#but idk it could have been executed better esp because a lot of the 'romance' in AoT is weird

[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

[soulswimmr]

Thoughts on s6~

Putting it all under a cut because I can’t not talk in lengthy paragraphs. Feel free to shoot an ask/message if you want to talk about s6, too

Ok wowie, good season. There were noticable weak points, but I’ll address those along the way. First let’s talk about the 

Plot

It was good. It was surprisingly good. The hidden altean thing where they bold faced put that Lotor was responsible for hundreds or thousands of deaths teeters way out of kids’ show territory. They were not fucking around with that. The fact that they made it clear that the plot was not just paladins vs Galra (esp with Lotor wanting to do away with the Galra), but more along the lines of paladins vs lotor vs generals vs sendak vs so on and so forth makes it not just more complex, but stacks the odds against voltron and adds good suspense. Clone shiro was incredible. It was everything i’ve been waiting for. 

The fight scenes, inside and outside voltron (cough cough KeithvsKuron) were breathtaking. Everything about Krolia was very well put together. THE ANIMATION WAS BREATHTAKING. 

On that note (and dipping into characterization a little bit), they kinda layed it on thick with Lotor romanticizing Allura. He was too goody goody and it made the betrayal lose a little impact (aside from the whole mass murderer thing). there’s a difference between that and foreshadowing. 

Idk why the huge timeskip with Keith and Krolia stuck on that mission bugged me a little, but it did. A timeskip makes sense and is a cool tool to use for the fam to get to catch up, but it just felt. Strange. Two years is a long ass time. Keith was completely unaffected seeing the team again. One could argue that this was bc of the mission, or Krolia teaching Keith how to be a member of the blade and have Super Mission Focus, but still, for Keith to have that much almost-off camera development and not be at least startled to see voltron again was weird. I love my mom to pieces but two years alone with her and eventually I’d go a little nuts.

Characterization

That last point brings me right into characterization, and unfortunately this one is gonna be a little more on the critical side. For the most part, characterization/character focus was well balanced this season. But there were some Moments.

Everyone on team voltron developed, and it was arguably best executed this season than any other. We got to see some great Coran moments, where he really felt like a member of the team. Hunk having a no-nonsense teacher, even just for like 15 minutes lol did him good in terms of communicating with their new allies. Hunk is a people-person, and it shows very well. His camera time wasn’t 100% food related all the time, in fact, barely ever. Bravo.

Pidge of course got her own arc, but it was still a GREAT moment when she admitted to having the coding on Shiro’s arm uploaded and on hand just in case. It was CHILLING when she made eye contact with Kuron before he took off. This is, imo, how Dreamworks should’ve handled other characters who didn’t quite have the spotlight in previous seasons. Not a whole lot of moments, but when they were there, they had impact. I hope they continue to do this.

Do I even need a section for Keith? Holy shit. My boi finally accepting his role as Black Paladin and so much more. :’) I won’t elaborate because c’mon, it was in part, a Keith-centric season

Same for Allura. She really is the heart of Voltron. We got to see a lot of sides of her. 

Lotor being a psycho bitch but still having genuine feelings for Allura?? good shit

LANCEY LANCE. Bless him, Dreamworks is doing their best. In terms of his relationship with Allura, seeing him going from meaningless flirting to serious heart to hearts and a team player was fantastic. BUT I have some grievances, here we go.

Lance got a mini-arc and it was great, and he very clearly grows and changes, this is great! However, regardless of ships, seeing it centric to a romantic relationship, and basically being a rebound for Allura was ahhhhhhehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh eh. 

Pidge and Hunk teasing Lance about his crush was normal, and them pretending to be Lotor and Allura was adorable and hilarious, but Lance was really hurting and when they didn’t stop and just walked out, I???? What. That, to me, is out of character. Hella out of character. Lance is their friend, and they should be?? Friendly??? I was mad @ them

Finally, as much as I love broganes and the great arc they had, they’ve had a tremendous amount of camera time. We’re well away that they’re practically inseparable. What I really wanted to see was the whole team being involved with finding out about Operation Kuron. With Lance seeing Real Shiro in the astral plane, I was really on board with him pulling aside Keith when he came back and be like “ey dude I saw some fucked shit”, and them rescuing Shiro together was a theory I was personally super into. Was kind of disappointment that we didn’t see the relationship between Shiro and the other team members deepen a little more.  

Ships

If you don’t want to read about ships feel free to stop here and thanks for reading!! Message me if anything I said caught your eye.

First of all, daaaaaaamn that Allurance.

I’ve shipped allurance for a while now, more casually than other ships, so to see Lance change and mature and support Allura while Allura started to show that she really values Lance meant a lot to me. It’s good to see Lance grow up a little. For everything that they were this season, forced was most certainly not one of them. Their relationship felt organic.

However, it was not without flaws. I can’t help but feel like Lance was treated like a rebound, and was almost too? supportive??, and it was telling when Allura was talking with the mice, upon them snITCHIN ON LANCE DAMN MICE, she frowned sadly. I have to wonder if she actually returns his romantic feelings. And I do like the ship a lot, casually and aesthetically. But at the end of the day, what I was hoping to see was a really solid friendship. I think from here they don’t need to be straight up romantic. Their relationship is no doubt one of the strongest in the show, but I think it would be an incredible writing path to keep their friendship, because allurance has been hinted since episode one, and I think it’s almost?? Too easy for the writers to turn it romantic. I think Allura and Lance are a great team and very compatible for friends, but uhhhh read on.

I’ll just address the elephant in the room and come clean, yeahhhhh I like klance and yeeeaaahhhhh I would have really liked to see some more content this season, so sue me lmao. 

If I’m gonna be really blunt about my feelings, I feel like klance is a fantastic direction for Dreamworks to take. I feel like it would be good writing to make klance endgame. Why? Because it’s the path of least resistance. That’s why so many people like it. Keith and Lance were so salty at the beginning, but the crew made an effort to show that in moments that were particularily tough, they have loads of potential and can be very good for each other, romantically or platonically. It’d be harder to write, it’d take time, but I think it’s a worthwhile pairing. And there are definitely some moments that are super disruptic to both Keith and Lance’s development when they, Lance especially, straight up regress in their development and fight for no reason. I think it’s unfair, and it almost always makes me go “wait I thought they were starting to get along better??”. Now that Allurance is a thing, I’ve stated in another post that, because it would be strange for Lance to have two romantic arcs, it’s pretty unlikely that klance will actually happen. Do I think they teased us? Yeah. Do I think they straight up qbaited us? Not really. In the end, my biggest hope is that they continue to develop Keith and Lance’s friendship and don’t abandon the really strong potential they have together. Don’t let them regress, Dreamworks.

I’m not gonna address she/th (or tag it, because who goes into the tag looking for someone to say IM NOT A FAN OF XYZ JUST THOUGHT U SHOULD KNOW) too much because I’m personally not a fan. There’s so much about their relationship associated with “brothers”, and Keith looking up to Shiro that it just doesn’t rub me right in terms of romance. I had to wonder if they aged Keith up two years to justify possible future she/th?? if it happens I’ll be bummed, and I think the random aging up is kind of a cop out, but hey, it’s their show.

RIP Lotura. I stopped shipping it and figured out Lotor was a hoe after his third Dramatic ‘Let’s Bring the Universe Together’ Speech to appeal to Allura’s sense of duty. It’s a shame tho, I was really digging it at the end of season 5

PUNK FOREVER YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY

Thanks 4 coming to my ted talk, get in my ask and discuss w/ me ovo

#voltron legendary defender #vld spoilers #s6 spoilers #vld s6 #voltron review #voltron season 6 #vld