@@nickshaffer80 It's funny but it's true. That said, I think both Annie and Armin are also trying to find redemption for all the terrible things they did, and they found that in each other.
Armin has a sadistic streak, too. It doesn’t come out often but his psychological attacks against Bertholdt and Reiner were pretty ruthless. Obviously he was doing it to gain the upper hand in the situation but he didn’t really hesitate, either. I think Armin gets uwu-ified due to his usual mild manner and pre time skip appearance. He makes it really clear to Annie on the boat in the final season that he’s not a good person. Objectively speaking, he’s a mass murderer and war criminal. He’s cute and kind, sure, but at the end of the day he’s violent. All of the members of the main cast are violent.
One of the aspects which made 'we're both bad people' a very flawed take. Armin was attacking people who were perfectly aware of overall conflict and who in general were in favour of it. Annie? She was butchering completely clueless people. And objectively speaking, he bombed military fleet which was perfectly valid target. Only legitimate crime on his behalf in his world would be fact that he is Eldian devil.
@@ReichLife I honestly didn’t consider the fact that Annie’s foes were people who thought they were fighting a force of nature and not an enemy state. It didn’t really occur to me because the scouts are a branch of the Paradis military but, as far as they’re aware, they weren’t in a war against other people. I agree that does make a difference. I also think the ways she killed some of the scouts were patently cruel and unnecessary. If we’re just going off of mindset and define misanthropy as a sign of a bad person then, yeah, Annie is a way worse person. However, Armin’s attack on Liberio didn’t just destroy the harbor and boats. His transformation blast also took out a part of the city, too, which meant civilian casualties. As far as the two are concerned, I’m pretty sure their kill count is more comparable than if you compared Armin against someone like Reiner, who indirectly killed 250k civilians just by knocking down Shiganshina’s inner gate. If we’re judging goodness based on actions, both of them are directly responsible for a large number of civilian deaths.
@@ReichLife hard disagree about annie killing clueless people. they didn't have the full scope of the war, but to them they were soldiers in a war against titans. they knew there was a high chance they would die, and they joined the scouts fully aware of that. i dont think annie butchering them was any different from, say, paradis slaughtering marleyan infantry (except when she helicopter'd that one guy that was brutal), especially considering they were out to kill her too. MUCH better weaponry in capable hands makes slaughter inevitable, and killing people for the sake of completing her mission with the least complications i'd say is fair game in war (again except the helicopter, that should be a war crime)
@@olivertan8994 Bruh, they joined a war against INHUMAN monsters, factual threat to humanity. All while they knew what kind of titans they were about to face, both classic pure ones and occasional abnormal ones. Annie was none, she's was a human operating an human, waging a war about which scouts KNEW NOTHING ABOUT. That's makes here plain and simple murderer. Utterly different from Armin situation.
@@ReichLife the were both monsters take was a general final icing on the cake since their situations are entirely different. Armin did kill people both marleyan soldiers and most likely indoctrinated eldian soldiers as well. We also saw some of the civilians he killed particularly a child that was panned on. Armins may have been more reactionary and killed more ppl that “has it coming” but still killed innocents and his own ppl who aren’t allowed to know better. He also doesn’t have a past full of severe indoctrination that made him nihilistic like annie. Ofc annie still a monster and maniac at that but her situation also molded her to be there just as everyone else. In the end the point is to generalize that they both did horrible things in cruel situations. Armin understands that her cruel killing of his home was a result of the world she lived in. Picking apart and comparing the two situations would just lead to unnecessary conflict and devalue the lives they took
No fr. I thought the same. Majority of their shippers started to root for the couple after FT arc. Like, She spared him 2 times, walked into a trap knowing it was one only because he told her she would be a bad person to him, then when asked she can't answer either. So basically, she fucked up her mission and the chance of seeing her father (the thing she cared the most), only for sparing Armin without "specified" reason. How that wasn't taken as actions based from romantic feelings towards Armin is beyond my mind.
@@mvpmvp3861 I could have taken her actions as "it was due respect" based too if she had answered Armin's question directly. But she didn't. Armin literally asked her why she did spare him, since clearly it was what got her in that position, but she couldn't answer him clearly. In fact her response was to wonder why she did it. If it was only based out of respect for him there was no reason for Annie to be confused about her own actions, and this is highlighted even more if we consider the "you're weak, but you have guts" line. It's literally a line that implies Annie respects/recognize Armin in some degree and she was not afraid of saying it on his face, so why would she not say it when questioned again?
EXACTLY! I SOOOOOO need more scenes showing how their whole romance starts after the rumbling ends n everything starts calming down. Really wish their love story had more screen time.
FRIENDLY REMINDER: Literally NONE of the characters in this show are angels. mikasa: (cruelly blew up yeagerists to pieces) armin: (nuclear bombed an entire port) jean & connie: (betrayed comrades) erwin: (sacrificed thousands of his soldiers) floch: (killed people for fun) reiner & bert: (fall of shiganshina) eren: (sigh)
Ok slow your roll lol, Floch did not kill for no reason.. he had an agenda, & that was to ensure Eren’s plan went exactly as planned. I mean was he mean yes, maybe a bit ruthless? Sure.., lol BUT he had a clear goal in mind. Just like the all the other characters.. Annie RUTHLESSLY killed the survey corps, one can say she did all that for no reason as well. Lol
@@Flowers675Annie had a reason, she was in the mp not the scouts maybe if she got to know Petra and the others she would’ve hesitated like she did with jean, armin etc. As for floch bro tried to kill Levi, hange practically the whole main cast. Eren would have been dead if they were never released from prison. It’s one thing to kill people you don’t know but people who risked their life for you day and night is dumb.
@@Flowers675 Given that she was raised as a war weapon and nothing else, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that she doesn't value human life (well, up until the last arc, anyway). Y'all need to look into Isayama's character more deeply; she literally embodies stoicism and her character justifies that.
I see the appeal pretty easily. Armin cannot help but notice how someone seemingly aloof and harsh like Annie has a softer side that she pretty much only shows to him and has given him plenty of preferential treatment when she was a mysterious enemy. One that didn't kill him even if he and she knew that leaving him a life was a grave mistake. They were friends before all the deblace with the Female Titan arc. He decides to betray her because that was the right thing to do yet he is shown to be quite hesitant and hopeful he was wrong. Questions her why would she bother sparing him, to which she pretty much leaves open that she didn't really know why he was special enough to be left alive even if that ruined her mission. All this for it to end with her crystallised and trapped for years. Armin is an inquisitive boy who is shown to be constantly trying to understand other people, even those who wronged him. Months after he learns that she was forced to do all this harm. That she didn't really want to be in this place and went so far as to risk her lifelong mission for him. He then becomes also a sifter and now can fully understand her place. Ultimately falling for someone he can identify with, that has shown him he was special in her eyes and add that Armin now saw how she was before the conflict happen through memories and he is getting more and more conflicted with what is happening in the outside world. Seeking some understanding out of the only one in the island that could give him a clue. Like it's not that hard to understand why would he fall in love. He already liked her well enough before. It just grew due to unfortunate circumstances. Friendship -> Emotional conflict between both, with her showing how he was special in a way -> Guilt for having to betray her and getting Annie trapped -> He also becomes a sifter and Annie is literally the only Marley and that was also a Sifter with whom he can get rapport with -> World turns to shit and Eren starts to leave him -> He seeks refuge in trying to talk to Annie. For Annie it's quite easy as well. She was abused her whole life. Turns out this happy boy thinks you are sweeter than she lets on. Spends four years amending his mistake by keeping company to her. And it's not like Annie was a revanchist anyway. Then he goes and outright expresses his love for her. I mean an abused unloved girl is given unconditional love by someone she already kind of liked and who should by any standard hate her if he was like the rest.
Reiner once said to Bert something like: confess to Annie, who will understand you better than the same murderer with a short life. Bert didn't get the chance to do it, but Armin got.
Annie and Armin were trying to seek redemption for all the terrible things that they did, and they found that in each other. Killers wracked with guilt over the blood they've shed often don't believe they're worthy of love or even a chance at happiness but, again, Annie and Armin found that with each other. On some level, I think that much like Eren when he committed himself 100% to the Rumbling, Annie was hoping someone would stop her and prevent her from committing all these atrocities that she's been trained and conditioned to do. Annie is a child soldier and a weapon, something that was foisted upon her shoulders by her adoptive father and their Marleyan masters. There's a part in the child warrior candidate training where Annie is seen stomping repeatedly on a butterfly but we don't see her face at all. That was her conditioning/toughening herself up to prepare to eventually kill human beings (both in and out of her Titan form). Annie was not born a monster, despite the Marleyan propaganda against Eldians saying otherwise. She was made. Armin saw through her facade and even then he held out hope for her as a friend and human being (despite laying a trap for Annie that ended up in her being encapsulated in a crystal cocoon). This definitely had an impact on Annie and that's what made her spare him time and time again because Armin took the time to try and understand her and where she was coming from, unlike anyone else. And with that understanding and empathy, grew love. It's totally believable that they would fall for each other. It also doesn't hurt that Armin ditched his dorky Prince Valiant haircut and had a growth spurt glow up in the four years Annie was trapped in her crystal.
I think it's sorta ironic that one of the last buildings Annie destroyed before her crystallization was a church, and after she crystallizes, she's used almost like a confessional by Hitch and Armin. Good video, my friend.
I was thinking something similar... one of her last moments to prove to everyone she wasn't a titan was for her to go underground (which she refused) then spent years underground with the one trying to get her there in the first place. When she leaves, no one recognizes her above ground so she was free to roam as if she was innocent.
It really tickles me when people say Armin should hate Annie for the things she did; however, as stated before Armin is not free of sin, and even in the first season Armin has always seek out understanding more than jumping to conclusions. Also, Annie deliberately spared Armin's life twice when she could've just smashed him and be done with it, all people Annie actively killed were soldiers. The moment she saw dead civilians due to the collateral damage while fighting Eren in Stohess, the expression on her face is one of shock, she did not have a desire to kill this people, she just pushed forward to reunite with her father. The misconception that I hate the most is the "Bertholdt's memories influenced and/or are forcing Armin to have romantic feelings towards Annie". It has been established that most of what Eren said during their conversation at the restaurant were lies that attempted to push Armin and Mikasa away (My guess is that it was an attempt by Eren to somewhat change the future, although he may had low hope on it working). So yeah, Titan shifters can see memories of past holders, but that doesn't make them override their personality, if that is the case: why did Porco not inherited feelings and/or attitudes from Ymir? Why doesn't Falco inherited a hate/jealousy towards Reiner? The answer is simple, because being influenced like that isn't a thing at all. Of course memories make an influence, but they do not change people at their core. If Erwin inherited the Colossal Titan as much as he would saw Bert's memories of liking Annie, Erwin would definitively have ZERO romantic interest in Annie.
THANK YOU. How can people not notice the logic gap that presents the possible inheritance of the Titan by Erwin. Armin can only get feelings for Annie due to memories if he already liked her otherwise freaking Erwin would love Annie. If that doesn't raise a red flag I don't think any explaining will get the point across lol
Yeah i agree with you, but armin seeing bertholds memory lets him see annie the way bert sees her but it's ultimately armin's decision to like her that way
Yeah man, these past couple years the thing that irked me deepest about the AoT fandom is all the fans who for some reason ignorantly believe the reason Armin is in love with Annie is because he inherited Bertholt's feelings or memories or desires... NO, Armin has been secretly crushing on Annie for a very long time, there were many many signs in the past as well, there were even signs that Annie was interested in Armin Sigh its not like I even blame the millions of more casual AoT fans that don't understand very deep or complex characters like Annie & Armin or why their relationship is the best one birthed in the show, its sad a lot of people can't appreciate the genius behind it, they would make the most beautiful & meaningful relationship irl.
@@neltins5308 The things that make Armin and Annie's relationship one of the best are: -Mutual respect for each other. Even before the appearance of the female Titan, Armin and Annie have a very meaningful conversation about which military brigade would they join, in which is clear that Annie states that she sees a huge strength and courage in Armin, despite being one of the weakest physical and in skill, and the Armin tells her "You're nicer that seem to be, and care more than you show deep down", making her surprised. Armin made Annie come out of her stoic emotion, because he's smart and perceptive. None of them has any moral high ground. Any relationship based on any overall superiority is dysfunctional, mostly because the person perceived to be less develops insecurities, and the one on "top" can get their ego inflated and inflict abuse. This is not the case for Annie and Armin, none of them can claim to have better morals, and they do not care about that, each of them know that the other has committed sins to accomplish their goals, in fact this common situation makes it possible for them to support on each other over their own guilts.
Part of me wonder if Armin's preferences was also influenced by Mikasa. Both women posses similar personality traits such as stoical, deadpan humor and scary when angry, but also incredible willing to go at any lenght to be reunited with their loved ones. Another misconception about their relationship, are Bertold's memories. Eren basically made up all that nonesense about sharing feelings, which was actually a lie and way to push them away. However, it was thanks to Bertold's memories that allowed Armin to see more of Annie's life and understand more of her actions.
Bertholdt's memories are from the view of a person who liked Annie, do you really not think that would have had an impact on how the memories are perceived?
@@krenk9921 We don't know if feelings and memories works within the AOT world. Just because you saw someone memories doesn't equal sharing their same feelings or traits. Armin may had seen many flashbacks from Berthold's POV, however, how he interpreted those memories were up to him and how that affected his feelings for her.
@@krenk9921Eren doesn't have feelings for his mom or Dina and doesn't treat Zeke like a son. Zeke doesn't miss Ksaver's dead family. Porco doesn't have feelings for Historia. Falco doesn't hate Reiner.
Yes! They're such a well-written pairing in my opinion. Especially because in season 1, they had those conversations when Armin discovered Annie had Marco's gear and when Armin convinced Annie to help Eren (aka trap her) and it was clear that they shared certain values, such as wanting to be 'good' people (even if Annie couldn't act on them in the way Armin could back then). Armin actually used those against her, because he knew that he could convince her to help, even if Annie realized she was being trapped, because he seemed to be counting on the fact that Annie wanted Armin's approval and that she valued his opinion, because she spared him before. Annie knew she was being trapped, but instead of running, it seemed that she still did what Armin asked because he told her that he would see her as a good person to him if she helped. Years later, Armin actually understood her, because he did the same things she did. It must've felt good for both of them that they understood each other and can now give each other some sort of approval. It was clear that Annie was hurt that Armin led her into a trap, and it was clear that Armin struggled to understand Annie's motives and felt bad that he had to trap her, since she was clearly on his mind a lot (pay attention to how often he brings her up throughout the show). Them showing appreciation for each other during that boat scene must've been such a relief, which I why I love them a lot actually.
It's not like Armin knew a lot of girls, through Bert's memories he understood Annie in a way no one else in Paradis did. She did spare him, they were friends, and Armin is the kind of guy who wouldn't judge Annie for her choices given how he view his own. At the same time, Armin was the guy who voluntarily visited Annie. For 4 years, he gave her something to latch onto to save her from the insanity of being in that crystal. I can see something grow in her towards him because of that.
*Spoilers for Final season part 3* I personally think it's very well fitting to see their attraction for one another and I wanted to see them together since I saw their chemistry. Seeing Annie: a seemingly invulnerable and mentally tough character, blush and become flustered from Armin taking her hand in that boat scene in part 3 was truly sweet. I haven't read the manga so I hope they end up together in the end.
Plus theres even more evidence for them lol They trained for 3 years together and if you look in the OVA's in particular the Jean one Armin is mostly seen around Annie which is why they were together on Jean's team. Plus the other OVA where Historia gets kidnapped on that training mission has the knife to her throat on which Annie and Mikasa saved her from after Armin notices them and after Historia is saved you can see him smiling and blushing very slightly and then (I think it was Sasha) elbows him because of it. Plus Annie knew the fact that out of everyone Armin would be the one to find her out and had two golden opportunities to kill him but didn't. And even when Armin did figure it out he still waited about a month to say anything. Plus both Armin and Annie to had opportunities to understand each other on a deeper level. Annie because as you said Armin vented to her a lot to get his inner thoughts out so she had that While Armin could see all the stuff Annie was forced to go through because of Bertholdts memories. I'm not saying that Bertholdt's Feelings had an influence but seeing his memories might have helped. Like watching a movie kinda.
Add to this Armin's grey morality, who always tries to understand other people. "There are no good people, only those who are convenient for you." Perhaps this also attracted Annie, since her worldview is the same. "And Marley and Eldia are all the same."
I thought it didn’t make sense but there were signs throughout that she did like him. She’d look at him when he isn’t looking, he was the only one whose opinion mattered, supported his plans, she went along with a trap because he told her she would be a bad person to HIM the moment he says that her face changes then when confronted her emotions spill over and she blushes at Armin and says his name longingly the whole time I thought she was being weird because “anime” but Annie was able to do what she did like bertholdt because they kept their distance Annie more than both but Armin got to her
Their relationship: Armin: “Annie, I believe you’re a good person.” Annie on the outside: “Thanks.” Annie on the inside: *no….* ~~~ Annie: “Armin, I believe you’re a good person.” Armin on the outside: “No…” Armin on the inside: *thanks…*
I think that they liked each other a little bit before Armin discovered she was the female Titan too. Armin trying to talk to her and telling her she was a good person. Armin not snitching as soon as he found out because he didn't want to believe it. Annie not killing Armin when she saw his face and being willing to go with him even though she knew he was probably tricking her. Annie only participating in the cooking OVA contest cuz Armin was doing it. This is headcanon territory but I think after she got caught and got trapped in the crystal Armin dropped it because she's a murderer and he had more important shit to worry about. But then when he got Bert's memories to see why she did what she did he started liking her again and that's why he started visiting her.
You are wrong about Hitch. She didn’t go see Annie because she wanted to. She was on guard duty. Otherwise, YES! I’m really tired of seeing people say that Armin likes Annie because he got Bertolt’s memories. That’s not it at all. If you go back to the beginning you’ll see that they were low key crushing on each other in boot camp.
I usually hate when creators ship their characters in anime because it normally feels rushed or underdeveloped or that the pairing just doesnt make sense, but I was actually pleasantly surprised when it ArminxAnnie happened. I genuinely like this pairing and I think it makes far more sense than ErenxMikasa
In the manga EreMika always made sense , WIT kinda changed a lot of the scenes , and people were shipping Eren with a bunch of people, including Armin and .... Levi ... Which is another reason people didn't want Eremika , the first panel of manga literally starts with Eren dreaming of his last look at Mikasa .
A little thought that crossed my mind while watching this video: Armin was the only one who discovered that Annie was the female titan because he had payed a lot of attention to her during their time together while training to be a soldier, just think about, Jean saw her, Eren saw her and Mikasa saw her, all of them had a close look at her titan form and no one noticed, you can argue they were in a panic or enraged at the time but so was Armin, and despite that he noticed her similarities in appearance, let's take another thing in consideration, Armin decided against mentioning about Marco's ODM gear being in Annie's possession to others too, just because he wanted to believe in her, even tho he never had a close relationship with her, that's a fucking crush if I've ever seen one, ignoring every single red flag in that person you like ffs, Berthold's feeling just intensified Armin's when he got the colossal, this was a relationship present from way earlier than i thought, i mean, if I'm correct.
Totally what I thought. Armin mentioned the Female titan because he looked at Annie closer that everybody while their studying together. Also he mentioned Bertold's feelings for her, because he understands the issue :)
I will add that at this moment we see the face of the Titan Annie in the penumbra. But not the eyes. The eyes stand out brightly and clearly, indicating that Armin recognized her by her eyes. What are the relationships of people who recognize each other by their eyes?) By the way, one interesting detail: from Armin's point of view, the face of the Female Titan is shown to us as sweet, gentle and even a little beautiful, while others see a monster.
@@elizabethafton1141This is called a romantic image. A rule where a girl looks a little more beautiful in the eyes of her loved one, valid for Eren and Mikasa, Ymir and Historia, and accordingly, for Armin and Annie. This does not always happen, but in particularly emotional moments. During the first meeting, Armin sees FT as an ordinary titan, because he does NOT know who she is, so the romantic filter does not work. During the second meeting, he already found out, and a little later, when recalling this moment, knowing her identity, Armin turns on the romantic filter even for Annie in the form of a titan, despite her killing two of his comrades.
Exactly, that was her biggest mistake, The făct that she left someone she cared about love. She tried to avoid that by being ruthless and play with her prey like when she spins that scout like a yoyo to have fun and avoid regret, but she fell victim to remorse and regret as well, same with reiner and bertholdt.
It led to the survey corps uncovering the secret of the warrior trio and stealing the power of the Colossal Titan, which led other countries to attack Marley and a lot of their resources were used up ... All because Annie showed mercy to Armin .
Annie’s lack of pragmatism in this one instance, despite her otherwise perfect application of it, doomed the mission. It was a small luxury she afforded herself that ended up costing her everything. But as an unforeseen consequence it saved the world, sort of. Paradis wasn’t destroyed but 80% of the world was, however, then we know that centuries of peace and development happened. This might not have been the case if Marley had conquered Paradis and forever perpetuated the existence of the Titans for their empire. But regardless if Annie sparing Armin saved the world or merely changed it, this act definitely did save herself. If she had killed Armin and completed her mission, she’d get to see her father for however long it is until Marley has her eaten to pass on the Female Titan. But by saving Armin, she gets to live as a survivor in a new world while free of the Curse of the Titans.
Annie was cold, but she never wanted nothing to happen to him. I believe if she wasn't a Marley soilder they probably would have been closer and gave Big Bunion a real colossal reason to hate Armin.
I think it is one of the if not the best ship in AOT. They are adorable together, especially considering how Armin could break through her lone wolf personality. I also like it because it is a bit nostalgic seeing as how many shipped them way back in 2013.
Annie and Armin were trying to seek redemption for all the terrible things that they did, and they found that in each other. Killers wracked with guilt over the blood they've shed often don't believe they're worthy of love or even a chance at happiness but, again, Annie and Armin found that with each other. On some level, I think that much like Eren when he committed himself 100% to the Rumbling, Annie was hoping someone would stop her and prevent her from committing all these atrocities that she's been trained and conditioned to do. Annie is a child soldier and a weapon, something that was foisted upon her shoulders by her adoptive father and their Marleyan masters. There's a part in the child warrior candidate training where Annie is seen stomping repeatedly on a butterfly but we don't see her face at all. That was her conditioning/toughening herself up to prepare to eventually kill human beings (both in and out of her Titan form). Annie was not born a monster, despite the Marleyan propaganda against Eldians saying otherwise. She was made. Armin saw through her facade and even then he held out hope for her as a friend and human being (despite laying a trap for Annie that ended up in her being encapsulated in a crystal cocoon). This definitely had an impact on Annie and that's what made her spare him time and time again because Armin took the time to try and understand her and where she was coming from, unlike anyone else. And with that understanding and empathy, grew love. It's totally believable that they would fall for each other. It also doesn't hurt that Armin ditched his dorky Prince Valiant haircut and had a growth spurt glow up in the four years Annie was trapped in her crystal.
Marco wasn't the first person on the island Annie killed. Recall that she was the one who summoned the titans to the walls, meaning she has an equal share in all their deaths as Reiner and Bertolt do. Also, Armin never killed millions with his Liberio transformation. Hundreds of not thousands yes, but absolutely not millions. Saying he has the second highest kill count after the Yeager brothers is forgetting of Reiner who spent around 10 years as the Armoured titan and fought many, many wars for Marley and almost certainly would've killed quite a few times more than Armin did. Annie and Bertolt also fought these wars too until the events of the story.
armin actually did kill over a million ppl in the liberio attack. i saw a video on it. dude ong i also thought thta he just killed like a thousand over sum, but NAHHHH BRO WIPED OUT AND ENTIRE DAMN MILLION. ill try to link it to you if i find it G
I would call the people who died in the 1st episode were killed by Annie before although she did summon them she didn't create the pure titans they were already roaming out there
yeah but there's a difference between sending Titans to do the dirty work of killing a bunch of strangers and personally causing the death of a friend with your own two hands as he begs you not to
I think a big part of the problem is that the relationship did feel kind of shoehorned in at the last minute when there was already so much other stuff going on. That's not a problem with the writing of the ship itself though, that's a symptom of Annie herself feeling like she got kind of shoehorned back in at the last minute. Even back in season 1 she clearly already liked and respected him on some level, if she didn't she would'n't have spared him despite knowing how dangerous he could be.
I felt like there were more than enough breadcrumbs to see some attraction there from the beginning. It think if people felt it was shoehorned it's on them for not picking it up. But AoT was like that with a lot of things. Going back and rewatching it you find all kinds of small tidbits you missed that screamed at you about what was happening. It's fantastic storytelling, you just have to pay attention.
No it’s not. It’s completely unnecessary at this point in the story where the world is literally becoming a hellscape. This pairing should’ve never been romanticized.
@@goblinman3010 Annie literally comes back because of him. Not only has plot relevance it also makes both characters greater, giving a better insight into what type of person both are and ties in with general themes of the story. Sorry but because you chose to be illiterate about it doesn't mean you have any ground to stand on
@@bfedezl2018 nah, useless armin. Erwin should have lived instead of him. He didn't do anything important or anything to save paradise. "Peace ambassador" my ass. Paradise got wrecked because of his incompetence. Stupid ass armin.
@@bfedezl2018 Or rather Annie comes back cause plot demands it, with relevance close to being irrelevant given all other factors with both characters being way past theirs' prime. Insight what kind of people (illiterate bruh) both of them are? If anything this make them are artificial props than actual characters though it goes perfectly in accordance theme in story last arc of nonsensical writing. So yeah, seems ground you stand on is literally made of quicksand.
THANK YOU for having a brain! It is so tiring seeing people slander Annie's character by saying that "she's a monster who slaughtered the scouts and bathed in their blood while ENJOYING it and LAUGHING!" Annie is my favorite character in AoT and this argument makes me go insane every time. Annie was never once taught the value of a human life as a child. As an impressionable kid, Annie was taught to train herself to slaughter people that Marley indoctrinated their warriors to believe were devils. Annie herself says to Hitch that they were told they should be praised for killing ANYONE on Paradis - it wasn't until she spent time living under Paradis' roof that she actually learned so many basic things that we, as kids, are taught. I don't know about anyone else in the comments here, but I was certainly taught the value of both my own life and the lives of those around me as a kid. I was nurtured, loved, and taught how to nurture and love myself. Annie was not. She was a human weapon abandoned by her parents, found by a selfish man who only wanted a better future for himself at the start, basically sent to her death as a child by adults to fight their war for them, and then forced to do horrific and horrendous things because the only way for her to both survive and be able to see the ONE person who had gotten close to her (her father, who, no matter HOW horrible he was, still cared for her in the end) WAS if she did those things. We see in Annie's OVA that she is tormented by the horrors she brought upon Marco. She apologizes over and over to the victims of the battle of Trost, knowing that it is in part her fault. Annie knows she's a monster, and honestly? I don't fault her for being selfish one bit in Season 4, Part 3 when she elects to stay behind. I've seen some people criticize her for backing out of the fight, but I would probably do the same if I were in her shoes. The world has done nothing but wrong Annie since the day of her conception - it's no wonder she makes the choices that she does.
That's what I've been saying, too! I'm like, why are the fans being so mean to her?! People tend to forget that they are just kids, teenagers. I'm not surprised that they did what they did because that's all they knew. Annie, Reiner, and Bert never had the chance to be kids. Sure Reiner and Bert had biological families but Annie did not. Being adopted by a piece of shit man that physically and mentally abused her. Made her into a weapon and then had the nerve to tell her he's sorry while hugging her. Oh I wanted to slap him in the face! It's no wonder why she would want to go back because it's her home and that's all she knows. I never saw her as a villain all I saw was a victim. I love the fact that Armin is interested in her. She deserves happiness. He's a total catch. A wise person once said if you don't have a support system then go out and make one. If that means finding friends or creating a family of your own then yeah.
@@alexisault4444 Me too mate me too😭 Annie is my no 1 fav character in aot. People don't get her complex character 😭. But I love Annie so much. I can see myself in Annie cause I'm quite like her😅
The psychology of the Warrior Trio (RIP Marcel, died too early to be anything other than a plot device) is one of my favourite parts of the story. Reiner, a man so racked with guilt he developed split personality disorder. Trying to be a genuine leader of both the Warriors and 104th Soldiers, despite the inherent contradictions. Seeing his mind fight itself was a lesson in guilt and of how wood breaks. Bertholdt, the prodigy without agency. Blessed with innate talent, but so paralysed by guilt that he is hopelessly caught up in the flow of the world despite his better than average chances of being able to change it. His cathartic breakdown to the 104th, asking his betrayed friends to find them, was some of the best writing I’ve ever seen. And Annie, the fashioned tool that still developed a sense of humanity despite her environment doing its best against it. Someone who only wanted to survive, forced to kill and worse yet, to understand that what she was doing was wrong and unforgivable, but unable to do anything but be swept along with the flow of the world. No wonder she admired those that raged against the flow, even if they were only idiots that were crushed by its strength.
Another thing is that even before Annie set out to capture Eren she didn't want Armin to join the scouts. She at least cared for Armin and her comrades as she was the one who opposed the mission and felt sick when Reiner suggested to destroy more walls. Although, when she is willing to go on a killing spree, she does it with no remorse.
Thank you so much! It was about time someone explained the obvious. We were already shown that the ones who we considered as bad guys aren’t as bad as we thought as the series went on we were shown that the characters who we grew & live are the same possibility even worse. We saw this with eren riner covering this topic & with armin & Annie. It was obvious that Annie liked armin since she could have killed him right there but didn’t especially since he knew about her identity. & armins feelings were not because of bartold it was already proven that everything eren said was a lie. We didn’t see porci have a crush on historia, didn’t see eren have a crush on his mother, Grisha didn’t have a crush on Mikasa etc.
@@thalmoragent9344 I’m going by erens logic 🤷🏼♀️. (Don’t read ur you are an anime only) & yes if you had read the manga everything he said was a lie. The ackermans are not slaves nor do they have hosts, armin does not have feelings because of bartold, eren dosent hate mikasa, he is not free.
@@eveegirl2878 Well, Ackermans were still made to be supersoldiers of course, that much is true, and havig Bertholdt's memories means he knows more about Annie's childhood and young community than he would've otherwise
that goofy impression had me rolling on the fucking floor, Im so high right now and you just like, gave me a euphoric feeling of joy from your impression, thanks
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I LITERALLY HAD TO DO THE SAME THING JUST A FEW MINS AGO, WHERE I HAD TO EXPLAIN TO AN IDIOT ON REDDIT ABOUT HOW THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS ACTUALLY THE MOST LOGICAL AND FAIR RELATIONSHIP IN ALL OF AOT. SEA-TACTICS U THE GOAT FR
It feels so good to finally find a video/comment section of people who actually understand complex characters & relationships in AoT after arguing with dumbasses on Twitter and Tiktok that have no comprehension of Annie beyond "b-but the Levi squad." (They don't actually give a shit about the Levi squad, they just want a reason to hate on her. Shocking, I know.)
I mean i just recently watched all 4 seasons of aot for the first time and I still don't understand the importance of Levi squad to the plot of the story( I know their deaths were important for the progression of the story)😐😑. Like why?? Mike died(was killed by Zeke aka the monke), Nanaba (Her whole squad too)died Hange(Her squad too)died and so many other Survey Corp soldiers died , killed but no one gives a shit. Even Levi doesn't mourn his squad that much like the fandom does. Like wth🫡
@@zamilakawser3j877 People just use it as an excuse to hate on Annie. Her character is misinterpreted massively, so they're salty that she got a happy ending lol.
I think it’s definitely interesting considering how bertholdt had feelings for Annie, then Armin gained his memories. He has probably seen Annie in so many different lights. Like lovers from a previous life type of thing.
Finally, someone who bothered to pay attention to Annie's arc. It needed to be said because I swear, the AoT fanbase is filled with some of the most obtuse, illiterate, and immature people (although tbf, I'm sure many of them are probably underage). Nicely done video.
I agree 😭 i feel like such a geek for understanding character depth but then i remember that there r people who only see surface level aka most of aot fandom
The aot fandom is kinda sick and weird. I mean aot itself is a really deep and complex story. So of course not every question is going to be answered fully. I just recently watched aot. All 4 seasons. And I quite understand the theme and it's complex and the characters too. But the fandom only cares about Eren and Levi. Like there are not so many amvs or music edits of so many other main characters. I hardly find any😢. It's just either Eren or Levi. I recently finished it so I was looking forward to some characters' amvs. Btw My favorites are Annie Jean Armin Mikasa Sasha Pieck Reiner 😊
I feel as though people re so hard on Annie, and of course I don’t mean that her actions were justified in any way, but in the way where people only reduce her to and write her of as nothing but a sadistic soulless monster. While being sadistic is apart of her personality, its the fact that despite her upbringing training her to live a life to kill and never having a proper example of being a kind human, she st ill displays moments of empathy, remorse, mercy and genuine connection. Regardless of how hardcore, apathetic and being repressed through a life of rigid work towards a life of violence, there lies underneath it all just a person, and someone with a heart and soul who chooses to unlock it and end the cycle of killing and love people.
"Armin and Annie make no sense" "Mikasa and Annie's friendship makes no sense" "Annie faced no consequences" "Annie is an evil bitch" "Why does everyone just accept Annie" "Why doesn't Levi kill/beat up Annie for killing his squad" "Annie feels no remorse, she said she'd do it again" I really wonder what series some of these people watched.
People keep bringing up the people Annie killed as if it only mattered that they were characters we were used to. Armin also killed people, we just don't know them personally. It doesn't mean their lives mattered any less. Odd how this ship brings forth such a tribal mentality within the fandom lol
Terrible take. Armin was attacking people who were perfectly aware of overall conflict and who in general were in favour of it. Annie? She was butchering completely clueless people.
@@somerandomperson5473 Her only family is one man who isn't even related by blood. Followed by fact, why would they threaten him? Unless Reiner or Bertoruto came back and told Marley, for all sense and purpose she could be declared dead, and her father would be left alone just as Bertolto was. She could walk away and her father would live, alongside dozens/hundreds people she did murder.
@@ReichLife did u read the manga or??? 1. the whole purpose of her mission is to go back to live with his father in marley, so pretend to be dead without knowing if he's gonna be ok after she failed the mission is kinda dumb 2. reiner manipulated her so she could stay in paradis with them and finish the mission together, do u think he'd be selfless enough to free her from such a burden and carry it himself alone? or carry it himself and his bestie, bertholdt, who's never received a mission from him except use his titan, unlike* annie? lets remember bert and reiner were responsible that marco discovered them, and who did the dirty job? annie, who had nothing to do w it (and oh reiner forced her to do it again) 3. annie murdered soldiers who were attacking her. its a fucking war so that shit is fucked up but common in that setting in order to survive. the only innocent ppl she killed was bc eren (and mind you, armin and erwin who were the authors of such plan) forced her to fight in a city full of people. not like eren who killed millions with the rumbling to achieve his own freedom, or armin who killed civilians as colateral damage after nuking a whole port and killing enemy soldiers the same way annie did.
Honestly I thought it was obvious there was something going on between them in FT, and in fact majority of their shippers started to root for this couple around FT arc. Annie's actions couldn't be explained if it wasn't for a least some soft spot for Armin because she clearly fucked up her entire mission, some could go and say she didn't care about her mission, what is correct, but she did fucked up the chance of going back to her father which was the only thing she truly wanted... Annie literally walked into a trap knowing it was a trap only because Armin told she would be a bad person TO HIM, how could that not be taken as something romantic? Now regarding Armin's feelings, I personally don't believe memories the author never bothered to show to the audience are important enough to influence characters on this degree, and even if it was the case, what shifter inherit are memories, not feelings... And memories at maximum could only show a different side of Annie to Armin from Bert's perspective. What Armin interpretes, feels and decide to do with that info are still his own decisions.
You forgot to mention that Armin has bertholdt's memories of Annie who also had a crush on her, so i think after understanding Berthold a bit and looking up to Annie he probably felt like he started to develop feelings too because of Annie sparing him and also knowing how god damn smart that kid was for trying to capture her without getting people killed that's what Annie admired of Armin that's why she couldn't stop laughing and smiling right at him for trying to do the right thing and not trying to get her hurt, when Armin lied about Annie being tortured he knew it was low of him to do such a thing but he also knew that it was needed to get bertholdt to drop his guard, if he had the chance to talk to him again he probably would have told bertholdt that she was safe and secured and that she crystalized herself to not give up any information.
Idk man, after Armin's big confirmation of his romantic interest i feel even more attracted toward Armin. Heck i think I'm in love with ARMIN (sorry Annie, i love your man 😔💖)
Annie is a micro reflection of the outside world in Armin's eyes. Yes, it may be cold and hostile, but somewhere deep inside it has kindness, love and friendship. And here we can see a parallel with the first season, how Armin is looking for all the good, kind and bright things in Annie, as well as in 4m - in the outside world.
A woman falling for a much weaker man isn't something we see very often, because woman always look for security in a relationship. Annie falling for armin was something unique, i love this about her. ❤❤
It’s happened a few times in this series. That said, guys like Armin and Eren are only weaker physically in their base (human) forms, and that’s just because the girls are OP. They still chads.
So glad I found this video, these last couples months since more of the final season released and last year with the final part II, I've been seeing so many fans that don't understand at all saying its very dark & messed up what they did with Annie & Armin, thinking he's only in love with her because of Bertholt's memories, the truth is NO, that's a very terrible take on it, in reality they have the most beautiful relationship in the entire show and it has been foreshadowed since season one of Attack on Titan, and hinted at MANY times although it was really subtly, people should re-watch the show and reread the entire manga to understand it.
To me they have the best romance written in AOT if you understand more in depth and get it. Armin: "Why did you spare my life when in the forest as you could just kill me at that time so that your identity won't be figured out by me? " Annie: "You too Armin, you could just report my identity quickly, but why you hided it for 1 month? " They are from different side, but have to do the right things. However, we can see Annie as a spy is putting an unnecessary feelings toward Armin, thats why it caused her identity revealed and mission failed.
I have two braincells, one of them absolutly loves this because its kinda adorable, and it litteraly make so much sence. If after this video you don't see it, rewatch the anime. notice how much armin talks about annie? Especialy in Jeans OVA, when theh are seen alot together, and in the OVA where Christa gets kidnaped, you can see Armin blushing at Annie when he saves her. Its so sweet to see them finnaly find somthing to be happy about after all the bs they have had to go through. But my other braincell just says *nuh-uh >:(* We ignore said braincell.
Annie finds a sort of happy place in kicking and martial arts kinda like how Zeke made baseball reference when slaughtering the scouts in season 3. They both r kinda falling back on a happy childhood memory to forget the brutality of what they r doing.
I am not a fan of this ship but yeah I do think Armin liking Annie has nothing to do with fact of berthodlt liking her.probably things of Annie that made berthodlt fell for her ,are the exact same for Armin which he got to see through berthodlt's memories
I dunno, it seemed odd for a time. I can see it but, maybe nothing should've been said till later on. (or rather, Annie should've came out the Crystal sooner than later to give more time considering the relationship)
Everyone keeps saying : Yeah Armin only have feelings for Annie now because he can feel Berthold feelings for her and all that. But this doesn't make any sense. Like when Eren ate his father, did he fall in love with his mother? No. Like seriously how can people keep bringing up that excuse? Or when Porco Galliard ate Ymir to gain the Jaw Titan, did he feel anything for Historia? Nope.
Admin chose right, Annie is best girl. Every girl in aot is best girl. Except gabi, she’s second best for killing real best girl Sasha but gabi is still aight I guess
Armin experienced Annie's childhood through bertholdt's memories. His infatuation with her seems a little creepy and even Hitch poitned it out although jokingly. Betholdt's memories did influence Armin's views of her because he also gained Bert's feelings though those memories. The "love" is based off of understanding of each other not a literal need for the other's companionship. Annie has always shown she respects those who may be weak but still struggle for something. That is why early on everyone thought she may had liked Eren. Liking Armin likes sense with that in mind and the late night crystal talks
Honestly, I thought it was bc of bertolt was in love with Annie and Armin inherited his memories? I'm sure it atleast had something to do with the love they share.
I don’t think armin inherited Bertoldt’s feelings, just his memories. I mean, if Erwin had taken the serum instead of Armin, Erwin would have had Bertoldt’s memories and would have been in love with Annie, and that’s just… weird…. so I doubt that’s how it works. I think having Bertoldt’s memories helped Armin understand Annie as a person better, and so he understands why she did what she did, but I don’t think those alone made him “fall in love with her.” Out of everyone, Armin definitely understands Annie the best because of those memories.
Annie's titan form is so beautiful. But damn can she be scary when she smiles at you while you're Eren Jaeger on a horse in a forest trying to lure her out.
What AOT captures better than any other story is that there are no "good guys" or "bad guys" in war. Our society is made to believe that there is a "good side" and a "bad side" of war. Unfortunately that doesn't exist. There is only two sides with different view points and the winner gets to determine what history is thought. Absolutely no war ever in the history of the world really has a morally superior side when you dig deep enough into the facts.
I think Armin likes Annie not purely from his own will but from the subtle characteristic he gained from getting the Collosal titan from Bertholdt. We've seen little changes here and there to Titan shifters once they become one such as Zeke wearing glasses and even the way Eren wore his hair after taking the Warhammer Titan. I think Armin inherited Bertholdts love for Annie.
armin doesn’t even give a reason to why he fell for annie unlike nicolo he just says he likes her. yeah he can feel bad and have empathy but to fall in love? especially with knowing how brutal she was is weird. she damn near enjoyed the expedition massacre
Why should the character explain the reasoning of his feelings to you. Ultimately you are choosing to ignore well stablished parts of Armin character because you just don't like the relationship for whatever reason
@@bfedezl2018 because in a story where pretty much everything made sense why would armin who probably had four real conversations with the girl who murdered his squad and massacred a district have a crush on her ever since? i understand the interest and curiosity but he only had eyes for the assassin trapped in the crystal and it’s off. i actually like the ship but the way it was executed was bad and should’ve been left out
Was Annie able to undo the crystal hardening at anytime she wanted? If so, why didnt she do it sooner? I am sure she wud have been able to take on one guard and get away in titan form
Female Titan could only partially mimic the effects of the other Nine Titans. The crystal cocoon was an ability of the Warhammer Titan. I imagine the Warhammer probably could form and melt it at will, but the Female Titan could only form it and stay crystallised as an act of last resort. Maybe the Warhammer could melt it later, or the Jaw could try and break it without killing Annie, but we don't know.
Yes. Yes I am tired of this misconception. There's no doubt in my mind that some people will continue to slander the relationship, at least my mind is at rest. Thank you.
They are both screwed up people who won’t ever be forgiven by thousands and millions people all around the globe for killing the innocents. The only people who can understand the weight of sins and pain from them are Annie and Arimin together - Armin understands Annie’s feelings, when Annie understands Armin’s. Not to mention that nobody ever cared about Annie’s mental health like Armin did, because he never left her alone in the crystal, always sharing his worries and thoughts to her and acknowledging the burden she had been going through her whole life. Nobody ever in Annie’s life did something like this for her.
Wow, totally missing the point of the collosal titan. Armin only did what he did in Liberio because that was his mission, to destroy the naval fleet. That was his only mission. We know the titan can also transform slowly and not cause an explosion, as shown by Bertold in episode 1 and in season 2 when he partially transformed on the wall.
Ah, sir, Annie was the reason Armin's granpa died (indirectly). Armin is the reason Annie was trapped in the crystal and couldn't unite with her father.
There is a massive middle ground between understanding where someone is coming from while slaughtering your comrades and liking them, let alone falling in love with them
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If Eren was influenced by Ymir the entire time then Armin was Influenced by Bertholdt
Ppl forget that it's not that armin forgives Annie, it's that he doesn't see himself as any better than her.
Perfect point
“You committed War crimes? Hey i did that too! we have soooo much in common!”
@@nickshaffer80 pretty much
@@nickshaffer80 It's funny but it's true. That said, I think both Annie and Armin are also trying to find redemption for all the terrible things they did, and they found that in each other.
It's creepy when you realize Armin has an higher kill count
Edit: maybe not, because in the manga Annie titan lured pure titans in Shiganshina
Armin has a sadistic streak, too. It doesn’t come out often but his psychological attacks against Bertholdt and Reiner were pretty ruthless. Obviously he was doing it to gain the upper hand in the situation but he didn’t really hesitate, either. I think Armin gets uwu-ified due to his usual mild manner and pre time skip appearance. He makes it really clear to Annie on the boat in the final season that he’s not a good person. Objectively speaking, he’s a mass murderer and war criminal. He’s cute and kind, sure, but at the end of the day he’s violent. All of the members of the main cast are violent.
One of the aspects which made 'we're both bad people' a very flawed take. Armin was attacking people who were perfectly aware of overall conflict and who in general were in favour of it. Annie? She was butchering completely clueless people. And objectively speaking, he bombed military fleet which was perfectly valid target. Only legitimate crime on his behalf in his world would be fact that he is Eldian devil.
@@ReichLife I honestly didn’t consider the fact that Annie’s foes were people who thought they were fighting a force of nature and not an enemy state. It didn’t really occur to me because the scouts are a branch of the Paradis military but, as far as they’re aware, they weren’t in a war against other people. I agree that does make a difference. I also think the ways she killed some of the scouts were patently cruel and unnecessary. If we’re just going off of mindset and define misanthropy as a sign of a bad person then, yeah, Annie is a way worse person.
However, Armin’s attack on Liberio didn’t just destroy the harbor and boats. His transformation blast also took out a part of the city, too, which meant civilian casualties. As far as the two are concerned, I’m pretty sure their kill count is more comparable than if you compared Armin against someone like Reiner, who indirectly killed 250k civilians just by knocking down Shiganshina’s inner gate. If we’re judging goodness based on actions, both of them are directly responsible for a large number of civilian deaths.
@@ReichLife hard disagree about annie killing clueless people. they didn't have the full scope of the war, but to them they were soldiers in a war against titans. they knew there was a high chance they would die, and they joined the scouts fully aware of that. i dont think annie butchering them was any different from, say, paradis slaughtering marleyan infantry (except when she helicopter'd that one guy that was brutal), especially considering they were out to kill her too. MUCH better weaponry in capable hands makes slaughter inevitable, and killing people for the sake of completing her mission with the least complications i'd say is fair game in war (again except the helicopter, that should be a war crime)
@@olivertan8994 Bruh, they joined a war against INHUMAN monsters, factual threat to humanity. All while they knew what kind of titans they were about to face, both classic pure ones and occasional abnormal ones. Annie was none, she's was a human operating an human, waging a war about which scouts KNEW NOTHING ABOUT. That's makes here plain and simple murderer. Utterly different from Armin situation.
@@ReichLife the were both monsters take was a general final icing on the cake since their situations are entirely different. Armin did kill people both marleyan soldiers and most likely indoctrinated eldian soldiers as well. We also saw some of the civilians he killed particularly a child that was panned on. Armins may have been more reactionary and killed more ppl that “has it coming” but still killed innocents and his own ppl who aren’t allowed to know better. He also doesn’t have a past full of severe indoctrination that made him nihilistic like annie. Ofc annie still a monster and maniac at that but her situation also molded her to be there just as everyone else. In the end the point is to generalize that they both did horrible things in cruel situations. Armin understands that her cruel killing of his home was a result of the world she lived in. Picking apart and comparing the two situations would just lead to unnecessary conflict and devalue the lives they took
The moment Annie decided not to kill Armin was pretty clear to me, she had feelings for him.
And at the very least would rather not kill him despite having two opportunities that episode.
I always interpreted as her just respecting Armin if anything
No fr. I thought the same. Majority of their shippers started to root for the couple after FT arc.
Like, She spared him 2 times, walked into a trap knowing it was one only because he told her she would be a bad person to him, then when asked she can't answer either. So basically, she fucked up her mission and the chance of seeing her father (the thing she cared the most), only for sparing Armin without "specified" reason. How that wasn't taken as actions based from romantic feelings towards Armin is beyond my mind.
@@mvpmvp3861 I could have taken her actions as "it was due respect" based too if she had answered Armin's question directly. But she didn't.
Armin literally asked her why she did spare him, since clearly it was what got her in that position, but she couldn't answer him clearly. In fact her response was to wonder why she did it. If it was only based out of respect for him there was no reason for Annie to be confused about her own actions, and this is highlighted even more if we consider the "you're weak, but you have guts" line. It's literally a line that implies Annie respects/recognize Armin in some degree and she was not afraid of saying it on his face, so why would she not say it when questioned again?
@@mvpmvp3861 same
I don't like how there wasn't enough screen time with Armin x Annie.
I want to see their relationship mature.
EXACTLY! I SOOOOOO need more scenes showing how their whole romance starts after the rumbling ends n everything starts calming down. Really wish their love story had more screen time.
FRIENDLY REMINDER: Literally NONE of the characters in this show are angels.
mikasa: (cruelly blew up yeagerists to pieces)
armin: (nuclear bombed an entire port)
jean & connie: (betrayed comrades)
erwin: (sacrificed thousands of his soldiers)
floch: (killed people for fun)
reiner & bert: (fall of shiganshina)
eren: (sigh)
Ok slow your roll lol, Floch did not kill for no reason.. he had an agenda, & that was to ensure Eren’s plan went exactly as planned. I mean was he mean yes, maybe a bit ruthless? Sure.., lol BUT he had a clear goal in mind.
Just like the all the other characters..
Annie RUTHLESSLY killed the survey corps, one can say she did all that for no reason as well. Lol
@@Flowers675Annie had a reason, she was in the mp not the scouts maybe if she got to know Petra and the others she would’ve hesitated like she did with jean, armin etc. As for floch bro tried to kill Levi, hange practically the whole main cast. Eren would have been dead if they were never released from prison. It’s one thing to kill people you don’t know but people who risked their life for you day and night is dumb.
marco:
@@Flowers675 Given that she was raised as a war weapon and nothing else, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that she doesn't value human life (well, up until the last arc, anyway). Y'all need to look into Isayama's character more deeply; she literally embodies stoicism and her character justifies that.
Where da romance tho
I see the appeal pretty easily.
Armin cannot help but notice how someone seemingly aloof and harsh like Annie has a softer side that she pretty much only shows to him and has given him plenty of preferential treatment when she was a mysterious enemy. One that didn't kill him even if he and she knew that leaving him a life was a grave mistake.
They were friends before all the deblace with the Female Titan arc. He decides to betray her because that was the right thing to do yet he is shown to be quite hesitant and hopeful he was wrong. Questions her why would she bother sparing him, to which she pretty much leaves open that she didn't really know why he was special enough to be left alive even if that ruined her mission.
All this for it to end with her crystallised and trapped for years. Armin is an inquisitive boy who is shown to be constantly trying to understand other people, even those who wronged him.
Months after he learns that she was forced to do all this harm. That she didn't really want to be in this place and went so far as to risk her lifelong mission for him. He then becomes also a sifter and now can fully understand her place. Ultimately falling for someone he can identify with, that has shown him he was special in her eyes and add that Armin now saw how she was before the conflict happen through memories and he is getting more and more conflicted with what is happening in the outside world.
Seeking some understanding out of the only one in the island that could give him a clue.
Like it's not that hard to understand why would he fall in love. He already liked her well enough before. It just grew due to unfortunate circumstances.
Friendship -> Emotional conflict between both, with her showing how he was special in a way -> Guilt for having to betray her and getting Annie trapped -> He also becomes a sifter and Annie is literally the only Marley and that was also a Sifter with whom he can get rapport with -> World turns to shit and Eren starts to leave him -> He seeks refuge in trying to talk to Annie.
For Annie it's quite easy as well. She was abused her whole life. Turns out this happy boy thinks you are sweeter than she lets on. Spends four years amending his mistake by keeping company to her. And it's not like Annie was a revanchist anyway.
Then he goes and outright expresses his love for her. I mean an abused unloved girl is given unconditional love by someone she already kind of liked and who should by any standard hate her if he was like the rest.
lovely comment💙💛
Yassssssss. On point!
Reiner once said to Bert something like: confess to Annie, who will understand you better than the same murderer with a short life. Bert didn't get the chance to do it, but Armin got.
Annie and Armin were trying to seek redemption for all the terrible things that they did, and they found that in each other. Killers wracked with guilt over the blood they've shed often don't believe they're worthy of love or even a chance at happiness but, again, Annie and Armin found that with each other.
On some level, I think that much like Eren when he committed himself 100% to the Rumbling, Annie was hoping someone would stop her and prevent her from committing all these atrocities that she's been trained and conditioned to do.
Annie is a child soldier and a weapon, something that was foisted upon her shoulders by her adoptive father and their Marleyan masters. There's a part in the child warrior candidate training where Annie is seen stomping repeatedly on a butterfly but we don't see her face at all. That was her conditioning/toughening herself up to prepare to eventually kill human beings (both in and out of her Titan form). Annie was not born a monster, despite the Marleyan propaganda against Eldians saying otherwise. She was made.
Armin saw through her facade and even then he held out hope for her as a friend and human being (despite laying a trap for Annie that ended up in her being encapsulated in a crystal cocoon).
This definitely had an impact on Annie and that's what made her spare him time and time again because Armin took the time to try and understand her and where she was coming from, unlike anyone else.
And with that understanding and empathy, grew love. It's totally believable that they would fall for each other. It also doesn't hurt that Armin ditched his dorky Prince Valiant haircut and had a growth spurt glow up in the four years Annie was trapped in her crystal.
Perfectly said!❤
I think it's sorta ironic that one of the last buildings Annie destroyed before her crystallization was a church, and after she crystallizes, she's used almost like a confessional by Hitch and Armin. Good video, my friend.
I was thinking something similar... one of her last moments to prove to everyone she wasn't a titan was for her to go underground (which she refused) then spent years underground with the one trying to get her there in the first place. When she leaves, no one recognizes her above ground so she was free to roam as if she was innocent.
Hitch: welcome to confession Armin.
Armin: Thank you Hitch.
Hitch: You may now confess.
Armin: HOW CAN I CONFESS TO A FUCKING CRYSTAL?!
It really tickles me when people say Armin should hate Annie for the things she did; however, as stated before Armin is not free of sin, and even in the first season Armin has always seek out understanding more than jumping to conclusions. Also, Annie deliberately spared Armin's life twice when she could've just smashed him and be done with it, all people Annie actively killed were soldiers. The moment she saw dead civilians due to the collateral damage while fighting Eren in Stohess, the expression on her face is one of shock, she did not have a desire to kill this people, she just pushed forward to reunite with her father.
The misconception that I hate the most is the "Bertholdt's memories influenced and/or are forcing Armin to have romantic feelings towards Annie". It has been established that most of what Eren said during their conversation at the restaurant were lies that attempted to push Armin and Mikasa away (My guess is that it was an attempt by Eren to somewhat change the future, although he may had low hope on it working). So yeah, Titan shifters can see memories of past holders, but that doesn't make them override their personality, if that is the case: why did Porco not inherited feelings and/or attitudes from Ymir? Why doesn't Falco inherited a hate/jealousy towards Reiner? The answer is simple, because being influenced like that isn't a thing at all. Of course memories make an influence, but they do not change people at their core. If Erwin inherited the Colossal Titan as much as he would saw Bert's memories of liking Annie, Erwin would definitively have ZERO romantic interest in Annie.
THANK YOU. How can people not notice the logic gap that presents the possible inheritance of the Titan by Erwin.
Armin can only get feelings for Annie due to memories if he already liked her otherwise freaking Erwin would love Annie. If that doesn't raise a red flag I don't think any explaining will get the point across lol
Literally armin himself said that he's no better of a person either. They both have killed each other's ppl for the exact same reason
Yeah i agree with you, but armin seeing bertholds memory lets him see annie the way bert sees her but it's ultimately armin's decision to like her that way
Yeah man, these past couple years the thing that irked me deepest about the AoT fandom is all the fans who for some reason ignorantly believe the reason Armin is in love with Annie is because he inherited Bertholt's feelings or memories or desires... NO, Armin has been secretly crushing on Annie for a very long time, there were many many signs in the past as well, there were even signs that Annie was interested in Armin
Sigh its not like I even blame the millions of more casual AoT fans that don't understand very deep or complex characters like Annie & Armin or why their relationship is the best one birthed in the show, its sad a lot of people can't appreciate the genius behind it, they would make the most beautiful & meaningful relationship irl.
@@neltins5308 The things that make Armin and Annie's relationship one of the best are:
-Mutual respect for each other. Even before the appearance of the female Titan, Armin and Annie have a very meaningful conversation about which military brigade would they join, in which is clear that Annie states that she sees a huge strength and courage in Armin, despite being one of the weakest physical and in skill, and the Armin tells her "You're nicer that seem to be, and care more than you show deep down", making her surprised. Armin made Annie come out of her stoic emotion, because he's smart and perceptive.
None of them has any moral high ground. Any relationship based on any overall superiority is dysfunctional, mostly because the person perceived to be less develops insecurities, and the one on "top" can get their ego inflated and inflict abuse. This is not the case for Annie and Armin, none of them can claim to have better morals, and they do not care about that, each of them know that the other has committed sins to accomplish their goals, in fact this common situation makes it possible for them to support on each other over their own guilts.
Part of me wonder if Armin's preferences was also influenced by Mikasa. Both women posses similar personality traits such as stoical, deadpan humor and scary when angry, but also incredible willing to go at any lenght to be reunited with their loved ones.
Another misconception about their relationship, are Bertold's memories. Eren basically made up all that nonesense about sharing feelings, which was actually a lie and way to push them away. However, it was thanks to Bertold's memories that allowed Armin to see more of Annie's life and understand more of her actions.
True. Bertholdt's feelings may or may not be involved, but his memories definitely helps.
Bearturtle's memories i think played a big part in it
Bertholdt's memories are from the view of a person who liked Annie, do you really not think that would have had an impact on how the memories are perceived?
@@krenk9921 We don't know if feelings and memories works within the AOT world. Just because you saw someone memories doesn't equal sharing their same feelings or traits. Armin may had seen many flashbacks from Berthold's POV, however, how he interpreted those memories were up to him and how that affected his feelings for her.
@@krenk9921Eren doesn't have feelings for his mom or Dina and doesn't treat Zeke like a son. Zeke doesn't miss Ksaver's dead family. Porco doesn't have feelings for Historia. Falco doesn't hate Reiner.
Yes! They're such a well-written pairing in my opinion. Especially because in season 1, they had those conversations when Armin discovered Annie had Marco's gear and when Armin convinced Annie to help Eren (aka trap her) and it was clear that they shared certain values, such as wanting to be 'good' people (even if Annie couldn't act on them in the way Armin could back then). Armin actually used those against her, because he knew that he could convince her to help, even if Annie realized she was being trapped, because he seemed to be counting on the fact that Annie wanted Armin's approval and that she valued his opinion, because she spared him before. Annie knew she was being trapped, but instead of running, it seemed that she still did what Armin asked because he told her that he would see her as a good person to him if she helped. Years later, Armin actually understood her, because he did the same things she did. It must've felt good for both of them that they understood each other and can now give each other some sort of approval. It was clear that Annie was hurt that Armin led her into a trap, and it was clear that Armin struggled to understand Annie's motives and felt bad that he had to trap her, since she was clearly on his mind a lot (pay attention to how often he brings her up throughout the show). Them showing appreciation for each other during that boat scene must've been such a relief, which I why I love them a lot actually.
It's not like Armin knew a lot of girls, through Bert's memories he understood Annie in a way no one else in Paradis did. She did spare him, they were friends, and Armin is the kind of guy who wouldn't judge Annie for her choices given how he view his own.
At the same time, Armin was the guy who voluntarily visited Annie. For 4 years, he gave her something to latch onto to save her from the insanity of being in that crystal. I can see something grow in her towards him because of that.
*Spoilers for Final season part 3*
I personally think it's very well fitting to see their attraction for one another and I wanted to see them together since I saw their chemistry. Seeing Annie: a seemingly invulnerable and mentally tough character, blush and become flustered from Armin taking her hand in that boat scene in part 3 was truly sweet. I haven't read the manga so I hope they end up together in the end.
Plus theres even more evidence for them lol
They trained for 3 years together and if you look in the OVA's in particular the Jean one Armin is mostly seen around Annie which is why they were together on Jean's team. Plus the other OVA where Historia gets kidnapped on that training mission has the knife to her throat on which Annie and Mikasa saved her from after Armin notices them and after Historia is saved you can see him smiling and blushing very slightly and then (I think it was Sasha) elbows him because of it.
Plus Annie knew the fact that out of everyone Armin would be the one to find her out and had two golden opportunities to kill him but didn't. And even when Armin did figure it out he still waited about a month to say anything.
Plus both Armin and Annie to had opportunities to understand each other on a deeper level.
Annie because as you said Armin vented to her a lot to get his inner thoughts out so she had that
While Armin could see all the stuff Annie was forced to go through because of Bertholdts memories.
I'm not saying that Bertholdt's Feelings had an influence but seeing his memories might have helped. Like watching a movie kinda.
Add to this Armin's grey morality, who always tries to understand other people. "There are no good people, only those who are convenient for you."
Perhaps this also attracted Annie, since her worldview is the same. "And Marley and Eldia are all the same."
I thought it didn’t make sense but there were signs throughout that she did like him. She’d look at him when he isn’t looking, he was the only one whose opinion mattered, supported his plans, she went along with a trap because he told her she would be a bad person to HIM the moment he says that her face changes then when confronted her emotions spill over and she blushes at Armin and says his name longingly the whole time I thought she was being weird because “anime” but Annie was able to do what she did like bertholdt because they kept their distance Annie more than both but Armin got to her
Their relationship:
Armin: “Annie, I believe you’re a good person.”
Annie on the outside: “Thanks.”
Annie on the inside: *no….*
~~~
Annie: “Armin, I believe you’re a good person.”
Armin on the outside: “No…”
Armin on the inside: *thanks…*
I think that they liked each other a little bit before Armin discovered she was the female Titan too. Armin trying to talk to her and telling her she was a good person. Armin not snitching as soon as he found out because he didn't want to believe it. Annie not killing Armin when she saw his face and being willing to go with him even though she knew he was probably tricking her. Annie only participating in the cooking OVA contest cuz Armin was doing it. This is headcanon territory but I think after she got caught and got trapped in the crystal Armin dropped it because she's a murderer and he had more important shit to worry about. But then when he got Bert's memories to see why she did what she did he started liking her again and that's why he started visiting her.
I think about this story more than is probably normal for someone who doesn't make money about it
Armin held back from telling everyone about Marco's gear and Sawney-Bean's death .... I wonder why 😂
You are wrong about Hitch. She didn’t go see Annie because she wanted to. She was on guard duty.
Otherwise, YES!
I’m really tired of seeing people say that Armin likes Annie because he got Bertolt’s memories. That’s not it at all. If you go back to the beginning you’ll see that they were low key crushing on each other in boot camp.
She resented annie
@@IamINERTshe still cared about her
@@whyruhere yea it was sort of a love hate relationship
Hitch probably chose to be her guard though, regardless. She still cares about her.
@@tulip135 that's what i'm saying it can't be that much coincidence
I usually hate when creators ship their characters in anime because it normally feels rushed or underdeveloped or that the pairing just doesnt make sense, but I was actually pleasantly surprised when it ArminxAnnie happened. I genuinely like this pairing and I think it makes far more sense than ErenxMikasa
In the manga EreMika always made sense , WIT kinda changed a lot of the scenes , and people were shipping Eren with a bunch of people, including Armin and .... Levi ... Which is another reason people didn't want Eremika , the first panel of manga literally starts with Eren dreaming of his last look at Mikasa .
A little thought that crossed my mind while watching this video: Armin was the only one who discovered that Annie was the female titan because he had payed a lot of attention to her during their time together while training to be a soldier, just think about, Jean saw her, Eren saw her and Mikasa saw her, all of them had a close look at her titan form and no one noticed, you can argue they were in a panic or enraged at the time but so was Armin, and despite that he noticed her similarities in appearance, let's take another thing in consideration, Armin decided against mentioning about Marco's ODM gear being in Annie's possession to others too, just because he wanted to believe in her, even tho he never had a close relationship with her, that's a fucking crush if I've ever seen one, ignoring every single red flag in that person you like ffs, Berthold's feeling just intensified Armin's when he got the colossal, this was a relationship present from way earlier than i thought, i mean, if I'm correct.
Totally what I thought. Armin mentioned the Female titan because he looked at Annie closer that everybody while their studying together.
Also he mentioned Bertold's feelings for her, because he understands the issue :)
I will add that at this moment we see the face of the Titan Annie in the penumbra. But not the eyes. The eyes stand out brightly and clearly, indicating that Armin recognized her by her eyes. What are the relationships of people who recognize each other by their eyes?)
By the way, one interesting detail: from Armin's point of view, the face of the Female Titan is shown to us as sweet, gentle and even a little beautiful, while others see a monster.
@@user-59559why the hell he would be simping for a titan 😭
@@elizabethafton1141This is called a romantic image. A rule where a girl looks a little more beautiful in the eyes of her loved one, valid for Eren and Mikasa, Ymir and Historia, and accordingly, for Armin and Annie. This does not always happen, but in particularly emotional moments.
During the first meeting, Armin sees FT as an ordinary titan, because he does NOT know who she is, so the romantic filter does not work. During the second meeting, he already found out, and a little later, when recalling this moment, knowing her identity, Armin turns on the romantic filter even for Annie in the form of a titan, despite her killing two of his comrades.
@@user-59559 I don't think so... They just putted a filter to show that that's his mind ig but I can understand annie BUT HER TITAN!?
Reiner is given some flack for his decisions on Paradise, but Annie letting Armin live really screwed up Marley in the long run.
Think about it.
Exactly, that was her biggest mistake, The făct that she left someone she cared about love. She tried to avoid that by being ruthless and play with her prey like when she spins that scout like a yoyo to have fun and avoid regret, but she fell victim to remorse and regret as well, same with reiner and bertholdt.
It led to the survey corps uncovering the secret of the warrior trio and stealing the power of the Colossal Titan, which led other countries to attack Marley and a lot of their resources were used up ... All because Annie showed mercy to Armin .
Annie’s lack of pragmatism in this one instance, despite her otherwise perfect application of it, doomed the mission. It was a small luxury she afforded herself that ended up costing her everything.
But as an unforeseen consequence it saved the world, sort of. Paradis wasn’t destroyed but 80% of the world was, however, then we know that centuries of peace and development happened. This might not have been the case if Marley had conquered Paradis and forever perpetuated the existence of the Titans for their empire.
But regardless if Annie sparing Armin saved the world or merely changed it, this act definitely did save herself. If she had killed Armin and completed her mission, she’d get to see her father for however long it is until Marley has her eaten to pass on the Female Titan. But by saving Armin, she gets to live as a survivor in a new world while free of the Curse of the Titans.
Literally, the whole story developed only because Annie spared Armin.
Annie was cold, but she never wanted nothing to happen to him.
I believe if she wasn't a Marley soilder they probably would have been closer and gave Big Bunion a real colossal reason to hate Armin.
I think it is one of the if not the best ship in AOT. They are adorable together,
especially considering how Armin could break through her lone wolf personality.
I also like it because it is a bit nostalgic seeing as how many shipped them way back in 2013.
Annie and Armin were trying to seek redemption for all the terrible things that they did, and they found that in each other. Killers wracked with guilt over the blood they've shed often don't believe they're worthy of love or even a chance at happiness but, again, Annie and Armin found that with each other.
On some level, I think that much like Eren when he committed himself 100% to the Rumbling, Annie was hoping someone would stop her and prevent her from committing all these atrocities that she's been trained and conditioned to do.
Annie is a child soldier and a weapon, something that was foisted upon her shoulders by her adoptive father and their Marleyan masters. There's a part in the child warrior candidate training where Annie is seen stomping repeatedly on a butterfly but we don't see her face at all. That was her conditioning/toughening herself up to prepare to eventually kill human beings (both in and out of her Titan form). Annie was not born a monster, despite the Marleyan propaganda against Eldians saying otherwise. She was made.
Armin saw through her facade and even then he held out hope for her as a friend and human being (despite laying a trap for Annie that ended up in her being encapsulated in a crystal cocoon).
This definitely had an impact on Annie and that's what made her spare him time and time again because Armin took the time to try and understand her and where she was coming from, unlike anyone else.
And with that understanding and empathy, grew love. It's totally believable that they would fall for each other. It also doesn't hurt that Armin ditched his dorky Prince Valiant haircut and had a growth spurt glow up in the four years Annie was trapped in her crystal.
I was surprised when Armin was forward in the last episode. We always underestimate this pretty boy.
Marco wasn't the first person on the island Annie killed. Recall that she was the one who summoned the titans to the walls, meaning she has an equal share in all their deaths as Reiner and Bertolt do.
Also, Armin never killed millions with his Liberio transformation. Hundreds of not thousands yes, but absolutely not millions. Saying he has the second highest kill count after the Yeager brothers is forgetting of Reiner who spent around 10 years as the Armoured titan and fought many, many wars for Marley and almost certainly would've killed quite a few times more than Armin did. Annie and Bertolt also fought these wars too until the events of the story.
armin actually did kill over a million ppl in the liberio attack. i saw a video on it. dude ong i also thought thta he just killed like a thousand over sum, but NAHHHH BRO WIPED OUT AND ENTIRE DAMN MILLION. ill try to link it to you if i find it G
I would call the people who died in the 1st episode were killed by Annie before although she did summon them she didn't create the pure titans they were already roaming out there
yeah but there's a difference between sending Titans to do the dirty work of killing a bunch of strangers and personally causing the death of a friend with your own two hands as he begs you not to
Annie is equally responsible for the deaths that happened after the breaches as the other two
Well done video my friend. I appreciate your continued enthusiasm for the series.
Thanks again! I appreciate the positivity.
I think a big part of the problem is that the relationship did feel kind of shoehorned in at the last minute when there was already so much other stuff going on. That's not a problem with the writing of the ship itself though, that's a symptom of Annie herself feeling like she got kind of shoehorned back in at the last minute. Even back in season 1 she clearly already liked and respected him on some level, if she didn't she would'n't have spared him despite knowing how dangerous he could be.
I felt like there were more than enough breadcrumbs to see some attraction there from the beginning. It think if people felt it was shoehorned it's on them for not picking it up. But AoT was like that with a lot of things. Going back and rewatching it you find all kinds of small tidbits you missed that screamed at you about what was happening. It's fantastic storytelling, you just have to pay attention.
Their relationship is pure...
No it’s not. It’s completely unnecessary at this point in the story where the world is literally becoming a hellscape. This pairing should’ve never been romanticized.
Maybe bit earlier like now its just useless
@@goblinman3010 Annie literally comes back because of him. Not only has plot relevance it also makes both characters greater, giving a better insight into what type of person both are and ties in with general themes of the story.
Sorry but because you chose to be illiterate about it doesn't mean you have any ground to stand on
@@bfedezl2018 nah, useless armin. Erwin should have lived instead of him. He didn't do anything important or anything to save paradise. "Peace ambassador" my ass. Paradise got wrecked because of his incompetence. Stupid ass armin.
@@bfedezl2018 Or rather Annie comes back cause plot demands it, with relevance close to being irrelevant given all other factors with both characters being way past theirs' prime. Insight what kind of people (illiterate bruh) both of them are? If anything this make them are artificial props than actual characters though it goes perfectly in accordance theme in story last arc of nonsensical writing.
So yeah, seems ground you stand on is literally made of quicksand.
THANK YOU for having a brain! It is so tiring seeing people slander Annie's character by saying that "she's a monster who slaughtered the scouts and bathed in their blood while ENJOYING it and LAUGHING!" Annie is my favorite character in AoT and this argument makes me go insane every time.
Annie was never once taught the value of a human life as a child. As an impressionable kid, Annie was taught to train herself to slaughter people that Marley indoctrinated their warriors to believe were devils. Annie herself says to Hitch that they were told they should be praised for killing ANYONE on Paradis - it wasn't until she spent time living under Paradis' roof that she actually learned so many basic things that we, as kids, are taught. I don't know about anyone else in the comments here, but I was certainly taught the value of both my own life and the lives of those around me as a kid. I was nurtured, loved, and taught how to nurture and love myself. Annie was not. She was a human weapon abandoned by her parents, found by a selfish man who only wanted a better future for himself at the start, basically sent to her death as a child by adults to fight their war for them, and then forced to do horrific and horrendous things because the only way for her to both survive and be able to see the ONE person who had gotten close to her (her father, who, no matter HOW horrible he was, still cared for her in the end) WAS if she did those things.
We see in Annie's OVA that she is tormented by the horrors she brought upon Marco. She apologizes over and over to the victims of the battle of Trost, knowing that it is in part her fault. Annie knows she's a monster, and honestly? I don't fault her for being selfish one bit in Season 4, Part 3 when she elects to stay behind. I've seen some people criticize her for backing out of the fight, but I would probably do the same if I were in her shoes. The world has done nothing but wrong Annie since the day of her conception - it's no wonder she makes the choices that she does.
That's what I've been saying, too! I'm like, why are the fans being so mean to her?! People tend to forget that they are just kids, teenagers.
I'm not surprised that they did what they did because that's all they knew. Annie, Reiner, and Bert never had the chance to be kids. Sure Reiner and Bert had biological families but Annie did not. Being adopted by a piece of shit man that physically and mentally abused her. Made her into a weapon and then had the nerve to tell her he's sorry while hugging her. Oh I wanted to slap him in the face! It's no wonder why she would want to go back because it's her home and that's all she knows. I never saw her as a villain all I saw was a victim.
I love the fact that Armin is interested in her. She deserves happiness. He's a total catch.
A wise person once said if you don't have a support system then go out and make one. If that means finding friends or creating a family of your own then yeah.
@@alexisault4444 Me too mate me too😭 Annie is my no 1 fav character in aot. People don't get her complex character 😭. But I love Annie so much. I can see myself in Annie cause I'm quite like her😅
The psychology of the Warrior Trio (RIP Marcel, died too early to be anything other than a plot device) is one of my favourite parts of the story.
Reiner, a man so racked with guilt he developed split personality disorder. Trying to be a genuine leader of both the Warriors and 104th Soldiers, despite the inherent contradictions. Seeing his mind fight itself was a lesson in guilt and of how wood breaks.
Bertholdt, the prodigy without agency. Blessed with innate talent, but so paralysed by guilt that he is hopelessly caught up in the flow of the world despite his better than average chances of being able to change it. His cathartic breakdown to the 104th, asking his betrayed friends to find them, was some of the best writing I’ve ever seen.
And Annie, the fashioned tool that still developed a sense of humanity despite her environment doing its best against it. Someone who only wanted to survive, forced to kill and worse yet, to understand that what she was doing was wrong and unforgivable, but unable to do anything but be swept along with the flow of the world. No wonder she admired those that raged against the flow, even if they were only idiots that were crushed by its strength.
Another thing is that even before Annie set out to capture Eren she didn't want Armin to join the scouts. She at least cared for Armin and her comrades as she was the one who opposed the mission and felt sick when Reiner suggested to destroy more walls. Although, when she is willing to go on a killing spree, she does it with no remorse.
Thank you so much! It was about time someone explained the obvious. We were already shown that the ones who we considered as bad guys aren’t as bad as we thought as the series went on we were shown that the characters who we grew & live are the same possibility even worse. We saw this with eren riner covering this topic & with armin & Annie. It was obvious that Annie liked armin since she could have killed him right there but didn’t especially since he knew about her identity.
& armins feelings were not because of bartold it was already proven that everything eren said was a lie. We didn’t see porci have a crush on historia, didn’t see eren have a crush on his mother, Grisha didn’t have a crush on Mikasa etc.
I mean, you wouldn't have a crush on a little kid or your mom, to be fair... even with the emotions. Granted, Eren didn't lie about everything
@@thalmoragent9344 I’m going by erens logic 🤷🏼♀️. (Don’t read ur you are an anime only)
& yes if you had read the manga everything he said was a lie. The ackermans are not slaves nor do they have hosts, armin does not have feelings because of bartold, eren dosent hate mikasa, he is not free.
@@eveegirl2878
Well, Ackermans were still made to be supersoldiers of course, that much is true, and havig Bertholdt's memories means he knows more about Annie's childhood and young community than he would've otherwise
that goofy impression had me rolling on the fucking floor, Im so high right now and you just like, gave me a euphoric feeling of joy from your impression, thanks
I appreciate that, Terry. Just make sure not to eat too much and enjoy yourself.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I LITERALLY HAD TO DO THE SAME THING JUST A FEW MINS AGO, WHERE I HAD TO EXPLAIN TO AN IDIOT ON REDDIT ABOUT HOW THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS ACTUALLY THE MOST LOGICAL AND FAIR RELATIONSHIP IN ALL OF AOT. SEA-TACTICS U THE GOAT FR
it's literally one of the worst ships in anime
@@edwardmarshall No.
It feels so good to finally find a video/comment section of people who actually understand complex characters & relationships in AoT after arguing with dumbasses on Twitter and Tiktok that have no comprehension of Annie beyond "b-but the Levi squad."
(They don't actually give a shit about the Levi squad, they just want a reason to hate on her. Shocking, I know.)
I mean i just recently watched all 4 seasons of aot for the first time and I still don't understand the importance of Levi squad to the plot of the story( I know their deaths were important for the progression of the story)😐😑. Like why?? Mike died(was killed by Zeke aka the monke), Nanaba (Her whole squad too)died Hange(Her squad too)died and so many other Survey Corp soldiers died , killed but no one gives a shit. Even Levi doesn't mourn his squad that much like the fandom does. Like wth🫡
@@zamilakawser3j877 People just use it as an excuse to hate on Annie. Her character is misinterpreted massively, so they're salty that she got a happy ending lol.
I think it’s definitely interesting considering how bertholdt had feelings for Annie, then Armin gained his memories. He has probably seen Annie in so many different lights. Like lovers from a previous life type of thing.
Finally, someone who bothered to pay attention to Annie's arc. It needed to be said because I swear, the AoT fanbase is filled with some of the most obtuse, illiterate, and immature people (although tbf, I'm sure many of them are probably underage). Nicely done video.
I agree 😭 i feel like such a geek for understanding character depth but then i remember that there r people who only see surface level aka most of aot fandom
The aot fandom is kinda sick and weird. I mean aot itself is a really deep and complex story. So of course not every question is going to be answered fully. I just recently watched aot. All 4 seasons. And I quite understand the theme and it's complex and the characters too. But the fandom only cares about Eren and Levi. Like there are not so many amvs or music edits of so many other main characters. I hardly find any😢. It's just either Eren or Levi. I recently finished it so I was looking forward to some characters' amvs. Btw My favorites are Annie Jean Armin Mikasa Sasha Pieck Reiner 😊
"Her love for the yoyo"
dude I'm dead
I feel as though people re so hard on Annie, and of course I don’t mean that her actions were justified in any way, but in the way where people only reduce her to and write her of as nothing but a sadistic soulless monster. While being sadistic is apart of her personality, its the fact that despite her upbringing training her to live a life to kill and never having a proper example of being a kind human, she st ill displays moments of empathy, remorse, mercy and genuine connection. Regardless of how hardcore, apathetic and being repressed through a life of rigid work towards a life of violence, there lies underneath it all just a person, and someone with a heart and soul who chooses to unlock it and end the cycle of killing and love people.
"Armin and Annie make no sense" "Mikasa and Annie's friendship makes no sense" "Annie faced no consequences" "Annie is an evil bitch" "Why does everyone just accept Annie" "Why doesn't Levi kill/beat up Annie for killing his squad" "Annie feels no remorse, she said she'd do it again"
I really wonder what series some of these people watched.
@࿐ħĩŽèŊÕ꧂ ...I don't hate Floch at all and I am still able to understand why they welcomed Annie back into the group...
Sums up every Annie rant
People keep bringing up the people Annie killed as if it only mattered that they were characters we were used to. Armin also killed people, we just don't know them personally. It doesn't mean their lives mattered any less. Odd how this ship brings forth such a tribal mentality within the fandom lol
Terrible take. Armin was attacking people who were perfectly aware of overall conflict and who in general were in favour of it. Annie? She was butchering completely clueless people.
@ReichLife to be fair she had to knowing Marley they probably would have threatened her family or at just have her eaten😊
@@somerandomperson5473 Her only family is one man who isn't even related by blood. Followed by fact, why would they threaten him? Unless Reiner or Bertoruto came back and told Marley, for all sense and purpose she could be declared dead, and her father would be left alone just as Bertolto was. She could walk away and her father would live, alongside dozens/hundreds people she did murder.
@@ReichLife did u read the manga or???
1. the whole purpose of her mission is to go back to live with his father in marley, so pretend to be dead without knowing if he's gonna be ok after she failed the mission is kinda dumb
2. reiner manipulated her so she could stay in paradis with them and finish the mission together, do u think he'd be selfless enough to free her from such a burden and carry it himself alone? or carry it himself and his bestie, bertholdt, who's never received a mission from him except use his titan, unlike* annie? lets remember bert and reiner were responsible that marco discovered them, and who did the dirty job? annie, who had nothing to do w it (and oh reiner forced her to do it again)
3. annie murdered soldiers who were attacking her. its a fucking war so that shit is fucked up but common in that setting in order to survive. the only innocent ppl she killed was bc eren (and mind you, armin and erwin who were the authors of such plan) forced her to fight in a city full of people. not like eren who killed millions with the rumbling to achieve his own freedom, or armin who killed civilians as colateral damage after nuking a whole port and killing enemy soldiers the same way annie did.
No misconceptions.
I really like Annie and Armin as a ship😊 super happy it's Canon!
lifelong fan right here
Honestly I thought it was obvious there was something going on between them in FT, and in fact majority of their shippers started to root for this couple around FT arc.
Annie's actions couldn't be explained if it wasn't for a least some soft spot for Armin because she clearly fucked up her entire mission, some could go and say she didn't care about her mission, what is correct, but she did fucked up the chance of going back to her father which was the only thing she truly wanted... Annie literally walked into a trap knowing it was a trap only because Armin told she would be a bad person TO HIM, how could that not be taken as something romantic?
Now regarding Armin's feelings, I personally don't believe memories the author never bothered to show to the audience are important enough to influence characters on this degree, and even if it was the case, what shifter inherit are memories, not feelings... And memories at maximum could only show a different side of Annie to Armin from Bert's perspective. What Armin interpretes, feels and decide to do with that info are still his own decisions.
It does kinda makes sense why Annie would fall in love with armin since tthe only two people she “socialized” with for 4 years were armin and hitch
Armin and Annie actually love each other because I ship them 😤
You forgot to mention that Armin has bertholdt's memories of Annie who also had a crush on her, so i think after understanding Berthold a bit and looking up to Annie he probably felt like he started to develop feelings too because of Annie sparing him and also knowing how god damn smart that kid was for trying to capture her without getting people killed that's what Annie admired of Armin that's why she couldn't stop laughing and smiling right at him for trying to do the right thing and not trying to get her hurt, when Armin lied about Annie being tortured he knew it was low of him to do such a thing but he also knew that it was needed to get bertholdt to drop his guard, if he had the chance to talk to him again he probably would have told bertholdt that she was safe and secured and that she crystalized herself to not give up any information.
They liked each other before he even knew there was a female titan. They were always around each other.
Idk man, after Armin's big confirmation of his romantic interest i feel even more attracted toward Armin.
Heck i think I'm in love with ARMIN (sorry Annie, i love your man 😔💖)
Annie is a micro reflection of the outside world in Armin's eyes. Yes, it may be cold and hostile, but somewhere deep inside it has kindness, love and friendship. And here we can see a parallel with the first season, how Armin is looking for all the good, kind and bright things in Annie, as well as in 4m - in the outside world.
A woman falling for a much weaker man isn't something we see very often, because woman always look for security in a relationship. Annie falling for armin was something unique, i love this about her. ❤❤
Hes not weak though…
Armin is not weak🤣.
It’s happened a few times in this series. That said, guys like Armin and Eren are only weaker physically in their base (human) forms, and that’s just because the girls are OP. They still chads.
Why would armin feel the need to forgive annie when he nuked a whole city
Because the people he nuked wanted to murder his own people for no good reason
So glad I found this video, these last couples months since more of the final season released and last year with the final part II, I've been seeing so many fans that don't understand at all saying its very dark & messed up what they did with Annie & Armin, thinking he's only in love with her because of Bertholt's memories, the truth is NO, that's a very terrible take on it, in reality they have the most beautiful relationship in the entire show and it has been foreshadowed since season one of Attack on Titan, and hinted at MANY times although it was really subtly, people should re-watch the show and reread the entire manga to understand it.
Why Armin & Annie's Relationship Makes Sense?
My single remaining Braincells at 3am : Both are Blonde!
To me they have the best romance written in AOT if you understand more in depth and get it.
Armin: "Why did you spare my life when in the forest as you could just kill me at that time so that your identity won't be figured out by me? "
Annie: "You too Armin, you could just report my identity quickly, but why you hided it for 1 month? "
They are from different side, but have to do the right things. However, we can see Annie as a spy is putting an unnecessary feelings toward Armin, thats why it caused her identity revealed and mission failed.
"her love for the yoyo"
Yoyo titan best titan. That scene is literally the moment I knew I liked dominant women.
Annie was Armin’s therapy and Hitch’s diary
Annie & Armin & Hitch sitting in a tree...
Mormon Armin confirmed.
@@TrevorNickell
Nah, Armin won't be able to handle Annie alone 💀
S.H.I.F.T.I.N.G.
Speaking from experience…
Trios are really fun lol
@@philgoud 😂
I have two braincells, one of them absolutly loves this because its kinda adorable, and it litteraly make so much sence. If after this video you don't see it, rewatch the anime. notice how much armin talks about annie? Especialy in Jeans OVA, when theh are seen alot together, and in the OVA where Christa gets kidnaped, you can see Armin blushing at Annie when he saves her. Its so sweet to see them finnaly find somthing to be happy about after all the bs they have had to go through.
But my other braincell just says *nuh-uh >:(*
We ignore said braincell.
“Her love for the yoyo “😂😂😂😂😂
Annie finds a sort of happy place in kicking and martial arts kinda like how Zeke made baseball reference when slaughtering the scouts in season 3. They both r kinda falling back on a happy childhood memory to forget the brutality of what they r doing.
Blondes gotta stick together
I am not a fan of this ship but yeah I do think Armin liking Annie has nothing to do with fact of berthodlt liking her.probably things of Annie that made berthodlt fell for her ,are the exact same for Armin which he got to see through berthodlt's memories
I dunno, it seemed odd for a time. I can see it but, maybe nothing should've been said till later on. (or rather, Annie should've came out the Crystal sooner than later to give more time considering the relationship)
Everyone keeps saying : Yeah Armin only have feelings for Annie now because he can feel Berthold feelings for her and all that. But this doesn't make any sense. Like when Eren ate his father, did he fall in love with his mother? No. Like seriously how can people keep bringing up that excuse? Or when Porco Galliard ate Ymir to gain the Jaw Titan, did he feel anything for Historia? Nope.
I love it when you say "YAYGAH!"
Admin chose right, Annie is best girl. Every girl in aot is best girl. Except gabi, she’s second best for killing real best girl Sasha but gabi is still aight I guess
I love armin and annie
Finally, someone finally explains to me these two
Theyre both blonde.Annie made mikasa blush when she talked about Armin.Annie and Armin sa and talked together on the ship.
Since Annie was “hibernating” for a couple of years, does she have longer to live than other titan shifters?
No
People don't think love can bloom on the battlefield.
I really like your video editing
Armin experienced Annie's childhood through bertholdt's memories. His infatuation with her seems a little creepy and even Hitch poitned it out although jokingly. Betholdt's memories did influence Armin's views of her because he also gained Bert's feelings though those memories. The "love" is based off of understanding of each other not a literal need for the other's companionship. Annie has always shown she respects those who may be weak but still struggle for something. That is why early on everyone thought she may had liked Eren. Liking Armin likes sense with that in mind and the late night crystal talks
THANK YOU ...HOLY F***
Honestly, I thought it was bc of bertolt was in love with Annie and Armin inherited his memories? I'm sure it atleast had something to do with the love they share.
That is nonsense
I don’t think armin inherited Bertoldt’s feelings, just his memories. I mean, if Erwin had taken the serum instead of Armin, Erwin would have had Bertoldt’s memories and would have been in love with Annie, and that’s just… weird…. so I doubt that’s how it works. I think having Bertoldt’s memories helped Armin understand Annie as a person better, and so he understands why she did what she did, but I don’t think those alone made him “fall in love with her.” Out of everyone, Armin definitely understands Annie the best because of those memories.
@@halfsnailss yeah, and porco would be in love with historia if that was the case...
Annie's titan form is so beautiful.
But damn can she be scary when she smiles at you while you're Eren Jaeger on a horse in a forest trying to lure her out.
0:20 an excellent impression
woth the like alone lmao.
ty for this video it made my day
What AOT captures better than any other story is that there are no "good guys" or "bad guys" in war. Our society is made to believe that there is a "good side" and a "bad side" of war. Unfortunately that doesn't exist. There is only two sides with different view points and the winner gets to determine what history is thought. Absolutely no war ever in the history of the world really has a morally superior side when you dig deep enough into the facts.
So colonialists were good people that happened to win
9:25 Rumbling killed 80% actually
I love their ship
I think Armin likes Annie not purely from his own will but from the subtle characteristic he gained from getting the Collosal titan from Bertholdt. We've seen little changes here and there to Titan shifters once they become one such as Zeke wearing glasses and even the way Eren wore his hair after taking the Warhammer Titan. I think Armin inherited Bertholdts love for Annie.
Wrong. They only inherit memories not feelings. Otherwise eren would have feelings towards dana
The very tough anti-social hot blonde girl and the shy, very smart, moralistic blonde boy? Makes sense to me. I ship it.
armin doesn’t even give a reason to why he fell for annie unlike nicolo he just says he likes her. yeah he can feel bad and have empathy but to fall in love? especially with knowing how brutal she was is weird. she damn near enjoyed the expedition massacre
Why should the character explain the reasoning of his feelings to you. Ultimately you are choosing to ignore well stablished parts of Armin character because you just don't like the relationship for whatever reason
@@bfedezl2018 because in a story where pretty much everything made sense why would armin who probably had four real conversations with the girl who murdered his squad and massacred a district have a crush on her ever since? i understand the interest and curiosity but he only had eyes for the assassin trapped in the crystal and it’s off. i actually like the ship but the way it was executed was bad and should’ve been left out
Was Annie able to undo the crystal hardening at anytime she wanted? If so, why didnt she do it sooner? I am sure she wud have been able to take on one guard and get away in titan form
nope it was all due to Eren who undid all hardening
@miranda so basically it is a form of suicide to prevent the enemy from torturing and getting information from her?
Female Titan could only partially mimic the effects of the other Nine Titans. The crystal cocoon was an ability of the Warhammer Titan. I imagine the Warhammer probably could form and melt it at will, but the Female Titan could only form it and stay crystallised as an act of last resort. Maybe the Warhammer could melt it later, or the Jaw could try and break it without killing Annie, but we don't know.
Yes. Yes I am tired of this misconception. There's no doubt in my mind that some people will continue to slander the relationship, at least my mind is at rest. Thank you.
What do they like about each other that's romantic?
They are both screwed up people who won’t ever be forgiven by thousands and millions people all around the globe for killing the innocents. The only people who can understand the weight of sins and pain from them are Annie and Arimin together - Armin understands Annie’s feelings, when Annie understands Armin’s. Not to mention that nobody ever cared about Annie’s mental health like Armin did, because he never left her alone in the crystal, always sharing his worries and thoughts to her and acknowledging the burden she had been going through her whole life. Nobody ever in Annie’s life did something like this for her.
i wish there more scenes between them in earlier seasons so i could find their relationship more.. real
Wow, totally missing the point of the collosal titan. Armin only did what he did in Liberio because that was his mission, to destroy the naval fleet. That was his only mission. We know the titan can also transform slowly and not cause an explosion, as shown by Bertold in episode 1 and in season 2 when he partially transformed on the wall.
Armin has understood and known Annie more after eating bertho and seeing all their interactions
Ah, sir, Annie was the reason Armin's granpa died (indirectly). Armin is the reason Annie was trapped in the crystal and couldn't unite with her father.
exactly
To be fair, the smartest titan shifter in Matley isn't Anny but Peak.
8:18
BARTLOFAGUS 👹👺
This couple is so cute❤️❤️❤️
Perspective 💙
And cart titan just showcased she can go hand to hand with everyone 😂😂
I think this is just Bertholdt Simp energy being inherited by Armin
I just accepted it and did not think anything else
Who would've known Annie was just the Ditto of the AoT titans. She is just OP as everyone else
There is a massive middle ground between understanding where someone is coming from while slaughtering your comrades and liking them, let alone falling in love with them
sure cause armin is a sunshine who never killed innocent people