There Are Some Things That Caught My Attention More Than Others At The SnK Final Manga Exhibition, And

Alright this is quite late, but I think the question was referring more to the nature of the freedom Eren seeks than the root of the desire. We know he wipes out the rest of the world for "freedom" but is it freedom in the sense that the world is hostile and he's trying to preserve himself through aggression or is it because the mere existence of humans "taints" the pure scenery he saw in Armin's book and imagined as freedom.

Of course, it could be more nuanced than that, but the words Eren says seem to give credence to the latter interpretation though it doesn't sit well with me.

What is your genuine interpretation of the type of freedom that Eren desires? Does he desire freedom because he was born into this world, or is it because of Armin’s book? 131 seems to establish that it was because of the book, but the paths chapters focus on Eren’s philosophy of “being born into this world.” Which do you believe he valued more?

Both. Eren is implied to have had a subconscious reaction to his father's sentiment at his birth, but it was only brought into consciousness when Armin showed him the book. That's why Eren was so listless beforehand: his primal life-urge was going unrecognised and unsatisfied.

There's also the factors of the Founding and Attack Titans working outside of time. Eren's future personality likely influenced his infant self, as well as the nature of the Attack Titan to always strive for freedom.

“So long as man remains free he strives for nothing so incessantly and so painfully as to find someone to worship.”

— Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Thank you! That was an amazing articulation of the points I brought up. Personally, I think the ideas executed in this ending are good(except how the Titan Curse ended), but the execution and tone are terrible, add that to the fact that it's pacing is off and plotlines were abandoned, and it strikes us as bad, but I think there's still quite a bit of good to be detected behind the fan-service. About Eren wanting not to be seen as a monster by his best friend, I've been thinking about that quite a bit. He did push away Armin and Mikasa but deep down he's still lonely and wants to be accepted, I think the ending could have portrayed this better by diving into the complex emotions Armin and Eren must be feeling towards each other right then. There's a lot of tension, but there's also a desire to understand and reunite and the internal conflict caused by this should have been better presented.

Critique of the Ending

After an unreasonably long wait, here are my thoughts on the ending in more detail. I’ve always tried my best to decipher the author’s reasons behind their narrative decisions instead of dismissing them off the bat if they rub me the wrong way. But, in the case of this final chapter, I can’t help but find it unworthy of all that came before it.

This critique is divided into four subsections: ‘An Irresponsible Plan’, ‘Underwhelming Heroes’, ‘Wasted Characters’, and ‘A Gimmicky Solution’. The ending launched so much new information at us that I can’t cover everything, but I have addressed those errors in plot, themes, tone, and characterisation that disappointed me most.

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Celestial Ceilings

This is all really cool and incredibly insightful. The coolest detail to me was probably Eren tying up his hair at the beginning as if he's trying to "keep it all together" at first, but the journey culminates in Eren's distressed and frustrated scream as his bun is undone. It gives a sense of him being overwhelmed and and a revelation of powerlessness.

Thoughts about the AoT Final season Op “The Rumbling”

Just wanted to ramble about some cool details found in the new opening “The Rumbling”. The opening begins by showing Eren, Mikasa and Armin. The trio is showcased in separate shots, reflecting on their separation during the recent events that have transpired in the story. As this first sequence draws to a close we see Eren taking a step, which then quickly transitions into a footstep of an Colossus Titan. I like this moment because the motion makes it seem like Eren is crushing that city. It is a cool and terrifying visual imagery but also foreshadows things that will happen in the future, since Eren will literally trample on the lives of others, as he activates the Rumbling. 

Overall as the name of the song indicates, much of the song is focused on the Rumbling advancing on the main land. 

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Eren’s Founder and Jung’s Archetypes

The appearance of Eren’s Founding Titan form, its shape and symmetry, seems very esoteric somehow. One is called to mind Jung’s theory of Archetypes, the base symbols that are shared in the collective unconscious of all human psyches. These symbols are then used in the religions and mythologies of cultures across the world.

The eery artistic power of Eren’s Founder perhaps comes from its Archetypal resemblance to figures such as the Hanged Man in the occult practice of Tarot cards. Eren’s torso looks as though it is hanging downwards in the manner of the Hanged Man.

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Ozen “The Immovable” ✩ Marulk’s Daily Life

Zeke and Armin’s conversation was planned since 2011

In 2011, Isayama wrote this on his blog:

http://blog.livedoor.jp/isayamahazime/archives/5193783.html

人が本当にやりたいことっていうのは、お金を稼ぐことだったり

将来役に立つ事だったりといった、生きるのに必要な蓄えを増やす事じゃない

（たぶんそれらは「やらなきゃいけないこと」だから）

人が本当にやりたいことには、意味がないことだったり何の役にもたたないこと、

儲からないし何の見返りもないけど、でもやるんだよと言って飲まず食わず寝ず

誰からも褒められずにやってしまうこと、それが本当にやりたい事だ」と

ただ、生きるのに必要以上にお金を稼ごうとする行為は「やらなきゃいけないこと」ではないので

それは「やりたいこと」かもしれませんね、

必要ないことをやるという行為には、反生物的な美意識を感じます、

それは生命維持や種の繁殖といった全生物に組み込まれた命令に背く行為だからです、

これに逆らうことで自分が有機物で作られた機械ではないことを証明し、

自分の中にある魂というものの存在が確認できるのだと思います、

What humans truly want to do is not increasing one’s savings, things that are essential for life or useful for one’s future (the reason we don’t want to do these things is precisely because they are things we have to do).

What humans truly want to do are meaningless things that aren’t useful at all. Things that aren’t profitable with no reward, but we do them anyway. Not drinking or eating or sleeping. Things we truly want to do, we do without being praised.

However making more money than is necessary to live is not essential for life either, so in a way, it’s also something humans want to do.

When humans do these meaningless things, I feel like it’s a beautiful act of going against our biology. Because it violates our genetic code - the commands built into all living things that order us to survive and propagate. When we fight against it, we’re proving that we’re not just machines built from organic matter. It allows us to see within us the existence of our soul.

—end of translation

This was essentially the meaning of Zeke and Armin’s conversation in 137. Armin agreed with Zeke that life is meaningless and humans are constantly struggling to survive and propagate for no reason. But he reminded him that meaningless moments like running to a tree or playing catch allows us to see the human soul within us - that we’re not just machines mindlessly reproducing.

Isayama has had these beliefs since 2011, finally publishing them 10 years later in ch 137!

“This traitor to our peace is called… Eren Yaeger.”

random manga colourings