Board Thread:Manga/@comment-27321453-20191208140701/@comment-44086949-20191211213554

Neetaku wrote:

The scene you are referencing is one in which Gabi lands a "killing" blow on Eren by surprise. She does not outwit him, she does not outmaneuver him, she is simply in the right place at the right time. Anyone with a firearm and proficient training (which the Warrior Cadets have) would have been able to make that shot. This is not an instance of Gabi triumphantly outshining Eren by defeating him, or Reiner by doing what Reiner cannot and defeating Eren, she is simply in an advantageous position. You've shown in a later text that cadets are, indeed, trained with firearms, so I will concede this point about killing Eren.

That being said, Mary Sues don’t have to upstage the heroes to be considered one. Even if they do, they could get around this if either A. they are the heroes(Captain Marvel), or B. there are no heroes to upstage. Gabi is praised enough to be considered a Marleyan hero, as she upstages her colleagues, but the story is grey enough that there could be no heroes, and, therefore, there is no upstaging needed.​​​

Neetaku wrote: The horse one is true. That's one knock against her, although I think that is only an error because Isayama forgot that he previously established Gabi couldn't ride horses. I wouldn't be surprised if the anime removed that line so that the continuity error will no longer exist. Removing this line would make her even more of a mary sue. That would mean that she somehow always had the ability to ride a horse, despite being too little, and without the training shown.

Neetaku wrote: I addressed most of these point above. I will say that her guard's incompetence does not affect whether she is a Mary Sue. It is only indicative of the guard's writing quality.

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Writing a guard to suddenly be incompetent when Gabi wants to escape is a mary sue quality, as the plot ignores logic in order for the mary sue to succeed. Take for example one of the most popular Mary Sue feat in pop culture, Rey’s mind trick. The plot & logic bent around her solely so that Rey could escape, and doesn’t make any sense as to why it happened.

Neetaku wrote: Let's also not pretend that he arriving on the Blouse farm is by her own doing. It established that she is lost and has no idea what she will do next after escaping the prison. Kaya arriving is pure happenstance and has nothing to do with her own abilities.

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It’s also not of her inability to do anything. Here, it makes perfect sense for someone to be lost, as they are on an island they have no familiarity with. I forgot that Kaya found her and Falco, and not the other way around. This doesn’t help Gabi’s case, however, as this is a moment where she did not have to struggle to find shelter, but instead, she is found out of pure luck.

Neetaku wrote:

If the situation is out of her hands, meaning that she must be saved, then she's not a Mary Sue. A Mary Sue doesn't get into situations which are beyond their control because they always have a skill which will save them. ​​​​​​​ ​​​

Excuse me for using Star Wars again, but it’s just the perfect example.

Rey got herself in the first fight with Kylo Ren, and she got captured because she was frozen by the force, then knocked out.

Neetaku wrote: I will agree with you that other character finding qualities in her worth saving could apply to a Mary Sue, but in that case Mikasa is the only one who fills that category. Part of the mission to Paradis was specifically to recover the Warrior Cadets, so Pieck's investment in her makes sense, and it is established that Falco has feelings for her, so he will naturally want to save her from life-threatening situations.

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Falco isn’t motivated by his love for Gabi alone, remember that Reiner specifically told him to keep her safe, take the armored titan from her so that she can live a long, prosperous life. I would argue that Falco’s love for Gabi is only there to serve as the reason he does so much for her, which is smart of Isayama to do, but he has neglected to do the same for Sasha’s father, Reiner, or Mikasa.