Connect with us

Games

How Attack On Titan Redefines The Concept Of Heroes And Villians

Published

2 days ago

on

attack on titan character deaths that rocked anime s foundation eren erwin petra sasha featured scaled


Summary

  • Attack on Titan redefined heroes and villains, blurring the lines between good and evil.
  • The series showcases complex character development through flawed yet relatable characters.
  • The story challenges traditional hero narratives, exploring deeper themes of sacrifice and morality.

Quick Links

Now that Attack on Titan has finally ended, half the fandom is left in awe and somewhat confused. It would be safe to say many fans had to re-watch the series for a second time in order to be truly able to understand what actually happened and catch up on all the massive foreshadowing Isayama did. With an absolute masterpiece of a finale, Hajime Isayama has truly made Attack on Titan one of the best anime of all time.

While we are still teary and trying to get over this complicated ending, we can’t help but think that Attack on Titan just might be a great turning point in the anime industry as it completely changes our view of heroes and villains in anime. It also made the main character, Eren Yeager, perhaps the most complex character of all time, as his shift from a hero, an anti-hero, and a villain. Using Eren’s transition between roles, Attack on Titan has given us an entirely new way of thinking about what makes a person a hero or a villain.

Advertisement

Related

Attack on Titan: The Series’ Initial Concept, Explained

The story of how Attack on Titan came to be might be more interesting than the story itself. What inspired Hajime Isayama to make the iconic series?

Advertisement

This article contains major spoilers for Attack on Titan. Proceed at your own risk if you have not yet caught up with the series

How Attack On Titan Redefined Heroes And Villains In Anime

We Totally Didn’t See That One Coming

In the anime series, our protagonist longs for freedom and an end to the terror of Titans. Humanity is forced to live inside 3 walls in order to protect themselves against these monsters. However, one day, one of these walls is breached, which ends up in the death of several citizens of Paradis Island, including Eren’s mother.

Every time I close my eyes, I see the faces of people I couldn’t save. Every time I open them, I see this world full of despair – Eren Yeager

Advertisement

All the remaining survivors of Shiganshina make their way to Wall Maria. Witnessing the death of his mother, Eren vows to wipe Titans from the face of the earth.

Eren Loses Humanity

After joining the Survey Corps and becoming part of the 104 Training Cadets, Eren gets eaten by a Titan during the Titan wall breach. However, in the stomach of that monster, his powers of the Attack Titan awaken, and he becomes a Titan shifter himself. Initially, he is set to be executed, but the military decides to use the powers of Attack Titan in their favor.

Becoming just a mere weapon for the military, Eren goes through a breakdown as he becomes the very thing he hates the most. When Historia becomes the queen, and Eren kisses her hand, the glimpse of the future that he saw shakes him to his core and causes a drastic change in his personality.

Advertisement

On top of that, he discovers the truth about his world and the secrets hidden in the basement of his home. During the Marley arc, he finally realizes that the only way he can save the Eldians from the cruel world is by rumbling, a genocide which includes freeing all the Colossal Titans all over the world.

I hate this world. I hate the people in it. But… I’ll never stop fighting. I’ll never stop until I destroy this world that took everything from me – Eren Yeager

One thing that the attack on Titan established from the very start is the fact that Eren was super overprotective of those he loved. He would use any means necessary to make sure that his friends remained safe.

Advertisement

This is why when Marley and the whole world were against Eldians, the only solution he saw to this problem was to kill everyone outside Paradis Island. This is perhaps the part which truly made the viewers question if Eren was a hero trying to save his homeland or a villain taking it too far by committing literal genocide.

Marley’s Perspective

On the opposite side of the world, we have Marley. When we get introduced to the people of Marley, including Falco and Gabi, They appear to be antagonists of the story. But as time passes, we get to see that the blind hatred Marleyans have against Eldians is deeply rooted in the deaths of people they have seen at the hands of the latter. In one way or another, Gabi was sort of represented as a mirror of Eren.

I don’t care about the people of Paradis! I just want to protect Marley and everyone I love! – Gabi Braun

Advertisement

When more truths were discovered, it made it harder for us to choose sides in the Eldian-Marleyan conflict. Surely, the hatred towards Eldians and the whole world was too extreme, but considering the history of Eldians and how they used the power of Titans to cause chaos all over the world, the hate that Marleyans have towards them seems more or less justified.

Not Your Typical Heroes

As the series progresses, the line between good and evil gets significantly blurred. This is also what makes Hajima Isayama a master craftsman in his genre, as he manages to deliver an entirely new perspective for the viewers through the actions of his flawed yet human characters.

When characters like Reiner, Annie and Bertholdt are introduced, we are led to believe that they are trustable allies to Eren. However, then the trio betrays Paradis Island and turns out to be titan shifters; this twist proves that no one can be trusted. We also have Mikasa and Armin, the loyal friends to Eren who watch helplessly as Eren gets more and more burdened by the trauma of what the future holds for them.

The truth is that the world is an endless cycle of pain and suffering, and we all have our roles to play in it – Reiner Braun

Advertisement

Armin, who was the nerd of the trio and was considered extremely weak at the beginning after inheriting Colossal Titan, had to make some questionable decisions, including sacrificing lives for the greater good. Mikasa, on the other hand, had to sacrifice the one thing that was dearest to her heart, Eren, in order to save humanity.

This character growth portrayed by Hajime Isayama truly made us believe that these characters were not the typical heroes you’d see in any other Shonen. With the finale of Attack on Titan, there is no doubt that the series has successfully managed to turn the tide in the anime industry by changing how heroes and villains are viewed.

By showing us both sides of the conflict and having the protagonists make extreme decisions in order to survive, Attack on Titan solidifies the fact that in this story of war, there are no true heroes or villains but just humans with their own flaws.


Advertisement
Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending