It’s something of a milestone, I suppose, that Shingeki no Kyoujin is airing and it’s not the biggest thing on the schedule. Much less its (second) final season. Kimetsu no Yaiba may be a lot of things, but it’s undeniably set a new bar for just what “big” really means in anime terms. I may have my issues with it (though its current season has been pretty good), but I have to give credit where it’s due – even when you talk down the product, Kimetsu fans are pretty respectful. It certainly makes quite a contrast with other blockbuster anime franchises one might name.
If I’m honest I’m going against one of the rules I set for myself years ago, once I started to figure out this blogging thing a little. Once I start to dislike something I drop it – that’s the rule. And that same honesty compels me to say I’ve come to dislike Attack on Titan on several different levels. There are things about it that I do like, but as a whole I find it to be a pretty soul-destroying work. I can only chalk up my refusal to pack it in to my stubbornness – I’ve come this far, and I don’t want to let it beat me. I could bail and just come back for the final episode, I suppose (if it ever gets here) but that really feels like cheating. It’s only a win if I stay on my feet till the bell after the final round.
So here we are, this time with a conventional start date. That implies we’re looking at a season of conventional length, and the rumors are that this final season MII will be 12 episodes. That’s going to mean a lot of carnage and nihilism (and worse). I keep coming back to this being a fight where you really want to see everybody lose, because there are no good guys. The one character who brought a sense of intelligence and perspective to things has been hit with a stupid stick, so there’s not really a single peg to hang your hat on at this point. If nothing else Shingeki has accomplished the remarkable feat of making the end of the world seem like the happiest possible outcome.
Armin could be right, I suppose, that this is some grand plan by Eren to fool Yelena into subsidizing his true intent to save his people – I could see that sort of asspull from Isayama, broadly speaking. But it comes off more as Armin grasping at straws, blinded by his loyalty to Eren (even more than Mikasa is, which just shows how far Armin has really fallen). But he and old comrades don’t have a lot of good options here. The Nazis has come to down to destroy his country, and the only one opposing them wants to genocide his own people. If there was ever a need for a third-party candidate, this is it.
I almost allowed myself to hope that Levi was really dead, which would have been a nice bit of fanservice to start the season. But it’s pretty obvious Hange was bullshitting there, and naturally her captors were dumb enough to be distracted by Zeke’s arrival to allow her to escape with Levi (I have zero doubt he’ll turn up again like a recurrent infection). Hange represents a third way I suppose, in that she at least doesn’t want to destroy her people or the world, even if the people she supports are awful in their own right. And then we have Reiner, who used to be one of the most interesting characters in the series, who just seems to get more and more ridiculous with each appearance.
Stubbornness, yes – that’s a big reason I’m here. But curiosity is part of it too – I really am fascinated to see how this clusterfuck resolves itself, which I guess is sort of a credit to the writing, How far will Isayama push his horrifying historical allegories? Will each misguided faction destroy each other equally, or will one of them emerge “victorious” (presumably, by emerging at all)? It’s not the sort of endorsement that makes me feel good about still being here, but it’s the best I can do.
sonicsenryaku
January 12, 2022 at 4:11 amI don’t know about the whole Kimetsu fans being respectful thing; guess you just haven’t met the toxic ones yet. That being said, I would surmise that the battle between fans’ appreciation for the intricacies of Attack on Titan’s plotting and the controversial politics that inevitably seem to instigate heated conversation against the assumed quality of the work is why AoT fans come off as more ravenous when the work is placed under a critical lens. There are a plethora of significant emotional sensitivity spots that encompass the discussion of AoT in comparison to Kimetsu no Yaiba, whose only real point of argumentation is whether or not the show is the best thing since sliced bread.
On a different note, if Armin is the character you’re referring to as having been hit with the stupid stick, I think I disagree with that notion (again, if it’s Armin you’re referring to), I find that his actions in season 4 follow the logic parameters of where his character arc has been built to so far. Looking through his decisions in season 4 part 1, I would say there aren’t any choices he made or any motivations he’s had that has went counter to what has been established by his character or what would be deemed as being nonsensical by any standard. Narrative-wise, Armin took more of a backseat with driving the story, and that’s only because his major conflict in the fourth season was trying to grapple with the seemingly heinous (well, pretty heinous) decisions of his childhood best friend. Nothing abut his intelligence is sacrificed here; we still see Armin being the compassionate, thoughtful, and intuitive person he’s always been; it’s just that he wasn’t in the driver’s seat for most of the season because it’s not his time to be there yet; he’s too busy grappling with what his friend is becoming and is too emotionally compromised by all that drama to make a decision as to how to best handle him. I think if a viewer cares enough about the dynamic between Armin, Eren, and Mikasa, they would be sold more as to why Armin at this period of this story is inert; it’s a narrative decision that’s character-driven, not one born out of contrivance.
As much as I feel that Isayama struggles with writing genuine 3-dimensional characters, he’s still capable of imbuing his cast with goals and motivations that drive drama in an impactful way based on traits and actions that makes sense in driving their decisions. Even in this week’s episode, you can see how much in denial Armin is in that Eren has lost his shit. I don’t think that betrays his character at all or makes him less intelligent or fallen from grace for that matter, again, assuming that you were talking about Armin.
Guardian Enzo
January 12, 2022 at 8:01 amArmin is the character I’m referring to. And i respectfully disagree about his direction post-timeskip.
There are toxic Kimetsu fans I’m sure. But I can only go off personal experience. I’ve criticized the series a fair bit over the years, and the most intense responses I’ve ever gotten would be what I’d describe as wounded. And genuinely intent on convincing me I’m wrong. No personal attacks or vitriolic hate posts.
Shingeki, otoh, has generated more really toxic pushback than any series I’ve covered. Not really that close. I get that by it’s very nature it touches on raw nerves a lot more, but that doesn’t justify what I’ve seen. It is what it is.
Sonicsenryaku@gmail.com
January 12, 2022 at 10:20 amHmmm, well I’m genuinely curious as to why you disagree. I’m interested in knowing what actions and developments surrouding Armin disrespected the intelligent character he was written as pre-time skip as opposed the state he’s at now, at least so I can better see your point of view
Guardian Enzo
January 12, 2022 at 10:38 amI just find his whole response to Yelena and her ideology/schemes to be incredibly dumb and naive. If it’s to be taken at face value, anyway.
sonicsenryaku
January 12, 2022 at 1:13 pmNah man; Armin’s response was not meant to be taken at face value at all. I know that threw off a few viewers when he reacted the way he did to Yelena, but he was totally playing her. With how Connie reacted to thinking Oyankopon was in on sterilizing the Eldians, why would Armin actually believe that sterlizing the eldians is a good plan? Just look at how furious Connie was at the idea; don’t you think Connie would have wanted to beat the shit out of Armin too if he was serious in thinking Yelena cause was just? Not to mention in this episode, Armin literally says to Mikasa: “Do you really think Eren would think sterilizing the eldians is a good plan?” Armin phrases that question to Mikasa as a way to convince her to join him in trying to help Eren, also implying that he himself doesn’t agree with the sterilization of his race. We forget that while Armin can come off as a meek person, he’s actually pretty good at manipulating a situation when need be and that’s exactly what he was doing to Yelena.
Guardian Enzo
January 12, 2022 at 1:22 pmThat may well be, but it’s all still grounded in what seems like a rather optimistic faith in Eren, who’s done nothing to deserve it. Armin kind of looks like a loser either way, really. But your interpretation is obviously perfectly valid, I just see it differently.
sonicsenryaku
January 12, 2022 at 1:44 pmit’s also worth mentioning how angrily Armin protest against Jean even thinking for a second Eren would be okay with sterilizing them. Everything we as the viewer need to know about where Armin truly stands is laid right in front of us without any obfuscation. If that’s not proof that Armin was playing Yelena, I don’t know what is
sonicsenryaku
January 12, 2022 at 2:23 pmExcept in Armin’s eyes, Eren has justified that faith, and the narrative has done enough to convince the viewer why that is. 1. That’s his best friend 2. Armin is running of the very sensible logic that Eren, who has always expressed just how much he cares for his friends, his teammates, and his people, wouldn’t jeopardize their lives out of the blue. In part 1 of season 4, we have a flashback with Eren allowing himself enough vulnerability to be earnest about the love he feels for the ones he deems close to him, a flashback that the narrative frames as Armin remembering fondly. All of these emotions is what makes Armin confused as to why Eren would be taking such drastic measures that would put the people he loves in harms way.This is essentially Armin’s dilemma in the first half of season 4; a question that plagues him so ravenously; a question that causes so much cognitive dissonance within his psyche that he tries his best to excuse Eren’s actions despite himself knowing there’s only so far he can keep doing that. It is very in-character for Armin to do that as we’ve seen this happen before when Armin knew Annie was the female titan, and yet he tried to gaslight himself to find an excuse for why Annie would do what she did. This is extremely consistent for his character, except this times the stakes are higher in that this is his best friend.
You say that Eren doesn’t deserve that kind of faith, but I think the details of the storytelling would argue something completely different. As psychotic as Eren has always been, he’s also been portrayed as a kid who would passionately defend the people he loves. This very aspect is encapsulated at many points in the story, most notably during the big debate about whether Erwin or Armin should live. Obviously, I know you hate Erwin (I don’t really care about him either but I honestly don’t have as many hard feelings against him as you do) but the point of this debate between which one of them should live drove home the fact that despite Eren understanding how much Erwin meant to the survey core, Armin was more important to him and he would do anything to ensure he’d live. Having a friend show that much conviction to protect his loved ones throughout the series; to hear that friend tell you two years before he goes off the deep end that he loves and cherishes you, to all of a sudden become a homicidal maniac???of course Armin would be in denial, whether he boast a large intellect or not; that’s his very conflict: that he can’t wrap his mind why Eren would have this sudden change, and now he’s doing everything he can contemplate how to approach the current dilemma while still trying to preserve the love and respect he holds for Eren. There are plenty of in-story reasons that illustrate believable reason why Armin would have such faith in Eren. Now whether or not Eren’s characterization allowed those to resonate in a compelling and insightful way is a totally different argument. On some level, I agree that Isayama’s handling of Eren during the earlier parts of the story illustrated a weakness in his character writing and dampen some of the intricate family drama he was trying to sow with the relationship he built between Armin, Eren, and Mikasa; however, that never took away from the fact that his writing did make clear what their relationship meant to the characters and how said relationship motivated each of them in different ways. This is why I can’t help but disagree with you on that when everything in the story says otherwise, despite me understanding how you as a viewer feeling disengaged with the characters would come to this conclusion. Armin’s decision-making towards Eren is compromised for a reason that the story has spent four season justifying. I don’t Armin has fallen from grace at all as he’s done nothing to betray any characteristics we know of him. Eren is his best friend; having to contend with him having become a psycho killer is clearly taking a justifiable toll on him
Derrick
January 12, 2022 at 8:58 amAoT’s themes are quite grandiose, therefore it does attract big reactions to defend them.
Thinking about plot, character and theme in this story does make me a lil bit uncomfortable indeed.
blargnobia
January 12, 2022 at 2:48 pmIn terms of character lobotomies, Armin is giving season 8 Tyrion Lannister a run for his money.
…Eh I suppose that’s not fair. At least Tyrion had the brains to oppose “I didn’t hear no bell” Danny.
Anyway, thank you for continuing to cover this trainwreck, Enzo. I don’t watch the series anymore, but I enjoy reading your thoughts on it all the same. (I did finish the manga. As you said, it feels like defeat to drop something so morbidly fascinating.)
I feel like I’m missing the joke with that second picture.
Guardian Enzo
January 12, 2022 at 3:45 pm“Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in.”
Godfather Part III
Marty
January 13, 2022 at 3:50 amCompletely off topic here, but have u gotten a chance to see the re-edited version of Godfather III? I heard it’s supposed to fix a lot of the issues of the original release.
Guardian Enzo
January 13, 2022 at 6:39 amActually no, I haven’t. I’m not a huge fan of it TBH, even if that Garcia quote is one of life’s most useful.
Bounty
January 14, 2022 at 6:32 pmI am not going to spoil anything but as someone that has never seen the anime and read the manga quite a few months ago, I can assure you, you will not see what is actually coming. Also, if they go original for the ending (which is plausible), go read the last few chapters of the manga.