To structure this i’ll be analysing the freedom panel and how it ties to eren’s characterisation, then look at ‘grounded’ and how the interplay between the two strengthens him both narratively and thematically. +
Despite this being a main motivator for eren, it’s that ‘sight’ after all and the concept he was ‘drunk’ on in order to keep moving forward, eren isn’t truly free in chapter 131. There are multiple pieces of evidence that point to this. +
He takes his child form which is symbolic of ignorance, something he himself stated as being the thing furthest removed from freedom. We see his real head at the end of 131, eyes closed to the horrors he’s inflicting, further emphasising this ignorance. +
It looks like he’s flying but he’s actually on top of titan smoke and below clouds (symbolically trapped), where the titan smoke blocks his view of both the sites he actually equates to freedom and of the deaths below (further ignorance). +
Furthermore, the titans of the rumbling enclose him, acting as the walls that he equated to a lack of freedom growing up, the panelling explicit. It’s the significance behind him telling armin that he is the one who will be able to go beyond the ‘walls’, as eren never could. +
His founding titan form also takes the shape of an enormous skeletal puppet held up by strings, his bones the shape of a cage (ribcage haha). However what’s important is that despite all this he still moves forward which is why it ties so well to grounded and his duality. +
The first thing to understand about grounded is that it’s taking place at the same ‘time’ as freedom as it’s in his conversation with armin. It’s quite literally the two ‘sides’ of eren yeager and the time mechanics of paths makes the interplay brilliant. +
The duality is heightened as the grounded panel is the mirror opposite of freedom in every conceivable way. Adult v child, flying v on the ground, looking down v looking up, eyes wide v half shut, alone v with armin, and most importantly smoke v clarity. +
Neither work without the other because only together does it provide the full picture. Eren moves forward due to his nature and goals, but faces the full reality of those choices as he always has. This was his choice and he must accept the weight that comes with it. +
It’s happened before and it’s what makes him moving forward so layered. He changes from ‘they will die’ to no ‘i will kill them’, because he accepts culpability in the end which thoroughly breaks him, as we see with ramzi and in 139. He can only apologise, but he still did it. +
This is just his nature, something he ‘may just have been born with’. It’s incredibly consistent as it’s always been the case. He ‘just can’t accept an end like that’, it’s because ‘i was born into this world’ and in his own words ‘i am just me, i always have been’. +
There’s also another layer that’s tied to isayama’s commentary on transcendence. Despite gaining the power of God eren is still human, still a slave to something, and that shackles him just like it does to uri and to ymir fritz. +
As Rod Reiss said, the choice is in God’s hands. Eren’s choice was the rumbling, to keep moving forward, to reach that scenery but he is still a human being who suffers the weight of those choices as shown through the interplay of grounded and freedom. +
That’s essentially why i think the two moments can only be as brilliant as they are within the context of the other, and how thats another example of eren being a fantastic character to the very end. Hope you all enjoyed reading !
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thread exploring mikasa, eren, and what ‘love’ can mean in attack on titan
firstly, the functional reasons why he doesn’t know. erens eyes are closed in the mouth of his titan, he opens them when mikasa enters and he only sees her (eye reflection) once his head was severed. just like when he didn’t know how he entered paths after gabi shot him
this lack of knowledge is important because it ties into how his memories work. when he talks to zeke in marley he states that he didn't just see memories, he ‘felt' them. essentially eren fully EXPERIENCES the memories he holds as if he himself lived them
actual ‘reaches’ (not foreshadowing btw wrong word):
-pg 13 only numbered page in aot (links to long dream, 9 pages long)
-ymir + zeke from page they got powers to page of death = 13 pages
-eren wakes up pg 45 in yr 845, dies ch138 pg 45
- 139 = end of a cycle
complete breakdown of eren’s psyche, mikasa’s role, and the battle between free will and determinism in attack on titan ep87: ‘the dawn of humanity’
this episode is the first real look into eren’s psyche since the timeskip and it’s centred on two main concepts: his determination and his self loathing. his venture into the outside world changes his perspective but it doesn’t stop him from following through. +
for this it’s important to note that his coldness in his conversations with floch and historia is BEFORE he crosses the ocean. he can still view them all as enemies who he is fighting but he’s forced to accept the reality that they’re ‘all the same’ once he sees them for himself+
thread looking at annie, floch, armin, mikasa and the rise of the yeagerists
attack on titan episode 82: ‘sunset’
the episode opens with the ruins of stohess. this is a call back to s1 where erwins plan led to the capture of annie with lots of civilian casualties at the same place. erwin was later revealed to be led by his ‘selfish’ dream, and this selfishness is what allowed him to +
sacrifice others. his burden and guilt gives rise to questions concerning eren’s own mind. he said he was doing the rumbling to protect paradis but his actions have led to the titanisation of paradisians along with civilian casualties. it’s aligned with another important +
the second noble truth in buddhism teaches us that because we believe we are a permanent and unchanging self we fall into clinging and craving, jealousy and hate, and all other poisons that cause unhappiness. this is kokushibo and his search for the ‘self’. +
yoriichi and kokushibo present two opposing halves, much like other siblings have throughout demon slayer. one was given the rights to the house, education, clothes etc while the other was ‘blessed’ with talent. kokushibo’s journey stems from egotism. +
it was mostly emphasis on the fact the desire to be strong is borne from insecurity (weakness) or past failures. it was the same for uzui, tanjiro and the other demons. demons are humans who gave into the desperation of their weaknesses and through that lost their humanity. +
the hatred akaza felt was just an extension of self loathing, the weakness he abhorred in himself. this is when muzan plays in. the process of becoming a demon is what removes the memories of the past, they become lost in their anguish and are reborn into suffering (samsara). +