Understanding Annie Leonhart (Attack on Titan Character Analysis)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 พ.ย. 2023
- #attackontitan #shingekinokyojin #annieleonhardt #arminarlert #manga
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Annie Leonhart is an extremely misunderstood and misinterpreted character in the Attack on Titan fandom. While she is rough around the edges and has done terrible things, her story is extremely tragic. My aim with this video is to help more people understand the true meaning and lesson Isayama is trying to teach with Annie's character, and hopefully, I can convince more people to like her more. If you enjoy this video, consider subscribing, liking, and commenting below as it really helps the channel. I hope you guys enjoy it!
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I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE ANIME CLIPS OR MUSIC USED IN THIS VIDEO, ALL RIGHTS TO THOSE ASPECTS BELONG TO WIT AND MAPPA, THE STUDIOS BEHIND THE ANIME ADAPTATIONS OF ATTACK ON TITAN, HIROYUKI SAWANO, THE COMPOSER OF ATTACK ON TITAN SEASONS 1, 2, AND 3, AND KOHTA YAMAMOTO, WHO COMPOSED ATTACK ON TITAN SEASON 4 ALONGSIDE SAWANO. THANK YOU ALL FOR BRINGING THIS FANTASTIC SERIES TO LIFE!
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Only good thing about Annie is her rule 34 ngl
Cook
no. just no.
The video between her and Armin, yeah seen it too. 😅
People who empathies Eren yet reject Annie are hypocrites.
No, you can hate both characters but unlike Annie Eren had no choice which is made obvious by Isayama, get killed or kill. He chose to start the rumbling in fewr of losing his friends and his hatred towards anyone hurting his people. Annie was manipulated for sure but despite her cold character she 100% enjoyed killing innocent people and gathered the titans in ep 1. What people absolutely hate is that she gets easily forgiven for all her actions cause she was brainwashed they say. But wtf tou cannot do that without any regard of fucking consequences like Reiner and Berthold. This was just lazy writing to ship Armin and Annie, 🤮
@@winsen5602 Annie is a warrior for Marley and her worth is judged based on her performance. Do u think Annie has a choice to disobey Marley? The moment she didn't perform well her only worth would only be fed to the next person so don't you think her worth is to become a warrior especially when her father taught her so too? In this case u also understand she was manipulated as well but both Annie and Eren and many characters in there are living in a kill or being killed situation.
Also in my pov, Annie did not enjoy killing ppl. Ppl said she enjoys killing because of the swinging scene but ignore the look she gave before that. The crying scene, the conversation she had, the decision she made etc etc I'm too lazy to keep on writing long paragraphs to explain her character. My point is, u cant accuse a character based on one scene and ignore every other build up. I agree she doesn't show much remorse and the writing for her part should be better but saying she 100% enjoys killing is just a common wrong perception among the community
annie twirled scouts on her finger with seemingly no guilt. eren cried over having to do the rumbling
Also, let's not forget that how close to broken her back must have been from carrying the majority (if not all) of their mission before she got captured. From running to Wall Maria (in the manga), to spying in the interior, to killing Sawney and Bean, to being the captor of Eren. The scene where she ran to the wall after fighting Eren in the city, wanting just to go back home to her dad broke my heart when I rewatched it. Like, give this girl a break. (Just a funny thought but I feel like Reiner did hold grudge towards Annie for fucking up his face haha, he kept putting everything on her)
Thanks for shedding light on Annie’s character bcuz it’s so infuriating to see so many nonsensical, arguments about her. She’s one of my favorite characters despite having limited screen time. Not only is she such a badass with her martial art skills but I like the irony in her character like how she has keen awareness of the corrupt and propagandistic workings of the world but she's at loss when it comes to understanding her own feelings and emotions as to when she didn’t know why she had spared Armin for example.
Her unique perspective on Eldians as while she didn't believe and label them as devils unlike the other warriors but she was still ready to kill them just to get back to her dad knowing full well none of them deserved it, making her a very interesting character in my eyes.
I also like how she's always the pragmatic and realistic one among the group giving the hard truth about everything instead of naively sugarcoating things or how she's upfront about her beliefs for instance, when she struggled to comprehend why the Scouts would go to great lengths to save the very people who oppressed them.
She's unironically very funny as well even when's she's not trying to be lol and even though I like the cold and serious nature of her character, my favorite moment of her is when lets out that iconic laugh.
Great little write-up you dropped here, I agree with everything you said, Annie deserves more respect.
Sadly Yams wasn't realistic enough with his writing to kill her off, instead he gave her a happy ending even though she enjoyed murdering all those scouts
Annie didn't have any consequences for her actions. Her only consequence was seeing the Rumbling, just like the rest of the world that included innocents.
@@watchamigos1232 so I guess stuck in a crystal for five years unable to basic human needs (which is worse than solitary imprisonment) and suffering from mental torture is not enough “consequence” for her actions. you’re also talking as if other characters who’ve done far worse suffered any more like what did exactly reiner suffer beside going back home to his family and being hailed as a war hero. suicidal thoughts? you don’t think that this came into annie’s mind who was in a far worse state or what about armin who nuked a city killing more ppl than annie could do in a lifetime. what kind of punishment did he receive?
@@lpassione but wasn't Annie unconscious in the crystal? It's not punishment if ur basically asleep for 5 yrs, and I don't rlly know of the mental torture she been thru so can u give me a source for it, which EP or manga page. Armin didn't receive any punishment bc Yams wanted to give him and Annie a happy ending, which is why the conclusion of these characters are so bad. They never really suffered the consequences of their actions and never received proper punishment, the only one who rlly suffered was Reiner but even he was given a happy conclusion. Really wished Isayama played at least Red Dead Redemption, and wished he gave them a John Marston ending.
Great stuff man! Annie is one of the most interesting perspective in the series yet highly misunderstood. The way you clarified her arc, psyche and the themes associated with it was amazing.
Thank you, I tried my best to do her justice.
I liked her before knowing she was the female titan back in 2013. Once it was revealed she was the female titan, I didn’t hate her because I knew all what she was doing was rooted in something. But it’s extremely hypocritical for y’all to like and defend Eren, Reiner, etc.
I think that Annie and Armin's relationship makes sense and I will defend it any day.
Armin's character arc is that he starts as a vulnerable person that some would perceive as a harmless weakling. Over the story, he realizes his strengths and becomes a capable and strategic leader who learns to take control of situations and his own emotions and fear.
Annie's arc is that she starts the story as a cold and distant violent type. But she doesnt want to be the killer that the circumstances force her to be. She wants to stop fighting, allow herself to become emotionally vulnerable and connected to the special people in her life (Her Dad, Armin, maybe Hitch). She wants to be a normal daughter.
Their arcs are almost directly opposite to eachother, which complements their relationship very well. It seems like from the start, Annie was able to see the potential for Armin to become a strong leader, and Armin saw the potential for Annie to open up and be emotional. I think it is really sweet and I ship them forever.
Also, I always want to dispel the notion that Annie's spinning of the scout by the ODM wires makes her sadistic. The G-forces that the scout wouldve received being spun at that speed wouldve caused the him to go unconscious very quickly. If anything, the yo-yo move is the one of the MOST HUMANE KILLS in Attack on Titan.
Basically euthanasia coaster.
Thanks for describing the relationship with such grace 💕
I think that the fandom really doesn't get the depth of Annie and Armins relationship. Their relationship is so pure and not toxic like Eremika ( I love mikasa a lot and can't see her cry. She deserves to be happy for once at least)
@@JRF-dg9kmwhy do you think EreMika is toxic? just genuinely curious.
I'd just describe them as unwilling to commit or be the first to make a move, which is more just unfortunate rather than outright toxic. I guess it may be about how shitty Eren eventually treats Mikasa, at which point I agree...
kudos for highlighting annie and armins's relationship from as early as s1
Thanks I don't like the ship but it was always the endgame
I think Armin and Annie are both exploring apparant opposites. Annie explicitly states that Armin is a "good person." While Armin, is exploing a "bad person." But it gets even deeper after Armin becomes a killer himself (both from season 3 then of course from the port in Liberia) I bet he was contemplating if there is any difference...
Amazing video thank you for covering Armin and Annies amazing relationship
I hate that ship with a passion but it's actually well-written so I can't ignore it despite my personal distaste for it.
There will be a long-ass comment here but discussions about Annie are really my thing on reddit. TL:DR - Annie best girl.
I'm talking about the anime because the anime version of Annie is much better than the manga IMHO, which is where I think a lot of the problems come from.
I don't entirely agree that Annie is written as an unlikable character. IMO, she was much more sympathetic than Reiner before the timeskip, and he just came out way ahead with his great arc. However, Annie's character is much more difficult to understand without re-watching than Reiner's.
Here goes why she is sympathetic:
1. Her scenes in Trost. The way she saves Connie and Jean from death (being completely sane, not like Reiner). How she gets punished for this by Reiner, who demands she prove her loyalty by participating in Marco's murder. The way she is mentally crushed after the battle - when you first watch it, you don’t attach much importance to it against the backdrop of the general grief, but this scene hits much harder.
2. Her OVA is a must watch for her character, actually. First, the main theme of her OVA is her coming to terms with the fact that she is a monster as she meets more and more people whose fates were broken after the warriors broke through the wall. Secondly, the fact that she truly liked the praise from her father, which gives their relationship and her desire to return to him the necessary depth. Even the way the mentality drilled into her that “the task must be completed no matter what” took its toll on her, and the reasons for her cruelty in the forest: you are already a monster, whether you like it or not, the “their morality is also your enemy” mentality, and general mental problems.
3. I'm biased, but I would never believe that someone who cried for Marco and was shocked by the deaths in Trost and Stohess is crying in the forest simply because she won't be able to return to her father. I always saw it as “I made myself a monster and it was all in vain,” just like how she cried in season 4 after realizing that she definitely couldn’t go back to her father. It still makes her selfish, but in a different way, and in my opinion it makes sense because of the previous and next points. Actually, since we didn't get Annie's POV during female titan arc, pretty much all about her here is a headcanon anyway.
4. She tells the unpleasant yet truth. She is against breaking through Wall Rose using as an argument that Reiner and Bertholdt's friends will die, she hates Reiner's hypocrisy when he offers to become friends with the cadets. However, she cares about the cadets just as much as the rest of the warriors, if not more, for example, in the moment with Marco. Of course, it broke Reiner, but in the moment it was much harder for Annie. She doesn't try to justify herself when the truth about Marco comes out, she admits that she has no right to judge someone. It's pretty crazy to me that many people hate her because she says the obvious thing - to stop Eren you need to kill him. This is a direct reference to Mikasa and Eren when he had trouble fighting against Annie, so what's the problem?
So yeah, I think all the hatred towards Annie comes from the fact that haters don't remember anything other than Yo-Yo and Petra and completely miss the point of her character because of it.
I agree with most of your points, I think Annie is a character many people just don't understand simply because she has such little screentime, and her arc isn't as in-your-face as Reiner's for example, she needs to be analysed much more.
Beautifully put. Annie has always been my favorite character since the beginning. It's crazy how much guilt and burden she had to shoulder, knowing that she must become a monster but did so anyway to reach her goal, all while being sane and taking it all in (unlike Reiner who developed a split personality). Your first point - Annie saving her friends in critical moments and then getting punished by Reiner for it - is exactly why I was so mad about the scene where they killed Marco. And then her constant care-hate relationship with Reiner was just the cherry on top. Annie is a strong yet tragic character, as with most other characters in AoT. And it's such a shame that many can't fathom how complex she is.
One thing I like about Binger's content is that he knows how to find a way to appreciate aspects or characters that he finds dislikable or non preferable. Despite not liking the ship itself because of valid or understandable reasons, he can still acknowledge that it still has a purpose in the story--and a meaningful one at that. This is why I also tell people that it's fine to hate or dislike things in stories, but in terms of judging it, you gotta understand it's place/ context within the story and wether it works or not. One of my favorite things about Attack on Titan is that there's so much it makes satisfying to people, yet so many other things made open-ended in a fun way. I seen people try to show memories people like Bert, Reiner, and Annie got from past inheritors or even explain what those past inheritors were like. There's so much you can do with AOT, but not in a way that it makes you distressed to know certain things couldn't get elaborated upon or elaborated better in my opinion at least.
You covered everything great in the video, you shined light on her character pretty faithfully, and I gotta say, you're getting better at this TH-cam thing Binger. Just make sure to never forget to analyze her Big Nose again, okay?
Yeah I tried to be unbiased with my thoughts on Aruani and actually explain why the ship works even though I don't like it. Also thanks man I'm doing my best to put out the best videos I can, I got three more AOT videos for the rest of the year then ill take a long break. Also yeah ill talk about Annie's nose in my Tierlist video it's such a key component of her character.
Fantastic video! I’d actually disagree with your armin/Annie take but not out of pure shipping reasons.
The reason they work thematically is twofold: Armin is the antidote to Annie’s worldview, and their ability to stay together after the rumbling has a unique distinction from Eren and Mikasa. I’ll explain:
Mikasa as a child saw the world as cruel - first shown by a bug being killed by a grasshopper, and then shown even more harshly by the death of her family. Eren not only pushed her to rebel against the world by fighting back, but he also let her see the beauty within the world that made life worth living beyond the pain. This was symbolised by giving her a scarf to be warm - it’s an act that on the outset seems trivial and meaningless - how could wrapping a scarf around someone be nearly enough to console a person who just had their parents murdered? Yet despite its simplicity and smallness of scale, the scarf revealed to Mikasa the depth of how precious life can be, and how in life even a small act of love that doesn’t seem very big of a deal to others can bring someone hope forever. This defines her character.
Annie is strikingly similar. Her feeling of meaningless is first displayed by a dead bug like Mikasa, but one that’s stomped on on instead of a grasshopper beheading it (a parallel to how the two kill). She sees life as cruel and meaningless and holds on to the smallest strand of love she ever felt above everything - her father. She is trapped in this belief, symbolised by literally being stuck in a crystal. But like Mikasa, Annie receives a simple act of kindness that changes her world - Armin talking to her when she’s crystalized. In parallel to Mikasa’s situation, this act doesn’t seem like it would be of any use to her - taking to Annie isn’t going to get her out of the crystal, just like making Mikasa feel a little warmer isn’t going to overcome the trauma of seeing her family killed. And yet even this tiny act of love touches her deeply, revealing how much more powerful the goodness and hope of the world is over the worlds cruelty. When she’s free of the crystal, she of course still clings to her father, but she has someone now who makes life worth living - Armin.
These parallels are pretty powerful in my opinion, and make the ship satisfying. But one final reason it makes sense is that Armin and Annie stay together whereas Mikasa has to kill Eren and let him go. That’s important to the story. This is because Armin held onto the principle that saved Mikasa and Annie while Eren didn’t: Armin believed that despite the cruelty of the world, the small acts of joy within it make life worthwhile (see his convo with Zeke). Eren didn’t believe in this principle, and instead believed the world needed to be destroyed and rebuilt before he could find fulfilment. And so Mikasa had to let Eren go. Eren couldn’t handle the world without destroying it, and so he couldn’t remain in it or have a relationship within it because he lacked the will to accept reality without perfect freedom. But Armin DOES believe in this theme of beauty in the simplicity of life (which is a core theme of attack on Titan), so he can continually be an antidote to Annie’s crisis of meaning - fulfilling her character development by being the one who pushes her to live in a world that seems unliveable to be in. We too are called to make the world feel liveable to the people around us - even through small acts of kindness.
It always annoys me that the Lost Girls episodes are OVAs instead of being part of the main anime, since a lot of people end up missing out on them, when I feel like they do a lot of good for her character. I've never been huge on her character but I liked her a lot more after watching them
Also yeah the arguments that the Alliance should punish her or something always frustrate me. Good video again
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yeah Lost Girls is exceptionally important for Annie's character and it's a shame it's so overlooked.
I think it's because lost girls doesn't necessarily progress the main story plot. There's not really any spots where lost girls mikasa and annie episodes would fit in for the pacing unless they made it its own season. That's also why they made ilse notebook episode an OVA and not a main story episode. I'm pretty sure they do make a couple references to that notebook thing though in the anime at least. This is the best explanation I could come up with. Then again, if isayama could go back and make changes to the story, he could find a way to make lost girls fit into the main story's pacing
The Children of the Forest is such an amazing theme, I heard it is also being tackled in A Song of Ice and Fire, I think Isayama took a lot of inspiration from that. I'm excited to read the whole story. But let's get back to Attack on Titan, Annie is a fairly simple character, in AoT standards of course, with a little bit of complexity that you have shown, she is a really good first "real" antagonist in season 1, her having a titan makes you wonder if there are other titan shifters and what made her kill so many people. Her return in season 4 and the development she had while she was in the Crystal was nice to watch. The line she says to Hitch is perfectly in line with Annie's Character, that's who she is, as you said she does what needs to be done for her goal - getting back to her father.
Children of the Forest is one of my fav themes in AOT for sure. I do think Annie isn't the most complex character, but she's still extremely misunderstood and overhated by people who don't understand her character, which is why I felt the need to make this video. I hope you enjoyed it anyways👍
Another incredible analysis bro Annie was always such a unique and interesting character to me. You cooked again bro ❤
Thanks man
I never knew this about Annie ngl, another exceptional video 👍🏽
Thanks
You forgot to talk about her magical nose
I'll touch on it in my character tierlist lmao
Her nose is a key part of her character, I can't believe you didn't even mention it. Smh I'm disappointed, Binger
Solid vid, keep it up ❤
Thank you
I like reading FF with ArminXAnnie as it give it proper development (though it's hard to find good ones that are up-to-date because characters are seen mostly as secondary and Annie had limited appearance in 75% of the show), because in the manga and anime it was really underbaked. Mostly fault of the fact that she was stuck in a crystal and the one-sided interaction with Armin was skipped, but fundaments are there.
I always loved Annie
Amazing video as always, I love your content! Keep up the good work. I would love if you could make some demon slayer character analysis videos just like this one, I would love to hear your thoughts!
Thank you for the kind words. Unfortunately I'm not a very big fan of Demon Slayer, I stopped watching at the beginning of Season 3. However, I'm glad you enjoyed my video, and I hope you enjoy my content in the future, I'll start to focus on other Anime next year such as Vinland Saga, Hunter x Hunter, and Death Note.
To be honest, reading about her records, watching her et cetera et cetera I can relate to her, wanting a normal life, wanting to be normal wanting better.
But at the end we got damage good physically and mentally if you asked me that and my brother.
Yeah it's sad what happened to her
@@quickbinger1058 but in the end, she still got her wish, even though the cost of my own son, I’m still glad I kept my promise to bring her back to her. Dad
@darthdracul8372 Yeah very heartwarming
@@quickbinger1058 thank you I guess we are both one of the lucky ones who understand attack on Titans better than most
Great video as always, i think Annie should have come back sooner personally
True she needed more time to shine
Pretty cool video, although I don't know much about Annie, your explanation made things clear about her despite me not watching AOT 😅
Glad you enjoyed it friend
BRUH This man is always spoiling himself on everything instead of watching the fiction first
Blame binger, hes the root cause of all this
@@Bobby_811 🗿
annie is a great character IMO, great vid :3. She is however not my favorite blond character in AoT, that title goes to historia
Oh I definitely prefer Hisu to Annie but both are great. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Nice
Annie has a very complex personality, I think Isayama archieved what he wanted with her.
Same
What was the music used at 3:03? It goes so hard.
Who's ur fav character in Animanga?
Van Hohenheim from Fullmetal Alchemist
@@quickbinger1058 i mean top 5 mc
1. Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)
2. Shinji Ikari (Evangelion)
3. Guts (Berserk)
4. Thorfinn (Vinland Saga)
5. Light Yagami (Death Note)
MAPA getting rid of Annie's hooked nose was my Rumbling
W vid
👍
You got a like because I too, despise Armin and Annie ship
I also do not like the ship between her and Armin. I think the other issue that I just have with Annie was how easily forgiven after what she has done. Yes I completely understand her back story; but still just her being easily forgiven even after the chaos she caused in season 1 just I don’t know it just rubs me the wrong way to be brutally honest
Agreed man, the ending is and will always be lazy story writing and fan service.
@winsen5602 I don't like the ship but I don't see how the ending could be considered fan service when a lot of the fans hated it. If it WAS fan-service, Eren would have won because that's what a lot of fans wanted, but Isayama chose to wrap up his story the way HE wanted and stuck to the themes he established early on, themes which I explain in some of my other videos btw.
@@quickbinger1058 1 word brother: Eren-Mikasa 💀
Great video man, tbh I don't think I'll ever understand Annie as a person, she is a unlikeable person that got a semi happy resolution like karma has no effects on her. She was a amazing villain but when they tried show more of the emotional side of her story, it fell appart for me lol. I just couldn't take her seriously
Annie is hot
Correct
Sorry but she killed all of Levi's squad and everyone just forgave her instantly but wanna hate Eren when he was just protecting the island. If Annie and Co. never showed up and broke the wall none of this would have ever happened. They literally said if they attacked them the rumbling would emerge and trample the entire earth into ruin. Annie earned all that hate. She didn't help the alliance stop eren to do the right thing, she did it to make sure her dad didn't die in the rumbling. Annie is hated because at her core she has ruined people's lives by being selfish
Did...did you even watch the video...?
@@quickbinger1058you can defend Annie but this was just lazy writing, after her massacre she caused so much harm and it was clearly shown she enjoyed it. Yall be downplaying the situation and comparing her to Eren but Eren literally had no choice, either kill or get killed. Eren wanted to kill anyone hurting his people, even showing sorrow and hatred starting the rumbling. Annie was brainwashed for sure but that’s so lazy. Because she was raised a killer and brainwashed she doesn’t need to show regret? Lazy story writing Isayama.
She does indeed show regret, just not in as clear or concise a way as Reiner and Bertholdt. I admit Annie isn't as well-written as either of those two, hell, she isn't anywhere near one of my favourite characters, but she isn't an emotionless husk of a Human being. In the aftermath of the battle of Trost, she is clearly shown apologising to one of the dead bodies. In the Lost Girls spinoff, she has nightmares about killing Marco. Her breaking down and crying, saying she is too tired to fight after learning her Dad might be dead, is, in fact, a character flaw. Immediately after, she comes back to participate in the battle with no knowledge of her Dad being alive. At first, she is selfish and only fights to get back to her Dad, she says she would do it all again just to get back to him, that's a purposeful character flaw, which she redeems herself for by doing what is right with no expectation of reward or any personal motives.