Violence, change and power: A reflection on the Attack on Titan Final Season
The war of the Titans is finally over.
Attack on Titan has served up intrigue, violence and thrills for over a decade. The celebrated manga told the story of humanity’s last remnant, trapped in a citadel encased by three concentric walls, fighting a seemingly endless war against man-eating “Titan” giants. Over time, readers discover how the Titans were actually transformed versions of the people in the walls, and how humanity had actually flourished beyond the walls, ever wary of the latent power held by the citadel-dwellers. The story ended in 2021 in appropriately brutal fashion — with the decimation of 80% of the world’s population, and an uncertain fate that awaited the survivors of a global genocide.
The manga has spawned a cult following, with theme park rides and roomba vacuum cleaners modelled after the courageous Scouts, who dedicated their lives to the exploration of the world beyond the walls, and risked death by facing the Titans with little but grappling gear, box-cutter swords and their wits. In more recent years, political aspects of the work have also birthed a cult following amongst alt-right nationalists, who saw in the Scouts’ struggles a parallel to their fanaticism.
At the end of a decade, here’s a reflection on how Hajime Isamaya’s Attack on Titan continues to resonate deeply with the troubling realities of our time.
Cycles of violence
Amid the drama of Attack on Titan lies a central truth: violence begets violence, and will continue long past the lives of those it has consumed. The manga is suffused with stylized violence from start to end. Fans are introduced to the protagonist, Eren Yeager, as an idealistic young boy whose mother is eaten by a Titan, which births a deep hatred for Titans, and a desire to eradicate them from the world. Over time, Eren’s obsession with the destruction of his enemies grows, and develops into a corrosive hatred that leads him to unleash a global genocide.
In the same way, the ultra-militaristic society of the walled Eldian citadel is shown to be a strong arbiter of violence. From the violence unleashed by the Scouts on invading Titans, to the violence that the state inflicts on citizens perceived to be a threat, it is clear that a world under siege breeds violence in an inevitable cycle of destruction.
The scope of violence only grows when the world beyond the walls is revealed. The besieging of the citadel by mindless giants is shown to have been a plot to keep humans with the power to transform into Titans under control. By confining these ‘Titan-shifters’ to a violent death behind walls, humanity outside the walls sought to thrive and flourish. This only results, later on, in a violent rebellion that destroys most of the world’s population, when erstwhile protagonist Eren Yeager uses Titan-controlling powers to unleash a flood of Titans on the global population.
It’s difficult to ignore the uncomfortable parallels that Attack on Titan offers in a pandemic-stricken, hyper-militarized world. Minorities are regularly persecuted, freedom fighters are destroyed and later branded as terrorists, and aggressive military regimes continue to violate human rights in the name of defending their citizens. The lessons from Attack on Titan suggest that violence is cyclical, and the violence visited by those in power on the powerless will sow seeds of retribution and destruction, bearing fruit in their own time.
People change — but not always for the better
Yet, amid the despair of a world consumed by giants lies hope for change. Indeed, several characters change over the course of Attack on Titan. Armin Arlert grows from a scared and helpless boy to a righteous, conflicted and mature leader. Reiner Braun, a spy sent from outside the walls to infiltrate and destroy the citadel, suffers from post-traumatic stress to eventually question the morality of his mission, and eventually becomes an instrumental figure in working with his former enemies to stop a global genocide. Krista Lenz, a timid scout, discovers her royal lineage and transforms into a strong queen capable of defending her people.
But Isayama is clear that change is not always for the better. This is no better embodied than in the manga’s troubled protagonist, who goes from being a headstrong freedom fighter and hero to a mastermind of global genocide. Turning the protagonist into the series’ ultimate antagonist is a stark reminder of the corrosive power of hatred and discrimination — a consequence that continues to resonate across generations.
The strong do what they can, and the weak bear what they must
Attack on Titan offers a strident validation of the Melian Dialogue’s realist principles. In the final chapter, Queen Historia Reiss declares to her people: “If you can fight, you win. If you cannot fight, you lose. Fight, fight!” As much as her call to arms dooms Eldia to perpetual conflict against the rest of the world, it is also clear, from the events of the manga, that to lay down arms would be to doom her people to destruction. It’s a brutal, hard-nosed look at the world and its power politics, and how only the strong have a right to decide not only their fate, but their continued right to exist.
Violence, change and power are the central issues that Attack on Titan ultimately deals with — and the manga ends with a sombre reminder that, while the war of the Titans may finally be over, war will, indeed, be a defining hallmark of humanity through the ages.
