WARNING : the next post contains spoilers for people who have not read the manga to chapter 109.
For those of us who have read the manga to the last issue published in September 2018, one thing is clear: for Hajime Isayama, creator of Shingeki no Kyojin, good or evil depends on perspective. The author brings us the drama of war and makes readers crash into the harsh reality... being a villain or hero only depends on who is telling the story.
The story of Shingeki no Kyojin begins from the eyes of Eren, Armin and Mikasa. Three children who live inside the walls curious to see the outside world, until the day the titans arrived. In the first episode we experienced all the terror that flooded the protagonists, especially Eren when he saw his mother being devoured alive by a titan. Since then, the goal of our main character was clear: revenge and the absolute destruction of the titans to save humanity.
Eren's hatred would be his driving force in a world where survival is part of the routine. Our protagonist doesn't understand why he must live inside walls to avoid being devoured by creatures whose existence he doesn't comprehend. As if that weren't enough, Eren discovers that he possesses a power that allows him to become a titan at will (activating it when he hurts himself) and progressively begins to see this ability as an instrument to eliminate the titans.
Eren's perspective begins to broaden when, through physical contact with Rod and Historia Reiss, he recovers some memories of his father and discovers that it was he who transmitted the titan powers to him. For some reason Eren was unaware of, his father Grisha Jaeger murdered almost all the members of the Reiss family transformed into titan, and stole the Founding Titan's powers from Frieda Reiss. After the fall of the Maria wall, Grisha injected Eren with a serum that turned him into a titan, and he devoured his father, thus inheriting both powers.
In the Return to Shiganshina arc, Eren finally uses the key his father left him to find a diary in the rubble of what was once his home. In this diary, Eren discovered the truth: there is a country called Mare, far from the island of Paradis, where Erdians (descendants of Ymir, those with titan blood in their veins) are treated like second-class citizens and live locked behind walls and with banners in their arms that identify them as such (a very clear allusion to the treatment of Jews during World War II).
Why? For a "sin" that occurred hundreds of years ago. Erdia was a powerful empire that arose with Ymir Fritz, the first mortal to gain titan power, and upon her death that power was divided by 9. The Erdians dominated the rest of the world (mainly the nation of Mare) with titan power for many years, until the 145th king of Erdia, Karl Fritz, was ashamed of the actions of his empire and joined one of Mare's families, the Tybur, to create the story of a false hero who "defeated" King Fritz and forced him to flee to the island of Paradis.
This gave way to the civil war between the Erdians and, finally, Mare seized 7 of the 9 titan powers and took prisoner the Erdians who could not escape with King Fritz. This is how they ended up being considered "demons" by the people of Mare.
Grisha discovered at a very early age the cruelty of Mare's soldiers and how the life of the Erdians meant nothing to them, with the murder of his little sister, so he joined the resistance of Erdia and married Dina Fritz, a descendant of royalty. However, years later, their first-born son Zeke Jaeger would betray them with Mare's soldiers (for which he would since become known as "Boy Wonder"), and they would suffer the punishment imposed on all the rebels of Erdia.
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They were taken to the island of Paradis and injected with serum to turn them into titans, condemning them to wander eternally and devour their brothers. Just before being injected, Grisha was saved by Eren Kruger, an Erdian infiltrated into Mare's ranks. He possessed the power of the Attacking Titan and entrusted Grisha to continue his mission: to obtain the power of the Founding Titan, which lies within the walls of Paradis, and to liberate the people of Erdia.
At this point, both Eren and the readers think that the enemy has been revealed. It's not the titans; it's the people of Mare, those who live beyond the sea. They are the ones who have turned Erdians into titans and forced them to wander and eat their own people. It is they who are to blame that the Erdians of Paradis live in fear, imprisoned within walls.
And it is at this point in the narrative that Isayama decides to change our perspective, telling us the story of Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie. Erdian children who grew up in Mare, within walls (different from Paradis, but still walls) under a doctrine: in the veins of the Erdians runs the blood of the devil. The Erdians are not like the citizens of Mare because they must bear the sins of their ancestors, in them is evil and it is their duty to exterminate that evil, that is to say, to kill the demons of the island Paradis in order to save humanity.
The "warriors" are children indoctrinated with this line of thought, to inherit the titan powers that Mare possesses and fight for a nation that treats them like scum.
Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie and Marcel were sent to Paradis, considered by their families as "heroes," to fulfill a mission, recover the powers of the Founding Titan and destroy Paradis. Eliminate the demons.
Shortly after their arrival in Paradis, the children were attacked by a titan and Marcel sacrificed his life to allow Reiner to flee with the others. Despite the fear and the loss of a friend, they would continue their mission. The demons of Paradis island definitely deserved destruction.
The demons...
It was not a demon that Bertholdt's eyes saw, turned into the Colossal Titan, when he destroyed the Maria wall. What he saw were terrified children, Eren, Armin and Mikasa, whose lives would be destroyed in seconds.
It is at this point that the two stories intersect, and Mare's warriors begin to realize that the "demons" they were told about in their country were not such. By infiltrating Paradis' soldiers, they formed friendships and were able to see their point of view. This caused the hearts of these characters to split, understanding that the mission they carried out involved killing innocent people who did not deserve it. Especially in Reiner this wreaked havoc, and his mind formed two personalities, that of Mare's warrior, and that of the soldier who survived between the walls of Paradis with his companions and took care of them.
Who is the hero here? Who is the villain? Years later, infiltrated into Mare, Eren would understand this perfectly by living with his enemies. Eren confronts Reiner and, contrary to his impulsive character, calmly explains to him that he understands everything he has felt. That they were naive children who were brainwashed and convinced to kill the "demons" that inhabited Paradis island, who did what they did, convinced that it was the right thing to do. Reiner listens incredulously to an Eren that he hadn't seen for 4 years, when the last time they saw each other they fought to the death, and the only thing Eren wanted to do at that time was to kill him for being a traitor and for being a "monster."
"I'm the same as you. I didn't have any other choice," Eren tells him.
It's Eren's turn to be the executioner. He has decided to attack Mare by surprise, sacrificing hundreds of innocent lives, this time before the eyes of other children, Gabi and Falco, who watched in horror as their lives were destroyed in seconds, and their friends were killed for no reason. Eren Jaeger declared war on the world.
On this occasion, Eren and the Survey Corps are the wicked, the enemies who come to destroy everything without mercy. This leaves the spectators with a choice:
Which massacre will we support? Who are the good ones? Who are the bad ones? We will discover that these questions are not so easy to answer, and we only know one truth: both sides have victims and perpetrators.
The words of a member of the Military Police to Hange Zoë resonate: "This is an endless cycle. When the executioner's role ends, another takes his place, and so on. Courage, Hange."
Congratulations on the curie vote! Very nice and detailed analysis and you deserved the vote! :)
Thank you so much!
Yessss, what a nice subject that you wrote about. I've always felt a great respect towards the author of Shingeki no Kyojin for not delivering a simple revenge story that other titles do. I think a quote from The Dark Knight is appropriate here: "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
I can't say who's the good people, I don't think there is any. But that's the beauty of the manga, it reflects our real world's situation closely.
Congratulations on your curie vote. You certainly deserve it for writing a long and thoughtful post.
Yes! That quote fits perfectly with this subject. Isayama is presenting us with a story that challenges perspectives and leads to reflection on good and evil, and how in war each side has its motives, victims and murderers. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my post and comment.
I am Japan's Manga fan since young. But I have not read Shingeki no Kyojin. I do not think this is a spoiler alert to me, I prefer to know the whole story line before i start to read. And in this article, you have provided a good analysis and review of this manga. Sometimes people won't attract to a manga story by not knowing the story line. With the help of your review of Shingeki no Kyojin, I think people will try to get one to read. Great review. Thank you.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your comment. It makes me glad that my post makes you want to read this manga. It's awesome; you won't regret it!
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hola amigo gran trabajo soy nuevo sígueme y te sigo,estaré dando muchos me gusta,acompañado de comentarios
Thank you!
There is a great video showing how the MC goes from being clearly defined right and wrong to becoming a more of the 'right by him' and at any cost necessary which makes him act just as wrong as many villians.
Thats why the battles now between humans become less aparent and learning the titans are humans and weapons as well it become even less clear where the line for right for freedom vs is ok to kill.
Please check this video is very good on the whole issue:
It's such a BRILLIANT video! Thank you so much for recommending it! I'm going to follow this youtuber right now.
wooo hermoso anime amiga gracias por compartir este gran post .... sigue asi
¡Muchas gracias!
Oh, interesting!!!
I saw some stuff here and there, some friends who had read the manga had spoiled me some stuff (so yeah, why not, might as well spoil myself more). They had told me that everyone inside the island were titans and that some people studied them and had them under control, these people were kind of nazis in a sense, purging the others that weren't perfect.
This post was very well written and really makes me think how even a shonen manga like Shingeki no Kyojin can have this much deep inside and make us think about violence only begets violence. Taking on a first person perspective from both sides of the conflict is always educating to say the least...
Well, great post, as simple as that, a pleasure to read indeed!
Thank you so much! It makes me glad that you find it interesting. Indeed seeing the perspective from both sides opens your eyes and the story is much more complex than it seems in the beginnig. You should totally watch the anime or read the manga :)
Yes, I do watch the anime, though I'm very spoiled by now :P and while not one of my favorites it's really good, specially the first and third seasons. I loved the first season but I also love the third season though for very different reasons :D
historia said it clearly in the anime
I'm the enemy of the humanity !! XD
Yes, she said that!
I've definitely not read Shingeki at all really but well this is a wonderful world of anime, the Japanese are the best when it comes to anime and honestly it's so amazing to see the way you narrated the series in your own words with every detail.
The issue of heroes really took a twist in this series and I love this, it may be a spoilers alert, but I think it's time I read it.
Thank you for taking the time to read it! The story definitely is worth it. Hajime Isayama has created complex characters and backgrounds that make you think about human nature and the relativity of good and evil.
This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
Thank you for the support!
Its a war and both sides are fighting for the right side. Otherwise there won't be a war to be fought. The whole thing is absurd when reviewing their human history as a whole. Eren's struggles, their pasts, and the current, are just few episodes in the long line of their world's bloody history.
Hange was right about it being an endless cycle and it doesn't necessarily need more than "they hurt us so we should hurt them too" logic. It's even ridiculous to do the opposite and be forgiving after all the pain the other side had made you go through. There are no hero or villains here but a massacre orchestrated to be a lovely tragic story.
Since the season 1, we are made to believe there was a hero to support to and the author dispels that notion with the recent development. This is what makes the series entertaining and keeps readers engaged because it provokes fundamental questions about how we also think as a society and as an individual living in a society.
That's right, but there are also people who know that the other is not to blame for the mistakes of their ancestors. For example, the girl who was saved by Sasha, and appeared in chapter 109 giving a lesson to Gabi who is beginning to open her eyes. And that kind of thinking is what can break that cycle of violence (the girl doesn't know yet that Gabi killed Sasha, though).
To know they are not to blame for the mistake of their ancestors is a difficult conclusion to make. We can judge them so easily because we hold a different God's eye viewpoint about their stories. They judge who to blame based on how they were oriented with the world and though it may be absurd sometimes to comprehend their logic, it is just them adhering to a reality they have lived to believe.
In short, I only know what is wrong based on the information I have collected and comparing it to my cultural upbringing as what is and should be. This is where empathy kicks in. It's what these people need to end the cycle I believe.
Exactly!
Very nice analysis of Shingeki no Kyoujin's good and evil, @dolivero :) I agree with you 100%, Hajime Isayama is a bold mangaka who braves the possibility of presenting that his main heroes may not really be 'heroes' (from the perspectives of their enemies).
You cover the progression of the plot well, introducing what happened and why, and how. I love that you took me back a bit through a backtracking journey of reflection on what had happened thus far !
I am excited to see how Isayama-sensei will bring this series to a close!
Wonderful review post <3
Thank you so much! It makes me glad that you liked it and took you back to the beginning of the story. Isayama is doing a great job and I can't wait to see how this manga ends. (I can't wait to see all of this animated either, the anime is soooo good).
Me pasa que hay veces que me gusta más un manga que el anime xD Este tipo de post siempre tienen un espacio en mi corazón.. Porque me encantan y aunque en algunas oportunidades desconozco el anime del cual se esté hablando puedo leer y leer y nunca cansarme.
Me encanto tanto lo que redactaste que me dieron ganas infinitas de ir corriendo a leerlo, muchas gracias por el excelente post, y felicidades por el voto curie..
Un abrazo @dolivero
¡Muchas gracias @naideth! Me alegra mucho que disfrutaras mi post y te dieran ganas de leer el manga; Shingeki no Kyojin es una historia maravillosa, la disfrutarás mucho. Y con el anime están haciendo un trabajo de adaptación increíble.
¡Otro abrazo de vuelta!
I haven't come across them before but after reading your post there seems to be a good background story behind it. Looks good.
Thank you! It's a very well-written story. Hajime Isayama is a fantastic mangaka.
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Thank you so much for your support!
Considering the fact that i have not read shingeki no kyoujin, i feel like i know the characters well. You took the time to take us through events that has occurred right from the beginning of the book. As a lover of good stories, i am so interested in this one. It is intruiging.
You did a great job reviewing shingeki no kyoujin that you compel the reader to curiousity.I would be looking out for the next issue.
Thank you so much @cheekah! I really appreciate your comment. It's very satisfying when a review you write gets people interested in reading the story. You won't regret it, Shingeki no Kyojin is a very well written manga and its adaptation to anime is a masterpiece to me. It's a story that deserves all the attention it can get.
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