Attack on Titan

Contains spoilers.

The first question is about the beginning. Did this story begin when the kids started to dream about the outer world? Did it start when the world within the walls started to crumble? Did it start two millenia ago, or did it start in the far future of absolute despair? Perhaps there's no answer to this. Afterall, the concept of time itself is meaningless. The answer is not important, and what matters is the reality. Attack on Titan is the fight for salvation in a world infected with hatred and prejudice. There's meaning in tracing the story back to its beginning, but perhaps what is more ideal is to examine the story of now.

The second question is if it's all about Eren Yeager or the world. An enthusiastic boy, Eren always dreamt of escaping the cage formed by the walls and achieving freedom. When his hometown was wrecked, he swore to destroy all titans. Ironically enough he ended up being the strongest and most disastrous monster of them all. Being reduced to a state of fighting for the past he can't change and the future he cannot protect, Eren Yeager ended up losing the sense of freedom he believed in. His attempt to change the world didn't really reward him in all honesty. Thus, is the story really about him, or was it always been about the others?

The third, final and most important question is about the world itself. What changed? Once Eldian empire terrified the world, then the world terrorized the Eldians, and in the end the Eldians retaliated. The world was left in shambles and four by fifth of its population wiped out. In the end, what exactly changed? People's understanding of others? Their attitudes? It's hard to know. But what's sure is that the fear remains as ever.

Thinking about it, did anyone ever try to properly understand each other in this story? The two sides in the story tried to fight each other on the premise of oppression of the past. Unforgettable and unforgivable as it is, people didn't really think about the present but dwelled in the events of the past. Those who once lost their freedom tried to deprive other of their freedom. It's a never-ending cycle of hatred. People succumbed to their weakness and failed to see the future infront of them. They got lost in the endless abyss of vengeance. A few struggled to live happily like Reiner, and a few were indifferent like Annie; but they all got swept in the wave and lost their goals. Reiner practically lost his mind and Annie wanted to get back to the father she once hated, and Eren who wished for freedom ended up taking the freedom of everyone. Then there's Ymir, the progenitor of all Titans. She was a slave, was treated as a sexual tool, and in the end ended up being food to her own children. The most miserable thing is that she still loved King Fritz. Thus she bore his will for two millenia. The Eldian bloodline that came from Ymir never really gave anyone happiness. The reason why she chose Mikasa to end everything was probably because she felt a similarity between both of them. Mikasa couldn't be with the one she loved, as was the case with Ymir.

Getting back to the questions, we reach a world that's ruined by one man's selfishness to keep those close to him alive. The genocide committed by Eren is certainly not good or the right thing but the shocking part is that it's hard to argue the process itself was bad. If Hitler's genocide was born from delusions, Eren's act was something stemmed from the struggle to survive. It still isn't justified, but thinking from the side of Eren Yeager who wanted to find a way for his people to live, it is hard to confidently make a statement. The world was never fair from the beginning and the story wasn't about right and wrong at all. The people's struggle to merely exist has always been the core of the world of Attack on Titan. For that matter I both disapprove of Eren's actions and finds beauty in his sacrifice. The story was always about Eren, but Eren's world had always been those around him. In the end there's the scene of a bird correcting Mikasa's scarf. That is probably showing their belief that Eren is watching over them, even in death. Birds who symbolise freedom and Eren who wished for freedom; it is perhaps his final salvation to be remembered through birds.

Yoshitoshi ABe's Haibane Renmei told the story of beings that lived inside a wall unknowing what'd happen if they went beyond it. They were beings who couldn't act up to find out anything. Isayama's character's are different in the sense that they make a conscious effort to unravel the mysteries of and beyond the wall. There are those who are optimistic about it, and those who oppose it too; but they all find it as something they need to think about. Perhaps their struggles are not as evident as Guts in Berserk, but the fact is that they are fighting to just keep exist. Attack on Titan, in such a way, has incorporated different elements into its story and made it beautiful. The story has become slightly deteriorated towards the end because of the limited possibilities that resulted from the absolutely chaotic nature, but Isayama still managed to keep it steady and nerve-wracking till the very end. The finale ended up being mild and could've been better, but that's just expectations speaking because it is the finale of Attack on Titan. Personally it was one of the first anime i watched, and the first ever personal favourite. That was two years ago, and the story still remains as one of the favourites. I do not believe it is the greatest, nor do i think it is a benchmark in the history. I do not even know if i will love it as intensely as now in the future. Yet it is an unforgettable existence and experience. Attack on Titan was one of the gateways for me, and that can't change, ever. It is one of the stories that kept me absolutely intrigued until the end, and thus it is something that will always remain special to me.