it’s the only memory he gets from that dream, maybe it’s a sign that
eremika is really going to be plot relevant. Why would he remember
Mikasa in particular (and not Armin for example), assuming these
memories were really about him and Mikasa? I’m so sorry if this doesn’t
make a lot of sense, I love your snk posts so I wanted your opinion.
Have a great weekend!
Hello anon! I am happy you enjoy my posts! And don’t worry, your ask
makes sense, but since my answer is gonna be pretty long I’ll break it
into two parts:
1) Firstly I will address the scene you mentioned and some theories about it.
2) Then I will talk a little bit of Eremika.
1) I agree with you that this scene
and this scene
are
both linked to a common plot point which has to do with some
worldbuilding elements like the paths among Eldians, the origin of the
Founding Titan, the Attack Titan and the truth about Ymir. Until these details remain
unknown it is difficult to come up with a perfect explanation for these
panels.
Gabi and Falco’s arcs are pretty well crafted so far and strictly intertwined and this meta will try to underline how and where exactly they are going.
First of all it’s important to underline how both of them are often portried while they are running. Even in this battle which closed the arc they are constantly running and the adults around them aren’t able to stop them:
This in itself brings to mind this panel:
Falco and Gabi, just like Eren, are always running forward and the people around them, who are desperately trying to protect them, are never able to catch up and this is simply because both Gabi and Falco need to push forward and to face the world themselves if they truly want to grow up.
Yes, I do. I’ve been talking a lot about this with @aspoonofsugar and well, both of us are side-eyeing Zeke and his foiling of Levi and their relationships with Eren. Much of what I’m writing is their ideas from our conversations.
I mean, look at Levi’s desperate sorrow at what Eren’s done here. Levi has been a mentor figure for Eren, a paternal/fraternal figure.
And then there’s Zeke, whom Gabi and Falco viewed as a mentor, but who betrayed them:
Suffice to say, Zeke’s plan is really bizarre with Yelena and the other inconsistencies, and I just don’t see how there wasn’t another option besides Eren going Titan. But I can see Zeke making it seem like there was not another option.
While I do believe Zeke truly cares for Eren, I don’t know if Zeke is healthy enough of an individual to know what truly caring for someone looks like, since his entire life has been people using him. His parents, the Warrior program, etc. We’ve only ever seen Zeke refer to people in similar utilitarian terms: Mike, for example, mowing the people in Shiganshina as if it were a baseball game, Gabi and Falco are “miscalculations.” And how interesting that of all the Warriors in this arc, Zeke is the only one for whom his motives remain shrouded. I doubt they’ll be shrouded forever, as @aspoonofsugar said to me earlier today.
I think Zeke may very well be using Eren for his own goals and plan to betray him is Eren no longer fits into those goals (I definitely believe he plans to betray the Survey Corps), just like he ditched Gabi and Falco when they no longer mattered. What Zeke’s plans exactly are, I don’t know. Aspoonofsugar also pointed out that It’s eerie that Zeke’s words echo Floche’s, and I do wonder if they might team up at some point. Zeke and Levi’s foiling will continue and Eren may have to choose who he considers to be his real family: Zeke, or Mikasa, Armin, and Levi. Both Zeke and Levi care about Eren, but nothing about the current situation looks good for Zeke and Eren’s relationship long term.
I don’t know. We all knew this wasn’t going to be a perfect adaptation and like I’ve said before, the manga is where my investment is. I enjoyed it but I’m not pinning all my hopes for the story on it. Someday maybe there will be a great adaptation akin to FMA:B, but for now this is just fun.
I also suggest reading this post by @kingkishou. It does a good job explaining why the adaptors make certain decisions. A written work is by nature a medium of storytelling that allows for more nuance and subtlety than an animation, which also has budget constraints to keep in mind that a manga doesn’t at least not to that extent. That’s why in general I find mangas more to my taste than their anime counter parts and books more my taste than movies–with a few notable exceptions. For anime that’s Attack on Titan, in which I think the anime is largely better at telling the story than the manga, and FMA:B which I consider on par with the manga. For books, I think Game of Thrones is better than A Song of Ice and Fire in terms of how it tells the story (i.e. is more concise and has less pacing issues). But that’s all preference and taste.
I think the issue lies in the fact that she told Reiner it was his responsibility to unite the family, that if he worked hard enough his dad–a Marlayan–would care and come for them. I don’t know if she believed this or not, and I’m not sure it matters, because she was manipulating Reiner to get what she wanted or just because… idk.
It’s a tricky situation taking people who were brainwashed as kids who are now adults. Look at V in Tokyo Ghoul, who were also presumably at one point child soldiers, but whom let’s be real are all probably going to die.
No, I don’t think there’s any hope narratively for Karina. Ideally there would be, but I just don’t see Isayama setting it up. The difference between her and Eren’s grandparents as well as Mr. Leonhart is that they all express regret and love for their kids. Annie’s father insists she’s alive when Karina tries to praise him for Annie being dead. Eren’s grandfather expresses misery and implied affection for Grisha when Eren talks to him. Karina has never been framed in a sympathetic or gray light at all. Certainly the circumstances surrounding Karina are gray–she’s a victim too. But being a victim is never, ever, ever, ever an excuse to victimize anyone else. Like again to make a TG comparison I’m sure Mutsuki’s mom probably didn’t have a great life with an abusive alcoholic husband but she’s still awful for letting Mutsuki be abused. And the narrative has not framed Karina in any sympathetic terms whatsoever, which means I doubt Isayama plans for a redemption.
You’re supposed to do what Eren’s mother did: protect your child no matter what, even if it means dying to save them, and insist that they don’t have to be special. Reiner’s mother did the exact opposite. She pushed Reiner to become a Warrior for her own motives, knowing it would kill him at the age of what 22? Carla was a Good Mom, and we’re definitely supposed to compare her to Karina Braun given Eren and Reiner’s parallels. Karina’s choices and values have soundly been condemned by the narrative from the first chapter.
hamliet 