Am I the only one who gets annoyed when people call 'Attack on Titan' a simple revenge story?

I've seen that take pop up in at least five different YouTube video essays this month, but it ignores the whole political and philosophical conflict built over the last 10 years of the manga.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_john2mo ago

Nah, that take is way too simple. It's really about the cycle of violence and how people become the monsters they hate.

dakota_murphy902mo ago

Totally get that! It reminds me of my uncle who used to complain about his boss being a tyrant. Then he got promoted and slowly started doing all the exact same things, like micromanaging everyone's breaks. It was wild to watch.

alicec861mo ago

Oh man, I gotta jump in here. You're totally right that "simple revenge story" just doesn't cut it for AoT. But I'd gently push back on saying the political stuff was built over 10 years of the manga, because a lot of us were picking up on those themes pretty early with the whole walled city and class divide setup. @dakota_murphy90, your uncle story actually fits perfectly here, because it's not just about revenge, it's about how power twists people regardless of their initial intentions. The cycle of violence thing is real, but I'd add that the story also asks hard questions about whether anyone can truly escape their circumstances once they're in the game of war and control. Your mileage may vary, but for me, calling it "simple" misses how messy and gray the whole situation really is for every character.