Addressing Just Write's Attack on Titan Video

[@JustAcritic]

HEY everyone! With chapter 139 wrapping up AOT's story, I have given my initial thoughts about it on my Twitter @HardeepNews Specific link to my thoughts: twitter.com/HardeepNews/status/1380209904707862534 Follow me on my Twitter too since I also chat and give my initial reactions there. I may develop my thoughts into a video. Thank you all!!! I really appreciate all the love I've received, it means a lot. I am working on a new video.

[@19Ledor]

Jesus Christ, someone who talks about media and doesn´t just state things but provides sound evidence to convince the viewer. Bless you good sir! Don´t worry about criticising someones opinion. Opinions based on facts can be false since the facts can be wrong and people should not be afraid to point that out.

[@superduperstapler]

relevant quote - "this story requires smart viewers who pay attention, not those who have knee-jerk reactions and force their world views into the narrative." I haven't looked at your opinion yet, but I think this sums up why the ending gets so much hate. It's thanks to thoughtful discussion and analysis like this video that I find the ending to be perfectly consistent with the series as a whole. Another show's ending that initially got mixed reviews is Monster, which is now a cult classic. It's no wonder to me that hating the ending come from groups who seem to prefer the pro-fascist interpretation that you mention. That, and teenagers who simply aren't really mature enough to appreciate the broader themes in the story. And incels, who often overlap with the first two groups...

[@nalucap6556]

As a manga-reader who didn't like the ending myself, I'd like to disagree with some of your points. I don't have a Twitter so I'll put it in this comment. Spoilers!!! I'm actually not against his confession, just its execution. Mainly the time and place. You could say that the way he acted humanizes him, and that it's befitting for as you say, a not fully matured 19 year-old edgy kid. People's problem with it is the way he's acted post-timeskip contradicts it a little. Citing that this is supposed to be the same guy who gave that speech to Falco and Reiner and was determined enough to gouge out his own eye to infiltrate Marley. He was able to endure all that and keep his composure. He was no longer that edgy brat who could only think about killing titans, he was fully aware of the consequences of his actions, and was someone determined and tormented to go through with it all. Nothing exemplifies this more than chapter 131, where he encountered Ramzi. Which I'll also say, to me that whole chapter, is THE most human moment in Attack on Titan. You could argue though that in his final moments, that's when he's finally allowed himself a moment of weakness, which yeah I agree with that. And if we're specifying matters of romantic feelings, there's actually a flashback scene in an earlier chapter of how he acted towards Mikasa, asking her what she thinks of him. An argument can be made that he puts up a tough act in front of her, and he's only able to open to Armin about it during his final moments, which I actually agree with too. But my own problem with all that, is how insignificantly unimportant it is compared to him explaining he's killed so many people. And all that they could focus on, is Mikasa. Like seriously, the most reactions Eren and Armin's had over that whole final chapter which contained how he killed freaking 80% of people and that he's the one who sent Dina to eat his own mother, was all put into his feelings for Mikasa. Like, why? Armin barely had any comment on those other subjects. You'd think Eren would emotionally open up more about all that he's endured because of everything he's done. To me, the reaction he had for Mikasa would've fit more if it was about that. And I think this is why most people don't like the sudden confession too. But there's actually an explanation to this dissonant focus on Mikasa. But it's also a problem of its own in the story if you asked me. And that is, Mikasa was the one Founder Ymir was waiting for, which absolutely makes no sense. They do explain why, but the logic itself they give for why doesn't make sense either. Eren mistakes Founder Ymir's stockholm syndrome for love, and is the reason Founder Ymir obeys the royal bloodline. And her seeing Mikasa kill the one she loves, is what ultimately frees her??? Because she saw someone kill someone they love, that's all the empowerment she needed to be rid of the 2,000-year titan curse that's caused so much pain and suffering throughout AoT's world and history??? WHAT??? The "To You, 2,000 From Now" was all about that??? This is the part of the ending I dislike the most. To quote you: "Eren's goal to make himself the enemy so that the world will unite with heroes which protect his friends makes perfect sense. However that's far too idealist for AoT. It fits for Eren to believe this as he is an idealist and so the tragedy of his EXACT plan failing makes sense." I HIGHLY DISAGREE that this fits Eren, simply for the fact that in Season 1, Pixis asked his opinion on a certain legend. That legend was about how if a mighty enemy suddenly appeared, humanity would set aside their differences and unite. And Eren answered this precisely the way you did, it's too idealistic for AoT's world. He even expanded on it by saying in Season 1, that despite the titans existing, people still fight against each other. And Pixis called him cynical, just like him. Of course there's some criticisms to be had with the popular opinions on how peeps angry with the ending wanted it to end, such as wanting to make Eren go for a whole 99%, which is, well it's kinda scary. Fans, chill. Can't believe the popular opinion is to have a greater genocide, yikes. Personally, I would've preferred it if Eren didn't provide that 80%, which I assume is a guesstimate on his part in the first place. Could've just went with "most of the world". Best part of the finale was Levi and his moment for me. And yeah Historia got sidelined hard. There was a speculation about how Isayama probably wrote himself into a corner by developing Eren, Zeke, and Reiner's characters and the relationships they have between each other too much. Making them far more interesting than the original trio, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. And that by doing so, him fulfilling an EMA-centric finale ended up dampening the story. And I think I agree with that.

[@JustAcritic]

@@nalucap6556 Thanks for the detailed response, Truly! I’m currently heaped in research and analysis of this story and its ending since i will be posting a video about it. There will be another vid before it. Below are my quick responses, I don’t think I’ll be doing another one of these long responses since I’ll save it for the vid itself. Personally, for me, the execution is done well and when I put a microscope on it, it only gets better. We both agree that it is normal for him to act emotionally but you mention the behaviour of post-time skip Eren, also you mention that he was able to compose himself with what he did in Marley, understanding the consequences (emotionally too). I disagree heavily that Eren understood the consequences. He 100% knew what would happen, but he hadn’t internalised and fully grasped the emotional pain and suffering. After all, how could he, he was yet to commit his actions, seeing the future and acting it out are two very different things. He’s ONLY able to compose himself in the post-time skip moments due to him knowing he “needs to move forward”, he has to “fight” since he still has things to do. However, when he’s done everything and there’s nothing for him to do, he has time to reflect on what’s happened, leaving him with nothing but all the emotions he’s pushed to the side and tried to ignore. This is very fascinating to me as one of my other favourites shows Peaky Blinders does a similar thing psychologically. It shows when someone is unable to keep their mind busy, as Eren is no longer, they are overwhelmed by emotions leading to unusual and crazy outbursts in different forms. This is exactly what’s happening with Eren, and remembering he is only 19, damn that’s a lot of baggage, including that he’s never going to see the ones he loves and the woman he loves most, of which he never confessed his feelings. Also, that moment in chapter 131, was also so heartbreaking and another moment of Eren’s human side peering out, a side he tried to hide. IMPORTANTLY, I understand you also recognise all of what I said above is something you can get on board with, so think of that as a more detailed explanation of what I said before. However, you find it to be troubling that all Eren could focus on was Mikasa in his final moments instead of him remembering the actions he committed. You're kinda right and I too would have liked more panels about his thoughts of what he had done, BUT! What we got was still great and made perfect sense especially when you remember what’s mentioned in the para above. Eren has been suffering and thinking about others in his own twisted way non-stop, putting his own safety and emotional well being to the side. Therefore, it’s fair and understandable that a 19-year old who suffered all of that in his final moments is selfish, thinking only of those he truly loves. Also, I do believe he is thinking of his actions too but as mentioned before, mental breakdowns, emotional outbursts can be funnelled into different forms that can be in Armin’s words to Eren “pathetic”. Eren’s mind fixates on the first thing that comes to his mind, which actually epitomises the suffering Eren has put himself through, the sacrifice he made, that because of him killing all of these people, he can NEVER be with the people he loves such as Mikasa. This adds extra purpose to the Mikasa focus since it’s also the only way he can explain his actions as some other matters leave him in too much pain, almost speechless just as he was when talking about his mother. It’s also important to remember that Eren is dying, or dead at this moment when Armin is speaking to him, and they are essentially brothers. Instead of making him wallow in pain which he clearly has been drowning himself in, I think Armin just lets Eren mind go free and explain his thought process how he can explain it best and most comfortably. This also is one of the many explanations as to Armin’s controversial thanking of Eren’s actions, which by the way for everyone, he does recognise Eren’s actions are wrong and not justified, but he cannot help himself as the panel clearly depicts he is overwhelmed by emotions. Something that I’ve found interesting in the heap of my research, is that Eren has many times, not all the time, but MANY, justified the ends over the means, which is another example of him being an idealist, i’ll go into this more later below. Regardless, this makes sense as since the very beginning, he has always seemed different mentally. Eren is young with outlandish goals and even murdering a man, which was in defence, but the way he justifies the ends makes him feel no guilt over his actions, he actually seems proud to have rid the world of the human vermin. This happens again and again over the story, another big example being his absolute destruction of the town and people when fighting Annie in S1, almost as if he is fixated on the ends to get Annie, helping him ignore the casualties he is possibly causing. Even Annie is trying to avoid the buildings but Eren doesn’t care. It’s an interesting moment that foreshadows and hints at the potential of which he can go to, even famously saying “I’m going to kill them all” in the same fight. This founder Ymir matter linking with Mikasa has been in general, taken far too much at face value. The basic point of Mikasa helping Ymir, instead of anyone in the history of AoT, is that NO ONE has had the same pure love which Mikasa has for Eren, almost trapping herself to him as everyone in the fandom would famously say, she is just a slave to Eren’s will and existence. Interestingly, Isayama knew this and made a strong parallel to Ymir who also is trapped by a sense of love for the king, preventing her from taking action. Therefore when Mikasa, someone in a similar sort of dilemma, no way near as tragic, is able to take action against the person causing mass casualties, most importantly the person she loves, it shows Ymir what she should have done many years ago and lets go of the curse as Mikasa practically does too. Both were enslaved by love, and Mikasa is someone who has the deepest sense of it, breaks free, showing Ymir. That’s it on a basic level, there is surprisingly more to this matter. In the cruel world of AoT, in its entire history, no one, literally, no one in the show has been depicted to love as deeply as Mikasa to the point many took it as a generic female shounen character fawning over the male character, but Isayama uses that Shonen troupe, twisting it into his cruel grounded world to free the person imprisoned for over 2000 years, adding significant weight and justification to Mikasa’s behaviour previously as a considered approach. This is why thus little touch and connection was one of my fav things since Mikasasa was never one of my favs because I always thought she was essentially a slave to Eren, but Issyama revealing that was all by purpose, for a reason elevates her so highly for me, it has great harmony with the story. That’s my take away at least. When I say Eren is an idealist, I don’t mean in his entirety. People can be an idealist and a realist at the same time, I personally believe to be like this. It cannot be denied that a boy who swears, not wishes, this is something he believes he can do, to kill all the titans of which no one has stood a chance and he at this point is a measly boy with no powers, is extremely idealistic. However, when speaking to Pyxis Eren gives off the impression he is not as much an idealist with what he says coming off cynical. This brings the complicated concept of cynical idealism which is essentially where Eren falls if we are being specific. Eren is obviously an idealist with what i mentioned before as well as the naive mindset that they would get freedom if they killed all the titans, that all titans are bad and humans not so much which results in him classifying the kidnappers as monsters, always justifying the ends over the means etc. However, he shows some cynical instincts, which is best seen with the Pyxis chat. Ultimately, Eren to me has always been an unreliable protagonist due to him being designed as a walking contradiction, it’s etched into him mentally and his literal existence. I mean the final chapter points out so many examples as to why he is an unreliable character since he always withholds information. He even swears all titans are evil, he wants to kill all of them and yet he is one, an example of him being a literal walking contradiction. That’s why Eren’s change to become that evil he initially thought to be optimistic in uniting everyone isn't surprising as he is someone that does change and contradicts himself by purpose. To add even further reasoning for Eren’s change and going with the plan is that he actually saw the future and that it is possibly the best chance to achieve his goal, from his view. So in essence, he is an idealist but he is also a realist at specific moments. I will say this is the BEST response i’ve had in terms of criticism towards the ending since you clearly aren’t giving a knee-jerk reaction and actually thinking. However, if you look towards the story I do believe, you may disagree, that there are developed answers as I have pointed above. There may be some typos, grammar problems since I wrote this on the fly again but it has the general gist and basics of what I’m trying to say. I want to emphasise that I'm thankful for the comment and support for the video. Keep your eyes peeled for my video about this in the future. As mentioned before I won't respond with another long comment since it takes too much time and I’ll save it for the video.

[@superduperstapler]

@@nalucap6556 this was a really grounded explanation, I can see your points

[@matthewbibby8921]

Season 1: Levi mocking titans as he kills them, and vowing to kill them all to a dying comrade Season 2: “Hold on... So, you’re telling me that I’ve been spending all this time and energy running around killing PEOPLE?” Season 4: “... Hey... Guys... Are you still in there?” Oh, yeah, sure, the subtext is CLEARLY advocating for thoughtless violence.

[@Saphirakii]

I get that it comes off as sounding like a mindless fan since Levi is by far a famous fan favorite of the series, but I think it's very easy to tell who actually *watches* the show and who just lets it in one ear and out the other, based on how they interpret Levi. "He's just an emo badass for fangirls, he's heartless, he's a psychopath, he doesn't care, he's only there to look cool, when was the last time he cared about anything" are all takes I've heard from people. Not every compelling or well written character has to be a diplomat like Armin or be loud and proud about justice. Sometimes it can just be a well known neat freak being willing to hold the bloodied hand of a dying comrade as he dies. Gods forbid people have to remember or think back to previous episodes instead of being spoon fed everything as it happens.

[@aidondiaz2668]

@@Saphirakii This is so true tho!! Like people will be so quick to dumb down a character without even understanding them (to make it worse, they always end up being correctly incorrect when dumbing down)

[@maroontiger1361]

@@Saphirakii Levi's kindness is so subtle and contrasted to his brash personality, and it does wonders for his character. Despite all the pain he's been through, he still has a heart.

[@chadprinceton8486]

The only time levi killed someone was during fight against kenny squad and he didnt have choice that time. He might have the lowest kill count among all important characters

[@304Blaise]

Anyone who thought AoT was idolizing revenge or violence is gonna get a kick in the teeth once they animate chapter 138 lol

[@lean768]

Now look at 139 ch XD

[@304Blaise]

@@lean768 that was uhh... something?? I liked the volcano lmao

[@shaunstorey23]

@@lean768 it came out?

[@takanara7]

Yeah

[@304Blaise]

@Ákos M. the Stockholm syndrome and how it mirrors mikasa and eren’s relationship was an interesting theme but not enough was done to justify it. Eren being so far gone he’d kill his family isn’t my biggest issue either it’s the fact we see very very little of what the power structure of the new world will be and that we see nothing from the peace negotiations. I thought we were building up to something a bit different, but I care way less about eren’s fate than I do the alliance stuff that was hinted at in the end but not explored.

[@LeWOOLFIE]

You just have to look at the amount of blood shed and the look in the characters eyes to know that it’s themes are not being glorified

[@JustAcritic]

Exactly. You don't even need to hear what they're telling you which isn't glorifying it. They really do show how tortured the charcaters are now. Thanks for coming channel!❤

[@fernandonk4553]

But the people

[@atharvkashyap6510]

Kaya and Gabi's moment talking about Sasha and the past exemplify the true subtext

[@alwaystheparadox]

Subtext is subtext precisely because it's not explicit wtf

[@TaylorTano98]

I know what you're saying, but subtext isn't a synonym for message or theme. If it's in the text, it's not subtext

[@mayonnaise9993]

I love Gabi because she exposes the brainwashing that the audience has been exposed to. Many hate her, yet love characters like Armin, while in the grand scheme of things Armin has so much innocent blood on his hands while Gabi has only killed enemy soldiers (and much, much less than Armin). The audience has been brainwashed to see the main cast (those from Paradis) as inherently good and just, while anyone from Marley is evil, especially if they kill someone from Paradis. Yet, most people don't realize that this is wrong. There are good people on Marley, and there are bad people on Paradis. I don't see Gabi as a bad, much less evil, person. If I saw her as evil, then I would have to see the entire survey corps as evil as well. They're all just products of their environment, fighting for what they believe is right. Just because Gabi has been brainwashed to believe wrong things, doesn't mean those against her (Paradisians) are necessarily in the right. They all have the power to be in the wrong.

[@TKOS96]

Gabi saw civilians being killed, her friends and countrymen among them. She is justified in her wish for retribution. She reminds me of Eren after the attack that lead to his mother's death. He was obsessed with revenge then, just like Gabi. As for Sasha - she was part of that massacre. She was one of the soldiers who carried that attack. She also killed people who Gabi trusted. Just because she was that sweet potato girl in previous seasons, that doesn't excuse what she did.

[@mayonnaise9993]

@@TKOS96 pretty much exactly my thoughts. Gabi saw her friends killed in front of her by people she were told were demons, which only reinforced her upbringing. She's exactly like Eren in that both of them desired only revenge after their traumatic experiences. Yet, people hate Gabi but love Eren (at least most people did prior to S4). It's hypocritical and really shows how brainwashing can work even on the audience.

[@zyuranger21]

Gabi never *exposed* anything. She was the most brainwashed character in the whole story. Every time she sid "I'm a good Eldian" and "You Island Devils!" It showed just how messed up she was coz of all that propoganda they're taught.

[@mayonnaise9993]

@@zyuranger21 Yes she was brainwashed but you're telling me that if someone murdered half of your friends when you were 12, you wouldn't think they were evil? You wouldn't seek out revenge at all (Especially if you were a trained soldier)? Even taking away her brainwashing, her motives are completely valid due to what Eren and co. did to her. Falco would feel the exact same if he hadn't developed a friendship with Eren and heard firsthand what Eldians on Paradis went through. She's 12 years old ffs. And don't tell me "Well she was told that Eldians were harmed by Marley, therefore she shouldn't hate them/view them as devils". That's just stupid. Her and her friends never harmed them, yet they were murdered still. Imagine telling a 12 year old who lost their friends that the murderer was also hurt by someone. It wouldn't quell their hatred at all.

[@pagatryx5451]

@@mayonnaise9993 I mean, it's not 'brainwashing'. We're simply put into the same situation as Marley and Paradis in which we hate someone, quite rationally, because of how they hurt someone close to us. But this in the end just leads to a pointless cycle of hate and loss. Not brainwashing at all, rather, emulating. We hate Gabi because she killed Sasha because Sasha killed some people because she was trying to defend Paradis because Marley hates Eldians because Eldians did something bad long ago but we don't actually know much about that and they probably had some reasons too. Nobody is bad, nobody is brainwashed. Each is ignoring the reasons/justifications of those before because their personal interests/feelings come first. Nobodies brainwashed, it's just we're personally being put into a position to unknowingly fall into the same trap the story is criticizing. Disregarding that, while I don't hate Gabi, I do dislike her more than anybody from Paradis because she is the one being brainwashed, not them. They grew up after the aftermath of the loss of the wall. They joined the military to kill mindless zombies who weren't meant to be human. They took part in a mutiny because they believed they needed information to save themselves from attack (and they did), and feared the King/Queen would wipe everybody's memories (and they would if they got Eren). They only attacked Marley when Eren forced them too (Him being their only chance at survival) and after they found out Marley were behind the titans around Paradis and had been the ones who destroyed the wall initially. Gabi's murders are justified. HOWEVER, her actions and rage are mostly as a result of brainwashing and lack of information over anything else. Had the story spent time on Gabi's backstory and elaborated on her brainwashing a bit more, people would be more inclined to forgive her, but again, it's by no means an accident that we treat Gabi the same way the characters in the story treat their enemies.

[@scottjs5207]

This show literally is just saying that all people have the ability to be evil and no one is better than the other. A lesson in humility through tragedy.

[@remyd8767]

Essentially. It also emphasizes the importance of walking a mile in others shoes to understand the other side of the argument

[@scottjs5207]

@@remyd8767 Precisely!

[@MrTigracho]

@@remyd8767 This. The scene with Gabi and Sasha´s adoptive little sister shows this.

[@troy6646]

Rn there's so many fans who currently misunderstood the jagerist, eren and floch so it's does kinda beg the question of how people came to those conclusions. However, lots of people who lean right seem to be less politically literate when it comes to stuff like this

[@nicossbots]

im german/jewish and the first time i started watching aot i never thought for a moment that it would be fascist until i saw articles about it.if anything i do believe attack on titan is actually criticising fascism/genocide/racism/corruption and so on so forth.why? because they're inherently evil and isayama is trying to portray a message that clearly says "war is bad and history shouldn't be repeated". anyone who has not given the time and effort (just write in this case) to watch the anime or/and read the manga forfeits the right to have their opinion on the matter taken seriously.i love aot and how relatable/realistic it can be.

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you for your kind words!❤ Hopefully I didn't say anything offensive I tried my best to give it the seriousness the matter requires. Thanks for coming to my channel!

[@brookmikal]

it's clear Isayama tried to paint Yeagerists are in the wrong, it's just neo fascists latch unto eren because they think "eldia = superior race being opressed" "whites = superior race being opresssed" with their nationalism slogan but here's the thing with Eren himself he hates 90% of Paradis own population lmao, dude's not a nationalist (and April cover for 139 seems to confirm that)

[@joaodelgado6696]

@@brookmikal i dont think isayama portrayed yeagerist as bad as you think otherwise yuou wouldnt unironically have thousnads of people unironically supporting them in the fandom. Isaayama definietely protaryed situations where the Yeagearist are seen as a 'necesssary evil'. as a brute force that is willing to do what it takes for the goold of Eldia

[@brookmikal]

@@joaodelgado6696 some part of the fandom are stupid, what's new?

[@joaodelgado6696]

@@brookmikal i mean just dismissing things as 'people are stupid' is usually done by people attempting to shut down any form of healthy public discourse. you cant really have a conversation about media and aspects of it as well as its imapct on its audience if you're always gonna claim 'people are stupid what else is new?'. Fascists thrive on that btw, because it gives them carte blanch eto keep recruiting people to their side bcause liberal folk will just see those 'recruited' as stupid and not a problem with the recruitment itself (not saying AoT is recruiting nazis, but its a similar analogy)

[@jordinagel1184]

When someone comes at a story as complex and well-written as Attack on Titan with the mindset of “Hey, at least it has cool action if nothing else,” you know they likely won’t have anything productive to say. Kudos to you for still taking that video on in an analytical and civil manner.

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you so much for your kind words!!!❤

[@pmester228]

To be fair to JustWrite, there are unironic Jaegerists.

[@jordinagel1184]

@@pmester228 yes, unfortunately, but they seem to be few. I tend to see a certain spectrum when it comes to people’s opinion of Eren: it starts with those who cannot condone or understand his actions at all; then those who understand but do not condone; those who understand but only condone some things (a certain upcoming event often not being among the things they condone); and finally, those who understand and condone everything he does, basically the Flochs of our world. The latter are absolute morons, and as such they are unfortunately quite loud. Whatever fascist themes they gleam from the show to empower their ideology stem merely from their perspective. I don’t doubt that there are people out there who would be willing to perform a Rumbling if they could, but that is no fault of Isayama’s.

[@pmester228]

@@jordinagel1184 The guy's a genius, he turned his audience into parts of a social experiment, and not even he realized it.

[@Slapnutss]

Those people are Narutards and FMABtards. Only people with an above average IQ and who're open to new possibilities will understand the depth and complexity of Shingeki no Kyojin. Those who refuse to accept, saying that Narushit and DBZ are far better, are probably r3tard3d. Thats why it's no use arguing with them and trying to prove your point. Just enjoy the anime..

[@BoundlessOwl]

video: Spoiler warning for the anime. me, a manga reader: I have the ultimate spoiling power here

[@jordinagel1184]

AoT ED2: Now I shall spoil the manga instead!

[@tatarsauce6314]

Eren: You sure about that?

[@spuart3308]

Just Write: *deletes his shitty video* The rest of the internet: “That scenery”

[@xrteezy]

I also have the power too attack everyone’s mental health that has not read the manga😈

[@jaylenware363]

Me, who saw the ending through the Paths: *You have no power here*

[@tristanneal9552]

It's also worth pointing out that the first regime in the walls was essentially fascist, which means supporting the coup is actually the opposite of supporting fascism. Yes, fascist governments can be installed through coups, but they can also be toppled by them

[@GusmaoPedro]

But Grisha was a fascist though, and Eren faction has really fascist roots. Marley is fascist too, the show is a lor about fascist (not pro-fascist)

[@tristanneal9552]

@@GusmaoPedro I agree. I mean I think the Yeagerists and Marleyans are pretty properly portrayed as fascists, and also portrayed in a bad light. I was specifically referring to the first regime run by the Reiss family, which was also fascist and I personally don't consider the military coup overthrowing them to be immoral even if it was military rule. Like yeah a military coup in a democracy is bad, but is it really worse than monarchical/dictatorial rule? Not imo

[@GusmaoPedro]

@@tristanneal9552 i don’t think the coup was a wrong call, i won’t defend monarchy. But the Reiss regime wasn’t really fascist (neither was the military regime). They had the fascist ideology of the common irredimable enemy, but fascism is, as well, about the feeling of revenge, to seek a glorious past revived etc etc. That is why i think the show builds on a common “guilt free violence” trope that is the zombies, make you have no empaty for the titans like nazis to jews, then even when the plot twist kicks in and you feel empathetic with the titans, the show builds a next step on fascist ideology with marley itself and Grisha neonazi group, and now Jaeger faction

[@andrewromanowski4568]

I remember making a comment in Just Write's section on this video comparing themes of AoT to some of Dr. Jordan Peterson's lectures. I was actually shocked to see the video taken down. AoT is not a simple anime/manga. It's a tragic drama and a realistic view into good and evil. In today's world where everyone's trying to convince you that only this race or religion or group of people is evil or good, AoT says: "No. Every person, regardless of sex, race or creed can be good or evil. And don't forget that, or you might just end up in a bad situation and can't turn back." Thank you for this video.

[@jays3652]

I agree with your points on AoT's complexity, however as a word of advice, I'd say to ward away from Jordan Peterson's lectures. There is a lot of Nietzschean thought (as well as Schopenhauer and perhaps Hegel) within Attack on Titan, however from what I've seen, Peterson's lectures tend to misrepresent Nietzsche's ideas and his methodology has several errors throughout. I don't think Peterson is horrible in the slightest, but I'd just recommend to read directly from the greats when it comes to philosophy in general.

[@andrewromanowski4568]

@@jays3652 Thank you for your advice. I have started reading a bit of the Stoics and am trying to get through "Beyond Good and Evil" (albeit at a glacial pace). As to Peterson, I do agree with you that in his lectures, he touches briefly on things and then moves on to the next concept. He's trying to connect scores of ideas in 2-3 hour lectures, so details are bound to be omitted or misrepresented. Regardless, he does inspire. I was in particular drawing parallels between what Peterson said about the brothers Cain and Abel and the dynamic between Eren and Mikasa. How Cain was tormented by his ideal and not meeting it? Would you agree?

[@jays3652]

@@andrewromanowski4568 Hmm I had never thought of that specific connection before. I do think it is a somewhat apt comparison when looking at their dynamics, (vague spoilers !!) especially given how the ending is going right now in the manga...

[@Sarahlancey]

@@jays3652 The problem is that it’s not how it usually works in the real world... It’s not even how it works in Aot like... The people, we know in AOT, who committed mass Genocide (and every thing it includes) and put people in Bondage &/or Servitude were the Eldians and the Marleyans. The Eldians used their Genetic « Advantage » (Eugenics, common in Fantasy...) to make other cultures and folks submit. The Marleyans took over but not really, they were more so « offered » Eldia’s Legacy as a « pledge » of Peace. And from what we know this pledge of Peace was only offered to the Marleyans not the other nations, so that’s already weird. Marley did not change or abandon the oppressive systems put in place by Eldia (most likely bc they were « offered » their freedom and didn’t really fight for it). They followed the same path and went on to oppress the World. All that started because of Genetic « Superiority »... I would have found AOT profound/deep and realistic if we discovered that every human in their world can transform in Titan, it’s not a gift or a cursed of the Eldians only, but the Marleyans and the rest of the World are the ones lying so they don’t have to sacrifice their people in Wars (yk by using titans, etc.) and can continue to oppress the Eldians under a false narrative. ´Cause in our real world war and oppression almost always starts over lies or exaggeration of the truth. It is never as clear as it is in AOT and I think that’s its fault

[@jays3652]

@@Sarahlancey Though your concerns abt that aspect of AoT are fair and warranted, I personally didn't find that aspect of AoT to be the source of its complexity. (I also think LoGH and GoT are two shows that handle war and the cycle of meaningless struggle and the moral-"grayness"/amorality of war far better than AoT to be honest). Rather for me, it was the treatment of individuals (Zeke's negation of life, Eren's pro-eldian psuedo-affirmation of life, Gabi's pro-marley cycle of hatred, etc). Like the original comment mentioned there are good people, with their own ideologies on either sides. I agree that when looking at the sides of conflict as a whole, it's not as gray and that the cause of conflict is rather direct in that sense.

[@ernestotorres7672]

One of my favorite things about this story is how morally ambiguous it is and how hard it is to completely side with a character or an idea, much like real life every decision seems to be muddled in a grey shade instead of being black and white, it beautifully presents a tragic story of humanity where everyone suffers and no side is completely “right” or “wrong”.

[@StudioAlexOfficial]

Well done. Attack on Titan has always been one of my favorites especially in it's themes and storytelling

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you for the kind words! Completely agree. One of the few shows that can tell multiple themes and develop them all well.

[@janglesthemoonmonkey4385]

It’s amazing to find a critical KZbinr who is truly insightful and who actually respectfully tries to change the opinions of others who oppose him, not for a petty win in an argument, but for the benefit of all. Keep it up!

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you so much ❤ I try my best 😂

[@vladislavpetkov6120]

The way I view titans being killed now vs how I viewed them early in the show is interesting to me. Early I was satisfied to see these monsters killed with the apathy they themselves kill with. Now I see it almost as a mercy kill, the ending of a life spent in absolute entropy as a punishment for a crime they did not commit. Titans are still as dangerous as they always have been, yet now there is a certain tragedy about them.

[@mintseokjin]

I remember watching Just Write’s video and i had to stop a few mins in because of how wrong his take was, none so more than his take that the Eldians were supposed to mirror Jews during the holocaust; if anything, the treatment of Eldians mirrors the treatment of Japanese in America during WW2. Isayama is a Japanese man living in Japan which tries to hide both its imperial history and is against anti-imperialism views. During WW2, Japanese and Japanese-Americans were rounded up into internment camps as a result of the bombing of Pearl harbour; these communities were condemned for something they had absolutely no hand in and were forced to take the punishment of an action they were innocent of. Eldian history mirrors Japan’s atrocious imperial history, and its even more clear when Paradisians do not even know their own history which is literally the exact same to Japanese school children who do not learn their own history since the government is trying to scrub it from the textbooks, just as America and Britain do as well. Japan does not tolerate any anti-imperial views especially if it’s published media; so, instead, Isayama has used Western coded characters in his manga as an allegory for imperial japan and the treatment of japanese at the hands of the americans. This is actually common within Japanese media in the 20th century where Western stories were taken to fit the Japanese context for a Japanese audience, but Isayama flips this on its head by doing the exact opposite by using a Western context to tell a Japanese story. With the internment camps, these are so similar to the Japanese internment camps that were created in America after Pearl harbour; unlike the concentration camps, the Japanese people were quarantined off, they weren’t sent to death in gas chambers or like that, but in many cases they were sent to the front lines of the American army JUST LIKE HOW ELDIAN SOLDIERS ARE MADE TO. The only similarity between the Eldians and Jewish people are the armbands that they were forced to wear. I hate that people continue to look at AOT in a Western context and don’t actually look into it beyond surface level, calling it anti semitic and promoting fascism when it clearly doesn’t.

[@JustAcritic]

Omg this is so fascinating. I've had people mention this point before but they hadn't gone into this detail. This is amazing and helps solidify my faith in my video even further. Thank you for taking time out of your day to tell us an important part of history which is often brushed over. Welcome to my channel too!!!❤

[@Nightmartlet]

Well, the arm bands aren't the only thing. There's also the fact that Paradis is located where Madagascar would be, a reference to the Madagascar Plan. Personally I don't think it's a direct reference to either event. I think he drew from both (more from the Holocaust in terms of visual references) in order to tell his own story.

[@1989ry05uke]

I'm a Japanese man who was raised in the UK and moved to Japan during high school. It's interesting to know that Japan is trying to hide its imperial history and associated atrocities. I had pretty much the opposite impression when I moved to Japan, because I felt everyone had a very negative view on their own country and history. I may be biased though, as I went to a private school where everyone is fairly well educated so knew much more than the average Japanese person.

[@yeetthatmolotov]

I never seen it like that but it does make a lot of sense tho the eldians have further similarities to jews in nazi Germany being used for experiments or that eldian women in the internment zones wear headscarves as jewish women in the orthodox jewish community do after they've married

[@SaraSong-mw3zm]

Holy moly I didn't evne think on how similar the Japanese and Eldian interment camps right despite me even reading a book that was on the POV of a Japanese teenager focusing on this very event

[@elvibora6218]

Attack on titans message: try to be more like Armin (even though he's not innocent. Nobody is) Bad faith reviews: Levi looks cool while killing titans. That must mean they want us to support genocide

[@josefruzek4462]

YES. I spent two weeks writing my own script, but after he deleted his video (and I planned to show parts of it that I would respond to) I lost all will to continue. This video is like a twin of one I imagined I would do, so a big thumbs up from me

[@JustAcritic]

Hahaha that's funny. Thank you for the kind words!!!❤ if you have more to say, heck even if you don't, theres always space for another video 😉 Thank you for coming to my channel!

[@takanara7]

He didn't delete it, there was a copyright takedown from "Production IG" and he apparently didn't try to fight it. It was a really terrible video, the guy apparently thinks all media should be super-duper obvious about who the good and bad guys are and any kind of nuance is "dangerous" - truly insane take.

[@ZakanaHachihaCBC]

Still do it, the more videos that come out to explain why his video was problematic the better.

[@retsila4750]

The show is most definitely not military propaganda. Literally nothing good comes from war in the show, everyone suffers and many die due to the war. It shows the military as a grueling and horrible thing, that ruins lives and only brings destruction. It is an anti-war show, and continually questions the morality everything. If it was a fascist story, it would not do any of this.

[@dr.deadpool5959]

We may be divided on the ending but when someone disses on Attack on Titan like this we come together

[@cynga7035]

Thank you for making this video. Just Write's video was literally just fueled by confirmation bias and faulty arguments and deserved to be criticized. Don't feel bad for criticizing someone else's opinion, especially when their accusations can be easily refuted. As a large creator with a big audience he has a responsibility to take into account what he says and thus there's nothing wrong about defending AOT.

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you SO much! This means a lot being that I'm new and a small creator. I'm happy you found my channel and gave the video a try. You exactly mirror my belief too, I made my video simply because the points could easily be refuted. Thank you again for the kind words!

[@thfkmnIII]

Just Write's obviously left-leaning at the very least, but in that video he goes full woke-left by tryna score social credits with "fascism bad"

[@santokun5835]

@@thfkmnIII I mean, fascism IS BAD. Isayama has ridiculed it (The Yeagarist) every chance he gets (The whole re contextualisation of Shinzou sasageyo in s4, fake display of bravery, beating old people up, villain face etc). Just writes video got so much hate mainly cause it came off as very reactionary of someone who as if just watched 1 episode of AoT.

[@thfkmnIII]

@@santokun5835 Fascism is bad??? Call the press yall! How can you say something so stunning and brave, yet also revolutionary?

[@HunterSThompson123]

@@thfkmnIII It's low hanging fruit and something that has to be said to be accepted nowadays. It's like an Eldian having to denounce the Eldian Empire because of their past sins and everybody that doesn't atone and drill that history in to the minds of others is a monster. Even tho other ideologies have claimed far more lives and committed more atrocities the obsession with fascism is very strange to me. Instead we could deal with the main themes of the show which are mentioned in the video without having to connect EVERY SINGLE thing to fascism and treat it as a anti-fascism piece. It's an epic anti-war story and then some. The sheer thought of a concept like "dangerous ideas" is hilariously Orwellian.

[@ReiMizere]

To this day I refuse to believe JustWrite watched AOT.

[@ariesdemiurge]

I'll just say it as someone who finished the manga last night If you read past the Rumbling, and somehow STILL think Isayama supports the horrors of war... what *will* it fucking take?

[@CHRISCAMPO-wq8bi]

I agree with what ur trying to say, but I think alot of people ur trying to argue against will use the extra pages against you. I can also see you wrote this comment before those extra pages released, and when they did, alot of people started crying about how the story "justified genocide" and it wasn't the yeagerists saying it. The fact that the yeagerists enjoy the ending more than the opposite say it all by now. Check out Vaush's vid on this series, as he's a huge lefty who said the series ISN"T fascist, but his comment section is filled with stuff along the lines of "Isayama was writing an anti-fascist story the whole time but then did a 180 in the last chapter".

[@jrlombardi5251]

@@CHRISCAMPO-wq8bi Using the extra pages to say Isayama supports genocide is like so dumb(? The extra pages literally shows Paradis getting destroyed bc they killed 80% of humanity. As much I can think those people believe it means Eren should have done the rumbling till the end so that would be the correct answer, Paradis would be fine and then genocide good? But those are the people who ignores that even with the rumbling complete Paradis would destroy itself from the inside, which I can't get why so many people ignores since it's way too clear in the story.

[@CHRISCAMPO-wq8bi]

@@jrlombardi5251 That's the thing, as I explained in my old comment here, its not the yeagerists saying the ending "justified genocide", its the people who wanted everything that happened in the ending, save for Eren being treated as the hero and the extra pages. But that's also the thing, and it goes to prove you wrong about something you said: what happened to Paradis in the end wasn't cuz of the rumbling, cuz it was set to happen even if Eren NEVER DID IT. All the anti-Eren people, after disrespecting him and the whole story for years, finally realized that, or chose to acknowledge it finally, and now we got them crying about genocide being justified. The yeagerists who got nothing they wanted in the ending, now accept the ending more than the anti-yeagerists who got everything they wanted, and may I also add the latter blasted the ending just as hard before the extra pages?

[@jrlombardi5251]

@@CHRISCAMPO-wq8bi 1. I have been deep in this fandom for a long long time so I can tell you that all the jaegerists hate the ending so you saying the jaegerists accept the ending more than the anti-jaegerists isn't true. What the ending made was more anti-jaegerists people turn into jaegerists, believing that in the end the rumbling would have been the best choice since that way they believe Paradis wouldn't have been destroyed since the rest of the world did it if they weren't there bc Eren did the whole rumbling then Paradis would be fine. So your view about how people sees the ending is completely wrong, I won't say there's no one who thinks as you say bc in this fandom everything happens, but say more anti-jaegerists hated it than the jaegerists and that the jaegerists don't justify the genocide is completely false bc all jaegerists hated it and it got even more jaegerists than the ones we already had before, bc those who supports the rumbling, no matter at what point of the story, are jaegerists not anti-jaegerists (bc also, anti- Eren and anti- jaegerists are not the same). 2. Nothing of this still proves that Isayama and his story were in favor of the genocide still. Your point about it not happening bc of the rumbling is wrong, it did happen for the rumbling, what you meant is that even if it wasn't for the rumbling it would have gotten destroyed anyway and that's true but doesn't change what I said. Isayama is portraying the reality of humans, not an ideal, hate will always exist, war, no country can last forever. Paradis would never, in no scenario, not even if they were normal people, would have survived forever, bc that's what's realistic. In the end what Eren did was just get as much time as possible for them to live, bc that's what the character wanted, but he did it by horrible methods bc that was the only way to get something like that and as I explained the story explicitly showed us how wrong it is, made it stop as fast as they could, that the results are a dissapointment since hate is still there and really strong with people still doing bad stuff and that those things bring consequences since even if he got them the most time, it was with something terrible that people could never forgave making them destroy the island, this was an answer for the rumbling, if it wouldn't have happened it would have been sooner as an answer for the old eldian empire, the only difference is the time Eren got and since he made it with such terrible thing it wasn't possible for his island to became so powerful that no one would dare to touch them ever again bc what he did was something so terrible and big that no matter how strong they were people would never give up on destroying them, showing us how Eren's actions and the jaegerists are wrong. And what the fandom believes doesn't change that bc those who dislikes the ending are the jaegerists saying the rumbling was the answer so Paradis wouldn't get destroyed for the world but that is just an opinion based in not saying attention to the story bc the story shows us that even the rumbling destroying everyone outside of the walls was not going to let Paradis be free, happy and in peace, which shows for itself that the story explicitly shows us, again, that the rumbling isn't the answer and isn't even right. Which is way using the extra pages to say the story justifies genocide (which just says people who hated the rumbling to happen and believed Isayama wanted to say that actually the right answer for Paradis to survive, not the jaegerists who supported it since they wanted tje rumbling to get completed and believe just ss they believe the story is implying should have happen, making them those who justify it) doesn't make sense nor is right.

[@sourcesymbiosismetamorphis2228]

I love the heavy themes of the sins of the father, surpassing the father and breaking generational cycles. As all of those relate to my personal life immensely. I have a good feeling the last chapter will highlight these themes perfectly.

[@ikol9261]

Shoutout to Nicollos VA. His scene in season four will never fail to hit me in my soul..... such a good series

[@JustAcritic]

Anime sub voice actors are able to go into these untapped pockets of emotions I don't get anywhere else. Dub is impressive but the sub is another experience entirely. Thanks as well!❤

[@MILDMONSTER1234]

@@JustAcritic Insert obligatory Cowboy bebop post about dubs or some shit

[@voracities]

Grisha’s VA was GOAT too! Can’t wait to see the Voice Acting in Season 4 Part 2

[@andrewsol922]

I can't even begin to thank you for taking the time to give a proper response to such bullshit of video, you deserve the biggest respect my guy.

[@fernandonk4553]

It was on point

[@TheShadow-hw7su]

I go to an art school where a lot of people buy into the whole "AOT is facist" thing, thank you for making a video disproving that so that I can feel a little hope that the show can be talked about again with others

[@danielc1291]

I know you suffer with “those” leftists in that art school. Happened to me, lol.

[@Juan-tm8fk]

@@danielc1291 They're just dumb people, I am a very left person but saying that aot promotes facism is such a horrible take

[@DT-qx7yn]

The two governments in aot are fascist. They are both painted as shitty places to be. Even being on the far left idk how the show could be promoting the system when it's shown that everyone is treated like absolute dogshit by those in power

[@linaaviles1971]

Not surprising since most people who go to art school are in some type of moral high ground (I speak as a leftist who went to art school and was tired of them lol)

[@Nightmartlet]

As an illustrator myself, I find it sad and insufferable that the art community these days seems to be overrun by this type of poor thinking.

[@Izaya4EVER]

What I find the most impressive about Attack on Titan's storytelling is that it actively plays with information control - something crucial within fascist regimes/dictatorships. Actually you can't really form an ultimate opinion unless you're informed about every detail, an almost utopian condition ("the only truth is that there's no truth") You can't really tell what the story's supposed to mean until everything is revealed and this is obviously just genius. We should never dismiss human complexity just because it makes us uncomfortable for a while.

[@JustAcritic]

Beautifully written. Attack on Titan is unrelenting in showing these complexities even if they can be uncomfortable. Also so true about information control. Not just in the show itself but Isayama in constructing the narrative. He never rushes to the revelations of cool details, he rather lets things simmer and develop. Thank you for coming to my channel! :)

[@orionng195]

Attack on Titan: - shows us that fascism/nationalism is bad (Floch) - questions the military and shows that they're not perfect - no character is "good" (except best boi Falco) - shows that no issue is as simple as we thought; there's always another perspective that is somewhat justified - shows that pinning the sins of ancestors onto the next generations is the source of hatred and must be stopped - gives everyone a perspective that is understandable but that has to change to make a better world Some people (like Just Write): but muh subtext-

[@JotteXD]

Yet everyone still loves floch for Some reason lol

[@StardustNxva]

@@JotteXD Same people that stan Makima from Chainsaw Man

[@JotteXD]

@@StardustNxva i dont get it, man

[@manwithnoname8229]

Yeh Floch is a fascist yet people still support him lol

[@richiknair9036]

AoT has one of the biggest warnings against ignorance. Shame that some of them are ignorant enough to make claims like these against AoT

[@musket_mcgee]

Besides anyone with the last name Ackermann, there’s no non shifter that can get away with being “cool” in a way that romanticizes violence. Outside of the music, Titan vs Titan fights, animation this series has been mostly horrific from the beginning of the show.

[@CamMarz]

I'm glad you put together such a great critique. AOT is one of the few shows that recognizes nothing is black and white. It also highlights the importance of freedom, which AOT understands the undeniable importance for it

[@YeliabTwo]

It is deeply upsetting that Attack on Titan has been terribly misinterpreted, by just write, wisecrack, even some friends of mine, they believe Titan promotes facism, believing it promotes the persecution of people due to their race etc. But that's not true at all. Titan also has a strong theme on nature, fighting for survival, "you can't win without fighting", etc. Because the German Nazi's of WW2 believed in survival of the fittest, many people believe that to believe in Darwin's theory of natural selection makes you facist, which is definitely not true. And wisecrack mistook the theme of natural selection with facism which since has caused a lot of misinterpretation of attack on titan which is harmful to the show. Also I want to comment on how you interpreted how Isayama portrays morals, you say how some people make morally right and wrong decisions like Erwin sending many people to die to achieve his dream, but Attack on Titan never pushes the reader/watcher to think what is right or wrong. "I don't know the answer. I never have. Whether you trust yourself or your comrades". All of the characters, from Levi, to the false king and lords hiding the truth of the walls all believed they were doing the right thing. What you agree or disagree with does not make the decisions of others right or wrong, take Eren, he decides to trust his team to take on Annie's titan, believing he made the right choice, but they got killed then Eren got captured. Levi did not hold a grudge because he was not right or wrong to trust them. The question of moral in titan is that there is no such thing, you just have to make the decisions you think you will regret the least.

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you for coming to my channel! Happy to see you passionate about this topic. Yes I agree it's very upsetting people misinterpret the story so badly, in a knee-jerk manner. I agree that morals in AoT Is hard to judge since the world requires brutal decisions, etc. Thank you again for watching the video!

[@kunyoruyo]

Thank you for making this video. I got kinda dissapointed with JustWrite's take for how shallow it was, I had to stop watching when he compared the titans designs to jewish caricatures but I couldn't articulate my point as well as you did. Like, some people have big noses dude, repressenting that doesn't inherently make you antisemitic...

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you for the kind words!!! ❤ Yeh I was so bemused when he used that as a reference for why the story is anti-semitic and racist. The comparison on it's own is to forget it's a fictional/fantasy series and that there are distinct differences. Thanks again!!!

[@user-sn1hi7my7x]

Something to point out, almost all characters recognize their flaws, or demons, and they don't deny it.

[@canvas_125]

Exactly. Armin is arguably the most diplomatic and well-intentioned than a lot of other characters, but he calls himself anything, but a good person.

[@mnced9979]

Dude. YOU ARE UNDERRATED HOLY SHIT. Currently, the anime/manga scene is oversaturated with ‘analysts’ who tackle surface level and lack understanding. You are a gem in the rough. Keep it up!

[@rchow8051]

Personally, i believe that Isayama is showing his despise for fascism, war, etc by creating AoT. He shows the horrors and dark side of both opponents of a war. He humanizes people and creates scenarios that condemn corrupt governments and systemic racism.

[@andreicristian928]

Which is funny, because I've seen so many people call Isayama a fascist because of things he said in some old tweets XD Add depth, complexity and some real world inspiration to a story annnd a large majority of the people will suffer a brain meltdown

[@mykalkelley8315]

Its neither antifa nor fa, its a centrist story, the race being shoved into c*mps in the story used to have a world encompassing empire that oppressed others and despite this the story still says their descendants shouldn't be treated as monsters. Its a pretty standard message that doesn't prefer one side or the other.

[@jiekendinner]

If the Eldians are the devils spawn, we are the devil itself -Theo Magath to Willy Tybur

[@jiekendinner]

was that right?

[@elsv99]

Like the armband and oppression is the only things that connect the eldians and ww2 jews. The symbol for eldian empire is the nordic tree of life and I might be wrong but I've heard the eldian empire is read as the Japanese empire in japanese which is a critique of the japanese imperialism. It's not a 1:1 allegory because of 1 symbol and a bunch of contradictory symbols. That is just a bad reading.

[@Valstrax420]

Guess what. Everyone wore armbands during ww2, including the Germans.

[@Valstrax420]

If anything marleyeans are jewish

[@elsv99]

Yeah but to be fair Marleyans doesn't live in concentration camps

[@elsv99]

@Latam 'Nan did you even read my first comment lol. I just don't think marleyans nor eldians are jews

[@walkerroh638]

@@elsv99 It was supposed to be read as the Eldians being the Japanese and the Marleyans being the Americans. America did hold japanese in internment camps and even forced them to work for them against their own people, much like the Marleyans do to the Eldians. On top of that the story is called "Shingeki no Kyojin", a shingeki is a Japanese telling of a western drama. In this case, the Japanese telling the story of their oppression during their time in America circa WWII. If it's not that then Isayama could have used the normal Japanese word for attack: Kogeki.

[@facundogutierrez4851]

This last season has primarily renovated the show by being specifically gray. We more than ever see the perspectives of characters on opposing sides of the conflict. We even begin and spend several episodes without focusing on the initial main cast just to show the audience the reasoning behind the actions of Marley. We spend an entire episode exploring how the flawed views of reinner who searched triump and heroism took everything from him to the point of driving him to suicidal tendencies but still clinges to the system that drived him to that state as he is not able to accept nor change his current situation. Even though one could argue many characters are more inherently evil than others, even the most awful characters still act under the impression their view of the world is correct. This is a world in which the inhabitants of paradise believed they might be the last of the human race. If in today's world it with internet and instant worldwide connections it is extremely difficult to truly comprehend other cultures, imagine how unimaginable hard would be for the eldians of paradise to understand the culture of Marley and the rest of the world. The brilliance of the story comes from its capabilities to convince you on the views of every character to the point one can feel the shock when seeing the views of the opposing side.

[@hazzal2470]

We love to see the rare breed of people with actual brains speaking FACTS, AND YOU'RE ONE OF THEM. God bless you and this video ❤️

[@JustAcritic]

Hahaha, thank you so much! This made my day. Thank you for coming to my channel and giving me a bit of your time.

[@user-sn1hi7my7x]

Need more of these kind of guys to speak up

[@Waterbug1591]

You don't need to change your opinion about AoT being the best TV show of all time. It's basically a fact now. There's literally nothing else that comes close to AoT's level of impeccable writing and presentation of its story premise, plot points, character dynamics and everything else. Period.

[@JustAcritic]

Well I've had this belief since s3 part 2. The series really went above everyone else at that point and was already at the highest level prior. S4 has just made it that its blown everyone out the water. Thank you for the support and love!❤👊

[@extraplain2412]

Not just TV, the only peice of film that surpasses it is Lord of the Rings but even then they are both beautifully crafted stories that I absolutely love.

[@Waterbug1591]

@@extraplain2412 It's not very effective to compare a trilogy movie to a 4-season long TV series, but either way, LOTR as a novel does not surpass AoT as a manga in any conceivable way, nor does it lack anything that performs just as well as AoT as a piece of art in literature. In this case, it's apples and oranges.

[@extraplain2412]

@@Waterbug1591 If you're going to make claims like "nothing even comes close" then you can't really complain when someone makes a comparison. I was agreeing with your original point but dude that was such a snobby reply... Besides you said show instead of manga and I said films rather than books. It's okay to love both it isn't a competition. I always refer to Samwise's statement about great stories and AoT and LotR fit in that bracket.

[@Waterbug1591]

​@@extraplain2412 "It's okay to love both it isn't a competition" oH sO i'M gOiNg To cLAim tHaT lOtR sUrPasSes AoT... Attempting to make a competition out of apples and oranges does not validate your blunt opinion that LOTR surpasses AOT after all. Going by your logic, you might as well say that a Justin Bieber song you liked is better than AOT. "literally nothing else comes close" is referring to all TV shows that are currently available if you haven't picked up on that obvious point already.

[@ThemStickers]

Saying the series glorifies violence because of the great visuals and epic scenes I seriously stupid. A really dark and serious war movie might be all about how horrific and unnecessary war is, but just because it has explosions, guns, and looks cool doesn’t mean it’s saying violence is good.

[@ZappyZ21]

Always such a bad take. Like did yall forget that we're watching an action anime? lol

[@jesty6454]

The calmness and rationally of this man is just inspiring

[@JustAcritic]

Lol thank you!!❤

[@dcmarvelcomicfans9458]

Joker's one of my favorite movies it really made me angry that the media almost ruined it

[@JustAcritic]

Entirely agree. Joker is grossly misunderstood. It's not justifying an evil character but humanising him as to understand what makes people to the things they do. It's essentially an incredibly thoughtful character study.

[@dcmarvelcomicfans9458]

@@JustAcritic exactly people acting like Hollywood didn't make movies like this before like Tyler Derby from Fight Club and Travis Bickle from taxi driver but as soon as you tried with a comic book supervillain like Joker (who is the embodiment of chaos and destruction) people lose their shit.

[@JustAcritic]

@@dcmarvelcomicfans9458 Yes these all points I agree with. This can all be becuaee the landscape of our culture has shifted. Everyone can be a critic cos of social media, I mean look at me 😂. But it can lead to more reactionary coverage, people not taking time to absorb the details.

[@dcmarvelcomicfans9458]

@@JustAcritic 😂facts what's next we can't have a movie with a psychopath that wears the American flag or charismatic Psychopaths complex serial killers like the Zodiac and Jane Doe from the movie Se7en.

[@moonrat1955]

I want to say thank you for making this video. I had a friend in highschool (not Jewish) who argued with me that the Attack in Titan show was anti-Semitic and glorified war. I was not in a place to fight this however because I was not very educated on the subject of the time. However this ruined the show for me- and right before season 2 of the show aired. I tried watching the show again but I would be left with a bad taste in my mouth and the memory of my friend arguing with me. However this video shows and backs up my previous thoughts on the shows, its not about glorifying violence and war, its about showing how terrifying and endless it feels. None of the characters are perfect and none of them are glorified as such! People might have taken things out of context but that doesn’t mean that is what the story is actually about. I feel like now I can possibly return to the series now without that terrible taste in my mouth.

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you for the kind words! Unfortunate that happened in the first case so I'm very happy to see my video helped you potentially get out of that situation. 👊 stay strong and don't let others push you away from the things you enjoy. ❤

[@feilungchen6154]

Just Write knew what he was doing. It would've made more sense to label AOT as fascist pre S3P2, but now that it's mainstream he knew it would get more clicks from angry fans. So taking his video seriously is just playing into what he wants. Also while having an European aesthetic, the eldians are an allegory to Imperial Japan not the Jewish people in Nazi Germany. Plus most Titans are based off people Isayama personally knows, with one of them being himself lmao, so I'm not sure where Just Write was going with that.

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you for coming to my channel! What you say may very well be true but I just couldn't help it, it was way too wild of accusations and way off the mark that I felt inclined to add some clarity hehe. Thank you again! We only got to wait for part 2 now.

[@feilungchen6154]

@@JustAcritic Yeah there we just way too many over simplifications made that's really annoying. But glad someone ppl are addressing it cus downplaying AOT to being just anti Semitic is the worst take Imo. Can't wait for part 2 though.

[@orthranus3352]

Well, Eldians clearly have some inspiration from the holocaust with the armbands. But so much of the society they live in is like the janissaries of the Ottoman Empire.

[@galarstar052]

The way eldians are treated is definitely based off of nazi germany though.

[@NatnatXS]

Justwrite isnt someone to do something like that just for clicks though. I do think that he truly stands behind the things he said and he perceived it that way. I mean he could have even just added "ha! april fools guys" to dodge all the drama i guess.

[@Rojall02]

Just read your take on the last chapter, thank you for putting basically my own thoughts into words. When the intitial leaks came out, I was in full blown denial mode myself, refused to believe it honestly. But as the official translation came out and after several rereads and reflection on the story, it really is a great ending. There are many small things I disagree with, but overall it was one of the best possible endings. So many people misinterpret Eren's character to the point that they think that Isayama himself assassinated his character. Which is just... dumb. It's also fine if you don't like the ending, but people trying to prove that it's an "objectively" bad ending are honestly in denial. Also, great video.

[@kobi-wanaenobi7080]

where did you read it?

[@OneMegaPiece]

I'm not sure how you can think that Eren's character wasnt assassinated. I'm not talking about him breaking down and all. The reason why he went from great to the worst person in the world along with Ymir and Historia, is because he committed genocide and didn't know why he wanted to do it. He's Hitler x100 at least. Ymir groomed him to do it for selfish reasons and Historia became an accomplice for selfish reasons. I'm taken aback that no one is considering that Eren doesn't deserve any sympathy. What could've been and what is has ruined the possible greatness the series could've ended on. Instead, we have the main characters thinking of Eren as a hero, when he's actually the worst villain. The whole Stockholm sydrome theme doesn't even find closure as Mikasa still loves that terrible man despite all he did.

[@titan-framboise3126]

I would not say that the ending purpose is bad, but the execution definitely is.

[@tomoffel1963]

when i got to the comment section after watching your video i couldnt believe how few hits you had. i just want to thank you for the huge amount of work and thought you put into countering just writes video. i too was dumbstruck after hearing this critique on AoT from such a narrow political perspective as if some people from the left cant tolerate any level of political or moral ambiquity in art anymore.

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you for the kind words! ❤ Yes dumbstruck is exactly how I felt as I typically like Just Writes analysis. However, this time it's clear there may have been some sort of agenda as his arguments easily fall down due to how easily you can refute them. I simply felt inclined to respond lol. No need to thank me too, thank you for taking time out of your day to watch my video!

[@marvel096]

For real and the comments of his Twitter followers made uncomfortable bc they clearly thought everything he said was 100% true and that the anime fans were just whining as if it couldn’t exist valid criticism to his arguments (which in fact was the case).

[@ZappyZ21]

I think it's less leftists and more the twitter mob with their awful anime takes. Coming from a leftist who loves AoT and is very clear to him how not fascist this story is lol also who else feels like a zero requiem sort of plan is going to go down towards the end? (please no spoilers just other people who are anime onlys with their own theories)

[@PyckledNyk]

It feels like Just Write’s criticism completely hangs on the Death of the Author. How sad is it that we have come to think that intentions don’t matter just because some in the audience thinks they don’t matter.

[@cosimos.1514]

That is not what Death of the Author is. As much as JustACritics interpretation is valid, JustWrite's interpretation, as well as ours, is valid too. It is our choice whether we believe the author's intend or not. And who says the author isn't lying about his intend? Be that as it may, people can interpret whatever they want into someone else's creative work. We take agency of our own interpretation. A good example is Space odyssey - Kubrick openly interpreted the movie, and yet people discuss it and its meaning to this day.

[@Isaiasguerrerorivas]

I would summarize my response to Just Write's video like this: you watched the show, but didn't care enough to understand it.

[@alexvaughan1013]

The scene with Gross on the wall is all about calling out our obsession with violence, and seeing those we deem as 'evil' get killed.

[@MobiusMundUr]

Single handily dismantles every shitty argument levied against this series. Well done

[@pablorodriguez9672]

You deserve more views, I am a manga reader I will just say he definitely will change his mind when the whole story is animated and finished. I hope...

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you so much kind words!!! ❤

[@RochelleE]

I came for the action, but stayed for the story. That's what I say. 😊

[@tsukasa6364]

I'm so tired of people calling attack on titan fans racists and fascists just for liking it. Im liberal af and have been reading this religiously for years if I was getting a fascist message from it I'd have dropped the series by now.

[@TheBrew3]

Notice that those who attack the show are usually not jewish or up to date on the show?

[@phillnash]

Excellent and nuanced critical response to a very obvious bad take. Deserves to be more popular. I’m a philosopher and writing an essay on this myself. Not as critical response, but as exploring the reasons underlying why there are so many bad takes, and the purpose of the story, in comparison to last of us 2, the genius underlying the storytelling approach. Would you be interested in a potential collaboration on this. In return, I could promote your video alongside my philosophy.

[@JustAcritic]

Not sure. I've got quite a few things going on, video projects and life stuff. However, feel free to follow me on my Twitter @HardeepNews. I can talk more with you there. If not you can propose another way.

[@JustAcritic]

Also THANK YOU! Your kind words are very appreiciated.

[@nobreveren5264]

Aot themes will just get more complex from here on now especially when they will introduce a certain "place" , for anime onlies the show haven't even begun yet , and many of the show themes will definitely get clarified , i mean aot is simply a masterpiece when even us manga readers ( don't worry not gonna spoil anything ) don't know what's gonna happen with one chapter left in the manga. Like you said the series main focus is the paradoxical and counter-intuitive nature of freedom , the show is so rich with many philosophical ideas that i can't put them all here , it truly delivers such an interesting and thought provoking mythology.

[@heehooligan]

This video has genuinely expressed everything I've felt hearing some of the ludicrous responses to AoT. On a side note, I think the term "anime" has damaged AoT. When people by and large think of anime, while there are many exceptions, they think of the clear cut anime or things that are meant to fanboy/fangirl over. Things without much depth or meaning and many people miss that while AoT is an anime, it's a DAMN great story with so much depth and meaning in it. And because it's branded as anime, you've got those that miss the meaning and think that it's purely an action anime and not a deep story dealing with the horrors of war and the vicious paths people take towards freedom.

[@JustAcritic]

Yeh I agree as well. I've long believed that and mention it in my first video i think. Anime itself can be a harmful category to pin a show which is unfair to the genre itself. Anime is a genre that does tell rich stories but the image associated with anime is seemingly unshakable. And so AoT gets hurt as it's a part of that genre and is dubbed just an anime which shouldn't be frowned but it is. Good point which I also have been thinking about for some time. Thanks for the kind words too about the vid!❤

[@asianbeowulf4276]

The negative bias against anime as a medium is pure western delusional bs. If you ask someone why they don't like anime, they will almost undoubtedly refer to how they don't like the art style or how anime is for "weebs." (which is just code for it's produced by a foreign country so it makes me uncomfortable) Shallow criticisms to say the least. It's pretty funny because so many people who watch cartoons rave about Avatar the last air bender and that show is basically American anime. Anyways, 90+% of any kind of entertainment is garbage so it's the pot calling the kettle black when westerners see no faults in something like hollywood filmography but accuse anime of being shite.

[@JustAcritic]

I want to really thank everyone who has watched my video, especially those who hit the LIKE button. Thank you! Feel free to follow me on my Twitter @HardeepNews. I'm more interactive on there if you want a discussion.

[@lamsterthehamster]

This is the best video essay on AoT that I’ve ever seen.

[@JustAcritic]

OMG Thank you so much!!!❤

[@arturcampos52]

I must say, your analysis of Attack on Titan is very very good. It’s nice to see that are so many people out there that recognize Aot for the masterpiece it is, with all its nuanced narratives and characters.

[@robertoguzman6556]

What a fucking slam dunk this video was holy shit. Excellent research and the script was solid, I can tell you put lots of time into scripting and editing this video. A point you did not bring up is how that kind of media analysis can not only discourage the creator, but also aspiring creatora who wish to portray societies/concepts that are morally repugnant, such as is the case with AOT. People could really look at the bashing this series gets and change things in their fiction or not do it all out of fear of being called a fascsist for portraying things in a similar way. All that said, I might not love the show or anime, I think there are plenty of things that are not handled well, I still must say I like AOT, and its been a big inspiration for me. Its literally the first and only anime I consistently followed and read manga for, and I thank you so much for defending it.

[@ekaj_]

This was a great video. I can’t believe you don’t have more subscribers

[@Repudiate]

In the scene right before Floch gets detained, Floch says "The Eldian Empire" and Hange says "You mean the Land of Eldia" This was cut out in the anime. Unless I'm mistaken the protagonist here is Hange not Floch... Couldn't get anymore anti-fascist than that.

[@mikeymansome]

I don't know if you saw one of my comments on that vid, but I basically said it wasn't even right to call it allegorical. For an allegory, you need direct relationships between characters/ideas with the history it's representing. Animal Farm is an allegory because you know who represents Marx, Stalin, Lenin, and so on because of the story's direct mirroring of actual events. That would mean WWII figures must be represented in some form IF Attack on Titan was allegorical, which it's not. The video was doomed for criticism once the title was created. Should've been called "The Dangers of Historical Allusion/Symbolism," really, but that alone would make it an entirely new video.

[@Sev3617]

I really don’t understand where the idea came from that the author was saying f*scism is good. He never once paints the marleys in a “good” light. Perhaps nuanced in the case of Reiner, Annie and Berthold and Zeke. But writing a story about f*scism doesn’t mean you f**king support it. I don’t understand why this even needs to be spelled out or said, people are so stupid. I guess the director of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is f*scist too going by this logic.. or any movie that revolves around what was going on in Germany. I censored because YT often deletes comments for just having bad words now… it’s happened to me a lot.

[@JustAcritic]

Unfortunately true. Thank you for watching!!!

[@lukedoyle2577]

Justwrite is a channel about all things writing yet missed the fact that isayama was deliberately making us feel justified in enjoying what we were seeing, the subversion. I found his takes extremely disrespectful and disingenuous. He recently started viewing different pieces of work in a political way, (think social justice culture and the like) using his own political beliefs to decide what he views as good or bad rather than the art deciding it for itself, which has also had a lot of so called otaku media do the same thing with equal ridicule. You earned a sub. One man's loss is another man's gain.

[@JustAcritic]

Agreed. Literally what you say is all kind of how I felt which is a shame because I was somewhat a fan of his vids. However it's clear that there was a preconceived agenda when he decided to make the video because it's clear that he forces his confirmation bias into the show. Thank you too for the kind words and support!❤

[@LightKeyDarkBlade]

Exactly. I like his video essays generally and they're pretty informative and insightful regarding the writings of films, and they're video essays that I usually agree with. But, I'm not sure if it's recent or that he's always been like this but was suppressing it, his videos are starting to have hints of political correctness and social justice (his tweets also show that). His video essays are now less of critiquing the writing but more of critiquing "ideologies" and "worldview". What the hell happened to him?

[@joaodelgado6696]

@@JustAcritic hmm what I think maybe you guys are interpreting what is a analysis on one of the facets of thes show as an essentialist analysis. AoT is rich and deep but it is undeniable that one can discover a fascist sympathizing rethoric within the show which might in the current political context make some individuals feel justified in their beliefs.I think peopel say the show attempts to subvert the concepts of genocide but I think that is highly debatable because the show also justifies genocide a lot as 'both sides'. That is more obvious by the current developments in the manga where all the parties involved decided to say that 'well we both commited atrocities so things are a-ok', the only very minor feud was Jean and even that was quickly brushed aside. I dunno, for all the show's ambivalence in the middle section which made it truly interesting (with Reiner's and Bertholdts conflicted characters) it seems like Isayama rather than having a clear cut message he wanted to say about genocide (a very serious and dangerous topic to portray in media to say the least, so one should approach with seriousness and responsibility) he felt more comfortable with exploring different easpects of genocide. This might be problematic for the simple reason that it is often too easy to come out of that explroaiton with really disturbed views, namely that genocide in some instances is justified and BoTh SiDes falacies. The clear fascist and nazi overtones of the series do not help it in that regard since the show clearly portrays the 'nazis' per say as being somewhat justified in their worries of the 'jews' (in this case marleyans of eldians). Im not saying the show is 'fascist propaganda', it is more complex and ambivalent than that, but I think to dismiss the elephant in the room simply becaquse the show is great is a disservice to the show itself, and to not talk about fascist undertones in the show is also a disservice

[@JustAcritic]

@@joaodelgado6696 A few things here. There is no PRO- facist imperialism messaging that LASTS. Those who believe and believed it have been shown as troubled, crazy even villains. Clearly the rational don't warrant it, the "good guys" dont side with the extreme plans. Military led societies are just in constant turmoil as Sannes suggested it would never end. Look at the opening of the first season, pro imperialism and oh look how great we are. However when secrets are revealed and the story shows the horrors of military and fascist led societies it presents military rule and soldiers as mindless slaves enacting oppression and chaos. There are facist and imperialism ideas within the series, but it doesn't condone them instead ridicules them. If anything AoT is the biggest anti-facist and anti-imperalism story out there. You also say Isayama wanted to explore different aspects of genocide is where I think there's a misunderstanding. He actually more so explains the different aspects to human nature, the fact that all of us can be good and evil regardless of sex, race, religion or creed. He presents that the humans in the show are held back by the sins of their ancestors, something we learned as a society to move past but in AoT they have yet to learn. By my prediction this is what's going to happen that both parties HAVE to accept to move on, not conflicting due to the horrible past. It NEVER justifies that the Marleyans treatment of the Eldians are justified. There is huge distinction between understanding and justifying. Isayama is adding an understanding, a reasoning for why the Marleyans hold their views. He doesn't not justify it, he presents it resulting in endless death, endless suffering, endless cycle of hate, endless oppression that continues, how is that justifying it. We see the very people on the ground having there lives torn apart like Nicollo because the constant conflict on both sides takes good away. The biggest of all of these is to understand this is fiction and fantasy. This means the series has to obviosuly handle sensitive matters properly, BUT it also means it has greater freedom to dive into sensitive topics, maybe using allegories, twisting them to flesh out concepts and ideas. The genre allows for greater introspection that cannot be achieved in non-fiction. Regardless Thank you for engaging with my content and please feel welcomed here! ❤ *wrote this on fly so maybe some grammar mistakes and I'm now done with long responses 😂.

[@joaodelgado6696]

@@JustAcritic What im saying is that the difference between understanding and justifying in this case is simply a linguistic explanation you use to justify the series and theres no meaningful difference when loking at the show. I do think Isayama partly humanizes and justifies atrocities and genocide, and I think that is the most obvious in his inability to maningfully address Reiner's character. Reiner's entire conflict in the end got partly 'justified' thoruogh his martyrdom and his character devolved into simply a suicidal martyr. Now, the manga hasnt ended, so depending on how Reiner ends up my reading of the chracter might change (though with 1 chapter left i doubt it), but he has been sidelined for the last part of the story because Isayama doesnt know what to do with him anymore, imo because Isayama himself cannot reconcile the atrocities the character commited with who he is as a person. The 'friendship teamup' by the end of the story, as it stands, seem like a tabula rasa of all that came before, and hence, a cleansing of Reiner's past atrocities, the story devolved into a 'well, we btoh commited horrible shit lets just move on'. Thats not an answer to the characters conflict, that is moving on and forgetting about the conflitct altogether. Im a little conflicte das it is, but I feel like the story had a better grasp as to what it wanted to explore when our protagnoists didnt become mass murderes. I get what Ysayama might have wanted to go for, and it was indeed interesting his parallel with Reiner and Eren's character ('we are the same'), but as it stands, it seems like those were just pretty words and their relationship didnt really get the focus it deserved. Instead the story changed focus to the Yeager brothers instead of centering the conflict still within Reiner and Eren . Also your first characterization of pro fascist imperialism being always seen as evil and rational people not 'falling' for it is 1) ahistorical and 2) far too simplsitic. If we constantly fall under the fallacy of 'im too clever to buy into fascist bullshit' we're prime targets for fascist bullshit. Nazis, Italians, even in my home country, huge swathing masses of populace, intellectuals, etc got swept up in fascist fervour and they were all people of all kinds of intellect and morality. to jsut generalize them as 'evil' is missing the point. and that is a poiint Isayama rightfully explores in AoT, they arent all evil, but they can still all commit evil acts. To paint them as evil, blinds us to things that don't lok Evil but are in fact immoral, the third reich wasnt a desolate dystopian reality where everyone was grim all the time, it looked very much like our reality and day to day, people were 'happy', AND they still commited horrible atrocities, if we dont accept this we will never accept that the same can happen in our'happy' reality as well and will fall prey to the same kind of mistakes we made in the past. Whewre Isayama imo does not go all the way is meaningfully addressing this dichotomy, this balaity of evil and this greyness of evil. Things are still evil, but they are sources with greyer overtones, but I think Isayama in his story got lost in the weeds and fell into the trap of just painting all with grey overtones, not provinding a meaningful moral answer by the end of the story and hence creating a story than can easily be taken in by people as to justify genocide and fascism in its attempt to ambivalently explore the topic.

[@sarcasticauthor9242]

Jesus Christ finally a person with common sense I thought they didn't exist Thank you for this video This is really great

[@GDCrystalPG]

this is easily one of the most well-constructed videos i've ever seen. even for most people who don't need to be convinced about aot's faith, it still provides incredible insight on the show and its reception. amazing work

[@TyCollage]

Was he expecting them to animate the show poorly so we would love the action scenes so much? Because if im not mistaken there were TONS of occasions where we cheered on and glorified the violence in a scene and then feel terrible about it considering the rippling effects of how it affected so many people negatively afterwards.

[@seven_8434]

It's pretty funny... all that talk about AoT promoting voilence or facism was all bullshit... until the last chapter... cuz honestly... wtf Isayama? You saying killing 80% is fine? You gonna act like Eren is a hero now?

[@alwaystheparadox]

AHAHAHHAHA "Thank you for being a mass-murderer for our sake." HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHA

[@arashparthian_112]

Eren should have either gone full on genocide or he should have gave up and died with the zeke plan the ending we got feels lazy we went from fighting for freedom then he just gives up and his followers become fascists im very dissapointed with last chapter

[@OneMegaPiece]

@@arashparthian_112 or he could have slowed the pace of the rumbling, waited till everyone evacuated, and then destroyed all of humanities progress, having killed no one in the end, and finally become a martyr instead of a genocidal maniac. Humanity's progress would be reset and Paradis would be a superpower still, but no innocents would have been unjustly killed. Also, it could easily be written in a way that humanity understands that they had it coming and were let off easy and would come out with less hate than the 20% would currently have.

[@OneMegaPiece]

You're right man, Isayama wanted to write Dark humor and he actually did. I've been laughing at the joke that the story became as a result of the ending

[@arashparthian_112]

@@OneMegaPiece yea if eren realy wasn't going to go full rumbling then he should have done somthing like that smart idea

[@imthrillz5255]

Lol he deleted it

[@blacknerdtalks7921]

Bro....!!! How do you have such high quality editing, but only have 1k subs?!!! Anyways, that was a beautiful critique.👏🏿👏🏿

[@an8strengthkobold360]

I wish the anime didn't cut the scene were hange and connie figure out the titan was connies mother (specifically the close up as hange realizes the horrible things she's done to the titans in her experiments)

[@anonybelle]

Thank you for this video. I dropped this series years ago because I got swept up in the tumblry reactions and bad faith articles trying to explain why the series was fascist. When I finally came back to the series I kept an eye out for these things and as the story went on I saw just how wrong those posts and articles had been. It's gotten to the point where I was wishing someone would make a video about it like YMS's Kimba/Lion King video so I could stop feeling so gaslighted lol. So thank you for this, glad I found it. It blows my mind to still see comments saying iseyama is a neo nazi when he has characters outright stating that genocide is wrong (love u hanji).

[@fullmetalglatiator6426]

Hey I just wanted you to know that you gained a subscriber because I liked the way you handled this topic and thought you did a very good job

[@JustAcritic]

That means a lot. Thank you for the kind words and gesture! ❤

[@nicolenicolereis6783]

Thank you so much for creating this video. Everyone needs to watch this, particularly those who believe the accusations about AoT, or are unsure of the messaging behind the series. It's so clearly a series that's against fascism, against nationalism, against racism, and as you said at the end, if it's legacy ends up being harmful, it won't be because of the text and subtext of the series itself, but because of faulty and bad faith argumentation and politically driven agendas. The fact that the general consensus taken away from AoT is that racism, fascism, nationalism are bad, bad things should be enough in itself to prove that Isayama never intended to promote those ideas as good.

[@nicholasphelps3872]

Nicole Nicole Reis it seems to me shaming the Eldians for the crimes of their ancestors, sounds like "white guilt" over slavery, European colonialism and the Holocaust. There's a mix of things on nationalism and some Jewish similarities But there's also similarities between the way Eldians are shamed and the way white Europeans are shamed for the crimes of their ancestors. Take these: "Whiteness is a disease" "White privilege" "This place is too white"

[@thedaredevil3824]

If you really enjoyed all the attention to detail and the meanings behind every frame in aot then I suggest you watch a Netflix series called Dark , it’s kinda underrated since it’s German with all German cast but the amount of times I thought about aot and its details while watching dark made it easily one of my top 5 stories of all time

[@Sketchy_Dood]

Jews can turn into man eating giants? Wow, it’s cant be more 1:1 am I right guys

[@rex2546]

i would love to hear you talk about season 1-4 would be enjoyable to hear you talk about the nuances of the story

[@JustAcritic]

My first video is me briefly going over why I love the series so much. However when I look back at it I know that I can do much better noe becuaee as people we're always improving. I will be making an updated version of that going into far more detail as to why and what the show does so well. Thank you too for the interest! ❤

[@JackDanielThe7th]

This is the kind of dedication and genuineness is great to see

[@lynpotter6471]

Gabi has always been my favorite. She's definitely got a tragic arc going on, but I think she's doing the best she can with the world she was given. She's basically being ground up by no fault of her own. This doesn't mean she doesn't have faults--she clearly does. Just, her faults are not the biggest reason she does the things I hate.

[@gino456123789]

That Polygon article calling it a "facist subtext" is so off the mark. When I had read that it made me think that the author just had some sort of deep misgiving toward militaristic aesthetics and particularly 20th century uniformed ones. It becomes more apparent when they reference the "military taking over" when that's the opposite of what they do. They peacefully transition the power into the new Monarch. If anything, AoT is a deconstruction of the hero complex as it has numerous characters that are morally ambiguous out of sheer desperation.

[@ttaintedsorrow]

this is supposed to b a serious video but i love the amount of hange in the video

[@maaderllin]

Another reason why JustWrite's video might have harmful effect: I'm all for a progressive reading of stories and analysing media to find and deconstruct our unconscious bias, but JustWrite's video was a very poor excuse of doing this. In his take on "subtext", he forgot that the subtext must be analized with the entirety of the story. What he did was a superficial reading of subtext of isolated scenes without looking any further in the story. And when people do that, they delegitimize the others who would want to produce good faith analysis of media to deconstruct unconscious bias. By being lazy in his video, JustWrite undermined the very thing he wanted to do, like many other who do the same not to REALLY help us gain a better understanding of our society, but to try to score easy "points" of social and cultural capital in progressive spaces.

[@demonking-zm3rs]

....Not really I would say a lot of thought was put into that video.The actual issue is that a series isn't allowed to have problematic aspects with it writing without people trying to phone in reason why X is excusable. Did Ishiyama need the arm bands? No they were an easy way to establish the setting by using familiar imagery. Like the setting already has Germanic influences making real world imagery that blatant yeah your going to get shit. The story already had it's issue with eugenics but at least it wasn't using real world events as back drop. This goes beyond interpreting the text. We already have the normalization of Nazi's being reckless especially with a popular series is not a good thing. But sadly a lot of people just don't like to think about it because if they like something and it has problems what does that say about them.(another issue of peoples identity being tied to a movie or game )

[@itsjustvin7630]

@@demonking-zm3rs so wait we're allowed to use some cultural and historical influences until we're not allowed to?

[@maaderllin]

@@demonking-zm3rs I don't think you listened to this answer to JustWrite's video, nor did you read my comment because you,re actually juste repeating JustWrite's points without taking into account what we said about them.

[@demonking-zm3rs]

@@itsjustvin7630 I'm saying in a fictional story you can do whatever the hell you want but the moment you use allegory or real world imagery as a writer you do have a responsibility to tread the event or concept with a little reverence. You make a story about a fictional character getting lynched while codding your fictional race black then your story better be ready to actually use that plot point and not treat it as short hand. So yeah when ishiyama uses the plight of the Jewish people (and don't give me that Japan imperialism bs that's not what his reference was) then yeah it problematic.

[@demonking-zm3rs]

@@maaderllin No I read your whole comment and it doesn't change the critique. Even with the additional context from the story it does not change the fact that Ishiyama was lazy with his world building. Your argument is basically the "well the loli is technically 1000 years old so its okay to fetishize her" in the broader narrative the parallel added nothing at that's the point. I'll say it again for those in the back. The imagery used to invoke a real world comparison was window dressing. If you removed it nothing would change so why is it there because it's easier as a writer to explain the dynamic of these fictional characters in a few scenes. These retorts and excuses are bad faith actors defending a bad plot point. AOT isn't perfect and that's fine it's actually good we acknowledge the shitty issues in a story. Its not good to say well is disingenuous because someone didn't talk about (enter random plot point you think justifies the comparison)

[@AnimalAce]

You judgement, ideals, and way of presenting information is a breath of fresh air justacritic. Thank you!

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you!!!

[@EL-ISS]

Attack on Titan is a beautiful allegory on the human condition. Like the quote from Martin Luther King Jr. Went: "Love can not eliminate love, only hate can do that. Hate cannot eliminate hate, only love can do that." If you personally believe that Attack on Titan is a story about revenge and war ... You've already lost the point of its story. I'm simply just too tired to explain for the hundredth time why it's a valuable story like To Kill A Mocking Bird or The Outsiders. Maybe some of these stories are made up, but they're intrenched in what real people have had to go through and try to get us to understand those people. Simple.

[@HashSlinger11]

Paradis is based off Germany, and they’re only Ally is the only Japanese nation Shown in the show. The story imo is a story showing how punishing your enemies for the sins of the past only leads to more conflict, I.e Germany essentially bring gutted after WW1 and Japan not being properly rewarded.

[@Mandus_The_Mad]

I hate the phrase "media literacy is dead" but man does it feel applicable.

[@spacepenguins8939]

So that last chapter....

[@mynameists97]

I was waiting for a video like this, for someone who wanted to respond on Just Write's take on AoT! As a manga reader I was so disappointed in that video which distorted everything Isayama wanted to say, and I have to praise you and your valid points. Also, this is the first video I've watched of your channel. Pretty great content, dude! You have a new subscriber now!

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you so much!!! Your words are huge for me since I'm relatively small. Thank you for giving me your time.❤

[@tristanneal9552]

Violence in this anime is manipulative propaganda, tricking the viewer into thinking it's justified and admirable, but later pulling back the curtain to show us the true cost of human life. Which is exactly what the characters go through. I think Just Write correctly picked up on that subtext, but missed the second part where the main message of the anime addresses and critiques that same subtext in a very self-aware, metatextual way.

[@stargirl6659]

the author of AOT has respect for their audience.

[@Binks129]

I’m sure you probably won’t make a video on the final chapter til the anime does it next year, but I agree with all your points. I’ve been digging KZbin for someone that gets it and not someone who’s riding the hate bandwagon. Keep up the great content.

[@hellishwerewolf7798]

I would like to point out that from what Ymir said about being a pure titan being fully aware unable to control yourself forced to devour people and aren't even able to die. If anything I'm sure death was a mercy.

[@Mikayla_Y_1998]

Extremely well done video Man! I genuinely can’t believe you have only been on KZbin for 4 months! Your video quality and the format is PHENOMENAL! it’s extremely refreshing to see someone be critical without being rude or mean. Ya know? I adore aot and have watched so many videos on it and learn new things everyday because of how the story is written! It’s so interesting and intricate in the best way possible. Keep up the good work bro❤️

[@JustAcritic]

Thank you so much!!! Really appreciate the kind words❤ I'm rewatching the series again and still noticing stuff 😂

[@volatilesmoke1972]

He said AoT's writing is careless 😂.... Omfg... I think he watched an entirely different show... Because we watched a story written far more carefully than possibly any other show..

[@JustAcritic]

Exactly lol! That's why I was quite dumbfounded. It's clear this story has been thought out since the very beginning. Thanks for coming to my channel!

[@volatilesmoke1972]

@@JustAcritic Thanks for making the video