Forum - View topicThis Week in Anime - Is Attack on Titan Ramping Up or Just Going Off the Rails?
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Scalfin
Posts: 249 |
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Where we're going, we don't need rails.
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jr240483
 Posts: 4447 Location: New York City,New York,USA |
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what does that mean!? so far none of the other future arcs have any hints that isayama is going to go down to uber axis powers apologist from what i can tell!!!
not a chance. if that really happened, isayama would have had eren , mikasa and historia in an uber three way while they were in the farm ala those comiket douins!!! 
uhhhhhhhh...... i would have to disagree with that!!! i mean compared to other crappy ass fathers, (cough* cough* endeavor , Germa 66's Judge , Gendo Ikari ) roid reiss isn't that much of a bastard!! sure he is an ass for leaving historia to fend for herself, BUT he pales in comparison to those monsters!!!! especially when it comes to judge & gendo!!!!! Last edited by jr240483 on Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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shakir0247
Posts: 60 |
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I honestly don't understand what Andy was getting at here. How is this outcome worse than the previous situation. Is he saying that they need a better system of government than a monarchy, or that it's 'two steps back for Historia? This point could've used some elaboration. As for this season itself, I'm kinda disappointed with how this arc was adapted to be honest. Maybe my expectations were too high based on how excellent seasons 1 and 2 worked as adaptive works but season 3 so far has felt comparatively uninspired and had some questionable decisions. They patched up a lot of the weaknesses of this arc, but they also dropped a lot of the strengths (RIP Historia's character arc), and quite frankly the trade-off did not feel worthwhile to me. |
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shakir0247
Posts: 60 |
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Just ignore this stuff, it's coming from a super duper hot-take that hinges on a completely surface reading of the material, and ignores any kind of framing in the narrative. |
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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I just want to remind y'all that Hajime Isayama is a huge fan of Game of Thrones, so for all the BDSM dungeons, vore, patricide, political upheavals and torture and specifically rectal feeding torture (which is unfortunately a very real torture technique that the United States is notorious for using on suspected terrorists, although, hopefully not with specially designed devices that hold prisoners upside-down), I think we can all be grateful that Attack on Titan doesn't have any outright blood related incest! Thank the Titan Gods for small miracles, eh?
That said, I loved how they did this arc. First of all, it had a lot of Hange, and Hange is awesome. I also loved Historia's realization that even though she really wanted and deserved a parent who loved her, Ymir was right and she shouldn't be a martyr to please people (and spoiler[some more info from the manga makes it very clear that her father wanted her to be a martyr. He absolutely did not care about her at all. Now watch her actually use her position as Queen to improve the lives of the people, she doesn't stand around and let the military use her as a puppet, and the story is all the better for it!]. I, for one, unironically called out "YAS QUEEN!" when Historia saved Eren and when she killed her good-for-nothing dad! As for what's next, I have a lot of theories about what the manga might be trying to say (or what I hope it's trying to say), but I'll leave that for when we're up to it. For what it's worth, I keep up with at least 3 monthly manga, and Attack on Titan is usually the most interesting read (when Crunchyroll remembers to put it up. Last month they decided that we would all want to read chapters 109 & 110 at the same time, so they didn't put up 109 until they had 110 this month. Not cool, guys!) |
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vonPeterhof
Posts: 729 |
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Ethe
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Ah, I see. Thanks for the clarification 
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Agent355
Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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Strong disagree. If you've been reading the manga, you should realize spoiler[Rod didn't want to inherit the Founding Titan because becoming a titan shifter shortens a person's lifespan considerably. But he was perfectly willing to sacrifice the life of the daughter he didn't give a damn about before. In fact, you could argue the only reason she wasn't killed like her mother was so he'd have a plan B if the other royals were killed. He's worth than scum.]
I hear you, but the problem with fantastical allegories that touch on racism and special bloodlines in that while there are talented people, geniuses, etc in real life, they are decidedly *not* divided by race in real life. All that stuff people used to believe based on eugenics and social Darwinism has been debunked. There are some inborn traits that have a genetic component, but nurture is just as important as nature in bringing them out---you can be born with perfect pitch, but if you never get music lessons you're not becoming a classical violinist. The real world certainly has class divisions and royalty, geniuses and extremely talented individuals, but there are no equivalents to super-strong Ackermans or (major manga spoilers) spoiler[whole races who can uniquely manifest titan powers]. Again, I'm not sure exactly what Isayama is trying to say in the manga. It's not over yet, and it seems way too complex for simplistic takes in my opinion. Personally, I really enjoy the manga and find it intriguing. However, people who criticize the story by pointing out that giving people not just royal power but actual superpowers based on a "special bloodline/race" sounds suspiciously more like debunked eugenic ideas than anything with an actual real world equivalence have a point. |
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Rokk3000
Posts: 52 |
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Well, we don't know if they read the manga or not, but for purposes of this review, the anime is all there is, and they go by what has been revealed in the anime, and only that. I read plenty, but I can't afford to buy every manga I might be interested in, and don't have time to read everything even if I only downloaded scanlations. For everything you read or watch, there are ten thousand other things you will never have time to read or watch, and just with anime alone you can never watch every anime produced in a new season, let alone watch or rewatch older stuff. It's just not possible. I own three bookcases full of books, each with 6 shelves and two or three rows of books on every shelf. I also use the public library when I can, and managed to look at the first few volumes of Accelerator. But the library can't afford to get everything I like either. It still hasn't gotten How Not to Summon a Demon Lord, for example, so I bought that. When I was young I was able to read a dozen or more books a week on top of schoolwork and chores. My eyes have gotten worse so I can't read as much anymore, so I still read several books a week, plus a few mangas. I collect a dozen ongoing manga series plus two light novel series, plus regular books besides. But no time or money to check out Attack on Titan, so I settle for the fansubbed anime. |
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Sergio-san
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I thought the last episode about Keith was really good, I loved it. I appreciate that the show bothered to go back and revisit a character we barely even remembered letting him tell his own story.
I disagree with a lot of what was said here. First, how is Historia being the Queen two steps back? In that episode she said it was up to her to decide whether she would accept or not and things have only improved since she became Queen because now the people can acually see their ruler, she's not operating from the shadows like the previous King and his council were and she has also brought the orphan kids from the underground city to help them. Also, when was it said that she is sticking with "divine" right? So far she has not said that the reason she should be ruling is because of the First King's will, the Founding Titan, special powers, to keep mind controlling people or anything like that. She is the heiress to the throne, she accepted the job and wanted to make things better, that's it. Secondly, as far as I know Miche, Nanaba, Hange, Erwin and both Levi's squads have all been able to be good/great warriors based on experience (in the case of Hange a good scientist as well) helping the cause of humanity without being shifters or coming from special clans. As Jean said last episode where he was talking about being a veteran compared to people who are only starting or rather about to star fighting against titans. They're just regular people. So I don't think it staints the message of the show at all. If anything, it is showing that Keith was both right and wrong about his assumption. There are people in the real world who are more talented or "special" than others at something who will always accomplish more things, but that doesn't mean that by being normal you can't achieve anything or be someone important. Finally, as I said I loved Keith's story and how it fleshed out his character I felt a lot for the guy and I don't think what he said to Carla ruins it at all. Of course, what he said to her was harsh and she was in her right to at least slap him and I'm not trying to justify his action, but at least I can understand that the only reason he said those things is because he was not in a good place both mentally and emotionally, her comment just triggered him and that's why he said all those things. I've seen things like happen to people I know, myself included, and I find it surprising that they think his comment ruins his character when I inmediately related to the scene as both the person saying and being told all the harsh words. |
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DangerMouse
Posts: 3993 |
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Hell yeah! I'm loving this arc so far and it has also been awesome to see it on Toonami each week. Yeah, lots of Hange and Historia has been great, and I [expletive] loved when she sides with Eren and slaps the syringe out of her dad's hand and then slams him when he tries to attack her and then goes to save Eren. She was his backup plan that he suddenly needed, and that was the only reason he even spared her immediate death in the first place, he never gave a shit about her. Can't wait to see what she does with the position.
Great post. Totally agree on Historia and like you said in the bold I love that we've seen all mix of people and plenty of non-special people contribute just as much as anyone else and also rise up in talent with experience and like Jean noted as one of these people. Also, I love how it's been incorporated, we've seen people of all levels in the fight and also such as in the downfall of Kenny's MP squad. Their lack of constant live experience compared to Scouts like Team Levi really came back to bite them in the ass despite their talent and weaponry. I also agree it's neat we even revisit Keith. |
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Agent355
Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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Actually, we already started to see what she does as queen in the last episode (I shouldn't have put it in spoilers, hadn't seen the last ep yet when I wrote it). Historia immediately uses her newfound power to establish an orphanage and provide social support to impoverished people, especially kids and other people living in poverty in the literal Underground. She knows better than any royal or noble what it's like growing up neglected and without social or financial resources, and she's determined to lift people up. It's incredibly inspiring to see a character use her power for good. And she takes a hands-on approach, living on the grounds of the orphanage, which is a self-sufficient working farm, and supervising and working alongside those kids herself. It's incredible. Yeah, it's not democracy, but to be fair, they don't have the concept of democracy. But it's far from a military dictatorship--by agreeing to become Queen, Historia knows that she has a unique chance to provide social support for the poor and vulnerable kids who have been neglected in their feudal world, and Levi, who grew up underground, helps her implement that vision right away. I really can't think of a better scenario for the people---they lucked out getting a leader who understands their plight. |
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jdnation
Posts: 2107 |
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I don't think Isayama was especially trying to say anything in favour of eugenics. Quite likely he just needed some realistic plot device mechanism to explain where the Titans come from, and went with the natural idea of it possibly being tied to some magical genetics. There are things that do genetically pre-dispose living things for favourable or unfavourable scenarios. Natural Selection is a result of that. Even medically certain groups of people are either pre-disposed to certain diseases, or even resistant to certain diseases, though it's not as simple as coming down to just what's in the genes; it's rather that environment and upbringing and cultural habit over generations puts strains on the genetics of the group to adapt a certain way and have produced a certain long lasting effect on genes that are passed on from parent to child such that certain conditions are hereditary - these are obviously not only physical as we normally observe between asians, Caucasians, blacks etc. and also within them such as male pattern baldness, height, body shape etc. - and even certain temperaments and resistances to certain infectious diseases that another group has never encountered or been conditioned to survive. So it's not off the mark if Isayama simply tried to find some kind of grounded explanation for Titans and even to the Ackerman Clan's 'fighting' abilities on top of their resistance to the Titan powers. Certainly the world of Attack on Titan is fantastical compared to reality and thus some suspension of disbelief should be granted to make the premise and spectacle work. But despite all that, Isayama has in fact taken pains to show that people are unfairly discriminated against because of this. Whether it's people like Mikasa, or even what we'll come to know as the spoiler[Eldians] as a whole who are demonized. I believe Isayama's main theme is similar to that of Hideo Kojima's in the game Metal Gear Solid V. Which is - the endless cycle and chain of revenge and retaliation. One group persecutes one group, and that other group turns around and persecutes another group or the other group in return justified by their past persecution. This can even be driven by envy and ambition as Keith's and even Kenny's back stories illustrate. So this does tie into the greater scheme of things and are just not throw-away character development. Eren's journey begins on precisely that note - revenge against the Titans by wiping them out. But as you've read the manga, and we discover what the Titans are, and what events occur later,spoiler[ that theme carries through, but now the monsters allegorized by the Titans are essentially morphing into what is obviously always been humanity itself. And we've gone from one kid chasing giants for killing his mother, to a nation out for revenge against an entire world for persecuting and keeping them locked behind walls in fear. It's more complicated than that, but for the time being it's as if Eren is on the road to making the same mistake as his past self. And undoubtedly whatever they're building up behind the scenes sounds allegorical to the atomic bomb as a deterrent against the rest of the world. ] So it's possible Isayama has a tragic ironic outcome in mind for the end of this story. At least for our leading man. But in that is the lesson. But it's good to see that the themes of chapter 1 of Eren's motivations are still relevant in the current arc and built upon with new substance. There is also another point about the censoring and rewriting of history and its effect on a people and how a narrative can completely change things even tied into the Titan ability to produce amnesia on the masses, and how the passing on of a particular true memory can completely change a person's perspective, which is what occurred to every hereditary ruler. In a great many ways, Attack on Titan has a lot of clever things to say about reality without directly spelling it out. Those who are only following the anime now will see this play out pretty brilliantly in the inevitable next season. |
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Gina Szanboti
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I was under the impression it was where she touched him (along his spine, home of magical Titan spinal fluid) that allowed her to restore both of their memories. Or maybe both of them touching him was required, in which case, she could have touched him previously without triggering anything. |
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TdFern 87
Posts: 253 |
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I feel like listening to these two reviewers are like listening to the critics from IGN.
I'll be frank, while this arc was honestly my least favorite and as there are flaws in this arc, but I can see the importance and why it is there. It gives more insight to Levi, Keith, Historia, and Eren's character. Kenny, Rod, & Keith character and their impact on the story are miniscule but they do become much relevant later in the next arc. |
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