Big Dumb Attack on Titan Retrospective

11 min readMay 11, 2024

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

Hey friends, I realize this post has been in the work for quite some time and to be honest, it would have been nice to finish it sometime last year. However, things kind of got delayed and I started working on other projects and, well, It got put on the back burner. Apologies. Anyway, hope y’all enjoy this write-up.

Wow, we’re finally here, huh?

Attack on Titan ‘s anime genesis was over 10 years ago, and the series has been in the spotlight ever since, for both the good and the bad. Whether it be the incredible rush of the first couple of episodes, the massive (by modern anime standards) delay between seasons one and two, the crazy story shifts that would get animated much later on, and so many other things, the series has been endlessly picked apart by various outlets and writers.

Today, however, will be…well, pretty much the same. As in, this is a personal dive through the series, and as such, it will probably be all over the place in terms of the topics covered. The same is also true of my feelings on the series, which is why I leaned away from doing a standard review. So many of my thoughts on the series have been upended, replanted, and then upended again with the release of the final chapters. Not sure if the warning is needed at this point on the blog, but this post will most definitely get into the political, historical, and rather uncomfortable realities of AOT’s story, so for those who are bothered by this or just generally find it boring, maybe skip this post and go read something else.

That being said, there is a lot to get through, so here are my jumbled thoughts about Attack on Titan ‘s now entirely finished anime adaptation.

The Island of Paradis

Despite major controversies that will be discussed at length later on, AOT genuinely has some of the best world-building in anime. The show opens with a young, aloof Eren being woken up by Mikasa underneath a tree in a field of flowers, a field which is still surrounded by one of the outer parts of Wall Maria. Afterward, the two head home, and walk around the pre-modern civilization which hides within the walls, most none-the-wiser to the threat which will soon loom iminate.

Within the first few minutes, the series creates an incredible apocalyptic, fantasy universe with an immediate twist. Despite the supposed security of the walls, two titans of unknown origin easily barrel through both parts of the outer wall. What was once thought unbreakable has now shattered, both the literal and metaphorical safety gone.

Attack on Titan ‘s initial episodes provide a sense of setting and terror, only heightened by the lack of immediate answers. What are the titans? why do they exist? where do the walls come from? What about the so-called “aboriginals” that broke said walls? None of this is given away so easily, with the show very much choosing to drip-feed information as it progresses.

Hat’s Off to WIT Studios and Mappa

Of course, what I actually mean is hats off to all the individual animators and even directors who poured their hearts and souls into such an incredible project. If not for them, the series would have been nowhere near as successful as it was. The studios need to learn what a goddamn living wage is.

Admittedly, I was a bit saddened about the handing over of the reigns to MAPPA and the accompanying style change, as the original three seasons produced by WIT felt much more in line with the thematic goals of Attack on Titan as a gritty, continuously hopeless battle against society and literal monsters. Specifically, the thicker line work and sharper designs of the characters made everyone a bit more gruff and feeling like they belonged in this dystopian village.

Sudden style changes like the one Attack on Titan went through do feel as if the series is being brought down ever so slightly. Another example I have discussed in-depth is Oregairu’s change between seasons one and two. Ultimately, though, MAPPA’s team ended up doing a fantastic job with the final season, and despite not being the biggest fan of the changes, it was still a beautifully animated final part with all of the action and fight choreography of the opening seasons.

Speaking of, what a marvel of animation the series has been, huh? Not only were the character designs on point even through the change in styles, but it has some of the best action of the last decade. The number of tracking shots and changes in perspective alone needed to keep up with the ODM gear sequences and fights against the Titans must have been in the literal tens of thousands or above.

An Incredible Sense of Dread

If the first two sections did not make this clear already, another thing that Attack on Titan does really well is inflicting a sense of fear about the events unfolding. Around every corner is the possibility of a new danger or an untimely death, frequently both. The series utilizes this sense of dread created by both the Titans, as well as the even scarier realization that humans are often more dangerous, leading to some incredible moments.

One of the more obvious yet nonetheless potent examples is Eren’s mother dying at the end of the first episode. Not only does it unknowingly set up an incredible moment later in the series due to the Titan’s identity, but is also just straight-up terrifying. It is the first real example the show gives of what an up-close encounter with one of its iconic monsters is like. The downright evil grin of the Titan after eating his mother contrasted against Eren’s look of terror as he is pulled away by the city police will probably go down as one of the most demoralizing moments of any anime.

Another example has less to do with any of the characters and more to do with the landscape in which said characters find themselves. Though important as a source of farmland and natural resources, the grasslands inside Wall Maria make it significantly harder for the scouts later on, as there is almost nowhere they can take cover while attempting to retake it. This made much of season one and later in season three feel like almost anyone could die at any moment, though it often feels like that regardless.

The contrast of Titan-centred fears as well as human ones gives the series a mix of fantasy horror with a sprinkle of incredibly psychological and cerebral moments for good measure. It is, after all, a war they are fighting…

Is Attack on Titan a Fascist Narrative?

Sorry, figured it would be best to not beat around the bush any longer. As much as I would love to sit here and continue to sing the show’s praises, it would be dishonest to not address its major controversies, especially since those controversies are associated with some ideologically awful stuff.

Discussion of Attack on Titan ‘s political leanings started as far back as 2017/2018 with the release of chapter 85 of the manga and its proceeding story. While many commented on the military dictatorship its government seemed modeled after, as well as the strong German inspiration the show seemed to take from the beginning, it was not until these chapters that a clearer picture of the show’s eventual allegory came into view.

After eventually getting to Eren’s original home in the Shiganshina district, the scouts learn of the secret of Paradis Island and how Eldians were banished to the land due to their association with the nine original Titans and the war against Marley. As it turns out, the military king and current ruler of Paradis Island not only knew about the story of how the society behind the wall came to be but used the power of the founding titan to erase everyone’s memories. This is primarily due to a deal made between the mainland government of Marley and the king so that the Titans could not be used against them.

In truth, this topic was interesting enough to me personally that I made it the subject of a college paper for an English class focused on Rhetoric and communication. It doesn’t really answer the question at hand, more so focusing on shifts in conversations in terms of general framing over time. However, it does provide a little more context as well as some sources I used in coming to my own conclusion on the matter. So, for those interested in this conversation, I would, at the very least, skip down to the citations page at the end.

No, Really, Is Attack on Titan Pro-Fascism?

Sorry, sorry, had to do a little set-up there. Answering this question honestly is difficult because while it most certainly cloaks itself in fascist aesthetics in the final seasons, the place where it ultimately ends up is much more introspective and complicated.

For starters, one of the main reasons many writers and media critics began to be concerned with Attack on Titan ‘s message is its use of Marley’s relationship with the Island of Paradis and the Eldians as an allegory for the Nazi atrocities of World War 2. As said writers and critics have rightfully pointed out, this part of the series fails on many levels.

One of the more important reasons might be that Eldians being representative of Jewish people weirdly justify the violence against them. After all, the reason they were banished to the island is because the Eldians had a massive empire in which they used magical powers to subjugate Marley and the surrounding land. Jewish people never had a massive empire, quite the opposite, they have historically been cast out of any lands they occupied due to millennium-old myths and discrimination.

Some have also said that Paradis Island is supposed to be representative of Isreal, except that also makes no sense because Isreal wasn’t officially created until after WW2 which would make the original conflict between the Eldians and Marley the war in which the Eldians are actually the Nazi’s and the Marleyians are the victims. The writing and politics are so terrible I had to use a run-on sentence just to explain it.

The bottom line, some of this could have been salvaged if given a bit more work on Isayama’s part. Though, if it was meant to be an anti-fascist narrative, he definitely came up short and ultimately confused his audience big time. Isayama himself may purport not believe those kinds of things, but his depiction and understanding of fascism and anti-semitism don’t lend much to his case. Huge misstep and weird obsession with 19th century Japanese navy generals aside, his effort does shine through at the end of it all.

A Follow-Up: Doomerism and Where to Go from Here

This is where the final chapters and final part of the series come into play. Despite the glaring issue of Attack on Titan ‘s fascist imagery, the series ending doesn’t feel like an affirmation of these ideas. Sure, Erin goes on a rampage in his titan form and destroys a good portion of the world. Mikasa, Armin, and the others have to give it their all just to get close enough to stop him, but in the end, they do stop him.

The story of AOT doesn’t end with Erin having successfully genocided the world to take revenge for the treatment of his people. It doesn’t even argue him as being correct, since the entire narrative of season four frames his behavior as being selfish and unreasonable. One of the lingering pains felt throughout their final conflict is Sasha’s death due to Gabby sneaking on board and shooting her during the initial invasion of Marley, an invasion that never would have happened if not for Erin.

Rather, the final moments of the series are spent watching over Erin’s grave, as it traverses ahead into the future, long past when his friends would be alive. It sits there, forgotten and undisturbed, to the point a tree grows on top of it. In the last few seconds, a traveler comes across the tree and sees the grave hidden by the roots. What happens next? Who knows.

Buried underneath Isayama’s lack of critical thinking is a message that feels more like a warning. A greatly pessimistic one that seems to suggest these cycles of mass violence and hate will never end, but a warning, nonetheless. The world can always get worse again, and he is keenly aware of that. Definitely not a positive spin on our historical trajectory, but calling it pro-fascist feels wrong as well.

Personally, though, I like a bit more hope in my moral takeaways. The idea that “systems can’t be changed so why bother?” is not only empirically incorrect but feels like a much unhappier strain of thought. So much bad stuff happens on a day-to-day basis already and our media environment makes sure that each of us is keenly aware of it. Why, then, would someone want to add that philosophy on top of it?

I say this not because anyone who watches Attack on Titan will adopt this thinking immediately, obviously that’s not how media works. However, this kind of attitude about tragedy primes people to pay attention and engage less. Sometimes, honestly, we have to. The news media for sure can be overwhelming. Disconnecting entirely, though? Probably not a good idea either.

Ok, well, maybe not as big and dumb as I thought it was gonna be, but a fair bit longer than what I usually write. Something about bad politics in anime really gets me motivated I guess.

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