#fuck Isayama

[sonofthesaiyans]

To the Isayama apologists, suck it, bitches.

Yep. That isn't fake. And to the author of this post, couldn't have said it better.

When this is done I will stay on my crusade, and I will take the advice of a friend of mine, to take this up with the author.

Isayama is a lying, deceitful, self indulgent scam artist. If this is the best ending he could manage, then this story really should have ended with the ocean.

Would have saved me years of psychological issues.

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #eren yeager #mikasa ackerman #armin arlert #hajime isayama #levi ackerman #snk spoilers #i hate isayama #snk anime #aot anime #snk manga #aot manga #snk angst #aot angst #fuck isayama #fuck eren #fuck attack on titan #anti attack on titan #anti snk 105 #anti snk 139 #anti snk 93 #anti snk 132 #anti mappa #aot mappa #mappa studio #anti eren yeager #anti eremika

[swagging-back-to]

cying sobbing gagging throwing up im on the reiss arch (aka one of the worst things to exist in media. ever.)

#it's sooo bad. #and rod reiss is taken down wayyyy too quickly #why does it take longer to take down annie than it does to take down LITERALLY THE LARGEST TITAN (at that time) #and eren shouldve been blown up by that blast #and christa is just obnoxious the entire time in that basement #literally it makes me sicn. #i want to like her so badly but i cannot get over how obnoxious she is during and after the reiss arch #fuck isayama

[lotus-pear]

forever in shambles over them :(

#another sketch another day where i can't fucking draw buff men #sry to reiner fans your man gets absolutely nerfed by me and becomes a twink bc idk male anatomy #also titans are fun to draw?? genuinely thought i'd hate it but at least armored was fun #i will draw reibert as many times as i need to until isayama says they're canon #bc they are #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #aot #snk #reiner braun #bertholdt hoover #reibert #lotus draws

[chrollohearttags]

reiner ‘you gotta be two something to do sum’ braun. I don’t make the rules, I just report it besties.

#he loves him some bbw’s idc #said he ​obsessed with thick women and he agrees #I’m just talking y’all #black fem reader #aot x black reader #if her thighs ain’t rubbing #he ain’t tryna be in between them #aot au #reiner braun #shut up cherry!!!! #reiner braun x black reader #if ​she ain’t 280 she ain’t a lady #reiner headcanons #reiner braun headcanons #fuck what isayama was talking #Historia can’t do nun for him #he need this phat cat

[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

[silverdragonoid]

#the end of an era #masterpiece #i feel so much i could gush about it forever #that finale was perfect #i'm sooooooooo grateful for this story and journey #I LOVE ARMIN & JEAN SO MUCH AAAAAAHHH #the last ED fucks me up it's the perfect send-off #and it adds to the credit scene so much holy shit it's perfect #this will stay with me forever #thank you isayama #attack on titan #attack on titan ending #attack on titan final season #aot #meme #aot memes #attack on titan memes #end me now

[aengelren]

oh my god??

#Isayama was on tumblr 2012 #what the fuck #Reiner #PEETAAAAAA

[sungkaan]

My biggest gripe about the ending isn't even about the ship or about Eren's character. Now, it's how they disrespected my queen, Carla Yeager.

Whatever happened to "He's already special because he was born in this world"?

I remember watching that and feeling what Eren has felt. Like a weight was suddenly lifted off my shoulders because I don't need to prove that I'm special so I can justify my worth. Me and everyone are already special by virtue of being born. That made me cry. That line got me through tough times. I always go back to that.

Now, the main character and the author is suddenly saying how idiotic it is. They've contradicted it.

"Oh sorry all of this happened because I was an ordinary idiot."

Are you implying that if the founding and attack titan were to be given to someone 'special', the the rumbling wouldn't have happened?

Yeah fuck you guess he prob need Ackerman genes to be special.

#aot #snk #anti aot ending #anti aot 139 #the fumbling #the ending basically contradicted most of its themes #so what are we supposed to learn from this if we can't trust whether a character is being genuine or not #carla yeager #eren yeager #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #if getting eremika means shitting on carla i don't want it #anti eremika #hajime isayama #fuck you isayama

[punchitmrsulu]

Finally watched the final chapter of Attack on Titan. Literally me the entire episode:

#that was not easy #i only cry like this with lotr #but it was perfect man #what a fucking masterpiece #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #aot #snk #hajime isayama

[bish-plz-haha]

Hajime Isayama is a genius. And here's why: a tangent

The fourth season of Attack On Titan (AOT/Shingeki No Kyojin) is the epitome of

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Keep that in mind as you, if anybody, reads this.

Eren's villain arc makes total sense. Don't get me wrong, the ending was fucked. But it made so much sense.

With the entirety of the series being about freedom and him having the Attack Titan's power to "see" the future, Eren—as dumb and idiotic as he can be—realised, I think, that in order for the world to stop seeing Paradis as their foe (for the world to stop seeing Eldian's in general as their foe) and for them to have the freedom he so desperately dreamed about from the day Armin showed him that book, they needed a common enemy. But there wasn't one: there was just hatred and violence towards others who were just a little different. So he realised that, in the end, he had to become that. He had the strength and power, and he knew that. He could be that for the people. He could be the reason that the people of Marley and Paradis unite and fight side by side instead of fighting each other. He honestly even told Armin as much.

ARMIN: It was all to push us away from you... and make us into heroes who save humanity from extinction by taking you down?

EREN: Yeah. You guys will become saviors to all that's left of humanity. You turned your backs on Paradis in spite of being "Island Devils," and sided with humanity to the end.

Eren became what no one else wanted to. What no one thought he'd become. For the sake of the people that meant the world to him: Armin, Mikasa, Connie, Sasha, and even Jean (side note: I loved their rivalry. It made things light and fun even in dark times). He says that in order for things to go the way they needed to, future him sent the titan towards his mother instead of Bertholdt. Eren had to do the hardest things of his life towards the end: one being becoming someone he's not for the sake of the greater good (poor babies. Honestly, he was convincing as the villain: he had all the justifications to be that person. But he wasn't, down to his core, mean and cruel as he so convincingly portrayed himself to be. He even had his best friends fooled. Up until Armin heard about the eradication plan. At that point, Armin called his bullshit—which is fair).

He showed his father memories, fake and real, of what's to come to make him convince Zeke, which was very clever. He controlled Yimr enough—with Zeke's help of course—to make her attack his friends with titans from the past to put on a good show, not knowing whether or not they'd make it out alive (he hoped and his hope and knowledge that his friends—no, family—were skilled enough to stay alive). He definitely knew his death was coming, and he knew he had to continue on, even if that meant causing his loved ones pain; the pain of his death moreso than anything.

Eren made Marley team up with Paradis. To fight an enemy they both had in common instead of each other. To make Marley and the rest of the world see sense (though as Historia said: "The fight will not end even after the Titans have vanished. Eren told me everything about the future he knows. Even if he can't see the future past that point, he was able to see this future vividly. I'm sure this outcome was not just the result of Eren's choices. This world is the result of the choices we all made. We must fight. So we won't have to fight anymore. Even if it means to live a living hell devoid of peace...")

Hense the reason I say that the fourth season is the epitome of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." He knew that if they had a common enemy, they'd unite and fight together, not against each other. There was no need for senseless killing. He didn't want that.

Oh and don't even get me STARTED on the symbolism. My GOD that struck me like a fucking truck. Like, the shot of the scouts saluting Levi as he sat against that bolder only for the camera to pan to the Wings Of Freedom on Erwins back as he disappears along with them. UGH.

And then the biRD PULLING AT MIKASA'S SCARF ONLY TO FLY AWAY. LIKE, WHY WOULD YOU SHOW ME THAT??? Im CrYiNg!!!!!

Eren is finally free.

#shingeki no kyojin #aot #hajime isayama #man is a genius #snk #the enemy of my enemy is my friend #mine #anime tangent #anime and manga #anime #manga #it was fucked up #it was so good #aot spoilers #snk spoilers #attack on titan #levi ackerman #levi aot #armin arlert #eren yeager #eren jaeger #mikasa ackerman #eren aot #armin aot #reiner braun #aot reiner #annie leonhart #annie aot #bertholdt hoover #aot bertholdt

[hardleywhelmed]

Every time the cats in Warriors shit on kittypets I lose my shit internally because that's where YOU belong you feral colonies!! The warrior cats have decimated their local ecosystem and I hope they all get TNRed 💀

#I love warrior cats this isnt me shitting on the series lol #i just think its hilarious as an inside cat advocate 💀💀 #warriors #warrior cats #Saying warrior makes me wanna watch AOT again omfg. i fucking love that show i love what isayama has to say. hes so smart #fireheart #im on book 4 rn #the voice actor for the book is so fucking GOOD. Omfg. #i love listening with my wife she makes everyrhing so much fun

[sonofthesaiyans]

I'm sure I'm in the minority on this.....

But with everything we now know about Eren after the manga and anime finales, primarily the fact that he engineered Carla's death to further his own ends, I think that makes Attack on Titan infinitely more unwatchable with that knowledge in mind.

The whole thing has been built on Eren avenging his mother and his people by wiping out the Titans. To know everything in the series was all something beholden to his design including the explicit revelation that Bertolt only survived the fall of Shiganshina because Eren decided it wasn't his time to die.....it's an infinitely more damaging revelation than his pathetic confession of his feelings for Mikasa.

"Sasha and Hange died because of me...." Right, so apparently any deviance in the time loop that might've guaranteed their survival was a roadblock to his plans even after he hsd fully committed himself yobtbe Rumbling, his plan was really that precise and to the letter? What if Connie and Jean died or what if Marco lived, like the implications here are utterly baffling and repulsive. Guy who was so dead set on saving his friends couldn't make room for those girls huh? I call bullshit.

So thoroughly turning Eren's motivation inside out like this is a decision not enough people are picking apart, not enough people are really looking at the logistics of any of this or considering how much you gotta suspend disbelief in order for this to make any sense.

And I was at Awesome Con just a week ago, Bryce Papenbrook was right there a hundred feet away. I just missed my chance to get his two cents on this. I can only hope for better luck next time.

Sadly though I don't think I can look at the first three seasons again because of how thoroughly tainted they now are because of the final season.....I would have preferred Eren was a straightforward villain from the start because this is truly Isayama's greatest betrayal. (Second in my book, right after you know what....)

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #eren yeager #eren jeager #eren x mikasa #eren jaeger #mikasa x eren #eren #fuck eren #fuck attack on titan #fuck isayama #anti hajime isayama #hajime isayama #i hate eren #i hate everything #snk anime #aot anime #snk manga #manga art #snk angst #aot angst #snk analysis #aot analysis #i hate isayama #mikasa ackerman #armin arlert #snk spoilers #levi ackerman #aot spoilers #anti snk 139

[kuroshitmeow]

It's a end of an era.

Thank you Isayama-sensei for creating such a beautiful story. Thank you WIT and MAPPA for animating the most beautiful anime of all time.

✨️Attack On Titan✨️

In my heart forever❤️‍🔥

#aot #attack on titan #thank you isayama #mappa studio #wit studio #anime and manga #aot end #I will really miss it #I miss Levi already #I fucking cried like a bitch yesterday #the end

[levmada]

have become convinced there's no such thing as overanalyzing aot

#you know who overanalyzes aot? #isayama and isayama's creative team #in acwnr when isabel releases the white bird #the white bird that symbolizes hope and freedom #(there are so many examples and im already not shutting the fuck up) #the shot pans over to include levi #so just how farlan+isabel are represented as the white birds at the very end #levi is also a force for hope :((((((( #i think so anyway #call me crazy idc #kane says #aot #atack on titan #levi aot #acwnr

[bakastandotsukai]

not y'all eren/rumbling stans defending a fictional g*nocide just when there's an ACTUAL g*nocide ongoing smfh

#hot take #free palestine #palestinians #aot #it used to be just a joke #but now y'all taking it seriously wtf #attack on titan fans are the worst #and fuck you too isayama #you ain't slick with your nationalist and militarist bs #shit like this makes me ashamed of being an anime fan #attack on titan critical #attack on titan meta

[xkzuka]

just watched the ending to attack on titan and l gotta say is:

shinzou wo sasageyo.

#i was literally left so speechless #what a peak fucking anime #such a bittersweet but fitting end #there will never be a show quite like this one #isayama is fucking goated #genuinely never thought I would see “the end” to an aot ending title card #the end left such left a hole in my chest and I fucking *love* when shows to do that #this show will forever be missed #and it'll never be forgotten #attack on titan #aot #attack on titan season 4 #attack on titan the final season #eren yeager #mikasa ackerman #armin arlert #hajime isayama #wit studio #mappa #thank you mappa #shingeki no kyojin #shinzou wo sasageyo