Vinland Saga has truly earned the title of the anime of the year for me. Its story is unlike anything I've ever experienced, the journey that Thorfinn undergoes to become a true warrior is nothing short of extraordinary, this season delves deep into his psyche, presenting the internal struggles he faces, and ultimately delivers a powerful message about forgiveness, redemption, and the path to true strength. Vinland Saga evokes a wide range of emotions, deftly blending heart-wrenching moments with joy, laughter, and hope. It is a testament to the series' masterful storytelling and ability to create deep connections between the characters and the audience.
The impact
...
All (61)FriendsAlso Available atRSS Feeds |
May 5, 2022
Shingeki no Kyojin
(Manga)
add
Recommended Preliminary
(139/141 chp)
I have to say it’s always a weird feeling of coming to face the truth that a story you like and have invested many years reading has finally come to an end, there’s just an underlying feeling that you wanna deny the reality of it but you also can’t deny that sense of closure you gain from it either. While the series started way back in the year 2009, I did not get invested in the manga’s story until late 2013 when the anime’s first season finished airing. Some may complain that this ending is not that great for it still doesn’t explain certain aspects
...
of the story such as the nature of the Power of the Titans or the identity of Historia’s baby daddy or just general lack of presence in the final arc, but personally, I am content in not receiving a clear answer to some of those aspects, mostly because they either don’t matter or are already narratively complete. But, Eren crumbling and declaring he loves Mikasa could’ve been great with an extra chapter for him to come to terms rather than just blurting it out. The amount of pressure he has been under this entire time and the feelings he’s suppressed, I love the idea of him just regressing to a scared boy, but it was just a bit too quick. With that being said, I'd like to talk about what it means to be a 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗲 in Attack on Titan
[𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀] I've often been wondering. What exactly makes you a 'slave' in the world of Attack on Titan? We've seen countless characters throughout the story who have a specific feeling/goal related to them, which primarily defines who they are. Eren, Erwin, Armin, Levi, Mikasa, Ymir Fritz, Zeke, Kenny, Uri, etc... Being dead set on a certain goal, willing to sacrifice everything for it, does that necessarily make you a slave to something? "𝑯𝒆𝒚 𝑫𝒂𝒅, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕?" "𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍." 𝒗𝒔 "𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈". Grisha's words and Uri's words perfectly capture the two different philosophical ways in this issue is addressed in the story. At first I've been tempted to think that Kenny is wrong and Grisha is right; that Kenny and Grisha's words represent the same idea, expressed in different ways, Grisha's being filled with hope. Who is the real slave? Or more importantly, what does it mean to be a slave? For this, I'm going to take our three MCs analyze their growth throughout the story. The growth revolving around their dreams and most importantly, who they fundamentally are, as people. We will also look at some other characters and how this theme ties into their arcs. It is at the end of the Uprising Arc where our main 3 reaches a level of maturity. It's clear how much they have grown in comparison to who they were, when we first see them on these same steps. Back in chapter 3, what stood out was their bonding over their decision to join the SC. But, what stands out is the separation on their difference reasons for fighting. Now we'll focus on each character separately, and their development around their fundamental character trait. What keeps them pushing forward (The Kenny-thing) Armin- Wants to see the outside world. Mikasa- Wants to go back to the normal life she once had after the war is over. Eren- Wants to keep fighting. The values that they cultivate along the way (This is what I'd like to call the Grisha-thing; will become more obvious as you read) Armin- Bravery, selflessness, confidence (I'm going to be focusing on pre-time skip Armin) Mikasa- Strong sense of moral, self worth, responsibility as a soldier. Eren- realized the importance of people in his life, learned to see the beauty and purpose in life even when freedom is absent. 『𝗔𝗥𝗠𝗜𝗡 𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗧』 I'm starting with Armin because I think, his character arc revolving around this theme, has already been concluded in a way. The real evidence as to whether Armin can be called a "slave" in an Attack on Titan context, exists in the earlier chapters. Armin initially joined the SC, with the dream of seeing the sea. This simple dream is what keeps him pushing forward. He was drunk on the idea of the existence of an outside world. But does it really make him a slave to his dream? Armin's realization of "what is more important", as Grisha said it, has already happened in a way, in the chapter "Hero". We saw him grow as a strategist, as a soldier, throughout the story, which ultimately ends with him willingly giving up on his dreams. Giving up on his dream itself, is not what matters here. It is his ability to value greater things, as a human being, that makes him someone who is not drunk on his dreams. In other words, he is not blinded by his inner desires. The values he had cultivated along the way, shines above his dreams and desires. Even when he is defined by his dreams/desires, these human values control his actions, in times, when a difficult choice has to be made. 『𝗠𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗦𝗔 𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡』 What defines Mikasa fundamentally as a person, is her wanting to go back to a normal life, composed of the people she cares about. As a soldier, this desire often takes the form of protecting the people she cares for the most. While she remains the same person throughout the story, we see her develop a strong sense of moral. An ability to put greater good before her own needs and desires. She develops this value through her life as a soldier. A basic human value she initially lacked because of the character flaws that existed at the very beginning of the story. She has displayed the ability to make hard decisions based on what is 'right', rather than what she wants, even if it makes her vulnerable to getting hurt or giving up on her dreams. She also develops a sense of empathy. These values start affecting her actions throughout the story. In short, when the time comes, she acts in contrary to who she fundamentally is, as a person. Or maybe, these values were always in her, but they were pushed to the back of her mind over her need to be drunk on something to keep her pushing forward, after the traumatizing experiences of her life. But, when she was put in difficult circumstances, these values came to the surface. She realized what was more important. In other words, she found the Grisha cure to the Kenny problem. While her dreams still remain her priority, she has realized that there are more important things. • Mikasa after learning about Eren's death, goes on a suicidal road and almost kills herself, only to come back and motivate Armin to not give up on life just because Eren died. Knowing her personality trait, it should have been the other way around, right? • Mikasa wondering why she couldn't kill Reiner and Bertholdt, which ultimately put Eren's life in danger. In the next chapters, she was seen trying to convince herself to kill them, no matter what. She is clearly putting extra efforts, to detach herself from her values. A usually quiet Mikasa, can be seen, repeatedly voicing her thoughts in an act of convincing herself, but is again seen failing to kill certain people. • Protecting Eren and Armin is still her priority. But the value she cultivated along the way, that is, responsibility as a soldier, interfered, when she had to choose between one of those. In other words, she is capable of understanding what is more important. The Kenny-thing can't bring her down. • Learning to let go of Armin for greater good, even though it means giving up on the dream on which she was initially drunk on. This doesn't mean that her love for Armin has diminished in any way. In fact, she has grown to love him even more. But she won't let her dreams get in the way of the values she has gained, making her a strong person. • "Killing Eren isn't the only way to stop him." Annie saying, Mikasa's choice of words were governed by her inability to understand things more important than Eren, easily triggers Mikasa. Armin and Mikasa, both have a dream that keep them pushing forward. But when they are put in situations where they have to choose between their dreams/desires and what is more "important", they tend to choose the latter. In other words, they are not drunk on their dreams. "Important thing" does not mean what is "right" or "necessary" in a situation. It is the ability to realize what makes you a better and stronger human being and what does not. Most of the times, the trio's values aligned with their dreams. Therefore, they didn't have to choose between them. It is when put in situations, where they have to choose between one of those two, that we begin to see, whether they are enslaved by their dreams/desires. When one certain thing is the only thing that makes your life purposeful, you forget to see the beauty and value in other things. People become a slave to their dreams/desires when they start ignoring the basic human values they have cultivated along the way. And that's where Eren failed in his pursuit of freedom. 『𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡 𝗝𝗔𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗥』 Eren's desire for freedom is what keeps him pushing forward. Initially, this core character trait of Eren was obscured by his revenge towards titans and desire to see the outside world. His actions throughout the story were born out of this desire to break free from shackles and to free other people from their shackles. He never really cared about revenge. His anger was primarily born out the realization that titans, in fact, reduced them to cattle, with no freedom left. He never really cared about the sea. He was more focused on the freedom that accompanied this vision. But he came to a very important realization in chapter 50. He began to understand the value of people in his life. He grew as a person and realized that there are more important things than just seeking the freedom he desires. There was still beauty in life, even when there wasn't freedom. Given who Eren truly is, he could easily embrace his inner demons, when put in situations where he has to abandon his humanity, for the sake of fighting for freedom. Eren himself says it in chapter 121, "I have always been this way. Since birth." But this very act of choosing the path of fighting for freedom no matter what the cost, can take him down a very dangerous road. The values that he gained along the way is what balances out his inner demons. These are the values that tie him to his humanity, which would otherwise get lost in his pursuit of freedom. These values braced him from his own inner desires/demons, that could enslave him to his ideals. These values were the Grisha-solution to the Kenny-problem. Fighting for freedom is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as we are not forgetting our other values. The clear balance lies in, being able to follow your dreams/desires, while at the same time, not letting go of the values and beliefs that we have gained along the way. This perfect balance is what makes us stable. This is how you find true freedom from being enslaved by oneself, in the world of Attack on Titan. • Eren acknowledging the importance of people in his life. This shows how much he values friendship, and how much he wants to protect the people he loves. Something that developed in him as a result of his little enlightenment in chapter 50. • His fighting for freedom results in the death/almost death of his friends. (Sasha's death, Eren risking Mikasa's life to steal the War Hammer's power, Armin and Mikasa almost caught in the explosion, Jean almost consuming the wine, Jean pointing out that Eren's actions in Liberio is contradictory to the sentiment he displayed in the rail road scene). • Eren's desire to protect Historia, which initially came from his basic human values of friendship, transforming into one of fighting against the ideals that go against his deep-rooted beliefs of freedom. Eren successfully refused to sacrifice Historia and her future children from being bred and killed off like cattle, but this was at the cost of making her one of the most vulnerable people, in the chaos that would soon hail down on Paradis. In all these cases, his core desire of fighting for freedom, that defines who he is, took over his values of friendship that he had cultivated along the way, leading him to act in contradictory ways. Ignoring these basic human values had lead to his monstrous side of fighting against freedom, to spiral out of control. But then again..crushing your human values and abandoning your humanity is the price to pay, for putting an end to this cycle of hatred. Remember when Eren wasn't able to let go of Armin during the Serumbowl scene, whereas Mikasa was? (Notice that I used "letting go" instead of "giving up", unlike the way Floch termed it). In this scene, Mikasa's actions were governed by the values of acceptance rather then what primarily defines her as a person. Eren's actions were governed by the value of friendship. I think you become a slave to your dreams when it pushes you to commit deeds which destroys your other qualities as a human being. Grisha's words refer to the people who are able to balance their heart's desires and the need to value more important things in life. What is "more important in life", varies from person to person. But most of the time, it is something that keeps us from getting blinded by the dreams/desires, that is our primary driving force. Kenny's words refer to people who are drunk on their dreams, without no other purpose in life. People who had failed to find that balance. I think this is what the definition of a "𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗲" in Attack on Titan is. Overall Rating: 9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Informative
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all 
May 1, 2022 Recommended
Monster is what could be considered the “Ultimate” license for Siren Visual, and out of all their acquisitions to date it has stood out the most. While the series can progress slowly at times and may not hold the attention of a casual audience for more than a couple of chapters, it certainly comes across as a ‘thinking persons’ series which is worth multiple viewing to fully appreciate every aspect of its plot.
Perhaps the title of the series is referring to a broader “Monster” than just a single person/event... Perhaps the monster refers to the dark side of human nature, a monster lurking inside each ... and every one of us. Just like the God of Peace, we might not notice it on a daily basis, but upon careful scrutiny and self-reflection, it's there. Just like The Nameless Monster, it has the potential to gobble us up from the inside out, should we ever allow ourselves to be consumed by it. I deeply admire the way that this series portrays children. Too many shows these days treat kids as if they’re a mere liability only there to induce drama/high stakes, or like they’re some beacon of purity/innocence of which the adults must protect. Monster, on the other hand, is more candid in its portrayal - children can be rowdy, playful, and rather simplistic in their thinking, but they’re not completely defenseless or oblivious to the “adult” things that go on around them. Some kids like Dieter and Antonin have proven themselves to be brave and trustworthy helpers, Monster doesn’t shy away from those moments when kids are thoughtlessly cruel and destructive (eg. Martin heckling the homeless man, the bullying scene when Grimmer is first introduced). It’s this kind of nuanced and balanced representation of humanity that makes Monster such a realistic and well-written piece. I also love how Naoki Urasawa got much of his inspiration from various human experimentation projects that took place in the 20th Century, from Josef Mengele (the “Angel of Death”)’s twin experiments to MKUltra, LSD/PCP experiments, Depatterning and Psychic Driving (ECT to create tabula rasa, then put in a forced coma and played audio tapes to try to 'rewrite' the personality). Which explains why everything Johan did seems realistic, what a human could do, and the fact that everything is realistic makes him THAT much more scarier. Would we be scared of an Aizen? Or a Frieza? No because we know for sure that even if they exist in some corner of the universe, we would have a 0% chance of meeting them. But someone like Johan Liebert possibly could exist among us, living as a normal likeable citizen. The realism is what makes him that good and that much scarier. Johan's moral turpitude allows him to use manipulative tactics to crush his victim's soul, digging up the victim’s past traumas and/or regrets, meandering the facts in the most uncharitable and unforgiving way, only to watch as his victim’s innermost doubts and deep-rooted insecurities destroy them from the inside out. All of this is possible due to his social skills and his ability to use rhetoric to its maximum potential. Johan has an ability to talk to people and find out what their weaknesses are and in turn use these weaknesses to his advantage. The book rhetoric by Aristotle would come in handy here seeing as rhetoric is just the art of persuasive speaking. This proves that his method isn't impossible to do. Johan is a blank canvas and as such people can project anything on him that they want him to be, from cold blooded murderer, to amazing leader or a mastermind of crime. But as you’ll see most of the beliefs that the characters and we as an audience will have on Johan are misguided. He's THE devil. Christianity often portray Satan and demons as red creatures with pitchforks; I’ve always thought the devil was more sly than that. Johan Liebert is one that I think capture the reality of spiritual warfare in that our enemy is also one who is smart and often take advantage of using what we want and what we want to believe as a bait to fulfill the devil’s will. This series' “Monster” made me think about this a lot and the need for us to engage in biblical and sobering analysis of ourselves and our intentions. The “Monster” in the series is one who is good looking and appear wholesome, it made me think about how Satan is no ugly beast but one who can aesthetically deceive others as angels of the light. [Storytelling]: Brilliant atmosphere and pacing. [Characters]: The characters are all extraordinary, both literally and figuratively. Dr. Tenma is a man pushed to his limits, shaped by this disaster he feels responsible to solve. He feels desperate and out of his element, but steadfast in his desire to protect people from harm. The boy-turned-serial-killer antagonist, Johan, feels mysterious, unnerving and unknowable, despite his presence and dialogue in multiple scenes. It is mostly through the detective work of Dr. Tenma, speaking with connections and witnesses, that we learn more of Johan, and he is terrifyingly described in hushed tones as “pure evil”, “the devil” and “a monster.” This, contrasted with Johan’s serene and even-keeled manner, leaves you excited and desperate to know more (Grimmer, Lunge, and Anna are great). [Setting]: Meticulously researched. A very realistic and believable portrayal of Germany. The Fall of Berlin Wall, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung/German Reunification, Dissolution of the Czechoslovakian State, and the Prague Spring/Velvet Revolution all happened in real life. Overall rating: 10/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Informative
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all |