I like that Ymir is constantly shown as a child during the final arc (despite her dying as an adult), while, when she finally gets her peace, Mikasa sees her as an adult. She's finally free.
And likewise, Eren is shown as a child, when his friends see him in the paths with her. Two angry little shits, that never managed to grow up, driving the rumbling.
@@daniaaalexactly. The biggest theme of AoT is the cycle of abuse, violence, and trauma, and how childhood trauma in particular is what starts this cycle for the next generation
@@Steelrat1994 "a child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth" is an oddly fitting quote for this show now that i think of it
34:35 The idea that the titans are a direct manifestation of the pain, trauma, and fear that Ymir experienced really added another layer to the story for me. Metaphorically speaking it’s spot on - trauma responses that live on get ugly. When Ymir’s flight response to the threat didn’t work, she happened to stumble on a power that strengthened her fight response to stay alive. Her trauma trapped her in a timeless prison, unable think, feel, or heal. The curse that Ymir suffered becomes a generational one. All of her children become both pawns of government powers and prisoners inside the walls, just like she was. They became weapons of mass distraction and violence like she was. They also became pointed at and persecuted by their surrounding communities like she was. King Karl Fitz, instead of using his regret of being used as a war machine and wronging the world as an opportunity to heal his people, gave into self loathing and stole his own peoples’ ability to have free will by depriving them of knowledge and left them to the slaughter as a form of self punishment/escapism from the pain disguised as righteousness. Her reality lived on and on in her children’s lives until a group of people were brave enough to face reality and heal from the past. Immaculate video. It really portrays what a beautiful and tragic character Ymir was written to be and humanizes her. The full impact of her learning and changing her mind by watching the main characters didn’t really sink in until your video laid it out perfectly.
It only works in concept. But the main pillar that moves the whole plot (her love for king fritz) doesn’t make sense at all. Which leads to the lack of weight attached to any scene of her. She is one of the worst characters in shounen.
@@wwe12153only if we consider her love for the king as being canon. If forgetting about that chapter drastically improves the story then it’s for the best that the lore is ignored
@@wwe12153and it’s not super unbelievable. Ymir was essentially an egomaniac psychopath’s child s3x sl@v3 her entire life, it’s not unreasonable that she’d develop a brutally twisted notion of what “love” is meant to be
Annie did. Because the true king who cotrolls every memory of subjects of Ymir is Micasa. she covered up her loss but needed to tell eren how to win Rinner.
I took the message of the boy discovering the tree akin to ymir entering the tree, resulting in an endless cycle of death, war, and tragedy but your points on how unlike ymir, the boy wasn't being chased by dogs - rather companions with one, instead of being injured - appearing healthy changed my perspective on what the very end actually means. I don't know if Isayama meant to create an "open ending" but I think the fact that the boy is choosing rather then being forced to enter the tree indicates that things have changed, for the better. Great video
Would you also say that Armin's view of freedom/hope is represented in that ending? A more clear and positive type of hope and vision compared to how Eren saw things?
I would definitely say so, I mean Armin's whole belief was the freedom to discover and explore. Life's richness and liberty was found in the satiation of curiosity according to Armin, and the boy in the conclusion is an embodiment of that (hiking pack, walking stick, etc.)@@rokurro7251
I like to think that the boy is "Odin" and created a new world using the bodies of Jottunar (Titans). They will also face a rumble (Ragnarok), wars and prejudice, but things are getting better and better.
To me, it also represents a potential of growth (for the world). Although not Ymir's choice, the titans were only ever used as tools of war and destruction. If a person who had no need to fight and nobody to command them to fight got the power of the titans, could they not use the powers to help people? To build, repair, and restore the world? To protect?
How the fxck did you and other people even get that message in the first place? Like seriously, people really call that "oh nooo Eren died and rid the world of titans for nothing, because it just ends up repeating once again." I mean, the lack of comprehension skills.... and then y'all call the ending bad and poorly written
in the anime zeke says "i wouldnt mind being born again to play catch with you" instead of " i wouldnt mind living for another day" which i find a very small but beatiful change
@@seg162isayama was directly involved w the anime and says it’s the most complete version of the story. So it’s most likely that he made this change with everything being taken into account, and feeling that this would be the most appropriate thing for Zeke to say.
I really love the idea that the kid going into the tree at the end isn't necessarily a bad or bleak ending. His wish may be something so pure that what power he's given could be nothing but helpful and good for the world.
I like to think the kid is meant to be the viewer. Basically, once he gets the Halucigenia, he sees all of the Memories of what came before. Essentially, he watches the show as we saw it. This is why the first episode is called "to you, 2000 years from now" (besides the dual parallel of it being a reference to Eren and Ymir), as that is how long the cycle seems to always take. Anyways, so he sees the series and then is given a choice of what to do now that he knows. Much like how I'm sure Isayama now hopes that people watching the show take the meaning of it and choose for themselves what to do with it.
@@magicbologna Yeah uh this. A lot of people seem to have just assumed that this tree also somehow has the hallucigenia (I guess to be fair the anime didn’t focus on how it dies when the smoke is clearing after Armin wakes up), but personally even with the manga I saw the tree as being purely symbolic.
The whole concept of the hallucinogenia just giving you access to whatever is in your heart is a detail that wasn't clearly communicated at all in the anime, but is massively impactful.
The fact that liberation of Ymir is the result of her witnessing the motivations and actions of the three main characters of the story is astoundingly beautiful. This gives such a weight to the ending and ties up the whole story together. Thank you again for this amazing analysis.
You're telling me a being that can perceive Past, Present, and Future all at once has to allow tons of wars to happen, lots of people's deaths, just so she can see a choice (which we still don't know what it was) that some random Eldian 2000 years later makes? Logical.
@@hightetrisbeatboxrevived1648 She wasn't tho. She was literally in a mindless state for 2000 years, adhering to the whims of royal bloodline. It's only after Eren makes contact with her and frees her by giving her choice, does she wakes up from that catatonic state and actively observes what was happening around her. It just so happens that she witnesses the actions of Armin and Mikasa at that point.
@@hightetrisbeatboxrevived1648Eren gave Ymir her first push towards making her own choices, but Armin and Mikasa are the ones who show Ymir how to be free from Carl Fritz's influence. So it actually is both, but in complementary ways.
@@jlboss_ps4751not rlly since there was no mention how the finale was rewritten and forced to end in a way that would result in a sequel. It’s a sellout move
@@evan-bunch-of-numbers it's honestly saddening how many people refuse to actually analyze the reasons the ending happened and just revert to hating it bc it's not a happy ending fairytale fantasy
@@asciiftw3632 Not gonna lie-- until recently, I dreaded this meme since the end of the manga because, if only just back then, it was seemingly exclusively used by the most virulent detractors of the ending who teetered on the edge of incoherence.
I never thought that Ymir was just a child. I used to think she wanted something specific, but she was just a traumatized kid asking for help. The more I understand the ending, the more I love it. Thanks invaderzz, great video as always!
One of the biggest things in therapy and psychology is to heal the inner child. Thats why despite dying in her 20s-30s, she appears a broken child in the paths. The form she takes is the one that is most broken and in pain. Once she is freed from all the pain, she appears before Mikasa specifically in her adult form. Showing that her inner child healed from the actions of everyone.
@@ilyboyswag this makes a lot of sense! It also explains why Eren is portrayed as a child in the paths, being a slave to what he wanted when he was younger.
I was trying to find a video that would talk about Ymir, so I’m really happy you made this video. It was hard for me to understand her motives/ importance at some times, it felt like there was an underlying part of Ymir I didn’t understand-and needed to understand to get the full scale of the story. Once again thank you so much.
Ymir represents every person who's just wayy too pure and selfless in this world....the image of her expressionless face carrying that bucket and making Titans is all over my head . I can't tell how many times I've cried when eren freed her and told her you're not a slave. I wish I could do the same to every person who's like her and suffering from social acceptance and Stockholm syndrome issue
@@tyedrichill8097 there aren't any elements to support that she wanted to destroy the world, the fact that she was hugged by eren and heard those words....that was enough to give him all the power. But I'm an anime only you so idk if you're right
@@Sigmasmeren She gave Eren the power to doom the world and went along with it and even helped defend Eren by summoning the Ancient Titans. It's fair to believe she did want to lash out at the world for how cruel it is too...until she found out it could also be beautiful even at the face of the ultimate cruelty, through Mikasa.
Attack on Titan is truly a masterpiece, the best piece of fiction I’ve ever come across. The division and dissension among viewers just goes to show how nuanced and meaningful this show is. You could analyze this show for hours on end and still not manage to cover everything. Thank you for making this analysis and for helping us better understand Ymir’s character and the themes of aot in general!
You’re off your meds dude. The division and dissension is literal proof that this ending is so conflicting with its own themes and narratives, intelligent people caught on and realized how awful this conclusion really is. Invaderzz being a special child, sees it differently.
@@dykor3531 You’re trying to say millions of people are just confused as a defense. If an ending to something is so awful where Neanderthals like you come in saying nonsense like “you didn’t get it bro haha” it’s clear something was done poorly.
I've been wondering about this for so long. It is so easy to ask why a character didn't make an obvious choice whilst being completely oblivious to the fact that their childhoods and their understanding of the world fundamentally differs from yours. Thank you invaderzz and luciano for this fantastic analysis.
People talk about "media literacy" and I honestly find that to be complete 🤡🤓 business, but what I _would_ say is that it's important to be charitable with anybody conveying ideas to you-- you don't gain anything by assuming the worst out of what someone has to say, and a lack of charity can blind you to something fairly evident. In this case, I think it was meant to be obviously curious that Ymir never just kills Fritz with all the power she has-- to talk less of returning to him at all. It's curious that she does his bidding and that she lets him impregnate her thrice. All that points to, at the least, her wanting _something_ from him, so it's not out of left field when Zeke scratches on the surface (noting she wanted connection) while Eren gets closer still (noting she was in love with Fritz) before Mikasa apparently correctly diagnoses what Ymir was feeling (noting that Ymir was in a "long nightmare" of a relationship with Fritz). The only thing I didn't consider, myself, until invaderzz pointed it out, was that Ymir was a _kid_ with all the rational faculties of one, and that ignorance was part of the foundation of her servitude even after obtaining god-like power.
I've recommended your Eren Video to over 200 people at this point. I would wager that's the best video essay ever created in both content and delivery. lots of my close friends either love or hate it, just depends on your opinion of the story i guess.
Amazing analysis of Ymir. I was curious about her motivations in the past and throughout the rumbling in the final episode, but this analysis about her fear of her own free will makes so much sense.
Your final conclusion with how the boy at the end has his own desires and wants and how it was different then Ymir's leading to the creation of the Titans was something I never thought before! It definitely feels more optimistic than the pessimistic view in humanity's/Titan's never ending cycle of violence and death I had left with when I watched the end. I appreciate it!
First Eren reached her in the paths and told her that she's her own person, and can choose what SHE wants rather than follow orders. In her life, she had spent her whole life as a dehumanized slave without any acknowledgement of her own humanity. Eren taught her autonomy and freedom. Then Armin arrived to fight Eren, and Ymir watched his every movement closely, even stealing him into the paths with the Okapi and trapping him there. She watched his conversation with Zeke where he shared that the meaning of life is in appreciating the little moments and the love you already have rather than chasing an unattainable dream. In her life, she longed for an unattainable love/validation from King Fritz who was incapable of giving it to her, since he's a monstrous psychopath. She lived and died waiting for something she would never receive, rather than living for what she had (her daughters). Armin taught her the true importance in life. Lastly, Mikasa. From the moment Ymir noticed Mikasa's love for Eren, she was intrigued. She began to peak through Mikasa's lifetime memories, causing her headaches. Then Mikasa killed Eren despite loving him, knowing it's the right thing to do and proving she's not a slave. Ymir herself couldn't do this in her own life, instead choosing to die for the monster she loved, instead of killing him. Mikasa taught her that love does not equal submission. In the end, all three of the main trio were instrumental in setting Ymir free. Eren lit the embers, Armin stoked the flame, Mikasa nurtured the flame into an inferno. Together they set Ymir free. In her last moments, she had a vision of what she wished she had done, what she WOULD have done had she received these three lessons earlier in her life. She would have protected her beloved daughters, the truly important and precious things in her life, rather than being a slave to the abusive king. If she were given another chance, she would have let him die. Acknowledging this and making peace with her tragic life and the decisions she made, allowed her to let go. She finally moved on, and in this moment, she appears not as an immature child, but as a grown adult woman. Ymir's story in the finale is essentially a coming-of-age story from the perspective of a dehumanized slave. I want to thank you for taking the time to analyze her character. Too many people write her off completely without making the effort to understand her. I really love this video.
Ymir is partially omniscien!!! She can see all eldians memories. It took her 2000 years to understand how to be free? “Mikasa nurtured the flame into an inferno” so you’re telling me she never saw a girl overcome her abuser in 2000 years? BE SO FR Y’all are trying so hard to sound intellectual, it’s so embarrassing.
@@Momo-zd8vu yes because even if she had SHE HAD NO FREEDOM LOL how can you not understand a simple thing? if eren hadnt started then mikasa doing her thing wouldnt have mattered lol EREN STARTED THE FLAME you cannt make a inferno until you literally start a flame
Dam, he was really cooking up some nice dessert with that analysis of the boy in the final teaser shot. The comparative differences in YMIR and his circumstances, the contrasting parallels in imagery, and how that would likely influence the effects that orgin lifeforms below the tree can bestow on him. It's a perspective that I never would if thought to connect together, but now that it's been made in my head, it feels so fitting with the glimmer of hope in a better future type ending we ended up getting.
This is the best explanation I've seen so far! It's really impressive how one man was able to imagine such an intricate and yet grandiose plot. I'm so glad that someone was finally able to understand Isayama's message. Kudos man!
This is a great analysis, I was very confused why they mentioned that ymir loved king fritz despite all the horrible things he did to her. This video answered my question, thank you.
Yes Ymir is a tragic character who always wanted someone to love her. When king Fritz praised her for the things she did for his empire. Ymir in her manipulated mind interpreted praise as love.
I'm so happy to finally see someone analyze and discuss the ending with precision and care instead of just writing it all off as bad and confusing. The more I think about the themes and Isayama's intentions the more I grow to love the ending. Thank you for the analysis. I liked a lot of parts about the ending but there were still elements that confused me and this video has given me a lot to consider.
I feel incredibly grateful for everyone in your team to have brought tears to my eyes once again. I felt I understood a lot about the ending, except the core of Ymir. I understood the connection she wanted, but not where it came from. This video has really helped me understand what the story was trying to say. I think it's a very good and accurate interpretation, especially because it sounds like you guys were trying to see "what was isayama trying to get across." I recognize now that this was genuinely the final mystery I had about the show, and now that's resolved too. Thank you, everyone! And I wish I can in the future also understand the messaging of authors as well as you guys have.
It's been great watching these deep dives into the mystery surrounding Attack on Titan and will be sometime that will never be forgotten! Can't wait for the other Attack on Titan videos, especially about the foreshadowing that that this series has been leading up to!
Holy shit, the way you’ve explained the ending is so clear and amazing. I feel like I truly understand the story and meaning behind what was shown to us. Now I really understand Isayama’s vision, every makes sense now. Thank you so much for your hard work and research in these videos on the ending.
This video really changed how I see the ending, I originally liked it but thought it was messy, and while I still think it was a tiny bit messy, you actually made me love it!
Isayama overestimates the amount of effort the average viewer will put into his story. Ymir's life and the paths is the base of the machanics of the story. In order to fundamentally understand why the world is the way it is; why titans exist, why the royal family commands inherent power, why marly hates eldians so much ect, it is essential to understand her story and life. Before I had a deeper understanding of her story and the reason for the existance of titans I thought the explanation in season 4 of the show was very silly. It is not easy to follow the logical path that the writer wants you to take when figuring out the mechanics, and that makes it hard for those who dont understand them to understand why things are happening in the story, especially towards the end. In the beggining of the story titans are just accepted and not questioned because of the memory control and the constant danger that the characters are in. Once we gain more context on the whole world and how what we knew fits into it, we come closer and closer to understanding the core mechanics of the world. When watching the final part, I was so confused why the rumbling stoped. If ymir is now helping eren and she has the power to do whatever she wants, then why would she stop the rumbling. Now I see that It is her implicit motivation that caused the rumbling to stop, not zekes death. Ymirs motavation is at the core of all of the events in AOT and even that is left a mystery. I did not mean to write this much but AOT is a story that expects a lot from the watcher, but if you put in the effort, it is somehow completley consistant.
@@asuraspath2262Armin and Zeke's conversation (A to Z, hehe) were again presenting each side of the same coin, to Ymir. That Armin was able to convince Zeke that life was indeed precious, especially the smaller, almost seemly inconsequential ones like finding a seashell at the beach or playing catch with someone you care about, is what life is all about. Zeke made the choice to see that he was wrong, and to stop Eren, Zeke had to make yet another sacrifice (by offering up his own head to Levi for the taking). In that regard, Ymir cast the die (or flip the coin, if that analogy works better) of human freedom as embodied by Armin and Zeke, and upon Zeke's sacrifice to Levi, Ymir chose to end the Rumbling. There is no inconsistency. Fans need to realize that Ymir isn't basing her choices on only just Eren, or even just Armin or even just Mikasa. Zeke also made that choice, and so Ymir would take into account in her own decision to pause the Rumbling upon Zeke's losing his head. All of Eldia are her children, and Ymir gave them free will and when Zeke learned to let go of his own self loathing and trauma as an Eldian and abused child growing up, Ymir answered.
@@arcturionblade1077i thoght it was because zeke was the conduet allowing eren to control all the other titans, and thats why erens titan kept moving forward but the rest stopped when zeke died.
@@rustedcrabtm6438 - Technically speaking, that's not wrong, but Zeke was trapped in the Paths and couldn't be killed. It wasn't until Ymir intervened by allowing Zeke and Armin to fight back that the Rumbling finally ended.
It's here: the return of the king. Superb analysis, especially the emphasis on Ymir observing the events near the end of the story and her surprising amount of agency. It fits extremely well with how many shots there are of her in the final few chapters watching everything that otherwise go unexplained. I hope you're ready for the greatest honor in AOT discourse: having a titanfolk thread be created in response to this video complaining that you just didn't understand the story.
Eren : Freedom Armin : Fight back together Mikasa : Let go attachment/past and move on First time, I'm kinda upset thinking all the fights from day one with all the characters, soldiers and people happened because an unrequited love. Your video made it so clear that's not the (only) reason. Thank you.
Your videos are like my thoughts given an actual voice. I feel like I’m not fit to create video essay type videos and I’m completely okay with that. But watching your videos make me feel so happy because I also interpreted Ymir’s arc to be thrust forward by Eren, Mikasa, and Armin and I’ve also taken into account that the boy at the end of the story would NOT bring Titan’s back like Ymir did. I’m really glad these videos exist and I hope many people watch them because I think these interpretations hold a lot of weight. Great job with this.
Great video, comment for engagement because more people should see it. I do think the parallels between Ymir and Mikasa go a bit deeper than this. The men they're dedicated to are very different, but their dedication is similar until they make different choices at the end. Fritz was Ymir's home, the father of her children and her connection to entire generations of other people. Her "love" was a blind kind of gratitude, similar to a younger Mikasa.
Your Attack On Titan videos are just so amazing. Either reminding me of the incredible themes behind this story or opening up new avenues of thought about them I missed. Something that I also thought of when listening was the similarly between Ymir being the one who set the pig free, and Eren being responsible for that titan eating his mum. At first it seems like Ymir and Eren are just a random victims to the cruelty of this world. When in fact their nature and desires lead to what happens. Ofc they are still victims, Ymir a victim of Fritz and Eren a victim of Marley, things outside of their control. But the things they do inside their own control lead to their outcomes, they are not just leaves in the wind.
I'm curious to understand how Eren saying that he tried to find ways to change the future fits into his nature and desire to obtain a freedom of an "Empty world" outside of the walls. What I mean is.. does Eren trying to find different ways to change the future show that he tried to go against his nature and desires? Also, invaderzz previous video about Erens character states that Eren was driven mostly by his desire for his twisted form of freedom and that in the end he even said if didn't have opposition in the end, he would have wanted to wipe everything out. If Eren didn't know the future, had he not encountered past memories and the founding titan, but the future still played out the same, as Eren's desire would not have changed and the future was based off past decisions, would Eren's statement of wiping everything out if his friends had not come for him contradict something there? Lastly, was his goal of freedom more important than his friends or was it a synonymous importance? Sorry, I'm asking a lot of questions. I dont expect you to answer them all but a discourse of some sort from y'all would help because there is so much intricate information that i am getting a bit confused on certain aspects of the story.
@@rokurro7251 "If Eren didn't know the future, had he not encountered past memories and the founding titan, but the future still played out the same, as Eren's desire would not have changed and the future was based off past decisions, would Eren's statement of wiping everything out if his friends had not come for him contradict something there?" I don't see anything contradictory, there, myself. "Lastly, was his goal of freedom more important than his friends or was it a synonymous importance?" I think invaderzz puts Eren's goals in a hierarchy and ranks "his desire for freedom" as technically more important than "his desire to protect his friends", but I don't think it's as simple as a hierarchy. He wanted both things, but his desire to protect his friends both served as flimsy moral cover and prevented him from going all out to stop them. More importantly, Reiner correctly surmises that Eren WANTED to be judged by his friends, to be killed by them.
Great to see you again! After years of agreeing with and defending your interpretation of Eren’s motives, it felt great to see the anime spell out that exactly for us. Your video helped me understand a lot and eventually love the ending and the anime just blew me away, so I thank you for that.
I really just want to comment about how much i appreciate your videos, especially this one and the Eren one, they're genuinely great, very high quality and often touches aspects of aot or goes into details which the community itself hasn't discussed. You really help show the complexity and the amazing writing which went into attack on titan.
Such a wonderful insight in what of the most mysterious parts of the stories. I absolutely love the outlook and meanings you two have found in the smallest details.
This is truly a masterpiece! You have evolved to a high level of artistic skill during your own personal journey with AOT! Well done! Amazing depth and insight!
This video is incredible. I had mixed feelings about the ending, namely about Mikasa freeing Ymir from her chains and why that was the case, but this video re-contextualized Ymir in my eyes completely and I am in awe.
The entire subversion of the boy compared to Ymir is magical. Roughed up but safe, dog companion, and willingly wandering into the tree All of it leaving mystery and wonder, but at least letting us know that the titans, those god awful monsters that had terrorized us the whole time, aren’t gonna be back. Absolutely hopeful And thank you for actually engaging with the themes and source material in meaningful and insightful ways
Your videos always make me appreciate Aot more as a whole. Ymir is far from my favorite character in the show but it’s intriguing to see how you formulate her character from small to big context clues from the story rather than some head cannon nonsense. I still think she could’ve been better handled in the story but this video for sure made me understand her character better with sound points and logic I can agree with.
Thanks, I am glad you enjoyed watching. I'm personally divided on whether Isayama's decision to write Ymir so vaguely was a good thing or not since it's caused a lot of strife, but I do think there is a lot of interesting writing there (as evident by this long video lmao).
This is a truly masterful and brilliant essay. Thank you so much for putting up together all those bits and pieces about Ymir, this is undoubtedly a titanic work. Bravo.
This analysis is beyond perfection, all of my questions have been answered. Whether or not your analysis is true or false doesn't matter to me, I am content with believing it and I appreciate Isayama's story wayyyyyy more. A mastermind storyteller and a sharp eyed analyst. Thank you for your help invaderzz
Very well put! I'd confidently say that you touched on themes that most people didn't understand or half understood but couldn't put into words. Most aot videos I've seen haven't touched on this aspects. I'm glad I was subscribed
This really helps give understanding to the ending. I know many people don't like the ending because it doesnt really explain anything and there's not a lot there for the average viewer to fully understand these internal character struggles.
Most people were satisfied with the anime ending, don’t act like the negative reaction to the 2021 manga ending is still the most prevalent perspective
Amazing content! You guys have really managed to elucidate a lot of SnK's themes, and i say that as someone that had been as far removed from anything related to this series as possible ever since the ending, which i then found convoluted and bizarre. Now, after watching your videos on eren, the rumbling and ymir (back to back btw lol), i think i've got some grasp on the story that i hadn't before and i'm very grateful for it, as SnK was a big part of my adolescence at a point and it had become a sore spot due to my misunderstanding of it's messages. This is fenomenal work, thank you for sharing your analysis with us!
Thank you so much for your content. Even after all the shit you got dragged through for your defence of the ending I still think your video on Eren is one of the best videos I've seen on this website, and I'm sure it must feel cathartic knowing with the changes made in the anime that you were always spot-on despite what a certain vocal minority group would slander you with. Can't wait to see this video through to the end, good shit as always man. That video of yours is what inspired me to make my own analysis video on Kenny Ackermann, and I'm sure this video of yours will give me the creative boost I need to make more content of my own. Can't wait to see what the future of your channel holds!
@@LuisSierra42 His Rumbling video was brigaded hard by-- presumably-- r/titanfolk, despite substantially recapitulating points about the Rumbling that he made in his Eren analysis video (you can see it in the marked lack of coherence in large swaths of its comments, compared to those in the Eren analysis video). That Rumbling video _may_ have been age-restricted due to mass reporting by the same culprits, which is part of the reason why it's taken more than a year to get the viewership that this video got in two days.
That's. Just. Beautiful. Honestly, after watching the ending I was quite confused. I didn't understand anything about Ymir's behavior and just thought of her as a crazy one, 'loving' Fritz without any reason, just for the sake of plot. But now everything seems to be explained very well and Attack on Titan ending looks really ingenious.
I always knew I might have missed the entire point of Attack on Titan. My opinion of it being the best story I've ever experienced only existed because I had faith that, one day, I'd come to understand it all, most likely it'd be a very long TH-cam video. This is that TH-cam video. Thank you for making this. I can now safely proclaim AoT as my number 1 anime of all time.
Honestly, I'm amazed that Isayama managed to put "show don't tell into a character". I honestly saw her as this passive character that was in the background watching (and helping) everything unfold. I never considered what her feelings were during the rumbling, and especially the Zeke and Armin scene. This video makes me appreciate her character more! And one more thing... Fuck King Fritz
unfortunately many others who hate the ending don't understand that method of show don't tell bc they're complaining ymir's motives are just squeezed in at the end bc they refused to acknowledge the "showing"
@@mithvibes4727 The rabid "fans" started making up convoluted theories when they waited for the manga's ending. Then they get all upset because the ending didn't match their fanfics and gaslit everyone into thinking the ending was bad.
@@Aliens1337perfect mindless stupid, dont care about the plotholes because you dont have the brains to spot them, for the ones like u , an ending wrote by a6years old would make perfect sense
Your videos have been some of the most well thought-out and truly thorough analytical think pieces on a piece of media on TH-cam. Every time I watch objections/responses that try to debunk your videos, even if they present a good argument, they just haven't done the deep and thorough work you have done that would sway me to their side. Well done!
First of all, I know you said it at the start but I'm sure this did take you an extremely long time for you to do, and that in itself is impressive. Secondly, this is an incredibly impressive analysis, the way you choose to explore each of the 3 main characters and how their motives and actions affected Ymir is very well done. I think that your explanation is perfect to suit the story, and i'm not really sure whether Isayama meant it like this or not, but i think it is the correct view of the story and her situation, and it wouldn't be a stretch to say he may agree with what you said. Awesome work!
Absolutely incredible video. At around 34:07 was the first time I’ve ever cried because of a TH-cam video. It reminded me of Erwin’s speech when he asks the same question.
I feel Ymir in purgatory for these past 3 years. I wanted to enjoy the ending but just didnt quite understand what the message was. Thanks for this analysis! You've brought peace to my experience with Attack on Titan.
👏👏👏seriously this was great! I honestly kept forgetting that Ymir observed a lot more than I realized. It also seems so obvious, but again I didn’t think it at the time, that Ymir can change her stance during the rumbling.
Amazing, your video is basically a long version of my opinion: Eren represented for Ymir the opposite of the king by seeing her as a free human, not a slave, while Mikasa was basically her own opposite, by having the power to let her loved one die. Also, the love Mikasa carries for Eren, is as well, the opposite of the "love" Ymir carries for king. So witnessing the real love between the opposite of the king and the opposite of her, helped her understand to let go of her toxic love to the king, and so being set free through death. This time for good.
Such a great video! I'm suffering from depression for 4 years now and I have suffered from it multiple times in my life. Realizing that even little things can give you a purpose in life is so important! ❤ Aside from that I just love AoT 😊 Especially the tragic hero of the story, Reiner. He continued to fight even without hope.
I literally waited years to see all these attack on titan videos of yours because i was an anime only XD But I enjoyed your foreshadowing videos so much that I was willing to wait that long. Your eren video, the rumbling, and this one are all fantastic af! Thanks for being so passionate about this series. I personally think it's pretty special ❤
Ending haters are now claiming Isayama used your analysis on Eren as his blueprint for fixing the anime ending. Like what? The coping is high for those guys.
Truly well done! Beautiful video! I also was confused when the manga said Ymir loved king fritz but in reality she longed for connection with others and through our cast, she finally found freedom and happiness.
This is a fantastic interpretation of Attack on Titan! I would have preferred it if the story itself had left more hints is this direction though. As it stands, most readers will not see this from reading attack on titan.
Very true! I have been in a trance for 5 days trying to understand the ending and the characters. And I couldn't on my own. I have read through comments, watched videos and picked and chose pieces to agree with or disagree until I could settle on an understanding that would both make sense to me and to what Isayama must have wanted to say. I was definitely so lost on Ymir.
I agree too, I wholeheartedly acknowledge that Ymir's story is definitely written in AoT but Isayama should of put a little more focus on how significant she really was to the story e.g a little more foreshadowing, hints etc. Outside of the execution of Ymir's story, AoT is essentially perfect in my eyes.
This is a really well spoken and thought out video. I think the ending has a lot going for it and took a lot of risks it’s nice to see that people got it
Excellent analysis as always. Ymir has been one of my favorites since the manga ended and I always felt that she is often overlooked as a character. Now I have a video to recommend to people when they ask me why.
I think Isayama's message with the ending also harkens back to Armin's dialogue with Zeke. Despite death ultimately claiming all of us, it's the moments in between, the lives that we live, the memories that we create, that matters and brings meaning. So despite history repeating itself, people have still lived meaningful lives in between. All of the surviving characters lived their lives with meaning.
Since its first release in manga version, I always saw the ending as very depressing, because I could just interpret it as "The war will go on": However, after your interpretation I can finally see what actually is a beautiful message. Thank you guys for this wonderful work!
Her view of love was corrupted just the same as eren's view of freedom was. It's almost incomprehensible to me how well done every aspect of this story is. So many parallels and details that enrich the beautiful yet tragic story of attack on titan. I don't know that I'll ever experience a story that effected me as strongly as this one. I'm still noticing things i never have before that continue to make the story even better. Just incredible
This was an amazing video, I think this is really as conclusive as it gets in terms of interpretation and I honestly think this is 99% what the author of the anime was trying to convey. Thank you for sharing.
This was the best analysis of the meaning of AoT I've ever encountered. Congratulations, the video is a masterpiece of phylosophy and psychoanalysis itself.
I like to think that the boy in the last scene who enters the tree amazed at it's colossal size is Hajime Isayama, expressing his fascination with the world of titans he has created in his imagination and gratitude towards all the people he's been able to connect with via the power of storytelling, just like Ymir did twenty thousand years before
Naw that’s not it, it’s meant to show that human curiosity is ongoing; notice how Mikasa died wearing the scarf, and time went by in stills during the credits showing the city to grow back newer, stronger? And war takes over. Everything is a cycle, not just Eren’s story. Humans will find power again, and you don’t need to see that this new boy touches the hallucigenia, because we know what people do with power❤
I like that Ymir is constantly shown as a child during the final arc (despite her dying as an adult), while, when she finally gets her peace, Mikasa sees her as an adult. She's finally free.
And likewise, Eren is shown as a child, when his friends see him in the paths with her. Two angry little shits, that never managed to grow up, driving the rumbling.
@@Steelrat1994childhood trauma really be the driving force behind the biggest violence in the show
@@daniaaal huh ur right..
reiner zeke annie etc..
@@daniaaalexactly. The biggest theme of AoT is the cycle of abuse, violence, and trauma, and how childhood trauma in particular is what starts this cycle for the next generation
@@Steelrat1994 "a child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth" is an oddly fitting quote for this show now that i think of it
34:35 The idea that the titans are a direct manifestation of the pain, trauma, and fear that Ymir experienced really added another layer to the story for me. Metaphorically speaking it’s spot on - trauma responses that live on get ugly. When Ymir’s flight response to the threat didn’t work, she happened to stumble on a power that strengthened her fight response to stay alive. Her trauma trapped her in a timeless prison, unable think, feel, or heal. The curse that Ymir suffered becomes a generational one. All of her children become both pawns of government powers and prisoners inside the walls, just like she was. They became weapons of mass distraction and violence like she was. They also became pointed at and persecuted by their surrounding communities like she was. King Karl Fitz, instead of using his regret of being used as a war machine and wronging the world as an opportunity to heal his people, gave into self loathing and stole his own peoples’ ability to have free will by depriving them of knowledge and left them to the slaughter as a form of self punishment/escapism from the pain disguised as righteousness. Her reality lived on and on in her children’s lives until a group of people were brave enough to face reality and heal from the past.
Immaculate video. It really portrays what a beautiful and tragic character Ymir was written to be and humanizes her. The full impact of her learning and changing her mind by watching the main characters didn’t really sink in until your video laid it out perfectly.
in short humanity itself created the titans it was not god or devil
It only works in concept. But the main pillar that moves the whole plot (her love for king fritz) doesn’t make sense at all. Which leads to the lack of weight attached to any scene of her. She is one of the worst characters in shounen.
@@wwe12153only if we consider her love for the king as being canon. If forgetting about that chapter drastically improves the story then it’s for the best that the lore is ignored
@@wwe12153and it’s not super unbelievable. Ymir was essentially an egomaniac psychopath’s child s3x sl@v3 her entire life, it’s not unreasonable that she’d develop a brutally twisted notion of what “love” is meant to be
@@wwe12153 its definitely not love.
The biggest mystery is who won between Mikasa and Annie during the Cadet Corp. days?
Real
Annie did.
Because the true king who cotrolls every memory of subjects of Ymir is Micasa. she covered up her loss but needed to tell eren how to win Rinner.
None. I heard that Shadis stopped them before they could start.
Realistically Annie mikasa won’t stand a chance if it’s purely martial arts.
lmao
I took the message of the boy discovering the tree akin to ymir entering the tree, resulting in an endless cycle of death, war, and tragedy but your points on how unlike ymir, the boy wasn't being chased by dogs - rather companions with one, instead of being injured - appearing healthy changed my perspective on what the very end actually means. I don't know if Isayama meant to create an "open ending" but I think the fact that the boy is choosing rather then being forced to enter the tree indicates that things have changed, for the better. Great video
Would you also say that Armin's view of freedom/hope is represented in that ending? A more clear and positive type of hope and vision compared to how Eren saw things?
I would definitely say so, I mean Armin's whole belief was the freedom to discover and explore. Life's richness and liberty was found in the satiation of curiosity according to Armin, and the boy in the conclusion is an embodiment of that (hiking pack, walking stick, etc.)@@rokurro7251
I like to think that the boy is "Odin" and created a new world using the bodies of Jottunar (Titans). They will also face a rumble (Ragnarok), wars and prejudice, but things are getting better and better.
To me, it also represents a potential of growth (for the world). Although not Ymir's choice, the titans were only ever used as tools of war and destruction. If a person who had no need to fight and nobody to command them to fight got the power of the titans, could they not use the powers to help people? To build, repair, and restore the world? To protect?
How the fxck did you and other people even get that message in the first place? Like seriously, people really call that "oh nooo Eren died and rid the world of titans for nothing, because it just ends up repeating once again."
I mean, the lack of comprehension skills.... and then y'all call the ending bad and poorly written
in the anime zeke says "i wouldnt mind being born again to play catch with you" instead of " i wouldnt mind living for another day" which i find a very small but beatiful change
The official manga translation has him saying "I would have been happy playing catch forever."
@@seg162isayama was directly involved w the anime and says it’s the most complete version of the story. So it’s most likely that he made this change with everything being taken into account, and feeling that this would be the most appropriate thing for Zeke to say.
I really love the idea that the kid going into the tree at the end isn't necessarily a bad or bleak ending. His wish may be something so pure that what power he's given could be nothing but helpful and good for the world.
So precious
if that thing is even in there... ?????????????
@@magicbolognai dont think so, we dont see any titan stuff after
I like to think the kid is meant to be the viewer. Basically, once he gets the Halucigenia, he sees all of the Memories of what came before. Essentially, he watches the show as we saw it. This is why the first episode is called "to you, 2000 years from now" (besides the dual parallel of it being a reference to Eren and Ymir), as that is how long the cycle seems to always take. Anyways, so he sees the series and then is given a choice of what to do now that he knows. Much like how I'm sure Isayama now hopes that people watching the show take the meaning of it and choose for themselves what to do with it.
@@magicbologna Yeah uh this. A lot of people seem to have just assumed that this tree also somehow has the hallucigenia (I guess to be fair the anime didn’t focus on how it dies when the smoke is clearing after Armin wakes up), but personally even with the manga I saw the tree as being purely symbolic.
The whole concept of the hallucinogenia just giving you access to whatever is in your heart is a detail that wasn't clearly communicated at all in the anime, but is massively impactful.
The fact that liberation of Ymir is the result of her witnessing the motivations and actions of the three main characters of the story is astoundingly beautiful. This gives such a weight to the ending and ties up the whole story together. Thank you again for this amazing analysis.
This guy really understands the series. A lot of people would rather call the ending trash than try to understand what was the intent behind it
You're telling me a being that can perceive Past, Present, and Future all at once has to allow tons of wars to happen, lots of people's deaths, just so she can see a choice (which we still don't know what it was) that some random Eldian 2000 years later makes? Logical.
@@hightetrisbeatboxrevived1648 She wasn't tho. She was literally in a mindless state for 2000 years, adhering to the whims of royal bloodline. It's only after Eren makes contact with her and frees her by giving her choice, does she wakes up from that catatonic state and actively observes what was happening around her. It just so happens that she witnesses the actions of Armin and Mikasa at that point.
@@an60255 So you concur that it's Eren that frees her rather than Mikasa? Cuz it can't be both
@@hightetrisbeatboxrevived1648Eren gave Ymir her first push towards making her own choices, but Armin and Mikasa are the ones who show Ymir how to be free from Carl Fritz's influence. So it actually is both, but in complementary ways.
King Fritz and his army being the only characters to never have their eyes drawn is a strong statement.
This is, with out a doubt, the most concise, clearly communicated, well structured synopsis of AOT I've seen since the finale aired. Well done!
So true.
@@jlboss_ps4751not rlly since there was no mention how the finale was rewritten and forced to end in a way that would result in a sequel. It’s a sellout move
@@VashTheDamnFiendi dont see how there would be a sequel from this. Spin-off? Sure but not sequel
@@VashTheDamnFiend I am not sure were your coming from nor what your saying.
50% of recap and 50% of headcanon
invaderzz, thank you for turning yourself into a target of online Jaegerists for our sake. I swear I won't let this sacrifice go to waste.
Lmao
the finale finally vindicated him against people with no reading comprehension
@@evan-bunch-of-numbers it's honestly saddening how many people refuse to actually analyze the reasons the ending happened and just revert to hating it bc it's not a happy ending fairytale fantasy
@@evan-bunch-of-numbersYea, it made you people look worse lol.
@@asuraspath2262Titanfolk had become a joke, even outside the AOT community.
So Erin gives her the the ability Of Free Will
Armin the Meaning Of Life
And Mikasa the ability To Let Go
Wow
Erin
Dumb and cringe
@@Crutonwyt youre dumb for not getting it.
@@Crutonwyt That's literally how it happened how is that dumb and cringe?
I'm not ready for it to end. I just want at least another 10 years.
I, too, want Attack on Titan to continue for 10 years, at least
I didn't expect you to say something that pathetic.@@invaderzz
@@invaderzzwould u say you want to “Pint” over it for at least 10 years?😅
@@asciiftw3632 Not gonna lie-- until recently, I dreaded this meme since the end of the manga because, if only just back then, it was seemingly exclusively used by the most virulent detractors of the ending who teetered on the edge of incoherence.
Thank you for becoming a mass TH-camr for our sake @@invaderzz
I never thought that Ymir was just a child. I used to think she wanted something specific, but she was just a traumatized kid asking for help. The more I understand the ending, the more I love it. Thanks invaderzz, great video as always!
One of the biggest things in therapy and psychology is to heal the inner child. Thats why despite dying in her 20s-30s, she appears a broken child in the paths. The form she takes is the one that is most broken and in pain.
Once she is freed from all the pain, she appears before Mikasa specifically in her adult form. Showing that her inner child healed from the actions of everyone.
how oldis ymir
@@ilyboyswag this makes a lot of sense! It also explains why Eren is portrayed as a child in the paths, being a slave to what he wanted when he was younger.
@@artursouto8525 Oh true that also explains that as well.
@@The--Equalizer she becomes the founder at the age of 10
I was trying to find a video that would talk about Ymir, so I’m really happy you made this video. It was hard for me to understand her motives/ importance at some times, it felt like there was an underlying part of Ymir I didn’t understand-and needed to understand to get the full scale of the story. Once again thank you so much.
Thank you for watching, I hope you enjoy it
Ymir represents every person who's just wayy too pure and selfless in this world....the image of her expressionless face carrying that bucket and making Titans is all over my head . I can't tell how many times I've cried when eren freed her and told her you're not a slave. I wish I could do the same to every person who's like her and suffering from social acceptance and Stockholm syndrome issue
@@Sigmasmerenit just sucks that then she decided to doom the world.
@@tyedrichill8097 there aren't any elements to support that she wanted to destroy the world, the fact that she was hugged by eren and heard those words....that was enough to give him all the power. But I'm an anime only you so idk if you're right
@@Sigmasmeren She gave Eren the power to doom the world and went along with it and even helped defend Eren by summoning the Ancient Titans. It's fair to believe she did want to lash out at the world for how cruel it is too...until she found out it could also be beautiful even at the face of the ultimate cruelty, through Mikasa.
Yet again you somehow managed to cover every question I had about these characters in extreme detail. Great analysis, this guy just doesn't miss.
Thank you
should we start calling him gabi?
@@animegematria I would usually say "too soon", but I think now is the perfect time.
@@animegematria31:00
what's your point?@@fizzard9741
Attack on Titan is truly a masterpiece, the best piece of fiction I’ve ever come across.
The division and dissension among viewers just goes to show how nuanced and meaningful this show is. You could analyze this show for hours on end and still not manage to cover everything.
Thank you for making this analysis and for helping us better understand Ymir’s character and the themes of aot in general!
It's not "divisive" among the Japanese at all, though. Only among Western freaks with nationalistic fantasies and headcanons.
to me, the people who hated the ending did not understand it. I will never stop glazing this masterpiece
You’re off your meds dude. The division and dissension is literal proof that this ending is so conflicting with its own themes and narratives, intelligent people caught on and realized how awful this conclusion really is. Invaderzz being a special child, sees it differently.
@@dykor3531 You’re trying to say millions of people are just confused as a defense. If an ending to something is so awful where Neanderthals like you come in saying nonsense like “you didn’t get it bro haha” it’s clear something was done poorly.
@@Crutonwyt Arguments and foundations please, pseudo-intellectual individual 🙏🏻
I've been wondering about this for so long. It is so easy to ask why a character didn't make an obvious choice whilst being completely oblivious to the fact that their childhoods and their understanding of the world fundamentally differs from yours. Thank you invaderzz and luciano for this fantastic analysis.
People talk about "media literacy" and I honestly find that to be complete 🤡🤓 business, but what I _would_ say is that it's important to be charitable with anybody conveying ideas to you-- you don't gain anything by assuming the worst out of what someone has to say, and a lack of charity can blind you to something fairly evident.
In this case, I think it was meant to be obviously curious that Ymir never just kills Fritz with all the power she has-- to talk less of returning to him at all. It's curious that she does his bidding and that she lets him impregnate her thrice. All that points to, at the least, her wanting _something_ from him, so it's not out of left field when Zeke scratches on the surface (noting she wanted connection) while Eren gets closer still (noting she was in love with Fritz) before Mikasa apparently correctly diagnoses what Ymir was feeling (noting that Ymir was in a "long nightmare" of a relationship with Fritz).
The only thing I didn't consider, myself, until invaderzz pointed it out, was that Ymir was a _kid_ with all the rational faculties of one, and that ignorance was part of the foundation of her servitude even after obtaining god-like power.
Will never forget this incredible experience.
Ymir is real and works in mysterious ways
This is very incredible storytelling; it’s also very complex, but not convoluted.
It has been awesome.
I've recommended your Eren Video to over 200 people at this point. I would wager that's the best video essay ever created in both content and delivery. lots of my close friends either love or hate it, just depends on your opinion of the story i guess.
That is a huge compliment, thank you!
If all content creators had viewers like you, more small channels would thrive. Thank you ^^
Amazing analysis of Ymir. I was curious about her motivations in the past and throughout the rumbling in the final episode, but this analysis about her fear of her own free will makes so much sense.
Your final conclusion with how the boy at the end has his own desires and wants and how it was different then Ymir's leading to the creation of the Titans was something I never thought before! It definitely feels more optimistic than the pessimistic view in humanity's/Titan's never ending cycle of violence and death I had left with when I watched the end. I appreciate it!
First Eren reached her in the paths and told her that she's her own person, and can choose what SHE wants rather than follow orders. In her life, she had spent her whole life as a dehumanized slave without any acknowledgement of her own humanity. Eren taught her autonomy and freedom.
Then Armin arrived to fight Eren, and Ymir watched his every movement closely, even stealing him into the paths with the Okapi and trapping him there. She watched his conversation with Zeke where he shared that the meaning of life is in appreciating the little moments and the love you already have rather than chasing an unattainable dream. In her life, she longed for an unattainable love/validation from King Fritz who was incapable of giving it to her, since he's a monstrous psychopath. She lived and died waiting for something she would never receive, rather than living for what she had (her daughters). Armin taught her the true importance in life.
Lastly, Mikasa. From the moment Ymir noticed Mikasa's love for Eren, she was intrigued. She began to peak through Mikasa's lifetime memories, causing her headaches. Then Mikasa killed Eren despite loving him, knowing it's the right thing to do and proving she's not a slave. Ymir herself couldn't do this in her own life, instead choosing to die for the monster she loved, instead of killing him. Mikasa taught her that love does not equal submission.
In the end, all three of the main trio were instrumental in setting Ymir free. Eren lit the embers, Armin stoked the flame, Mikasa nurtured the flame into an inferno. Together they set Ymir free. In her last moments, she had a vision of what she wished she had done, what she WOULD have done had she received these three lessons earlier in her life. She would have protected her beloved daughters, the truly important and precious things in her life, rather than being a slave to the abusive king. If she were given another chance, she would have let him die.
Acknowledging this and making peace with her tragic life and the decisions she made, allowed her to let go. She finally moved on, and in this moment, she appears not as an immature child, but as a grown adult woman. Ymir's story in the finale is essentially a coming-of-age story from the perspective of a dehumanized slave. I want to thank you for taking the time to analyze her character. Too many people write her off completely without making the effort to understand her. I really love this video.
Be so fr
Ymir is partially omniscien!!! She can see all eldians memories. It took her 2000 years to understand how to be free? “Mikasa nurtured the flame into an inferno” so you’re telling me she never saw a girl overcome her abuser in 2000 years? BE SO FR
Y’all are trying so hard to sound intellectual, it’s so embarrassing.
@@Momo-zd8vu yes because even if she had
SHE HAD NO FREEDOM LOL
how can you not understand a simple thing?
if eren hadnt started then mikasa doing her thing wouldnt have mattered lol
EREN STARTED THE FLAME
you cannt make a inferno until you literally start a flame
Dam, he was really cooking up some nice dessert with that analysis of the boy in the final teaser shot. The comparative differences in YMIR and his circumstances, the contrasting parallels in imagery, and how that would likely influence the effects that orgin lifeforms below the tree can bestow on him. It's a perspective that I never would if thought to connect together, but now that it's been made in my head, it feels so fitting with the glimmer of hope in a better future type ending we ended up getting.
This is such a great analysis. I feel like this video should be a mandatory viewing for everyone after watching the ending. Keep up the good work.
This is the best explanation I've seen so far! It's really impressive how one man was able to imagine such an intricate and yet grandiose plot. I'm so glad that someone was finally able to understand Isayama's message. Kudos man!
This is a great analysis, I was very confused why they mentioned that ymir loved king fritz despite all the horrible things he did to her. This video answered my question, thank you.
Yes Ymir is a tragic character who always wanted someone to love her. When king Fritz praised her for the things she did for his empire. Ymir in her manipulated mind interpreted praise as love.
I'm so happy to finally see someone analyze and discuss the ending with precision and care instead of just writing it all off as bad and confusing. The more I think about the themes and Isayama's intentions the more I grow to love the ending. Thank you for the analysis. I liked a lot of parts about the ending but there were still elements that confused me and this video has given me a lot to consider.
I feel incredibly grateful for everyone in your team to have brought tears to my eyes once again. I felt I understood a lot about the ending, except the core of Ymir. I understood the connection she wanted, but not where it came from. This video has really helped me understand what the story was trying to say. I think it's a very good and accurate interpretation, especially because it sounds like you guys were trying to see "what was isayama trying to get across." I recognize now that this was genuinely the final mystery I had about the show, and now that's resolved too. Thank you, everyone! And I wish I can in the future also understand the messaging of authors as well as you guys have.
It's been great watching these deep dives into the mystery surrounding Attack on Titan and will be sometime that will never be forgotten! Can't wait for the other Attack on Titan videos, especially about the foreshadowing that that this series has been leading up to!
Thank you! I remember seeing that you were subscribed to me years ago as well so I appreciate your support, and it's good to see a fellow youtuber!
Holy shit, the way you’ve explained the ending is so clear and amazing. I feel like I truly understand the story and meaning behind what was shown to us. Now I really understand Isayama’s vision, every makes sense now. Thank you so much for your hard work and research in these videos on the ending.
This video really changed how I see the ending, I originally liked it but thought it was messy, and while I still think it was a tiny bit messy, you actually made me love it!
Isayama overestimates the amount of effort the average viewer will put into his story. Ymir's life and the paths is the base of the machanics of the story. In order to fundamentally understand why the world is the way it is; why titans exist, why the royal family commands inherent power,
why marly hates eldians so much ect, it is essential to understand her story and life. Before I had a deeper understanding of her story and the reason for the existance of titans I thought the explanation in season 4 of the show was very silly. It is not easy to follow the logical path that the writer wants you to take when figuring out the mechanics, and that makes it hard for those who dont understand them to understand why things are happening in the story, especially towards the end. In the beggining of the story titans are just accepted and not questioned because of the memory control and the constant danger that the characters are in. Once we gain more context on the whole world and how what we knew fits into it, we come closer and closer to understanding the core mechanics of the world. When watching the final part, I was so confused why the rumbling stoped. If ymir is now helping eren and she has the power to do whatever she wants, then why would she stop the rumbling. Now I see that It is her implicit motivation that caused the rumbling to stop, not zekes death. Ymirs motavation is at the core of all of the events in AOT and even that is left a mystery. I did not mean to write this much but AOT is a story that expects a lot from the watcher, but if you put in the effort, it is somehow completley consistant.
Nah, it's trash and horribly inconsistent
@@asuraspath2262Armin and Zeke's conversation (A to Z, hehe) were again presenting each side of the same coin, to Ymir. That Armin was able to convince Zeke that life was indeed precious, especially the smaller, almost seemly inconsequential ones like finding a seashell at the beach or playing catch with someone you care about, is what life is all about. Zeke made the choice to see that he was wrong, and to stop Eren, Zeke had to make yet another sacrifice (by offering up his own head to Levi for the taking).
In that regard, Ymir cast the die (or flip the coin, if that analogy works better) of human freedom as embodied by Armin and Zeke, and upon Zeke's sacrifice to Levi, Ymir chose to end the Rumbling.
There is no inconsistency. Fans need to realize that Ymir isn't basing her choices on only just Eren, or even just Armin or even just Mikasa. Zeke also made that choice, and so Ymir would take into account in her own decision to pause the Rumbling upon Zeke's losing his head.
All of Eldia are her children, and Ymir gave them free will and when Zeke learned to let go of his own self loathing and trauma as an Eldian and abused child growing up, Ymir answered.
@@arcturionblade1077i thoght it was because zeke was the conduet allowing eren to control all the other titans, and thats why erens titan kept moving forward but the rest stopped when zeke died.
@@asuraspath2262POV: you are looking for attention
@@rustedcrabtm6438 - Technically speaking, that's not wrong, but Zeke was trapped in the Paths and couldn't be killed. It wasn't until Ymir intervened by allowing Zeke and Armin to fight back that the Rumbling finally ended.
It's here: the return of the king. Superb analysis, especially the emphasis on Ymir observing the events near the end of the story and her surprising amount of agency. It fits extremely well with how many shots there are of her in the final few chapters watching everything that otherwise go unexplained.
I hope you're ready for the greatest honor in AOT discourse: having a titanfolk thread be created in response to this video complaining that you just didn't understand the story.
It becomes really apparent that there's more to Ymir than meets the eye on multiple re-reads/re-watches. This analysis really nails it down perfectly!
Eren : Freedom
Armin : Fight back together
Mikasa : Let go attachment/past and move on
First time, I'm kinda upset thinking all the fights from day one with all the characters, soldiers and people happened because an unrequited love. Your video made it so clear that's not the (only) reason. Thank you.
Your videos are like my thoughts given an actual voice. I feel like I’m not fit to create video essay type videos and I’m completely okay with that. But watching your videos make me feel so happy because I also interpreted Ymir’s arc to be thrust forward by Eren, Mikasa, and Armin and I’ve also taken into account that the boy at the end of the story would NOT bring Titan’s back like Ymir did. I’m really glad these videos exist and I hope many people watch them because I think these interpretations hold a lot of weight. Great job with this.
Great video, comment for engagement because more people should see it.
I do think the parallels between Ymir and Mikasa go a bit deeper than this. The men they're dedicated to are very different, but their dedication is similar until they make different choices at the end. Fritz was Ymir's home, the father of her children and her connection to entire generations of other people. Her "love" was a blind kind of gratitude, similar to a younger Mikasa.
Your Attack On Titan videos are just so amazing. Either reminding me of the incredible themes behind this story or opening up new avenues of thought about them I missed.
Something that I also thought of when listening was the similarly between Ymir being the one who set the pig free, and Eren being responsible for that titan eating his mum.
At first it seems like Ymir and Eren are just a random victims to the cruelty of this world. When in fact their nature and desires lead to what happens. Ofc they are still victims, Ymir a victim of Fritz and Eren a victim of Marley, things outside of their control. But the things they do inside their own control lead to their outcomes, they are not just leaves in the wind.
I'm curious to understand how Eren saying that he tried to find ways to change the future fits into his nature and desire to obtain a freedom of an "Empty world" outside of the walls. What I mean is.. does Eren trying to find different ways to change the future show that he tried to go against his nature and desires? Also, invaderzz previous video about Erens character states that Eren was driven mostly by his desire for his twisted form of freedom and that in the end he even said if didn't have opposition in the end, he would have wanted to wipe everything out. If Eren didn't know the future, had he not encountered past memories and the founding titan, but the future still played out the same, as Eren's desire would not have changed and the future was based off past decisions, would Eren's statement of wiping everything out if his friends had not come for him contradict something there? Lastly, was his goal of freedom more important than his friends or was it a synonymous importance? Sorry, I'm asking a lot of questions. I dont expect you to answer them all but a discourse of some sort from y'all would help because there is so much intricate information that i am getting a bit confused on certain aspects of the story.
@@rokurro7251 "If Eren didn't know the future, had he not encountered past memories and the founding titan, but the future still played out the same, as Eren's desire would not have changed and the future was based off past decisions, would Eren's statement of wiping everything out if his friends had not come for him contradict something there?" I don't see anything contradictory, there, myself.
"Lastly, was his goal of freedom more important than his friends or was it a synonymous importance?" I think invaderzz puts Eren's goals in a hierarchy and ranks "his desire for freedom" as technically more important than "his desire to protect his friends", but I don't think it's as simple as a hierarchy. He wanted both things, but his desire to protect his friends both served as flimsy moral cover and prevented him from going all out to stop them. More importantly, Reiner correctly surmises that Eren WANTED to be judged by his friends, to be killed by them.
Great to see you again! After years of agreeing with and defending your interpretation of Eren’s motives, it felt great to see the anime spell out that exactly for us. Your video helped me understand a lot and eventually love the ending and the anime just blew me away, so I thank you for that.
I really just want to comment about how much i appreciate your videos, especially this one and the Eren one, they're genuinely great, very high quality and often touches aspects of aot or goes into details which the community itself hasn't discussed. You really help show the complexity and the amazing writing which went into attack on titan.
Invaderzz analysis video is everything i needed right now, i've waited 2000 years man
Such a wonderful insight in what of the most mysterious parts of the stories. I absolutely love the outlook and meanings you two have found in the smallest details.
This is truly a masterpiece! You have evolved to a high level of artistic skill during your own personal journey with AOT! Well done! Amazing depth and insight!
Great video Invaderzz. Your analysis of Eren a long time ago has been spot on and is finally confirmed by the anime's ending.
Finally, a well-thought out analysis of this show. The whole "the end was pointless" thing people like to say didn't make sense to me.
This video is incredible. I had mixed feelings about the ending, namely about Mikasa freeing Ymir from her chains and why that was the case, but this video re-contextualized Ymir in my eyes completely and I am in awe.
wow what a beautiful video.I was so unsure why Mikasa was the one to end the curse of the Titans but now its so clear. Great work man
The entire subversion of the boy compared to Ymir is magical.
Roughed up but safe, dog companion, and willingly wandering into the tree
All of it leaving mystery and wonder, but at least letting us know that the titans, those god awful monsters that had terrorized us the whole time, aren’t gonna be back. Absolutely hopeful
And thank you for actually engaging with the themes and source material in meaningful and insightful ways
Your videos always make me appreciate Aot more as a whole. Ymir is far from my favorite character in the show but it’s intriguing to see how you formulate her character from small to big context clues from the story rather than some head cannon nonsense. I still think she could’ve been better handled in the story but this video for sure made me understand her character better with sound points and logic I can agree with.
Thanks, I am glad you enjoyed watching. I'm personally divided on whether Isayama's decision to write Ymir so vaguely was a good thing or not since it's caused a lot of strife, but I do think there is a lot of interesting writing there (as evident by this long video lmao).
I can’t believe the series is over. I know for many it ended years ago for manga readers, but it’s a surreal ending
This is a truly masterful and brilliant essay. Thank you so much for putting up together all those bits and pieces about Ymir, this is undoubtedly a titanic work. Bravo.
This analysis is beyond perfection, all of my questions have been answered. Whether or not your analysis is true or false doesn't matter to me, I am content with believing it and I appreciate Isayama's story wayyyyyy more. A mastermind storyteller and a sharp eyed analyst. Thank you for your help invaderzz
This is probably the best attack on Titan analysis video I have ever seen. Great job🙏🏾💜
Very well put! I'd confidently say that you touched on themes that most people didn't understand or half understood but couldn't put into words. Most aot videos I've seen haven't touched on this aspects. I'm glad I was subscribed
This really helps give understanding to the ending. I know many people don't like the ending because it doesnt really explain anything and there's not a lot there for the average viewer to fully understand these internal character struggles.
Most people were satisfied with the anime ending, don’t act like the negative reaction to the 2021 manga ending is still the most prevalent perspective
Majority of people liked the
ending in anime.
This video is absolutely legendary, well done 🙏
Amazing content! You guys have really managed to elucidate a lot of SnK's themes, and i say that as someone that had been as far removed from anything related to this series as possible ever since the ending, which i then found convoluted and bizarre.
Now, after watching your videos on eren, the rumbling and ymir (back to back btw lol), i think i've got some grasp on the story that i hadn't before and i'm very grateful for it, as SnK was a big part of my adolescence at a point and it had become a sore spot due to my misunderstanding of it's messages.
This is fenomenal work, thank you for sharing your analysis with us!
Phenomenal work! The true last episode of AoT.
This video is amazing. Ymir's actions were the one thing i never truly got about aot before, now i do.
Only someone who loves this series as much as you do can pull off such an incredible analysis. Good job man
Thank you so much for your content. Even after all the shit you got dragged through for your defence of the ending I still think your video on Eren is one of the best videos I've seen on this website, and I'm sure it must feel cathartic knowing with the changes made in the anime that you were always spot-on despite what a certain vocal minority group would slander you with. Can't wait to see this video through to the end, good shit as always man. That video of yours is what inspired me to make my own analysis video on Kenny Ackermann, and I'm sure this video of yours will give me the creative boost I need to make more content of my own. Can't wait to see what the future of your channel holds!
Thank you, this comment means a lot to me. I'll check out your Kenny video!
@@invaderzz Thank you! I hope someday to be able to make videos up to the level of quality of yours, keep up the good stuff!
Where was he dragged? his video on Eren doesn't have that many dislikes. I've seen other videos defending the ending that have more dislikes
@@LuisSierra42 His Rumbling video was brigaded hard by-- presumably-- r/titanfolk, despite substantially recapitulating points about the Rumbling that he made in his Eren analysis video (you can see it in the marked lack of coherence in large swaths of its comments, compared to those in the Eren analysis video).
That Rumbling video _may_ have been age-restricted due to mass reporting by the same culprits, which is part of the reason why it's taken more than a year to get the viewership that this video got in two days.
@@seg162 Thanks for letting me know. The people in r/titanfolk desperately need to move on
That's. Just. Beautiful. Honestly, after watching the ending I was quite confused. I didn't understand anything about Ymir's behavior and just thought of her as a crazy one, 'loving' Fritz without any reason, just for the sake of plot. But now everything seems to be explained very well and Attack on Titan ending looks really ingenious.
I always knew I might have missed the entire point of Attack on Titan. My opinion of it being the best story I've ever experienced only existed because I had faith that, one day, I'd come to understand it all, most likely it'd be a very long TH-cam video.
This is that TH-cam video.
Thank you for making this. I can now safely proclaim AoT as my number 1 anime of all time.
Honestly, I'm amazed that Isayama managed to put "show don't tell into a character". I honestly saw her as this passive character that was in the background watching (and helping) everything unfold. I never considered what her feelings were during the rumbling, and especially the Zeke and Armin scene. This video makes me appreciate her character more! And one more thing... Fuck King Fritz
unfortunately many others who hate the ending don't understand that method of show don't tell bc they're complaining ymir's motives are just squeezed in at the end bc they refused to acknowledge the "showing"
@@mithvibes4727 The rabid "fans" started making up convoluted theories when they waited for the manga's ending. Then they get all upset because the ending didn't match their fanfics and gaslit everyone into thinking the ending was bad.
@@Aliens1337perfect mindless stupid, dont care about the plotholes because you dont have the brains to spot them, for the ones like u , an ending wrote by a6years old would make perfect sense
"Fuck King Fritz" unfortunate choice of words
@seg162 Yikes you're right
When we needed him the most, the goat came back with a banger Aot analysis
Your videos have been some of the most well thought-out and truly thorough analytical think pieces on a piece of media on TH-cam. Every time I watch objections/responses that try to debunk your videos, even if they present a good argument, they just haven't done the deep and thorough work you have done that would sway me to their side. Well done!
Thank you! That genuinely means a lot to me.
First of all, I know you said it at the start but I'm sure this did take you an extremely long time for you to do, and that in itself is impressive. Secondly, this is an incredibly impressive analysis, the way you choose to explore each of the 3 main characters and how their motives and actions affected Ymir is very well done. I think that your explanation is perfect to suit the story, and i'm not really sure whether Isayama meant it like this or not, but i think it is the correct view of the story and her situation, and it wouldn't be a stretch to say he may agree with what you said. Awesome work!
Among all the negativity around the ending. I really appreciate this video giving an interesting and cool perspective to it. :)
Absolutely incredible video. At around 34:07 was the first time I’ve ever cried because of a TH-cam video. It reminded me of Erwin’s speech when he asks the same question.
This comment means so much to me, thank you! I actually considered putting Erwin's speech on screen there at one point.
You didn't cry because of a TH-cam video. You cried because of the beauty that is know as "shingeki no kyojin" or "attack on titan"
I feel Ymir in purgatory for these past 3 years. I wanted to enjoy the ending but just didnt quite understand what the message was. Thanks for this analysis! You've brought peace to my experience with Attack on Titan.
The ending always gave me a spark of hope I just didn’t know why until you put it into words.
👏👏👏seriously this was great! I honestly kept forgetting that Ymir observed a lot more than I realized. It also seems so obvious, but again I didn’t think it at the time, that Ymir can change her stance during the rumbling.
Amazing, your video is basically a long version of my opinion: Eren represented for Ymir the opposite of the king by seeing her as a free human, not a slave, while Mikasa was basically her own opposite, by having the power to let her loved one die. Also, the love Mikasa carries for Eren, is as well, the opposite of the "love" Ymir carries for king. So witnessing the real love between the opposite of the king and the opposite of her, helped her understand to let go of her toxic love to the king, and so being set free through death. This time for good.
Such a great video! I'm suffering from depression for 4 years now and I have suffered from it multiple times in my life. Realizing that even little things can give you a purpose in life is so important! ❤ Aside from that I just love AoT 😊 Especially the tragic hero of the story, Reiner. He continued to fight even without hope.
I literally waited years to see all these attack on titan videos of yours because i was an anime only XD But I enjoyed your foreshadowing videos so much that I was willing to wait that long. Your eren video, the rumbling, and this one are all fantastic af! Thanks for being so passionate about this series. I personally think it's pretty special ❤
Ending haters are now claiming Isayama used your analysis on Eren as his blueprint for fixing the anime ending. Like what? The coping is high for those guys.
Whose said that?
@@1975steelersfan some random ending hater on YT reaction channels.
That's hilarious, lol.
Truly well done! Beautiful video! I also was confused when the manga said Ymir loved king fritz but in reality she longed for connection with others and through our cast, she finally found freedom and happiness.
this is the best analysis video of the aot story. you hit every theme on the head. great analysis
thank you so much for making this, and going in so much detail. I immensely enjoyed it.
This is a fantastic interpretation of Attack on Titan!
I would have preferred it if the story itself had left more hints is this direction though.
As it stands, most readers will not see this from reading attack on titan.
I definitely think that is a fair criticism. Thank you for watching!
Very true! I have been in a trance for 5 days trying to understand the ending and the characters. And I couldn't on my own. I have read through comments, watched videos and picked and chose pieces to agree with or disagree until I could settle on an understanding that would both make sense to me and to what Isayama must have wanted to say. I was definitely so lost on Ymir.
I agree too, I wholeheartedly acknowledge that Ymir's story is definitely written in AoT but Isayama should of put a little more focus on how significant she really was to the story e.g
a little more foreshadowing, hints etc.
Outside of the execution of Ymir's story, AoT is essentially perfect in my eyes.
Amazing analysis! This explains a lot. Understanding Ymir and her feelings tied everything together beautifully! Thank you!
this is actually an amazingly well researched and put together video great job
Fantastic video!!!!!! I knew there was so much gold in the ending and thank you both for doing all the hard work to highlight it all :)
I absolutely love your take on the story of Ymir and really make the ending that much more meaningful.
This is a really well spoken and thought out video. I think the ending has a lot going for it and took a lot of risks it’s nice to see that people got it
A+ for this well written in-depth analysis
Insanely deep analysis, u opened me a door for a new vision
Damn, the hate you had on your previous analysis was pure horror. Thank you for your work.
This was a much needed video, thank you for stringing all of Aot together in such a poetic way.
Excellent analysis as always. Ymir has been one of my favorites since the manga ended and I always felt that she is often overlooked as a character. Now I have a video to recommend to people when they ask me why.
I think Isayama's message with the ending also harkens back to Armin's dialogue with Zeke. Despite death ultimately claiming all of us, it's the moments in between, the lives that we live, the memories that we create, that matters and brings meaning. So despite history repeating itself, people have still lived meaningful lives in between. All of the surviving characters lived their lives with meaning.
This is the best interpretation of Ymir's personality and how it's related to the ending. Thanks so much, great video!
Since its first release in manga version, I always saw the ending as very depressing, because I could just interpret it as "The war will go on": However, after your interpretation I can finally see what actually is a beautiful message. Thank you guys for this wonderful work!
Her view of love was corrupted just the same as eren's view of freedom was. It's almost incomprehensible to me how well done every aspect of this story is. So many parallels and details that enrich the beautiful yet tragic story of attack on titan. I don't know that I'll ever experience a story that effected me as strongly as this one. I'm still noticing things i never have before that continue to make the story even better. Just incredible
This was an amazing video, I think this is really as conclusive as it gets in terms of interpretation and I honestly think this is 99% what the author of the anime was trying to convey. Thank you for sharing.
This was a good video. Tbank you for your effort.
This was the best analysis of the meaning of AoT I've ever encountered. Congratulations, the video is a masterpiece of phylosophy and psychoanalysis itself.
That means a lot to me, thank you!
I like to think that the boy in the last scene who enters the tree amazed at it's colossal size is Hajime Isayama, expressing his fascination with the world of titans he has created in his imagination and gratitude towards all the people he's been able to connect with via the power of storytelling, just like Ymir did twenty thousand years before
A self insert like in the EVA rebuild
It ain’t that deep
Naw that’s not it, it’s meant to show that human curiosity is ongoing; notice how Mikasa died wearing the scarf, and time went by in stills during the credits showing the city to grow back newer, stronger? And war takes over. Everything is a cycle, not just Eren’s story. Humans will find power again, and you don’t need to see that this new boy touches the hallucigenia, because we know what people do with power❤
@@yuk4z3 it wasnt supposed to be deep lol
bro wiped out civilization just to include himself at the end 😭
Your eren video aged like fine wine! Can’t wait too watch this one too