What do you think about SnK’s OP ss3?

I adore it. It’s my favorite one visually and symbolically. It brought me to tears. Musically it’s nice but not my fave.

For my very brief, rushed analysis of it (I’m not gonna cover every shot I don’t have time but):

We open with Eren with his eyes closed.

And then Eren awake, with his eyes open, jumping into action.

The camera then pulls back, symbolic of how his world is going to open up this season with the discovery of Marley. It’s also a part of growing up and maturation, a major theme in the Uprising and Shiganshina arc: learning to expand your worldview.

They cast larger shadows, symbolizing among other things, again, groiwng up, and also what they have to overcome:

The still images are fascinating, because they are of them as children, because they can’t change their past no matter what happens in the future.

We then have adorable baby Levi stumbling around between street walls #symbolism.

Levi flipping a knife and looking at an angle that appears to match Kenny’s angle next, showing again, that Kenny is his father figure.

And also Kenny’s original shot of him with his face covered and then flipping his hat up so we see his face: a literal unmasking.

If this Erwin shot of him watching his father and his child self does not break your heart I don’t know if you have one. Erwin’s face is also resolute, signifying how he was driven by his childhood trauma to the very end.

Baby Historia, initially appearing alone, only then to be revealed to be with Frieda, opening her hands and releasing into the wider world.

Eren appears and then we see his hand reaching for himself, but he can’t grab hold. He also then reaches for Mikasa, who stares away from him up at the sky, clutching her scarf (a symbol of something that saved her during her moment of trauma, and of her love for Eren that anchors her).

The hand then reaches for Armin, looking down, and Armin vanishes and hte hand is left with blood, and if you’ve read the manga you’ll know what this is referring to. It’s also interesting that Eren, Mikasa, and Armin are all looking in different directions, which is again symbolic of growing up and forming your own individual place in the world.

More still images of Carla and Grisha and baby Eren, and then we see Shiganshina again, the childhood home, and Eren then gets to his feet to look out at the larger world, but with his back turned towards the audience. I don’t want to speculate too much but you can clearly see this as a reference to what’s going on in the manga right now, with Eren going rogue from everyone who cares about him, and not even listening to his child self who keeps trying to get his attention before giving up. This is my favorite part, and I cry.

Then we see them running as kids, but not the destination. We see the Warrior babies trying to find their way through a dark, confusing forest with a lamp, looking lost.

Historia at the fence, refusing to looking out and away, rocking as if she can’t decide whether to step forward or not, Erwin and Levi passing each other and Levi watching Erwin.

The Shinganshina trio are running and they lose a shoe, and it’s left behind, the key and then a still shot of them laughing together. The key of course is the thing that will unlock the larger world they’re a part of, a world that they all need to find their way in, and they have to keep running forward, keep fighting for that beauty in the middle of a cruel world. It doesn’t lessen the beauty of the relationships they’ve shared, but it does make it impossible for them to go back to those days. Their love for each other will never lessen, that I believe, but they won’t be able to return to the simplicity of those childhood days, and their dreams will be realized but with a cost.

polly-chan:

polly-chan:

Snk – religious motif

This is my first meta, born from the union of religious themes and the passion for this manga.

I read an article online where Isayama claims to have been inspired by “Paradise lost” by Milton. I personally don’t consider snk a religious manga, but I believe that this dimension is more than a mere motif. I like thinking about it as some great feeling which pervades the series as a whole.

Paradis Island is clearly linked to the Garden of Eden: as God created a perfect, peaceful world, but only with the condition that man submits himself to ignorance (whose symbol is the prohibition to eat the fruit of knowledge), the first king made his people forget about what happened outside the walls and forbade them from searching for the truth or divulging information about it.

Nevertheless, the desire for knowledge that motivates people could not be so easily repressed – as Grisha said at the beginning of the series – and many of them desire a freedom in hell (outside the walls) rather than a lack of choice. This is one of the main themes of the series: there is no peace without freedom and there is no real freedom without knowledge.

The character who best embodies the concept of free will is Eren since he’s even willing to sacrifice himself for it.

Is there a parallel between Eren and the God of the new testament, as between the first king and the God of the ancient testament?

The mystical dimension is mostly felt when the eldians are called “demons” and when it is made clear that “the life of a man transformed into Giant is a hell on earth”.

If we read Job’s book and other passages of the Bible, we could find the answer to the ancient question “why does God permit evil?”:

– there’s no good without wrong;

– it’s a way to give people a choice.

The reason why the devil is so active in our world is, according to christian interpretations, because he has little time left to act at all. Thus, everything has a beginning and an end. Similarly the eldians possessing the power of the nine giants can only live for 13 years. The number 13 in Hebrew symbology, in fact, is connected to the devil.

Ymir is a mythical ancestor like Abraham is for the three monotheistic religions.

Transcending mystical meanings, it is undeniable that a religion should want to propose the best possible society to its believers. That’s exactly what the first king wanted, but not being God and being just a man he made mistakes and failed to create the world of peace he wished for.

Will Eren die after bearing the cross of his destiny, sacrificing himself to erase the sins of the world? His new long hair suggests some resemblance to the figure of Jesus Christ ;))

Does anyone think about the possibility that the manga will end with an apocalypse? It would be fun to have an apocalypse in what is firstly presented as a post-apocalyptic series!

I repeat this meta I wrote when I was uknown, because I like it and maybe now somebody can see it 😊 What do you think about it?

What do you think of the change in plot/structure in SNK season 3?

The Uprising is definitely my second favorite arc in SnK, though I know that isn’t a popular opinion (when have I ever had a popular opinion help), so seeing it adapted well really, really matters to me. Historia’s character is one of my favorites, and her journey is deeply meaningful for me.

Suffice to say, I do not have a problem with what the anime is doing so far. It seemed like they’re just rearranging things, which is fine because I will admit Isayama’s story while a fantastic story has some really… iffy pacing. The Uprising (like the Marlay arc) works as a whole in the story, but if I were to read it monthly I can see there being issues in the pacing. I don’t think the changes are much different than what the anime has been doing so far: in season 1, it rearranged the 104 training arc to fit better with the pacing, and in season 2 we got more of Ymir’s backstory when it was actually relevant instead of showing up five hours late with a letter.

So far, every season seems to be correcting little parts of the pacing, but the issues are simply more prominent in the arc being adapted right now: hence, there are going to be more changes. My guess is the Marlay stuff is also going to be heavily altered pacing wise, and I’m okay with that (who wants to bet we get some of Reiner’s memories of Bertolt this season before Shiganshina? I’d bet a lot on them doing a significant set up for season 4′s switch to Marlay, and I think it’s clear we’re heading to at least chapter 90 + possible beyond that insofar as the Reiner memory chapters go.)

The first episode was fast, but not to the point where it felt rushed yet, depending on how the rest of the season goes. It felt like it was setting the stones for things it plans to elaborate on later, but in a different order than we were expecting. It adapted the important parts, and framed Armin’s molestation as horrifying and not for gratuitous lols which was something I was very worried about after that interview. The OP is actually my favorite OP for SnK visually/symbolically. I’m excited to see my three favorite characters shine (Eren, Armin, Historia) or really burn up in flames but hey.

Historia and Ymir’s Shared Paths

Oh, Historia. 😦

As sad as this development makes me for her (and I totally get why people don’t like it), I do believe it makes narrative sense for Historia’s arc and fits with the cruel aspect of SnK’s world (really not much different than our own). Also, I do not believe this dooms Historia to tragedy.

It’s no secret that the one piece of Isayama’s writing that I’ve thus far hated completely is Ymir’s death. It didn’t seem to fit with what we knew about Ymir, and left a lot unresolved between her and Historia, especially in terms of how they affected each other. Her death was confirmed way too late to have any real thematic impact since the characters were already used to living without her.

But with 107, we see that Historia is not cured and has in fact regressed. Historia is still trapped in the same dangerous cycle that killed Ymir: sacrificing herself and her own desires to be a figurehead for her people, and allowing her children to suffer the same fate. This flaw killed Ymir twice (firstly when she was turned into a Titan, secondly when she was too kind to leave Bertolt and Reiner), and Historia is currently heading down a path that will kill her and kill her children.

The irony of the situation is palpable: Historia is deliberately having a child to sacrifice them for a cause. That’s what Grisha did with Zeke.

It also carries parallels to what happened to Ymir–hopeless people used a street child to fulfill their own desires, to give themselves hope.

Eren just sacrificed children for a cause too (to somehow break with this plan and thereby protect Historia presumably), narratively showing Historia the horrors of just what she is planning to do.

This development gives Ymir’s death resonance, rather than her death being just a letter way too late in the game with no real impact. Because of her own and also directly because of Ymir’s martyr complex driven decisions, Historia has sunk into a similar place: allowing herself to be a figurehead, endangering her life and her child’s for the sake of a cause.

No, Historia, that is not all. Because someone still has Ymir’s memories:

I think we’ve all thought Ymir’s memories would be relevant at some point, but this development is giving me hope that it’s going to be not just a sweet heartwarming moment, but instead a powerful one. If Porco does share certain memories of Ymir’s with Historia, including how she actually felt about her and how she felt about her own decisions (this is surely not what Ymir would have wanted for Historia), I have hope that might jumpstart Historia’s development in a positive direction again.

hey!!! uhm,,, just gotta ask,, recently someone (idk if i should put their @ or not) made a post about how attack on titan is extremely antisemitic and can make jewish ppl uncomfortable,,,idk,,i’ve never noticed it being,,,antisemitic before??

Every time I see this argument made Emperor Time activates and I lose an hour off my life from sheer wtf.

Jk that’s harsh of me but honestly, every time I see that argument I’m struck by the terrible reading comprehension out there and people’s lack of ability to see that their interpretation isn’t always correct. I wrote this post on it in answer to another ask about this about a month or two ago.

Suffice to say, if it makes you uncomfortable, I absolutely do not fault anyone for not wanting to read it. Not at all. But to apply one’s triggers to the entirety of the world and say “THIS STORY SHOULDNT EXIST BECAUSE IT’S EVIL BECAUSE IT TRIGGERS ME” is the most immature, egotistical, ridiculous attitude and I see it a lot on Tumblr.

But to be honest, it’s the X-Men fallacy (which also applies to Tokyo Ghoul). I don’t even read or watch X-men but like the idea is if a group of repressed people have special powers that legitimize general humanity’s fear of them, does that mean that the writing is legitimizing oppression?

My answer to that is to point out that fiction does not equate to real life and should not be equated. It is not separate from real life, though, either, and needs to be handled responsibly. For example if Isayama’s conclusion was “yes the Eldians are dangerous wipe them out for the good of humanity!”=irresponsible, gross, no. But that is clearly, clearly not what Isayama is trying to communicate at all. If anything it’s the opposite. We are on Eldia’s side. Every reader is on Eldia’s side whether with the Warriors or Paradis.

So let’s assume he’s handling it responsibly, and he does need to be extra careful now that he included armbands and like… no I don’t think that was a great idea because that does trigger people and I don’t think it was necessary (if I were an editor I’d have been like ‘let’s do something else’ but w/e), but I also don’t think Isayama is drawing and writing this story like “Eldians are Jewish.” The correlation can, as I said, trigger people, and that needs to be respected if people prefer not to engage with the story as a result.

But SnK is honestly extremely anti-fascist, condemning oppression even if they can turn into monsters–because, in case people hadn’t noticed, they do not turn into monsters of their own volition. Other people (Marley) force them to turn into them by injecting them with a serum–and the nine founding titans are the only ones who in theory have to exist, but none of them have to be violent as we’ve seen. If you wanted to make a parallel to a group of people having a genetic disease it’d be more apt than saying Isayama is advocating for oppression.

Hello hamliet! I hope you’re having a wonderful day. Given the latest chap, do you think Levi is okay with using the coordinate for rumbling the rest of the world and bringing fear among all the other nations just as Armin had predicted in the flashbacks? I know he’s just following orders, but I’m wondering if he’s upset over being forced to use this power against the world which might lead to many deaths. Eren sure didn’t leave them with any other choices.

Hello hello!

Nope. I don’t think Levi is okay with this at all.

So, despite being like, very powerful physically, I don’t think Levi enjoys death at all, and even less so since Shiganshina. I honestly can see Levi agreeing more with Armin’s take here:

I think Levi at this point realizes that death accomplishes nothing, and threats and fear accomplish nothing. That was kind of the basis of Erwin’s arc, actually: his father was killed to protect the secrets of the wall and to thereby instill fear in those who would dissent. And that led to Erwin’s lack of self-worth and depression and guilt, which we know Levi knew about to en extent. Any kind of “peace” based on threats and fear and rumbling is not peace, because it is not free. Freedom is a major theme in SnK, and freedom and peace cannot exist without the other.

That’s why when Armin says he saw nothing useful from Bertolt’s memories I raise my eyebrows because I think it’s likely he saw nothing useful from that perspective of fear/how to intimidate Marley. When it comes to being able to empathize, as we saw Armin doing when he arrived in Marley, on the other hand–I think Bertolt’s memories have been incredibly useful, and honestly? That empathy is Paradis’s best chance, and Armin knows it, and I think to some extent–though I don’t expect Levi to go against the grain in any significant way while I do expect Armin too–Levi does too.

Gabi and Falco: Cruel World, Beautiful World

aspoonofsugar:

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.

Keep reading

About Karina, how was she manipulative? Not trying to send hate but she always seemed like she actually believed in the Marley doctrine and was actually trying to help Reiner albeit in a twisted repulsive way. Maybe she said what she did bc her parents taught her like that to-like Grisha’s parents.Since she didn’t have anyone or any situation growing up to show her otherwise, was there any hope for her at all? Especially as a parent herself?

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.

Fun fact: funko Annie is taller than funko Armin. This is canonically wrong and yet it pleases me.

Eren + Reiner: Saviors of “Humanity”

linkspooky:

If there is one strong uniting factor between Reiner and Eren it is this. Both of them built their entire life’s purpose upon what were essentially childish dreams, and then neither could truly process it when reality failed to measure up to their starry eyed expectations.

Keep reading

This does a great job of laying out the contrasts between Eren and Reiner (who is a very tragic figure). I especially liked the analysis of Eren’s relationships with Armin and Mikasa, and may have actually teared up ~~because I’m a sap~~. Thanks for this.