Attack on Titan Themes Run Deeper Than the Titan Fights
The analysis frames Attack on Titan as a mecha story about warfare and human nature, arguing its thematic depth-particularly the Jungian collective unconscious and the protagonist's inability to look inward-elevates it beyond its surface action.
Reporting from 1 sources: Japan Powered.
A new analysis of Attack on Titan examines six major themes in the series, including the error of demanding answers instead of seeking them, the need to belong creating violence, and everyone being both a devil and a hero. The piece argues the story will stand as a classic alongside Neon Genesis Evangelion.
The analysis focuses on six themes, starting with Eren Yeager's habit of demanding answers from others rather than searching for them himself. The key to his family's basement, which he carries from the first episode, represents that he already held the answers he sought. The piece draws a contrast with the titans themselves, who chase their food instead of waiting to be fed.
Other themes include the idea that things that matter require sacrifice, that the need to belong creates violence, and that everyone is a slave to something. The author also points to the conceit of specialness and the notion that every person is both a devil and a hero. The analysis notes that the Attack Titan's ability to see memories of the future, triggered when Eren touches Historia Reiss, shows how Eren could have understood his situation earlier if he had stopped to think.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Japan Powered Looking Beyond the Walls of Attack on Titan