Before anyone calls Eren “Evil” or “coldblooded” I just want to remind everyone a passage in this chapter that i’m surprised not a lot of people are talking about.
The moment Eren entered into Marely his whole worldview on the people he thought were his enemies changed completely. He had to eat, sleep, and live in the same roof as the enemy and learned that there wasn’t that much difference between him and them. He saw them as people and could empathize with their situation. Because he had to live in those situations and the environment that came with it.
He realized that there were actually good people like Falco who resided in Marely, people who were just living day by day trying to survive and make the best out of what was given to them. He started to realize that the people living there weren’t evil or monsters, but eldians like him who were forced into internment camps, forced to become cannon fodder for their government who treat them like caged animals, and treated like they were something lower than human.
There wasn’t any difference between the lives lived inside the walls, and in Marely. Eren could empathize with their situation because it wasn’t any different to how he lived inside the walls. How could he hate people who were forced to live the life that was decided for them by a higher power? How could he not empathize with them?
Eren finally understood the bigger picture.
He could finally understand how Reiner must have felt when he entered the walls to destroy wall maria. How that must have done to him emotionally and psychologically. This is a huge contrast to how Eren reacted after he fought Reiner in the clash of the titans arc. Where he lashed out at him when he found out that he was suffering from an mental disorder for the things that he done. He didn’t even consider how Reiner might have felt, and just cursed him to death. Again, this is a huge development for Eren.
So i don’t want to hear people going “ EREN THE GENOCIDAL MANIAC IS OUT FOR REVENGE” because you completely miss the point of this chapter and the empathetic nature that Eren always had inside him even way back in the earlier chapter.
Summary of what’s written next to Kruger (Thanks @suniuz):Kruger, Nifa, and Beaure (The journalist from a while ago) all received some votes as well, but not enough to make the top rankings. Perhaps they will have “revenge” next time? The Bessatsu staff also thanks everyone for voting, as the responses apparently exceeded their expectations.
(That last part is interesting considering how much lower the total vote quantity was compared to previous polls)
Translated a few notes on Levi’s mug from Shingeki no Kyojin: OUTSIDE Kou.
*Air intakes (エアインテーク) were a new concept to me; they’re where the bangs stick up slightly from the hairline before gravity pulls the rest of the hair down, supposedly making them look like air vents. (Examples here.)
**Small faces (小顔) are generally considered an attractive feature in Japan, both for men and women nowadays.
well i guess this is it 