#once again you can like snk I LIKE SNK but please be more fucking critical jesus

[seoafin]

the more that i think abt it, there has always been a casual racism in fandoms particularly towards the asian which then (over)sexualising them, it’s normalized to the point where ppl don’t even realize they have that sort of implicit bias, and we know ppl don’t rlly come on the internet to think critically. but unintentional racism is still racism. it still has an impact, still does damage.

ppl need to think intentionally and critically in how they consume and interact with media not made for them, but they don’t, instead choosing to come in with their preexisting biases, and bc of that, it’s easy for fandom members to dismiss the cultural/ politicial concerns of east asians/ ppl within the fandom. the racism comes from a place of moral superiority, of ownership, of this assumption that westerners are entitled to not just consume animes/mangas (or literally asian medias) but also bring their western lens and apply it to something that was never written for them in the first place.

and then i’ve seen this way more often than i think shld have. there are a lot of times when mostly korean and chinese aot fans call jpn on their james charles type of apology when they saw isayama’s right wing smelling propaganda in the series. then, i saw westerners barge in and said “ok then u can drop all jpnese contents if u don’t like it” and i’m just ???? what, like bby,, sometimes all u need to do is stfu, understand and learn when an oppressed group said that this content is anti-said group/minority bc that’s not discussion that u have any right to contribute to, they know what they’re talking abt. bc i saw a lot of ppl saying that they’re reaching or sum shit and IM TIRED of ppl dismissing pocs’ legitimate concern into “ur sensitive” and the variations of it. and looking at that response as someone whose country was colonized by both yts and the jpn bring mixed feelings bc tf are u smoking?

but then again, i just woke up and i’m not coherent enough to write so pls just delete this if it’s a flame inducing ask 😭 - 🐱

THIS IS SO FUCKING SEXY OF YOU TO SAY I AGREE THIS 100%

it makes me so livid when westerners say shit about how “anime is for everyone” no the fuck it isn’t LMFAO (and it’s always the ones illegally streaming like shut up you don’t get an opinion) there’s a target audience for anime and it’s japanese people first. just like kpop is for meant for koreans first (although there’s more nuance in this than just that since kpop has exploded onto the international scene but I can’t get into that now but god i could talk about the fetishization, infantilization, and dehumanization of kpop stars and east asian people as a result of it soooo much)

seeing people praise isayama (the amount of weebs talking about how isayama can do no wrong) really grinds my gears like as someone whose family suffers from the effects of the japanese occupation of korea (just like many other koreans) regardless of whether or not snk is pro or anti imperialist isayama himself has expressed pro imperialist views and if you don’t expect them to bleed into his work then I literally have nothing to say to you. it’s not the place of non asians to be accepting excuses/justifying isayama just because you like snk.

while many jewish people have said snk is antisemitic, there have been many other jewish people who have said that snk isn’t antisemitic, so honestly, i can’t really speak on that. it’s not my place. but it’s funny to me that in the western fandom it’s the antisemistism that gets brought up and rehashed over and over again when it’s a flimsy argument at best, and not the imperialism part :/ people are just.....

also im glad you brought up fandom typical racism because it gets brushed over a lot when it shouldn’t. people get real bold and forget that anime characters are ASIAN and most of the time takes place in JAPAN. some ppl are so blatantly disrespectful of the culture bc they don't understand it. on the other hand you’ve got others on tiktok calling anime characters ASIAN SLURS because they don’t like the character is one of the many instances of casual racism towards asians that go on in anime fandom spaces which is appalling. like how are you going to consume east asian media and be racist at the same time???

also i’m not in the haikyuu fandom but apparently people thought that haikyuu character (i think his name was suna or smt???) was a STONER BECAUSE OF HIS EYESHAPE??? i was and still am absolutely flabbergasted. crazy.

[aliresix]

 I’m watching One Piece

Episodes 1-50

In the very first scenes, Nami doesn’t have such an exaggerated body. But as time goes by it gets worse.

For some reason I think Usopp and Hanji (from snk) would get along well??? Just… I don’t know, science buddies and major nonbinary vibes.

I’m dying they’re spelling Luffy as “Rufy”. H e l p

How does Zoro talk in an understandable way so casually while having a fucking sword in his mouth????????

I can’t look at the tag for this fandom and I won’t be able to for 3 to 5 months. I don’t think I’ll resist that long.

Ep. 45 was just everyone going “awww baby’s first wanted poster”

Now that I think about it, how is taking several trees with you on a boat a good choice, Nami?

I want to appreciate all the voice actors

Luffy is the master of sleeping when he’s in danger/has almost died.

Zoro was straight up ready to lose an arm just to get a good sword. And they don’t have - yet - a doctor with them? What

Fuckin hell ep 50 gave me a dejavu but I love my lying son Usopp so worth it

Episodes 50-100

MY BABY SANJI FOUND THE ALL BLUE. Good for him, good for him.

Luffy. Luffy I love you. But how did you survive after getting struck by lightning and falling from something so tall??????

The marine trying to set the Merry Going on fire while it rains: yeah we brought gunpowder but we need more cause it got wet VS That one guy from Buggy’s crew: trying to light a match under the rain.

Every time someone learns they are pirates they’re super scared. then they get to know them and they’re like “ah”.

Please tell me at some point Luffy has/will come back to the whale. The poor thing deserves it.

LUFFY WHAT MAKES YOU THINK EATING WORMS IS A GOOD IDEA

Oh my god Luffy sleep-talked and the others anwered I can’t

Zoro: * is about to get turned into a wax statue*. Also Zoro: gotta look good while I’m at it 

Luffy went up a vertical mountain, in the snow, barely dressed and barefoot. While carrying two people. My boy is strong as fuck.

Me: no I won’t cry. Chopper’s whole backstory: hi.

Only Luffy’s brother could not be bother by Luffy having a reindeer in his cruise.

I want one of those turtle-seal things. I’ll keep it with me and cherish it forever.

Episodes 100-150

Places Luffy has fallen asleep at: a pit he created, the middle of a square, a beach after falling from a cliff.

Luffy, insulting a crocodile by calling it a “damned banana”. Gotta love him.

Luffy: almost dies. Also Luffy: M E A T

The lesbian energy just radiating from every interaction between Nami and Vivi is killing me (the bath scene??? help)

Love that despite them risking their own life, Nami still puts her maps first.

 They just keep rescuing people they find in the sea and help them out

This time they’re just chilling around in the boat of the people trying to catch them (also I kinda want to cook/eat curry rn)

Their reactions when Luffy was interested in a book were priceless

I can’t believe this old man  defeated the marine with GOATS

Hey remember that one time the Merry Going came out of a rainbow mist flying?

hOW IS KEEPING A CIGARETTE WHEN YOU’RE IN A DIVING SUIT A GOOD IDEA, SANJI??????’

Mh so falling asleep in critical situations runs in the family, right, Ace?

Episodes 150-200

The only other reaction to the straw hats is "these idiots are dumb and therefore weak" and then getting your ass beaten.

THEY JUST GOT YEETED IN THE SKY BY WATER AND LUFFY'S LIKE "FUNNY". WHAT?

What the actual fuck is happening in the clouds I'm very concerned

They said a lot of money but Sanji converted it in rice I’m dying over here

Single parent Usopp having to deal with all the problem children (expect Robin. In this house we stan Robin.) is a mood

Same thing goes for Nami hitting that dude in the face with a boat cause the price was too high

BIg brain time and it’s just “what if Robin knew how to fight with a sword”. She’d be even more unstoppable. Also woman with sword so

Luffy: gets attacked by dangerous wild animal. Luffy’s first thought: Hey Sanji can we eat it?

Once again, Luffy’s priority are well set: throw that golden necklace away, look for meat instead.

Fellas is it gay to trust a man you never met with the lives of your whole village, get mad at him and then forgive him while running in the water and telling him you’ll wait for him, and protect your land thinking that you need to be there for when he'll return? Asking for a friend.

WHY DID THAT ONE TELL THAT NORLAND WAS A LIAR FUCK THAT ONE IN PARTICULAR

I did some calculations (that are probably worng but shhh nobody needs to know that) and anyways remember the big golden ball attached to Luff’s arm for, like, 5 episodes? Well, it should weight somewhere between 140-150 kg and 200 kg. WHAT. Luffy supremacy, once again.

Pfft look at those idiots trying to escape with the gold while the citizens run after them to give them more.

How isn't anyone in Navarone recognizing them istg it doesn't make sense they are wanted by the law

Chopper decided to risk his life for the lives of complete strangers. What a good doctor.

[ryuichirou]

I saw one very stupid post on my dash about how snk is OBVIOUSLY nazi propaganda and trying to convert all of us into imperialists and white supremacists. tbh it’s not the first time I’ve seen that kind of stuff and probably won't be the last, but for some reason this time it gave me a lot of anxiety (I got wordy, I'mma need to send another ask, sorry)

(part 2) It's been more than half and hour and I still feel this awful sensation in my chest. It's just overall pretty fucked how to have something you hold dear being misinterpreted in the worst way possible, and I was just wondering what are your thoughts on this situation or how you deal with people claiming all sorts of awful shit.

(part 3) I imagine that as an artist some people probably direct their issues with snk towards you, 'cause I don't even post that much fanart and I've gotten anons "trying to educate me" on why this series is so wrong, after posting drawings. Of course, you don't have to reply, maybe the topic makes you anxious too and I don't want to bother you, so sorry for the depressing topic (｡•́︿•̀｡)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Tiiish, I want to hug you, I’m really sorry that this happened to you. I hope you’re feeling a little bit better now.

Like we already mentioned a while ago, when we were talking about that darn article, after we read through it and did a little fact checking (and I mean it when I say a little, because there weren’t many facts to check), we stopped caring about it. It’s not research at all, just a manipulatively written speculation on Yam’s motives and worldview, but sadly, people easily believe these accusations because they hate SnK and want to find a valid reason to hate it and shit on its fanbase. Because “I hate it because it’s nazi propaganda” sounds much cooler than “I hate it because it’s popular”, doesn’t it?

It’s easier to ignore the article itself though, and it’s much harder not to think about tumblr posts or those Twitter threads that get very popular (although there are a lot of bots on twitter, trust me…), and it’s especially difficult to ignore it when it’s specifically directed at you. But the only thing that these people deserve is a good ol’ block and (if they’re getting too offensive and abusive) a report for harassment. The thing is, their opinion doesn’t matter: it won’t change SnK’s story, it won’t affect its success and popularity, it doesn’t affect anything other than our mood (temporarily lol). Because they aren’t critics who actually give a flying fuck about the subject matter, they’re just random assholes with a hateboner for SnK, who sit in their echochamber and discuss the same shit over and over again. And if they’re “fans” of the SnK, it’s just them “consuming it critically” 🙄 such a convenient phrase and so easy to abuse.

If we think about these accusations again… they’re so damn nonsensical, it’s almost amazing. I’m not going to reread it or to make a proper counterpoint article out of this ask, so this is just based on how we remember these accusations.

Like, what part of SnK approves and pushes the idea of imperialism in any way? When the entire idea of the story is that war is bad? When people like Onyankopon, whose homeland was invaded by Marley, exist? And it’s never portrayed as a good thing? Having only one country dominating the world’s situation is literally the main reason why everyone’s suffering??

And come to think of it, Isayama is one of the few manga artists to kind of sort of openly critique Japan: he literally drew Kiyomi losing her cool and drooling while thinking about all the profit and wealth she would get from the deal with Paradis. Why do people never talk about that? What is it, if not a critique of greedy and two-faced nature of people from Azumabito clan, who are heavily implied to represent Japan? I don’t read a lot of manga in general, but do you know how many mangakas I’ve seen who directly talked shit about Japan while being Japanese? Two. Excluding Isayama.

Isayama is clearly invested in the Western culture and he understands the World’s History. He understands that political relationships are complex and that there are no “bad” or “good” countries. I don’t want to make assumptions about how much perspective of the world’s relationships the average person from Japan has, but I still feel like Yams has a pretty good understanding of it. He did his research for the subject matter, and while it’s obviously not perfect, it’s clearly there.

These people also claim that SnK is anti-Korean and anti-Semitic, but if Hetalia had taught me anything, it is that if the story has or used to have any anti-Korean undertones, the Korean readers wouldn’t want to have anything to do with it. They would be the first people to ditch the manga, they would be the first people to critique SnK, and rightfully so. They burnt Uniqlo clothes, their overall domestic policy is pretty anti-Japanese, so there’re literally zero reasons for them not to destroy SnK if they see it as anti-Korean. But the size of the Korean SnK fandom suggests otherwise, doesn’t it.

And the “big noses = Jewish caricature” argument, seriously? How anti-Semitic can you get? Who the fuck looks at people and goes “oh, those have big noses, bet they’re caricature of Jews”?? Sorry I’m getting heated lol The argument about “Asian artists portray Westerners with prominent noses because that’s what we look like to them” has been done a lot of times, I’m not going to go over than again.

And god forbid Isayama to use Germany and Europe to draw a story where his characters are (approximately) Germans and Europeans! Let’s go fetch our pitchforks to punish Isayama for using their aesthetic to make his story look more believable and authentic, right? “Oh, those areas where they hold Eldians resemble places from real life”, like no shit???? Ofc they would??? That’s what references for making the story more grounded are used for??? If I were to write a story about a fictional place based on a real one that I don’t live in, I’d use some visual references to help me to make it more believable??? Why do I even need to explain that?

In my previous post I talked about the armbands and ghetto and stuff, but I’ll reiterate: even if there are thematic similarities, it doesn’t mean that the story mirrors our history. And it doesn’t mean that there is an analogy, since Eldian’s situation is quiiiite different than what Jewish people had to go through. It’s just thematic similarities. And it still doesn’t plant any specific idea in the reader’s head, other than “having people shoved into ghettos with 0 civil rights is a horrible thing”, and I can’t comprehend what’s anti-Semitic or imperialistic about it. Also I’m sorry, but nazis are not the only people who genocided a bunch of people, breaking news. Nor did they invent armbands. Same goes for Japan in WWII.

And now for my favourite argument: Erwin is nazi because his name is Erwin and he was born on the same day than some nazi guy died… I won’t even talk about why this idea is hilariously stupid, I just want to appreciate the level of nitpicking that’s going on here.

So… yeah. People who have nothing else to do but to complain about the show they hate don’t matter. And people who consider themselves a part of the SnK fandom and still say this bs (yep, there are people who do that) are huge hypocrites. The heck are they doing in this fandom then?? Of course, any story is up to interpretation, but this is so backwards?

Sorry for rambling so much… anyways. We’re happy enough not to encounter any hate related to this topic, but we think it’s because we ship Ereri and people already hate us for that, so the majority of shit we get is related to that, I guess we’re a lost cause for them. We’ll see if anything happens after this post though.

But once again, I’m very sorry that you had to go through this. Please remember that this isn’t personal at all, and people who harass strangers on the internet just want to flex their high moral ground while acting like complete assholes. You don’t have to explain anything to them, you don’t have to talk to them, you don’t have to listen to them or give them any attention. I hope you’ll never stumble upon anything like this; but if you ever do, please block them, don’t even bother reading their attempts at “educate” you. Isn’t worth it.

Please have a good day, Tish. And everyone who’s reading this reply.

[snkpolls]

SnK S3E17 Results (Anime Viewer Only Version)

The poll closed with 135 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note this is the anime only viewer version of the poll. Manga readers, please click here for the results of the manga reader poll!

RATE THE EPISODE 113 Responses

This episode has received a ton of positive views across the board, and the poll here is no exception. Over 90% of respondents gave this episode the highest possible ranking.

THIS EPISODE WAS SO EPIC!! Got me on the edge of my seat the whole episode. Too many emotions were felt once the episode ended

Loved the pacing of this episode

Best episode of season 3

Damn

The animation was soooo goooood!

Definitely one of the best this season

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT? 113 Responses

At 36.6%, Levi vs. the Beast Titan is the scene that anime only viewers appreciated the most in this episode. At 25.7%, Armin’s sacrifice makes for a strong second favorite scene. 18.6% of respondents simply couldn’t decide what part of the episode they enjoyed the most.

WHO WAS THE EPISODE’S MVP? 112 Responses

Unsurprisingly, Armin easily took the claim to the episode’s Most Valuable Person, with 80.4% of the vote favoring his sacrifice over the actions of the rest of the cast. Levi came in second with 15.2% of the vote.

WHO’S SACRIFICE HAD MORE EMOTIONAL IMPACT ON YOU? 110 Responses

64.5% of the fandom felt more emotionally compromised by Armin’s sacrifice, although we’re sure the choice wasn’t easy for many. Both characters pulled through with their heroic actions!

WHICH CHARACTER HAD THE BEST “FINAL BLOW” AGAINST THE ENEMY? 111 Responses

At just over half, 51.4% of anime only viewers were most excited about Levi’s final blow against the Beast Titan, shredding his nape open to reveal the human inside!

WHICH WAS THE BETTER ONE LINER FROM MIKASA? 111 Responses

“Annie. Fall,” remains the most notable pre-mortem one-liner from Mikasa among respondents.

THOUGHTS ON WIT CHOOSING TO OMIT ANY MUSIC WHEN EREN TAKES OUT BERTOLT? 112 Responses

78.6% of respondents appreciated WIT’s decision to leave the take-down of the Colossal Titan without any music at all, allowing the viewers to really focus on the moment unfold in front of them. 16.1% of respondents enjoyed the lack of music, but also wouldn’t have minded if WIT had included something. A smaller amount think the moment would have been more profound with something playing in the background. 

I didn't notice there wasn't any music

Was still in shock from about Armin so didn't notice

850 YEARBOOK VOTE: WHO HAS THE BEST TEETH? 109 Responses

With a slight edge over the Colossal Titan, the random Redshirt with the… very interesting facial features wins out this category with 27.5% of the vote. The Colossal Titan was in second place, and Eren’s titan ranked in third. Sorry, Zeke. We’re sure Levi would love to rearrange your teeth a bit.

WHO WORE THIS LOOK BETTER? 110 Responses

Reiner wins the most handsome look with 52.7% of the vote. We can probably thank WIT’s quality animation for this one!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ZEKE MEANT WHEN HE SPOKE ABOUT HUMANITY REPEATING THE SAME MISTAKES OVER AND OVER? 112 Responses

65.2% of respondents feel that Zeke was referring to the King’s brainwashing and how it causes humanity to repeat the same history over and over. 22.3% feel that it’s a more broad statement and criticism on humanity in general and how we’re doomed to forever repeat history. 9.8% either lean more on the “time loop” theory or just think we’re quite witty!

The only solution is extinction

The story is an endless circle

humans are stupid? Or maybe he thinks him and his warriors are better than normal humans?

YOUR REACTION TO LEVI VS. BEAST TITAN? 112 Responses

At 71.4%, the overwhelming majority of respondents were super pumped up for Levi vs. Beast Titan and weren’t disappointed. 13.4% felt that everything went relatively predictably without feeling disappointed. 11.6% were simply impressed, and a small percentage felt it was too predictable.

It's beautiful. I've looked at this for five hours now

Levi gave beast titan a nice shave

DO YOU THINK LEVI WILL GET ANOTHER CHANCE TO TRY AND FULFILL HIS PROMISE? 111 Responses

64% of respondents are feeling positively about Levi’s plight and believe he will be able to face Zeke again and see his vow through. 19.8% are slightly less optimistic, believing that Levi will get to face Zeke again, but still won’t come out victorious. 14.4% are certain that he simply will never get another chance to fulfill his promise.

He promised Erwin to kill him, after Erwin’s death I god damn demand the death of the Beast Titan!

Yes, and I have a bad feeling he might end up dying on his 2nd attempt

REINER LOST HIS MEMORY AFTER BEING INJURED. THOUGHTS? 111 Responses

68.5% of respondents went with the more sarcastically worded answer, but feel that he only lost his memory due to the fact that his head was blown off. 21.6% of respondents feel that it’s something that’s going to ultimately affect Reiner personality disorder, and 7.2% feel that the memory loss is simply just a side effect of titan shifting in general.

I didn't notice

I think it will be revealed later

No, this will be momentary

HOW RELIEVED WERE YOU TO SEE HANGE JUMP INTO BATTLE? 113 Responses

The majority of the fandom was relieved to see that Hange is still alive after a couple episodes of not knowing their fate. Bonus points for them coming back in one of the coolest ways!

SASHA WAS INJURED AND RENDERED UNCONSCIOUS. DO YOU THINK SHE’LL BE OKAY? 113 Responses

Nearly 70% of voters aren’t too concerned for Sasha’s fate. 22% don’t want to say either way, and a small 8% believe she’ll be confirmed dead by the end of the arc.

WILL LEVI HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE THE SERUM? 112 Responses

The vast majority of respondents are fully confident that Levi will inject another character to eat one of the enemy shifters.

PLOT PREDICTION: Erwin is barely alive but will bleed out soon. Levi has the serum, Eren suggests they use it on Armin, (despite already being dead and not knowing if the serum works on the dead.) Levi gets angry at Eren for this and that leads into the rooftop trailer from S3 Part 1's final episode. When Levi is pinned by Mikasa, Eren steals the serum and uses it on Armin, not knowing if it will even work.

IF SO, WHICH SHIFTER DO YOU THINK WILL BE SACRIFICED? 113 Responses

72.6% of respondents are confident that with Bertolt out of commission, he’ll be the one to be sacrificed should the serum be used. 15.9% believe that it will be Reiner. At third, a small percentage are firm in believing that the serum will not end up getting used for one reason or another.

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT ARMIN’S SACRIFICE? 113 Responses

A solid 54% of the fandom were emotionally touched by Armin’s sacrifice, feeling that he went out bravely. 25.7% gained a lot more respect for his character than they had previously, and 15.9% feel very strongly about those who consider Armin to be a useless character. Just a few weren’t really moved by the sacrifice at all.

PepeHands look how they massacred my boy

I'm still traumatized... Armin was my 3rd favorite character and I just... can’t believe it

IS THIS A GOOD END FOR ARMIN’S CHARACTER? 113 Responses

78.8% of respondents believe that this is a satisfying and fitting end to Armin’s character arc. The remaining respondents still want to get something more out of him.

Why did Armin have to go ;-;

Ohh Godd! give us Armin back oh lord! ;-;

HOW DID YOU FEEL SEEING EREN FINALLY TAKE DOWN THE COLOSSAL TITAN? 113 Responses

Nearly half of the fandom were excited to see Eren finally take out the Colossal Titan, cheering on his victory. 33.6% were happy to see it happen and felt it was well deserved. 12.4% would rather give Armin credit for the victory, and a small percentage were either neutral or unhappy with the development.

What did it cost?

HOW HAVE YOUR OPINIONS ON THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS CHANGED?

Naturally, Armin got a huge boost in favorability from this episode, and characters like Eren, Erwin and Levi have also gained fairly large boosts in this regard. Mikasa, Reiner and Bertolt mainly remain unchanged, with a few more favoring Mikasa higher, while Bertolt and Reiner are favored lower. Zeke, the Beast Titan, is the only character who’s favorability continues to move in a negative direction, unsurprisingly so. Yes, we do plan on asking this again after episode 55.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

;0;

Best episode yet

Floch came Clutch

Fucking awesome and hawt 💞😔🥵

Hyped for next episode

I noticed Zeke mentioned some underlying daddy issues. Poor guy's going through a phase... I bet he's about to be seriously grounded

Solidifies it as my favourite anime and dare I say perhaps even one of my favourite shows of all time

very noice

yeet

Thank you for running this poll. I've been looking forward to it every week since I discovered it at the beginning of the season and I appreciate the work you put in to it :)

(Thank you to the person who wrote the last comment! <3)

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 105 Responses

Thank you to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again in a few days!

[persephone-damnedqueen]

Beginning Thoughts of the Fall Anime Season 2017 . . .

Welp, fall is here, and as usual, it is time for me to do my annual first impressions of the season’s anime titles.  My gods if you thought the amount of shows I checked out last season was a lot, this season’s amount is insane.  This season, so far, I have checked out 22 shows thus far and plan for at least 7 more to pick up.  Insane, right?  So how do they stack up so far?   Let’s see.  Also, please keep in mind, that these are solely based off of the first one or two episodes, and are purely my opinion, so if my opinion is different than yours, then I’d love to here it.   Also, I will try to remain as spoiler free as possible.  

Netojuu no Susume:  Studio Signal.MD

Dropped.  Alright, so I feel like I have to mention this.   I’m a serious gamer.  More specifically, I love me some MMOs.  How much you ask?   Well, so much so that I actually met my husband on World of Warcraft.  Insane right?  I mean my god you do not want to see our /played time on that game.  So, needless to say, I am a bit critical on gaming anime because of this, because I know what it’s like.   This anime was just. . . . cringey.  I found myself sighing every chance I got and by the 20 minute mark, completely turning it off.  Everything about the first episode was just  . . . bad.  There’s really just no redeeming qualities. . . well, one line said by the Guild Master which was something along the lines of “you have no idea what her irl gender is.”  I laughed.  It’s accurate.  85% of female toons you see on wow are actually guys. Anyways, moving on.   

Evil or Live:  Haoliners Animation

Dropped.  Mmmm  I had such high hopes.  After reading the summary, I will admit, I was hyped for this show.  On Paper, this show sounds wonderful.  I thought it was going to be some horror psychological thriller that at the end of it left you questioning the very meaning of the world around you or something.  Instead, what happened?   I . . .don’t even know.  The series starts off with massive amounts of Live Action, which, while being completely unexpected, I didn’t mind so much; the series became an instant drop for me when the MC and Co were clearly showing a break from reality and needed actual mental help, was beaten instead.   It wasn’t “horror” or “edgy” it was just poor writing.  Needless to say, I have dropped it.

Just Because!: Studio Pine Jam

Dropped.  For no other reason that fuck it’s boring.  I fell asleep watching it not once, but twice.  It was that boring.  This series proves that even the prettiest of shows can bore you to death.  

Omiai Aite wa Oshiego Tsuyoki na, Mondaiji:  Studio Seven

Porn.  With Plot.  Alright, so this is an actual hentai series.  Not like Soft-Core either like Hajimete no Gal was last season.  This is an actual hentai series, and if you could believe it, it’s actually more plot focused and semi-interesting than 95% of hentai out there.. . . Well, as interesting as a hentai series about a female teacher and a student banging and “engaged” can be.  Don’t get me wrong here, it’s totally trash, but hey, each episode is only four minutes, so I’m going to keep watching this trash just a bit longer to see where it goes.  

Sengoku Night Blood:  Typhoon Graphics

Mmmm Still waiting for the day with they make a good anime based off of an Otome Game.  Alright, so here’s the story.  Girl gets sent back into another world and gains a harem.  A vampire harem.  That’s it.  I’ve saved you the trouble of checking this series out.  You’re welcome.  

Urahara:  Studios Emt^2 and Shirogumi

Dropped.  Instant Drop.  Jesus Christ that animation is fucking trash.  You have two studios working on this series, and the animation still looks that garbagey?!?!  How?!?!?!  I can’t even with this. . . Ugh, nope, moving on.  

Osake wa Fuufu ni Natte kara:  Creators in Pack

Yet another series that will probably be dropped halfway through.  Honestly, there’s just nothing that really happens in this series, and I know it’s really hard for anything to happen in a four minute long series, but literally nothing happens.   Wife comes home.  Husband makes her drink.  Wife gets tipsy.  Thank you husband.  I mean the main reason why I’m going to be sticking it out just a bit longer is to keep getting cocktail recipes haha.   

Imouto Sae Ireba Ii:  Sliver Link Studios

Will probably be dropped.  Is it just me or is this series like Silver Link’s answer to A-1′s EroManga Sensei?  Honestly, this show is meh at best so far.  The art is nothing too great, and the story screams EroManga, and since I wasn’t a fan, I really don’t see myself watching more than three episodes.  

Boku no Kanojo ga Majimesugiru Sho-Bitch na Ken:  Studio Diomedea

I started watching it with hopes of it doing two things.  One, fill the hole in my heart that was left when Hajimete no Gal ended; and two, explain what the hell a Sho-Bitch is.  In all honestly though, this show is probably going to be dropped.  While the art is generic, the characters are bland and too common; I also the comedy too forced at time and repeatable.  Yes, we understand main waifu really just wants to figure out what Haruka likes, and obviously misinterprets everything, but does that really have to be the joke every single time?

Inuyashiki:  Studio MAPPA

Ah, the latest from Studio MAPPA.  I have one question:  MAPPA, what the fuck?  Let me clarify.  The opening few minutes of the first episode made me feel.  Fuck, I almost started crying.  It was depressing and yet the story was just relatable and beautiful all at the same time.  I was feeling feels I didn’t want to feel.  It really kept true to the Drama tag, which I love.  I’m a sucker for some hardcore drama filled series.  Then. . . .it got weird.  Some weird like mecha space alien thing weird.  So, again, MAPPA, what the fuck?  Don’t get me wrong here.  I will be continuing to watch this solely because despite the series taking that weird turn, in no way did that make the actual tone any less enjoyable.  Plus, the art style is so unique to the show, I’m curious as to where it can go from here.  

Mahoutsukai no Yome:  Wit Studio

Alright, I’m a fan.  This has to be a contender for Anime of the Season, and we aren’t even three episodes into it yet.  It’s wonderful, and not only one of my favorites from this season so far, but my favorite thing Wit Studio has ever done, (and yes, that just brought me a ton of hate from SnK fans haha).   I can see and agree with the hype this series has had.   Honestly, check it out.  It’s good  and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.  

Blend S:  A-1 Pictures

I found my Moe-Blob for the season, and I’m so happy.  I actually really like this series so far.  It was adorable, and literally just what I want in my seasonal moe-blob.  It’s nothing too driven plot wise, and definitely won’t be anime of the season or anything like that; it’s literally just Cute Girls waitressing in this cute cafe.  Regardless, I’m definitely going to continue to watch it for a bit longer at least.  

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou:  Studio White Fox

Keep your eye on this one this season.  It’s probably going to be the Dark Horse of this season.  In all honestly, I became instantly hooked watching the first episode.  The tone at the start was so eerie and grim that I found myself getting literal goosebumps.   Maybe it’s the high I’m on after the Made in Abyss ending, or just wanting to find something to fill the void that series has left me with, but I’m getting serious MiA vibes.  I’m hoping this series is even half as good as MiA was.  Also, I’m a major fan already of how unique the art is for this show.  

Ousama Game The Animation:  Studio Seven

I’m biased.  Period.  I will be watching this show no matter how terrible it could ever get solely because my favorite Seiyuu is the lead.  Mamoru is a God, and I will watch it religiously every week.  That being said, I can tell you that this show is edgy as fuck, and with it being one of two survival game anime out right now this season, this one is definitely the weaker, edgier of the two.  It is a pretty cool concept though, and I’m already a fan of the survival game concept, that I don’t mind watching this one until the end.  I would also like to warn that this one is definitely gory so if you don’t like that than this isn’t for you.    

Konohana Kitan:  Studio Lerche

CUTE LITTLE FOX GIRLS.  I REPEAT, CUTE LITTLE FOX GIRLS.  Having read the summary for the series prior,and seeing both the Seinen and Shoujo Ai tag on it and that it would be done by Lerche, it became an instant check out at least, and I’m glad I did.  This series is the calming pallet cleanser.  It’s the show where you can turn off your mind and just watch the cuteness.  Plus, did I mention cute little fox girls?  What more do you need?   

Black Clover:  Studio Pierrot

Alright, I’m split in two for this.  Part of me wants me to look at this show for what it is:  a stereotypical shounen series, with decent animation, predictable plot and bad voice acting, if you saw the first episode you’d know what I’m talking about.   This show screams Naruto, Fairy Tail and Bleach rip off; and hell, since I hate Naruto, never got into Bleach, and am still VERY pissed at Fairy Tail, combining the three into one really just makes me both cringe and glare at the screen.   Evil Glare.  A glare that if I could, would totally shoot lasers out and everything.  I mean hell, it’s even done by the same studio as Naruto.  Regardless, the tons and tons of shounen I’ve seen makes me just feel like this is repeating it all.   That’s one part of me.  The other part of me enjoys this show, solely for the fact that my husband LOVES the Black Clover manga, so watching it with him makes me at least want to give it a chance.   I do however doubt it will be as big as people hype it up to be, and if it does get big it will be nowhere near as good quality wise as a lot of other shounens, and will take a lot for me to become a fan.  

Juuni Taisen:  Graphinica

Without a doubt, my favorite from this season.  I’m hooked.  This series has it all:  unique character designs, well executed art, and a killer story line, (pun intended).  Mmmmm this story is wonderful.  It hooks you from the start, which is to be expected since the original source is written by the same original writer for the Monogatari Series.  There’s plot twists and betrayals and just epicness.  It also has one of the best openings and closings of the season.  Side Note:  THE PSYCHOTIC LITTLE USAGI BOY IS BEST BOY AND I WILL FIGHT ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE, AND IF HE DOESN’T WIN I WILL RIOT.  

Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru:  Washio Sumi no Shou:  Studio Gokumi

When I first saw that Yuki Yuno was getting another season, I was fucking thrilled.  Yuki Yuno was a magical girl series that I fell in love with not only because of the Madoka Magica vibes it had, but because of the beautiful art and animation and vibrant colors it used.  It’s visually stunning.  So, how is the prequel turning out?  Still just as stunning.  In all honestly, I’m going to love this series provided it stays true to the themes and tones of the first season, and if the opening episodes are anything to say about the rest of the series, then I know it will.  Plus, who isn’t up for Magical Girls this season?

Osomatsu-san 2nd Season:  Studio Pierrot

I actually genuinely missed this show.  My gods this show is a gift.  This has to be one of the underapprieciated comedy gems to come out in the recent years, and it fills me with joy knowing that it still shines just like the first season did.  I enjoy watching the episodic skits of everyone’s favorite sextuplets.  Seriously, why have you not started this show?  

Shokugeki no Soma:  J.C.Staff

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I’VE WAITED TO SEE MY SON KUGA ANIMATED?!!??!  TOO LONG.  This is hands down the best season of Food Wars yet, and we are barely a couple episodes into it.   I love the pacing of this season, and having being a manga reader, I can confirm for you that it’s completely accurate with the manga thus far.  J.C Staff is clearly showing that they still care about Food Wars and aren’t rushing with the season.  Also, thank the gods for the 24 episode season.  THAT’S MORE EPISODES OF MY PRECIOUS KUGA.  

3-Gatsu no Lion 2nd Season:  Studio Shaft

I cried.  I fucking cried.  Hard.  My god I missed this series.  Everything about the first episode was fantastic.  The music and animation were spot on, but of course nothing out of the ordinary for the phenomenal Studio Shaft, but what did I love most you ask?  Character Development.  MY FUCKING GOD.  Compare Rei to the start of Season one, and you’d never think it’s the same person.  I can’t stress that enough.  If this first episode is a sign on how amazing the rest of this season is going to be then I’m beyond fucking happy.  This is the series I’ve been waiting for since the start of the year.  

Gintama.  Porori-hen:  Bandai Namco Pictures

Has there ever been like a bad season of Gintama?   Like Ever?  All this season has proved to me is: one, life is boring and dull without Gintama.  Two, Gintama is the king of comedy series.  Three, Gintama is without a doubt one of the greatest series of all time.   This season is hilarious and easily makes me burst out laughing from start to finish.  Thank you Gintama, I’ve truly missed you.  

Ballroom e Youkoso:  Production I.G.

How is the second half of the season you ask?  *Insert Pouting Face Here*  Fuck you, Chi-chan.  Worst Girl 2017.  THERE I SAID IT.  YEAH, I SAID IT.  WHAT YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?  #BRINGBACKBESTGIRL2017  Like, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad Tartara has a partner now, but like seriously why her? -.-  Why couldn’t Mako just be his partner forever and they could live happily ever after?  

 So, yeah, those are my thoughts so far on the Fall Anime 2017 season.   Let me know yours, and if there is anything I’m not watching, and should be, then please tell me!  I love recommendations, and I already know of a few that I need to pick up. . . .

[ryodan]

im sorry but can you explain to me why SNK is morally unacceptable? i love the series and i admit some scenes were hard to swallow, but i dont see how it's bad? i really respect your opinion and i want to continue SNK, but now that i read your recent post, im not so sure anymore. can you please explain it more (if you can ofc). thank you! have a great day^^

 Sure! Please note that I am in no way shaming people who enjoy SNK. I used to be a fan myself, the series has some really interesting philosophies going for it. It’s less about the series itself and more about the author. To answer this question, first let me talk about those philosophies. We will start with the similarities between German culture and history with SNK. In case you did not notice this series is very German-based, even all the names are of German origin, except for Mikasa who i’ll come back to. 

the show is set in a quasi Germanic society full of German architecture and even German war cries (Are you the prey? No, we are the hunters) as well as german names. This is where things start getting interesting. The political ideology of the show aligns itself with the beliefs of a notorious nazi. A man named Carl Schmitt. The thing I liked about this show is the exploration of these themes through this dystopian world. It’s like ‘what if these beliefs are the only thing keeping society from collapsing?’. Central to Schmitt’s philosophy and SNK’s civilization is the concept of what he calls ‘the political’. There are 3 concepts that he believed situate the political and create a ‘stable’ society. 1- Difference, conflict and inequality. 2- clear distinction between friends and enemies. 3- sovereignty. He highlights that since discord and inequality are inevitable, humanity at it’s basic nature is savage, and that for stability you must fight to survive. Remind you of something? To quote snk, ‘The world is a cruel place, if you want to live you have to fight.’ A constantly reoccurring theme. Further mirroring of Schmitts ideology that states it’s not politics’ job to fix inevitable inequalities in society since they will always exist anyways; instead a strong sovereign should be in control of the population, SNK develops the 3 walls which literally separate the different classes in society. Each wall system is it’s own cast system. The people in wall Maria are not as safe as the people inside wall rose and wall sina. While people are getting eaten on the outskirts, there are people sitting around playing chess. The parallels get real wack when you compare Schmitts idea that to situate the political what is needed is nationalism and survival of the fittest. The nationalistic duty of the warrior class is literally highlighted in opening 1 which looks and sounds like triumph of the will nazi nationalist propaganda. Really, just hear it.The literal lyrics of SNK’s first opening are about ‘having the will of starving wolves.’ To cut things short, SNK had the potential to be a series heavily critical of this guy’s ideology, or explore it in this world that allows for it. Too bad after the author’s political beliefs were revealed, neither seem to be an option. Why would a Japanese man write something so heavily linked to controversial areas? Lets go back to Japan’s history. Once upon a time, Japan was parading around with an imperialist army colonizing the East through brute military power. This included torturing of citizens and selling of women as sex slaves. As a result, many countries suffered because of this but a country in particular still suffers the backlash of this and even has tense relations with Japan to this day, namely South Korea. To quote a post written by a Jew��‘The idea of the walls and their fragility is meant to criticize Japan’s antiwar policy, and the Titans coming back after 100 years is meant to imply that if Japan doesn’t start having wars and breaking down their “walls” and conquering the East again, other countries will come to terrorize the region. What bothers me most having watched the first season of it is the line about “Living like livestock”. It asserts the notion that to live without imperialism is a form of complacency, like somehow the country isn’t living life to its fullest if it isn’t out pillaging and raping the peoples of Korea, Manchuria, Indonesia, the Pacific Islands, etc’. Wait , wait. How the hell did we reach such a conclusion? This was unfortunately straight out the author’s mouth, he said some horrific things that upset Korean fans. Like literally all my Korean friends are vehemently against this series. The character called Dot Pixis is based on general Yoshifuru Akiyama, a famous war criminal during the occupation of Korea who Attack on Titan’s writer, Hajime Isayama, called “frugal and respectable” on his twitter account. Erwin Smith is named after a Nazi called Erwin Rommel who, despite occasionally defying orders he deemed “unjust”, was still a fucking Nazi and still took part in the Holocaust. The one that hits the hammer to the head is perhaps the most confound. Mikasa, named after the battleship used to fight a war that hurt the Koreans in very tragic ways. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Mikasa  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Japanese_War. This man ended up being not just a person who is pro the nazi movement and the ideology it pushes forward, but also a man who condones the actions of an imperialist nationalist war movement through his work. He literally stated that the colonization of Korea and the east, despite how gruesome and bloody was ‘necessary’. You can imagine how disturbing this is for Korean fans of the series. Specially when Japanese Mikasa was almost sold as a sex slave..something the Japanese army did to their women..among other women from different nationalities such as China. What turned me off isn’t his shitty streaky fight sequences that some people call ‘art’, nor his cheap resort to hard hitting gore and hard to digest backstories instead of actually fleshing out a story and it’s characters to draw the audience’s emotions, but the ideas he wishes to push forward. Whether we like it or not, and you can ask any mass com major about this, media has a very direct influence on the way we think and see things. Y’all might end up quoting SNK not realizing you are echoing nazi propaganda. Hell, even if that isn’t his intention, I don’t care. I’m not supporting a man who is pro Nazi society. If the tables turned and SNK was based on what Israel and England did to Palestine, or France to Algeria and Lebanon etc, i’d be so angry to see people supporting it. ‘Is our blood so cheap just because it isn’t yours?’ (yes our bc my half arab ass sees all of arabs as our). Out of that sensitivity, I cannot sit here and just ignore all of that for shitty temporary entertainment which can easily be replaced with much better series with fan bases that don’t ship 15 year old erin with 30 year old levi. Sorry for the long ass post, but I hope this cleared stuff up.

[lady-bluebird-luv]

Chapter 94 First Reactions

The images in this post are from Chapter 94, “The Boy Inside the Walls”. The images in here are actually of this translation, but I’ve covered my bases. The information is reliable. We have a lot to cover, so let’s get cracking.

The chapter opens with the Marleyian warriors returning from the front. According to Gabi, they’ve returned from their hometown. Is this the same hometown that Reiner and Bertholdt have spoken so fondly of? Looks like it.

The town is named Rebellio. As in “Rebel?” Well, well, well.

The chapter goes on to explain that Reiner no longer risks getting his powers taken away.

Reiner actually seems to be doing quite well for himself. He’s the Vice Commander, whatever that entails, and he’s clearly a senior member of the warriors. What failure did Reiner take responsibility for? Probably the failure to capture the coordinate. Whether or not Reiner deserves responsibility for that failure is debatable. He didn’t act alone - although, to be fair, it’s not as if Marley can punish Bertholdt, who’s dead, and Annie, who’s out of reach. In any case, Reiner has made up for his failure since then, probably with actions like shielding Zeke on the field of battle.

The chapter cuts to Falco, who wonders exactly how loyal Reiner is. He recalls the conversation the two of them had at the end of the previous chapter, when Reiner told him to save Gabi. The fact that Reiner choose to speak to Falco, saying dangerous things, makes Falco wonder if Reiner isn’t completely loyal. Falco himself also isn’t completely sold on the cause, and the fact that Reiner would choose to speak to him makes him wonder if maybe Reiner knows.

Interesting. Falco isn’t exactly erupting into rebellion, but that sentiment sounds awfully like he’s questioning the Marleyian government and their mission. Zeke is up to something - although I’m not sure what, and if it benefits the Eldians - and he doesn’t want the government to know. Now Falco (maybe). I can’t see Galliard turning traitor, I don’t know enough about Pieck to say for sure, and Colt is too close to Zeke for me to think he would, either (whether Colt gets roped into Zeke’s own plans is another story).

More importantly, is Reiner thinking the same thing Falco is? I think so. Reiner won’t rebel against Marley. He’s been too loyal time and time again for that to be probable. However, he spent time on the island and got to know the “devils” on a personal level. My guess is that he no longer agrees with Marley’s policy towards the Walldians.

The warriors return to the Eldian district. There are a really sweet couple of panels that show the warriors being welcomed, including Pieck and a man that presumably is a family member - a father, or grandfather?

Zeke greets his grandmother and grandfather. They’re glad to see him returned safely, and they tell him they’re happy that he completed his mission. This is how Zeke responds:

Zeke strikes me as a bit of a wild card. I’m not sure of his agenda, but he definitely has his own goals. His own mission, maybe. What it is, I don’t know.

Gabi meets her parents, who tell her they’re proud she could save the lives of Marley’s soldiers while she was away at war. They tell her that she’s going to be the greatest warrior. As in, ever. I find it sad that members of a group that their country loathes so much would be so willing to protect said nation. The Eldians within the walls are locked away, branded with armbands and set aside for “privileges” that lead them to early graves. It seems to me like the Eldians within Marley should criticize their own country instead of fighting the Walldians and whatever wars Marley becomes involved in. Then again, the Eldians in Marley see the Walldians as demons, not kin.

I’m interested to see what happens to the Eldians when the titan technology becomes obsolete. Without titans, they can still serve as foot soldiers, but their main purpose no longer exists. What will the Marleyian government do with them?

There are some Marleyian soldiers waiting for treatment outside a hospital. There’s a theory that one of them might be Eren on a mission for the Walldians. At this point it’s mostly speculative, but I don’t put anything past Isayama at this point.

Gabi and Reiner have dinner with their family. Gabi brags about her adventures on the front. Reiner doesn’t say anything while her family congratulates her. He maintains a stormy expression. When Gabi’s Aunt Karina (Reiner’s mom) asks Reiner if he thinks Gabi will become a warrior, he says that he’s sure she will inherit the Armored Titan.

If Reiner really thinks that, he’s not confident in Falco’s abilities to become his successor. Or maybe he thinks Gabi is just better. If Reiner wants Falco to Inherit the Armored Titan badly enough, maybe he’ll take matters into his own hands.

This is both sad and frustrating. Gabi’s aunt says that if the Walldians are eliminated, the Eldians will be happy. honestly, that’s far from the truth. Again, what happens when the Marleyian government decides there’s no use for the Eldians anymore?

What makes these Eldians “good” and the Island Dwellers “evil”? That’s one side’s perception of another. Gabi might believe that it’s true, but does that give her any right to kill the Walldians? Is that justice? Is that doing the right thing? She might think so, but something tells me Eren and co. disagree. In fact, as far as they’re concerned, she’s probably one of the people in the wrong. Or is the Marleyian government in the wrong for spreading their propaganda and brainwashing their soldiers? I think you could take every character in this godforsaken story and say that they’re somehow “in the wrong”, but whether or not they actually are is just a matter of perspective. Ultimately, everyone in SnK has done some horrible things to someone else. Everybody is somehow “evil”‘ from somebody else’s perspective. It’s one of the reasons I love this story so much.

I hope the characters realize that they’re all at least partially “evil” and try to move past it, but that’s not realistic. Maybe someone will try to rise above the petty fighting. At this point, my money is on Zeke, if only because his plans seem to be the most impartial.

Reiner doesn’t seem to pleased about this whole exchange. He’s definitely not jumping in to agree with Gabi. I would say the Walldians aren’t devils in his eyes.

Fear is powerful. Force enough of it down someone’s throat, and they’ll do just about anything. Fear doesn’t even have to center around something very big to be effective. A fear of spiders can seem just as crippling as a fear of the devil. If the Marleyian government encourages enough fear of the Walldians, it doesn’t matter how silly the conflict is.

I like getting a look at the regular Eldians in Marley. These aren’t the restorationists, or even really the warriors. This is a family living in a cruel world, finding some joy around the dinner table and having a conversation.

Finally, the conversation turns to Reiner. Gabi says that it must be hard to talk about the Walldian devils when Reiner spent time living with them. Reiner ends up discussing some of the “devils” he saw, including Sasha.

Reiner acts like he discounts his old teammates. Sasha’s love of food is her gimmick, but that’s not the only thing she has. Jean doesn’t only care about himself. Connie isn’t just an idiot. Marco, in the end, begged for his life - he didn’t only care about other people. Eren might have started out only thinking of revenge, but he’s not just some angsty, loud little kid. Mikasa won’t follow him blindly. If she thinks he’s being stupid, she’ll let him know.

The fact that Reiner’s descriptions are so out of touch show two things. First, he knows them personally, and he’s creating a slightly ridiculous pretense. Second, it demonstrates how silly the Marleyian persecution of the Walldians is. They’re not clean-cut, purely evil devils, and they have to grasp at straws and skewed interpretations to defend their opinion. The way Reiner words his argument actually makes it seem like he includes Annie, Bert, and himself with the devils.

Reiner actually slips up a bit and calls the group “diverse”. Gabi corrects him by asking what that means - aren’t all the Walldians exactly the same, pure evil? Reiner quickly assures her that they are, but he isn’t fooling us.

There are a few things I want to address here. First, it’s hard for the Walldians to try to right wrongs when they don’t know what they did wrong in the first place. Granted, they’ve reached the basement, so they have some backstory, but for a long time they were completely ignorant of the world they lived in. Of course, the Eldians in Marley don’t know that. If they did, it might be harder for them to hate the Walldians. Nobody knows the full story, and so they create suffering for everyone involved. Again, it brings up the question of who’s really in the wrong. Is it the Reiss family, for keeping the Walldian population ignorant? Once again, that’s a matter of opinion.

Additionally, I don’t think the world gives a flying fuck about whether or not the Eldians are good. That might be what the Eldians believe, but it isn’t true. The world probably has their own opinions about the Eldians, but there’s no proof that those opinions mean anything. Besides, the idea that the whole world would come to a consensus that the Eldians are good is hard to believe, especially when Marley uses them as weapons. I doubt that the Mid-East alliance thinks the monsters they fight on the battlefield are good. This is just another example of humans trying to convince themselves that they’re moral, just people, when in reality they aren’t.  

It seems to me that time and time again, we see governments ruining their people for their own benefit. Marley instills fear in their population for soldiers and to quell Eldian rebellion. The Reiss monarchs keep their people complacent at the cost of valuable information.

The chapter continues with Reiner’s backstory.

Reiner’s mother expresses a wish to be Marleyian, and Reiner says that this served as his motivation for wanting to become a warrior.

We see a couple panels of Reiner’s training, where we see him struggle to keep up with the other warriors in training. He does ultimately pass, however, and is selected as a candidate for a titan.

A lot of the major characters in the story are trying to move towards freedom. Eren and Co. want to be free of the walls. Reiner, Gabi, and the other warriors want their people’s name to be wiped clean. However, their searches leads them into conflict with each other. The Walldians and the Eldians clash. In trying to claim their own freedom, they threaten each other’s. This comes up a lot in the real world, too. Look at every competition ever: In one person wining, another has to loose. It’s a sad truth of life.

A young Zeke mentions that they will soon inherit their titans. However, of the seven cadets, only six will be chosen. Reiner is confident until Galliard reminds him that he’s the weakest of the warriors. What is he good at? Annie is already the best at hand-to-hand combat. Betholdt has Reiner beat when it comes to markmanship. Marcel is the strongest. Pieck is smarter than Reiner.

We learn that Reiner’s best scores come from a test on which he wrote about his loyalty to Marley. This is another reason why I find betrayal improbable. Reiner has always been so deeply set in his loyalty. Between that and his wish to be Marleyian, I find it hard to believe that he’ll turn against the homeland. And then there’s this:

Woah angel, take it down a few notches. To be fair, this is a flashback from years ago, but Reiner is loyal to the point of paranoia. He’s scared, and maybe looking for a way to distract everyone from his inadequacies.

Galliard punches Reiner, and Marcel has to hold his little brother back. Galliard yells some more and tells Reiner that he’ll have to wait alone in Marley for thirteen years. He implies that Reiner won’t get a titan, so he’ll have to wait until one of the warriors expires before he can take their place.

Galliard was hardass even before his brother died. The Jaws titan is loyal but he’s also a bit harsh. To be fair, if my first name was Porco, I’d be a bit pissed too.

The warriors walk away. Bertholdt stays behind to offer Reiner a hands up. Annie also stays behind. Reiner laments that Galliard is probably right. Bert, always the optimist, says that Reiner’s loyalty shouldn’t be underestimated.

Bertholdt seems rueful that they only have thirteen years. He asks Reiner if he’ll be able to handle all his aspirations in such a short amount of time. Reiner is confident that in thirteen years, the warriors will be heroes that saved the world from the Walldians.

The irony is that Marley seems like a bigger threat to the world than the Walldians. The Walldians aren’t starting wars with other nations. Until recently, the vast majority of them were willing to stay within their walls, and their military was ineffective against the titans. Marley, on the other hand, is an industrialized nation with machine guns and child soldiers that wreck havoc on the battlefield.

The chapter ends with a young Eren, siting by the river and wishing something will happen. Armin runs up to him. This is interesting, too. There are a lot of Reiner/Eren parallels in this chapter.

All in all, I’m pleased with this chapter. It isn’t action-packed, but there’s a lot of information squished into relatively little space. I’m happy to get some of Reiner’s backstory, and maybe a hint at the RBA beginnings. I still have plenty of questions I want answered though (Where’s Levi? And Hange?), and I want to know if some of the rumors are true (Jean in charge of the survey corps, Connie growing his hair out), but overall, I’m sated. Nobody is dead, which is a blessing.

[kyojinofbraveos]

An Analyze: Ymir.

Long long time ago, an anon asked a Ymir analyze.

Today, I am here to deliver.

Ok, actually that was suppose to be published on Ymir’s birthday and it was gonna be her birthday present but unfortunately I failed. It was really for Ymir, not any of my drunk, crazy or traitor anons. Sorry not sorry anons.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish it on Ymir’s birthday.

But that is fine, because everyday is a Ymir day if you wish hard enough! Right, right?!

So happy birthday Ymir! Yay!

Don’t look at me like that, fandom! I am sorry I couldn’t finish it, it is actually really hard to write a meta damn!

I actually do not tend to write character analyses until I make sure that their character arc has done, like there is a Jean meta waiting for me because I think his character arc has mostly done. And for a long period of time, I was believing Ymir’s arc has not done yet and she is gonna come back to Historia but with the timeskip at 90, I joined the” Ymir is probably dead” club.  I still want to believe Isayama is not going to kill her off screen. That is why I delayed this post for so long.

This post is dedicated to dearest Ymir.

Happy birthday, I wish you to be alive, to be safe and to be with Historia.

Though it is probably impossible in SnK world.

Let’s begin!

Year 78~

About like 70 years ago, when Ymir was dumped by her family to streets like she is some kind of dog for unknown reasons, some man found her and named her with an unusual name even for an Eldian: Ymir.

You know, Eldian’s god given miracle, the goddess Ymir that started all these mess 2000 years ago.

After that, that man who seems to be a priest takes her to church and starts to tell everyone that the Goddess Ymir has reborn in the child’s body. He tells baby!Ymir that if she lies with him, he is gonna give her everything she wants. And that is how the story of our liar duo begins!

And everybody believes these two liars directly because what Church says is absolute, Church can not lie, they speak in the name of Eldian Gods.

Right?

It is also interesting that while the priest that names Ymir is all in white clothes, the priests at Walled Society were all in black. I wonder what this opposition means, it is probably because of the changes First King has made. Since Isayama still doesn’t shows us anything from the mainland, I am guessing before First King’s brainwash, Eldians were worshipping Ymir Fritz or whatever the gods they had, but after the brainwash they started to worship Maria, Rose and Shina.

Chapter 89.

Levi working his legs out with Nick, Chapter 37.

Getting back to Ymir...

With their lies, our Ymir and the priest gives Eldian people something they have forgotten: Hope. That their goddess has reborn and she is going to save every Eldian, their misery will be over.

These are enough reasons for them to start worshipping our baby Ymir.

Hope is enough for them to believe.

As a little child who has grown with no love or care, Ymir likes all these attention. Ymir likes being worshipped, she loves being a goddess. She loves acting like a goddess even more.

All she had to do is telling people the lies priest ask her to, little Ymir sees how these lies are making people so happy and not just that, she gets whatever she wants thanks to that lies.

And that is just so great.

Everyone is so happy.

The end. Yay!

Except, it is not the end of course.

Liar’s candle lightens people until sun arrives. 

This sun is in our case Marley.

In Marley’s point of view, if it is true and Ymir has reborn, that is a big threat to Marley and reborn goddess needs to be eliminated.

If it is a lie, it is unacceptable to Marley because if Ymir gives people enough hope, these can cause madness and rebellions within Eldians.

So they pop up in to our goddess’ big party and ruin it. 

And everything starts to tear apart.

That trickster priest this time blames Ymir, tells the Marley police that she is the one who fooled him even though the reality is the opposite.

Ymir looks at her people, tragically they are her people and she ended up caring, and maybe who knows loving them like some kind of goddess, the priest that gave her something she can say home or hotel at least, the people praised her even though she lied to them to the end. They were the closest thing Ymir had as a family. She ended up loving all the lies and the luxury that comes with them, she was saved thanks to those lies. So she keeps lying until the end, this time not to save herself but to save others.

She thinks if I lie once again, it will make everything fine.

She tells Marley that it is herself that fooled everyone. She thinks it is gonna save her people.

But it doesn’t.

To make Eldians remember what they actually are, they humiliate their symbol of hope as best as they can.

Ymir raises her head, and looks at all those people who hates her just for existing. To them, her sin is just that big, just that unacceptable; her sin is existing.

She wishes that it would have been much better if she would have never born. 

I wonder before Marley arrive, how much she knew about Marley, how she felt about them. Did she cared for them because in the end she is a goddess, did she feared them, hated them? Who knows maybe she didn’t care about them that much?

Since deep down Ymir is actually a loving and selfless person, I don’t think she bear any hate to Marley.

When the trouble is the Eldians, Marley has the best solution: Give them Titan serum and throw them out a Wall.

And so that is how Ymir dies.

She closes her eyes and falls to sand as she is turning into a mindless Titan,  the next 60~ years are gonna be like an endless nightmare.

Year 845.

When she opens her eyes once again, and all she can see is freedom.

And probably a horde of Titans.

I assume Ymir yummed poor Marcel after Bertolt and Reiner kicked down Wall Maria as she said to Bert herself. 

She took a life while she was unconscious but she gained her’s back and not just that, she also learned her lesson.

Chapter 89.

As we all born, we people are told that we are all special. We are all the chosen children of God, we are the greatest achievement of God or Mother Nature, we are the last form of evolution, we are the last chain of food chain and at the top of food pyramid.

But to Ymir, to our part-time goddess full-time gorgeous Ymir, these are not true. Lies. Just lies.

To quote my own meta: (Cause I can quote my own meta)

To Ymir, there is nothing more, that is why this world is fascinating. Because out of that madness, if you are lucky enough, you may also see a little beauty in it out of all those horrible things. There is no god, nor devil. Just humans. And we can still create, built and dream even with al the madness around us.

She looks at starry sky and she realizes she is not a slave of anything anymore.

No more lies she needs to say.

No more roles she needs to play.

No more people she needs to please.

She promises herself that from now on, she is gonna live for nobody but herself. That she is not gonna accept defeat and gonna be the proof of something like fate does not exists. She is gonna live for herself with her head held high like the way she was always suppose to.

She is really free indeed, right?

Of course, until she reaches Walls.

There, she keeps lying, stealing and acting but this time, just for her sake.

Maybe nobody is worshipping her, but at least she is taking care of herself and she is deciding the way her life can go.

But then something happens.

Something that is going to change her decision.

Chapter 40.

Another goddess.

As she overhears Historia’s tragedy, we can see the how much Ymir can relate. She realizes that just like herself, Historia was also hated just for existing.

We can see the determination in her face as she keeps listening that gossiper priests. And they seem to gossip more than we know since also Annie overheard them!

Ymir wants to find that royal girl and give her the rebuke of her life.

But why?

Why does she joins the Military just for Historia?

To scold her?

To manipulate her?

To give her the speech of her life?

To mother her?

Or to stop her from making the mistakes she also has made?

Why, Historia asks.

Yeah, their backgrounds are indeed similar but is that enough for anyone to join Military?

Not just that, of course.

Ymir acts harsh to people, she is selfish, she refers herself as the worst human being possible, she loves herself above many.

This becomes an exception if the issue is Historia, or Krista that time.

And thanks to that exception, we get to see a different side of Ymir, a side she never shows, a side she always tries to cover: Her kindness. Reckless Ymir who teases people all the time and critics people for not being true to themselves has a kind and a caring heart under that skin.

Not just that, she can read other people incredibly well. For example she reads Historia and her true intentions about saving Dazz. That is partly because she is good at making emphaty and partly because she is quite smart.

Something I really like about Ymir’s and Historia’s relationship is that both of them can criticize each other, they can tell each other to stop, they yell at each other and sometimes one can say other to fuck off but that does not stop them from being together still. The foundation of this honesty was build at snowy mountains first and grow stronger as time goes by. This is so rare when we take a look at other relationships in Snk.

And them being honest to each other is not just the end, they can, or sometimes try, to understand each other. Specifically on Ymir’s side.

She can relate to Historia and Historia has all her sympathy because Ymir can understand her. Something Historia was never able to have, understanding. 

We humans want understanding, we want to be loved, we want to love. 

Ymir is no exception. Nor Historia.

She finds Historia at their trainee days, she knows she is lying because a liar can see who is telling the truth and who is not very easily. At the night of ceremony, their relationship begins.

When she and Historia are at snowy mountains, she understands that Historia actually wants to kill herself along with Dazz and stops her with a little help from her Titan powers™, she tells Historia she is gonna be tell the truth to her if Historia stops lying as well.

She tells Historia to accept the name she was born under and carry it with pride. Like Ymir is doing. 

Historia is not ready to drop Krista.

So Ymir does not tell her how she saved Dazz as they both jumped off that cliff.

As time goes by, our duo becomes even closer and closer. 

As time goes by, their relationship becomes even stronger and stronger.

But of course that doesn’t stop Ymir from gapping around and teasing people.

Like she did with Sasha. She also notices Sasha is pretending with the way she speaks, that it is not the way she actually talks and as Ymir, she teases her and tries to encourage her to speak with her accent in a Ymir-ish way.

I love this scene you know, Chapter 36.

Ymir has a habbit to criticizing people, especially when she notices that they are lying. That is one of many reasons why most of the trainees do not like her, they don’t want her to share her wisdom with them because she mostly speaks the truth and people mostly don’t like to hear it, look Chapter 90 or look at whole Return to Shiganshina Arc.

Most of the trainees just refers her as the girl who always hangs out with Krista, people can’t understand why does a goddess like Krista hangs out with that trash.

But let’s be honest, in the end Ymir is the one who secretly encourages Historia to go for the Military Police so that she can have a nice life.

We don’t see that in the first chapter, however that scene exists in the first draft!

Also, Isayama why does fifteen year olds are drinking beer?

In the canon manga, Isayama decides to cut that scene however the realization hits Historia one way or another.

Chapter 37.

Ymir evades her questions by saying that she is there just for herself, but that is not exactly true, she is not there hust for herself, she is also there for Historia.

And she also joins the Survey Corps just to keep Historia safe, for someone who promised to live for herself it is just crazy, right?

But Ymir does not mind if it is crazy, reckless or what if it is for Historia.

She tells what she is thinking right away, she doesn’t treat people nice, she treats them honest but that doesn’t always mean there is bad intention in it.

Like the time when she tells Historia if she is gonna cry because she is joining Survey Corps then it is better if she goes for MP.

Or like the time when she mocks with Connie at Castle Utgard.

Chapter 39.

Like Historia is gonna point out in Chapter 52, what Ymir trying to do here is not making fun of Connie even though she knows the truth, she is mocking with Connie to distract him because if he gives it too much thoughts he is gonna have doubts about the truth of what happened to Rangako village. Ymir knows this and teases Connie so that he won’t get hurt. 

Deep down, she really cares about other people. It is just hard to notice it because she covers that like it is some kind of sin.

At Utgard, we also find out that Ymir can read the secret herring language. I don’t know what is it but if I had to guess, I’d say it suppose to be Marleyan or Ancient Eldian since Reiner can read it too and remember when Zeke met Mike, he asked him if it is the correct language or not. The origins of secret herring language is still a mystery. Maybe who knows, it is East Sea Clan’s language?

Let’s stop cracking and keep meta-ing.

A red sun is rises at Utgard.

Blood has been spilled this night.

104th watch the red sun rising, their veterans tearing apart and they realize this is the last sunrise they will ever see.

It is all over, they think. Except Titan shifters.

But Ymir doesn’t. She is not gonna give up on her’s, Historia’s and all the other 104th’s life that easily! Not yet.

She looks at Historia and sees that she is still trying to find an excuse for her suicide and she reminds her the snowy mountains and how they become close. She looks at Connie that has lost everything within hours and takes the knife from him.

Reiner asks her what she is gonna do.

She says she will fight with a scary look on her face. She is scared indeed.

She turns to Historia to say one last wish.

Year is 850.

She is probably gonna die once again to save others, she is gonna sacrifice herself once again and this will be a prove that she is indeed a victim of her fate, she is scared, she is about to reveal that she is a Titan humanity has been fighting for ever yet she smiles. She is probably smiling at the irony here. No matter where you look at it, it is ironic in the end. She promised to live for herself yet she is dying for someone else once again. That is not a chance that everyone gets twice! At least this time she is gonna sacrifice herself for someone that actually cares for her and someone she actually cares for. Maybe this is the consolation she can get.

 She looks at Historia, smiles to her and wishes for one last thing before jumping out of that tower.

To live her life with pride.

Like she has always wished. Like she tried to when another chance was given to her.

And the girl with a little knife jumps out of that tower.

There is nothing left to hide anymore, Reiner and Bertolt discovered the Titan that ate Marcel; Historia and Connie has learned what actually Ymir is. 

A titan shifter.

A titan shifter that just jumped off from that tower and gave up on her life to save them. To save Historia, specifically.

As Connie asks which side Ymir is with, something hits to Historia.

For the first time in her life, someone is on her side, no matter what.

Someone has sacrificed herself for her, for the first time ever.

Great Guru Historia shouts her words of wisdom, like smashing the tower she and also other 104th there are standing on.

And this wisdom reaches Ymir and she finds that really useful as an advice.

As she does what Historia said, our Great Guru cherishes it with joy and starts hopping like a child at the edge of a falling tower.

But before tower collapses, she does not forget her main target: Keeping them safe.

Bert is ready to transform.

Reiner is injured so I am quite sure he also is.

Connie lets Historia go and is about to run other way.

Historia is terrified with the scary face standing in front of her that is suppose to belong Ymir.

They don’t know whether Ymir is an ally or enemy.

As Ymir tells them to grab on, they jump on her to save their lives.

The tower collapses but the danger is standing still.

History looks at the Dancing Titan while it is still looking away, on the watch if any Titan is still alive.

To her, Dancing Titan is not a monster, it is Ymir. No different than any other time.

As the Pure Titans are ripping Ymir into pieces, she probably thinks that in the end, what Ymir was afraid did not happen. Historia didn’t treat her like a monster.

Thank you Survey Corps for chiming in with all your charisma and saving the day.

As Historia is holding Ymir, she reveals her real name too and Ymir smiles, but this time with relive.

So she closes her eyes once again, this time with peace.

Until of course Colossal and Armored Titans kidnap her alongside with Eren.

She wakes up and there is no smiling Historia but Bertolt’s sweaty face.

She turns her head a little and sees the shifting marks around Reiner’s eyes.

There is an angry sleepy roll, aka Eren next to her.

Our clever girl is able to understand what is going on.

She tries to get a little word from Reiner or Bertolt but there is nothing of course.

Eren wakes up and she founds out that they are returning to Marley.

And she is not happy about it.

We also see how intelligent Ymir is once again in Chapter 46. She reads Reiner and his unusual behaviors, connects the dots and analysis him perfectly.

She is able to understand why Bertolt is sitting there quietly, waiting for Reiner to finish like it is so regular for Reiner to talk like that. She understands that it is not the first time Reiner is acting crazy.

She asks Reiner and Bertolt about Beast Titan, she digs a little and lightens us, readers that Beast Titan was just testing the Walled People’s strengths. Though she doesn’t know anything about Beast Titan that time, unlike Reiner and Bertolt who is quite familiar with Zeke.

She also can read Eren’s character even better than Eren himself.

She keeps playing Doctor Strange and is about to tell Eren many truths about the world until Reiner reminds her that she is not that different from them.

There is also a person she wants to protect. 

A person she is super gay.

Krista.

Reiner asks who is more reliable.

Them who knows what actually lies beyond the Wall and the truth about the world or Eren who really really does not aware of any single thing.

Who will protect Krista best, Reiner asks. Warriors or soldiers?

Yeah, with Ymir joining Warriors it is not like they can protect her from any troubles or death that Marley is gonna cause her once again.

But the Marley are coming and it is not guaranteed that even if Ymir teams up with Eren, Historia will be safe. Ymir can’t risk anything if she gambles on Eren, but Reiner really can do something for someone who is royal like Historia. And Beast Titan’s appearance is already ringing the bells of wars everywhere.

The answer is crystal clear to someone super- aware like Ymir.

Look at the way her face changes immediately. It is not mocking Ymir, it is not super analyzer Ymir, it is holy-shit-gotta-protect-Historia Ymir. And the determination at the next panel just tells us what her choice is gonna be.

It is either her 10 years remained or Historia’s whole life. 

She chooses Reiner and with that, she chooses Historia’s life over her own.

Thank you Reiner for summing up my whole post! Chapter 47.

Bertolt and Reiner sees the signal flares of Survey Corps, they know SC are here to kill Colossal and Armored Titan and capture Dancing Titan.

Before they got on the way, Bertolt and Ymir catch a little chance to have something most of the characters are running or not getting the chance to do: They talk with each other about their tragic past.

Ymir apologies from Bertolt about what happened to Marcel.

Bertolt understands completely and says it is alright. See, a mature convo between two mature individuals! We don’t get to see this that much in this manga. But we need to. Really.

As they are on their way to who knows where, Ymir also sees the signal fires of SC. And something just hits her.

She is gonna die one way or another.

She won’t be able to see Historia once again.

But if the SC is close, then Historia is definetely there to save her.

It is not like she is going to go with Historia and hide behind the Walls, but before her death there is only one thing she wishes: To see Historia one last time. 

She acts selfish, she lets her emotions lead her and she just really, really wants to see Krista one more time. And maybe even taking her Marley alongside herself. She knows Marley is not gonna kill her and Reiner is gonna keep her safe. Like Connie is gonna point out to Historia, Ymir is only willful when it comes to save Krista.

Maybe like Kruger said about Dina, Marley will let Historia live but they’ll also use her to breed more royal children. However it is probably better than ripping apart by Titans or being tortured by Marleyans.

She tells Reiner and Bertolt that if they don’t compromise about taking Historia with them as well, she is gonna turn into a Titan and run away from them. It is their choice, her side is clear.

I am sorry but I just love her psycho face there, I had to add this page.

Reiner don’t have that much choice. Ymir leaves him only one way to go.

Ymir turns into a titan, Survey Corps see that shifting-lightning and she waits for Historia. As Historia flies to her with joy, she finds herself in Ymir’s titan’s mouth. You can guess the shock she is having.

Suddenly, Reiner transforms in the air and Ymir jumps on him, they start to running alongside with Eren and Historia.

And it doesn’t take that much of time for Survey Corps to understand who Ymir is helping.

Ymir takes Historia out of her mouth and apologies because she ate her. At least she is kind enough to apologize.

To Historia, the main point is not Ymir eating her, it is why she is with Reiner and Bertolt. She asks her if Bertolt and Reiner are forcing her to kidnap her while the truth is actually the opposite, like Bert says so.

Ymir tells Historia that they are going with them, that there will be nobody to say her it’d be better if she had never been born. To Historia that is of course true, Titans can’t tell things like this while they are busy eating her. While Ymir does not explain what actually lies beyond the Walls, she just asks Historia to come with them. To Historia, that makes no sense.

She tells Ymir that is she wants, they can fight together against Reiner and Bertolt and go to Walls together. Ymir suddenly seems to forgot the promise she gave to Reiner and Bertolt until Bert reminds her the situation.

Ymir has to make a choice once again, it is either going with Bertolt and Reiner or going back to Walls with Historia.

She tells Historia that she just snatched her to save herself. She tells her that after she overheard the conversation those two priests are having, she decided that this information matters and can help her. Even if the world changes, Historia is her insurance to save herself. She begs Historia to save her.

She is lying here, obviously.

She is lying to convince Historia so that she does not make any trouble on their way. She is lying Historia to make her stay on her side.

And she finds those lies so well, it all makes sense to Historia because that is the selfish Ymir she knows. If it is for saving Ymir, then she can go with them. She really can. She is on Ymir’s side in the end. She agrees to go with Warriors.

But their troubles are far from over.

Survey Corps has caught up with them and they are not gonna let Warriors run away that easily.

After Mikasa makes her famous speech to Historia, Historia asks Ymir to stop fighting because they can’t handle Mikasa and Survey Corps. Bertolt runs behind the safe hands of Reiner and Ymir is standing there, doing nothing.

Eren has waken up and he keeps kicking, he is trying to escape.

Jean and Connie outside asking to Bertolt and Reiner that was everything actually a lie.

Mikasa demands Eren back.

Bert is all alone in the dark, there is Eren kicking around and she listens all the things his friends, former friends are saying.

And suddenly, Bert can’t take all the pressure and he breaks down.

Bertolt cries and begs someone to find them.

Ymir hears his cries, and she seems to have a sympathy. She knows what it feels like to being lost. Bert asks someone to save them, someone to find them and understand them.

Ymir’s look is quite similar to the one when she overheard the priest’s secret gossip club.

Bert breaks not just ours, but also Ymir’s kokoro.

Mikasa demands Eren back one more time from him.

Bert replies he can’t, and keeps telling himself that someone has to get their hands on blood. Someone has to.

There is also someone who knows the fact Bert is talking about, Erwin. He does not afraid to get his hands on blood as well. And he has brought a horde of Titans alongside with himself.

Not just Warriors, also soldiers are fighting against same monsters here. But this time, all Titans decide to attack on titans, specifically Titan Shifters.

After action and action, with the help of Armin’s manipulative voice *cough*Gesumin*cough* one armed one armied commander Erwin slices distracted Bert in two and Survey Corps get Eren back.

Connie also catches Historia like she is some kind of bird somehow. She refuses to go back to Walls and says Connie that she needs to save Ymir, but Connie being the smart and calm person there he reminds Historia that Ymir is only working like crazy when it comes to save Krista, not herself. 

And Historia realizes that Ymir has lied to save her once again.

Madness continues as Reiner starts to toss Titans to Survey Corps.

Ymir saves Erwin.

Why, I really thought of this.

It was definetely not because she empathies with Erwin or respects him, no. Erwin is the one who screws their plan up and causes all these madness.

It was probably because she was taking her insurance with saving one armed one armied commander. Even if she returns to Walls, she can say that RB was forcing her and she was on their side since forever. It was for an insurance.

She thinks about which one she needs to choose, to join the Warriors or Soldiers once again.

But this time, she is not the one that is going to make that decision. Great Guru Historia speaks once again and she tells Ymir to they both need to stop fighting for others and start fighting for themselves.

Me: Hyped.

Suddenly Ymir makes her choice: Fuck the world, I am at Historia’s side.

A wise choice indeed!

Most of her life Ymir lived for not herself but other people. For the priest, for her followers etc. She lied, fooled and them died for other people but here Historia is, telling her something she has always wished for, she has always tried to do. Live for yourself, be on your side.

And not just that, she also tells her that no matter what happens, she does not afraid to be on her side.

That Ymir is accepted and being loved no matter what by her.

Something Ymir was never able to get.

Another reason to love the relationship of these two: They both have barely seen actual love and acceptance in their life yet they accepted and loved each other and not just that, they learn to love themselves thanks to each other.

Historia and Connie teams up with Ymir and they take action even more!

Then a wild Coordinate appears!

At that moment like Bert and Ymir and also Eren himself, Ymir feels everything is connected, so this is what Coordinate is, she thinks. And she realizes that these world might have a future in the end. She can return to Walls alongside with Historia and they may be saved.

But she hears something else.

A scream.

A scream she has heard before.

A scream lead her to her second chance.

Bertolt’s.

But this time, he screams for help.

Again.

Out of a mix combat between empathy and sympathy, Ymir knows what she is gonna choose this time.

And she is not gonna like it.

She turns to Historia once again and this time apologies, she really means it. She is really sorry.

That is her last word to Historia’s face: Sorry.

And she turns her back and runs to save Bertolt and Reiner.

This time, for the first time ever, someone hears Bertolt’s scream for help. Someone finds them this time. It is Ymir. She saves them.

Historia reaches her hand to her as Connie pulls the bridle of her horse.

Ymir has made her choice, she has chose to hear BR’s screams one more time at that moment where her selflessness takes the control. She has chosen someone else’s life over herself once again.

You can see the relieve of RB as Ymir chimes in!

After they rescue, at the top of Wall Maria, Reiner asks Ymir why she has chosen to be on their side.

Ymir says that is because she is an idiot. That is actually kinda true. Ymir is indeed an idiot that never learns and keeps sacrificing herself.

Reiner says she can run away and both of them are gonna close their eyes as she does. He is aware what this choice is gonna cost to her.

But she says that she is done and that is alright. 

Bert asks why did she saved him.

She says she has heard her voice and that is how she got her second chance. Her second chance she is gonna give up to save him.

Bert says he is thankful and sorry but Ymir says it is alright.

Being a goddess does not feel so bad either. She knows that much at least. Experience is talking there.

She reaches her hand out to something, no, someone. To Historia.

And she reaches out for her like she can actually reach her.

She has promised herself to be prove of fate doesn’t decided at birth.

Yeah, she nailed to do that but she missed something else.

She sealed her fate by making same choices all over again.

It is like Ymir keeps repeating a pattern and no matter what happens.

She has a kind heart but she hides it under her sarcastic, mean attitude because her kind side is the reason why she got into that much trouble. She is selfless and sacrificial no matter how much she tries to hide it. She just can’t stop being like that. It is not a bad thing though, it really isn’t. These qualifications are actually my reasons to love her character. It is not like she is naive also. She knows what her choices are gonna cost her and she chooses them still. If Ymir wouldn’t have those sides, she wouldn’t have come all this way long and she wouldn’t be an interesting character.

She criticizes people for not being true to themselves because she knows what that costs or is going to cost to them. She is brave enough to speak her words and she doesn’t care what other people are gonna think about that. I like that way of hers. I like that honesty.

She has always stucked between two options: Keep lying or tell Marley the truth, go find Historia or don’t, choose Survey Corps or not, reveal your identity or not, choose Historia or not, cooperate with BR or not, save Bertolt or not.

She has always sucked between the emotional choices and logical ones.

Between selfless and selfish ones.

It is impressive how she tends to choose sacrificial ones over suicidal ones. No wonder why she refers herself as an idiot. 

Ymir is like a prisoner of wheel of fate, not by birth but by choices.

But as she writes in the letter that has been delivered by Reiner, she has no regrets in the end. She is the one that chose them, she lived her life the way she chose to live and that is something Ymir was never able to get at first one. She found love, she has been loved and she even got some super cool Titan powers! No wonder why she has no regrets™.

Except one.

Not being able to marry Historia.

I don’t know whether she is alive or not, but like I said at the beginning of the post that is so above you may not remember it, I think she has gone, probably. I still want to believe Isayama is gonna kill her out of screen. Even if she is dead, that doesn’t mean she is not important to story or everyone has forgotten her. She will keep living at ours, Historia’s and hopefully other’s memories as well. A big part of Snk is also about remembering and also moving on. Moving on does not mean you have to forget about your past, it is about owning it and moving to your future with clear steps. 

Like the way it happened to Historia. She never forgot Ymir and started to live her life with her head held high, like Ymir always wished her to.

Like Ymir always lived.

Thank you all for reading!