So many popular Manga end like that, imagine going back 20 years and telling people that Of the Big 3..One Piece was the one that didn't go to absolute insane trash by the end.
So many popular Manga end like that, imagine going back 20 years and telling people that Of the Big 3..One Piece was the one that didn't go to absolute insane trash by the end.
So many popular Manga end like that, imagine going back 20 years and telling people that Of the Big 3..One Piece was the one that didn't go to absolute insane trash by the end.
I think a lot of anime and manga in general has a problem with ending and I really don't know why. They just go fucking insane and lose their shit. Like, even happened to fucking JoJo, which generally ended series strong with Stone Ocean's ending being incredibly divisive (I think its the happiest ending possible, but it needed way more of a prologue and I feel more of a goodbye to the universe that came before). But Jojo was always batshit and Araki learned his lesson by making the next Jojo parts self contained, and Steel Ball Run is widely considered his best work.
The West sometimes builds a little less compelling worlds, characters and plot, but they end shit WAY better. There's this addiction to being crazy and bombastic and just expand things out from where they went instead of keeping the scale it had for like 12 volumes previously where for some reason it just fucking loses it when its about to end.
There are exceptions to this: Psycho Pass (the first one only) had one of the best endings I've seen in anime and even some media. It wrapped itself up beautifully, covered the themes and was a complete circular story. (Of course they ruined it by doing sequels, but I can hardly point to this as unusual since everything popular does that).
Sometimes it feels like the author wanted to go bigger, but was restrained by editors and then when they got popular and could do whatever they want, they just go insane.
Like, for Isayama, it feels like he smoked weed laced with PCP, binged watch 'Game of Thrones', World War I and II documentaries, and slammed it all into his horror series.
I think a lot of anime and manga in general has a problem with ending and I really don't know why. They just go fucking insane and lose their shit. Like, even happened to fucking JoJo, which generally ended series strong with Stone Ocean's ending being incredibly divisive (I think its the happiest ending possible, but it needed way more of a prologue and I feel more of a goodbye to the universe that came before). But Jojo was always batshit and Araki learned his lesson by making the next Jojo parts self contained, and Steel Ball Run is widely considered his best work.
That's the thing I like about JoJo, Araki is smart enough to skit around the story escalation by toning it down by each part. The gang just defeated a vampire in Egypt bound on world domination? Good, now a different group of peoole have to put up with weird shenanigans and a sneaky serial killer in small town Japan!
It makes it more neat how he decided to go back to zero and start the formula by scratch. This isn't something you see on animes pretty often. Plus, Araki respects his own material. Isayama just desecrates it further. Come to think of it, both seem like the opposite of each other.
I mean, I just don't enjoy it on a shlock level anymore. Shlock is corny, fun. Attack on Titan is relatively joyless now, filled with idiotic non-sequitors, destruction of character and world building and author fiat. I mean, he's trying to make her multiple things: Sasha, Eren, etc. There's also no way he kills Gabi.
AoT was always too serious and intense to be shlock as you're describing it. It was always a desperate, horrifying survival scenario that puts many zombie/post-apocalyptic settings to shame. Take out good writing and character development and it's just a slog.
AoT was always too serious and intense to be shlock as you're describing it. It was always a desperate, horrifying survival scenario that puts many zombie/post-apocalyptic settings to shame. Take out good writing and character development and it's just a slog.
That was only the first third though. As soon as they hit the basement, that's all over. Once you hit post basement, there are moments of shlock. The only thing I can recommend Attack on Titan is reading it up to the basement and then stopping, because its worthless otherwise.
Just at how fucking stupid it was, like Levi being a fucking idiot and attaching an IED to a prisoner who he was torturing or Zeke catching Eren's head like a baseball due to a series of impossibly perfect events that literally could not possibly happen at all for simple shock value. I mean, that's shlock. Its stupidity trying to be serious, and it ended up being hilarious for it.
But those moments are few and far between now. Frankly, they were too few to be considered shlock anyway. Now it is just a boring slog where if it was a novel, you'd just turn to the last few pages to see what the ending was and put it back on the shelf. AoT has long since worn out its welcome and its just witnessing how stupid the ending is. The past chapters have had some dumb shit, but not fun dumb (Eren's baseball head or Zeke being blown into another dimension). I think its frankly irredeemable at this point and I basically am just using it as an autopsy and an example of how not to do things like Isayama.
I'm not even interested in what Annie brings to the table, because she has no idea what is happening. The only way she can know is by Isayama just giving her knowledge through author fiat. There's no explanation in the context of story that brings her up to speed unless someone finds her. And even then, Annie still has no idea that Bert is dead, Reiner has been revealed, that the entire fucking island knows the truth of the titans and basically Marely is completely destroyed militarily. Nor does she know how many Titan powers Eren even possesses. She might think their secret is safe and as soon as Armin finds her, she just slits his fucking throat because she has no idea that her side already basically lost, even without the colossal titans.
That's the thing I like about JoJo, Araki is smart enough to skit around the story escalation by toning it down by each part. The gang just defeated a vampire in Egypt bound on world domination? Good, now a different group of peoole have to put up with weird shenanigans and a sneaky serial killer in small town Japan!
It makes it more neat how he decided to go back to zero and start the formula by scratch. This isn't something you see on animes pretty often. Plus, Araki respects his own material. Isayama just desecrates it further. Come to think of it, both seem like the opposite of each other.
Well you also have to remember, Araki has been writing JoJo since the 1980s. Araki also is not a fan of edgyboi darkness. No matter how bad things get in Jojo, it always ends on a good note, if bittersweet one. Araki will write in tragic events, like (spoilers for Stone Ocean The relationship between Jotaro and Joylene culminating in Jotaro's death, because even when given a choice between his daughter's death and saving the world, he saves his daughter. Even stoic characters that Araki writes aren't emotionless sociopaths. Jotaro cannot bring himself to watch his daughter die in front of her, even if it means ending the world. Or in Part 5 where Buccarati and the others are basically fated to die because of 'Rolling Stone'.
This is why the ending to Stone Ocean is frequently misinterpreted. I think the ending to Stone Ocean is actually a good ending, both in terms of for the heroes and for the series. Its main failing just suffers from being too abrupt to end out 30+ years of story. I think that Araki needed to write a bit more of a sendoff, which I think why its very divisive among JoJo fans. It might have been a bit rushed because Stone Ocean wasn't popular and Araki had publisher pressure on him. I also think it kind of suffered since Araki had a lot of creative ennui and conflict towards the end of Stone Ocean. The ending he did is incredibly ballsy, and actually way happier than people think
Joylene never goes to prison, is raised by both her father and mother, Jotaro is there for her, so much so she is going to ask him for permission to marry her boyfriend. Pucci is completely erased from existence, most of the main cast doesn't go to jail at all. So Joylene and Jotaro at the end of 6 are similar, they're different because they don't experience the machinations of Pucci. People often forget Parts 1-5 still happened. Made in Heaven cannot re-write the past. So Joylene is less wild, more respectful of her father. Jotaro isn't going around the world fighting off Pucci's plans. And the Irene is a meta refrence. It can also be interpreted that the curse of the Joestars is broken; because she isn't nicknamed JoJo, she won't have bizzare adventures. She will a normal life. Its literally happily ever after. Like, you can't get happier than that. The bad guy is erased from existence, Jotaro gets to spend a lot more time with his family, Joylene gets to live a normal life and have a good relationship with her father. They also have the same souls. Only Pucci's soul is erased because the universe he is in collapses because he's dead. Though poor Foo Fighters is a casualty, which a lot of people don't like.
Despite Araki being bombastic and ass-pully (but the entire concept of Stands is asspull to begin with, and you accept it as part of the universe as a device to build drama), he's a very solid writer. Araki also loves his work and his characters. I mean, the dude wrote fan fiction of his own characters in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven. He handled it himself personally, and a lot of people consider that the 'canon' ending for the Jojo universe. I also get the feeling he loves his fans as well. And his fans return the love, sometimes a bit too excessively. Besides, Araki is unique in that his worst part, Stone Ocean, is followed up by what is considered his best work, Steel Ball Run (how they will animate this is a fucking mystery). So I think Isayama and Araki are opposites.
In writing too. While Araki writes some insane shit, it works in the context of what he is writing and a lot of stuff doesn't really feel like its happening because he wants it too. Its for the purpose of the story and drama and I feel its more organic. You can laugh at me if you want, but I don't find Araki doing things because of whatever. Stands are pretty consistent from part to part, power wise. In that, they take a certain power and follow certain rules in every part. Across parts they vary wildly, but I don't think its fair to contrast them over all parts, because like @The Great Chandler said, each part is almost its own self-contained story. Its kind of why Araki shifted universes, because parts 1-6 got real fucking busy and he felt he could no longer control Stand power creep, which is why I think he struggled through Part 6. And Part 6 is a weird beast, being the least liked, having one of the best Jojos, a weak supporting cast, a strong villain and a divisive ending He could have totally copped out and had Giorno show up at the end fight and go 'Sup fuckers. Rot in hell Pucci, you bitch. Golden Requiem motherfucker'. *puts Pucci in an endless deathloop* 'Ya'll want to go to Disneyland now? I'm just hoping the anime gives a little more closure. Anyway, I love Jojo. I can go on and on and on.
Another instance is the Shield Hero writer. The way the web comic ended fucking SUCKED, so the writer listened to his fans and changed it for the Manga and Light Novels. (Also Shield Hero getting Seasons 2 and 3, hell yeah).
Isayama I think just wants to hurt and shock his readers, story be damned. He doesn't have respect for the world he built, so he constantly tears it down for measly shock value. The thing is he's never built it back up. Ever since the basement, all relationships have been stagnant. He was intent on keeping Eren's motives a mystery, so there was no driving force keeping the story moving besides Eren. We needed to know what he was doing. Because we need to know if he's succeeding or failing, how are things moving? The problem is Eren wasn't an antagonist, he's a protagonist. He wanted to make Eren an antogonist but forgot to replace it with a protagonist, so there's really just Eren.
So this is a minor question I've had for a while, how does the Garrison have ranks?
I mean, it's simple with the other two, the Scouts are a normal military force that sees action regularly, and the Military Police presumably operate like ordinary police.
But when the series starts, the Garrison hasn't seen combat in over a century, actually given later revelations, they've probably literally never seen combat. So how do they decide who has what rank? You'd think from Pyxis' attitude that he's seen combat tons of times, but he hasn't even once. Hell, when you think about it, the 104th were more like veterans then Pyxis.
Come to think of it, do the scouts only have two ranks or something? We only see Levi, Miche, Hange, and Erwin addressed via rank, and the former all have the same rank. No mention is ever made of Eren and any of the other 104th having any sort of rank. So is the Scouts' ranking system that you're either in charge of just one squad or you're in charge of the entire regiment? Actually now that I think about it, the other regiments are like that too.
So this is a minor question I've had for a while, how does the Garrison have ranks?
I mean, it's simple with the other two, the Scouts are a normal military force that sees action regularly, and the Military Police presumably operate like ordinary police.
But when the series starts, the Garrison hasn't seen combat in over a century, actually given later revelations, they've probably literally never seen combat. So how do they decide who has what rank? You'd think from Pyxis' attitude that he's seen combat tons of times, but he hasn't even once. Hell, when you think about it, the 104th were more like veterans then Pyxis.
Come to think of it, do the scouts only have two ranks or something? We only see Levi, Miche, Hange, and Erwin addressed via rank, and the former all have the same rank. No mention is ever made of Eren and any of the other 104th having any sort of rank. So is the Scouts' ranking system that you're either in charge of just one squad or you're in charge of the entire regiment? Actually now that I think about it, the other regiments are like that too.
I don't really know, to be honest. The situation with the Garrison is just kind of odd.
From what I can tell, they kind of just act as guards, and maintenance workers for the walls. They also seem to act more like police than the actual Military Police sometimes, but I think this is only for the lower walls. They are trained in combat, but when shit actually does go down, I think they're just supposed to evacuate people, hold the line till the SC show up, and if need be, continue to provide back up, and assistance with them. It helps to think of it like this:
Garrison=Security guards/maintenance workers, and police for the lower walls
Survey Corps=Military that also seem to be more like Special Ops
Military Police= Secret Service, and police for the upper walls . They're supposed to be the best of the best, but since they never see combat, and are only designated to guard the upper walls (ie; the upper class, and nobility) unless absolutely needed elsewhere, they seem to fit this criteria.
How you rank up in the Garrison, I don't know, but I assume it follows the same stupid requirements as the other regiments, or you just do some other shit, and get promoted like that.
When it comes to experience with Pixis, it's either:
He actually has seen combat a bunch of times, but we've just never seen it.
He hasn't seen combat, but he's old af, and has still has been around the block enough times to actually know his shit, and that's why he's regarded so highly.
He's just so chill that he comes off like he's seen combat, but he never has.
Isayama fucked up again, and this is just another character inconsistency.
With the SC, the official general ranking seems to be Commander, and Squad Leader. Levi seems to be the only exception in which his ranking is Captain in the dub, in the Japanese it's supposed to be "Captain of all Soldiers" or some dumb shit like that, and was originally incorrectly translated as Lance Corporal. Why anyone would give an unstable, incompetent, torture-happy, sociopathic dwarf like him any kind of position of power, I don't know, but it seems to fall in line with the rest of the ranking systems being basically kill things=level up.
Soldiers that are veterans don't seem to be given an official ranking, but their skills, and status are at least unofficially acknowledged.
What this means for Squad 104, I'm not sure. My best guess is that they don't rank up until the Commander actually gets around to doing it, and/or the current Squad Leaders die, or retire. As for the Military Police, I have even less of a clue, because the only time we really ever see them is when they're being villains. Again, I assume it's the same with the other regiments.
So this is a minor question I've had for a while, how does the Garrison have ranks?
I mean, it's simple with the other two, the Scouts are a normal military force that sees action regularly, and the Military Police presumably operate like ordinary police.
But when the series starts, the Garrison hasn't seen combat in over a century, actually given later revelations, they've probably literally never seen combat. So how do they decide who has what rank? You'd think from Pyxis' attitude that he's seen combat tons of times, but he hasn't even once. Hell, when you think about it, the 104th were more like veterans then Pyxis.
Come to think of it, do the scouts only have two ranks or something? We only see Levi, Miche, Hange, and Erwin addressed via rank, and the former all have the same rank. No mention is ever made of Eren and any of the other 104th having any sort of rank. So is the Scouts' ranking system that you're either in charge of just one squad or you're in charge of the entire regiment? Actually now that I think about it, the other regiments are like that too.
Well, for the MPs, its shown they're incredibly corrupt as well as basically functioning as a Gestapo. The best analogue would be the KGB mixed with generic cops.
For the Scouts, take it in two parts. In the first third when the Titans were a threat, their rank structure was incredibly loose since they lose a TON of soldiers and the royalty thought they were a waste of money. So they don't really have a formal one. You live the longest and slay, you get command. If you're shitty and low performance, you do logistics.
After the basement reveal and once all the Titans on Paradis are eliminated (in like one fucking chapter), they actually need a formal command structure yet never actually have one. You need the equivalent of intelligence gathering operations (the MPs are a domestic intelligence service/police force), you'd need logistics. You'd need Calvary and infantry regiments. You'd need a general and a formal hierarchy.
Thinking about it, this is another missed opportunity. Imagine you have the reformed Scouts going from an informal unit with a loose command structure based on survivability to the main army of Paradis. You'd have all this conflict, because the guys who fought Titans think differently than those that are fighting humans. So the new scouts think the old scouts are dinosaurs.
For the Garrison, uh.....they 'repair' the walls made of Titan skin somehow. How has Pixis seen combat? Maybe he was born into the royal family? Transferred out of the Scouts? Who knows with them.
Late, but do we know which editor this was? Like, which portion of the story they were editor for? Because if I continue to try do the ridiculous mental gymnastics to understand Isayama's thinking, that might explain why he hates Sasha so much.
Late, but do we know which editor this was? Like, which portion of the story they were editor for? Because if I continue to try do the ridiculous mental gymnastics to understand Isayama's thinking, that might explain why he hates Sasha so much.
It said in the article the first editor. So the very first one on the manga who was no longer working on it at the time of the murder. So basically the one responsible for the best part of the manga.
"I wanted to kill this bitch but my editor said no and then he later killed his wife. I knew this was a good decision."
I mean, he hates Sasha because he wanted to off her because she didn't fit his faggot 'edgy boi' idea of the story, that editor probably stopped him from doing so. Once the manga got money with the anime and he had more creative control, he probably switched to a more pliable editor and killed Sasha with his home-grown Mary Sue, Eren replacement.
Being an autistic faggot, he was so incredibly bitter about not being able to kill a fun character, he proceeds to constantly shit on her because he basically has the mentality of a five year old throwing a temper tantrum.
I mean, its not so much mental gymnastics is that Isayama is an autistic faggot edgy boi. Once you realize this, it all just makes sense.
I never cared about gabi one way or the other until kaya saw gabi as sasha for a panel. that annoyed the crap out of me. idgaf about gabi killing sasha they're soldiers they kill each other, but the way he's handled it and gabi's "redemption" is so clunky. especially the forest metaphor. I get it, but he clearly thinks it's more clever than it is. That's how I'd describe the series in general since they returned to eldia. clunky and "lol im so clevur". It's still a good ride though.
It said in the article the first editor. So the very first one on the manga who was no longer working on it at the time of the murder. So basically the one responsible for the best part of the manga.
"I wanted to kill this bitch but my editor said no and then he later killed his wife. I knew this was a good decision."
I mean, he hates Sasha because he wanted to off her because she didn't fit his faggot 'edgy boi' idea of the story, that editor probably stopped him from doing so. Once the manga got money with the anime and he had more creative control, he probably switched to a more pliable editor and killed Sasha with his home-grown Mary Sue, Eren replacement.
Being an autistic faggot, he was so incredibly bitter about not being able to kill a fun character, he proceeds to constantly shit on her because he basically has the mentality of a five year old throwing a temper tantrum.
I mean, its not so much mental gymnastics is that Isayama is an autistic faggot edgy boi. Once you realize this, it all just makes sense.
Forgive me, I should've clarified more. I know the primary reason Isayama hates Sasha is because she didn't mix with his edgelord story. What I meant by ridiculous mental gymnastics is that his extreme vitriol towards her might also be subconsciously because the editor that saved her ended being a murderer. If this was the case, it would explain would explain why he's so particularly spiteful about Sasha, and why he keeps continuing to shit on her character instead of just moving the fuck on.
I don't know, I'm probably way overthinking this, but when I first learned about this situation, everything about his treatment of Sasha just seemed to click. Again, I'm not saying at all that this is exactly why he hates her. We all know the main reason. She didn't gel with his edgelord WWII time-travel fanfic.
I'm just saying that if I try to put myself into Isayama's weird, fucked up, autistic, and vindictive mindset, everything about the situation kind of makes a bit more sense.
I will admit though that after writing all this out, actually getting some rest, and taking my tinfoil hat off, this entire idea is incredibly outlandish, and I'm reading way too into it. In all likelihood, the only reason Isayama keeps dragging Sasha through the mud is because his fanbase vastly prefers her over his Mary Sue, Gabi. Again, not the primary reason he hates her, but the reason he keeps on being so petty about it. That, and he's an autistic fuckwad.
Forgive me, I should've clarified more. I know the primary reason Isayama hates Sasha is because she didn't mix with his edgelord story. What I meant by ridiculous mental gymnastics is that his extreme vitriol towards her might also be subconsciously because the editor that saved her ended being a murderer. If this was the case, it would explain would explain why he's so particularly spiteful about Sasha, and why he keeps continuing to shit on her character instead of just moving the fuck on.
I don't know, I'm probably way overthinking this, but when I first learned about this situation, everything about his treatment of Sasha just seemed to click. Again, I'm not saying at all that this is exactly why he hates her. We all know the main reason. She didn't gel with his edgelord WWII time-travel fanfic.
I'm just saying that if I try to put myself into Isayama's weird, fucked up, autistic, and vindictive mindset, everything about the situation kind of makes a bit more sense.
I will admit though that after writing all this out, actually getting some rest, and taking my tinfoil hat off, this entire idea is incredibly outlandish, and I'm reading way too into it. In all likelihood, the only reason Isayama keeps dragging Sasha through the mud is because his fanbase vastly prefers her over his Mary Sue, Gabi. Again, not the primary reason he hates her, but the reason he keeps on being so petty about it. That, and he's an autistic fuckwad.
I think he's just an autist who thinks that Gabi is a replacement Sasha who is just as good as the original, and he believes that reminding people of it means that it must be true. In his edgelord view he probably grew to like Sasha for being a pure girl in the evil world and is killed by Gabi in a subversion of expectations.
I may like AOT but I can wholeheartedly agree Gabi is fucking garbage and Sasha shouldn't have to die for her.
I don't know, I'm probably way overthinking this, but when I first learned about this situation, everything about his treatment of Sasha just seemed to click. Again, I'm not saying at all that this is exactly why he hates her. We all know the main reason. She didn't gel with his edgelord WWII time-travel fanfic.
Yeah, you're overthinking it. He hates Sasha because the fans like her and he really does seem to detest his fanbase. The only reason he's going with Eren is because he completely wrote himself into a corner.
He is very, VERY fucking upset that the fans hate Gabi and want to see her stomped and killed in the most unforgiving fashion possible. He is super annoyed that his Mary Sue wasn't accepted by his fans. Which is why he always shits over Sasha because he's an immature autistic faggot caught up in his own 'genius'.
I am so glad that I can avoid all future works by this fucktard, because his head is completely up his ass.
I think he's just an autist who thinks that Gabi is a replacement Sasha who is just as good as the original, and he believes that reminding people of it means that it must be true. In his edgelord view he probably grew to like Sasha for being a pure girl in the evil world and is killed by Gabi in a subversion of expectations.
I may like AOT but I can wholeheartedly agree Gabi is fucking garbage and Sasha shouldn't have to die for her.
I honestly think that he should have never revealed where the titans came from, or provided conflicting origins according to different groups. He could have even kept the pseudo Nazis, but made them the people who had long ago been banished from the safety zone or never allowed in.
Personally I am actually down for the Marley twist since there was some foreshadowing to it, but a lot of things were not handled great like Levi not killing Zeke right away, the wine stuff, and Gabi in particular are grating to me. Furthermore, it would've been better if Iseyama didn't make child characters prominent because it feels really out of place especially when he wants to include them in action sequences where Gabi for some reason is strong enough to carry a fucking sniper rifle, which is absurd given Iseyama had tried his best to make the weapons have some realistic weight to them like with the 3D Maneuver gear.
Hell Gabi could've been fine as a character if she was just a normal indoctrinated kid who realized the propaganda she read wasn't true if she didn't get involved in any of the action sequences or at least had to earn the forgiveness of Sasha's family instead of them instantly forgiving her.
The moment he did this was the moment he killed all suspense, and intrigue in his story. Everything since then has just been a slog of insanity, and boredom. The fact that when you get down to it, AoT is a story that should've left its biggest question unanswered.
The only feasible way I can see it being explained whilst not having a gigantic lore dump is to have the titans just be basically zombies. Titans eat you, they vomit you up eventually, you turn into a titan, shit like that. Titan-shifters could be mutant titans, or whatever. Where the original titans came from, or how this all started would never be answered, because it would, and did ruin the actual series.
