On the whole, I think there are three general modes that Attack on Titan switches between:
- Intrigue and suspense mode
- Stand around and do absolutely nothing mode
- Full on chaos mode
Obviously, #2 (which I not so affectionately refer to “Trost”) is the worst of the lot. But fortunately, we haven’t been stuck in that one for extended periods too often since the first season. Which of the others you prefer is probably a pretty classic subjective divide. While Shingeki no Kyoujin has not adopted the seasonal naming convention, basically Season 2 was #3 and Season 3 was #1. I like that first one, the one we spent most of the 2018 cour immersed in, but I always figured we were likely headed back to the battlefield for 2019. And so far, that certainly seems to be the case.
In point of fact, though, this “Battle of Shiganshina” has thus far been a mix of the three. There’s been a lot of Armin, Erwin and Reiner trying to figure out what the opposition is doing, a lot of titans standing around staring, and a lot of head-butting (eventually) between Eren and Reiner. Erwin (for the love of God, please just die already) is in charge of tactics for the survey corps, Heaven help them, and he prioritizes keeping the horses safe to the point where he’s willing to use Eren as bait in order to do it. Reiner does figure this out, but he has no choice but to take the bait because Eren (in titan mode) can’t be allowed to circle behind the Sasquatitan and the other large format titans waiting the battle out while the chibis try and roust out the enemy.
Reiner has always struck me as an interesting character by Shingeki standards – which is why I’m kind of bummed if he buys it for good here, as he just might be about to – but he’s actually not that smart. It kind of strikes me as odd that he has so much autonomy here in fact, considering everything that’s on the line. His decision-making in the heat of battle has never struck me as being particularly good – I think he’s just smart enough to think his way into the enemy’s trap here not but smart enough to think his way out of it. And it may just have cost him his life, though I suppose that remains to be seen.
There was some hesitation on the part of his former classmates when it came to the killing blow against Reiner, but I suppose that’s understandable. Bertholdt has yet to show himself (except in the preview), but even if he came to Reiner’s aid now it might be too late. At the center of all this remains that basement of course, and I just hope SnK isn’t going to tease us for an entire season before it actually enters the damn thing. There was some interesting foreshadowing regarding Erwin this week, which is open to interpretation (but I’m not getting my hopes up), though he’s definitely considering making a solo run for that basement. That would give his troops a better chance of survival at least (as usual, he’s losing them at an alarming rate) because it’d leave something else (hopefully Armin) making the decisions…
ibtachi
May 6, 2019 at 10:51 pmI appreciated the show making it a bit more obvious how vile and selfishly consequential Erwin’s thought process is. They usually tend to frame his objectively questionable actions in a “badass” light which I find incredibly jarring.
Whether this Erwin monologue was framed through the same lens in the manga I’m not sure, but I’m willing to hazard a guess that it wasn’t.
Guardian Enzo
May 6, 2019 at 11:36 pmI’m convinced Isayama considers Erwin a wholly admirable person. Which tells you all you need to know if true, really.
Simone
May 7, 2019 at 1:05 amWell, the problem here is also one of “informed ability”. We keep being TOLD that Erwin is a tactical genius, a military prodigy. But then we’re SHOWN him being desperately incompetent, because to actually write some genius tactics you gotta have some understanding of them yourself, and that’s kinda harder than simply having characters stare in awe.
Guardian Enzo
May 7, 2019 at 9:58 amA very good point.
blargnobia
May 9, 2019 at 10:36 amIsayama seems to value people who make “hard choices” for some greater purpose, and Erwin is the physical incarnation of that mentality. (The same mentality, incidentally, that people use to justify war crimes.)
I think Isayama added some moral ambiguity to Erwin’s character for the same reason he always adds moral ambiguity–it makes it difficult to prove what Isayama really thinks. We can’t definitively say that he thinks Erwin is an admirable person, since Erwin conveniently has this selfish character flaw. Basically, Isayama is obfuscating his views under this faux-fog of nuance.
(I’m pretty sure I said something similar last season, and compared Isa’s moral ambiguity to South Park’s “we make fun of everything”-thing. Oh well I like repeating myself.)
Goh
May 10, 2019 at 7:12 pmSo basically you want your hand holded on this? To be told that Erwin is evil and feel that cozy ideological camaraderie with the author? There should be no honesty, no trying to understand a character’s mind, just heroes and villains fitting into neat boxes. Is that what you want?
The series, to its credit tries to understand everyone while at the same time clear headedly showing the atrocities perpatrated by people (and not monsters) for a cause. And that courtesy is not just afforded to the main cast. Do you remember the scenes with the king’s torturer and executioner from last half season? What other anime series dares to go there. Titan brings understanding and empathy to the most morally wretched, not to excuse, but to truly understand why they do what they do.
blargnobia
May 13, 2019 at 11:44 amI don’t mind nuanced or morally gray characters, but with AoT I get the feeling that the nuance serves a sinister purpose. That’s what I was getting at in my post.
I do agree that Isayama shows that anyone can be a monster, and he doesn’t (always) outright condemn evil characters. But what purpose does it serve to empathize with horrible people? It really depends on the story, and what the author is trying to accomplish. If the author has some twisted values (as I and a few other believe), then nuance can be used to promote those values. And since he doesn’t outright state what he believes, Isayama can happily moonwalk away from the ideological implications of his story.
slazer
May 7, 2019 at 5:42 amEnzo – what did you think of the conscious-shifting ex machina moment
Simone
May 7, 2019 at 5:55 amAm I the only one who thought that was simply a fancy way of saying he transformed into a titan in time, and when they’re titans their vulnerable bits change?
blargnobia
May 7, 2019 at 9:42 am“I should take my brain, and push it somewhere else!”
-Patrick/Reiner
Goh
May 14, 2019 at 1:28 am”But what purpose does it serve to empathize with horrible people?” The people who perpetrate mass atrocities in Titan are mostly likable people who feel doubts about their actions and are plagued by tremendous guilt. The audience is never made to feel morally superior to cackling mustache twirlers. And yet the act of killing is presented with absolute moral clarity. Getting that right is hard, not just for anime (which are full of faux complexities and rarely go to the dark places Titan does) but fiction in general.
You find that suspicious? Titan is one of the few shows that avoids the classic anime power fantasy, which is not just physical (mc destroyes his enemies in combat) but also moral in the sense that the bad guys get rekt and we are made to feel good about it. If you think that Titan’s complicating the shit out of every situation is closer to fascism than that (which is all about simplistic dichotomies of good and bad), I don’t know what to tell you.
blargnobia
May 14, 2019 at 5:39 amI feel like we’ve both said what we wanted to say, and we’re just not going to agree. (I also don’t want to elaborate on the fascism issue because that would get spoiler-y.)
Guardian Enzo
May 7, 2019 at 9:59 amKind of a typical Isayama asspull, but nothing that egregious in light of past history. The rules have always been tweaked to make sense with whatever needs to happen in the plot.
Sophia Teh
May 7, 2019 at 8:27 pmThe anime adapted Erwin’s scene 1:1 with Chapter 76 of the manga. I don’t get why you’re saying they changed stuff. The only thing ‘changed’ is adding more colour and sound.