If there's anything that I haven't done in a long time, it is to enjoy a pretty good manga and anime. Not because anime or manga is for kids and that I have outlived that kind of enjoyment at this age but Attack on Titan is definitely not for kids. It has a higher character death rate than Game of Thrones where any character can practically just get squished like a bug, ripped to shreds, and get eaten.
The thing that attracted me to the anime is because I have the game on my 3DS and the plot twist that humans are nothing more than caged livestock just waiting to be devoured by gigantic humanoids known as Titans. This anime provides a perspective on what it's like to have the tables turned, when man is no longer on the top of the food chain.
After watching the anime, I proceeded to consume the manga up to the latest chapters. It's interesting to note that in this world within the walls, people are not meat eaters and mostly have a vegetarian diet. Eating meat is considered a luxury.
If our world haven't realized it, eating meat is one of the biggest things that is wrong in our world. As long as we continue eating meat, murdering animals for "sustenance" when we can live without the meat diet then we can never be rid of war, suffering, women exploitation, and violence. I could write a book to elaborate on those things how they are connected but I'm hoping someone had already written one or I'm waiting for someone to do so.
So in attack on titan, because humans are the ones being eaten, and being gifted with intelligence, and determination to cling to life, humans have devised ways on how to fight the Titans back despite knowing that chances are rather small. In order to really defend themselves against the titans, they must fight fire with fire.
"Sadness over a bird killed. No sadness over a fish killed. Lucky are those with voices."
-Saito Ryokuu
AoT also has a number of strong female characters such as Mikasa Ackerman, who seem to have awakened powers and is generally has the mental state prepared for their current situation unlike the protagonist Eren who always seem weak and helpless until he discovered his latent gifts and powers but despite his abilities to be strong, I find it strange that he doesn't seem to have the mental capacities to adapt quickly in the given circumstances. He's still shocked whenever someone gets killed and needs to calm his tits every 5 minutes. He's whiney and I find him really annoying, that perhaps his redeeming quality is that he was given a gift he can use to save mankind and is determined to help humanity selflessly.
Their comic relief was Sasha Braus, who is also known as the potato girl, and pretty much needs to stuff her face with anything at any time. She reminded me of myself when I was living in the temple when I was always hungry. Some argued that she's always hungry because her stomach was used to eating meat because she came from a hunting village where hunting game and eating meat is their pride and glory. She's one of my favorite characters but not much spotlight is given to her, I think she will be one of the characters that you get attached to that the series will probably kill off in the end for a higher impact. Hopefully she doesn't die...
When it comes to love stories and developments the only pair worth noting is Ymir and Christa. Ymir is a strong female character as well that is as well rounded as Mikasa. A blunt girl who always follow Christa around and later in the story was explained deeply why and how feelings over time developed. Their pairing is canon and the creator confirmed it. So they are officially the couple in the series and some of the pairings are still rather vague like Eren and Mikasa where people argue that it's sibling love and that Eren is really paired with Annie. So up to now, no other love story development aside from Ymir and Christa have been confirmed. Their pairing is mostly known as YumiKuri, this ship sails itself.
The video provides a rather apt reaction when the yumikuri was declared canon. I would go ape shit if one of them dies. I will be glad to attend their wedding. <3
Well just because there are many badass female protagonists and that the creator didn't really bother much about gender and sexuality, sexism still exists in this world. It's still a pretty good development that anyone can love anyone here without homophobic judgments.
It's a beautiful anime that I feel will revolutionize future stories. In parallel, their fictional world and ours aren't any different. There is something going on in the bigger picture but humans still prefer to squabble over petty things, are still greedy, and twisted, and that the shining ray of hope lies in someone who is also just as dark and twisted. It is a portrayal of the human condition in a circumstance that might as well have resembled the real life crisis that people are going through.
No one is perfect, no one is good or evil, it is always a play of something in between and that people have done some good and bad things in their lives. It implores the audience to let go of the notion that there are people who purely good or bad but depicts humans as flawed broken people. Only their motivation to be whole differs.
