Board Thread:Manga/@comment-27321453-20200408113657/@comment-45387321-20200416110903

Penguinluver1431 wrote: Eden Ushinatta wrote:

Drivebladesman wrote: Eden Ushinatta wrote: The Marleyan side gets humanized, something important, considering where the story is right now. It's just too bad that the story failed to make it work, at least in most peoples' eyes, since it seems like hardly anyone sympathizes with them; for example, I see things like this on TVTropes:  "Hate Sink: Initially, the upper government in Marley is this. As more of the situation is revealed, they become far more nuanced, but the fact that they're basically the Nazis makes it difficult to really sympathize with them."

I will say this, though:  Maybe the anime could do a better job with that? That's an idea I'm open about. Did the story fail though? Falco is a hugely sympathetic character. Gabi hate seems to be going down with each passing chapter, Reiner is regarded as one of the best written characters in the series, Annie had a big fanbase from the beginning and so on. If anything, the story did a fine job.

You say that Marley is basically Nazis, but are Floch and the Yeagerists any better? The ultra-nationalists who murder every single person that opposes them and their dream of an all-powerful Eldian Empire? The side of Paradis is not that much better. The only difference is that it's only now that they've got enough power to see their plans through. Falco- definitely a truly sympathetic character, and frankly the only likable one in the entire Marley cast (nothing against his brother Colt but his character was rather unremarkable to say the least). I'm still convinced he is the true protagonist of the Marley arc since he is more interesting and compelling than Reiner could ever be. Would be nice to have an OVA showing how he came to be so compassionate while living in a Nazi regime.

Gabi- you obviously don't browse YouTube or Reddit very much. The Gabi hate is still kicking even as she gets more "development", but even if it's not as much as before, she will never be a widely loved character.

Reiner- I think we got enough of his whiny emo man-pain while on Paradis, so I can't say I cared for an entire arc of it.

Annie- the reason she has fans is because most anime viewers see her physical qualities and make ecchi/hentai fanart. As for actual character arcs, Annie still has a decently-sized hatedom due to what she did to Squad Levi, and even now shows no remorse for it by saying if she had to do it all again she would, displaying her complete lack of character development.

As for Floch and the Yeagerists...yeah, they actually are better. They are a product of the xenopbobia spewed by Marley. The Rumbling is a necessary evil for Paradis to survive, as Hanji is a traitorous coward who would rather betray her people to Marley and the world that wants to wipe them out. We've been with the Eldians side since the beginning hence why more people support them. If Isayama wanted us to "understand" or "empathize" both sides, he should have started the story with the war/political dialogue. But of course he didn't, so there really aren't many people who truly care about "the other side", no matter what Isayama says or does. Gabi is definitely getting way less hate nowdays. I attribute it to both her character development and the less focus on her. Compare the amount of hate posts dedicated to her now, to, let's say, a year ago. A significant decrease in quantity.

Your lack of personal appreciation for Reiner is not a legitimate criticism, since it doesn't reflect any significant portion of the fandom. Reiner has quickly become one of the most popular characters of AoT, amongst the current cast.

Annie is not unlike Eren, who doesn't seem to regret his actions in Liberio, even though he knows how terrible they were. And she is also not unlike Mikasa in her motives. Her hatedom is not nearly as large as you're making it sound and the reasons you provided for her popularity are not the ones most people cite when asked why they like her. Most would say that her mysterious personality was what drew them to her. Annie's reappearence was also one of the most highly anticipated moments for years and she was one of the standout characters from season 1.

LOL. Floch and the Yeagerists are just as bad as the Marleyan brass. They are ultra-nationalists, they believe that they belong in a superior race, calling themselves "Subjects of Ymir", as if it's something to be proud of, they have mistreated the vast majority (if not everyone) of the people who have come to their aid over the years, they ideolize the absolute worst genocider in history. History shows that these kind of people make for shitty rulers, who wouldn't have any problem to turn on citizens and civilians if need be. You know, like the First King in a sense, but even worse. Not to mention that they are all incompetent as fuck. The only valuable members of the corps are the ones who now fight for humanity. They are the ones who didn't betray their ideals, nor what the SC stood for.

Speaking of traitors, Floch also betrayed his branch and his superiors more than once. Yet the SC didn't execute him for disobeying their orders. While he has killed pretty much everyone who didn't obey him. I'm sure that he wouldn't hesitate if it came down to killing all the poor citizens who lost family members and their homes thanks to Eren's rumbling. Floch is literally the worst piece of shit to ever appear in the series, alongside King Reiss and the man who killed Grisha's sister. And that's really the general consensus of the fandom. Because i've yet to see a popularity poll with his name gracing the top spots.

The "traitorous" Hange that you speak of is the one who didn't betray what the SC used to stand for. The SC fought for humanity as a whole. And that's the people that the story followed.That was their mentality. Floch is the one who betrayed humanity for Eldia. Mikasa, Armin, Levi, Connie and Jean... These "traitors" are the people that the series has followed all this time. And they don't fight solely for Eldia, but for the whole world. The series didn't focus on Eldia and how good people the Eldians are, because they have commited heinous crimes and for far longer than Marley. This of course doesn't make Marley better, nor does it make her worse though.

Besides Eren, all the main characters of the series fight for the whole world. And the portion of the fandom that supports the Alliance is almost the same in numbers as the one that supports Eren. So, if anything, Isayama did a fine job showing us the other side. And honestly, Isayama doesn't care very much about what the fandom says either.