Looking Back On Ch 90, I Failed To Fully Appreciate This Panel.

Eren and his Id: Some Further Observations

Since publishing my meta on the idea of the ‘id’ in SNK, I’ve noticed some more examples of it manifesting throughout the series.

Mikasa

What Eren attributes to Ackerman mind control is really just the nature of Mikasa’s id. She acts without seeming to realise she does so, with vacant eyes in the first panel and confusion in the last. This is just like Eren’s experience in defending Ramzi: not being mentally present in the moment, his id takes over his body like an alien and controlling force.

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I think both Eren and the 104th(Alliance) act in reaction to 1). The only difference is in their approach. The Alliance wants to end the cycle of violence through mutual understanding *and* getting the children out of the forest, while Eren wants to end it by crushing the opposition underfoot.

You don't seem to acknowledge that getting the children out of the forest is a direct response to ending it, for if the new generations aren't afflicted or can learn from the past mistakes it can pave a way for the cycle to collapse momentarily.

Of course, the cycle can never be truly destroyed and the forest will remain immanent but our efforts to resist it can bear fruit, even if it doesn't last. That's where beauty can shine forth in this cruel world.

Do you believe the full rumbling goes against the theme of “getting kids out of the forest?”

No, because Armin & Co. represent that side of the argument.

Mr Braus says two things: 1) He laments the continuation of the cycle of violence, and 2) He argues that the most important thing is to keep children out of it. Eren acts in reaction to 1), and the 104th act in reaction to 2).

Rather than just having the main character straightforwardly represent the moral message of the series, it's more interesting to explore the unresolvable contradictions within that moral message - that's what would have been the case if Eren and the 104th had truly been opposed. Eren would have fought to end the cycle at the cost of children's lives, and the 104th would have fought to preserve children's lives even if meant that the cycle will continue.

Of course, Eren's capability of truly ending the cycle is often brought into question - but this only adds further nuance to the series.

I don’t care what others says, I love this two girls OwO

Consistent themes and elments in Attack on Titan

During these few weeks I have been re-reading past SNK volumes, and I have noticed how coherent and overlaying some of the elements and themes of the series are. The ideas and problems presented in the beginning, connect and resonate to the post-basement reveal world. In this post I`d like to talk about some of these consistent things.

As a side note, I have read up till volume 26/chapter 106, so I will construct this post within that context. In here I ramble about the elements that I noticed during the re-reading of past volumes, so it is likely that I have missed some. The structure of this post will be the following one: 

-  Images of monsters 

-  Good or evil - How people are viewed? 

 - David versus Goliath 

- The prevailing current and going against it 

Images of monsters 

In the beginning of the series, one of the things that makes the Titan so scary and such a hard threat to deal with, is the massive gap of knowledge about their true nature. Humanity, or the people of Paradis, have very little knowledge about the origin of the Titans, or what kind of creatures they are. This unknown nature is a perfect breeding ground for fear. Since humanity does not know about the true nature of the Titans, and for a long while did not really possess means or tools to find out, all they had as source material, was the knowledge that Titans are the natural enemy of humanity. 

This is something similar what happens in the outside world, when it comes to the people of Ymir living in Paradis. Since they live in a island, far away from the mainland, no one living in Marley has not really seen any residents of Paradis, and does not really know what they are like. This transforms yet again into something unknown, something that is filled with Marleyan propaganda. When you do not have the means to find out what the supposed “demons of Paradis” are actually like, and you`r head has been filled with enemy propaganda since the day you were born, it is no wonder enemy images manifest themselves.

Both the Titans from Paradis perspective, and the people of Paradis from the perspective of Marley, act as examples of an wonderfully constructed, external enemy, that thrives from unknown factors and propaganda.

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"They were just there wherever I looked from the day I was born. Those miserable walls."

I think this is the most important line we need for understanding Eren. From the moment he was born Eren felt caged no matter what he did and he longed for release.

This desire was unconscious at first, but seeing Armin dream so passionately brought about the realization that Armin was seeing and believing in something that Eren couldn't, and this brings about the realization in him that he's restrained/caged from doing something.

He initially believes that this indignation from a sense of being caged is because of the Titans or oppressors but as time goes on and the circumstances change, Eren realises that this is something internal and the fact that it's something that no one else experiences is one of the sources of his tragedy: he can't communicate/share this desire.

(There's probably some symbolism in the fact that Eren confessed his truest desires to a child that didn't speak the same language)

At first, Eren associated release with the "sight" of the things in Armin's book. He believed that seeing those things will give him the release and liberty he's been longing for, though it should be noted that Eren says he doesn't care what the particular sights *are* just that he sees them so I think he cares much more about the feeling of liberation that those things stand for than the sights themselves.

So I think that even though Eren might say that he's disappointed that the world wasn't what was in Armin's book I think what he's really sad about is that he didn't feel liberated by the world beyond the walls, but because he associated those feelings with the sights in Armin's book he uses them interchangeably(I think this is supported by the fact that Eren still feels caged and empty when actually seeing those sights in 139).

The reason Eren slaughters humanity beyond the walls is because from his perspective, *they* are walls/barriers obstructing his freedom. "That Scenery" is one of the most important motifs with Eren, it's the liberty that comes with transcending or breaking a wall, but one of the ironies in 131 is that Eren is deluding himself to think that it's freedom. Eren's very nature demands that he cannot see beyond the "walls" and this is testified to by Eren looking unfulfilled immediately after the freedom panel and the fact that he still needs Armin's approval. Besides Isayama deliberately contrasts Eren and Armin by saying that Armin still believes in a world beyond the walls, with a panel of Eren's eyes closed.

Eren's tragedy is that of a man born with the inability to look past the repression of life(or you could say he was born with the ability to see restraints everywhere). I think this solves all the contradictions I thought I saw in Eren's character and addresses the "Problem of being a Slave" that Isayama once brought up.

Before I go there's one last thing I have to say about the final chapter and this motif, Eren can't see the dream Armin enjoys and he can't see the future that lies ahead, but his love for his friend(s) let's him transcend that nature by putting his hopes in them at the end. He won't ever be able to see beyond the walls, that's just how he is, but he can be at peace with the fact that his friends will.

Edit: I made this post mainly because I was tired of people rooting Eren's actions in trauma or an ideological mistake or lack of development. Eren has developed enough as a protagonist, especially by chapter 100, his "mistakes" in the Final Arc are a result of his nature, I think that's what Isayama wanted to convey.

[“One of the very hardest things about preventing and ending violence is that most of our work isn’t really about getting someone to stop being violent. Most of the time, that’s not the heart of the thing. The even-more-rigorous struggle is to cultivate all of the awareness and skills that would have been necessary for the violence not to have happened in the first place.

Which is why, when we talk about violence, we always end up talking about everything: slavery, binary gender, the original disconnection of humans from the rest of life on this planet, and so on. Solving violence is rarely as much about the moment at hand as it is about everything else that preceded it.

Which is where shame comes in.

As a therapist who has spent the last decade working with movement folks who are survivors of intimate violence—as well as with many people who have caused harm—I see shame as one of the most pervasive, painful, and insidious barriers to our efforts to fulfill the aspirations of transformative justice.

In order to develop real responses to the myriad harms in our lives—or even the capacity to develop real responses—we need to understand shame and develop tools for working with it, individually and collectively.

(…) Shame is different than guilt. While guilt focuses on our behavior (“I did something bad”), shame creates an identity: “I am bad.” Shame keeps us stuck, isolated, and hiding. With no way to escape from the totality of our belief (“I just am wrong”), we may do some of the following:

hide what we feel is bad about ourselves and try hard to pass as “good.”

overcompensate in other parts of life through overwork, caretaking, or perfectionism to make up for whatever is “wrong” about us.

defend ourselves from any insinuation that we might have done wrong, attempt to rationalize, or justify our actions.

blame someone else, try to divert responsibility, or shift the focus onto another.

attack anyone who draws attention toward the source of our shame, try to have power by dominating or shaming others.

numb through self-harming use of alcohol, substances, food, sex, technology, and so on.

Most of us use all of these strategies in different moments. Overaccountability and underaccountability are two sides of the same coin: “I can’t stand how bad I feel and can’t imagine making it right (overaccountability) so I’m going to hide that it (whatever it is) even happened, or lie about it or blame someone else (underaccountability).”]

Nathan Shara, Facing Shame: From Saying Sorry to Doing Sorry, from Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories From The Transformative Justice Movement

SnK Interviews: Isayama Hajime’s Q&A from Febri Vol. 42 (July 2017 Issue)

Translations by @suniuz & @fuku-shuu - Please give credit/link back if used!

- What is your most essential drawing tool? 9mm 2B pencil lead. As it’s both thick yet soft, it’s easy to erase cleanly, so I enjoy using it the most. I don’t really understand the differences between all the manufacturers, so as long as the lead is this exact type, I’m fine with whichever.

- What do you do when you’re not working? I play video games. My nephews have been visiting me recently, so I have them bring their controllers and play Splatoon with them.

- Who is your favorite character in Shingeki no Kyojin? Reiner. As time progresses, my favorite character keeps shifting. My favorite is Reiner at the moment - I want to draw more and more of Reiner.

- Favorite music as of late? Kiyoshi Ryuuji. Even though my all-time favorite is Shinsei Kamattechan, who sang the SnK S2 ED, my favorites as of late are Creepy Nuts and Kiyoshi Ryuuji. For Kiyoshi, every single one of his songs has been a hit - even those he produced for others - which is an incredible success rate. I feel like he’s like Hyadain-san (T/N: Famous Japanese composer and lyricist), only he can also sing and dance.

- Favorite manga as of late? Boku-tachi ga Yarimashita (T/N: We Did It). The author, Kaneshiro Muneyuki (T/N: The artist for the title is Araki Hikaru), is my contemporary at Bessatsu Shonen. It’s just such an incredible piece of work. Initially I already had good feelings toward him because we started out together, and when I reached the middle of the story I suddenly went, “Eh? This manga is a masterpiece…?” I even got goosebumps. He created an unbelievable story, so I’m thrilled as his contemporary.

- Favorite video game as of late? Wii U’s Splatoon. Even though the game has been on sale for two years already, I’m still playing it consistently. It has been a long while since I started, but I still feel like I’m terrible at the game. Nonetheless, through my personal efforts, I experienced what it means to “achieve” different degrees of success for the first time. I can’t get enough of it!

- When did you start drawing manga? 2nd year of high school (T/N: That’s equivalent to junior year). But if you count just single illustrations, I already started when I was in daycare. But I remember that it wasn’t until 2nd year of high school when I actually organized drafts and began to create manga.

- How much do you sleep on average? About 8 hours. When I first started serialization, I had a little less sleep. But lately if I don’t get enough sleep I can’t do anything else.

- Recent interests? Watching foreign drama series. I’m currently anticipating the 7th season of Game of Thrones, which will start in July. Other than that, I’m hesitating on whether or not I should watch House of Cards (T/N: YES YOU SHOULD). When I watch something exciting, the amount of energy I use up is similar to if I read all of One Piece in just a week. Hence, I’m actually becoming a little scared about doing this (T/N: Committing to another show) [Laughs].

- If you lived within the Walls? I would be a farmer. Because I want to avoid all responsibilities [Laughs], so I want to live on the border and just plant crops. Though I can imagine that this kind of lifestyle has its own hardships, I would never be a soldier.

- What’s the best thing about being a mangaka? Everything. If I didn’t become a mangaka, I feel like I would’ve descended into poor health - to the extent where I couldn’t even go to the convenience store. I am totally serious [Laughs].

- Favorite movie as of late? It Follows. It was probably my first time watching such a scary film. Of course, the storyline is exciting, but on top of that, the actual elements of horror were fantastic. Because this movie describes something that happens at your own household, I felt jumpy and scared in my apartment for two weeks after I watched it.

- If you weren’t drawing manga? I would become an average member of society. But if possible, I would probably become a craftsman. Before when I worked at an internet cafe, no matter how dirty the cubicles became, I always bet my entire life on making it spotless again. It was almost like Nietzsche’s “Sublimation” psychology [Laughs]. Thinking back, I guess that could just be part of an artisan’s personality, too.

- What do you do when you experience writer’s block? I dive into other creative works. Basically other films, drama series, and manga - and I search for elements I enjoy. But because this world is filled with so many incredible works that I’ll never fully experience - even if I spend my entire life trying - as long as I commit to the ones I enjoy the most, my life can progress with inspiration. Sometimes, I almost feel like there is no actual need for me to draw manga [Laughs].

- The best thing about your hometown (Oita prefecture)? Delicious plum wine. When I think of what’s most appealing about my hometown, plum wine immediately comes to mind. My family back home are plum farmers, so even though I sound like I’m self-promoting my relatives’ business, please do give our Yumehibiki plum wine a taste! [Laughs]

- Your first impression of Tokyo? Surprisingly warm/familiar. At the railroad crossing of Egota, my head somehow got knocked by the crossing gate there, and I thought, “So Tokyo isn’t just all about tall buildings…” My memory contains moments of calm like this [Laughs].

We’re working on the highlights/new information from the main interview between Isayama and editor Kawakubo as well - stay tuned!

from how the manga spoilers are looking I’m not going to have enough motivation or reason to complete this comic, I’m sad but I wanted to share what I drew of it.

context: mikasa and armin confronting eren in paths after eren badly injured mikasa

This is just me trying to make sense of how the chapter title of 139 is connected to the extra pages so this might come off as more of a stream of consciousness than an organized post.

The first thing I noted was that the tree is constantly growing admist the growth/development of Eldia and its subsequent fall and destruction. I'm not sure whether there's any intent behind it, but from what we know this is the site where Eren was buried and it may be interpreted as the fruits of Eren's actions being displayed. In the first panel the leaves are barely covering the tree and it may be seen as the long lives of Eren's friends being the first fruits of his actions. They all live long lives with their families and grow to old age all the while keeping him in their hearts as exemplified with Mikasa.

Next, we see War in Heaven sorry I couldn't resist it. The tree grows a bit more and the seeds of Eren's actions are shown more exhaustively. His actions have brought about war, a continuation of the cycle and ultimately, Paradis' destruction. All the good has faded away and the development has crumbled. The Eternal Return, Moira, Ananke, Fate and the Cycle are bound to the world. It almost serves to validate Reiner in 117 and Zeke from 137. Striving is futile, and despite the efforts of Eren and the Alliance, this is the destiny of the world.

Then there are the final pages.

I think there's something quite hopeful about them. Despite the fact that the story ends with the grievance of a child wandering in the forest, seemingly destined to repeat the titanic tragedy from the ages before, there's also a sort of hope.

This child doesn't seem injured or depraved like Ymir was, he seems curious and almost in awe. And I think this rekindled the spirit with which the Survey Corps faces the cruelty of the world. If we don't know we'll see, if they don't know us, we'll show ourselves to them.

So though things are left slightly ambiguous, the parallel to Ymir serves to show us that this boy's Will will shape the new age, our will in the face of cruelty will shape the direction of the world. So as Nicolo said, though this devil may lie within the heart of humanity, we still need to strive our hardest to leave this forest of our making.

UwU,, now I want to play otome game for AOT…..