Dedicate Your Heart

Okay, before I tell you anything about my takes on this grandeur anime… I just want to make a bold statement:

I FUCKING LOVE ATTACK ON TITAN!!!

Alright, now, you don’t have any valid reason to judge or hate me for what I’m going to say in the next few paragraphs :)

Let’s start off slowly and try to not explode my own brain for trying too hard to write down what is on my mind.

Attack on Titan starts off exceptionally well. The first few episodes really hook me up to the point that I literally could not stop watching the anime for 3 days straight during a long weekend.

At first, the premise was pretty simple: civilization behind the walls, titans eating humans, humanity is threatened, a young boy who has a traumatic experience is seeking revenge and wanting to drive out all of the Titans from his living world.

We get a typical hero here — a boy who is driven by ambitions, is competent but not as good as his peers, clearly knows what he is doing — in summary, he is just your ordinary central character. The good side and the bad side are pretty clear too — no doubt the Titans are the enemies here. Even with the violent and ruthless scenes, we still enjoy watching it since it does not give us much emotional turbulence. In Season 1 Episode 5, the creator gives us a warning that this series is going to be one of those that will never hesitate to kill an important character if it is meant to be and is necessary for the plot (pretty Game of Throne-ish, am I right?). We are also led to believe that this is going to be some kind of an ass-kicking, mind-bending, visually-alarming type of series, but it is not all that it can provide. It is way beyond what we expected.

As the plot thickens at the end of the first season, we are ready to go to the second one (which took 4 years to be released, thank God I just watch it now because I would not have the strength to wait that long). The story becomes even deeper and more nuanced. We are given the backstory of some side characters, like Sasha, Connie, and Christa. The pace itself is sort of slower than the first one (we get 12 episodes for one expedition to Wall Rose, beat me). Even though this season is not exactly my utmost favorite, this one gives us the time to breathe and manifest the concept of this so-called Titan world so watchers may understand better. We are given the chance to pick our own perspectives as we start to guess what the fuck is happening in this dystopian island.

In Season 3 Part 1, we are introduced to another huge threat to humanity — the human itself. Just when you thought that AoT is only about a group of badasses cutting off Titan’s nape, it is getting way more complicated than that. The morally correct characters are now forced to act in the morally grey areas. As we start questioning whether it is the right thing to do or not, the characters also ponder with us. There is even a discussion among the characters in which they start to resent themselves for killing fellow humans. Unfortunately, they do not have the luxury to think much about it since the plan has to be executed and the goal must be achieved.

By the time we arrive at Season 3 Part 2, we are basically broken. The show gives us so much to contemplate. People who wait year by year might find this waiting time to be gratifying, but, for me, it is going to be excruciating. Watching it at full speed gives me the chance to be exposed to as much information as possible in such a little time, which results in me having a less emotional investment in the show (I do it on purpose since I know it is so hard to rebound from a series). Hands down, this season is my favorite season to date. The whole 10 episodes are about the Survey Corps’ expedition to reclaim Wall Maria and find the truth about humanity in Eren Jaeger’s basement in Shiganshina District. I am not going to spoil anything but I just need to say this: the ultimate sad scene of the show is exactly here in this season!!! It is almost on par with the “hold the door” episode from GoT. If someone should die in this show, it could be anyone but Armin :) Seriously, if you hate Armin’s character, there must something wrong with you. Anyway, the end of this season is so dismally beautiful. The squad finally sees what they have been longing to see since forever, but Eren, who has learned the history of humanity through his father’s memory, cannot even feel any bit of happiness when he is faced with a gigantic saltwater reservoir called ‘the ocean’, knowing that war is waiting on the other side.

Season 4 is purely tragic. In this season, we kind of lose a bit of touch with Eren as the story centralizes in the life of four warrior candidates of Marley. However, you can still witness how his character changes and develops so much, he is no longer the naive brat kid who lives only for revenge. He is now wiser than ever but it makes us difficult to get around his mind. His moves are no longer calculated like before, even his closest friends like Mikasa and Armin cannot predict which direction he is heading to next. Even we, from the third person point of view, who are basically provided with information from everyone’s perspective, will still find it hard to be certain about Eren’s next step. As magnificent as the story be, I think that Eren’s character development is the best highlight of the season. Prior to this season, we have been told about the catastrophes that mold Eren’s current mental state — the shadows of the comrades that sacrifice their lives in order to protect him, the responsibility to carry the weight of humanity on his shoulders, the will to protect everyone especially those that are precious to him— all those mental tortures that he went through for 4 years are enough to turn him into someone so morally ambiguous. I gotta say, if Daenerys Targaryen’s arc was developed the same way as Eren’s, I would have no complaint about her heartbreaking demise at the end of the show.

Now, let’s talk about the main reason why I love this show.

I believe that the brilliance of this anime is the way it makes so much sense. Its attention to details and its extensive effort to make sure that no one is getting a black and white perspective have led us to believe that this universe exists and we understand why the characters behave a certain way and why they are the way they are now.

For instance, do you see how the show slowly builds up the characters without us even noticing? In Season 1, Reiner was no one but Eren’s good friend in the 104th Cadet. In Season 2, he climbed up to the top and become one of the central characters. In Season 4, it is safe to say that he took a significant role in the story. I mean, who would even predict?

Another example, even after we know about Eren’s insane plan for humanity in Season 4, we get no confusion at all. Instead, we mumble to ourselves “Eren, I understand why you want to do this”. Perhaps, not everyone will agree to that plan, I myself dislike the plan and wish that Eren will finally come to his senses, but I understand him. For me, even if he ends up executing the plan that was proposed by Zeke, I will not resent him for what he is doing. I am already too invested with Eren’s tragic arc and all that I can do is wait for the end game without any particular hope in mind.

P.S:

• I seriously feel bad for Armin’s character. If he is not in Attack on Titan, he would simply be that sidekick who spends his day playing video games but still does well in school.
• I am an anime-only follower (I want to have the ‘shock’ of watching the last part of the anime next year), so do not dare to come to me to spoil the story from the manga!!!