r/ShingekiNoKyojin

Before I start I want to clarify: this is no Witt studio hate. Witt studio has amazing animation and beautiful still shots. Witt studio has adapted the manga with no filler and has no bad pacing. Seems like the perfect 10/10 flawless adaptation, right? Only if it were true.

At the expense of pacing lots of characters like kenny, erwin and levi were not as fleshed out as the manga. Mikasa to she is a different level of not being fleshed out. Mikasa’s character is a shell of what she is in the manga.

The anime turned Mikasa into a person who doesn’t seem to develop, is way too attached to the protagonist, has barely any monologue, interacts barely with other characters and can’t decide for herself. A lot of panels or moments of Mikasa doing what said above has been cut or moved towards a different character like eren. In the photos are some comparisons of her character being altered. This doesn’t just stop with Mikasa being directly altered. A big complaint about the ending is Eren’s sudden love for Mikasa. In the anime of seasons 1-3 Eren pushed Mikasa away a ton while this didn’t happen in the manga. Eren was way more attached to Mikasa in the anime. Mikasa was because of this also changed indirectly, which might look like the attachment between ermika was one sided.

Most people in the community think Mikasa is a character that has no character but it just stems from a non proper adaptation.

Once again not a hate post towards Witt. witt has amazing animation and eye candy levels of art direction.

Man where do I even start, I just can’t describe how much I absolutely love Eren, He’s just so masterfully written and I just hate how misunderstood his character really is, now I do know that most people outside and inside the community agree that Eren is one of the best written protagonist and character of all time, but i feel a lot of people kinda also misunderstand WHY he is one of the best.

Now before I start, I just wanna clarify that I’m NOT a genocidal apologist or a jaegerist (or fascist) that supports Eren’s actions, He is absolutely wrong in every way and even he himself admits it, this is just an appreciation of how well written he is and why I think he is such a compelling character.

SPOILERS AHEAD, PLS WATCH THE SHOW BEFORE READING MY ANALYSIS:

Keep in mind I’m only doing like the analysis for like 131 and onwards cuz to analyse his whole character that will def take a lot of time and it’s just not possible for one short analysis lmao, so yeah. (I’m also lazy af too so hehe)

Keep in mind, I will use alot of philosophies to explain his character and his character in the ending, and dw I will explain all of them.

———————————————————————————————————————————————

EREN’S CHARACTER BASICS (obv not all, just the important part)

So before I begin, What I always hear around people is that Eren is too complex of a character or kinda hard to grasp, or he “makes no sense” or whatever type shit they say. In my opinion, I don’t think Eren is really that hard to understand, while yes he is definitely extremely complex and has a lot of depth, all of his writing can be understood by just his basics as it is what was built up at first, by just this ONE question.

”What is Eren’s fundamental definition of freedom, and WHY does he want freedom”

A lot of people can answer the definition part, but most fail at the why part, but today I hope I can clear most of the confusion surrounding his character with this short analysis.

For what is his definition of freedom, it’s pretty straightforward for those who watch the show, Eren’s defintion of freedom is unconditional right to exist and experience the world without external restrictions or oppression, as we seen in the freedom scene, he isnt seeing any sandy snowfields, lands of whatever like in armin’s book, basically like a blank canvas. It was also shown back in many chapters as well as Eren talks about “this sight“ referring to the rumbling, and he looked really fascinated by it.

Now it’s the tricky part, WHY he wants freedom,

As a child, Eren stares at the walls and calls them miserable. The walls are not just physical—they symbolize Eren's existential suffocation, a life reduced to survival. Then Armin shows him the book about the outside world. Eren is not captivated by the content of the book. He is captivated by what the book does to Armin. Not because of oceans or deserts, but because of Armin’s shining eyes, a sharp contrast to Eren's void within him. Eren realizes: he was never free. Eren states in the "Freedom" scene, " Fiery water, lands of Ice, sandy snowfields. The people who witnessed these things were the ones that had the Greatest freedom in the world."

So Eren's fundamental definition of freedom is the outside world as Armin's book. But why Eren fundamentally wants freedom?

He wants to achieve Armin's eyes that reflect fulfillment, the state Eren craves for. And the "Why" is more important than the "what".

Also The word Armin in German means "Whole" That's why Eren fundamentally wants freedom. He wants to fill his existencial crisis or void

This was shown during episode 9 or smth I think I forgot. But it’s def when armin shows Eren the book.

His reason of why he wants freedom also explains his “BECAUSE I WAS BORN INTO THIS WORLD” Eren saying he was born this way basically means he is born with in innate existential crisis or void, Eren wants to be "whole" So He wants to fill his existencial crisis.

———————————————————————————————————————————————

NOW CUT TO CHAPTER 131

Now some might think how did Eren seemingly achieved Freedom in chapter 131? That’s the neat part he didn’t Atleast in the long term,

Eren looks back and asks Armin if this is the sight of freedom. Why ask Armin?! Coz this idea of freedom isn't fundamentally Eren's. It's borrowed from Armin.

He achieved his fundamental definition of freedom which the child represents. But the "why" isn't fulfilled because he asks Armin if this is the sight of freedom or precisely speaking if this sight will grant him fulfillment.

In this scene, He achieved his fundamental definition of freedom which the child represents. But the "why" isn't fulfilled because he asks Armin if this is the sight of freedom or precisely speaking if this sight will grant him fulfillment.

Then we see adult Eren in the depths of darkness. You can see he isn't regenerating which is parrallel to Reiner's refuse to regenerate in declaration of war. Coz Reiner didn't want to live out of despair. Which means Eren is also in despair.

You can see child Eren high in the clouds finally touching infinity finally achieving his fundamental definition of freedom. But u also see the adult in despair. Because.... Even this empty world can't fulfill Eren's existential crisis. Coz this freedom is so absolute that it devours the very meaning of freedom. Eren is just creating a Nietzschian Abyss. He is just externalising his void. Which is why I called this a dissociation, Eren is dissociated like Reiner. Child Eren represents the "what" which is fulfilled and the adult represents the "why" which u can see isn't fulfilled.

This also supports Eren’s breakdown at the end too, Eren also wants to be stopped, but he also say he doesn’t wanna die because of the fact that he hasn’t fulfilled his “why” yet.

———————————————————————————————————————————————

WHY DIDNT EREN DO A 100 PERCENT RUMBLING (when when did he realised it)

This is prob one of the biggest debates in the fandom, and

But first of all I wanna yall to remember, AoT's first chapter is titled "To you 2000 years from now" . Keep this in mind.

Now the explanation: The attack titan sees the future of it's future inherited also the memory of It's past inheriter. This is Attack titan's special power. This means Grisha can see future via Eren's memories by the special power. However, Eren can also see his future by attack titans normal power. U know shifters can unlock and transfer memories of past inheritors when they touch other shifters or someone with royal blood. Eren can't see the future with the attack titan's special powers coz theirs no future inheritor after him. He can only see Grisha's memories which also includes the future.

Zeke says Grisha gave titan powers to Eren coz he saw something from Eren. That something is what Eren addresses as "the sight". You know now what the sight is. And since Grisha doesn't know what's beyond "this sight" in his memories EREN CAN'T SEE BEYOND THIS EITHER.

Eren sees his end when he touches Ymir in the next chapter titled " From u 2000 years ago " which is definitely related to the very first chapter titled "To you 2000 years from now". This means Eren sees his death in chapter 1 from someone 2000 years ago who is Ymir. In the later chapter Eren finally finds out who sent those memories which is why he says " Are u the one who lead me here ? ". Which is also why the chapter titles " From you.... " Which means From Ymir. Basically the final future memories are from Ymir to Eren.

Now Eren saw the future where he sees he doesn't complete the rumbling. But Eren needs to complete the rumbling to fulfill his "what" and "why" which is why, despite his future memories, Eren rebels against fate and says he will kill every last one of them

So u now know Eren is pretty unreliable when he narrates the future memories. Like in the first ocean sequence, he addresses the outside world as enemies. But when he crosses the sea, he sees all of them are just people. The first part of grounded sequence also parrallels chapter 131. Eren in 131 states the future is already determined. Eren in Grounded states the future is also determined. But Eren confesses to Ramzi that he wanted to wipe everything out. Eren confesses to Armin that he wanted to see "this sight". Which is why armin sees thru eren and says “determined? You were the one who decided to kill all of them” ik this aint the direct words but its smth like this

So Eren is kinda of like a unreliable narrator, that’s why aot needs to be rewatched or at the very Atleast, def paid attention to all of the details.

—————————————————————————————————————————-

GROUNDED SCENE (Aka Eren-Armin Conversation)

The Red Sea:

Now Eren achieved his fundamental definition of freedom. An empty unoccupied world. But does it fill Eren's existential crisis? No. Because this freedom wasn't fundamentally Eren's. He borrowed it from Armin thinking it will help him achieve Armin's eyes ( parrallel to Shadis ). Unlike Armin and Carla, Eren doesn't internalise meaning and tries to find it externally in a world that offers none. He achieve an absolute freedom that devours the very meaning of freedom ( peak ). He created an Abyss.

Okay now from here, I will be explaining this whole scene by using Nietzche’s philosophy of stuff like ubersmench and amor fati, keep in mind that cuz I’m NOT a philosopher, I may get some shit wrong, so PLEASE correct me if I get some stuff incorrect.

freedom by Nietzsche : obsession of freedom can become a prison.

Nietzsche "Reactive freedom" : Humans think becoming free is to destroy every Constraints, and say "no" to everything that can limit him. Nietzsche says this is a form of slavery : We become slave of the need to be free.

We search a negative freedom (no rules, no obligations) We no longer have internal direction, no creative projects. Nietzsche call that the the abyss or "freedom of void" or "empty freedom". Which leads to escapism, nihilism, To the dissolution of the self. The true freedom is to say "yes", create his own values. A slave of freedom, only destroy, not building, nor create.

Nietzsche Warned, " He who fights monsters should keep in mind that he doesn't become one. And if u gaze long into the abyss, the abyss stares back." Eren gazed long into the abyss and it swallowed him whole.

Eren won't find anything that will fill his existencial crisis in this abyss. He tries to find within it but finds nothing ( We are shown literally Eren searching with his hands). Shadis warned in Bystander episode, " Just like his father wanted, Eren put his life on fire. And that fire will turn him into ashes outside the walls." ( Peak foreshadow of Eren's self destruction)

Eren now understands he won't find freedom through eradication. He mistook Armin's shining eyes. Eren thought if he can escape the hellish absurdity of the world, he will achieve fulfillment. But he can't because this world doesn't offer anything that will make him free ( fulfilment). Which is why he searches in this sea, but finds nothing.

Eren is a slave to freedom because he let this idea of freedom, which isn't fundamentally his own, dictate all his life. He now created this abyss. He is a slave to himself NOT BECAUSE OF FATE. Eren is not bound to fate but instead FATE IS BOUND TO EREN.

This also debunks the fact that AOT is determistic, it’s not, it’s COMPATABLISTIC, Everything that Eren ever wanted went his way cuz of his own free will, but it’s his nature which allows him to do it this way, his nurture opposes it, I will prob explain his character development in another post sometime.

Existential triumph:

Unlike Eren, Armin, on the other hand despite everything finds a seashell from the abyss. Armin understands Eren's existencial crisis. Just like the ocean sequence, Armin can find the seashell because he is a Camusian rebel, a true Ubermensch (I will explain what is that below) Eren notices the seashell and accepts the seashell. By accepting the seashell, Eren also accepts his authenticity- his love for Mikasa , his friends, his empathy, his natalistic ideals.

By doing so Eren agrees to free humanity from the curse. The sea shell symbolizes Amor Feti or Eternal recurrence ( accepting past, present and future to achieve freedom and wholeness ). Eren internalises meaning for the first time. Instead of turning the world into an abyss, Eren accepts his sins and responsibilities and decides to let himself be killed.

Also Eren's final hug with Armin represents shadow integration ( Jungian concept) and Yin - Yang.

Armin legit says, " It was always at our feet. But you always looked far away." Which means freedom was always here

Now on why Eren called himself an idiot:

You can see Eren states this after he sees his memories when Grisha says, " you are free.".. Grisha also had the boundless hate for the world just like Eren. But still Grisha found fulfillment just because his son was born.

Eren however tried to find freedom "in the horizon". He always looked far away. He thought if he could make the world like Armin's book he will achieve freedom. But no he didn't achieve freedom. He Only externalised his void. Which is why he calls himself a slave and an idiot coz it was always at his feet.

Now with that, let me explain amor fati to explain the last bit of the seashell scene.

Here's the definition. Amor Feti is Love to fate or eternal recurrence. It's accepting the past, the present and future. U accept the entirety of your fate because it means u are authentic, responsible and whole. It's important in Eren's case. Eren's journey is largely an attempt to escape the absurdity of existence. He wants to achieve Armin's eyes which reflect fulfillment in contrast to Eren's existential void. Fulfillment or wholeness is his fundamental need for freedom.

By accepting the sea shell, Eren accepts his sins, his responsibility. He accepts the past, the present and future. By accepting the future Eren let's himself be Free and choose to die in mikasa’s hands. Eren doesn't follow the future because it's already determined but because he chose to free humanity like Zeke. The seashell symbolises many existential concepts and Amor Feti is one.

By This scene, Eren achieved TRUE freedom, he finally overcame his nature, the thing that always dictated what he really wants all the time. Eren is finally free, the seashell scene is the culmination of all f the themes and everything AOT has went for, truly one of the best payoffs I ever seen.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

THE CABIN SCENE

The cabin sequence, The eyes that reflect fulfillment:

Eren achieves Armin's eyes in the cabin. Eren didn't just accept Mikasa in the paths. Eren accepts to be finite. He accepts to be vulnerable. He accepts something fragile, finite but significant as love. Eren accept his authenticity. Mikasa doesn't just love Eren. She fills the void inside of him.

As Carla said in the 1st episode, " “That child’s rage will drive him into danger… Mikasa, please, protect him.”

Grisha states something similar in Lost Girls LN (not sure if yall read it but it’s prob in the anime if I remember) “Eren always seems like he’s mad at something. That rage of his is going to take him to a very dangerous place before he even realizes it. So, that’s why I’ve decided to take Eren to the mountains where you live. If he can live with you, surrounded by nature, something might change inside of him for the better.” And Mikasa does just that.

EreMika ain't a romance ship. They are there to fill each others void, to be grounded. The peak part is Mikasa couldn't accept Eren hated her so she escaped in the paths parrallel to Ymir who couldn't accept King Fritz didn't love her so she escaped in the paths. It's escapism, delusion, willful ignorance. Keep in mind, Eren and Mikasa can live in the paths for infinite amount of time. But Eren overcame his escapism and accepted himself in grounded so he wants Mikasa to do the same. So Mikasa accepts reality over escapism. She overcomes her onthological insecurity and Crucified Eren. Ignorance, escapism for infinite years was tempting but Mikasa overcame it. It's so peak considering Mikasa is Onthologicaly dependent on Eren so it's a massive feat, something Ymir was never capable of.

Now lastly, remember when I said Armin was a true camus rebel, a true ubersmech? Here’s what I meant:

Albert Camus defines the absurd as the confrontation between human longing for meaning and the silent, indifferent world. Freedom, for Camus, does not come from escaping this tension, but from living lucidly within it—without appeal.

Camus calls Sisyphus the Absurd hero because Sisyphus perfectly embodies the human condition in an absurd world. In the myth, Sisyphus is condemned to roll a rock up a mountain forever, only for it to fall back down each time. His labor has no final meaning, no completion, no transcendence. What makes Sisyphus a hero is not his punishment, but his consciousness. Camus imagines that when Sisyphus walks back down the mountain, fully aware that his task is futile, he does not submit in despair.

He accepts the absurd and still continues. Camus calls it Lucidity. Camus writes: “The struggle itself is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” So Sisyphus becomes heroic because: He recognizes the meaninglessness He does not escape into illusion. But revolts by continuing anyway. This is the absurd hero: A being who, knowing life has no ultimate meaning, still affirms it through lucid defiance. Which is why he sees Sisyphus as the Absurd hero because Sisyphus doesn't escape from the God's punishment.

There's a profound sense of freedom in Lucidity. " One must imagine Sisyphus happy " - Albert Camus.

In AoT, the world is a hellish absurd. There's no freedom, no meaning, no escape, no solution just the endless cycle of hatred. In the end, the message wasn't about escaping this absurd because Eren failed to escape it not because he was trapped by fate but because his fantasised world of freedom won't fix his existencial crisis, won't let him escape the absurd. So Isayama offers the idea of Camus's Absurd hero. Not escaping but Living without appeal just like Carla and Armin.

The Red sea symbolises the absurd and the seashell symbolizes Camus's Lucidity. This PERFECTLY concludes Eren’s character in the most beautiful and most powerful payoff I ever seen.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

THE END!

And with that I come to the end of my analysis, this actually isn’t mine alone cuz I analysed it with my friend, and gosh this is just so beautiful imo, the Eren-Armin talk is the BEST (or Atleast one of the best) scenes in AoT, and it was a MASTERFUL conclusion, i hate how misunderstood it really is and how people take everything at face value.

With all I just said, Eren is just such a masterfully and an INSANELY Well Written characters definitely one of the best characters I have ever witnessed and i would place him on at top tier, he’s just so freaking great.

Now this is kinda of a rushed analysis I did with my friend so it’s kinda short, I apologise if I get some stuff wrong, I will be doing more analysis in the future on Eren, cuz gosh he is so freaking layered and detailed and so well written, MAN ISAYAMA I REFUSE TO BELIEVE UR ACTUALLY HUMAN, WHY TF IS EREN SOOOO GOOOOOODDDD?!!!

but yeah this is my (and my friend’s) short analysis on why I think Eren Jaeger is absolutely one of the best written protagonist and character of all time.

Thank you for reading! lemme know what you think! Bye Bye! ❤️❤️❤️

(Putting people's annoyance with Gabi aside for a second 😅)

One of the many things I really enjoyed was the relationship that Gabi and Falco (and maybe Zofia and Udo to a lesser extent) had with Pieck. She always was so kind and encouraging to them, treated them like the children they were, not as soldiers in training, and was always so protective and concerned about their safety/well-being first and foremost.

I just finished a deep-dive analysis video on something that's been on my mind since finishing the manga.

Isayama embedded 3 real geopolitical mechanisms inside AOT that authoritarian regimes have used throughout history:

1. The Walls — Paradis isn't fictional. The Berlin Wall wasn't built to keep enemies out. It was built to keep citizens in. The Great Firewall of China blocks 1.4 billion people from YouTube, Google, Wikipedia. The logic is identical to Wall Maria: the wall doesn't protect you from what's outside. It controls what you know about it.

2. Manufacturing the Enemy — Political scientists call it "othering." Nazi Germany called Jewish people Untermenschen. Rwanda called the Tutsi *inyenzi* — cockroaches. The US media did it after 9/11. In every case the mechanism is the same. And then in Season 2, Isayama does something no propaganda system can survive: he reveals the Titans are human.

3. The Rumbling— Eren becomes what he fought. This isn't fiction. After Versailles humiliated Germany, a generation turned to a man who promised revenge. The Rumbling is always the response to an unjust peace.

What makes Isayama a genius is that he doesn't give us a hero. Eren is simultaneously right about the oppression AND wrong about the solution.

📺 Full video (8 min): https://youtu.be/3AefjAI79ec

Which real-world regime do you think AOT maps onto most closely? I'm genuinely curious what this community thinks.

did you guys notice this? I wanted to know if anyone else had seen more frames of it in other intros or endings

been rewatching attack in titan and noticed mikasa's nose in this frame. it's right after she first saves the azumabitos in episode 85

image quality is shit because crunchyroll won't let me screenshot it on pc, so i had to take a pic with my phone lol