I always thought of AoT as a realistic take on a typical shounen, everyone starts out in the right spot, and then, like the viewer, are beaten senseless with the harsh and utter brutality of war
I think a really underrated aspect of Sasha's character is that she can make friends with anyone. Name one character in the entire show that genuinely doesn't like her. (Not propaganda, not military training, just didn't like her personality/ideals.) Not even Gabi counts by the end. I think her death is symbolic not only of a shift to a darker tone (the death of the comic relief and one of the most well-loved characters in the show), but also of any kind of negotiations/friendship between Paradis and Marley. The kind of tolerance and curiosity that Sasha had died with her, and all that's left after is conflict.
I really like how in this episode, Jean comes off like just a standard boring rival character, but as soon as the Trost arc hits, that is all gone and Jean becomes one of the most fascinating characters.
During the female titan arc after annie lets armin, reiner and jean go armin is about to tell reiner that annie is the female titan but got cut off, which is funny because if hhe did then reiner would have killed them and maybe more people too lol
Yeah and I bet if Christa wasn’t there and they went with the original plan than Reiner would probably surprise attack Jean like he did with Marco and snap his neck or cripple him from getting the message back to the scouts Really shows how small details could prevent large disasters
That could be the case. I think reiners personality was split at that point though, so maybe Reiner could have been in his soldier persona, genuinly wanting to help and protect them. Rewatching it though, the idea that Reiner was moments away from betraying them adds new tension to the scene, so I think it’s a great theory!
@@olafowl5678 We aren't sure when exactly Reiner was in and out of his split personality disorder. Its unclear when he's a warrior vs. a solider. There is a non-zero chance that if Armin had said his theory out loud that Reiner might have actually escorted him to the commander like Armin wanted.
While you say the ODM gear doesn't have much bearing later on, even the elite shifters and soldiers of Marley are TERRIFIED when they don't even see, but just hear it being used.
I think it's no secret that Isayama made the beginning of the series look like a shonen manganime to appeal to more audiences and then seemlessly developing that into something way more complex. Eren's character is the prime example with how hot headed and driven by his feelings he was, even having a clear goal that seemed overly ambitious for him, just like a shonen protagonist
About how Reiner and Bertolt reacted to how sincerely Eren says he wants to kill all the titans, I personally perceived that (in retrospect) as them recognizing a similar blind hatred that Reiner himself had for the Eldians in Paradis, from back when they haven't realized what the Paradis folks were actually like. Now that they *actually* see one of the "bloodthirsty island devils", they realize more than ever what this kind of monster truly is; a regular person exactly like them, turned angry and vengeful from the injustices inflicted upon them at such a young age, and wholeheartedly fighting for an ignorantly perceived sense of greater good. That's just what I think, at least.
More than that. They realize that THEY are the ones who caused Eren to feel that way. They are the ones who smashed the wall and caused the entire chain of events to occur to create his hate so when he said that they saw him as a threat but they couldn't really do anything to him because they just figured he was a regular guy and he'd probably die soon enough in a battle. Once he transformed they realized he had the attack titan and they could no longer ambush him they had to try and convince or steal him.
I couldn’t agree more. I think this is one part where after all the previous bonding Betty and Reiner have done in the episode, they truly see through to how similar they are
Sashas food stuff always felt in place for me. Given the reduction of hunting space as the walls fall... her forest life of hunting declined and she was pushed into the larger world. She was shy of her background and says she has been starved because of the titans. A comedy aspect made into something in line with the plot and world events. Pretty good if you ask me. Even comedy scenes have story links.
Ohh yeah, considering her backstory, I don't think it's that wacky. What I more so meant in the video is about how that is shown to us - the red glowing eyes, the over the top howling etc. It feels a little more anime than the rest of the series, if that makes sense 😅
To add to this her quirk actually has meaning. A call back to her stealing the meat she follows up with her goal of reclaiming their lands and raising cattle. That moment stuck with Eren even after the horrors of Trost that immediately followed and stuck with him 4 years later.
I think the comedy of episode 3 and 4 was both intentionally done to establish the tone of the series, and for the simple fact it helped AoT become more popular. Episode 5 quickly subverts episodes 3 and 4, and gives us a rude awaken. It was clearly Isayama’s way of using the tropes to his advantage.
@@MyToastyToast What are you talking about? WIT followed the manga which showed the lighter tone once Eren and friends were introduced as cadets. It was faithful all the way through Sasha's stolen meat and the Colossal appearing, shifting the tone instantly back to reality. Not to mention that Isayama has personally oversaw every episode since the anime began to ensure it follows his vision, even if he decided to change how some scenes play out.
@@handlerone5172 the manga jumped right from Eren’s mom getting eaten to the Battle of Trost, with flashbacks of the cadet years. I think WIT made the right choice keeping it chronological, but it was a little messy in both editing and tone, even with Isayama’s direction. WIT actually skipped a lot of the training stuff/pre Trost arc, so a lot of the characters that died we were supposed to know better. WIT also did some weird “anime” stuff to the show, like every time Christa would appear in season 1 she’d get a pink background with like bubbles and hearts. That definitely wasn’t part of the manga
@@MyToastyToast While they did add things, they didn't skip anything really. In fact they added in way more. Probably to pad air time so too much didn't happen in one episode. Eren meeting everyone and the colossal appearing and Eren dying all in one episode was too much I feel. So, you are right, WIT fleshed out the 104th training arc so we'd actually know the main cast and some of the other characters that die soon after. I feel like it was a much better decision that Isayama made to have them add things like Sasha being made to run, Ymir and Christa being introduced, and the rest of them in a classic anime style. That goes back to the OP's post about how it subverted things as soon as the Trost Arc started. Most anime follow the upward trend, especially right after a tragic first episode. It was meant to lull you into thinking these kids were going to train and kick some ass and BAM you are so, so wrong. I think that works much better than Isayama's original order of things moving straight into more death and chaos.
@@handlerone5172 sorry my previous comment is a little confusing, autocorrect did some weird things. I’m saying WIT actually DIDNT flesh out the training arc, and skipped quite a lot. I would have preferred to have known more than gone right back in to the action, but again the studio had to find their own pacing as the first few story arcs of the manga are quite a chronological mess. The only thing I think WIT truly dropped the ball on is Mikasa’s character, but aside from that they did the best with what they had to work on. Could it have been better? Absolutely, but any studio could have also done a lot worse
The wielder can choose whether or not to heal, only if they know how to control it. Otherwise it's automatic. Remember when Levi kicked the shit out of Eren and knocked his tooth out, it automatically grew back. He didn't realize he grew it back, but he automatically did.
Attack on titan soundtrack theory: if you listen to the soundtrack by season by season you’ll realize the old soundtrack is more orchestral compared to the newer seasons. I think that because it showing us their world changing. Changing from this orchestra to more rock elements in season 2 to some metal/rock elements for season 3 to the change of composers for season 4 showing us that this is a completely different world than it was before. Season 4 has more synthesizers compared to the other season including the remixes of old songs. Showing the soundtrack becoming more and more different showing us the world becoming more and more different from last seasons.
Every song from season 1 just seemed to highlight how unknowable and alien the titans are, even the intense battle themes just feel strange and off. I’d say there’s more triumphant orchestral stuff in season 2, and then season 3 kinda combines the stuff as humanity’s counterattack reaches its peak while we’re about to find answers to the biggest questions of all, and then that mystique is completely gone from season 4 as all the cards are laid on the table. The terror of the unknown is gone, and all that’s left is the horror of the truth, which is far worse.
@@doctorson7026 Sawano still does some songs, and his old ones are used, but Yamamoto joined the party for the final season. Most of the new music is his
I really love WIT’s adaptation of the training arc. The upbeat and inspirational tone is so different from the rest of the story, but in a way it mirrors the first episode. Just like in the first episode where everything was looking up and peaking our curiosity for what will come next, and the shock of the next scene, this episode allows us to empathize with the characters that were introduced and grow hope for them and their future battles, making the shock of the collossal and trost feel so much more real. The anime’s delivery of these critical moments are some of the best in my opinion.
I love the way you paint the drill sergeant. I spent 8 years in the marine core and I 100% agree with you. They get in your face and scream and yell and bust your ass because they don't wanna see you die on your first deployment. They don't hate you. They wanna mold you into a weapon and something that can handle the horror of war as well as keep yourself and your group alive. Thank you for that. Truly.
Is it true that western countries are shifting from the "breaking you down to build you back up" training to being more "considerate" about the trainees?
The similarity of ODM gear to web-slinging is absolutely how I sold this series to my father when I described it to him as, _"Militarized Spider-men vs the 50ft zombie apocalypse."_
I don't think it has to be thought of as a writing shift that the characters got darker as they aged. They were still teenagers in season 1. By the end, they were in their 20s, and had basically been at war with Hell their since the fall of Shiganshina
15:15 -15:31 He definitely was healing, titans heal on their own but have to focus their energies into not healing if they want to keep the injury for a disguise. Just look at Falco when he healed after his transformations he definitely didn't know how but still did and was unconscious
Shouldn't Reiner etc. have noticed the smoking from Eren's head when they were in the training camp (after Eren injured his head due to the faulty ODM practice gear)? If it was healing steam I mean.
@@cimkolhammar9020 I don’t think the steam has healing properties. Rather, titan innards are so hot that they give off steam, and they also happen to regenerate, but these aren’t the same things. In human form titan shifters don’t get nearly as hot, so they don’t give off steam, but they still have their healing properties.
@@mr.cup6yearsago211 s2e9 when Eren and Ymir are sitting in the tree regenerating their limbs, the limbs are steaming. I always assumed steam was emitted while healing was happening, and thus Reiner etc should have noticed the Eren head steam after his fall?
@@cimkolhammar9020 That detail could have just not been thought of at the time. You could also write it off as Reiner not looking at Eren at the time. I imagine that Eren’s head injury was minor enough that it didn’t take long to heal, therefore it was only steaming for a short time.
I actually remember being spoiled about who the Armored and Colossal titans really were. I was really pissed about it for a while but when the reveal came in S2 I was like “WHAT??? THEY GONNA REVEAL IT LIKE THIS?! NO BUILD UP? JUST A CASUAL CONVERSATION?!”
Haven’t finished yet, but I hope you didn’t forget the part where Reiner tells Eren when he picks him up “Next time you’ll be attacking and I’ll be defending.”
Yeah, the regeneration happens as long as the shifter has the will to get better, or isn't conciously suppressing it from happening. Stopping it and remaining injured is the exception, not the norm. So even without knowledge of it, Eren would still heal.
The tonal shift exists in the Manga too, so I think your ideas in #3 and #4 are correct. It's a combination of showing Eren's changes, and the comparison between the Maryleyans and the Paradisians. I also think the comedy in the first season is a great representation of REAL soldiers. All the people I've known who have actually gone to war have stories of their boot camp and how funny certain moments were, and I think it's for the exact reason you explained: because the setting is so serious, so discussing your friend's snuck-in nudie mags is next-level funny. And Sasha, specifically, feels like a subversion of Shonen anime. She seemed like she had a quirky trait, until we found our that she was a hunter her entire life and struggling not to starve often, so her obsession with food is rooted in trauma and not some cute quirk.
The tone of the training "arc" is there because it establishes why Eren cares so much for the friends he made while training with the Scouts. Without this portion of the story, the 104th would not be as endeared either to the audience nor to Eren. the moments that happened here-- he moonlight walk with Reiner and Bertholtd, Sasha's obsession with food and later vowing to reclaim the lands so they can raise cattle again, Historia showing her streak of selfish selflessness, even Jean just wanting to kick back and have an easy life. This is what Eren wants for his friends, and what he destroys the world for. The 104th, more than the people of Paradis as a whole, is his intended inheritor for the Earth after he is done clearing the board for them, as it were.
I was expecting a somewhat cynical, thoughtless, self-serious action series, but Sasha's introductory scene was so comical and genuinely endearing that I was completely hooked from that point.
I love this show for its transition from man v. titan to man v. man. It starts as a clear black and white plot and becomes a muddled morally grey story as season 4 hits. I love the fact that season 4 starts by immersing us in the eldians lives within marley, understanding their morals and motives by “living among them” like both eren and reiner did with marley and paradis, respectively.
15:20 I think Eren’s inexperience is what causes his him to heal without consciously trying to. It’s once Eren is experienced that he can control when his body heals, just like Reiner did in 2x6.
I think there's a good chance that Sasha and Conny were set up from the very start to embody happiness and then snatch this very happiness away, leaving that world all the more bleak and tragic by contrast than if it had been all grimdark from start to finish. Sasha, the happiest person in the story, is outright killed, symbolically also killing the earlier happiness. And Conny is put through the wringer like few - if any - other character in the series until his happiness is stripped from him. We have one brief resurgence with his outburst at Annie's sloppy eating and then he has to kill Dazz and Samuel up close "because someone has to get their hands bloody". Considering how Eren regenerates multiple times without even being aware of it and then wondering how it happened (just take the tooth that Levi knocked out for example), it might well be that the steam from his head was instinctive regeneration... but I still think it was the animation team teasing us, because if it had been steam, that would surely have caught Rainer, Berthold and Annie's attention and made them suspect Eren. But then in Trost they were completely blind-sided by him being a shifter.
Tbf Reiner, Berthold, and Annie had no reason to suspect there would be another Titan Shifter in the room, so they wouldn't have been keeping an eye out for any telltale signs of a Shifter. And with how minor Eren's injury was, the steam was likely subtle enough that they could have missed it even if they were looking at him.
They were completely unaware he was a shifter until Trost happened. That's why his story ended up destroying Reiner because he realized he had personally set this man on a one man wrecking quest to destroy the world.
I always thought that every soldier who knows how to use ODM gear would be amazing pilots. The amount of G forces they can withstands is astonishing so they could pull some crazy shit
I always saw the shift as a slow progression of losing your humanity. Maybe I’m looking too deep into this but I see Sasha, Connie and Krista, being goofy and funny because they’re kids. However, as time passes and more of their main group is lost, they slowly lose that quirk that made them who they are. They become almost Hollow. I think that’s the thing that hurts the most seeing the characters grow and have these eccentric personalities just for them to grow up, emotionless. And it shows that’s what war does to people, devoid people of happiness and erases, who they are, and want they want to be.
Sasha is an outlier, and that was always meant to be. I think she represents the anti-Erin, where she has hope for humanity and everything about her is kind of his opposite. She gets along with everyone where he only has 2 people. She has her whole family whilst his ended up dying. She was raised in isolation while he was raised in the biggest city. She grew up and learned to fight her selfish ways, where he falls further and further into despair. In a weird way I think she ended up representing Hope, which is why once she's gone, the series feels so much bleaker. Still I'm glad The point where she was suppose to die changed because where she did die was the perfect spot for the story. Also it's when Sasha dies that little bit of hope in Erin completely dies.
Just want to say, I think it's awesome that you're analyzing AOT like this and from a compelling anime only perspective. I think this'll definitely help in waiting for part 3 haha! Are you seriously gonna do every episode? Cause I can't wait when you tackle the foreshadowing's of season 2 and 3 cause omg that glitched ending credits of s3 part 1 is both shocking and genius like I still get chills! Can't wait when you can talk about that stuff! Keep going with this man 🤘
Seeing how Animes time and time again have characters train, face adversity and win just makes AOT even more shocking. Episode 5 with the colossal showing up, and the smiling titan appearing in season 2's finale are both instances where we all expect Eren to take them down and show how strong he's become since they've last clashed. And neither of them work out, just cementing to the viewers how misplaced his optimism was in the early episodes. The tonal shift between season 1 and 2-4 just adds to how shocking, emotional and perfect the show's writing is imo.
People forget that they are children. The final season they aren't. Children are more light-hearted, even those who have been a traumatic event. They are invincible, look at Eren. It's not until they get older that the world's problems start to weigh heavy.
its regeneration, its a passive ability until you learn to control it. like how he grew his tooth back without noticing. but i think they threw it in there knowing we would originally write it off as "anime stuff" before we learned more.
I like that you touched on the false sense of complacency from the training arc! I appreciated it too, but as a kind of palette cleanser (kind of like ep 87)- with constant brutality, I welcome the time to put my soul back together before seeing it smashed to pieces again lol
also i think the tone shift from the training montage was supposed to seem shounen-y. we spend the episode relaxed for a good majority, you and the characters let their guards down, you finally relax and then BOOM. NOPE. COLOSSAL TITAN. it wouldn't have hit the same if the whole episode was dark. i think it's essentially punishing the characters and the viewer for getting too comfy.
Though I 99% agree…I can see someone watching for the first time and when they cut to Reiner, say “lol that one kinda looks like the AT with his hair” and almost laugh it off but believing it? No way. The reveals in this show are on top no doubt
After finishing AoT I came to the conclusion that all the wacky, anime-esque stuff at the beginning was meant to represent "the good old times", which make up half of Eren's motivation at the end. He wanted to experience these times again, he wanted others to live similarly to how they did there, and that's why he couldn't accept just giving up and letting Marley destroy them.
id say with the original ending supposed to be everyone dying, isayama probably had intentions of fleshing out every single character so that when they eventually did die we’d feel some sort of attachment. but with the manga and anime doing really good he decided to change the story. though it did seem to work with the outrages behind sasha and hanges death
You need to do a video about the parallels between jean and Reiner, both were forced into being a leader and it broke both of them but they handled it differently
15:25 About regeneration, it can be controlled and focussed or blocked, but it does happen without intention, such as one of the earliest instances (first outside of Titan form) when Eren regrows a tooth.
At this point in the story, I wonder if the Marley military knows that the Paradis Eldians were in the dark about the Titans. When Gabi comes to the Island, she talks to the one girl like she knows about the Eldian empire and that they're all capable of becoming titans. Unless Marley is just that scared of the power of the titans, I think they wouldn't have killed so many Eldians if they know that only select groups are aware of the secret of the walls and the outside world.
The shifters steam from regeneration even while unconscious, think even later falco steamed after being cut out of his jaw titan and he had no clue how to really do anything at that time. So the ability to stop regeneration and halt the steam is what needs to be learned. Regeneration itself is automatic
RE Eren bumping his head. It WAS titan regeneration. Eren also healed his arm and tooth without trying to or knowing he could. Thus I think titan regeneration functions like breathing: You do it naturally, but can hold your breath if you want.
On retrospect it's very easy to see what was planned and what wasn't and with the way Reiner was already alluded to being the Armored there's no way that Erens head steaming _wasnt_ his regeneration.
Regarding your point about regeneration. That moment with his head could have definitely been regeneration. There is another moment in the series where he regenerates without intending to. After Levi beat him, a tooth comes out. Hange is taking a look inside of his mouth, and to everybody’s surprise, the tooth is back. Eren didn’t know about his regenerative skills then, so he wasn’t willing the tooth to come back. Also, you’ll notice that he ties his pants around the bottom of his leg, I believe to keep it from regenerating. I think everything just regenerates automatically. The choice they have is at what rate, and what they can focus the energy of the regeneration on.
I think the steam over Eren’s head is regeneration. I think that when a shifter chooses NOT to regenerate that is an active choice, not the default. It also seems the longer a shifter waits to regenerate faster they can regenerate (see erens conversation with Reiner in the basement S4). If Eren had to actively focus on regenerating he would have accrued so many cuts and bruises from the time between shigonshina and boot camp. TL;DR: Shifters probably passively regenerate but decide to not regenerate or to focus on regenerating to speed up the process.
There was definitely some Retcons lol, bc remember In the first part of the season when the colossal titan appears there’s just the lightning like the other titan’s, but no nuke lvl explosions. If it had been that way from the start, the wall would’ve been eviscerated,
The moment I knew I would like this show was when the Colossal titan appeared for the second time so quickly, it completely caught me off guard. It plunges you right into the story, where as other shows I commonly here "If you can get passed the first season it's actually really good". AoT got really good in 3 episodes and kept getting better.
As for the regeneration bit, I do feel like it works the other way around. I think that the titan's regeneration abilities are an innate part of being a titan, while the ability to hold back and control that regeneration is what takes skill and knowledge. Here's my case: 1. Normal titans regenerate. As stated in the show, the titans are relatively unintelligent. 2. Eren regenerates his limbs before he really has full knowledge of what his abilities as a titan are. 3. Eren regenerates while passed out. 4. The only titans we see hold back on their regeneration are ones that we know have mastery in their titan abilities. We only see Eren hold back in Season 4, after he's used the Attack Titan for a full five years. Similarly for the marleyan titans, they already have full control and understanding of their abilities by the time they infiltrate the walls. My view of the steam coming off of Eren's head is that it's foreshadowing cleverly disguised as an anime joke. It plays both purposes pretty masterfully.
I think the steam is from his titan ability. I think that the default mode is to use titan healing, and only an experienced titan shifter can intentionally stop the healing. After all Eren heals his arm and leg unconsciously the first time he titan shifts.
this is one of my fav series on yt and i always get so excited when you upload new episodes!! aot is among my biggest hyperfixations and honestly i would definitely listen to you rumble on about all the details for 3h or more!! ive watched so many video essays about aot and youre the first person that mentions so many details and notices all the little bits of foreshadowing or the way the scenes are "shot" and i'm so happy seeing im not the only one obsessing over it lmao.. Also i agree that s1 is quite bizarre - as not much of an anime watcher myself i didnt really like all the cheesy shonen vibes at first and felt a bit thrown off but now i think some of it contrasts really well in a grand picture of the story - main characters are all still kids here after all. tbh when I recommend the show to anyone who doesnt know anime really well, im always afraid that those bits and tropes will make them think that all of aot is made this way and that they will drop the show after a few episodes - if so then well, their loss:) i love love your videos and i dont think that the details are meaningless, its great to listen to you talk about them!! thanks to them the series is so rewatchable and satisfying to follow through. keep up the amazing work man, im already waiting for the continuation:)!
Well the third episode serves two purposes in my opinion. 1: introducing the secondary characters, and 2: set the tone the story wants. As you mentioned, this episode is full of shonen tropes. In my opinion this brings comfort to the viewer as it is something the viewer is already familiar with. And that is the tone the story wants, it wants the viewer to be nice and cozy, only to completely shatter that vibe with ep 5 and onwards
i think the ability to regenerate is actually used by having the will to heal, whether the person knows of their shifter ability or not so... im quite sure the smoke above erens head is not only a trope
I always thought Sasha’s obsession with food was because of the food shortages and Sasha’s background as a daughter of a hunter. Of course anyone will be happy to get food, but she understands and respects the value of food, knowing that it is rare and that you have to work to get it. They do exaggerated that in that typical shonen fashion, but it is not a completely random quirk, I don’t think.
a numbering system for these videos in the title might be a good idea. I had no idea this was a series for a long time. your vids appeared in my recommended like 5 times before I realized it.
14.24 ABSOLUTELY. just from a design perspective, ODM gear is brilliant. the movements and silhouette are immediately recognizeable and distinct from anything else ive seen. and they fit into the world and story perfectly, being well thought-out and special even within the snk universe. the attack on liberio showed how unprepared marley was for ODM users.
15:25 I have to point out that knowing how to regenerate isn't an ability that requires conscious control, knowing how to direct it or turn it off does he regenerates after Levi kicks him, before it was ever established that he can do that; the ability is passive
15:05 Eren regenerated a tooth without knowing he could do it. Titan shifters can gain the ability to control whether or not they heal with experience, but by default they heal.
Personally I see his head steaming as Titan Regeneration and I think to write it off as just an anime thing is the wrong call Eren was able to turn into the Attack Titan without knowing he could do that basically just off instinct and how turning into a Titan works, I don't think it's unreasonable to say that regeneration at that point in time was on due to just instinct to heal a wound I always saw Eren not regenerating later on as an active suppression of an otherwise passive ability and I think it's reasonable to assume that's what it is When Zeke was captured by Levi he was regenerating despite knowing it wouldn't really lead to anything as he was still bound and Levi would just cut off his limbs. I also recall a similar thing being done to Eren when captured by Reiner to prevent him from having the energy to transform
On that part where you see Eren steaming from his head, I think its actual titan regen and the users learn to control this automatic ability so it doesnt instantly happen when they dont want.
15:23 I think it was regeneration because later after levi kicked him and he lost a tooth he regrew it without knowing it, he probably regenerated the wound on his head because he couldn´t controll it yet.
15:25 I choose to believe that it's kind of the inverse, where it has to be intent to -not- regenerate that becomes a skill, and that regeneration, much like the "pure" titans, is in fact passive unless they intend or choose to not do so
In the early season, the characters were all basically kids. They'd had the trauma of the Colossal Titan attack, but were otherwise still pretty much youthful, playful teens. By the latter seasons, they'd gone through hardcore war for quite a while. They'd seen plenty of extreme battlefield trauma, lost lots of friends in battle, and seen the reality of politics with political betrayals, coups, and genocide. And not only that, but most of them had done things themselves as a part of war, that would basically be considered war crimes. Yes, obviously their characters and tone would shift. I mean if you look at all the former infantry soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all the issues they struggle with, and PTSD: every one of them was once a playful kid. War darkens and sobers people.
Regarding your question about Eren having steam over his head @15:30. I believe Titan healing can be both passive as well as controllable, I believe Eren was in fact healing his wounded head without knowing and during 1st watch it was passed off as an 'frustration' trope. But then later in the series, Season 1 part 2 to be specific, Levi beats the absolute crap out of Eren during the hearing, losing a tooth in the process, which afterwards Hange points out that a whole new tooth in fact grew back within hours of that same day. Once again without Eren having to focus on it. So I do think Titan Healing is a natural component for both pure Titans as well as Titan shifters. The one factor to enter the equation is focus. One can either focus to suppress they healing like: 1) Eren did to his leg in S4 P1 2) Reiner did for a moment to his arm in S2 before revealing himself. Or One can choose to channel their energy to focus on a specific wounded area to speed up the healing process like Annie did to her eye in Titan form giving herself the upper hand on the first Levi squad.
Well I for one am positive the steam coming from his head was his Titan powers. Let's say we use your logic. If that's the case since he didn't know then he shouldn't have been able to turn into a Titan because he didn't know he had that ability.
Since we know the entire story is being told from Armin's perspective, I'd like to think the shonen tropes during the training arc are meant to visualize how much this time meant to him and the rest of the group. Numerous members going forward will reminisce about a certain moment, often not placing why their minds would go to that memory in that occasion. The end credits of Season 3 pt 2 is mostly an homage to the recruits' time in training, a farewell to a simpler time. On another topic, I love the scene beginning @ 7:37. For one, it shows a great contrast between Shiganshina survivors and the rest of the recruits. Like the overall populous, many of the recruits had never even seen a Titan and weren't aware of the destruction and terror they could bring. The youngsters were instead captivated by the sensationalized statures of the Colossal and Armored Titans. As opposed to Eren, who had merely witnessed the Titan Shifters cause the gate's destruction but saw pure Titans devour humanity. Add in Eren's nonchalance towards Armored and Colossal while Reiner and Berthold were both eavesdropping, but a sudden change once pure Titans were brought up and memories of his mother came back. Makes me wonder how much influence a future Eren could've had on this convo. Did he force the image of his mother's death back to get past Eren out of his cocky attitude and to refocus him? Were those verbal slights against the Titan Shifters purposeful to tell Berty and Reiner that they weren't seen as an issue? Or how unlikely as it may be, could they be boastful jabs in the same vein Eren would constantly share with Jean?
Experienced titan shifters can choose whether to heal or not, or focus healing on certain body parts and so on. But titan novices heal automatically and are not even aware of it. Eren absolutely cannot control his titan regeneration at this point in the story and is healing automatically. We see similar thing with titan speech, experienced shifters like Zeke or Pieck can speak normally inside the titan. Less experienced titans like Ymir can only speak in broken speech, but cannot really form full sentences. Galliard chooses to exit his titan whenever he's trying to communicate, as he likely cannot speak well enough to be able to coordinate military operations (or not at all). Season 2 Eren can only grunt and nod his head. The story does quite a good job with consistency of titan skills and it is clear that experienced or talented shifters can do things novices can't. Controlling the titan regeneration is definitely one of those abilities novices cannot do.
I think Zeke and Pieck being able to talk as Titans has less to do with experience and more about their Titans' anatomy. Their Titans, as well as the Warhammer, have humanoid lips, which just like our lips, change the resonance of different sounds to produce plosive letters (p, b, m) and other components of speech. The other Titans don't have those same lips, so they're not able to speak. Not sure why Ymir's speech was so broken when she also has human lips, but maybe it had something to do with her being stuck as a pure titan for so long? But then again by this logic, Annie should also be able to talk since she has lips too, so who knows maybe it is an experience thing?
@@cassie6146 That is quite an interesting theory, could be part of it. Although the experience still makes a bit more sense to me. Also I feel like Annie is a bit different, since she hardly ever speaks even in human form and only when she has something to say.
@@cassie6146 Annie was always the quiet type, so it could be the case she never bothered to try or learn to talk as a titan. It might also be connected to the Female titan's ability to scream to lure pure titans is in conflict with the anatomy to speak, so no Female titan can speak due to this limitation. Like for her scream to work a lot of vocalization anatomy has to be ditched, so she can't form words.
@ 15:30 I would say that the steam is the titan healing factor. Remember that Eren subconsciously bit his hand to Summon a titan's arm. He could have healed subconsciously. Either that or perhaps fast regeneration is a passive ability that all shifters share.
I think the steam coming off his head is regeneration. I think subconsciously, Eren is so determined, that he’s healing himself without knowing he can.
Well I know that this is a one year old video but I Believe that all the humor in the first part with Conny and Sasha was there to mask Eren's steam as more humor
9:40 Ya know, and I'm sure others have mentioned this before, but it really does say something of how little Berthold cares about everyone that he was that close to dropping a nuke on them for his own protection. Granted, maybe he could have protected them too, but that would introduce so many complexities as well.
I think that titan regeneration is a lot like being able to transform. Tbey have to have the clear goal of what they want to do in order to do it. So the reason erin doesnt heal is because hes stuck in his dream and doesnt think he even needs to. Reina gave up and literally didnt want to do it anymore so he wouldnt heal. So when erin is steaming at the beginning and hurting his head...i think without knowing he COUD heal, still had a passionate goal of healing his head because he thinks SOMETHING is wrong with him that he needs to fix...that or he just is so focused on his end goals of becoming a soldier that his body knew the only way that was possible is to heal quickly.
I know this is an old video, but I still want to leave a comment about Titan regeneration. I always interpreted the can choose to regenerate or not, as like holding in a sneeze. Yes, you can do it with enough practice, but if you're not thinking about it, it'll just happen. Also, I think Titan shifters can also force regeneration like Reiner does on the wall when it is revealed he is the armored
I think titan shifter regeneration functions as a passive ability that you can basically turn off, thats how i always took it. Like by default youll heal, but if you dont want to, you wont.
For 15:22, I believe that it really is titan regeneration because it is my understanding that before a titan shifter knows how to control their regeneration, it will happen automatically. As we see when Eren regenerates his arm and leg after he is released from his titan, and also Armin becoming un-toasted after eating Bertholdt. And even if you were to say that it only happens after they become a titan, Eren regenerated his tooth after Levi kicked it out far before he learned how to control regeneration.
I love the progression of tone in the first three seasons the most, but that Sasha red eyes thing was a bad decision. This show didn't really have those kind of exaggerated tropes so I legitimately thought she had some sort of titan power or was a zombie or something for a few minutes.
I always thought of AoT as a realistic take on a typical shounen, everyone starts out in the right spot, and then, like the viewer, are beaten senseless with the harsh and utter brutality of war
Its as if the show has shonen characters in a seinen world with the only exception being Eren
i feel the same about hunter x hunter
@@reggielovestoast5747 tried so hard to get through that show but i got bored during the chimera ant stuff
@@neverclosetoperfect Need to finish it
@@neverclosetoperfect chimera ant has one of the most beautiful scenes in all of anime.
I think a really underrated aspect of Sasha's character is that she can make friends with anyone. Name one character in the entire show that genuinely doesn't like her. (Not propaganda, not military training, just didn't like her personality/ideals.) Not even Gabi counts by the end. I think her death is symbolic not only of a shift to a darker tone (the death of the comic relief and one of the most well-loved characters in the show), but also of any kind of negotiations/friendship between Paradis and Marley. The kind of tolerance and curiosity that Sasha had died with her, and all that's left after is conflict.
She was to good for the world that we were entering post time skip, she didn’t have a place. This puts how I’ve felt and seen her death as into words.
Ymir said she don't get along with sasha
@@cmrecap7937 well that settles it
@@cmrecap7937 And Ymir was from Marley, so it still checks out
@@cmrecap7937 well ymir doesnt rlly like anyone except historia
I really like how in this episode, Jean comes off like just a standard boring rival character, but as soon as the Trost arc hits, that is all gone and Jean becomes one of the most fascinating characters.
"For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
Matthew 23:12
@@benbittinger9789That hits hard
Jean is one of the weakest characters tbh 😂
@@ryomensukuna457 Yeah yeah, sure he is.
@@hildegunstvonmythenmetz6095 every single character is tbh
Ironically eren ends up not realy using the odm gear much anyway lol
😂😂
He only had 1 ODM kill.
@@puntoni Two. Well, one outright kill, and the second not really a kill, when he pulls Bertholdt out of his titan form. But yeah, just one, LOL.
He also really bragged about killling a Titan with odm gear.
Honestly it’s a shame cuz he was pretty good at it too
During the female titan arc after annie lets armin, reiner and jean go armin is about to tell reiner that annie is the female titan but got cut off, which is funny because if hhe did then reiner would have killed them and maybe more people too lol
Dark humor of SnK
Yeah and I bet if Christa wasn’t there and they went with the original plan than Reiner would probably surprise attack Jean like he did with Marco and snap his neck or cripple him from getting the message back to the scouts Really shows how small details could prevent large disasters
That could be the case. I think reiners personality was split at that point though, so maybe Reiner could have been in his soldier persona, genuinly wanting to help and protect them. Rewatching it though, the idea that Reiner was moments away from betraying them adds new tension to the scene, so I think it’s a great theory!
@@colehouseth2144 It's not a theory though. Armin literally realizes it and is about to tell Reiner before he gets interrupted.
@@olafowl5678 We aren't sure when exactly Reiner was in and out of his split personality disorder. Its unclear when he's a warrior vs. a solider. There is a non-zero chance that if Armin had said his theory out loud that Reiner might have actually escorted him to the commander like Armin wanted.
While you say the ODM gear doesn't have much bearing later on, even the elite shifters and soldiers of Marley are TERRIFIED when they don't even see, but just hear it being used.
The Doomguy principle. They know what’s coming their way. =D
I think it's no secret that Isayama made the beginning of the series look like a shonen manganime to appeal to more audiences and then seemlessly developing that into something way more complex. Eren's character is the prime example with how hot headed and driven by his feelings he was, even having a clear goal that seemed overly ambitious for him, just like a shonen protagonist
About how Reiner and Bertolt reacted to how sincerely Eren says he wants to kill all the titans, I personally perceived that (in retrospect) as them recognizing a similar blind hatred that Reiner himself had for the Eldians in Paradis, from back when they haven't realized what the Paradis folks were actually like. Now that they *actually* see one of the "bloodthirsty island devils", they realize more than ever what this kind of monster truly is; a regular person exactly like them, turned angry and vengeful from the injustices inflicted upon them at such a young age, and wholeheartedly fighting for an ignorantly perceived sense of greater good.
That's just what I think, at least.
More than that. They realize that THEY are the ones who caused Eren to feel that way. They are the ones who smashed the wall and caused the entire chain of events to occur to create his hate so when he said that they saw him as a threat but they couldn't really do anything to him because they just figured he was a regular guy and he'd probably die soon enough in a battle. Once he transformed they realized he had the attack titan and they could no longer ambush him they had to try and convince or steal him.
I couldn’t agree more. I think this is one part where after all the previous bonding Betty and Reiner have done in the episode, they truly see through to how similar they are
Sashas food stuff always felt in place for me.
Given the reduction of hunting space as the walls fall... her forest life of hunting declined and she was pushed into the larger world. She was shy of her background and says she has been starved because of the titans. A comedy aspect made into something in line with the plot and world events. Pretty good if you ask me. Even comedy scenes have story links.
Ohh yeah, considering her backstory, I don't think it's that wacky. What I more so meant in the video is about how that is shown to us - the red glowing eyes, the over the top howling etc. It feels a little more anime than the rest of the series, if that makes sense 😅
To add to this her quirk actually has meaning. A call back to her stealing the meat she follows up with her goal of reclaiming their lands and raising cattle. That moment stuck with Eren even after the horrors of Trost that immediately followed and stuck with him 4 years later.
I think the comedy of episode 3 and 4 was both intentionally done to establish the tone of the series, and for the simple fact it helped AoT become more popular. Episode 5 quickly subverts episodes 3 and 4, and gives us a rude awaken. It was clearly Isayama’s way of using the tropes to his advantage.
It’s actually not how Isayama wrote it though, it was WIT’s adaptation
@@MyToastyToast What are you talking about? WIT followed the manga which showed the lighter tone once Eren and friends were introduced as cadets. It was faithful all the way through Sasha's stolen meat and the Colossal appearing, shifting the tone instantly back to reality.
Not to mention that Isayama has personally oversaw every episode since the anime began to ensure it follows his vision, even if he decided to change how some scenes play out.
@@handlerone5172 the manga jumped right from Eren’s mom getting eaten to the Battle of Trost, with flashbacks of the cadet years. I think WIT made the right choice keeping it chronological, but it was a little messy in both editing and tone, even with Isayama’s direction. WIT actually skipped a lot of the training stuff/pre Trost arc, so a lot of the characters that died we were supposed to know better. WIT also did some weird “anime” stuff to the show, like every time Christa would appear in season 1 she’d get a pink background with like bubbles and hearts. That definitely wasn’t part of the manga
@@MyToastyToast While they did add things, they didn't skip anything really. In fact they added in way more. Probably to pad air time so too much didn't happen in one episode. Eren meeting everyone and the colossal appearing and Eren dying all in one episode was too much I feel.
So, you are right, WIT fleshed out the 104th training arc so we'd actually know the main cast and some of the other characters that die soon after. I feel like it was a much better decision that Isayama made to have them add things like Sasha being made to run, Ymir and Christa being introduced, and the rest of them in a classic anime style.
That goes back to the OP's post about how it subverted things as soon as the Trost Arc started. Most anime follow the upward trend, especially right after a tragic first episode. It was meant to lull you into thinking these kids were going to train and kick some ass and BAM you are so, so wrong. I think that works much better than Isayama's original order of things moving straight into more death and chaos.
@@handlerone5172 sorry my previous comment is a little confusing, autocorrect did some weird things. I’m saying WIT actually DIDNT flesh out the training arc, and skipped quite a lot. I would have preferred to have known more than gone right back in to the action, but again the studio had to find their own pacing as the first few story arcs of the manga are quite a chronological mess. The only thing I think WIT truly dropped the ball on is Mikasa’s character, but aside from that they did the best with what they had to work on. Could it have been better? Absolutely, but any studio could have also done a lot worse
The wielder can choose whether or not to heal, only if they know how to control it. Otherwise it's automatic.
Remember when Levi kicked the shit out of Eren and knocked his tooth out, it automatically grew back. He didn't realize he grew it back, but he automatically did.
And even before that, when Eren was practicing in the odm gear and hit his head. In the scene where they’re eating, you can see his head healing.
@@wg6276 I just found out about that detail and I love it
@@wg6276 there’s a couple scenes like that with Titan shifters, it’s actually really cool
@@Ismael-kc3ry fr!
Agree, and thanks for pointing this out.
Attack on titan soundtrack theory: if you listen to the soundtrack by season by season you’ll realize the old soundtrack is more orchestral compared to the newer seasons. I think that because it showing us their world changing. Changing from this orchestra to more rock elements in season 2 to some metal/rock elements for season 3 to the change of composers for season 4 showing us that this is a completely different world than it was before. Season 4 has more synthesizers compared to the other season including the remixes of old songs. Showing the soundtrack becoming more and more different showing us the world becoming more and more different from last seasons.
facts plus it gives a completely different vibe season to season
Every song from season 1 just seemed to highlight how unknowable and alien the titans are, even the intense battle themes just feel strange and off. I’d say there’s more triumphant orchestral stuff in season 2, and then season 3 kinda combines the stuff as humanity’s counterattack reaches its peak while we’re about to find answers to the biggest questions of all, and then that mystique is completely gone from season 4 as all the cards are laid on the table. The terror of the unknown is gone, and all that’s left is the horror of the truth, which is far worse.
Wait, season four have diffrent composers????
@@doctorson7026 Sawano still does some songs, and his old ones are used, but Yamamoto joined the party for the final season. Most of the new music is his
@@Ismael-kc3ry So I had right feeling that Ashes on fire have diffrent vibe, now I know why, thanks m8
I really love WIT’s adaptation of the training arc. The upbeat and inspirational tone is so different from the rest of the story, but in a way it mirrors the first episode. Just like in the first episode where everything was looking up and peaking our curiosity for what will come next, and the shock of the next scene, this episode allows us to empathize with the characters that were introduced and grow hope for them and their future battles, making the shock of the collossal and trost feel so much more real. The anime’s delivery of these critical moments are some of the best in my opinion.
I love WIT color and tone , so detailed
I miss the WIT animation style using thick, smooth lines in the faces as opposed to the thin broken lines used by Mappa
I love the way you paint the drill sergeant. I spent 8 years in the marine core and I 100% agree with you. They get in your face and scream and yell and bust your ass because they don't wanna see you die on your first deployment. They don't hate you. They wanna mold you into a weapon and something that can handle the horror of war as well as keep yourself and your group alive. Thank you for that. Truly.
Is it true that western countries are shifting from the "breaking you down to build you back up" training to being more "considerate" about the trainees?
Sad to hear you served a regime of mass murder.
@@AbstractTraitorHero Yawn...
@@AbstractTraitorHero womp womp
@@AbstractTraitorHerostay sad
The similarity of ODM gear to web-slinging is absolutely how I sold this series to my father when I described it to him as, _"Militarized Spider-men vs the 50ft zombie apocalypse."_
I don't think it has to be thought of as a writing shift that the characters got darker as they aged. They were still teenagers in season 1. By the end, they were in their 20s, and had basically been at war with Hell their since the fall of Shiganshina
15:15 -15:31
He definitely was healing, titans heal on their own but have to focus their energies into not healing if they want to keep the injury for a disguise. Just look at Falco when he healed after his transformations he definitely didn't know how but still did and was unconscious
Shouldn't Reiner etc. have noticed the smoking from Eren's head when they were in the training camp (after Eren injured his head due to the faulty ODM practice gear)? If it was healing steam I mean.
@@cimkolhammar9020 I don’t think the steam has healing properties. Rather, titan innards are so hot that they give off steam, and they also happen to regenerate, but these aren’t the same things. In human form titan shifters don’t get nearly as hot, so they don’t give off steam, but they still have their healing properties.
@@mr.cup6yearsago211 s2e9 when Eren and Ymir are sitting in the tree regenerating their limbs, the limbs are steaming. I always assumed steam was emitted while healing was happening, and thus Reiner etc should have noticed the Eren head steam after his fall?
@@cimkolhammar9020 That detail could have just not been thought of at the time. You could also write it off as Reiner not looking at Eren at the time. I imagine that Eren’s head injury was minor enough that it didn’t take long to heal, therefore it was only steaming for a short time.
@@cimkolhammar9020 Could have just been a queue for the audience, something not as noticeable in the world.
I actually remember being spoiled about who the Armored and Colossal titans really were. I was really pissed about it for a while but when the reveal came in S2 I was like “WHAT??? THEY GONNA REVEAL IT LIKE THIS?! NO BUILD UP? JUST A CASUAL CONVERSATION?!”
Haven’t finished yet, but I hope you didn’t forget the part where Reiner tells Eren when he picks him up “Next time you’ll be attacking and I’ll be defending.”
Broooo noooo 😭😭 thanks for pointing that out
@@cameronw253 amazing, isn’t it?
I caught this on a rewatch and was blown away
Man...
"Next time you gonna play the bad guy"
15:10 I'd actually say that it was Titan regeneration because Eren would still WANT to get better regardless of whether he knows how to do it or not
Yeah, the regeneration happens as long as the shifter has the will to get better, or isn't conciously suppressing it from happening. Stopping it and remaining injured is the exception, not the norm. So even without knowledge of it, Eren would still heal.
@@MrRusty103 yeah exactly
I'm thinking something along those lines as well.
I imagine it closer to automatic, but you can *_choose to prevent it_* if you want to.
When eren's tooth came out BC of Lévi it grew Back automatic without eren willing for it so i think you're saying fact!
yup, the ''active will'' would be needed for NO regeneration despite the power being there
The tonal shift exists in the Manga too, so I think your ideas in #3 and #4 are correct. It's a combination of showing Eren's changes, and the comparison between the Maryleyans and the Paradisians. I also think the comedy in the first season is a great representation of REAL soldiers. All the people I've known who have actually gone to war have stories of their boot camp and how funny certain moments were, and I think it's for the exact reason you explained: because the setting is so serious, so discussing your friend's snuck-in nudie mags is next-level funny.
And Sasha, specifically, feels like a subversion of Shonen anime. She seemed like she had a quirky trait, until we found our that she was a hunter her entire life and struggling not to starve often, so her obsession with food is rooted in trauma and not some cute quirk.
The tone of the training "arc" is there because it establishes why Eren cares so much for the friends he made while training with the Scouts. Without this portion of the story, the 104th would not be as endeared either to the audience nor to Eren. the moments that happened here-- he moonlight walk with Reiner and Bertholtd, Sasha's obsession with food and later vowing to reclaim the lands so they can raise cattle again, Historia showing her streak of selfish selflessness, even Jean just wanting to kick back and have an easy life. This is what Eren wants for his friends, and what he destroys the world for. The 104th, more than the people of Paradis as a whole, is his intended inheritor for the Earth after he is done clearing the board for them, as it were.
I was expecting a somewhat cynical, thoughtless, self-serious action series, but Sasha's introductory scene was so comical and genuinely endearing that I was completely hooked from that point.
I love this show for its transition from man v. titan to man v. man. It starts as a clear black and white plot and becomes a muddled morally grey story as season 4 hits. I love the fact that season 4 starts by immersing us in the eldians lives within marley, understanding their morals and motives by “living among them” like both eren and reiner did with marley and paradis, respectively.
15:20 I think Eren’s inexperience is what causes his him to heal without consciously trying to. It’s once Eren is experienced that he can control when his body heals, just like Reiner did in 2x6.
I think there's a good chance that Sasha and Conny were set up from the very start to embody happiness and then snatch this very happiness away, leaving that world all the more bleak and tragic by contrast than if it had been all grimdark from start to finish.
Sasha, the happiest person in the story, is outright killed, symbolically also killing the earlier happiness.
And Conny is put through the wringer like few - if any - other character in the series until his happiness is stripped from him. We have one brief resurgence with his outburst at Annie's sloppy eating and then he has to kill Dazz and Samuel up close "because someone has to get their hands bloody".
Considering how Eren regenerates multiple times without even being aware of it and then wondering how it happened (just take the tooth that Levi knocked out for example), it might well be that the steam from his head was instinctive regeneration... but I still think it was the animation team teasing us, because if it had been steam, that would surely have caught Rainer, Berthold and Annie's attention and made them suspect Eren. But then in Trost they were completely blind-sided by him being a shifter.
Tbf Reiner, Berthold, and Annie had no reason to suspect there would be another Titan Shifter in the room, so they wouldn't have been keeping an eye out for any telltale signs of a Shifter. And with how minor Eren's injury was, the steam was likely subtle enough that they could have missed it even if they were looking at him.
They were completely unaware he was a shifter until Trost happened. That's why his story ended up destroying Reiner because he realized he had personally set this man on a one man wrecking quest to destroy the world.
13:00
Not Hannes gave him faulty equipment, but Shadis
Whoops! Misspoke there - its Commander Keith ofc. 😬
@@Koroto its okayy
I always thought that every soldier who knows how to use ODM gear would be amazing pilots. The amount of G forces they can withstands is astonishing so they could pull some crazy shit
Perfect timing, I was looking for something good to watch 🔥
I always saw the shift as a slow progression of losing your humanity. Maybe I’m looking too deep into this but I see Sasha, Connie and Krista, being goofy and funny because they’re kids. However, as time passes and more of their main group is lost, they slowly lose that quirk that made them who they are. They become almost Hollow. I think that’s the thing that hurts the most seeing the characters grow and have these eccentric personalities just for them to grow up, emotionless. And it shows that’s what war does to people, devoid people of happiness and erases, who they are, and want they want to be.
Sasha is an outlier, and that was always meant to be. I think she represents the anti-Erin, where she has hope for humanity and everything about her is kind of his opposite. She gets along with everyone where he only has 2 people. She has her whole family whilst his ended up dying. She was raised in isolation while he was raised in the biggest city. She grew up and learned to fight her selfish ways, where he falls further and further into despair.
In a weird way I think she ended up representing Hope, which is why once she's gone, the series feels so much bleaker. Still I'm glad The point where she was suppose to die changed because where she did die was the perfect spot for the story. Also it's when Sasha dies that little bit of hope in Erin completely dies.
Just want to say, I think it's awesome that you're analyzing AOT like this and from a compelling anime only perspective. I think this'll definitely help in waiting for part 3 haha! Are you seriously gonna do every episode? Cause I can't wait when you tackle the foreshadowing's of season 2 and 3 cause omg that glitched ending credits of s3 part 1 is both shocking and genius like I still get chills! Can't wait when you can talk about that stuff! Keep going with this man 🤘
Yup, plan is to eventually cover the entire thing! No clue how long that’ll take, but thats the idea 😅👍
Seeing how Animes time and time again have characters train, face adversity and win just makes AOT even more shocking. Episode 5 with the colossal showing up, and the smiling titan appearing in season 2's finale are both instances where we all expect Eren to take them down and show how strong he's become since they've last clashed. And neither of them work out, just cementing to the viewers how misplaced his optimism was in the early episodes.
The tonal shift between season 1 and 2-4 just adds to how shocking, emotional and perfect the show's writing is imo.
People forget that they are children. The final season they aren't. Children are more light-hearted, even those who have been a traumatic event. They are invincible, look at Eren. It's not until they get older that the world's problems start to weigh heavy.
I love this series and would watch one for literally every episode even if it takes years
its regeneration, its a passive ability until you learn to control it. like how he grew his tooth back without noticing. but i think they threw it in there knowing we would originally write it off as "anime stuff" before we learned more.
I like that you touched on the false sense of complacency from the training arc! I appreciated it too, but as a kind of palette cleanser (kind of like ep 87)- with constant brutality, I welcome the time to put my soul back together before seeing it smashed to pieces again lol
Great video! Just one correction: at 12:57 it should be Keith Shadis (the commandant) who gave Eren the faulty belt to protect him, not Hannes.
also i think the tone shift from the training montage was supposed to seem shounen-y. we spend the episode relaxed for a good majority, you and the characters let their guards down, you finally relax and then BOOM. NOPE. COLOSSAL TITAN. it wouldn't have hit the same if the whole episode was dark. i think it's essentially punishing the characters and the viewer for getting too comfy.
Though I 99% agree…I can see someone watching for the first time and when they cut to Reiner, say “lol that one kinda looks like the AT with his hair” and almost laugh it off but believing it? No way. The reveals in this show are on top no doubt
After finishing AoT I came to the conclusion that all the wacky, anime-esque stuff at the beginning was meant to represent "the good old times", which make up half of Eren's motivation at the end. He wanted to experience these times again, he wanted others to live similarly to how they did there, and that's why he couldn't accept just giving up and letting Marley destroy them.
id say with the original ending supposed to be everyone dying, isayama probably had intentions of fleshing out every single character so that when they eventually did die we’d feel some sort of attachment. but with the manga and anime doing really good he decided to change the story. though it did seem to work with the outrages behind sasha and hanges death
and i also wouldn’t mind seeing a thing such as _AOT: What If_ even if it’s just non canon illustrations that’d be so dope
You need to do a video about the parallels between jean and Reiner, both were forced into being a leader and it broke both of them but they handled it differently
15:25
About regeneration, it can be controlled and focussed or blocked, but it does happen without intention, such as one of the earliest instances (first outside of Titan form) when Eren regrows a tooth.
At this point in the story, I wonder if the Marley military knows that the Paradis Eldians were in the dark about the Titans. When Gabi comes to the Island, she talks to the one girl like she knows about the Eldian empire and that they're all capable of becoming titans. Unless Marley is just that scared of the power of the titans, I think they wouldn't have killed so many Eldians if they know that only select groups are aware of the secret of the walls and the outside world.
The shifters steam from regeneration even while unconscious, think even later falco steamed after being cut out of his jaw titan and he had no clue how to really do anything at that time. So the ability to stop regeneration and halt the steam is what needs to be learned. Regeneration itself is automatic
I think one argument for lengthening the training arc would be making the death of initial characters a bit more impactful
RE Eren bumping his head. It WAS titan regeneration. Eren also healed his arm and tooth without trying to or knowing he could. Thus I think titan regeneration functions like breathing: You do it naturally, but can hold your breath if you want.
On retrospect it's very easy to see what was planned and what wasn't and with the way Reiner was already alluded to being the Armored there's no way that Erens head steaming _wasnt_ his regeneration.
Regarding your point about regeneration. That moment with his head could have definitely been regeneration. There is another moment in the series where he regenerates without intending to. After Levi beat him, a tooth comes out. Hange is taking a look inside of his mouth, and to everybody’s surprise, the tooth is back. Eren didn’t know about his regenerative skills then, so he wasn’t willing the tooth to come back. Also, you’ll notice that he ties his pants around the bottom of his leg, I believe to keep it from regenerating. I think everything just regenerates automatically. The choice they have is at what rate, and what they can focus the energy of the regeneration on.
I think the steam over Eren’s head is regeneration. I think that when a shifter chooses NOT to regenerate that is an active choice, not the default. It also seems the longer a shifter waits to regenerate faster they can regenerate (see erens conversation with Reiner in the basement S4). If Eren had to actively focus on regenerating he would have accrued so many cuts and bruises from the time between shigonshina and boot camp.
TL;DR: Shifters probably passively regenerate but decide to not regenerate or to focus on regenerating to speed up the process.
There was definitely some Retcons lol, bc remember In the first part of the season when the colossal titan appears there’s just the lightning like the other titan’s, but no nuke lvl explosions. If it had been that way from the start, the wall would’ve been eviscerated,
Did you forget about the Reiner Bertholdt reveal in S2? From these scenes, I think it is implied that the Colossal can control its transformation.
take a shot every time korotos says "in retrospect" xD
The moment I knew I would like this show was when the Colossal titan appeared for the second time so quickly, it completely caught me off guard. It plunges you right into the story, where as other shows I commonly here "If you can get passed the first season it's actually really good". AoT got really good in 3 episodes and kept getting better.
As for the regeneration bit, I do feel like it works the other way around. I think that the titan's regeneration abilities are an innate part of being a titan, while the ability to hold back and control that regeneration is what takes skill and knowledge.
Here's my case:
1. Normal titans regenerate. As stated in the show, the titans are relatively unintelligent.
2. Eren regenerates his limbs before he really has full knowledge of what his abilities as a titan are.
3. Eren regenerates while passed out.
4. The only titans we see hold back on their regeneration are ones that we know have mastery in their titan abilities. We only see Eren hold back in Season 4, after he's used the Attack Titan for a full five years. Similarly for the marleyan titans, they already have full control and understanding of their abilities by the time they infiltrate the walls.
My view of the steam coming off of Eren's head is that it's foreshadowing cleverly disguised as an anime joke. It plays both purposes pretty masterfully.
AOT ended when they reached the sea at the end of Season 3.
Everything after is just a spinoff series.
I think the steam is from his titan ability. I think that the default mode is to use titan healing, and only an experienced titan shifter can intentionally stop the healing. After all Eren heals his arm and leg unconsciously the first time he titan shifts.
The background music he’s using is called: Moon by LEMMiNO.
this is one of my fav series on yt and i always get so excited when you upload new episodes!! aot is among my biggest hyperfixations and honestly i would definitely listen to you rumble on about all the details for 3h or more!! ive watched so many video essays about aot and youre the first person that mentions so many details and notices all the little bits of foreshadowing or the way the scenes are "shot" and i'm so happy seeing im not the only one obsessing over it lmao.. Also i agree that s1 is quite bizarre - as not much of an anime watcher myself i didnt really like all the cheesy shonen vibes at first and felt a bit thrown off but now i think some of it contrasts really well in a grand picture of the story - main characters are all still kids here after all. tbh when I recommend the show to anyone who doesnt know anime really well, im always afraid that those bits and tropes will make them think that all of aot is made this way and that they will drop the show after a few episodes - if so then well, their loss:) i love love your videos and i dont think that the details are meaningless, its great to listen to you talk about them!! thanks to them the series is so rewatchable and satisfying to follow through. keep up the amazing work man, im already waiting for the continuation:)!
Well the third episode serves two purposes in my opinion. 1: introducing the secondary characters, and 2: set the tone the story wants. As you mentioned, this episode is full of shonen tropes. In my opinion this brings comfort to the viewer as it is something the viewer is already familiar with. And that is the tone the story wants, it wants the viewer to be nice and cozy, only to completely shatter that vibe with ep 5 and onwards
i think the ability to regenerate is actually used by having the will to heal, whether the person knows of their shifter ability or not so... im quite sure the smoke above erens head is not only a trope
I always thought Sasha’s obsession with food was because of the food shortages and Sasha’s background as a daughter of a hunter. Of course anyone will be happy to get food, but she understands and respects the value of food, knowing that it is rare and that you have to work to get it.
They do exaggerated that in that typical shonen fashion, but it is not a completely random quirk, I don’t think.
a numbering system for these videos in the title might be a good idea. I had no idea this was a series for a long time. your vids appeared in my recommended like 5 times before I realized it.
It feels like he meant to traumatize us. Which is what made it unique to me. I have begun to wonder if I’ll never be caught off guard again.
14.24 ABSOLUTELY. just from a design perspective, ODM gear is brilliant. the movements and silhouette are immediately recognizeable and distinct from anything else ive seen. and they fit into the world and story perfectly, being well thought-out and special even within the snk universe. the attack on liberio showed how unprepared marley was for ODM users.
I was dissapointed when it was revealed that there were people outside the walls. AoT didn't turn out how I wanted it to.
It was the best part about AoT how did you want it turn out?
@@theemanuella9456 I wanted a story of man vs animal/monster, not man vs man.
You literally posted this video the day after I finished AOT, the timing cannot be better.
“monke brain”
ah so the training arc was made with Zeke as the target audience
as a food enthusiast myself, i can confirm that people like sasha exists in the real world. favorite character btw.
the Sasha grabbing bread scene is eerily resemblant to the CwnR aberrant titan, and I will regret drawing this parallel for the rest of my life
15:25 I have to point out that knowing how to regenerate isn't an ability that requires conscious control, knowing how to direct it or turn it off does
he regenerates after Levi kicks him, before it was ever established that he can do that; the ability is passive
15:05 Eren regenerated a tooth without knowing he could do it. Titan shifters can gain the ability to control whether or not they heal with experience, but by default they heal.
My new favorite series on the RUclipss 😄 thank you thank you!
Never ever thought biggest enemies we thought of season 1 and 2 reiner annie will be having good happiest ending given to them by eren himself lol
Personally I see his head steaming as Titan Regeneration and I think to write it off as just an anime thing is the wrong call
Eren was able to turn into the Attack Titan without knowing he could do that basically just off instinct and how turning into a Titan works, I don't think it's unreasonable to say that regeneration at that point in time was on due to just instinct to heal a wound
I always saw Eren not regenerating later on as an active suppression of an otherwise passive ability and I think it's reasonable to assume that's what it is
When Zeke was captured by Levi he was regenerating despite knowing it wouldn't really lead to anything as he was still bound and Levi would just cut off his limbs. I also recall a similar thing being done to Eren when captured by Reiner to prevent him from having the energy to transform
On that part where you see Eren steaming from his head, I think its actual titan regen and the users learn to control this automatic ability so it doesnt instantly happen when they dont want.
15:23 I think it was regeneration because later after levi kicked him and he lost a tooth he regrew it without knowing it, he probably regenerated the wound on his head because he couldn´t controll it yet.
15:25
I choose to believe that it's kind of the inverse, where it has to be intent to -not- regenerate that becomes a skill, and that regeneration, much like the "pure" titans, is in fact passive unless they intend or choose to not do so
In the early season, the characters were all basically kids. They'd had the trauma of the Colossal Titan attack, but were otherwise still pretty much youthful, playful teens. By the latter seasons, they'd gone through hardcore war for quite a while. They'd seen plenty of extreme battlefield trauma, lost lots of friends in battle, and seen the reality of politics with political betrayals, coups, and genocide. And not only that, but most of them had done things themselves as a part of war, that would basically be considered war crimes. Yes, obviously their characters and tone would shift.
I mean if you look at all the former infantry soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all the issues they struggle with, and PTSD: every one of them was once a playful kid. War darkens and sobers people.
Regarding your question about Eren having steam over his head @15:30.
I believe Titan healing can be both passive as well as controllable, I believe Eren was in fact healing his wounded head without knowing and during 1st watch it was passed off as an 'frustration' trope.
But then later in the series, Season 1 part 2 to be specific, Levi beats the absolute crap out of Eren during the hearing, losing a tooth in the process, which afterwards Hange points out that a whole new tooth in fact grew back within hours of that same day.
Once again without Eren having to focus on it.
So I do think Titan Healing is a natural component for both pure Titans as well as Titan shifters.
The one factor to enter the equation is focus.
One can either focus to suppress they healing like:
1) Eren did to his leg in S4 P1
2) Reiner did for a moment to his arm in S2 before revealing himself.
Or
One can choose to channel their energy to focus on a specific wounded area to speed up the healing process like Annie did to her eye in Titan form giving herself the upper hand on the first Levi squad.
Well I for one am positive the steam coming from his head was his Titan powers. Let's say we use your logic. If that's the case since he didn't know then he shouldn't have been able to turn into a Titan because he didn't know he had that ability.
Since we know the entire story is being told from Armin's perspective, I'd like to think the shonen tropes during the training arc are meant to visualize how much this time meant to him and the rest of the group. Numerous members going forward will reminisce about a certain moment, often not placing why their minds would go to that memory in that occasion. The end credits of Season 3 pt 2 is mostly an homage to the recruits' time in training, a farewell to a simpler time.
On another topic, I love the scene beginning @ 7:37. For one, it shows a great contrast between Shiganshina survivors and the rest of the recruits. Like the overall populous, many of the recruits had never even seen a Titan and weren't aware of the destruction and terror they could bring. The youngsters were instead captivated by the sensationalized statures of the Colossal and Armored Titans. As opposed to Eren, who had merely witnessed the Titan Shifters cause the gate's destruction but saw pure Titans devour humanity.
Add in Eren's nonchalance towards Armored and Colossal while Reiner and Berthold were both eavesdropping, but a sudden change once pure Titans were brought up and memories of his mother came back. Makes me wonder how much influence a future Eren could've had on this convo. Did he force the image of his mother's death back to get past Eren out of his cocky attitude and to refocus him? Were those verbal slights against the Titan Shifters purposeful to tell Berty and Reiner that they weren't seen as an issue? Or how unlikely as it may be, could they be boastful jabs in the same vein Eren would constantly share with Jean?
Experienced titan shifters can choose whether to heal or not, or focus healing on certain body parts and so on. But titan novices heal automatically and are not even aware of it. Eren absolutely cannot control his titan regeneration at this point in the story and is healing automatically.
We see similar thing with titan speech, experienced shifters like Zeke or Pieck can speak normally inside the titan. Less experienced titans like Ymir can only speak in broken speech, but cannot really form full sentences. Galliard chooses to exit his titan whenever he's trying to communicate, as he likely cannot speak well enough to be able to coordinate military operations (or not at all). Season 2 Eren can only grunt and nod his head.
The story does quite a good job with consistency of titan skills and it is clear that experienced or talented shifters can do things novices can't. Controlling the titan regeneration is definitely one of those abilities novices cannot do.
I think Zeke and Pieck being able to talk as Titans has less to do with experience and more about their Titans' anatomy. Their Titans, as well as the Warhammer, have humanoid lips, which just like our lips, change the resonance of different sounds to produce plosive letters (p, b, m) and other components of speech. The other Titans don't have those same lips, so they're not able to speak. Not sure why Ymir's speech was so broken when she also has human lips, but maybe it had something to do with her being stuck as a pure titan for so long? But then again by this logic, Annie should also be able to talk since she has lips too, so who knows maybe it is an experience thing?
@@cassie6146 That is quite an interesting theory, could be part of it. Although the experience still makes a bit more sense to me. Also I feel like Annie is a bit different, since she hardly ever speaks even in human form and only when she has something to say.
@@ondrejvasak1054 Annie is also the only titan to ever shed tears. Not even Eren "Waterworks" Yeager did that.
@@cassie6146 Annie was always the quiet type, so it could be the case she never bothered to try or learn to talk as a titan. It might also be connected to the Female titan's ability to scream to lure pure titans is in conflict with the anatomy to speak, so no Female titan can speak due to this limitation. Like for her scream to work a lot of vocalization anatomy has to be ditched, so she can't form words.
There’s no way it isn’t regeneration. The default for titans is to regenerate.
@ 15:30 I would say that the steam is the titan healing factor. Remember that Eren subconsciously bit his hand to Summon a titan's arm. He could have healed subconsciously. Either that or perhaps fast regeneration is a passive ability that all shifters share.
I think the steam coming off his head is regeneration. I think subconsciously, Eren is so determined, that he’s healing himself without knowing he can.
Speaking of animation oversights, I saw in one episode in one shot hannes has the scouts badge, and then in the rest, he has the garrison badge.
Plus the story of how berty and Reiner saw the first titans was the same of the old guy
Well I know that this is a one year old video but
I Believe that all the humor in the first part with Conny and Sasha was there to mask Eren's steam as more humor
erens tooth grew back without him trying
My favourite yt creator making another banger.
9:40 Ya know, and I'm sure others have mentioned this before, but it really does say something of how little Berthold cares about everyone that he was that close to dropping a nuke on them for his own protection. Granted, maybe he could have protected them too, but that would introduce so many complexities as well.
But he turned several times without a nuke before
I've seen so many people including myself just straight up compare Reiner to the armoured the second we saw him
I think that titan regeneration is a lot like being able to transform. Tbey have to have the clear goal of what they want to do in order to do it. So the reason erin doesnt heal is because hes stuck in his dream and doesnt think he even needs to. Reina gave up and literally didnt want to do it anymore so he wouldnt heal. So when erin is steaming at the beginning and hurting his head...i think without knowing he COUD heal, still had a passionate goal of healing his head because he thinks SOMETHING is wrong with him that he needs to fix...that or he just is so focused on his end goals of becoming a soldier that his body knew the only way that was possible is to heal quickly.
I’m rewatching right now after my initial binge watch. It’s so different the second time around. 🤯
I know this is an old video, but I still want to leave a comment about Titan regeneration.
I always interpreted the can choose to regenerate or not, as like holding in a sneeze. Yes, you can do it with enough practice, but if you're not thinking about it, it'll just happen. Also, I think Titan shifters can also force regeneration like Reiner does on the wall when it is revealed he is the armored
I think titan shifter regeneration functions as a passive ability that you can basically turn off, thats how i always took it. Like by default youll heal, but if you dont want to, you wont.
For 15:22, I believe that it really is titan regeneration because it is my understanding that before a titan shifter knows how to control their regeneration, it will happen automatically. As we see when Eren regenerates his arm and leg after he is released from his titan, and also Armin becoming un-toasted after eating Bertholdt. And even if you were to say that it only happens after they become a titan, Eren regenerated his tooth after Levi kicked it out far before he learned how to control regeneration.
This show is def worthy of this kind of in depth series. It's so well planned and executed it almost overloads my satisfaction sensor
I love the progression of tone in the first three seasons the most, but that Sasha red eyes thing was a bad decision. This show didn't really have those kind of exaggerated tropes so I legitimately thought she had some sort of titan power or was a zombie or something for a few minutes.