I owe everything to @dr-chiroptera for inspiring me with this post of hers to be able to make mine, thank you very much.
In@dr-chiroptera post, she explained that Mikasa and Levi gave some vibes to Líf and Lífþrasir. In Norse mythology, Líf and Lífþrasir are the only human couple who will survive Ragnarök (meaning, “fate of the gods” is the battle of the end of the world) and repopulate the world.
And why do I think @dr-chiroptera post is right in that Isayama may have been inspired by these mythological figures for Mikasa and Levi’s fate? Because one of the most important figures in Shingeki is Ymir, “the founder” and in Norse mythology there is a character with that same name, and he is the founder of the race of giants, Hmm…. founders of the giants/titans doesn’t it sound a bit obvious to you? ;D♡
And to make more sense of it all:
“They created a man named Ask and a woman named Embla (they are the first humans created according to Norse mythology, they are the equivalent of Adam and Eve). With Ymir’s eyebrows, they created a fortress to protect the race of men from the giants.” Doesn’t this sound similar to the walls surrounding Paradis that were created and within them contained colossal titans, creations of Ymir…?. The curious thing about all this, is that the character of Ymir from Norse mythology was a male giant, so the name “Ymir” is considered a boy’s name, and this makes me have my suspicions and beliefs that Historia’s child will be a boy and not a girl as 99% of the fandom believes, since being born a boy, he will be able to use the name Ymir just the same and it also corresponds to him perfectly, since after all, it is a name for the male sex. And I think it’s something Isayama would do, because he loves to break the most famous theories in the fandom and the theory that Historia will have a girl is one of the most famous ones XD.
(Ymir feeding on Auðumbla, the primordial cow, also known as The Great Cosmic Cow.)
Okay, now let’s continue with the references to Mikasa and Levi representing Líf and Lífþrasir.
“Two humans will also escape the destruction of the world by hiding deep within the wood of the Yggdrasil - some say in the Forest of Hodmímir - where Surt’s sword has no power of destruction. They will call them Líf and Lífthrasir (in Old Norse, Líf ok Lífþrasir). Emerging from their refuge, Líf (or liv, ‘life’) and her husband Lífþrasir ('one who desires or seeks life’, defined by Lexicon Poëticum as "Livæ amator, vitæ amans, vitæ cupidus” “Líf’s lover, lover of life, zest for life”) will live in the morning dew and repopulate the human world. They will worship their new pantheon of gods, ruled by Baldr".
Interestingly, both Líf and Lífþrasir sound similar to the pronunciation of the name “Levi”. In Japanese the same thing happens, they are even written almost the same: Líf -> リーヴ (“Rīvu”), Lífþrasir -> リーヴスラシル (“Rīvusurashiru”), Levi -> リヴァイ (“Rivai”).
It wouldn’t be strange if Isayama decided to make a pun here. Also, the word “life” is something important in Levi’s character, let’s remember that he has always lost everything and it seems that’s why he doesn’t understand the real meaning his life has if in the end he can’t seem to protect those he cherishes, Kenny himself once asked him what he intends to be in his life, since we all need to get “drunk” on something to move on:
A hero? No, I’d say that’s what most of the fandom thought and even Levi himself of himself, he believed that his destiny in life was to avenge his comrades, to become the hero who would deliver the final blow to the casuator of one of his greatest misfortunes: Zeke.
But chapter 137, proved to most of the fandom and to Levi himself that that was not his reason for living, because in the end it did not give him the happiness and satisfaction that everyone believed:
So what? What is the reason for living and what does he need to “get drunk” (as Kenny says) to keep going?
And this is where I highlight these two panels that Isayama illustrated in Kenny’s monologue, most people only insist on highlighting that the author only shows desperation, desire for power and strength in his work, and these people have never bothered to appreciate those little winks that Isayama makes that not everything in the world of Shingeki has to revolve around negative desires, that characters can also be “get drunk” with the desire for a family and children in order to move on, and I think in Levi’s character, maybe his desire, that wonderful desire that will help him want to move on, to keep on living, is the same as his mother’s: a children.
Now we continue with Mikasa, in her childhood, Mikasa has always been surrounded by the wild, by vegetation, away from human civilization and chapter 138 showed us that this is what she longs to have again, to have a home again, a family surrounded by forests, quiet and away from the noisy crowd and curiously it is said in Norse mythology that the children of Líf and Lífþrasir will inhabit Midgard after Ragnarök is over:
“After all, in this new world, evil and misery will exist no more, gods and men will live together in peace and harmony. The descendants of Lif and Lifthrasir will inhabit Midgard.” What am I getting at with this? It is because of the meaning of the word “Midgard”:
“In Norse mythology, Midgard (in Old Norse Miðgarðr) is the world of men created by the gods Odin and his brothers, Vili and Ve after the battle with the primordial giant Ymir. The etymology of the name derives from mið/mid ("middle, center”) and garðr/gard (“settlement, rural residence”). The Norse word garð is related to two modern Scandinavian words: gård (“yard”, “farm”, “isolated rural residence”) and gärd (“farmyard”, “cultivated field surrounded by fence or hedge”).
“Midgard” makes a direct reference to what Mikasa longs for, a home, an isolated rural residence with a cultivated field like the one she and her parents had in their childhood, so to me this makes me think that her dream will indeed come true and her children will inhabit that quiet home away from the crowd along with her and her dear husband (wink, wink) just like Líf and Lífþrasir’s children.
Last, but not least, is this very interesting fact, in which, it is said in some stories that when Ragnarök was happening, Líf and Lífþrasir hid in the forest of Hodmímir, and don’t you find it curious that the first “direct” meeting between Mikasa and Levi happened in a forest?
Líf and Lífþrasir, Casca and Guts… I wonder if at some point we will meet again other couples that make such a direct reference to our beloved Mikasa and Levi. Who knows, I hope you liked my post, I thank you again for inspiring me @dr-chiroptera!
How ironic that Levi and Mikasa were the “last of their kind” (Ackermans) and now that most of humanity has been killed or titanized by Eren, Mikasa and Levi might be the few or last pure humans left. Also I find it very convenient of Isayamathat Levi and Mikasa are now the only remaining male and female of their “species.” (Also, even though fair-haired Ackermans have existed, it’s interesting that Levi’s designed with a hair color that is closer to Mikasa’s pure black hair, which makes her a rare beauty by Eldian standards. Maybe her all her children will be more likely to have pure black hair if they have a dark-haired father.) Not saying Mikasa owes Levi anything because of said circumstances, but I am getting major Líf and Lífþrasir vibes from them. If you don’t who they are, they’re the only humans to survive Ragnarök, the end of the world. If the character Ymir Fritz is Ymir the jotunn from Norse myths (with arguably her daughters being Odin, Vili, and Ve who slew Ymir), then it wouldn’t surprise me if Isayama was inspired by other Norse myths. Also this description of Líf and Lífþrasir sounds very similar to any children of Levi and Mikasa: “ Líf and Lífþrasir, will lie hid in Hoddmímis Holt (perhaps the Titan Forest where Levi and Mikasa fought the Female Titan?) during “Surt’s fire (Eren’s Rumbling?) ”, and that “from these people there will be descended such a great progeny that the world will be inhabited (since Ackerman’s are stronger than the average human).”
By having Mikasa, the heroine, deal the killing blow on the main character turned anti-hero, also her past love interest. In a shounenmanga. Let that sink in.
SNK has always gone out of its way to present the perspective of the common person, exactly this kind of ‘nameless stranger’ - to emphasise that these are people with lives as rich and emotions as real as the characters we focus on.
In a series where so many people die en masse on a regular basis, it’s easy to become detached from that tragedy, to see it as an abstract statistic. This is where the trope of ‘redshirts’ come from: the mooks who have the sole purpose of dying so our protagonists don’t have to, because a bloodless victory would be unrealistic. SNK takes care to explore and subvert that trope.
Isayama’s mastery at portraying emotion through facial expression makes you feel even for these ‘nameless strangers’.
I’ve been trying to figure out what exactly Zeke meant by “brainwashing” since the chapter was released, and now have another idea what he may have actually meant. Despite this being a story in which memory manipulation is an actual thing, I’m basing this speculation on a more figurative meaning.
I’ve seen many fans assume that Zeke implied Eren had been brainwashed in the sense that Grisha had misled him into believing he should be fighting for humanity, or something along those lines. And that’s a fair assumption, it sounds plausible. But then, this just now popped into my mind:
Keith:Special. Chosen. It was the first time anyone had ever called me that.
Carla looks so unimpressed with all that “special” talk.
Consider what Grisha called Keith and the rest of the Survey Corps members: Special. Chosen. He tells Keith they are wiser and braver than anyone else within the walls…which is quite a compliment, though a bit much. Keith let this idea get to his head, and in the end only caused him grief. Then, the night the walls were breached and Grisha takes Eren into the woods, we have this exchange:
Keith worries about Grisha “cursing” another person, suffering the same fate as he did. Eren, self-admittedly, also let the notion of being special get the better of him (although there were other important factors involved, such having others put him up on a pedestal).
The fallout of that belief suddenly crumbling away was ugly, to say the least.
And then Eren, after hearing what Keith has to say, has this realization that he may have only been given the titan powers in the first place because he was just the son of someone who was special.
The way he reacts here breaks my heart y’know.
Jury’s out on whether or not there’s more to Grisha’s reasoning, here’s hoping we get a better explanation soon. Probably something bloodline related, but why he couldn’t use the power and take the burden himself remains a mystery. Hopefully not for much longer.
So I just wonder if maybe the “brainwashing” Zeke refers to is actually about Grisha – in Keith’s words – “cursing” others by convincing them they are oh so special. Although Eren is a more extreme case, what with having a terrible burden placed on his shoulders. What’s even more interesting is that when Zeke is talking to Eren, the impression I got was that both of them were victimized in the exact same way (brainwashing), and that’s why Zeke understands Eren – they suffered through similar experiences.
If that’s the case, then by what means did Grisha place improbably high expectations on Zeke, only to have things take a turn for the worse? Could this relate to how he became a shifter along with his coordinate-like abilities? I have seen a few half-baked theories floating around suggesting Zeke is a failed coordinate created by Grisha. Interesting.
Well, spoiler week is upon us, by this time next week we may very well have a better idea of what exactly Zeke was talking about…and just how true it is.
I think I finally get how best to describe the events of this whole attack: this was Marley’s Pearl Harbor.
The historical event needs no introduction:
“December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” –President Franklin Roosevelt, 12/8/1941
Following escalating tensions between Japan and the United States, the former country launched what was effectively a surprise attack on the headquarters of the Pacific branch of the US Navy, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Over 2,000 people were killed, 8 battleships were sunk or damaged, 3 cruisers and 3 destroyers were damaged, and over 180 aircraft were destroyed.
In this chapter, we see something similar. A surprise attack and seemingly major losses to the aggresse. Marley’s leader, Willy Tybur, is dead and so is most of the country’s military leadership. It’s possible that Reiner is dead, which means the Armored Titan is effectively out of commission and the War Hammer Titan may be as well. Marley only has the Jaw, Cart and Beast Titans ready and willing to fight, and that’s not counting Zeke’s likely duplicity.
Following the Pearl Harbor attack, Japan spread out across the Pacific, conquering many key islands, including the resource rich Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), Southeast Asia, and bringing large swathes of ocean under their control. By the time the US was back on its feet, Japan had done all they could to prepare for the war.
I’ve noticed more and more posts using Erwin as an example to explain and/or justify Eren’s actions at the theater. I agree part of the equation works. But as a whole, the comparison is like holding a periwinkle flower up to the sky and saying they are the same because they are both blue.
True, both Eren and Erwin were ruthless and capable of using any means necessary in achieving their goal. They are the same in that singular aspect. Where the comparison falls apart for me, basically to the point of nullifying it, is when I look at the goal itself, and their competence in making decisions to achieve those goals.
Erwin’s goal was to find the truth. And for the majority of his life, that goal was so close to what was best for humanity that they were essentially in lockstep. In fact, Erwin’s personal goal was so closely married to what was best for humanity that Erwin was able to fool even himself.
When Erwin realized that he prioritized his dream over humanity, he fell into doubt and depression. It was his undoing. On the last day of his life when he was presented with the choice between his personal dream and what was best for humanity, Erwin chose humanity. So while Erwin had a selfish goal, humanity as a whole was never victimized by Erwin’s dream.
That brings us to Eren. I think most people will agree that Eren’s goal has never been the vague unknowable mass that is humanity but rather the people he loves. He’s willing to fight for humanity but there is a clear line - “as long as my friends don’t get hurt in the process”. (If I need to write a meta spelling that out and providing examples I can, but I’m hoping this is a generally agreed upon point).
It would be hypocritical of me to think badly of Eren for prioritizing his friends. It’s exactly how I personally would be in making decisions. But someone who cannot see the forest for the trees is not the one who should be making decisions that affect everyone. This is why what is happening in Marley is so disconcerting. Eren should not be the one calling the shots. He doesn’t have the intellect, and more importantly, he doesn’t have the ability to act without being blinded to his friends. These were qualities Erwin had in bucketfuls.
So yes, you can say Erwin and Eren share a ruthlessness in achieving their goals, but that is the end of the comparison. Erwin had the ability to separate himself and his friends from decisions. Eren doesn’t. Erwin ultimately chose humanity over his personal goals. I can’t see Eren doing that.
This post is not critical of the meta I’ve seen ( @aotopmha,@teetanjaeger - looking at you!) because I know they get this are using the comparison in that singular aspect. What worries me is that “Eren is acting just like Erwin would” will become a fandom buzzphrase that is accepted and tossed around casually. As an Erwin fan girl and someone who appreciates the differences between them, I feel like I needed to speak up.
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also apologies for ignoring messages and asks for weeks now. I was sick first with the flu and then pneumonia. I’m finally (FINALLY) feeling better and hope to get back into snk hype mode.
As one of Erwin’s fans, I am fully aware of ruthless stuffs he had done in order to get closer to the truth. Countless SC members’ death, Stohess district massacre, sacrificing MP’s members to get Eren back, or the charging towards Beast Titan.
As a reader of SNK, I wanted the SC to win those battles/hurdles when I read those chapters, because I wanted to know what would happen. One of the reasons behind those victories, was because of Erwin’s leadership.
As for Eren, I asked myself as a reader, do I want the Marley warrior kids to die, do I want innocent people to die? No. But do I want the SC to bring down the Marleyan military? Yes. Is what Eren’s way a good way to do it? No, because there are other better way, he could have done it in smaller scale.
Then I started to wonder. Was Erwin’s method right? No, but there was no other better way. For example, the Stohess district massacre was the worst scenario that could have happened, it happened because they weren’t able to catch Annie in time. Was there any other better method to get Eren’s back from Reiner aside from bringing a horde of titans toward the Armored Titan? At that time the Armored Titan is considerably the most skilled titan in battle. They overthrew the government and avoided the massacre in Orvud district because of Erwin’s leadership & people believed in Erwin, and all of those brought all of us as readers to advance more towards the truth.
When I read the chapter when they are trapped by the Beast Titan, I thought they were really done for good. Even if Armin managed to bring down the Colossal Titan, did it guarantee all of their safety, if BT was not taken down? No.
Erwin is not the only person who is responsible for the victories, but he played a very important role. He was a part of it with his life on the line and he died for his duty as the SC commander. I cried every time I read ch 84, no matter how long time has passed. He died after he admitted that he had his own selfish reason. He didn’t even excuse himself “But look hey we’ve gone so far, right? So don’t blame me, ok?”. He died after forsaking his dream, which was one of the drive they came so far, he felt guilty for sacrificing people and decided to fulfill his role as the SC commander. He felt guilty for his ruthlessness that’s why he always tried to scale down the damage.
That being said, do I hate Zeke or the warriors now for Erwin’s death? No, they have their own stories. Do I hate Mikasa or Armin? No, they have their own stories too. Do I hate Eren for being angry? No, he has his own story, but I disagree with his way of dealing with everything. I felt for him when he wanted to kill of the titans, because I sided with the humanity. However when it is revealed that titans were originated from human, it is not about between titans and human anymore, it’s between human.
Then I asked, what would Erwin have done were he still alive? They will infiltrate Marley for sure, but not large scale of massacre like what Eren did. Unless they mess up somewhere, like during Stohess district. Erwin would have taken into measurement to reduce the damage.
I don’t know what is Hanji’s role or Armin’s role in this situation at the moment. I really look forward to the development of the manga and the revelation behind Eren’s action.
Dawn of humanity really cements why Eren is such a tragic character.
He is someone who harbors such an obsession with the concept of freedom, that he himself becomes a slave to that obsession. The issue being his entire nature is contradictory to his beliefs of free will and freedom. He says he chooses to do these awful things because its his choice, but is clearly horrified by the consequences of those choices and always has this pained look on his face after making said choices.
He says he refuses to to take away his friend’s freedom, but then takes away any room for opportunities where they could sort out Paradis problems together and forces them to fight him if they wanted to stop the rumbling. They could either risk everything to stop his rampage of global genocide, all while dying in the process, or live peaceful lives full of regret with the realizations that their peaceful futures were ensured by way of global genocide and they just let it happen. He didn’t give them a choice, he forced them into an impossible dilemma where the only option left for them was to fight.
Eren wants to be free but continuously makes choices that either bring him pain or robs individual freedom from others. He tries to close the gap if this dissonance by telling himself that its his choice and that he is free, even though in reality he’s probably the least free person in this story
