How humanity survived inside the walls?
Titans, Truths, and the Triumph of Humanity!
The worst decision, yet the best one for me, was starting the first season of Attack on Titan several days before my 6th-semester mid-exam. Physically, I was in the year 2023, but mentally, I had teleported to the year 845 in the district of Shiganshina. It was located in the Wall Maria. The start was so depressing and upsetting when a 60-meter-high Colossal Titan breached Wall Maria’s defense. But the most alarming scene was watching Eren’s mother eaten by a titan, later revealed she was his stepmother. All of his fears surrounded him, and his happiness at home was torn apart in the blink of an eye. These events sparked my curiosity about whether Eren, Mikasa, and Armin would be alive till the end or would have become the meal of humanoid creatures. The journey went forward and my curiosity and interest level upgraded, seeing them joining the scouts and being determined. Here comes the caption Levi, Commander Erwin, Sasha, Connie, and others. Then there comes the scene when Eren dies, but I knew from the very beginning that he would be converted into a titan, so no worries and sorrows. Then the show changed direction and moved from humans killed by titans to humans shifting to titans. Season 1 was mind-blowing, especially when the survey crew first interacted with a female titan. Here, I had no clue that she would be Annie, but thanks to a great hypothesis by Armin Arlert. Fighting against the Female Titan and losing cost the survey corps dearly; it was an intense and impactful event. Analyzing Armin’s personality, he is shy and somewhat timid, but he gradually gains confidence. He was empathetic and cared deeply about the welfare of people. His strategic thinking and problem-solving techniques were very beneficial for the survey corps. Sealing Wall Rose, identifying weak points in Titans, uncovering Annie’s true identity, and rescuing Eren from Bertolt and Reiner were his great achievements. I somehow had a clue that Reiner would be the armored titan.
Erwin Smith being the prominent character with strategic brilliance and exceptional leadership traits formed the survey corps. Under Erwin’s command, the survey corps were able to achieve victories including a retake of Trost District, the battle of Shiganshina, the revelation of truths from the basement, and the revealing of the beast titan’s identity. The battle of Shiganshina was an intense, climatic scene in the series where crucial truths about the world and titans were revealed. Although Erwin died at that time and the majority of the survey corps were finished according to the scenarios that was the best decision which led to a win-win situation.
“Give up on your dreams and die”
- Levi Ackerman
The choice of injecting a syringe into Armin was a good decision in my opinion. Erwin lived his life for the sake of humanity, and he witnessed the sacrifice of the survey corps, but this battle just took everything and I think he was not able to start a new life with the guilt of massive destruction and deaths. During the battle of Shiganshina, several truths were revealed including Grisha Yeager’s information about the outside world, the true history of humanity, the nature of the Titans, the Titan Serum, and the history of the walls.
Eren, I don’t know what to say about him, the “Hero” or the “Villain” of the series. I was in doubt before the final part. At first, he had an aggressive and emotional personality. The person seems to react very quickly and express his thoughts but who would have known he was planning the entire rumbling and destruction. To me, the visions or the foreshadowing of Eren were just ordinary scenes but Hajime Isayama was building suspense, and hinting at the future. In Eren’s case knowing a character in depth and analyzing his/her character helps to predict their actions, but from time to time when I moved ahead, I was blank about the personality of Eren. According to me, those foreshadows were building his strong and determined personality. Seeing countless allies die in front of him was a major factor in Eren’s downfall to the dark side. The Founding Titan can access time — past, present, and future all at the same time. He sacrificed his life to provide freedom to his allies. His main goal was to die as a villain and make his friends heroes who saved the world from rumbling. He was a slave to freedom.
Now let’s move back to season 1, where Mikasa and Levi entered. I was a huge fan of the Ackerman’s. Like Mikasa following Eren, and Levi following Commander Ervin, they had superb fighting skills, and determination, and were blindly following someone. Seeing the fighting style of Mikasa just reminded me of my good old days of Taekwondo training. After Mikasa, Annie’s fighting style was impressive and unique. The way she carried Ori Chagi was awesome. Applause for Annie’s kicking style, but this style was the key source of analyzing her true identity. As I mentioned previously the blind following of Ackerman’s doesn’t mean they were worthless and just followed others. Despite Mikasa’s incredible personality, she considered Eren her family and was determined to protect him till the end. All of her emotions never interrupted her training, determination, goals, and personality. Let me give you an example. In season 1 when Eren was eaten by a titan everyone became disappointed and their spirits were low but Mikasa fought the titans with strong will and determination. That was the time I realized she was the most compelling female character in all anime. The final part just amazed us, where Mikasa killed Eren, and stayed loyal to him. Saved humanity from rumbling by killing her love.
