#mikasa analysis

[clfixationstation]

"Mikasa was obsessed with Eren" vs actual obsession:

To state the obvious: Mikasa was able to break from her previous glowing conception of Eren and think for herself, gaining a more complete picture of Eren as a person. If she was the shallow character people claim her to be, Mikasa would not have opposed the Yeagarists - she would've fallen in line, becoming an unthinking supporter of their fascist, genocidal reign. Instead, Mikasa killed Eren, not allowing her love to keep her bound, ending the titan curse.

Which is a stark contrast to Louise and Floch. They fell for the facade Eren presented them, unquestioning. Eren didn't give a shit about the "Eldian Empire." He used the Yeagarists for his own aim - an unoccupied outside world - ambivalent to their deaths. Eren preyed on their fear of annihilation, allowed their terror to fester and blossom into dehumanization, ultra-nationalism, and imperialist aims, all for him to use them as a tool to start the Rumbling, so he could "see that sight." Louise and Floch idolized Eren, whipped up into a fervor, unconscious to his true goal.

Eren himself recognized the humanity of the people living beyond the walls. He grew to understand differing perspectives, notably Reiner's. He cried to Ramzi, apologizing for what he knew he would do. Yet, he still did it. Empty without the "freedom" he sought, the look in Armin's eyes, an internal freedom he mistook as an external goal. Telling himself and others he was doing it for Eldia (despite trampling Eldians outside the walls), for his friends (despite not knowing if they'd live), anything to distract himself from his own selfish desire.

I do find Floch and Louise fascinating characters as a way to break down idolatry and how people can become radicalized into fascism. I actually find Floch quite entertaining, and I like that we get to see how he got to that place. And I like seeing how other characters (Mikasa, Jean, and Onyankopon) react to his takeover and his offer to join the Yeagarists. Louise and Floch almost serve to reflect alternative paths for Mikasa and Jean respectively, who they could've been if they gave into their worst traits - single-minded devotion for Mikasa, selfishness for Jean. Fascinating stuff all around

[4everinyour-roaa]

I gotta say, about 95-98% of complaints about Mikasa are “she didn’t react calmly and maturely in the midst of mass death and destruction or the LITERAL apocalypse”

yupp!!! and it’s honestly so tiring to see because what mikasa was going through during those final arcs was just so awful and it obviously put her in such a bad mental state

mikasa didn’t just lose her one of her closed friends and watched her loved one turn into a cruel monster who is capable of murdering so many innocent people and children. she is also simultaneously experiencing an identity crisis as a result of what eren had told her about the ackerman genes.

we have a whole scene where mikasa tells armin that she’s not sure if she wants to help eren (when they’re in the jail cell considering fighting alongside the yeagerists) because she genuinely wants or if it’s just because of her blood

what eren said had completely shattered mikasa’s sense of self and identity making her feel lost and helpless which is completely different to how mikasa used to be in earlier seasons

mikasa in earlier seasons had so many moments where she is focused and determined, always ready to strike and being the one to encourage the people around her to fight back when they’re unable to

but now she is in a vulnerable state that we have never seen her in before, she lost that priority that she has always fought for and no longer knows what exactly she wants to do anymore.

this vulnerability is what adds layers to her character and makes her feel more human, cause if mikasa never experienced any of these pushbacks all of her haters would’ve been calling her a “mary sue”

complex characters don’t exist to be fit into a box or a trope, they’re dynamic characters who have good traits as well as flaws, they’re capable of making good decisions as much as they are capable of making bad ones, and mikasa is one of these characters

[starshower1215]

"Mikasa becomes a better person... by learning from him the importance of being able to let go of the people who mean the most to us" I really love this part of what you said, because this is especially vital to Mikasa given that a large part of her attachment to Eren seems to owe itself to her trauma. Eren is extremely important to her, that's evident from the start, but it looks like she's also attached to him to an unhealthy degree. If I remember correctly, a lot of her actions aren't explicitly because she loves Eren, but because she doesn't want to lose him. These two things coexist, yes, but they're also different. One is positively driven, the other is driven by fear. To say this is to say Levi both taught her how to be better while also helping her heal from the impact of her trauma.

What's also interesting is how you pointed out in the linked post how they both lost and rebuilt their own families (and lost them again). Their circumstances are similar from a broad stance, but their behaviors are contrasting: Mikasa initially clings to Eren very tightly, and Levi seems instead to accept loss as it comes and to turn it into strength to go on (such as is often seen in deaths, when he takes it as motivation to give meaning to life, but even in other things, like when Armin killed for the first time. He helped Armin accept his new self). He almost leads by example this way with his optimism, which certainly fits into the adult-younger person relationship dynamic (otherwise known as father of the 104th and child).

Anyway, this was very good to read, haha, thank you as always for taking the time to answer and for providing the detail. I hope you have a good day, and happy new year! 🎉

Hi, Cosmic, I hope your day's been going well. 👋 I'm really into the way that you depict the relationships between Levi and the remaining 104th in This Life, After, so I was wondering, what are your thoughts on Levi and Mikasa's relationship? (in general, I guess, since that's an incredibly vague question).

Hey there!

I actually answered an ask very similar to this not long ago, which you can read here:

But another thing I'll say here is that, while Mikasa started out with a very hostile attitude toward Levi, Levi never felt any such negative emotions toward her, and that's important to understand when talking about their relationship, because I think it says a lot, both about Levi's character and nature, and about Mikasa's eventual growth as a character.

Mikasa hated Levi at first because she saw him as a threat to Eren, and she said some pretty blatantly cruel things to Levi out of that perceived threat. I think the fact Levi never holds that against her is really demonstrative of Levi's own lack of judgement, his great empathy in being able to understand where other people are coming from, and also his selflessness, in how he doesn't really care what anyone thinks of him personally. He's just there to help people in whatever ways he can. If people hate him for that, then so be it. Because Levi never prioritizes himself or his personal well-being or advancement in any way. I think, over the course of the story, Mikasa really learns to be selfless from Levi, and that culminates in her ultimately letting go of her dream to be with Eren when she takes his life. And that in itself is like the ultimate reversal of where Mikasa's relationship with Levi started out, with her feeling very resentful and even hateful toward him, to eventually coming to respect him and trust implicitly in his judgement. Levi really helped Mikasa grow as a person, which I think is true of Levi's relationship with all of the 104th. They all learned important lessons from Levi, in one way or another, or felt a positive impact from him in some way.

So really, Levi's relationship with Mikasa is one of growth and learning. It's one of a young person learning from an adult, and benefiting from an adults presence and influence in her life. Mikasa becomes a better person through her relationship with Levi, specifically by learning from him the importance of being able to let go of the people who mean the most to us, which I think is really a wonderful thing, and demonstrates Levi's own importance in the narrative and his influence on the other characters. I think Levi's lack of judgement toward Mikasa's flaws early on in the story is what really helped push her toward the growth she needed. He could have easily grown to resent her for her attitude toward him, but instead he always understood it was just a human fault, relatable and understandable to all people, and he allowed her to come into her own and learn, instead of scolding her for it. And he does that with everyone, really. Levi in many ways encapsulates one of AoT's core themes, which is the importance of not casting judgements on others without context or an attempt to understand where they're coming from. Again, it's that quality in Levi which eventually allows Mikasa to become the hero she does.

[happybird16]

I'm going to make myself cry typing this but here we go..

I think one of the points of Attack on Titan is that humanity is forgetful. Doomed to forget, actually.

Our main cast are heroes, not just the surviving ones. Levi deserves to have statues built of him. The surviving members of the 104th even went on to become politicians, traveling the world to help change things for the better. I have no doubt that they had buildings named after them, streets and parks named after them. There were probably history books specifically dedicated to each and every one of them.

But humans are forgetful.

There were no photos of Eren. He probably only continued to exist in history books, where he was demonized and vilified for decimating the world. By the time their fingers started to get all wrinkly from age, Mikasa and Armin probably forgot what Eren looked like. What he sounded like.

Time passes and humans forget. Statues crumble, buildings rot and fall apart. People forget figures that used to be significant. History books are changed. Even atrocities eventually become dulled in humanities collective memory. Bombs turn everything to dust. Humans are doomed to forget and repeat their mistakes again and again and again.. and I think that's the point.

[sonofthesaiyans]

Hats off to Jean Kirstein, the Scouts' unlikeliest hero.

Honor dictates that I say a few words to honor the birthday of one of the 104th's strongest and most naturally gifted soldiers.

Jean Kirstein is a character who, at one point, I would have said had one of the most impressive arcs of any individual character in Attack on Titan. Once content to keep himself to the sidelines in service of the royal government, Jean has really come a long way from when we first met him in the early days of season one.

Jean has always been abrasive and cynical, holding on to no fantasies about the miserable world he and his friends have long been trapped in. But in spite of all he's gone through, he's shown a keen sense of judgement and natural leadership that has allowed him to survive again and again in a situation he at one point would have been all to happy to look the other way, and never turn back. In a world where insanity dominates between the Titans and humanity, Jean always seems to know what to do even when he's at an utter loss of what the outcome could be, and he's so often been a voice of reason when faced with the panic of his comrades or the zeal of his friendly rival turned mortal enemy, Eren.

His old pal Marco recognized this potential in Jean, and it seems Marco's words have resonated strongly with Jean long after his own demise. Understanding what was at stake, he took a hard look at what he signed himself on to and charged at it head on. Through and through, he's proven a dependable ally to those serving by his side and ultimately, under his own command. One of Jean's greatest assets, and perhaps in his own mind his greatest curse, is his nobility. Whatever his faults and failings, Jean has always sided with the greater good, and is one of the most incorruptible characters on Paradis. He's been pushed to his limits every bit as much as the rest of his circle......And through it all still stands tall.

By no means flawless, and I actually have some far stronger opinions about Jean in spite of the fact that I rarely ever comment on him around here.......And that's a discussion for another day.

For tonight though, gotta acknowledge the impressive track record of a guy who probably never should have been a Scout in the first place.......And somehow has lived to speak of the experience after going through Hell and back time and time again.

Seriously, Jean Kirstein would have been a worthy contender to become Commander of the Scout Regiment, or second-in-command under Hange and/or Levi. Whatever the case, he's certainly been an asset to the greater cause of freedom, and perhaps understood the meaning of what that was far better than Eren himself EVER did.

Keep moving forward as you always have, Commander Jean.

Happy Birthday to a man worthy of wearing the Wings of Freedom.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh, and one last thing; If you really do truly love Jean, then for the love of all that is good and just.........

Do NOT even think about it with the lame as hell Horseface jokes. I think the fact that I acknowledged not just Jeanmarco, but also "Jeankasa" up here is being pretty generous as it is. So please, don't push it, alright?

Besides, I can name five other characters who look more like horses than him.....

[acmeangel]

I have to get this off my chest because, to me, it has always been obvious that the “Ackerman bond” is not a real thing. Eren is doing olympian-level mental gymnastics to explain away Mikasa’s decade-long behavior toward him as some Ackerman-power-related curse/bond, because he was 1. a dumb teenager who couldn’t come to terms with his feelings or Mikasa’s feelings, and 2. knew that The Rumbling was going to happen and needed Mikasa to not love him for her own sake. And Zeke was basically like “lol uh that’s not a thing buddy” because he saw right through that. Is it not possible that Kenny, Levi, and Mikasa are all simply loyal to people they care about? As if Armin, Hange, Ymir — and pretty much every other main character — didn’t also exhibit fierce loyalty and dedication?

I dunno, I just much prefer the version of the story that involves complex, real feelings from Eren and Mikasa, and portrays the strength of loyalty, rather than some soul-bond-curse-thing that strips three very unique characters of their personal agency and dilutes them down to nothing.

[abraham712]

hey levihan lovers pls like and share my collage short

[sunflowersunite]

Hi, Sun (can I call you that?). You're a writer of Eremika, so you're experienced in writing Eren and Mikasa. What are your tips on writing Mikasa in particular? Her characterisation, manner of speaking, or body language, etc. And if you're very experienced in writing Armin, how would you imagine their relationship to be after Eren's death, as well as Mikasa's relationship with Annie as Armin's love interest?

Hey Star! Sure you can call me Sun, that's a really nice nickname 😃

I loved this question, thank you for asking! I do my best to make sure everyone is in character in my fics, it's very important to me (as it is for most fanfic writers), so that was a really interesting question to receive. This way I get to voice what goes through my head every time I open my documents lol. (If I may, are you planning to write Mikasa or is this out of curiosity?)

So here are some points I consider.

Writing Mikasa:

Characterisation

The short answer to what I keep in mind when writing her is:

love

strength

duty.

For the long answer, here it is (prepare for an essay)

So, starting off. I originally wanted to start with a different point in mind but let me begin with what is the most important part of Mikasa: her love. This is what she yearns for deep down, a peaceful life full of love.

🌾 Mikasa has strong emotional connections with those she cares about, most importantly Eren and Armin. She will not hesitate to do whatever it takes to ensure their safety. Venturing deeper into her mind, the future she imagines for herself specifically includes people, namely Eren.

Everyone has their own desires, Armin dreams of seeing the ocean and Eren dreams of being free. Surely both boys want the whole EMA friend group to be together while they live their dreams, but Mikasa has explicitly stated that all she ever wanted was to be by Eren's side. Everything else matters little, she can be inside the walls all her life for all she cares.

[! Of course this does not mean "all she cared about was Eren", a girl in love can care for others as well and we've seen what Armin, Sasha and others mean to her. Romantic feelings don't suck the meaning out of everything else, people seem to forget that for some reason.]

🌾 But here's the thing: saving humanity is also important. Mikasa initially joined the Scouts specifically to be by Eren's side and protect him. However as she grew, she developed a strong sense of duty much like Levi's. She had compassion inside her from before, caring for those in need and making sure they don't suffer the same trauma she went through. Eventually she chose to sacrifice her love and future to save the world, showing extreme selflessness and proving once and for all her benevolence.

(for me that character development was why neither Eren nor Mikasa were brimming with joy in the cabin, and why I don't find full comfort in cabin AUs. This life is what Mikasa wanted in the beginning, to be with her beloved and not care for all that death around her, but now, leaving her friends at the mercy of Marley doesn't sit right with her. Abandoning her duty doesn't feel right for either of them anymore).

-- second point: strength.

🌾Mikasa is well aware of how strong she is, her skills and limits, and she doesn't underestimate herself. She doesn't waste time being humble; if she knows she can accomplish something, she steps forth because she's confident in her skills.

Also, she's more action-oriented than thought-oriented. Others do the thinking and she does the fighting, same as Levi. That doesn't mean she can't think obviously, but her strength lies elsewhere. She leaves the thinking to the thinkers.

--Point number 3: Mikasa has a strong sense of duty.

🌾She's aware that out of almost everyone around her, she is the strongest and she has the biggest chances of success, so most of the work is up to her. Kind of like Levi, who always zipped across forests and towns in ODM gear to make sure everything went according to Erwin's orders (because who else could handle it better than him? He's the strongest).

Mikasa knows she is strong, so if an enemy ambushed them and kidnapped Eren, out of everyone she is more responsible. (To avoid misunderstandings, Mikasa isn't at fault for everything that happened to Eren in the story. What I wrote above is what I imagine goes through her head, not mine).

[fun fact: Eren's deepest desire, so deep that he himself didn't realise until it was too late, revolved around people as well. Eren's whole deal was that he never grew up, the angry kid inside him just shouted louder and louder, filling all his senses with anger, leaving no room for healing.

But in his very last moments, when regret had brought him down and he wished he hadn't listened to that voice, he admits "I don't want to die. I want to be with Mikasa, with all of you". Also in the post credit scene of the movie, we see him focusing on Armin and Mikasa's company more rather than anything else because he cares for people. So he and Mikasa are much more alike than what we see at first]

I will split this answer into two or three parts, so that's the end of the first. Again, thank you for asking me 😃 I had fun thinking about this. I kind of turned it into an Eremika analysis as well but Eremika is very important for Mikasa and also it's me we're talking about, so that was bound to happen. I don't know your opinion on Eremika but I hope you don't mind it. I hope you're satisfied so far!

[diariodeunrincondemi]

Although everyone is talking about Armin and Eren's dialogue (which was amazing), for me the heartbreaking moment was that of the civilian refugees being cornered between the cliff and the advancing titans and the man lifting the baby to pass it back, in a desperate gesture to save him.

A father assuming, in the midst of terror, that he was going to die, but wanting to save his son, because it was better for his son to be an orphan and have a chance to live than to die in that terror.

And that moment is heartbreaking because it is full of realism. Because we still see it today on live broadcasts in the news: adults doing everything they can to protect and save their children in the midst of terror, hoping that it will end and they can live. Because there is nothing more horrible than the death of a person who could not experience life.

[sweatreleaseofdeaths]

I never liked some aspects of SNK's ending since it came out back in 2021. Not because I thought it was bad or because I thought it wasn't well made, but because it felt forced. 

The sudden change of Eren's feelings about Mikasa was one thing that pissed me off, but also because Isayama's original ending wasn't even supposed to be the one that we got. It felt like he only wrote that specific ending for the fans and readers (and maybe because he was tired too; have you seen the bags?) and not because that was the ending that he wanted to write. 

Like you can clearly tell by the last arc that he took a drastic turn on where the story would go to make it "happier," for lack of better words.

 

The way I saw it from the beginning, there was no getting out of it. No happy ending whatsoever. And true to it, the ending with got was bittersweet. Everything Eren did was for nothing because the cycle started back again.

I did actually appreciate that, because it showed us something that was an actual reality. Even if it did help for a bit, nothing really changed because it's in humanity's nature to always start the cycle once again.

However, what I wanted to see more was his original idea of everybody dying. Instead of that, Isayama went and tried to pull a Naruto (with Armin and Eren) so that they could talk it out, understand each other, and come to an understanding. (The understanding being: the reasons of his actions, Eren's need to die, and their promises) 

From an interview (if I'm not mistaken), the original ending was apparently inspired by "The Mist," which is basically about the protagonist being the cause of his loved ones downfall in an attempt to protect them. Sounds familiar, right? It feels like it was going in that direction, then Isayama just decided to make them all resolve their differences, for some reason. 

I personally don't hate the ending; like I said, I just think it was a tad forced on his end.

 

On the Mikasa/Eren thing, do NOT get me wrong. Mikasa is and has always been an important character to this story. Her as well as her relationship with Eren IS special. Now just because what they share is special doesn't necessarily mean that it's "love.".

On Mikasa's side, she literally lost her parents and met Eren a second later because he killed for her and came to her defense. She latched into him because of that. She was a traumatised child with a deeply unhealthy view of love, so while she did love Eren, the way she showed it could be interpreted as just obsession toward her rescuer.

But the thing with Mikasa's character is that the more the story goes, the more you see her become her own person without Eren. Either it be choosing between her desire to stay with him or her duties as a soldier, or even when she had to make a choice between killing him or not being willing to because of how much she loves him.

I honestly love Mikasa as a character so much. You can see her growth and see her trying to get past her trauma step by step. So, at the end, even though she never stopped loving Eren, she moved on and started a life for herself, because that's where her development was leading to.

Contrary to her, Eren had little to no self-restraint. He was hot-headed and only believed in what he believed, walking the path that he felt was right. He was obsessed with one thing and one thing only (that's literally everything he talked about), never straying from it no matter what happened.

I feel like he never tried to get past his trauma, only feeding into it the more time passed. From always getting into fights because of different perspectives he had with people (i.e., hitting one of the guys who was badmouthing the scouts with a stick) to ending 80% of humanity. Eren was selfish from the beginning; everything he did was for himself. Even the rumbling was partially for himself because his freedom couldn't be obtained if the people outside the walls were still around. 

Eren was and will always be a deeply selfish person, but there is also more to that. (So much more that I'm not even going to get into that here, because I love Eren too much and wouldn't be doing him any justice by resuming his character in just a few words.)

 

TLDR: Eren did not love her romantically (he did LOVE her; it just wasn't romantic), and even if Isayama wanted to say that they did love each other, what they shared ultimately was toxic. It could've turned into something better if Eren was less self-centred, but then again. My issue with all of this is that Isayama underexplored this aspect of their relationship so much that it just was out of the blue (and might I add ooc without getting shot) when Eren started wailing about not wanting her to end up with someone else.

You can't just make a story, build it, and put effort into it, then make a little throwaway line of "Oh, these two love each other, btw." That's just not how it works. You have to develop it for the readers to understand, and even if some people end up not liking it, it wouldn't matter because at least you made it make sense. 

 

Also! I'm not criticising SNK, nor am I criticising Isayama. I've loved this story for years, so really, at the end of the day, even if some things still felt off to me, I will keep loving it to death. (And you can ship whoever you want who gives a fuck!)

[weatherproject]

“Thank you for wrapping this scarf around me Eren” 🕊️🧣

I was happy to see this in theaters 🙂‍↕️

[clfixationstation]

I think this may be an unpopular opinion, but Mikasa kissing Eren's severed head is actually probably my favorite aspect of eremika. Something about the simplicity of Mikasa's unfettered love contrasted against the visceral gore of Eren's corpse

Just perfectly encapsulates their relationship and the theme of cruelty and beauty that Mikasa embodies

Cruel world, and her beautiful love, inseparable

[4everinyour-roaa]

eren IS the cycle of hatred, he carries not just his own hatred for his enemies, but he also carries that of grisha's, kruger's and all the previous shifters.

he even perpetuates it into his child self, by the act of turning dina to carla he grows that need for revenge in his young heart, fueling his own hatred for the warriors and marley.

which is why the rumbling was never going to free ymir, or break the cycle. you cannot break the cycle of hatred with even more hatred, and more violence.

so it makes sense for the character who symbolizes unconditional and selfless love to be the one who breaks said cycle with her choice.

even in the selfless act of killing her loved one for the sake of the greater good, that very same act was also done out of her love for him.

so as opposed to eren who fought out of hate, mikasa only ever fought out of love.

[cosmicjoke]

Ackerman Relationships and Why Comparing Them is Invidious and Pointless:

It really, really pisses me off when people say the relationships between Kenny and Uri, Levi and Erwin, and Mikasa and Eren are "the same", that they're meant to parallel and mirror each other, because it's always this agenda driven stupidity of trying to "prove" some preconceived idea that they've already decided is the objective truth. They love to claim that the "Ackerbond" is real, that it's their blood that makes them loyal, or some magical bonding process unique to Ackerman's that makes them this way, all as a means of proving that either, a. Levi was "in love" with Erwin and put him above humanity, or b. Mikasa was really the hero all along because she was able to "let Eren go", while Levi supposedly wasn't able to do the same with Erwin.

I mean, never mind that Levi very literally let Erwin go. They never consider how it was this moment in the story, Levi letting Erwin die, that set the example for Mikasa to eventually be able to do the same with Eren. God forbid they acknowledge that Levi served as a mentor figure for all of the 104th and that they all learned from him, including Miksasa, and became better and more enlightened people through their association with him. You know, like any young person should from their association with an adult. These people also never seem to be able to answer what it is about letting Erwin die that actually benefited Levi, but I digress.

They always do the same, stupid thing, resort to the same, idiot argument, quoting a single, vague answer given by Isayama in a random interview about how Levi and Mikasa are like "knight" figures, and using that as some kind of irrefutable proof and evidence that Levi's relationship with Erwin is meant to be exactly the same as Mikasa's relationship with Eren. The thing about this claim that's so irritating is that, as usual with these sorts, they completely ignore this little thing called context, again, to push their agenda. They quote Isayama, and think that alone is all one needs to understand the dynamic between these six, different characters, completely foregoing consideration of the actual events of the story, or the fact that Kenny, Levi and Mikasa are all distinctly individual, characters, who's reasons for being loyal to their respective "people" are unique to them specifically. They completely ignore their individual personalities, they completely ignore the unique circumstances and reasoning behind their loyalty, and simply reduce it down to "Ackerman bonding, lol". It's so fucking stupid. Not only has Isayama himself debunked this notion in an interview (one which these people conveniently ignore when talking about this), but it was debunked within the story itself by Zeke. There is no Ackerbond. There is no magical link or bond between Ackerman's and anybody that's dictated or related in any way to their heritage or blood.

Levi, Mikasa and Kenny have individual, unique relationships with other characters, and those relationships are defined by their individual personalty traits and the unique circumstances surrounding the formation of those relationships. It has nothing to do with any of them being Ackerman's. It has nothing to do with their blood.

So I'm going to go over each of these situations, and lay out why it's an invidious comparison between all three of the Ackerman characters, and how it leads to misconceptions and wildly off the mark interpretations when one approaches analyzing these characters with the assumption that they're meant to "be the same".

Let's start with Kenny and Uri.

People love to present this idea that Kenny was "in love" with Uri (lol), again because it pushes their agenda of trying to prove Levi was in love with Erwin, either because they're incapable of viewing Levi through anything but a shipping lens, or because they want to paint Mikasa as somehow superior to Levi by claiming she was able to let go of the love of her life, while Levi wasn't. Kenny wasn't in love with Uri, though, and wasn't beholden to Uri through some magical bonding process driven by his Ackerman blood, the same way Mikasa wasn't beholden to Eren and Levi wasn't beholden to Erwin through any such magical connection, either. Kenny was "loyal" to Uri because he considered Uri to be the ultimate embodiment of power and believed it was that power that allowed Uri to be compassionate. Kenny knew he himself was a bad person, and he wanted to know what it felt like not to be. He wanted to know what it felt like to care about other people. He mistakenly believed that what made Uri a compassionate person was his power, and so he decided his own, best chance to become like Uri was to do his bidding in the eventual hope that it would present him with a chance to become a Titan himself. That's literally the reason Kenny worked for Uri. It wasn't because he was in love with Uri. It wasn't because "Uri was his person". It wasn't even because he cared about Uri. Kenny didn't care about anyone but himself. Something manifest in the very fact Kenny sought a way to feel compassion. Because he couldn't. And his inability to grasp on any level what compassion actually is or where it comes from is proof of this in and of itself. Kenny aligning himself with Uri was because he knew if he worked for the royal family, he would be able to get closer to finding a way to steal the power of the Titans. That's it. That was Kenny's reasoning. It's why he continued to work for the Reiss family even after Uri died. He was pursuing his goal of becoming the ultimate power in his misguided attempt to be a better person. Do I even have to lay out how the reason behind and nature of Kenny's relationship with Uri is completely different from Levi's with Erwin, or Mikasa's with Eren? I shouldn't have to.

Okay, now onto Levi and Erwin.

I've talked enough about Levi's relationship with Erwin that I don't have to go into great detail here. But just like people love to do with Kenny and Uri, and for the aforementioned agenda, they also love to say Levi was "in love" with Erwin, and they often use this claim to paint a picture of Levi as a selfish person who was willing to "sacrifice humanity" for the love of his life. Blah, blah, blah. I've gone over this a million times, so I won't do it again. I'll just lay out the actual reason Levi was so loyal to Erwin. It wasn't because he was "in love" with him, it was because he believed in Erwin as a leader. He saw Erwin as a superior person to himself because he believed Erwin was able to see something he couldn't, that he had a vision that Levi didn't, and that, as a result, he was someone worth believing in and following as a leader. He saw Erwin as capable of leading humanity to victory over the Titans. It's important to make this distinction, though. He didn't see Erwin as essential to saving humanity (we know this because Levi was twice willing to let Erwin die to save Eren), but he saw him as someone capable and important in that fight, as someone worth following because he had what it would take to make victory possible. He let Erwin die, he felt safe in making that choice, because he also believed in Armin the same way. He believed Armin had the capability to become a leader for humanity. Levi's loyalty to Erwin had nothing to do with love or personal, romantic feelings. It had nothing to do with obsession or blind devotion. It had nothing to do with a personal dream or desire to be with Erwin. It had to do with trusting in Erwin's judgement as a leader and believing that following him could both lead humanity to victory and also allow Levi a means by which to help people himself. Erwin showed Levi a path by which to help others, and so Levi chose to follow his lead and allowed Erwin to utilize his strength toward that end. That's it. That's Levi's relationship with Erwin in a nutshell. That's why Levi was loyal to Erwin. Again, I shouldn't have to explain further how totally different this is to either Kenny's relationship with Uri, or Mikasa's relationship with Eren.

And finally, Mikasa and Eren.

Mikasa is in love with Eren. That's the nature of their relationship. Mikasa feels this way about Eren because he saved her life and gave her a new family after she'd lost her own. Mikasa followed Eren, not because she believed in him as a leader, and not because she thought being around him would gain her power or help her become a better person, but because she had a personal dream of them ending up together in a romantic relationship. She had a personal dream of Eren returning her affections and them getting to live happily ever after, as a family. It's that simple. Mikasa joins the Survey Corps because she cares about Eren more than anything or anyone, and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect him, including imperiling her own life by joining the most dangerous division of the military. Mikasa's relationship with Eren is what so many people mistakenly think Levi's relationship with Erwin is. Mikasa is willing, for almost the entire story, to kill anyone or destroy anything if it means keeping Eren safe. I've already laid out how entirely unlike Levi's relationship with Erwin this is. Levi was always willing to let Erwin die if it was necessary to the mission of the Survey Corps. Mikasa wasn't able to do the same with Eren until the very end of the story. Why? Again, because unlike Levi with Erwin, Mikasa prioritized Eren over humanity. Levi joined the Survey Corps to fight for humanity, not Erwin. He fought for humanity under Erwin's guidance, to be sure, but it wasn't for Erwin. It was for humanity. Mikasa joined the Survey Corps to keep Eren safe. She joined the Survey Corps for Eren. Again, I shouldn't have to explain further why this makes Mikasa's relationship with Eren incomparable to either Kenny's relationship with Uri, or Levi's relationship with Erwin.

It completely takes away any complexity or individuality from these characters when you group them all together and say they're all meant to be alike, or meant to be a mirror of one another. It robs them of their individual personalities and motivations and reduces them down to some monolithic avatar on which to project your own, personal desires and fantasies. It ignores their individual characterization and circumstances within the narrative of "Attack on Titan" all in the name of confirmation bias. You want Levi to be in love with Erwin, well, then, you have to compare his relationship with Erwin to Mikasa's with Eren, or Kenny's with Uri, and say all three were rooted in the "blind devotion" of love. You want Mikasa to be "the real hero" of AoT, then you have to also claim Levi was in love with Erwin so that you can then compare his supposed failure to let Erwin go with Mikasa's heroic sacrifice of Eren in the end. These people aren't looking at these characters with any kind of objectivity. They approach their understanding of them with their minds already made up about who they want them to be and what they want to personally believe about them and the story, and then twist their actions to fit their preconceived notions, instead of assessing these characters on an individual basis, considering their individual personality traits and motivations, or their circumstances within the context of the story itself, and then forming an opinion on them.

You can't compare any of their situations, because all three situations and all three characters are completely different to each other. Kenny's relationship with Uri is nothing like Levi's relationship with Erwin, or Mikasa's relationship with Eren. Levi's relationship with Erwin is nothing like Kenny's relationship with Uri, or Mikasa's relationship with Eren. Mikasa's relationship with Eren is nothing like Levi's relationship with Erwin or Kenny's relationship with Uri. Why? Because these three characters aren't the same people. They have completely different personalities from one another, completely different motivations, completely different outlooks and completely different circumstances they're facing. It's not fair to any of them to claim they're all alike, all driven by the same thing, or the same purpose. It reduces all of their characters to something they're not when you do that. It robs all of them of their essential core as characters. It makes them boring.

You have to assess all of these characters individually, on their own terms, with consideration to their unique personalities and motivations and circumstances. If you can't do that, then you aren't ever going to be able to form an accurate understanding of who any of them are.

I'm sure that one moronic Mikasa stan that keeps coming into my inbox will see this, so I dedicate this post especially to you, asshole. Maybe one day you'll learn to love your favorite characters objectively and without having to tear other characters down or grossly mischaracterize them in some pathetic attempt to make your fav look better. But I kind of doubt it. In the meantime, have fun continuing to delude yourself.

[onlyymirknows]

It’s a pretty common sentiment that the top 5 of the 104th don’t “count” because they’re four titan shifters and an Ackerman. That Jean would’ve ranked higher were it not for them having their unfair supernatural advantages. I disagree with this to a degree.

Mikasa obviously has the edge as an Ackerman, there’s no denying that. However, I’m questioning if being a shifter really gives RBA and Eren that much of an edge? In their human forms their one proven power is their healing factor. While that certainly helps with stamina, it doesn’t help with skills.

RBA do have an unfair advantage, though, which is their many years of prior military training and experience. It’s never stated how old the Warriors were when they joined the training program but it’s definitely something they did for several years. (I HC the starting age as 5.) So of course they’re really good cadets, they’re already fully trained soldiers.

As for Eren? Well, maybe Shadis put him there to keep Jean humble.

[kimiko24-art]

Bruno Bucciarati & Eren Yeager : Parallels