Since I Can Upload Things Right Now, I Also Drew A Little Ymir Jaeger.

from how the manga spoilers are looking I’m not going to have enough motivation or reason to complete this comic, I’m sad but I wanted to share what I drew of it.

context: mikasa and armin confronting eren in paths after eren badly injured mikasa

Do you believe the full rumbling goes against the theme of “getting kids out of the forest?”

No, because Armin & Co. represent that side of the argument.

Mr Braus says two things: 1) He laments the continuation of the cycle of violence, and 2) He argues that the most important thing is to keep children out of it. Eren acts in reaction to 1), and the 104th act in reaction to 2).

Rather than just having the main character straightforwardly represent the moral message of the series, it’s more interesting to explore the unresolvable contradictions within that moral message - that’s what would have been the case if Eren and the 104th had truly been opposed. Eren would have fought to end the cycle at the cost of children’s lives, and the 104th would have fought to preserve children’s lives even if meant that the cycle will continue.

Of course, Eren’s capability of truly ending the cycle is often brought into question - but this only adds further nuance to the series.

TG:re Volume 5 Extra Translation

※

Like mortar in a mixer Three heads, melted thickly

Miracles have been used up long ago and lie cold on the concrete

Killed I killed Have I killed?

I was losing my grasp on reality, when the eyes of the heads opened wetly like genitals, to say hello

The heads whispered in Mother’s voice

“you” “you” “you”

“you” “how did you fool yourself into thinking you would be loved” “when you’re so ugly”

“uoh……..”

Gentle abuse, repeated over and over in “that box” The sky flickers, like traffic lights

Before I knew it, nine thorns sprang out from the chest cavity The diaphragm shivered, as if about to cry

(my body!)

I finally lost my grasp on reality, and I started climbing the steel tower The handrails I touched all turned black and rusted.

(I knew I was made of poison!) (No, it was that woman who was poison itself)

(climb, climb)

(not enough to die) (to a higher place, higher place, climb!)

※

The intestines of the dead, reaches out to the heavens from the tip of the steel tower.

The intestines were knotted together like rope. I desperately pulled the rope in.

squelch, squelch, squelch

The knot had grown long enough to reach the sun.

Tower of beloved corpses. With each pull I reach the peak, and the height increases. I cannot see the ground anymore.

The tower starts to shake widely, whispering in Mother’s voice.

“automatic failure at happiness, shapeless spawn”

(ahh)

“My dear lost one”

“Your parents failed in raising you”

And I died.

Image Source: Baidu

Major thanks to @makyun for helping me translate!

UHM HELLO WERE YOU AWARE THAT THERE'S THIS VIDEO OF ISAYAMA SINGING THE OPENING OF SEASON 1? v=tyYmNTK2uJU

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

I just died of laughter. Thank you so much anon.

SnK News: Isayama Hajime Interview/Feature in Illustrate Note Magazine No. 43 (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3)

Writer: masaco Translation: @suniuz & @fuku-shuu Please credit and/or link back to this post if anything is used!

(T/N: Due to the extensive amount of information/pages, this interview has been divided into multiple parts)

INTRODUCTION (Image 2) Having served as sustenance for Titans, the humans living under 50-meter walls experienced a false sense of peace and security for the first time - in exchange for their freedom. This is the popular, impactful storyline of shounen manga Shingeki no Kyojin. On the one hand, the appeal of this series of course rests in the story’s originality, but it also stems from the richness of its characters. Those who appear within are not flawless males and females - rather, each person endures their own mental struggles and invests their entire being into battle. Here, author Isayama Hajime exposes the strategies behind SnK’s character designs, as well as what personal ideas he has invested into them.

ISAYAMA HAJIME & QUESTION 01 (Image 3)

SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN – Creating Unparalleled Characters

The setting is an unknown time and an unknown location. Within the fictitious world where humanity is an endangered species, a variety of characters emerge, each possessing charisma that increases the depth of the series. Regarding Shingeki no Kyojin’s character designs, we approached creator Isayama Hajime with inquiries from three directions: “Conceptualization,” “Unique Features,” “Growth.”

CAPTION: Protagonist Eren (Right). His mother was eaten by the Titans, and he is a young soldier who possesses intense anger as well as a desire for freedom. Colossal Titan (Left), designed as 60-meters tall. His black, round eyes are attention-grabbing and don’t match his rather grotesque posture.

CAPTION: Eren’s childhood friend Mikasa. Black hair, black eyes, positioned as the last of the Eastern Sea people.

CAPTION: Eren’s fellow cadets. From background to personality and unique physical traits, the ten individuals were all drawn very differently.

Question 01. How were the characters conceptualized?

– Please tell us your process in coming up with these very distinctive characters. The gist of Shingeki no Kyojin’s ending was already decided at the series’ start. The story was born first, and within the key characters many were created for the sake of expanding the plot, Eren especially. He bears the responsibility of carrying the story and wants to confront each and every obstacle straight on. If we view him from our more dominant position, Eren’s never-changing fighting spirit is what sets the foundation for his character.

– How did you visualize the personalities? Most of the time I had some actual references. Compared to me needing to think from scratch, I consider it more practical to absorb outside influences. For example, Mikasa was modeled after a customer whom I met while working part-time at a net cafe. Back then I constantly wondered, “How would I fabricate this character?” And the moment I saw that customer I thought, “Just like that!” I immediately grabbed a receipt next to me and sketched some ideas on the back. The concept for the Eastern Sea tribe, and even including how Mikasa wore her scarf, was via the details I gathered back then. Moreover, even though I would use athletes, friends from my hometown, etc. as inspiration, what I look for isn’t a well-portioned, beautiful face，but rather a strong, eye-catching face.

– How do you manage this many characters in a long-running series? I always save the original drafts from my early deliberations on a character and use them as a starting point, even if the drafts were mere scribbles that I somehow magically came up with. As this is a long-running series, the more you draw, the more your idealized version of the concept evolves. If I feel like my drawings have turned odd, I’ll refer to the original drafts again, and then attempt a return to the right track.

– At the same time, your acute illustrations of the Titans have become their own topic. The Colossal Titan’s debut in chapter one can be deemed as the symbol for the entire series - a skinless, gargantuan monster. However, his eyes remain that of a “spineless youth” - I gave him very thick double eyelids and whale-like eyeballs. The rest of his physique is frightening and artificial, but as long as there exists a dissonance, the Colossal Titan naturally becomes more realistic. Eight years ago, when I first achieved serialization, I understood very well that “No one will pay attention to a newbie’s manga, so discontinuation is inevitable.” Under such a realization, I considered the idea that, “Whenever someone mentions ‘Shingeki no Kyojin’ - they should think of THAT thing.” Thus, I decided to create an icon for the series first - and that’s how Colossal Titan came to be. To me, a shounen manga cannot survive without these more commercialized elements.

MAKING: (Image 4) A Levi Pencil Sketch Tutorial from Isayama Hajime

Levi’s appearance in pencil. “I start by drawing a cross within the facial contour. Levi always seems like he 'hasn’t slept for three days,’ but because he’s calm and collected, I’ve never drawn on him the sweatdrop motif that often appears in manga.” Isayama states. The base lining is done with a 2B 0.9mm mechanical pencil. In the actual manuscript, after penciling comes a Zebra G Pen for inking.

QUESTION 02 (Image 5)

CAPTION: Eren’s good friend, Armin. His appearance isn’t that of a soldier in order to showcase that while he isn’t well-versed in fighting, he excels in terms of intellect and brain power.

CAPTION: The soldier with arms crossed, Levi. He is conceptaulized to be 160cm tall and weighs 65KG. He is always “looking up” (T/N: As in literally) to his comrades.

Question 02. How do you apply unique traits to a character?

– What is your trick to enriching a character with distinct features? If you are referring to the characters in the manga - you don’t have to make sure every part of him or her needs to be appealing/attractive. Rather, you should draw them in a way that causes people to become preoccupied with their physiques, because this is how the reader will feel more intimacy with them. For example, Eren’s good friend Armin. Even if he has western features, I gave him a more rounded nose that inspires extra affection towards him. Levi is Humanity’s Strongest Soldier, but he has an unexpected disposition that is almost disappointing - to be frank, he is short (A chibi). However, this special attribute is just like that of Astro Boy and Ushiwakamaru, where there is a “David can defeat Goliath” type of implication. (T/N: Isayama doesn’t actually say the names David/Goliath in his answer - just the idea of a smaller figure being victorious). For Eren, I previously had him set as having eyebrows that weren’t so dense, because he is often angry and widens his eyes. However, I wasn’t able to achieve this look because my drawing skills were subpar back then (Laughs). (T/N: For the record, we aren’t sure how anger directly influences eyebrow density, either, but we think this means Isayama didn’t know how to express a character’s fury without giving him/her severe eyebrows)

– What are you especially careful about when adding unique traits? Consider the 3DMG worn by the soldiers in order to battle in the air, where they hold two swords when engaging with Titans. No matter the soldier, they use the exact same strategy to fight. In many action-based shounen manga, there are usually special skills or insta-kill moves for a key character, so I also thought that this might increase the commercial value of a series. But in Shingeki no Kyojin, I didn’t establish these elements for two reasons: first, I personally would not be interested in such ideas as a reader, and secondly, if I add these details as I’m progressing the story, there would’ve been even more information that require explanation. If an author stuffed every detail he wanted to showcase within a work, it will become less interesting overall. For SnK, I intentionally reduced some aspects that would’ve stretched out the story development too much.

– Even the supporting characters that emerge as villains are very complex. Even though various villains appear, I personally feel that being “evil” for no reason is lackluster. Even while illustrating a villain, you should portray his or her timidity and confusion, as well as the ambition only he or she possesses. You have to do your best to make others feel like, “This kind of person exists within me also.” As an artist, I think this is something you must be attentive towards.

More from this interview: Part 2 | Part 3

This is just me trying to make sense of how the chapter title of 139 is connected to the extra pages so this might come off as more of a stream of consciousness than an organized post.

The first thing I noted was that the tree is constantly growing admist the growth/development of Eldia and its subsequent fall and destruction. I'm not sure whether there's any intent behind it, but from what we know this is the site where Eren was buried and it may be interpreted as the fruits of Eren's actions being displayed. In the first panel the leaves are barely covering the tree and it may be seen as the long lives of Eren's friends being the first fruits of his actions. They all live long lives with their families and grow to old age all the while keeping him in their hearts as exemplified with Mikasa.

Next, we see War in Heaven sorry I couldn't resist it. The tree grows a bit more and the seeds of Eren's actions are shown more exhaustively. His actions have brought about war, a continuation of the cycle and ultimately, Paradis' destruction. All the good has faded away and the development has crumbled. The Eternal Return, Moira, Ananke, Fate and the Cycle are bound to the world. It almost serves to validate Reiner in 117 and Zeke from 137. Striving is futile, and despite the efforts of Eren and the Alliance, this is the destiny of the world.

Then there are the final pages.

I think there's something quite hopeful about them. Despite the fact that the story ends with the grievance of a child wandering in the forest, seemingly destined to repeat the titanic tragedy from the ages before, there's also a sort of hope.

This child doesn't seem injured or depraved like Ymir was, he seems curious and almost in awe. And I think this rekindled the spirit with which the Survey Corps faces the cruelty of the world. If we don't know we'll see, if they don't know us, we'll show ourselves to them.

So though things are left slightly ambiguous, the parallel to Ymir serves to show us that this boy's Will will shape the new age, our will in the face of cruelty will shape the direction of the world. So as Nicolo said, though this devil may lie within the heart of humanity, we still need to strive our hardest to leave this forest of our making.

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.

Keep reading

Ohhhhh!!!

Source: https://www.marinabaysands.com/museum/exhibitions/attack-on-titan.html

never thought I would do manga colourings for this but here I am

Ever Since I Was Born: Eren and his Id

Ironically, after writing a very long critique of the ending, I believe I have found a way to redeem it. Isayama’s comments on the manga ‘Himeanole’, as well as the analyses put forward by @twilight-paradise88 and @cosmicjoke​, led me down a very interesting path of interpretation that makes the ending - thematically, at least - justified.

In the 2017 Bessatsu Shonen interview, Isayama says this about ‘Himeanole’:

Ultimately, I don’t think the series [SNK] passes judgment on what is “right” or “wrong.” For example, when I read Furuya Minoru’s “Himeanole,” I knew society would consider the serial killer in the story unforgivable under social norms. But when I took into account his life and background I still wondered, “If this was his nature, then who is to blame…?” I even thought, “Is it merely coincidence that I wasn’t born as a murderer?”

Does this sound familiar?

Eren, like the protagonist of that manga, is presented as being a certain way since birth. From the Attack Titan’s power to see the future, we know that Eren bringing about the Rumbling was an inevitability.

The kernel of this idea is preserved in the ending. Although Eren’s motivations become more complex, the core of his being still compels him towards that act of destruction. He cannot understand it, because it is not a logical demand. It is simply the nature of who he is.

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