing remains consistent. Eren is a man lashing out against a prejudiced world that views him and his people as pure evil, he lashes not just for the sake of his freedom but for the freedom of those he cares for. However, throughout that lashing and emotional hardening he becomes something different from how he initially perceived himself.

For most of the manga’s final arc, Eren’s detached demeanor he presents onto his friends serves to highlight how he faces his challenges; he is more of a person that suppresses his grief and other vulnerable emotions because he has no choice but to appear strong and move forward when he cries out the world for something he wants, as a person ostracized by the world, his actions are indicative of the world telling him that he is not allowed to be viewed as a human being. His repeated fighting against Marley and the other allied nations can almost be interpreted as a cry for help. And throughout these actions, Eren was always consciously aware of his actions and the consequences that would be brought upon them, but he would never reveal his true feelings until he reached his two final goals, Ymir Fritz and his ultimate fate. When Eren first encountered Ymir Fritz he saw her as the absolute ruler of the Power of the Titans and wished to use her to finally make his true ambitions become a reality, however, during that process Eren realized that Ymir was so much more than a divine being. In his embrace of the Founder and in seeing her past through the Paths realm, Eren came to realize that Ymir was simply a human that much like him was ostracized and forced to harden her emotions out of fear of being further abused for appearing as weak; who trapped herself in ethereal realm due to her misguided understanding of “love” she had for her abuser, Karl Fritz I.

In recognizing her as a human, Eren sets Ymir free to finally act upon her own will for the first time in over 2000 years.

Personally, in this particular moment of Eren embracing Ymir with a hug and telling her the words she always wanted to hear “you are a human being”, I feel as if those words themselves are what Eren wanted to hear from someone who truly understood him and his reasons for going as far as does. Eren fights because he wants to end all fighting in the world, but he doesn’t know any other method besides fighting, much like Ymir, Eren needed someone to free him from himself. I find that Kenny Ackerman’s final words resonate with this scenario very strongly in retrospect: “We humans, are all the same…every last one of us. All of us had to spend our lives drunk on something or else we’d have no cause to keep pushing on. Everyone was a slave to something” (S03E10)

Eren’s “freedom” upon reaching that scenery he foresaw in his future visions.

At the moment of that embrace, Eren was fundamentally just like Ymir, a human child unable to cry due to repressing their emotions, Eren was only able to reach his external and internal goals in the final chapter through his relationship with Mikasa and Armin in their final interactions in which he imparted his freedoms and his dream to the two people he cared about most in the entire world. That being said in his fight for obtaining the ideal freedom for himself and his people, Eren only realized in his very last conversation with Armin that the freedom he sought after wasn’t only his. Armin’s final heart-to-heart made him re-acknowledge that the weight of his dreams for an ideal world shouldn’t be his to bear, even if ended endangering him and his loved ones. By refusing to entrust his dreams onto others, Eren was becoming a slave to his ambitions (in fact his appearance as the Founding Titan portrays him as a marionette), only to be finally set free (and possibly reincarnated as a bird, a common symbol of freedom in literature) by his best friend when he comes to understand him and offer him peace for all he has done for the sake of his people.

In his final meeting, Eren’s true self as the boy who lost all things he cherished in the beginning of the series confides with his best friend Armin on the actions and choices he has made, as well as finally reciprocating Mikasa's feelings of love.

Closing thoughts:

Overall, I find that Eren’s motivations and his character arc met my expectations of how I somewhat imagined the series would end. It didn’t end on a completely misanthropic note, but rather a bittersweet hopeful one. As even though the island of Paradis establishes a new military under Eren’s splinter cell faction, the Yeagerists, there is hope found in Armin carrying out the role that Eren always saw him, a hero and a purveyor of peace, as he, Jean, Connie, Annie, Reiner, and Pieck now taking on the role as ambassadors for the remaining population of Earth, embark to Paradis to begin peace negotiations. Whether the treaty succeeds is left entirely to the reader’s imagination (or Isayama adding more context in the volume edition of this chapter), but what I find truly beautiful about this ending of a series with clearly morally gray divisions, is that the people of those same divisions finally came to the realization that they are simply just people. They are not devils or angels, they are simply just people; not that much different from one another and willing to try and exist in a better tomorrow with each other. And what I love about this ending, even more, is that it finally bookends some goals and declarations that were said in the first half of the series: Eren wanting to eradicate the existence of Titans became a reality, after Eren’s death Armin took responsibility in claim he killed in turn that leads him to be viewed as a hero and purveyor for peace, Eren wrapping his scarf around Mikasa, all of these character declarations coming back in some unique form makes me love this series even more.

Your heart and soul to the cause.

Some may complain that this ending is not that great for it still doesn’t explain certain aspects of the story such as the nature of the Power of the Titans or the identity of Historia’s baby daddy or just general lack of presence in the final arc, but personally, I am content in not receiving a clear answer to some of those aspects, mostly because they either don’t matter or are already narratively complete, plus their open-ended-ness just offers me more chances to think about some aspects of the story and promote discussions around it. And while the use of mental time-travel ala Seers from Game of Thrones that were displayed by Eren’s use of the Attack Titan’ innate ability in the Paths realm, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t unsure or somewhat conflicted by the existence of mental time-travel; especially when time-travel as a narrative concept is INCREDIBLY easy to mess up. However, aside from these minor gripes, these were my overall thoughts towards the ending of Attack on Titan, we have reached the end of the story where Eren, Mikasa, and Armin’s respective character arcs came to a narratively true and satisfying conclusion. This is definitely a notable end of an era in the world of manga and pop culture. And without much left to say, all I can do is offer a salute to the author Hajime Isayama for his dedication to this story.

Thank you, Hajime Isayama.

#Attack on Titan #manga #AoT spoilers #AOT 139 #snk spoilers #text post #long post #shingeki no kyojin #thank you hajime isayama #Eren Yeager #Ymir Fritz #Armin Arlert

[aspoonofsugar]

Alternative Reality Asks

Hello anons and hello @reene7890,

All your asks/comments can be answered in a single post.

In short, what Mikasa saw is probably an alternative reality either Eren or Ymir shared it with her through paths.

This is why both Eren and Mikasa saw it:

That said, in the end I do not think it really matters.

These are just my two cents on the whole time-travel aspect of snk.

Of course I might be wrong and next chapter might have a huge plot-twist that shocks us all and changes the whole plot. Still, as for now, this is how I feel.

So far the time-travel aspect of the series has not been relevant plot-wise (at least not in the way it is in time-travel centered stories) and has mostly been thematically enriching and used to give us a deeper understanding of the characters. In a sense, it made the characters more complex.

When it comes to worldbuilding, it is one of the many aspects of the power of paths. All Eldians are linked through time and space thanks to them, after all.

The paths have many powers which manifest in different ways. For example, last chapter dead people managed to briefly come back to help the Alliance.

This chapter, the paths have made possible for Mikasa to see a part of an alternative present/future. Similarly, in the very first chapter Eren saw that same specific possible future.

We might have a more detailed explanation next chapter, but as @aotopmha said here, I do not really think it will be something overly complicated. I think it will mostly be something simple that will not really change the overall plot, but will enrich it thematically. For example, the theory in the post kinda works for me. Ymir/Eren trying to break a loop by experiencing different realities to succeed in the end does not really change the story we have just seen, especially if Eren did not really have memories of it.

It does not change Eren’s massacre being wrong, especially because we have seen the psychologial state he was in when he made it. We saw it was not for a great scheme, but that it was him dissociating. It would not change that in the end the people who saved the world were Armin and Mikasa and that they did so through their choices that were different from Eren’s. It would not change that probably in almost every time-line Eren would not be able to overcome his self-hate and his flaw.

At the same time, for Mikasa what she experienced is and will always remain a dream. In the end it is not what she chose. It is a reality that could have happened if she had chosen differently. Still, it did not happen in the story.

We all as individuals, even without time-travel or different realities, can potentially imagine different possible future selves. And these future selves might have been born if we had taken different choices in key moments of our lives. If I had studied medicine... I would be a doctor right now. I am not, but this does not mean it was impossible to begin with.

For Mikasa, it is the same. She sees a reality that we know it is an alternative reality because we saw Eren seeing it too. Still, Mikasa is experiencing it as a dream. She might never know that was an actual alternative reality she in a sense has experienced and lived. She probably knows this unconsciously, but rationally, it might be left ambiguous.

In the meta I refer to it as a dream precisely because of this and also because it is the realization of Mikasa’s childhood dream. And even in the chapter it is something linked to Mikasa’s personal wish:

She does not see a random alternative reality, but a reality linked to a wish (go back to her home with Eren) and to a regret (what would have happened if she had chosen differently?).

We as people can only imagine different futures, while Mikasa who is in a world where alternative realities exist is given the chance to briefly experience one. And she experiences a reality specifically important for her because it is the reality where she got what she wanted. And she still realizes that even in that case she can’t save Eren.

Let me clarify what I mean when I say that I think time-travel and different realities are used in the series to enrich characters and themes and not really to create structural plot-twist. I’ll try doing so using this chapter.

Mikasa seeing the alternative reality does not let her change the past and does not let her change the future. So, time-travel has no repercussion in the overal events of the story.

What is more, it was really not necessary for Mikasa to see an alternative reality for her to arrive to the choice of killing Eren. In terms of writing Mikasa could have easily come at the same conclusion in a different way. In fact, I think different people had different headcanons about this moment.

Even the first panel:

In the end, it is revealed to simply be an image from a different reality, not even from the reality we are reading the story of. If the loop-theory is correct, it might simply be the conclusive panel of a story that happened before ours. It does not really change what we are reading.

The same goes for the other instances where time travel was used.

Eren convincing his father to kill the Reiss Family is important for his, Zeke and Grisha’s characters. It changes their dynamic making it more complicated. It is also important for Zeke’s arc and character. Still, it does not change what we already know aka... The Reiss Family is killed by Grisha. We discover an ulterior layer to Grisha’s motivation. We also discover Eren’s role in it and how much he has spiralled. Still, the event itself does not change.

Similarly, Eren seeing the Rumbling is important for his psychology I think because we can see him struggling with this idea and partially being consumed by it. Still, in the end it is still Eren’s choice to start it. Other options were still possible and this chapter’s alternative reality proves exactly this.

And it is in this that the time travel aspect of snk works imo. It is enriching thematically. It is enriching thematically because it is used to explore the theme of freedom aka the main theme.

It shows how Eren seeing the future does not make him freer, but a slave of a specific vision he saw.

It shows the fine line between destiny and choices, like in this chapter.

It shows that different realities are born by different choices, even if some factors are meant to remain. It also shows how every reality has within itself different burdens.

Finally, to answer to the anons who asked abt the reality where Eren and Mikasa ran away and its contradictions... I think it is important to remember it is just one among different realities. It is the specific reality Mikasa saw because it is important for her to see it.

Still, other versions were possible too.

As I have written in the meta, a reality where the conflict between Marley and Paradis had developed differently would have probably needed Armin making different choices because thematically he is the character mostly linked to the outside world.

So yeah, there is a reality where Mikasa and Eren choose to leave Armin behind. In the actual story, Eren left both Mikasa and Armin behind, despite clearly loving them, so I do not think it is that surprising that in another reality Mikasa chooses to stay with Eren and to avoid war.

It is implied that in this reality Mikasa conveyed her love to Eren and that Eren opened up to her about the Rumbling. Once she knew about it, Mikasa must have convinced him to give up on this plan and to simply live in peace. Eren was clearly very close to a breakdown when she talked with Mikasa in Marley. He had decided to spare Historia a life as a breeding stock by destroying the world.

Mikasa makes him give up this plan, but Eren can’t still accept the alternative plan, which is about keeping the power of the Rumbling and pass it down from a generation to another forcing Historia and her children to become Titans. This is why they run away in this reality.

Eren says so himself:

He could not choose.

In our story Eren sacrificed the world and humanity for Paradis and Historia (and we see mixed results because Paradis was turning in a dictatorship, many people still died and Historia was still miserable).

In Mikasa’s alternative reality Mikasa and Eren sacrificed Paradis for Histora and humanity.

That said, this does not mean there are not other realities where Mikasa, Eren, Armin and others characters made different choices.

Finally about Mikasa choosing to say “See you later” instead “Goodbye” or something different, I think it is better to ask someone who knows Japanese because the expression translated as see you later might have a different nuance in Japanese. Anyway, I think the context makes pretty clear Mikasa is saying farwell to Eren.

I hope this was clear enough :)

Thank you for the asks!

#snk #snk 138 #asksfullofsugar #anonymous #reene7890

[arlingtonpark]

SNK 134 Review

Thank you. Thank you so much. This means so much to me.

(Ofc this chapter is called “In the Depths of Despair.”)

Sigh.

So, I guess I have to have an opinion on this chapter now.

For a while there, it looked like SNK had made the right choice.

Eren was the asshole. He was insubordinate, ungrateful, uncooperative, and above all else, a fucking sociopath. Cool, got it. One and done.

But then his friends started talking about how it was really their fault he’s doing this.

Ok, that’s fine. They’re desperate to stop him, so they’re just saying whatever they think will ingratiate themselves with Eren and help talk him down. Dynamics like that are very common in abusive relationships.

Now we arrive at this chapter, where even random people are saying Eren is a victim *as he is murdering them!*

It is patently absurd that Eren is having a warranted or natural or reasonable reaction to what he’s been through.

If Eren were a better person, he would have known that mass murder against the Eldians was wrong because mass murder is wrong. Unfortunately, Eren is a fundamentally amoral person. The only moral compass he has to guide him is a childish belief in “you hit me, so I get to hit you.”

He’s said as much on multiple occasions. He has said, “If someone tries to take my freedom away, I will take their freedom away.”

Instead of being the better man and ending the killing, his solution was to kill more people than them, faster and on a larger scale.

I think the clearest picture of Eren’s worldview was given when he spoke to Historia. He said the only way to end the cycle of violence was to destroy the whole world.

That is Eren’s deeply felt belief: there can be no peace or coexistence; the only way to win is to be the last man standing.

This mindset is so natural to him that he will even kill his friends for opposing him.

He told them that they were free to oppose him, and he was free to fight back. That’s how he justifies killing them to himself. They have the choice to oppose him, so if he fights back and kills them, it’s their fault they died, not his, because they could have made the choice to flee and live, but decided to stand and die.

In reality, the alliance is fulfilling a moral duty to protect life, while Eren is an asshole who has killed billions.

The series wasn’t kind to Eren about that. He was depicted as a cheering child as he murdered everyone. The Rumbling was not white washed either. The take away was obviously that Eren’s decision was not the product of a sound mind.

And yet.

Now I have to wonder if the series is seriously trying to say the Rumbling embodies some form of justice.

There are multiple layers to this issue, so let’s start at the surface level.

So in what is obviously a ham-fisted attempt by Isayama to lecture the audience about morality, a Random Commander Guy filibusters about the ills cast by the Marleyans on the Eldians and how this has rebounded back at them.

It is generally considered good writing for characters to get their just desserts. If someone sells drugs to kids, you expect something bad to happen to them. If someone helps a kid cross the street, you expect something good to happen to them.

What’s different between a generic case of just desserts in a story and this chapter in SNK is that the dessert is typically delivered through some nebulous, karmic force, rather than a vengeful twerp with God-like powers.

When the drug dealer’s car blows up, it’s karmic fate, not revenge.

The car doesn’t blow up because one of the kids devoted his life to exacting revenge, it’s because the car just blows up for no reason, or because something completely unrelated to the dealer causes a bomb to be planted in the car, or the dealer brought it on themselves by getting caught up with terrorists.

People may or may not deserve to suffer, but it’s fine to show people suffering if you’re just trying to make a point about how people should act.

Eren’s a different case. For several reasons.

To help untangle why, let’s think about the death penalty.

The death penalty is an example of retributive justice. Put simply, it’s the idea that retribution can be morally just.

The Rumbling is immoral precisely because it is something a supporter of retributive justice would emphatically NOT support.

Most supporters of the death penalty would justify it as an act by a legitimate societal authority. Eren is not that.

Eren is not an authority figure. He does not speak for the Eldian people and has no right to exact this genocide on their behalf. No one made him King of the Eldians. It’s not his place to decide what’s in the Eldian’s best interest.

Also, killing people because “it’s what the scumbag deserves” is usually justified because it’s a sentence for a crime handed down in a legal process.

Rights can be taken away, but not arbitrarily. Transparency is an important part of this. Acts that are a crime are public knowledge, as well as the prescribed punishments. The criminal law is also supposed to apply to everyone equally, not selectively. To say nothing of the law itself being duly enacted by a legitimate governmental authority.

The same principles apply to the process by which a right is taken away. The process must be laid out in a law that was duly enacted by a legitimate government authority, applies to everyone, and is publicly known.

Eren’s process, of *fucking* course, is nothing like this. Eren has no legitimate authority. He’s a Guy With an Opinion who bumbled into attaining absolute power, and now he’s acting on that Opinion.

He not the government punishing a convict. He’s a guy with a gun shooting people he doesn’t like. The Rumbling is not just retribution, it’s just murder.

Commander Guy says that if they knew this would happen, they would have acted differently.

That’s a good point.

Why the fuck do they deserve to die, then?

To some extent, everyone’s worse impulses are kept in check by the knowledge that there will be consequences if they act rashly.

But it’s not just that.

Laws are public knowledge for a reason: it’s fair. If you know your act is a crime and that performing said act will result in a certain punishment, then by committing the act anyway you have tacitly accepted whatever punishment will be meted out.

The moral onus is placed on you.

This is why knowledge that you are committing a crime is necessary to be convicted of a crime.

In principle, the case with the Marleyans is the same. Is it fair to punish someone for an act they did not know would carry that punishment? No.

They may know the act was immoral, but that is not the same thing as knowing it will lead directly to their death.

And needless to say, but you only deserve to be punished for an act if you deserve to be punished for that act. The Marleyans do not deserve to be punished for that act.

There are multiple ways a wrong can be righted. There are punitive ways, in which the perpetrator is harmed outright. There are also restorative ways, in which the victim is compensated for the harm done to them, usually at the expense of the perpetrator.

I have already explained why Eren lacks the authority to pass judgement on the world, and that the process by which he made his decision was completely illegitimate, but it needs to be said that this punishment is totally improper in itself.

Wiping out humanity is purely punitive. To use the obvious analogy, I don’t think any sane person would argue white people deserve to be punished for racism. Supporters of racial justice usually talk about restorative, rather than punitive, forms of justice, like reparations.

The Rumbling does not make the Eldians whole again. It does not restore their trampled dignity. It is purely an act of vengeance.

Casting it as some kind of deserving retribution is crazy.

Oh, and, you know, suffering is bad, so retributive justice is wrong even disregarding everything I just said.

You could theoretically believe life is a miracle, but that people forfeit that right if they act wrongly…it’s not something many people would support.

If Dino!Eren had been depicted as a random force of nature that visited ruination upon humanity, we could have potentially gotten a good story about how hatred leads to no good outcomes. Like how Godzilla is a metaphor for the ills of nuclear weapons.

Instead we get a nihilistic tale about two sides punching each other until one keels over dead. And somehow the one that keels over deserved it.

What makes it nihilistic is that you could easily reverse it. What if right before Eren destroys Fort Salta, aliens invade the Earth and help the Marleyans.

Now the Eldians are on the verge of annihilation and *Eldian* Commander Guy gets his turn to say “Woe is us who surrendered to hate. We deserve this.”

There is no right side or wrong side. No deserving side or innocent side. The Eldians were cheering for genocide the same as the Marleyans. The difference is the Eldians had a God on their side.

The morality of this series is just all over the place.

The Alliance and Eren are equally sinful, but now Eren is an agent of karmic destiny and his victims “deserve it.”

There isn’t much to talk about this chapter besides that.

Armin still hopes to take Eren alive, but good luck with that.

Eren can manifest other titans from his body, which is cool I guess, though it’s pretty clear this power only exists to give the Alliance things to fight.

There were a lot of allusions to parenthood this chapter. The baby and the cliff. Reiner’s mom realizing how shitty she’s been. Historia’s pregnancy. The Commander Guy saying it’s the fault of “us adults.” The numerous shots emphasizing the kids at Fort Salta.

Child abuse is a common theme of SNK. And not just parental abuse, but societal abuse, too. Children are the victims of individual foibles and broader social ills, like racism and police brutality.

The cycle of violence at the heart of the series’ conflict is bad for everyone, but the story emphasizes that it is bad for children in particular. It harms them, and leads to a world that is worse off for them.

If there’s one takeaway from SNK, it’s that we should think of the children. Adults shouldn’t just take care of their kids, they should fix broader social issues, if not for themselves then for the children’s sake.

It’s a fucking insult.

Historia’s pregnancy is all but confirmed here. There’s no way it’s fake. There may have been motive to fake being pregnant, but there is no fucking way she’d have a reason to fake *birth*.

I always leaned towards the pregnancy being real, so that didn’t get to me. What gets me is that Historia is just…there. On Paradis. On the sidelines.

Not only was Historia, who is the only likable female character in this show now, impregnated, she’s also been MIA most the last two story arcs.

I had thought Isayama was saving her for the finale. Surely, Isayama understands that if you sideline a major character for no reason, they have to come into play at some point, I thought. Surely.

Characters are tools; they exist to be used. So use them.

But no, it seems Historia is legit not going to be a thing in this final battle. My dreams of the domineering boss saving the day are dashed.

But what really messes with me is how shafted Historia has been since basically the end of the Uprising Arc.

Historia’s only contribution to the plot after Uprising, but before the pregnancy was making the disastrous decision to make the truth of the world public, which paved the way for Paradis society to become radicalized and back Eren’s coup.

She has done nothing other than that.

Obviously her pregnancy will have thematic importance, but at this point the best Historia stans can hope for is that she’s the main character in the epilogue.

I’ve always assumed the pregnancy was the product of a loving relationship. For all his incompetence with Historia, I was willing to assume Isayama would not force her to carry a forcibly impregnated child to term.

And you know that even if the child is the product of rape, Historia will still have to say she loves and accepts them as her child and will raise them lovingly, with no regard or acknowledgement of the trauma of having to raise a child born out of her being raped.

Because the theme of the story.

All life is a miracle.

All children deserve to be loved.

Even if it was rape.

Except it’s more complicated than that, and I’m terrified to think that Isayama may not understand that.

So for now, I choose to presume that Historia is pregnant because she loves someone, decided to have a family with them, and we’re being led to believe she was raped for shock value.

But arguably more important is what this means for the queer audience.

Historia’s first love interest was another woman.

She’s queer. A lesbian. A dyke. What have you.

Now you’re telling me she either loves a man, or was not only raped, but has to love and accept the child that results from that trauma?

And for what?

So we can end the manga on a speech by Historia moralizing about the value of posterity?

Historia stands at the nexus of two subjects in this manga: the value of posterity and the denigration of queer people.

It is very homophobic of this series to pair a queer character with a dude to affirm a message about the value of children and motherhood.

As if queer people can’t have children.

We seem to be headed down that path.

It didn’t have to be like this.

Queer people can have children through artificial insemination. And artificial insemination is conceivable with Paradis’ current level of technological development.

Isayama is choosing to do this because queer people are not a part of his vision of a world where people, especially children, are able to live free.

That’s very sad, because it shows how empty SNK’s morals are.

So who’s the slave here?

Who here is truly free?

The ones who are free are the ones who aren’t reading Attack on Titan anymore.

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #snk 134 #snk chapter 134 #spoilers

[thekingofwinterblog]

What was the original ending of attack on titan?

So, there has been a lot of talk about wheter the mess we got in AOT 139 was the original ending.

For one thing, we know at least one part of the story did change, as the orignal final page was reduced to a quick sidepanel you might easily miss.

and instead we got this as the final chapter.

Working from the assumption that the ending WAS fully changed from whatever he had planned, lets ask the question. What WAS the original ending for Attack on Titan.

And to that, im gonna turn to the story that the ending was Supposedly gonna take inspiration from.

That being, The Mist, a movie based on a story from Stephen King.

Now, spoilers for The Mist movie below.

The movie’s premise is that one day, suddenly and out of nowhere, a thick, heavy fog rolls into the east coast of america. No one knows where it came from, and we arent given clear answers about its origins. The mist is clearly supernatural in nature though, as monsters stalk through it, causing quite a bit of death and suffering for the main cast.

The entire movie is just about dealing with the aftermath of the mists appearance, as a family struggles to survive, and plenty of people just fucking lose it in the mists.

Lots of stuff happens, lots of deaths, but in the end, the family is driving in a car, until they have no gas left. they hear rather disturbing noises in the distance.

Now the family isnt completely defenceless. they have a gun. with 4 bullets.

Now, with everything that they have learned across the movie, its pretty clear that this is not going to be enough. they ARE going to be killed by these monsters.

So, rather than being painfully torn to shreds by the demonic invaders, the adults make a decision. They have a gun. they have the option of dying quickly instead. only one problem.

The gun only has 4 bullets, and there are 5 of them. meaning someone is going to have to do the deed, and then have to face the monsters alone.

in the end, the father does the deed.

He kills his wife, his son, and two others.

Not surprisingly, he does not react well at the aftermath.

He screams, cries, and jumps out of the car, tries to futilely kill himself in his grief with the now empty gun. slams his hands down on the car, stared hatefully, suicidally off in the distance, and yells “COME ON!” clearly, desperately wanting an end to this as quickly as possible.

However, he is not met by a monster. instead, reality ensues. The sight that greets him is a tank from the american army.

He just stares at it in horror, and, as the mist begins to clear, the army is followed by a more army troops. convoys of rescued civilians. Because of course, the army would actually react to this stuff. monsters are being killed, civilians are being rescued.

And the protagonist finally realises the reality of what just happened. 

He slaughtered his family and killed two more, for absolutely nothing. the movie ends with the MC just having a complete breakdown as he’s approached by soldiers who have no idea about any of what just happened.

Now, this was apparently the kinda ending that attack on titans creator wanted to give the series.

There are two ways to look at this, and two potential endings you could reach. 

either Eren wins and finishes the rumbling, or The alliance wins, and the aftermath is predictable.

Now, i know that a lot of people think the Eren wins ending was originally the ending, but frankly, i dont think so.

I think the original ending was supposed to be the Alliance actually defeating Eren... Only for reality to ensue, and the survivors turning their guns at the now defenceless eldians and mowing them down.

Why do i think this? because this would line up really well with Eren mocking the very idea of humanity teaming up to fight a larger, common foe despite all their diferences early in the story, as well as adress the main reason why people hated the alliance. 

The Alliance... Had no plan. They had absolutely no plans for what to do after killing Eren. they didnt have any ideas for how to achieve peace with the world, how to defend paradis, or anything really. 

they chose to oppose and kill Eren Anyway, because as Henge says, Nothing justifies Genocide.

Having an ending where the guys they have been fighting and killing during the final conflict, that wanted to murder all of them, responding to their great heroic struggle to save the world, by gunning them down and killing them all, would have adressed their complete lack of a plan with the most brutal kind of consequenses.

They did the right thing, and they were NOT rewarded for it. Just like Eddard Stark was not rewarded for his mercy towards the Lannister Children.

It would also just have made so, so much more sense than the non ending to the conflict that we got, and been an incredibly bittersweet note, but withouth any real hope. Just like the Mist.

The alliance did it. they killed eren. they saved the world. they are the greatest heroes of all time. and all it cost was the life of them, and everyone they cared about, as wheter its shown in the final chapter or not, Paradis is going to wiped out as a result of their actions. but hey, at least they stuck to their guns all the way, just like eren did.

The final shot of the manga would have been an ironic flashback, as in the end, Eren’s idea that this conflict would have ended in genocide would have been vindicated, with the most important line of the manga closing out the depressing story of Attack on titan, while also acknowloging and hammering in the the tragedy of Eren’s life.

The boy who sought freedom more than anyone else, was never, ever free.

And it would have ended on a note very similar to The Mist.

A Tragedy where the characters stuck to their guns, and paid with everything for it.

#attack on titan #attack on titan ending #attack on titan 139 #original ending #everyone dies ending #alliance wins

[attack-on-neverland]

4. Ending the Cycle of Hatred

Eldians vs. Marleyans, Humans vs. Demons

Everything discussed so far has led back to the question “How do you stop the never ending cycle of hatred?” Both Attack on Titan and The Promised Neverland have explored the possibilities of negotiation, intimidation, violence, and full-on annihilation of those who get in the way. However, despite ending up in different paths, one hopeful message reigns clear.

The Alliance - a group made of Eldians, Marleyans, and those from other nations

In Attack on Titan, it was mentioned that conflict will always exist as long as a diverse set of people with different ideals exist in the world. Conflict is part of our world and it will never cease to exist. The only way around things to work through them, even if it is seemingly impossible. Even Eren knew that the Rumbling was an unnecessary act of violence, which was why he wanted to take the blame for himself. While it’s true that the attack on Paradis would have ensued immediately if Eren didn’t act quick enough, there were definitely other alternatives that didn’t involve purging the whole world. If the Survey Corps and the Marleyan captives were able to form some sort of truce with one another, why can’t it work with the whole world?

The conversation between Grisha Jaeger and Kruger

As Eren Kruger puts it “Love someone within the walls. Even someone on the street, it does not matter. Your wife Your child. If you can’t do it, we’re doomed to repeat it all again. The same history. The same mistakes.” This is one of the most beautiful quotes in the whole series because as cheesy as it sounds, it shows how unconditional love caan really change things around. Eren Kruger is a Marleyan (and is naturally discriminatory towards Eldians). However, he urges Grisha to love these ‘devils’ or else hate and history are bound to continue in a never-ending cycle. In the end, it does work out. He ends up loving his wife (Carla) and passes on the duty to his son (Eren). In fact, Grisha becomes one of the characters most loved by the others in the story as he took in Mikasa without hesitation, cured countless Eldians from their illnesses, and was a loyal ally to Keith Shadis. Going back to Kruger, what’s interesting is that it’s eventually revealed that Eren utilizes Paths in order to deliver that message to Grisha. Eren /did/ believe in the power of loving the other, but his desperation caused him to prioritize the lives of his friends instead.

Niccolo and Sasha

One example of the “Love someone within the walls” idea was the relationship of Niccolo and Sasha. As an avid food lover, Sasha immediately took a liking to Niccolo’s Marleyan cooking, and despite being deprived of seeing their relationship develop (in both the manga and anime), we do see glimpses of what had happened between the two. After Sasha’s death, Niccolo proclaims how Sasha had saved him from this “stupid, worthless war” and showed him that he could bring happiness through his food. Despite his prejudices towards the Eldians at first, it is evident that Niccolo changes over his time with the Scouts. Even after Sasha’s death, he keeps his ties with the other Scouts and even saves them from a potentially fatal event. He even invites Sasha’s family for a meal to honor their daughter. Here, it is evident that the cycle of hatred has been broken. However, we see the remnants of this cycle when we backtrack a little.

Gabi and Udo witnessing the death of Zofia who is crushed under the rubble

The one who killed Sasha was actually Gabi Braun, one of the younger Marleyan warrior candidates. After Eren’s destruction of the city and the Eldians coming to save him, Gabi is left in shock and distraught as she sees Edo and Zofia die before her very eyes. The young girl is suddenly exposed to the realities of war as innocent civilians are ruthlessly crushed, bombed, and murdered. If you think about it, this is actually Eldia’s counterattack for the hatred they’ve endured all these years and their seeming “banishment” from society. So this shows how the cycle continues. In the beginning, it was attacks towards other civilizations, then attacks towards Paradis, then counter attacks towards Marley, and now a little girl fighting back by killing one of Paradis’ elite soliders. The cycle was even supposed to continue right then and there if the senior Survey Corps members weren't there to stop them from killing Gabi. However, you do see how the cycle of hatred continues to manifest in Gabi as she continues to belittle Eldian civilians, calls them devils, and rejects any offer of kindness from them. This goes on and on until Gabi is saved by Sasha’s family. It was only when it dawned on her that she was saved despite killing their daughter that she realized that the Eldians are not devils, but people like her. From that moment forward, she began to cooperate with them and the vicious cycle stopped (for this group of people, at least). The selfless extension of generosity by the Braus family has touched Gabi’s heart as her hatefulness turned into understanding. AOT has shown that the cycle CAN be broken and that there was a possibility that Eren didn’t have to take those extreme measures to save the Eldians.

Sonju teaching the Gracefield kids the necessary skills they need for survival

In the Promised Neverland, the cycle of hatred for most of the Gracefield kids was broken early on due to the enthusiasm and empathy that Emma immediately extended to Sonju and Mujika. It was also relatively easier for them to break this hatred because it was the demons who rescued them out of their own volition. However, this cycle of hatred had continued to be perpetuated by the Lambda experiment kids for quite some time.

"Mass-produced" humans who never get to see the light of day

Those part of Lambda were subject to human experimentation and torture by the demons. However, it is interesting to note that while the demons are the ones acting out these abuses, they are really primarily working under the order of Peter Ratri, who is a human himself. Still, this caused Norman and the Lambda children to develop a deep-hatred for demons for treating them as mere cattle, and mercilessly torturing them to understand how to produce the best meat. Experiments of Lambda have experienced adverse side-effects which include uncontrollable headaches, coughing blood, development of disabilities, or bearing some strange human power. Apart from that, Norman saw how the “mass-produced” children were attached to tubes, had no names, and never even experienced consciousness. These cruelties caused him to hate the demons even more. While Emma was optimistic about using Mujika’s blood to stop demon regeneration (therefore ending the need to farm humans), Norman stays a realist and tells Emma that there is still no surefire way that demons will stop hunting humans until they are all exterminated. Norman reiterates demons have the utmost advantage physically as they are huge creatures that are agile and would beat humans in a race thousands of times over. Apart from that, they could also be outclassed intellectually because demons can keep eating and eating humans to boost their intelligence. As crossing to the human world was also deemed an impossible dream (at that time), Norman believed that the only way to end the cycle of hatred is to exterminate all the demons.

Eren distancing himself from his friends, Norman stylistically drawn as a child when he realizes that he was wrong to carry out the genocide attacks

Like Eren, Norman knew that this was not the right choice. This is why he also distanced himself from his friends and took up this heavy burden alone. However, he could not bear the thought of any human suffering again, and continued on with his attacks to regenerate the demon villages. In the midst of this chaos, Emma finds him and makes him realize that the demons are also capable of joy and sadness, have their own groups of children and elders, and like them were just thrown into a cruel world where the cycle of hate already exists. Emma also goes on and reassures Norman that they would be there every step of the way to help out with the reversal of the regeneration. Once again, it is Emma’s unconditional optimism and selflessness that gets to Norman and he agrees to stop the attacks in favor of finding an alternative. It can again be seen here how the cycle of hatred is broken with the one act of kindness enacted by Mujika and Sonju onto Emma, with Emma spreading this love to Norman. This is something they eventually pass down to all the humans and demons in the farms as well. This one act actually trickled down and became one of the reasons why they were able to overthrow the Ratri clan and forge a new promise that allowed both sides to live in peace.

[leistung]

FULL  NAME: armin arlert. MEANING: old German name taken from the latin arminus, meaning "hero" or a form of Herman, meaning "army man" other meanings include: "Universal, Whole" NICKNAME(S):  armie, hot flash. GENDER:   genderfluid trans male ETHNICITY:  eldian HEIGHT:  5'3 AGE:  22 ZODIAC:  scorpio

SPOKEN  LANGUAGES:  eldian, knows how to read the marleyan written variant. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: vibrant blonde hair, vibrant hazel eyes, some pretty expressive eyebrows tbh HAIR  COLOUR:  blonde/honeyed in the summer months EYE  COLOUR:  hazel SKIN  TONE:  general warm tones that remain no matter the season. doesn't really tan in the sun, mostly just burns before returning back. BODY  TYPE: at first, rather scrawny but after more time with the scouts armin develops toned muscle. nothing over the top, but there is definitely a very obvious visible difference. VOICE:  steady, usually a very calming voice. armin speaks fast when he gets heated/passionate/invested in a subject and his voice grows louder in such instances too. can switch to a pretty harsh and commanding, cold tone when needed. DOMINANT  HAND:  right POSTURE:  very good posture, not only from his time with the scouts but even before that. his grandfather always got on him about it and given armin's height, he's always kept it up as an attempt to appear taller where possible. SCARS:  armin's body was made up of a lot of scars from training in early life but even before that, he had a fair amount from the times he'd get picked on as kid. in particular was a scar by his left eyebrow-- this faded after inheriting his titan. armin also has top surgery scars though they are now significantly faded and by the end of series aren't visible at all. TATTOOS:  n/a until post-series when he gets an ocean wave tattoo much like this one as a nod to his and eren's friendship. the tattoo is located on his inner right arm. MOST  NOTICEABLE  FEATURE(S): tragically, his height, he knows this. but also his hair is a very distinct feature even after multiple different haircuts/styles.

CHILDHOOD PLACE  OF  BIRTH: shiganshina district within wall maria HOMETOWN:  shiganshina district MANNER  OF  BIRTH:  natural birth, one month before due date FIRST  WORDS:  papa SIBLINGS: n/a PARENTS:  nadina & cariel arlert. deceased. PARENT  INVOLVEMENT:  armin's parents were very loving and happy to have a child, but their love and wonder, their curiosity for the outside world meant their priorities were never entirely fixed with raising their child. even while his parents were still around, armin's grandfather put more time into raising him than they ever did. he loved his parents and grew up with the same wide eyed wonder about the outside world, but he also held a bitterness toward them, especially learning the truth of their deaths and that they left him behind without a second thought. armin's grandfather was always heavily involved with his upbringing and armin credits him for raising him with respect for others but a passion to get what he wants. his grandfather was always the one to help armin pick his name and was incredibly supportive of him living his truth.

ADULT LIFE OCCUPATION: 15th commander of the survey corps & then peace talks diplomat CURRENT RESIDENCE: post series there is a lot of moving about, never truly settling in those three years CLOSE  FRIENDS: eren jaeger & mikasa ackerman were always armin's closest and longest friends. RELATIONSHIP  STATUS: single FINANCIAL  STATUS:  grew up often dipping between rough stability and poor and struggling DRIVER’S  LICENSE:   yes, got it post series CRIMINAL  RECORD:  wiped clean, ish. however he commit obviously, a lot of war-related crimes, murder etc.

VICES: armin uses drugs like cannabis fairly often, sometimes smokes, drinks a bit but it's all mostly done in privacy. SEX / ROMANCE:  armin craves intimacy with others through both romantic actions and through sexual. he's obviously grown up surrounded by war and it's never exactly been a high priority thing, but it is something he craves intensely. he's a kind romancer, putting thought into any acts to ensure things are always deeply personal and meaningful. SEXUAL  ORIENTATION:  bisexual ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION: biromantic // as an addition to these, armin is also polyam PREFERRED  EMOTIONAL  ROLE:  tends to lean to more 'dominant' in a way, particularly in later life, taking on a more care giving, listening kind of role. he likes to be emotionally supportive to his partner(s) and be their strength, even if he has a habit of ignoring his own needs in the process. PREFERRED  SEXUAL  ROLE:  and here it's much the same, armin tends to lean more heavily towards a dominant role. for much of his life, he felt out of control. even when in positions of power, there was a distinct feeling that the world around him was always one step away from crumbling. this has always been a very clear and easy way to feel in control. armin is very confident in it too, but he is never overly harsh, not unless it is an agreed upon thing with partner(s). he struggles to actually let go of this, the same as with the emotional role, but with the right person he'd be open to attempting letting those walls etc down. but generally, he likes and feels most comfortable here, like this. LOVE  LANGUAGE:  acts of service & physical touch are armin's key love languages. armin is an affectionate and considerate person. he pays attention to people, remembers a lot of small details about a person and uses those to express his feelings. physical touch is a heavy one though for him and it's deployed a lot. the acts of service tend to tie in with his dominant tendencies and will often have an overlap with that. LIBIDO: fairly high, but he's spent a lot of time pushing it down through life due to the whole a lot of other shit going on. but generally, he likes to have sex regularly especially since he has such intense attachments to the feelings related to it: the control, the connection with another person etc. RELATIONSHIP  TENDENCIES:  when armin is in a relationship, he is deeply committed. he will pour his soul into it, give everything to ensure it works and all parties are happy and cherished. he doesn't do anything by halves. while he can sometimes be distant just simply due to the fact he overworks himself, armin will still always try to be attentive and he's very good at communicating and likes to make sure everyone involved feels heard and seen.

MISC THEME  SONG:  the world is ugly by my chemical romance HOBBIES  TO  PASS  TIME:  reading is armin's main outlet, but he also enjoys painting MENTAL  ILLNESSES: armin has depression, ptsd & generalised anxiety disorder. PHYSICAL  ILLNESSES.  n/a, but does often experience chronic phantom pain. LEFT  OR  RIGHT  BRAINED:   more left brained PHOBIAS:  n/a, but can often be uncomfortable in prolonged silences so always tends to need some kind of background noise. SELF  CONFIDENCE  LEVEL:  armin struggled deeply with his confidence growing up and it had a direct impact on his performance in certain areas. years of bullying and of comparing himself to others meant that armin didn't always believe in his own potential. however, with more time and after having people actually listen to him and allow him the chance to speak and be heard, it began to grow. it was like a fire growing till eventually, it was unstoppable. armin knows his areas of strength and he has full confidence in it, rightfully so.

TAGGED BY:  @decimater TAGGING: 

#𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑡. / 𝘩𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑠𝘩.┆aa hc. #y aaasss #i love my boy sm ughh

[dorovahkiin]

SnK Theory (MANGA SPOILERS): Why I believe Historia’s pregnancy is fake.

Some time ago, I read this theory on Reddit that Historia’s pregnancy is fake. I thought it was an interesting idea, but the user didn’t elaborate that much, so I perceived it lacked evidence. However, I kept the idea in mind. Over the next chapters (and especially since the newest chapters so SPOILER ALERT) we actually did get subtle evidence that Historia’s pregnancy could be fake. At least that’s what I believe. Since I haven’t seen any decent explanation of the theory on the internet, I decided to do it myself. It will be very long, so grab a cup of tea Levi has just prepared for you and enjoy :)

© to the artist. I haven’t found an artist anywhere, so if this is your pic and you want it to be removed or given credit please tell me

And again, this will contain manga SPOILERS up to chapter 125.

You have been warned.

Before we actually start with the theory, we first need to summarize Zeke’s “secret plan” again. Just as reminder. Zeke’s secret plan was the following:

Rumble the world as deterrent in order to protect Paradis for the next 50 years

Raise the military strength to a global level in this time until rumbling is no longer needed

Chapter 107

…And finally….

In order to maintain the rumbling a founding Titan and a Titan with royal blood is always required. Since titan shifters die after 13 years, you'll need several candidates of royal blood. Passing the titan-power down from generation to generation. Since there are only two persons of royal blood left alive (as far as we know), who are Zeke and Historia, they'd need to reproduce in order to make the plan happen.

Chapter 107

Chapter 107

…When reading this the first time, I already thought that something was wrong…

This plan is way too risky, has too many incalculable factors and too many holes. But that’s another topic. Anyways, in the latest chapters it turned out that Zeke was fooling everyone and hid his true intentions:

He wanted to use the founding titan in order to make contact with Ymir. Then he wanted to command her to take away the Eldian’s ability to reproduce. Just in a matter of decades, the Eldian race would extinct without any more casualties and the world would be at peace (until new conflicts arise e.g. nuclear weapons lol). I guess the reason for not telling the truth was because the Eldians would have never agreed to that. Maybe there were more reasons, but that’s what came into my mind.

Chapter 122

Anyways, Zeke did not tell his true intentions. He made up this fake plan to get to Paradis and to manipulate and deceive everyone so he could get in contact with the founding Titan (Eren) in order to make his true plan come to reality.

Back to chapter 107. When Hanji reacts to Zeke’s fake plan, she seems to be conflicted and not happy about it. She doesn’t like the imagination of enslaving Historia (or anyone) into a breeding machine because of her royal blood only to be eaten soon. Again and again.

(Side note: Why the fuck does Historia have to reproduce and not Zeke? Because Historia offered it first or what? In Zeke’s remaining year he is able to reproduce more than Historia in a lifetime. Histora can only bear once a year whereas Zeke could father hundreds of children a year. Why didn’t anyone consider this in the assembly?!)

…Hanji’s reaction to Zeke’s fake plan is the following:

“Will it really end in 50 years…?

No matter what else might be developed, the earth-shaking is an immensely powerful weapon…

If we must depend on it, the danger of assassination would follow these heirs to the royal family down through the generations…

From parent to child, just like the Reiss family…

Again…

…And again…

…Does that mean we should leave our children in a lose-lose situation?

Just because it saves us now…

Of course not. There’s no way this could be allowed. And yet.”

Chapter 107

I guess Hanji wanted to say something like: “And yet what other options do we have?” or something like that.

However, this tells us that Hanji has:

Doubts about Zeke’s plan (probably doesn’t trust him anyways)

Doesn’t like the idea of using anyone as breeding machine, feeding people to titans regularly and putting future generations in danger

But she also doesn’t know any alternative at this point. So what options does she have?

Either accept the plan or reject the plan. If she wants to keep the allies (and she has to keep them because otherwise they are screwed at that point), she has to agree to that plan. In other words she cannot openly reject it because otherwise they will lose the allies. She has to play along. On the other hand, she doesn’t like and trust the plan for the reasons above. Therefore both options are a choose between the devil and the deep blue sea and Hanji knows that. Especially because the allies want an answer immediately because Zeke doesn’t have much time left to live.

HOWEVER. There is a third option nobody mentions: Gaining more time in order to think about new ideas to solve this madness by BLUFFING. To be more clear: Historia has to pretend to be pregnant. Fake pregnancy.

By doing so you would not only save Histora from turning into a breeding machine, but the allies would also keep being allies and think everything is fine. At least for some time. And Hanji needs the time to come up with a better plan.

Maybe you remember, but Eren initially said that he doesn’t like Zeke’s plan and they should instead think of other options and Hanji kinda agreed as she later states “We haven’t found another way out yet”:

Chapter 107

(Sidenote: It’s interesting because what Eren says now is quite the opposite of what he said in those panel about NOT destroying the world. I guess he changes his mind? lol)

Furthermore a (fake) pregnancy would save Historia from turning into a titan (at least for nine months, but that’s buying time again). If you remember right other people wanted Historia to eat Zeke once he’d come to Paradis. A (fake) pregnancy would hinder this because it’s too dangerous and there are too many unknown factors:

This is all from chapter 108

So now you might think: How is Historia able to fake pregnancy?

…Well that’s actually not as hard as you think if you plan it thoroughly:

Pregnancy suit. You don’t need ultra technology to tailor one.

Hanji is not only a skilled scientist, but also clever as fuck, in fact the most intelligent character in the series with Zeke. If you look at her statistics you’ll see that her Wits scores 10/10 and her Intelligence scores 11(!)/10.

I got this from Hanji’s Wiki article. You can also check the guidebook if you have it

…If anyone is able to fake Historia’s pregnancy it’s Hanji. In the past we’ve seen how many times her intelligence saved the Survey Corps’ and humanity’s ass. She’s not the new Survey Corps’ commander for nothing. She has bluffed and gambled a lot of times. Faking this pregnancy suits her past tactics.

Furthermore, in my opinion Hanji acted way too average so far. She didn’t really have any moments to shine and to prove how smart she truly is. Because there is more behind what we have seen so far.

To make fake pregnancy successful, you'll need friends who help you. People you can trust obviously. Because otherwise it won't be easy to keep the farce for a long time. So who could be those people? I think next to Historia and Hanji there are at least three more people who are in on the secret. But before we'll take a look at those three persons in detail, we'll shift our look to the “at least” part:

Historia is a popular Queen and loved by the civilians. She saved Paradis from the Rod Reiss titan and she is of royal blood. There are probably a few of those civilians Historia trusts. For example a maid, a tailor, a doctor or a farmer. This would be helpful to fake the pregnancy.

(Sidenote: I don’t believe that Yelena would be THAT strict and want to see Historia’s naked belly. As proof. Not only because it’s disrespectful, but also because there’s no reason. Yelena wants Zeke to live as long as possible, so the pregnancy suits her plans well. And even if it’s fake it wouldn’t make a difference because a fake pregnancy would still mean that Zeke would live longer. So I guess she doesn’t really care because either option doesn’t destroy her goals. Furthermore, wanting to see Historia’s belly would imply Yelena doesn’t respect and trust her allies and that would deceive her appearances.)

I wondered if anyone of the 104th training corps would know about the fake pregnancy since they are close to Hanji and Historia, but I think they rather don’t (except for one person I will mention later). I mean it would not surprise me if they knew, but there is simply no reason for them to know because there is no advantage to it. And the more confidants you have the harder it is to keep a secret an actual secret.

Now, let’s move on to the three persons I believe are not only confidants, but also took a big part in plotting this farce:

Farmer-kun

Eren Jäger

Levi Ackermann

Let me explain.

1. Farmer-kun

So, the official version is that Farmer-kun is the father of Historia’s baby and her partner. When Nile and the MP dudes talk about it, they seem to assume that Farmer-kun and Historia are a romantic couple that didn’t get married for some reasons (this is already suspicious).

This is both from chapter 108

A lot of fans already do agree that Farmer-kun is not the father. It’s mainly the EreHisu shippers, but they do have a point here. Why would Historia choose this random guy as her partner and as the father of her child? It just seems too suspicious and too random for us readers, different from what we are used to regarding Isayama’s writing. We have to look at the big picture: What is Historia’s purpose in the story? Giving birth to a child she had with a random nobody no one cares about and keep being used as a political tool until the end?

That would be disappointing, especially because she had awesome development in the past (for example in the uprising arc).

I believe Isayama wants to fool us here.

Furthermore, it seems like Historia doesn’t even like this guy. Notice her face when she is around him. That’s not how you look at someone you love. She looks depressed and annoyed (I guess because she feels like a slave):

Chapter 108 and 107

I find this is veeery fishy. Let me present you an alternative that matches with the fake pregnancy theory. Look what Nile says in the picture above:

“He’s (Farmer-kun) been checked out. We know he’s no one’s pawn". Whereas Farmer-kun seems to be suspicious for us readers, he is not suspicious for the citizens or military. A random nobody without any reputation, influence or money. No one cares about him, no one knows him. Since he is a simple farmer and not a nobleman or military guy, he is neutral and not indebted to any important institution (“He is no one’s pawn”). There is nothing he can offer Historia (other than love), therefore no higher institution can manipulate Historia through him. I believe that is what Nile meant when he said “He is no one’s pawn”. This being said, for them Farmer-kun is not suspicious or dangerous at all. This would also mean they wouldn’t observe him that thoroughly as if he were a man of higher status. They probably rather believe she chose him because of love which they find naive, but accept it.

Because of those reasons, Farmer-kun is the perfect candidate as cover-up fake father for a fake pregnancy. I believe he is an active part of the conspiracy.

Why helping her?

It is stated above that he used to throw rocks at her when they were children. And now he feels guilty about it, thus he works at her orphanage. Maybe he even has a crush on her. And she saved him and everyone else from that Rod Reiss titan and became his Queen. In this case it makes sense why he would help. He is indebted to Historia and that’s why she can trust him that he will play along.

Chapter 107

…I believe that his statement: “You need to take better care of yourself” is just another phrase that is supposed to fool us. At first sight you might think okay, he says this because she is pregnant and he wants her to take care of herself and the baby. But I think at this moment, the phrase doesn’t make any sense if you understand it that way. It would make sense if Historia just did something dangerous that could harm the baby and herself, for example drinking or doing heavy physical work. But she is just sitting outside literally doing nothing. It’s not harmful at all. So why would he say this in a moment like that? Out of nowhere?!

Consider another point of view: She is sitting outside. People can spot and observe her easily. If she doesn’t pay attention for a moment, she could do something stupid that reveals that her pregnancy is fake and if anyone is watching she has a problem. So I believe by that phrase Farmer-kun meant that she shouldn’t do anything suspicious and therefore take care.

That’s also why he wants her to come in. Because then nobody could observe and approach her easily.

…Now, let’s move on to the next person I believe is a confidant:

2) Eren Jäger

I already inclined Eren as confidant before, but let’s go more into detail.

The first argument why Eren is a confidant is an easy one: He knows the future through the power of the attack titan, therefore it’s inevitable that he might know anyways. We learned this in chapter 121 (that was a real wtf moment for me by the way):

Chapter 121

Now the question is: If he knew about a fake pregnancy anyways, why would he play along with it?

Eren might be a bit crazy right now and the fandom is arguing about his actions at the moment, but it’s fact that he cares for Historia. In chapter 106 Eren revealed that he can control Titans by touching a Titan with royal blood, which he experienced by touching Dina Fritz. When Levi asked why Eren hid this important fact, Eren replied that he did it because he wanted to protect Historia. His theory was only an assumption anyways. Eren hates the thought of Historia becoming a titan. And I strongly believe he would also hate it if she is being used as breeding machine (just like Hanji’s opinion). That would enslave her. And there is nothing Eren hates more than being enslaved.

Chapter 106

Furthermore, since we now know Eren’s true intentions (revealed in chapter 123), it should be clear that Eren wasn’t planning on playing along with Zeke’s plan anyways. Neither Zeke’s fake plan, nor Zeke’s real plan.

Chapter 123

Eren’s true intention is it to destroy the outside world in order to protect his people and his home. We’ll not discuss about this intention itself, that would be another subject.

Since chapter 125 we know that Eren’s true plan was not spontaneous, but long planned out. Floch confirms that and even reveals Eren told him about his true plan 10 months(!) ago.

Chapter 125

Because Eren was never willing to conduct any of Zeke’s plans anyways, he knew it would also be useless to force Historia into pregnancy. For is own objection Historia being pregnant wouldn’t do anything (Imo the Ymir reincarnation theory doesn't make sense). A fake pregnancy would be much more convenient:

By this the allies would be content but deceived and Historia is protected. Again a reminder: I believe Eren truly cares for Historia. Not in a romantic way (though this is up to interpretation), but as a friend.

Anyways. In order to make Eren’s true plan happening, Eren had to fool both Zeke and his friends. He couldn’t reveal his true intentions. Both Zeke and Eren’s friends wouldn’t second this plan for obvious reasons. Since he told Floch (and maybe some other Jägerists?) though, Floch also could have known about the fake pregnancy and supported it to deceive the allies. So in order to get Ymir’s power to destroy the world Eren had to betray everyone (besides fucking Floch). This having in mind is important for my next point.

Look at this scene (I cut it down to the most important bits):

This is all from chapter 107

…This happens after the rumbling in Marley and Hanji is disappointed by Eren, who acted on his own. Again, Eren did this in order to fulfill his own secret intention he told no one about for the reasons I stated above.

(Sidenote: The last picture his interesting. You see Eren’s desperation. I think he wanted to avoid his final objective, but didn’t see any other way at this point anymore. He is very conflicted and shows that to Hanji. Since Hanji doesn’t understand him and doesn’t trust him any longer, she thinks he is a bit crazy in my opinion.)

As Hanji points out, through his rushed actions Eren put both Paradis and Historia in trouble. Why? I believe we don’t have proper explanation, so this is my own interpretation: The Survey Corps’ main point of attacking Liberio was - next to taking Eren and Zeke with them - to destroy Marley’s naval fleet since Marley kept sending military ships to Paradis. Eren however took it too far. He not only wanted to get the Warhammer Titan in addition, but he also wanted to demonstrate strength to deliver the message: “See what happens if you mess up with me, so fuck you and beware”. He started his attack at the peak of Willy’s speech, so choosing this exact instant of time which would create the most drama confirms that the demonstration/propaganda of power was a crucial part of Eren’s intention. By this he killed a lot of civilians. People like Floch don’t care about this, but people like Hanji, Levi or Jean were clearly against it, which would also mean they didn’t like the idea of rumbling the shit out of the world in the first place just like Zeke’s fake plan suggested.

Furthermore, through Eren’s brutal strategy, the world had now another huge and illustrated reason to be afraid of the Eldians of Paradis. Important people of the whole world were present after all. This fear leads to hate, and this hate leads to the decision to fight against Paradis more than ever in order to get rid of the threat. So in short words, even if a country was still conflicted about Paradis, Eren’s action helped them to decide to fight Paradis as they witnessed Eren’s brutality at first hand. But the consequence of this is that not only Marley but also the rest of the world would take actions against Paradis earlier than initially planned. That’s why it stole Paradis precious time to think of other ways. Ways to not only end the whole conflict, but also to protect Historia from Zeke’s shitty secret fake plan. The fake pregnancy is only a temporary solution you cannot maintain forever after all. This scene shows that they haven’t found another solution yet (besides Eren and his genocide plan lol), and you can feel the pressure and the desperation.

Hanji reproaching: “I always knew that you wouldn’t sacrifice Historia” and “Do you not care about what happens to Historia now?” shows us that:

Hanji cares about Historia and wants to protect her

Eren cares about Historia (or at least he did in the past, but I believe he still does. He also evades Hanji’s question which confirms that thought)

Eren and Hanji must have discussed about Historia’s fate in the past. I believe they came up with the idea of faking the pregnancy as temporary solution to protect her, but since time is running out now they have a problem and haven’t come up with another way to protect Historia in the long term yet (at least Hanji doesn’t). This scene illustrates that conflict pretty well.

Before we’ll finally move on to the third confidant, let me just shortly summarize why I believe Eren is not the father if the pregnancy were real. I know a lot of fans believe in that theory. It is actually not THAT far-fetched, but it has too many holes. These are the most important holes in my opinion:

Eren has only a few more years left to live. Historia can only bear a child once a year and according to Zeke’s plan she has to bear as many children as possible. Why choosing a titan shifter as dad who dies soon? That means Historia needed another partner for making children with once Eren died in the near future. I don’t see the advantage for having several men as dads. It’s rather annoying, especially for Historia.

When Historia is “pregnant”, Eren is already in Marley. When was he supposed to impregnate her? How when he was in Marley? Did he swim back to Paradis only to father a child or what?! Check chapter 123 again. Some people believe that he could have done it before he went to Marley in the first place, but I do not believe this because in 123 Eren didn't seem to care about Hisu romance at all

Eren was the first person who wanted to protect Historia from becoming a titan and a breeding machine. Furthermore, he doesn’t want to follow Zeke’s plan anyways. Then why should he be the first idiot who wanted to impregnate her? He is not the type of man who wants to have an excuse to hit. That’s not what Eren is like.

And that is my personal interpretation: In my opinion Eren and Historia never showed any romantic feelings/interactions towards each other. People can have a strong emotional bond without wanting to bang each other! We did have evidence they care for each other, but there was not one singe romantic evidence. And if it happened off screen then it would be really meh imo. When it comes to the final panel I think the man is Grisha. Furthermore, Eren has other problems to deal with right now. Starting a relationship and becoming a dad wouldn’t be a good timing at all. I think that’s why he doesn’t have the desire for it at the moment either. But again, this is only my own interpretation.

People think Eren is the father because they reckon he is the hooded figure in that one scene. There is a good chance the hooded figure is Eren, but there are more candidates imo (and why would that be a proof of him being the father anyways?!)

Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about this important scene.

It will be discussed very soon.

…This chapter is done. Let’s move on to the third confidant:

3) Levi Ackermann

According to my theory, Hanji is the main actor and plotter. Nothing against Historia, but I believe Historia is not smart enough to fake pregnancy all by herself (she is a great actress though).

Anyway, what does Levi have to do with all of this? Well, A LOT.

Levi and Hanji are very close comrades. They are not only great friends, but have proven to be a perfect team in the past when it came to plotting (for example in the uprising arc). They rant at each other all the time, but when it comes to serious matters, they always act in concert. They know each other horrifyingly well and trust each other. I mean look, they are even able to read each other’s mind :D

Chapter 106

This is one reason why I believe Levi took part in that. Hanji wouldn’t have done this without at least talking to Levi about it. But that’s not enough evidence. Levi is not Hanji’s puppy, but a human being with his own opinions. So let’s go deeper…

We already talked about the flashback in chapter 106 where Eren reveals that he can control Titans by touching a Titan with royal blood, which he experienced by touching Dina Fritz. We already discussed Eren’s role in this.

Now, let’s focus on Levi in this scene of chapter 106:

Chapter 106

…Levi is pissed that Eren withheld this important information. When Eren reveals his reason Levi simply replies: “We’ll talk about THAT later”.

This happened before the time skip, but we NEVER saw this “We’ll talk about THAT later” conversation between Levi and Eren. Did Isayama not include that scene because he thought it was irrelevant?

Absolutely not. We were just not supposed to know yet. Also, in my opinion Levi and Eren had very little screen-time together since chapter 91. Suspiciously little. I believe we’ll see those scenes soon though. Again, we were just not supposed to see these yet.

Now the question is, would Levi agree to the plan of faking Historia’s pregnancy?

We don’t have proof yet and this is only my own interpretation, but I believe yes, absolutely:

If you really know Levi, you also know that deep inside he is not that bitchy cold ass he seems to be on the outside. He is a selfless person with a big heart who hates casualties. He is a man who deeply cares for individuals.

His relationship with Historia might be a bit strained due to past incidents, but I still believe that he truly cares for her (not shipping here, just to be clear !!!).

Remember when Historia established the orphanage? Levi was helping her a lot with it:

Chapter 70

…I believe he wants to avoid that Historia becomes a breeding machine or turn into a titan. Because he cares for her personally.

HOWEVER… Levi’s biggest goal is it to save humanity and he puts that goal above individual sacrifices. He hates it like nobody else, but that is still what he thinks is the right way. For example when he asked Historia to become Queen. He thought it was the right way, even if he treated her very harshly. For the sake of humanity. Because he didn’t see any other way and because it was Erwin’s idea in the first place. And Levi trusts Erwin. So I believe even if Levi would hate it and even if he cares for Historia, he would still be agreeing to the plan of her turning into a titan and becoming a breeding machine. BUT ONLY if he absolutely didn’t see any other way and if Historia did it by free will. And that’s the point. Faking the pregnancy is a temporary solution and a gamble that gives some time to think about new ways. And gambling is the Survey Corps’ way.

…But the even bigger point is that this is Zeke’s plan we’re talking about in the first place…

We have seen Hanji’s reaction to Zeke’s “secret plan” and her being conflicted about it, but we haven’t seen Levi’s thoughts. Even if he is not as smart as Hanji, I’m sure even he was conflicted about the plan and saw the holes. Furthermore, Levi HATES Zeke. He wants to kill him. Zeke is the last person Levi would trust. I mean if this “secret plan” were Erwin’s idea, things would have been different.

But it’s fucking Zeke Jäger.

I’m sure Hanji talked to Levi about her concerns. So even if Levi didn’t have any doubts in the first place (I believe he did though), Hanji would have told him. And Levi trusts Hanji. As I said before, they are a dream-team. That’s why I believe he agreed to that farce. Also as far as I remember, we didn’t have many (or even any?) scenes with Levi and Hanji discussing anything alone since chapter 91. This is suspicious in my opinion. Moreover, there is a reason why Isayama removed Hanji and Levi from the plot since chapter 115. I don’t believe they are dead by the way. At the moment we are just hoping for them to be alive, but we totally forget that they could have been involved in some big act. Our worries for them distract this important fact.

(125 UPDATE: My babies are alive I’m so fucking happy!)

Onto the next point. There is a good chance the hooded figure is Eren, but I believe the hooded figure is either Hanji Levi, though I tend more to Levi.

Let’s have a look:

Chapter 108

…Most people say this is Eren because of the jacket, but it’s not the same jacket. Eren’s jacket is way darker and fully inked, this is not. (Check it yourself by looking at the one Eren pic above). Actually, the jacket doesn’t say anything. If the person is hooded, he or she doesn’t want to be identified that easily. Furthermore, it is obvious that this person plays an important role and that Isayama is hiding something from us. The jacket itself is not important though. It’s just a random and ordinary jacket you can get anywhere in order to hide your identity. Of course the person wouldn’t appear in the clothes we know him or her. That would spoil everything for us. Moreover look, a lot of people have a jacket that looks similar, not only Eren does:

Chapter 53

…So the jacket itself doesn’t reveal anything…

Then who is the hooded figure? Now since I believe Levi is plotting with Hanji they were the ones who advised Historia and one of them is the hooded figure. If it were Eren, why would he visit Hisu being hooded since he visited her in his casual clothes many times before? We know they regularly meet and touch to trigger memories as Jean confirms it in chapter 70:

Chapter 70

 Levi and Hanji however are high ranked individuals who are not that close to Hisu, so it makes more sense to hide their identity. Nobody is suspicous when Eren visits Hisu since they are friends, Hanji and Levi on the other side...

I tend to think the hooded figure is Levi because the person looks small and second…

…Notice the hands. They’re inside the pockets. Levi is a person who puts his hands inside his pockets A LOT. More than any other character. Just observe a few pictures of him and you’ll see. If you’re too lazy to research yourself, I provided a few examples for you:

…There you have it…

I wouldn’t be surprised if Isayama put this little hint in here, since he always likes to put little hints every now and then.

The MPs and some others believe it’s Yelena, but I think that’s not true. If it were her, Isayama wouldn’t have presented us the right answer right away. And she is too tall. So nahh.

Chapter 108

Remember what the MPs said about the hooded figure:

“Someone must have informed the Queen. They told her the corps wanted to feed Zeke to her as soon as they could. But if she got pregnant, she wouldn’t have to become a titan until after she gave birth. Someone gave her that advice”

This implies that the hooded figure knew what the corps wanted early on and Levi is one of them, so he knew. But I believe just as Hanji and Eren he secretly didn’t agree forcing Historia to eat Zeke straight away (instead faking pregnancy to buy more time to think of other solutions), because he cares for Historia and prefers to leave the choice to her. The next scene proves that:

Chapter 112

Since to Levi Zeke is more suspicious than ever in this situation, Levi decides that it’s inevitable to get rid of him and to feed him now. But instead of insisting Historia to eat him instantly, Levi suggests a Jägerist to take on the temporary role. Because he wants to protect Historia and doesn’t want to put her in danger if it’s avoidable.

Also, him saying: “Then, if Historia’s prepared like she says she is, we’ll feed the titan to her next” implies that he is not pushing Historia, but instead leaves the final choice to her. This also matches with the advice of the hooded figure to wait until “birth”.

Furthermore this explains Historia’s gloomy mood because she knows that a horrible fate awaits her (and she is ready to take it) if they can’t think of another option very soon.

I know Levi says: “Once she gives birth in a few months” implying she is actually pregnant, but of course he can’t tell them that it’s fake therefore he’s lying.

…So what do you do after nine months when you’re faking pregnancy, but there is no child? That’s not that hard. A miscarriage or a dead born baby happens occasionally. It wouldn’t be suspicious to state that as excuse when no child exists. If you do it in a clever way, it’s not a problem.

The real problem is what to do afterwards if you don’t have a new plan? I mean that’s the situation right now, they haven’t come up with anything yet…

But since we now know that Zeke’s secret plan was fake all the way, the whole thing doesn’t make any sense anymore anyways. Besides, Eren revealed his true intention in chapter 123, everything has changed since then.

It will influence a lot of story-lines. I cannot wait to read what happens next.

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS LOOOOOONG ANALYSYS! ♥

I am aware that I still might be wrong because I cannot read Isayama’s mind and there is a lot of my own interpretation, but with this theory I just want to provide a different idea :)

Have a nice day and never forget to SHINZOU WO SASAGEYO!!!!

#historia #hanji #eren #attack on titan #levi #aot #snk #historiareiss #erenyeager #krista #kristalenz #leviackermann #floch #Jean #floch forster #jeankirstein #farmer-kun #zeke #zekeyeager #shingeki no kyojin

[sparda3g]

Attack on Titan Chapter 125 Review

2019 was a stellar year for the fans, both anime and manga. 2020 will no doubt maintain the sheer quality and offer even more greatness. While the fans would have to wait for fall season for the anime, the manga hype is on full-speed. The last chapter of last year was filled with really good action, nostalgic sensation, and plenty of promising developments. The first chapter of this year was loaded with interesting and promising developments, and much like the last one, ended with a pleasing note.

We have seen the reactions from Survey Corps towards the massive development, no pun intended. Now, we are seeing reactions across the town. It was no doubt in my mind Isayama-sensei wouldn’t have everyone safe, so unfortunately, many were victimized to wall collapsing. Houses were destroyed, people are injured, and some lost their lives. Hitch and other soldiers help the citizens from the rubble. She really has grown from her layback day.

It’s ironic and expected that Eren summoned all Colossal Titans to protect Paradis Island, yet the civilians are ready to go Civil War among themselves. Some saw him as evil, yet some saw him as a messiah. One actually said their son’s life was sacrificed for the greater good. That’s plain messed up. What’s worse is the excuses they made to justify the losses, including saying people die when a wall collapses on them. In short, it happens. What a messed up world. Hitch and others have to gear up for anything. Before she get to it, she embarks a horror segment.

I do like the horror sensation of following a trail that would eventually lead to trouble. As you know already, Annie is freed, so this trail was left to lure a guard. Fortunately or not, Hitch took the bait, which led her to be reunited at last, though there’s a bit altercation. Hitch overpowered her due to Annie still recovering. She however has the upper hand with her blood pouring out, gambling on her chances to transform.

I like the tension between the two. It leaves Hitch in a troubling situation. Either call the guard or pretend nothing happen. It gives her time to show which side she’s on; the military or her old friend. She chose her old friend, helping her to return back home. She wouldn’t come out and say the actual reason for her decision, but that’s who she is. At least she doesn’t have to go to the basement anymore.

Interesting to note, Annie was awake while she was crystalized. This helps the pacing to recent update for Annie, instead of trying to recap everything, which would be a lot. It also helps the foundation of their friendship as one panel shows Hitch and Armin hanging out like old friends. That is honestly charming. The sad part is how Annie felt during the whole time. The best way to describe it is living in darkness, hearing and knowing everything without a reply. That is a scary thought; like being in a hospital for over a year before able to move, or in her case four years.

One of the highlights is the road trip with Annie and Hitch. It’s been since the spin-off with Annie that I last seen them bonding. Isayama-sensei knows how to give time to bonding moment and this is no exception. The sight exploring is quite devastating, witnessing a slow burn to the world ending. Imagine this scene being done in one take. Not only it builds up their friendship, but understand their character better.

Hitch has one question in mind ever since Annie was crystalized: how does it feel to murder dozens for their mission? It’s quite telling with one panel alone to understand her feelings towards it; banging and demanding for an answer. It’s not even like finding the treasure secret, but to her, it worth just as much. Annie was trained to sacrifice many for the sake of their cause; justifying the losses as necessary. It’s cold as it sounded, but it is worse when she didn’t care about anything.

The side story addressed Annie’s past before, but here, it’s officially addressed in the canon series. Granted, it’s always deemed as canon, but now, the mainstream audience knows. I don’t recall about the abandonment aspect though, so I believe that’s new. Even so, you can see where her character was formed. From abandonment to being raised as a warrior, the value of life was diminishing. Struck down her adopted father, she received an approval of her life being worth living, yet ironically, she no longer see any of it.

It was going to remain that prior to the mission until the moment where her father went on his knees and apologized. Everything he taught was deemed wrong, especially the value of a warrior. None of it mattered anymore. All he wished was for her to return home. That’s where she realized he’s her father, caring about her daughter. Whether you are about to be separated or grown attached to someone, it could be a moment where your true feelings come out, hence her father’s reaction. It was an eye opener; without it, she probably would have remained cold. It gave her a purpose; it gave her life.

The story was necessary as it goes back to the question about life. Annie’s view has changed from that moment; now, seeking a way to return home. It doesn’t excuse her action of taking lives and she knows it. Despite of it, if it leads her back to home, so be it. It’s a realistic dark take of do whatever means necessary. Call her evil or disgusting, I find it human in a lost cause. Good to know her family bond is intact, but how long can it last. An eerie thing to think about. It’s a nice yet bittersweet chat while journeying through rising hell.

The good news is, her father is currently alive; the bad news is, for how long. He and the Eldians rally up to protest against Marley guards that the Rumbling is happening, but none of them bought their story. It got to the point the guards decide to execute them for conspiracy. In that moment, he remembers his farewell to Annie, this time with an additional scene that makes it even more touching. It contains her reply to his pleading. Not only she answered with a yes, but her expression answered far more than she needed. It’s a face that reads, “Thank you for saving me.” It hits me.

He fights back the guard and it ends abruptly. However, it left with a gunshot. It transition nicely to the next scene with Shadis hearing it. Of course, it’s not the same one, but you get the storyboard. I do hope Annie reunite with her father, but I have a feeling Isayama-sensei would be cold enough to end tragically.

It looks like Shadis is setting up for his death alas raising his death flag. With the Yeagerists taking control, it’s only matter of time for him to be executed. Cadets want to protect him, but Shadis declines, insisting them to take order from them. But, when the time comes, they must rise up and fight. I like how he has been handled so far. He has been a good teacher, prioritized cadets’ future over everything. I for one hope he survives to the end.

The conversation between Armin and Mikasa is very shaky, in a good writing way. It’s bad enough that Eren separated himself from his best friends, but now things are getting worse for the two. Armin is nearly at the breaking point, where he couldn’t care anymore. He’s gearing up to go after Connie and take Falco back. That way, he can win Gabi and Marley’s trust. While that plan can result good outcome, the fact he has to destroy Connie’s dream is upsetting. Hell, he doesn’t hesitate to break it, which sets his priority that placed friendship aside.

It’s quite telling that Mikasa is the calmer of the two, when it’s usually vice versa. Her caring about other’s feelings over simply doing the mission speaks volume on her character development. Armin knows it would be awful for Connie, but at this point, they’re in need for a solution; whatever it takes. At best, just accept his mother as a titan. Mikasa still doesn’t know what to do. Armin gives her a job, but in a harsh manner. It’s true that she has to think for herself, but the tone, the expression, and the wording display frustration. It then heats up drastically.

It was clear that Armin tried to remain calm throughout, but once Eren’s name was dropped, he completely flipped out on Mikasa. I can understand the pain he’s going through. It doesn’t help the matter when there are crap load of problems going on, including Floch and his regime, Levi’s whereabouts, and so on. It’s incredibly stressful; I too would lose my mind.

I feel bad for him. You can tell the whole thing is eating him alive. The sequence breaks down his conflicting emotions; from anger to stressful to sadness. He practically says Eren is no longer their concern; implying that he no longer matters to them. That hurt. The friendship tried the hardest to remain intact, but we have reached to this point.

It also has reached to the point where Armin is certain they made a wrong choice on reviving him. I know the fan base has debated this for a very long time, especially with recent anime, but this doesn’t help the pro-correct decision side. I like how Isayama-sensei is playing off this notion, so he is fully aware of the ups and downs. Armin departs and Mikasa is left to go after Jean. Before doing so, she realizes her scarf is missing. Something tells me the little girl she saved took it. At least I don’t have to worry about the symbol of a death flag for now.

Another highlight to me is the departure scene with Gabi. She is going with Armin to retrieve Falco. Before that, she bid farewell to the Braus Family. Kaya calls her “Mia,” but Gabi tells her real name. I have to admit, I laughed hard when Kaya thought it was a bad name. It’s probably due to how unexpected it was during a sincere moment. Also, it’s needed to have the fans laughing for a moment. The mood is dreary enough; a laugh or two is blessing. They hug each other like a family; burying their hatchet. I really like this scene. What I don’t like is the following scene.

Recall the early gunshot that Shadis heard, it came from Floch, who shot down a Marley man’s hand to give an example to naysayers. He’s now in charge of the Yeagerists and that alone makes my blood boil. The last thing I need is him to be all high and mighty. If there’s one thing the new year needs, it’s him not needed.

He goes on with his speech that position him as the second-in-command alas Eren’s right hand man. I don’t know if he’s telling the truth about Eren telling him about the secret. It’s possible for trust value, but I doubt he care that much about Floch. Otherwise, talk about downhill. Yelena is now a shell of her former self. She clearly gave up; let Floch do all the lead and talking. I prefer her insanity over him; that’s saying too much. What’s also saying too much is how Floch practically gave the hostages no choice but to surrender and join their cult as Eldians. This is beyond repair. No worries; he tops himself soon after.

The man refuses to join and bad mouth at Floch. Who wouldn’t? That’s the cue for Floch to shoot him right through his head. For Shounen, it’s the most graphical display of a headshot that I have seen in a long time. Seriously, it’s more than simply bullet to the head; it’s quite gruesome. Floch has officially (if he hasn’t already) become completely insane. There’s no chance for redemption.

The most infuriating part is Floch speak lowly on Jean. He’s all about freedom and dream is coming true. That’s fine I suppose, but it got me cringing when he insults Jean big time. With peace coming true, Floch encourages Jean that he can go back to his old self; an annoying conceited bastard. He needs the absolute worst outcome out of all characters. The real question is, who would be the one to execute him. One thing is certain; whoever it is, that person will be the greatest character of all time.

Mikasa was there by the time he insulted Jean, witnessing the crazy commotion. What timing. Floch tells them Levi is no more, thanks to Zeke. Part of me want Levi to pull another Beast Titan massacre, only on Floch. This whole part evaluated my sadist side and hope for the best outcome; you know what I mean. If Isayama-sensei dare to make him the coolest guy ever after all this, it will be the worst year ever.

Cutaway to Connie’s whereabouts, Falco is awake and as expected, suffers amnesia. It’s sad to see Connie going to this route due to his desperation to save his mother. He goes far as lying to Falco about receiving medical treatment. This somewhat reeks a death flag for Connie, now that he’s close to save one family member. Otherwise, he will most likely become empty. The conflict between him and Armin is going to be gut-wrenching.

Interestingly enough, Falco has some recollection, mainly the event before the chaos ensued by Eren. Everything else is a blur. It’s worth noting that he does feel that he has met Connie before. Right now, he believes he’s a nice guy, not knowing his true agenda. Once it clicks, it will go downhill at an alarming rate. With Gabi and Armin on their way, I can’t help but feel chills thinking about it.

With so many build-ups and developments, the chapter comes to a close with Pieck and Magath. It’s pretty amazing that he has survived through this mayhem. Marleyians are heading back home to warn the nations about the Rumbling. Pieck feels the end is here, but Magath insist to die struggling rather than watch it burn. Amazingly, this makes them look like the good guys in writing perspective. If there’s one thing that this chapter has in common with the last one, it’s the return of a character, or rather two.

It’s been a while since we last saw Hange, but there she is, trying to make amend with the enemy. I didn’t expect this, but I definitely welcome it. She is not alone though. She brought a friend that is currently sleeping. It’s none other than Levi. It may not be Annie’s awakening shock, but it’s a huge sigh of relief to confirm his status as alive. Not well, but alive. If I recall correctly, supposedly they have the syringe. Will Levi be the victim? To who? Where’s Zeke? Surely, he’s around. There’s a lot of possibilities to think over.

There’s a lot to take in from this chapter, but overall, it was really interesting. There’s plenty of enticing build-ups to look forward to the end result. Annie and Hitch’s road trip was really good. Floch is insufferable; hopefully the payoff is masterclass. A swell moment between Gabi and Kaya. A shaky conversation with Armin and Mikasa; furthering away from their friendship. There’s a lot and Eren wasn’t featured. The new year has begun and the train ride to the end continues.

#attack on titan #chapter 125 #review #spoilers #shingeki no kyojin

[lady-bluebird-luv]

Figuring out how to handle SNK

The last few chapters of AoT have set off a lot of alarm bells, and I’m not really sure how to feel. There have been a lot of weird, uncomfortable revelations for a while now: Erwin has connections to Erwin Rommel, who is sometimes considered almost heroic for his involvement in Operation Valkyrie, and whose contributions to the Holocaust are sometimes debated, but who was nevertheless a major component to the Nazi war machine and not nearly as innocent as he’s sometimes made out to be (often by Nazi sympathizers and apologists). Isayama has also defended Japanese war crimes in Korea and glorified a sanitized Yoshifuru Akiyama with his portrayal of Pixis. I’ve stuck by the series for a long time - I wasn’t actually aware of the Akiyama/Pixis stuff and the Korea comments until recently, embarrassingly, and because I love the story and its characters, I was willing to give Isayama the benefit of the doubt. It’s pretty common to see a love of German language, culture, history, etc. in anime and manga (as weird and uncomfortable as I think that is), so the Rommel stuff seemed, several years ago, like a really misguided character design that was potentially a result of insensitive and uneducated, but not necessarily fascistic or antisemitic, fascination with the man. 

(Spoilers for recent chapters below)

In light of recent chapters, I’m a lot less willing to give Isayama the benefit of the doubt. Zeke’s comments about his and Eren’s goals set off all the alarm bells. Previously, we’ve seen Holocaust parallels in the treatment of Eldians in Marley, and the narrative that they are essentially the cause of the world’s suffering. My first thoughts reading Zeke revealing his ultimate goal was that he was essentially suggesting the final solution. 

Given that Isayama has courted fascism, and war crimes in the past, I think it’s pretty clear at this point that those sentiments have bled into his work. It’s incredibly alarming, makes me very uncomfortable, and brings up the question of whether SNK is a love letter to the Nazis - Which lots of people can and have argued, but which I’m not entirely convinced of. Isayama’s views have obviously influenced the series, and we see references to the Nazis and their allies frequently. Some of these references (again, Pixis) are glorifications that don’t reflect the very real, horrific things these figures did, and that’s unacceptable. But I’m not entirely convinced that the story is a validation of the Holocaust. 

Yes, there are pretty clear parallels between the Eldians and the Jewish people, as well as increasingly clear Holocaust parallels. Militarism, Oppression of people based on their ethnic group, war, and fascism feature heavily in AoT, especially in depictions of Marley and Marleyian characters. But a distinction that I think is important to make is that these themes are not glorified. Dominating rulers of the world’s various factions are corrupt, or liars, or ineffective, or some combination of the three. Time and time again, war and imperialism are shown to not be glorious and exciting, but rather a pointless, brutal exercise that leads to nothing but loss and enduring societal scars. Those who condemn Eldians, calling them devils and working towards the destruction of the Eldian people, are not heroes. Saying that Eren’s goals, or that Eren himself at this point, is “good” is a massive stretch - maybe because of the morals of readers, but also because I really don’t see his goals portrayed in a positive light. The Eldian people he wants to end are victims, and I don’t think the fiery narratives they’re bombarded with negate the fact that they are not, in actuality, demons - they live in a brainwashed society that hates them for crimes that aren’t their fault, forced to respond to people who want to destroy them. People have pointed to the designs of the titans as mimicking anti-semitic caricatures:

And yes, in this case the comparison is there, but this is the only titan that really supports this particular criticism of Isayama’s work. From what I saw when I googled “Attack on Titan titans”, the others don’t have similar features. Titans are also meant to look grotesque, often with features in strange proportions, so the features of this titan that people have zeroed in on doesn’t necessarily scream anti-semitism to me, even in the context of the series. It’s also important to note that, while the unsavory comments like the ones Isayama has made are often made in conjunction with those that are anti-semitic, he hasn’t (as far as I know) made openly anti-semitic remarks, and hasn’t responded to the recent concern over his series. 

I’m also very skeptical of the origin story of the titans that’s been used to point to Isayama’s anti-semitism. Time and time again, the history given to the characters has been falsified (e.g all the history fed to the islanders by the royal family), so I’m not inclined to believe an origin story that’s been used by the Marleyians to their political advantage, especially given the story’s almost mythic depiction. In SNK’s Holocaust parallels, if the Eldians are Jewish, then Marley is Nazi Germany, and it’s pretty clear to me that Marley, a fascistic state, is not and has never been the good guy. 

Maybe Isayama is writing an ode to the Axis powers and never meant for my takeaway from his work to be, “War is awful, and if you teach children to hate each other, you perpetuate a cycle of death, despair, and prejudice.” But that’s the takeaway I have. Considering the comments he’s made, those sentiments may have led to a deeply anti-semitic work, and it’s true that just because something isn’t blatantly anti-semitic doesn’t mean it isn’t supporting Nazis at all. Given my uncertainty, I don’t really know what to decide as to how (or if) I continue to support the series, but I just don’t see AoT as pro-Nazi. I also don’t see a lot of evidence for AoT being a reversal in which the people inside the walls are the “Aryans” and forces like Marley are the Jewish people/Africans oppressing them, which I known is a theory some people have proposed. 

I don’t deny the horrors of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, and I’m not defending Isayama’s comments, as much as some people reading this may decide otherwise. As much as I’m not entirely convinced AoT is meant to be Nazi propaganda, I don’t deny that Isayama has made some pretty fucked up decisions while writing his manga. It brings up the debate of whether or not people should support work they enjoy when the author has been established as an unpleasant person (i.e. Ender’s Game and Orson Scott Card), and whether art can be separated from the person that makes it. I don’t think Attack on Titan can be separated from influences on the author that clearly shine through, but I’m also not convinced that the manga is one big jerk-off session to fascist, anti-semitic regimes. I’m very hesitant to condemn it, especially considering that SNK isn’t over. Maybe, based on the way the story ends or developments in future updates, I’ll change my opinion. For now, I see the alarming elements there are in AoT as more of a jumble of Isayama’s beliefs than evidence of a concrete pro-Nazi narrative, as dangerous and vile as they are. 

Granted, I’m biased. I love AoT’s characters, and I have a lot of good memories of the story. It’s been a big part of my life for a long time, and I want to preserve it if I can do so with my conscience intact - I like to think that my love of fictional people doesn’t undermine my hatred of violent bigots. I don’t want to annihilate something that I see a good message in because of vile things the author says when it’s not entirely clear to what extend those sentiments shine through and what conclusion the story will ultimately make. If, as the story continues, something happens that makes its anti-semitism undeniable, I’ll condemn it in a heartbeat. But I’m not wholly convinced at this time, and I haven’t reached that breaking point. 

#attack on titan #antisemitism #nazis #snk spoilers #snk 114 #snk 116 #snk analysis #bluebird's snk meta

[kyojuuros]

Idk how to feel about AoT right now. I just read several posts about how the series condones imperialism and how it's blatantly antisemitic. I dont believe it's nazi propaganda like some claim it to be, but the undertones of eldians being persecuted under a clearly fascist regime (like the Jews in ww2) make me uncomfortable. AoT is definitely not what it used to be, and I'm afraid whatever message isayama is trying to convey is sullied by poor (and what seems to be controversial) storytelling...

I hesitate to answer this because I don’t want to open this can of worms again. But since you feel that you are struggling, I’ll bite. 

Here’s the thing. Most of the people who are making claims that SnK is nazi/imperialist propaganda are people who have not actually read the manga beyond the anime and/or only skim it enough to find the things that back up their claims because they’re petty and want others to hate SnK with them. 

Isayama takes inspiration from that era but that doesn’t mean he supports it and he’s definitely not the first mangaka, or person in general, who takes inspiration from that era to write a story. Does he have some fumbly story-telling issues? Probably a little. But ultimately he has never shown the oppression of Eldia to be okay. Quite recently he even stated that SnK is a story about liberation from oppression. 

The entire series paints war as the horrifying thing it is and Isayama has always shown realistic reactions to it, and very realistic portrayals of PTSD and so on. The undertones you speak of as they are represented via Marley’s (and the rest of the world’s) treatment of the Eldian people is never shown in a positive light. I do not believe that we are meant to empathize with the Marley military/government in any capacity. We are supposed to be horrified by the things that they do to Eldians and the way they treat them and talk to them. The story has always had us rooting for and understanding the Eldian people (Paradis and warriors both) whether it be when we only knew about their oppression via the titans, or now through their oppression from the entire world. 

The presumed endgame is for the Eldian people to achieve freedom again. Ideally, without turning around and becoming oppressors themselves.

On the flip side, the fanaticism from some of the Eldians has never been rewarded either. Grisha is the blatant example here that an imperialist mindset is also bad. He wanted to restore Eldia by oppressing his oppressors and the narrative punished him for it by taking away his family and essentially killing all of his compatriots. He lost everything. And now we have Floch falling into the same mindset and other characters (ie: Jean) are already visibly Yikes™ about it. Talk of “the rumbling” is also uncomfortable and I believe that we are supposed to feel that way. The story constantly has beat into our heads that the cycle of history has to end - somewhere the oppression from either side needs to stop. 

Basically... I just don’t see the “propaganda”. I think ultimately it’ll depend on Isayama’s ending and the message it brings but in my view, he’s been doing a good job and I have faith that the end will be satisfying and that our oppressed heroes will find a way to liberate their people, even if it’s only bittersweet in the end. At least, this is my hope. I will be really let down if the final message is a grim one. But anyway.

Taking inspiration from historical events or historical figures does not necessarily mean that one condones those people’s actions or the events that took place. It’s a very normal story-telling tactic. I don’t know why Isayama in particular has to get so much shit for doing the same thing that literally thousands of other content creators have done throughout history. 

All that being said anon, it’s up to you whether you want to keep reading it or not. If the narrative is starting to make you truly uncomfortable, then it’s okay to drop the series. But just keep all of the things I said in mind if you can. I think Isayama’s heart is in the right place in the way he’s telling his story. He started it when he was very young and some things are a little rough around the edges and his humor is really dry and tactless sometimes. But I think he’s doing his best to write something truly captivating and thought provoking and critical towards war and oppression.

This is the only ask I will answer about this topic right now. I think I’ve made my view on the discourse clear and I don’t wish to discuss it further.

#snk spoilers // #fan wank #kind of ?? #anon #reply

[snkpolls]

SnK Chapter 103 Poll Results

The chapter 103 poll closed with 2,013 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Another month, another chapter that left people feeling excited! 98% of poll takers rated chapter 103 from good to excellent!

I just cant wait for the next chapter. I'm so HYPED

I like that Isayama for the first time since rts showcased a fast-paced action-packed chapter. Too many questions rn, but imo zeke is 100% w/ paradis, falco won’t die and the female titan will appear, regardless of its inheritor. Eren’s transformation was jizz-worthy

This chapter was both so thrilling and yet so frustrating.  On one hand, so much is happening in just the right amount of panels and it seems Isayama has learned the art of pacing in this arc more successfully than others.  I'm a sucker for tragedy, so the conflicted misery of what is going on is satisfying given the history of the series.  On the other hand, I am still very frustrated in figuring out what exactly is going on, what is being implied, specifically anything involving Zeke

I don’t know what to say. I feel so empty. But the chapter is great!

This month it was a tie for most emotional moment between “Falco trying to encourage unconscious Reiner” and “Armin finally appearing, looking haunted”. We are happy to see that people who love both sides of the conflict were able to have a good emotional tug with this chapter! 

Pretty much every panel that included Falco.  This poor, traumatized child who ran into a literal war zone to get help.

Why are all my waifus getting killed.

With Reiner having no will to live, I guess he’s just going to stay in that crystal thing. Why do we have so many shifters in crystals now (Annie, Lady Tybur and now Reiner)?

I absolutely loved the scene between Falco and Reiner. That was one of the most emotional and sweet moments in SNK. Reiner was ready to sacrifice himself to save the child. I truly love how warm and protective he is towards children. I hope that both will survive. I want Reiner to find happiness and see how great person he really is. He made mistakes but regrets them. He learnt his lesson. Now is time to move on.

This one was a landslide win with Armin’s entrance taking the victory. It seems that months of waiting to see his return finally paid off! We’re sure many of you guys are hoping to see his Colossal form next month!

Eren transforming three times within a half an hour is incredible, but the most amazing part of the chapter was Armin's entrance as the colossal titan. The explosion looked catastrophic, can't wait to see it animated!

I literally screamed when I saw Armin, I’m so happy to see him with the Survey Corps, but his face worries me slightly. I’m also sad we didn’t get to see his titan form.

Not as epic as the last one but so glad to see Armin again. Sasha's sniping skills and Eren mindblowing everybody (Porco in particular) were the best parts.

While the majority of you guys are certain Zeke is only acting on his own agenda, there’s plenty of division on whether he could be siding with Eren alone or with Paradis as a whole. One thing that does seem certain to the majority is that he’s definitely not working in Marley’s favor. 

Zeke probably thinks he and Eren are the same because they were both manipulated by Grisha or so he thinks. If he realizes that Eren probably doesn't hate their dad, Zeke's attitude towards his brother will possibly change. 

Zeke's the one with most awareness that the cycle will repeat so long as shifters exist, his unique perspective is knowing what Grisha taught him as well as having the total trust of the Marley from a young age, and having physically gone and seen the island and witnessed their struggles with the titans, and met Eren who is the direct result of Grisha's continued plans.  There is no one who should be more impartial and aware that this is a unending cycle, it seems he's finally coming to terms with having to do something about it after all his life simply being a pawn of people in what he assumed was a more influential position than him.

Every chapter I say "This is definitely the chapter we finally see what Zeke is up to" and every chapter it just gets more confusing...

I seriously doubt that Zeke is working with Paradis. One thing would be to act like an enemy but he literally killed a bunch of SC soldiers, I doubt the SC would be ok with that. Also, Levi looked PISSED AF! I doubt Zeke died and he's still suspicious but I'm betting on him having his own ulterior motives.

I don't think Zeke is working with the SC. It was hard to answer these questions when the options contradict my feelings and understanding of the chapter so much.

So. Good ol' Zeke. He's like David S. Pumpkins; he's his own thing. I'm still of the belief that he's working towards his own objective but now I'm more open to the idea that he may have something set up with SC via Eren as his point of contact (who, of course, is definitely working with/for SC). But it's clear that even if they are both aware of the chain of events unfolding before their eyes, both sides have something they want badly in the end and will probably "betray" each other without hesitation to get it at some point.

The survey corps has a plan but Zeke and Eren also have a separate plan they're not aware of. And on top of all of that Zeke has his own plan for his own personal agenda.

Zekerets

The general consensus is that there’s more in store for Zeke in this story, even if it means he managed to transfer his consciousness to his Eldian ass. ;) Most of you are positive we will be seeing more from Zeke in future chapters!

If Zeke is dead, I will watch the live action movie 10 times in a row

Levi cut Zeke out of the Beast Titan's neck while everyone was distracted by Armin's transformation. Then after Zeke made his getaway, Levi blew the shit out of the rest of the nape to destroy the evidence and make everyone think Zeke was dead.

Zeke escaped upwards using 3dmg right as levi was supposed to attack him, causing zeke to be assumed KIA

Well, looks like Zeke has been vaporised, playtime's over kids, let's head back home now!

I find it hard to believe that Zeke got taken down this easily again. I also find it odd that we don't see the clothing he's wearing inside his titan, but we do see what the others are wearing in their titans. Looking back, it seems that's the way it was before, too. But I think it would be a cool plot twist if he had 3DMG equipped this time, considering he did take Mike's 3DMG a while back.

While the majority believe that Levi is working along with Zeke, there is division on whether Levi has decided to let go of his promise to Erwin to kill Zeke. Over half of the voters believe that Levi still intends to kill Zeke when all is said and done, but a good 31% of you believe that he may have decided to let it go for the greater goal.

If the Zeke-Survey Corps alliance isn't real then Isayama must be the biggest troll ever. Also, I believe Levi has always shown that he'll do what's best for humanity/Eldia (even if it means doing unpleasant things) so I don't think the alliance is as far-fetched as other people believe.

Still waiting for that sweet Levi's Revenge™

Levi!   I love how emotional Levi gets when it comes to keeping his promise to Erwin; nothing can get a rise out of him anymore or get him to max rage except Zeke.  I hope we find out sooner rather than later what Zeke is up to, but there is no way that Levi is going to let him walk out of this alive, even if he is part of the current plan.  

Regarding Levi wanting to Kill Zeke, while he'd prefer to kill him by his own hands we already know he'd be willing to feed him to someone so the Titan power isn't lost. I personally think Zeke agreed, since he has a a year left at best,

While there was a small shift in ratio, the majority of you guys still believe that Pieck is not totally trustful of Zeke. There have been plenty of analyses floating around believing that she may have seen Zeke leaving the Beast Titan after Levi’s attack. 

The question about Pieck being mistrustful of Zeke isn't worded very well because if I answer yes it makes it seem like I'm part of the 70% and haven't changed my mind when I'm in fact part of the 30% and haven't changed my mind.

This question was mainly for fun, but Lady Tybur decidedly wins the award for Best “Bitch Please” Face™. Hopefully we get more fun looks from her next chapter! 

Imma let you finish, but Lady Tybur has the best side eye in all of SnK

Ms. Tyber has the best death glare!

There’s some division on this question, but it’s a near-tie between Armin getting involved in the fight and the Paradis crew’s ticket out of Marley showing up. 

They'll drop sour cream bombs

At this point John Cena might as well show up.

Annie will arrive (let me dream)

I think time is running for them to scape "safely", but not necessarily through a zeppelin

I think what Jean & Zeke mean by "It's almost time/times running out" is that Eren needs to make contact with Zeke before the Colossal Wall Titans arrive so Eren will be able to control them. If Eren doesn't touch Zeke before the Wall Titans arrive, everyone including the SC & Eldians will die.

I believe that the question about the lights up are relationed with Hanji, after all, Armin is too distance. In fact, I think that the thoughts about an escape through a zepplin are a little bit awkward.  And I think that zeke escaped using the DMT, wich he took when he said goodbye to piecke and porko, before eren showed up.

Most of you still believe that Jean is clinging onto his humanity (and with good reason after he called Floch out in the previous chapter for being too zealous). The expectation is that he will avoid harming Falco or that someone else will step in and do the dirty work instead. 

I noticed that jean is only attacking the shifters on shiganshina battle arc. which can tell a lot about his war ethics and strategics. he’s only fighting those who declared war on them first, almost as if trying to ignore those who got caught up into it.

Jean will kill Falco. I think becasue it's a callback for that girl from MP that Jean couldn't kill from Uprising

Last month nearly all of the scores were tied with both pessimism and optimism about Annie’s fate. This month, there seems to be more optimism, but most people are still hanging out in the area of uncertainty. We hope to get a clear answer soon!

Since Eren said that the crystal was, as expected, unbreakable AFTER pointing out it was like Annie's, I take that to mean he has tried chewing Annie's crystal open but failed like he did this time. I'm not sure why so many people seem to be taking this to mean that he was able to eat Annie when the scene actually reassures me that he hasn't

I had absolutely no hope for Annie being alive, but seeing Lady Tybur being conscious while inside the crystal changed my mind. Annie could still be alive. And if she is, she spent YEARS in the crystal while being aware of her surroundings??? I am shook

It has already been hinted several times that Annie would eventually return. I don't think Isayama would forget about her, and if it appears to be true, that she's returning next chapter, I hope to see her work with the Survey Corps, or a backstory/flashback, which explains the reason why she'll be working with the Survey Corps from now on.

Almost 35% of you are ready to just see Lady Tybur kick the bucket already, but a good 28% of you would at least like to see her have a chat with Eren first.

why do so many people want lady tybur to die?? i don’t understand?? she’s cool and has done nothing wrong to anyone like ever??? she’s even called a villain?? excuse me tell me one villainous thing she did?? she’s a decent human being but i guess how dare she beat eren’s ass up and defend her people... 🤦🏻‍♀️

Eren needs to swallow her whole (insert lemmy face)

Over 60% of you believe that the Survey Corps’ goal is to kill the enemy titan shifters.

I strongly disagree with having only 2 options in the "capture or to kill them?" question. The real answer, is, I believe, either one. If they can deprive Marley of a weapon and add it to their strength, is clearly the ideal. But, if the choice comes down to kill or they escape, they'll absolutely just kill them. Depriving your enemy of a weapon is always a better choice than letting them continue attacking you with it, in the hopes you could take it later.

I still maintain that the goal was to avoid any and all combat with the shifters; hence Pieck and Porcos trap. (Why bother setting the whole thing up? Why not just kill them?) My guess is that capturing them for their titan powers was the next step, although that's obviously failed. I feel like the end game here is to gather all the titan somehow and unite them for...??? Something??? World peace??? Shit, that sounds like a good idea. Unrealistic but good.

It’s a near-tie between believing that either Zeke orchestrated capturing Porco and Pieck or believe that he did it as a larger plan with the Survey Corps.

Maybe Zeke wanted to isolate Pieck and Porco in the trap, to save their lives?

Most of you seem to have given up on figuring out Trapdoor-kun’s identity. But a fair chunk of you think it could have been a current day Eldian restorationist! There’s still a good amount of you who believe it’s Connie as well.

Hiroyuki Sawano

Erwin it was erwin. You thought he was dead? You fool he's not!  He's immortal,  he's still here and  with the strength of his eyebrows he will kick everyone's ass.

I really don't care at this point

One thing is certain, at least 65% of you guys believe that the Jaeger Brothers have the best Eldian asses! It seems nice booties run in the family! 

I can forgive people supporting  Marley, but WHO THE HELL VOTED ON ZEKE ASS?????

Everyone who chose zeke’s Titan as having the best ass is a furry goodbye

Levi is jealous of Zeke's Eldian ass.

porco got a nice ass uwu

That question.... I don't care about titan's butts -_-

I like Eldian asses

Predicting who Isayama kills off has always been difficult, but over half of you believe that Pieck is going to be toast in the next chapter, with Jean following in  second, Porco a distant third.

Gabi you better not be aiming that rifle at my husbando Jean also can everyone of Paradis and Eldia have a party at the newly created bay, I want the warriors AND the SC to live please and thank you

Pieck and Porco will likely die next chapter 😪

I swear to god Flocke if you lay even one finger on little Falco or Gabi I will personally hunt you down, you'll be lucky if I find you first though. Because other wise the Armored titan will kill you dead. You will then, rest in pieces.

Protect Jean and Falco 2k18

pieck cant die, nor can any 104th  members

At 57%, a majority are thirsty for answers on the Paradis Crew’s last 4 years. 

I need Paradis flashbacks but first I'd like to be sure no one major dies, thanks.

I stg we'll have that fucking Paradis flashback right before Levi's death. Fucking Isayama.

I really don’t want a crap ton of flashbacks I’m Ngl I just kinda wanna get moving I know the q and a said stuff but like that’s my thought at the moment.

I really hope the next chapters a flashback to paradis i mean it would be neat for the 104th chapter to be a flashback ABOUT THE 104TH

As expected of the redditors, you’re still the overwhelming majority of the poll takers! ;)

ANY OTHER CHAPTER THOUGHTS YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?

So chomping down on Lady Tybur's crystal won't break it and apparently neither will the thunder spears. We still haven't seen Eren try to use his hardening ability to break it but honestly, I think his only option now is to use the coordinate. It could be revealed soon that only the person inside the crystal can break themselves out and by using the coordinate, Eren can order her to do so. After all, we've seen Eren control mindless titans, but would unlocking the full powers of the founding titan allow him to control shifters as well?

Bertholdt's death was such a surprise to Porco... When Reiner returned to Marley, he gave his full report about what had happened, so if he was aware of Bertholdt's death, then he would have reported it, thus leading to Porco knowing that Bertholdt was already dead. Does that mean that Reiner has no idea that Bertholdt is dead? Was he hoping that Bertholdt managed to escape and was still alive on Paradis?

"Friendship ended with mr Kruger, now Reiner is my best friend." - Falco

Personally I'm not a huge fan of action heavy chapters like this as they take a few read throughs to get a good picture of what's going on. Although I do think the intention at the minute is to make us feel a bit lost as to motivations and who is supporting who. So I'm going to roll with it and be surprised when the reveals happen.

I think Porco will get Marcel's confession memory soon.

Even if it's all a plan made by Zeke and Scouts, the fact that SC soldiers still died , unaware of the bigger plan, makes me really sad. It's like with the plan to capture Annie back in the Giant Trees forest and Stohess. Back then it was Erwin who organized the plan, now it's Hanji's turn?

I. WANT. ANNIE. TO. RETURN.

I want Bert to Mufasa the fuck out of Reiner

Zeke is lucky he had royal blood as a bargaining chip to convince Paradis to team up. Otherwise he stood no chance if they had to fight for real. I don't think Zeke is a master planner, maybe he has an end goal, but he isn't a genius who has planned every step to get there. He gets lucky and bailed out by others and his conveniently relevant Senju DNA too often to be a keikaku master.

GIB COLOSSAL NO-LONGER-COCONUT

In before Jean's thrust into mortal danger via Gabi and Armin shows up to save his ass at the last second YET AGAIN

everyone simmer down like people in this fandom need to steal some of erens drinks from his apparently extensive alcohol stash like gdi I’m losing it guys I have a family and stuff I have alife and y’all losinf it and making me go crazy too like w t f.

Honestly, I was over the moon when Levi took down Zeke, but it did seem a little too easy...I highly doubt Zeke would go down easily. Also, Armin's haunted expression broke my heart. You can see the pain in his eyes, and that makes me even more curious about what's happened on Paradis over the last few years.

In my first read i thought that Armin had a ponytail and i got excited. Some users corrected me and when i re-read the chapter i found it was just his hand. I feel betrayal

Eren has more stamina than the Energiser Battery Rabbit: he can just keep on going, and going, and going...

I spent the entire chapter going "Get back in the damn titan, Porco!" I died with the panzer squad. RIP me."

Low key I have had no idea what’s been happening since 101

#snk polls #snk poll #snk spoilers #poll results #thanks everyone who participated! #long post

[ghostmartyr]

SnK 104 Thoughts

Hey Galliard.

Hey. Hey. Galliard.

LET’S SEE YOU GRIT THOSE TEETH.

We’re reaching the end of this arc segment, and I think the relief is making it a little easier to appreciate all the things happening. ...I mean it would, if anything remotely positive were still going on in this world.

Wait, Falco’s alive.

Okay team, there’s still hope.

I’m still having trouble working out why all of this is the chosen strategy. Paradis has caused an incredible amount of destruction, and disposed of most of the top brass, so looked at from an Us vs. Them situation, as long as the Scouts and Eren make it out okay, this is a pretty successful operation. It’s going to take some time for Marley to chase after their island with all the devastation.

What’s the score? The harbor, a bunch of surrounding cityscape, plenty of the interment zone, most of their top brass, and... let’s call it four Titans.

The frustrating part is that I’m having a really difficult time working out the scale of it all. In every section of this battle that we’re shown, Paradis has won somewhat easily. But I don’t know how large Marley is. Magath and Willy are willing to offer up the internment zone and all of the talking heads inside of it in order to gain allies in their offensive. They were ready for Eren. They were not ready for their Titans being out of reach, and they were not ready for Armin.

Since Eren’s decision to play along as the villain of Willy’s story, I’ve been sulking and wondering what the endgame is. What’s the point of playing right into Marley’s publicity stunt? What’s the point of making yourselves look so bad when your only contact with the outside world has been self-defense?

Reading this chapter, it’s hard not to think, “what’s the point of standing back when you know you can win?”

(Even though they’re all so very screwed if their escape blimp plan gets derailed. Like. Their eggs have 1 (one) assigned basket. And Eren’s already nearly died several times during this mess. Dun dun dun.)

And I’m not sure how much of that is a sign that Paradis has landed a fatal blow against Marley, and how much is just... here’s where our focus has been. In a very tiny corner of the world, Paradis has the upper hand.

Marley, unlike the rest of the antagonistic world, fights wars with Titans. The lowercase ones too. In this battle, they have lost two of them, one with the unique ability of controlling ravenous hordes of cannon fodder, one with the unique ability of making very kickass weapons.

What they’re left with is Reiner, Galliard, and Pieck. None of them in a state where they are a dominant force.

Magath wants Marley to enter a world where their military strength isn’t determined by Titans, but you can’t change that overnight. Their greatest trump cards have all been beaten or stolen away. In terms of Titan strength, Paradis wins right out. Marley has the numbers to win a siege war, but that isn’t the war being fought at the moment.

A few things are happening with this battle. One (the most annoying, being something Willy and Magath plan to exploit), Paradis is doing a fantastic job of selling themselves as the demons everyone calls them. Two, they’re making it clear who wins in a battle of Titans (however dicey things are during the fight, Paradis is leaving (hopefully) with three of Marley’s Titans horrifically maimed, one MIA, but presumed dead, and one actually dead). Three, they’re leaving a country that the whole world has bad experiences with in a very vulnerable position.

Marley might be putting work into making Paradis the scapegoat, but the night they declare war Paradis stomps every weapon they have faith in. Ambassadors from other countries get along with Willy, less so with Marley. One night of sympathy for the Eldian plight their buddy Willy has gone through isn’t going to change that.

The hope in the aftermath of this might be that Paradis has proven itself too dangerous to be left alone, so other countries will gladly work with Marley to stamp them out of existence, but... I’m wondering a little if those other countries might be more interested in wiping out their known enemy before turning their attention to the island. Marley has zero good will built up.

Ugh, I don’t know. Thinking about all the different ways people could respond to this makes my head hurt. Especially since Paradis does have links with other countries now, and that makes it harder to get the Beauty and the Beast mob song going.

And again there’s the question of scale. Which is really just me questioning how many Erens Armin just pulled, and how many Erens it would take duplicating to raze all of Marley to the ground. Armin’s feat is obviously destructive, but.

Fuck it, I want five pages of next chapter devoted to graphing out population and military personnel of Marley. With real numbers. The sixth page can provide Paradis’.

Has this operation hamstrung Marley as badly as their morale makes it feel like, or not? That’s all I want to know. Acceptable sacrifice vs. monstrous horrifying mass murder of horror is easier to parse out when the mission objectives and accomplishments are written in plaintext.

...It’s obviously going to end up being both anyway. I still feel really lost.

In character land, where things are slightly simpler, Armin’s having his own version of Eren and Reiner’s conversation. If Eren and Reiner are the same, so are Armin and Bertolt. That’s... oy.

I complain a lot about action chapters because I always feel like I just want to watch the anime version and get on with it without turning over every rock, but some of the complaining comes from really, really wanting to get back to the sad monologuing about feelings everyone in this series is prone to indulge. Hell, pull a Naruto and let everyone get a significant backstory flashback when it looks like they’re in mortal danger.

Armin’s from Shiganshina. Ground zero of this war. He’s one of a small percentage of people who lived through watching Wall Maria’s destruction. He’s standing right there when everything their people have known is annihilated.

Bertolt also burns him to death. Basically.

Now Armin’s the one holding all that power in his hands. He kills people and takes away their homes just by taking a few steps.

The good news is that he knows he has an expiration date, so he can look forward to that instead of seeking therapy to help him later in life.

...

Yeah, there is no good news. Let’s pan back to Falco, who is breathing and somehow showing more signs of mental stability than Gabi.

Kid’s made of some stern stuff. If Eren’s betrayal doesn’t completely shatter him, he might be able to make a bright future for himself if he stays alive. He’s compassionate and doesn’t freeze in a crisis.

Unlike some people.

-cough- Jean -cough-

Nah, that’s mean.

From the looks of things, whether it’s Pieck’s interference or Jean’s own heart getting in the way, Jean’s mind was absolutely prepared to kill the little boy if that meant removing the Cart Titan from play. I don’t know if he tried to arrange a shot that would dodge Falco, but I do think that he accepted that there was a good chance the kid would die in the crossfire, and went for it anyway.

This series was so much happier when people were getting eaten alive.

-looks at rest of the chapter-

-rest of chapter looks back-

Well. You know what I mean.

I’m glad Pieck’s alive, even if it’s only for now. Truthfully, I don’t think I want any of the Warriors to die. Their lives have been hell. I want to think that someday, all of the Eldian kiddos get to breathe free air without being a tool of war. If they die, it’s just another footnote to a sad story.

Then we have Galliard, who.

..Yeah.

(btw

Does Titan inheritance run on some kind of lottery system, and does that matter?)

I thought Eren would be done horrifying me after the civilian slaughter. I mean, where else can we go from there? Dead children hit one of the highest tiers of tragedy. Maybe more of them will fall out of the cracks, and surely the psychological trauma of individuals like Reiner will continue to be bad, but we’re done with any of it being shocking.

...

.....

Eren’s a fucking tryhard.

Okay! Okay. Uh.

Points for... pragmatism?

“Aha, I have cracked the case, if not the crystal! Hark, I shall have Jaws crack the crystal, and I shall drink up this woman’s juices as they drip from his teeth while he silently screams at me to stop!”

Eren with the Jaw Titan in the Conservatory.

I mean. If you think about it.

I have been calling the Warriors tools for ages.

Eren using Galliard as his own personal nutcracker is really only the natural evolution of that.

Yike.

I’m surprised Reiner’s already up and about. It makes sense that it’s to protect Galliard (Porco is going to have so very many issues when he wakes up), because protecting people is the one thing the world hasn’t broken inside of him. Even after all he’s been through, he still wants to be the good guy, keeping his comrades safe.

But the dude’s dead inside. He has the strength to stand, but not much else, and I don’t know how the story can lead him into anything dynamic when he’s so screwed up.

Also of curiosity is... Eren’s perfectly willing to nom Galliard. Reiner shows up, gets punched maybe a building length away, is very obviously in no state to win any kind of fight, and Mikasa and Eren walk away.

All of the other Titans are removed during the festival by strategy. Pieck and Porco get dumped down a hole. Zeke is probably working with Eren, and he’s still escorted out.

Reiner gets a conversation.

Reiner’s participation in Eren versus War Hammer would have turned the tables. The only reason he isn’t part of it is because his conversation with Eren robs him of his final will to live.

So uh. ...Eren? Not to be rude or question your moral character or basic sanity... but... I don’t know... how, uh, on purpose is Reiner’s current emotional state?

...On a related note, is that your way of keeping him alive? ...Am I. Am I going to have to start shipping you two seriously?

This has the feel of something else I’m going to find easier to discuss in later chapters, but looking at the last few pages... Eren has the chance to kill Reiner and Galliard. He definitely has no problem nomming Galliard. What changes? Reiner caring about Galliard?

Eren easily could have taken out two of Marley’s Titans, and he chooses not to. It’s a decision Mikasa is either fine with or encourages. I don’t quite know what to make of her very excellent stoic face after Eren punches Reiner. She goes from that to zooming over all “Eren!” and... does that mean killing Reiner has been judged the wrong decision all around? What’s with the interruption, you two? Is that closeup of Eren’s eyes on the opposite page just there to look pretty, or is something going on?

Look, you’ve killed everyone else in the general vicinity, I’m allowed to wonder what makes this special. What, Eren can see his sparkling eyes when his face isn’t armored up and can’t handle the dokis?

Geez, this was a chapter.

Next month we get to see how great the great escape is--only guarantee is that there is no escape from the monsters in their heads.

...I’m with Mikasa. Can we go home now?

#Shingeki no Kyojin #SnK 104 #shingeki no spoilers #SnK spoilers #spoilers #tl;dr #chapter post