yeehaw

Eren: But first, some words from our newest member

What type of hairstyle or body type do you think he’ll have? Any facial hair? I might give this my own spin with my art haha.

Well, the journey has ended - and I've never imagined that it would happen in a disappointing way like this. Before I'd jump into anything THIS ISN'T A HATE POST - I respect Isayama and am really grateful his more than a decade-long hardwork, preciseness. I completely understand that in the end he got tired of it and he absolutely has the right to finish his own story as he pleases - but as auidence we have the right to criticize it in a cultured way. The post is based off the untranslated, korean chapter. Not proof-read.

SPOILERS FOR ATTACK ON TITAN'S 139TH (FINAL) CHAPTER BELOW!!!

The conclusion of Mikasa. Okay, we've had our rounds(bee - boo) why I'm personally not a big fan of her and why she's objectively a badly-written character - but I'd be upset even as a Mikasa fan. I was glad that she seemingly was ready to let Eren go, BUT NO. Mikasa killed Eren, but didn't actually let him go. Seemingly she's gonna grieve over him forever, and this isn't a good message, it isn't a big development from her - I think this is a very bad (main!!!) character writing - many people refer to Mikasa a badass, independent, but she sticks to her deceased loved one in a self-destructive way, even withdrawing from society. I understand that she isn't able to process Eren's death, but I they could've shown it to us in a better way. Mikasa isn't a good role model in general, especially with this conclusion of her story.

I've always been reassuring myself, that Historia will surely have a reason being almost written-out. Well, her pregnancy didn't have importance, the identy of the father neither. Just an easy, plot-saving movement, which is really disappointing, it completely ruins her character.

No titans anymore. A thing I enjoyed about Attack on Titan is that actions, decisions actually had weight - if something happened that couldn't be turned back. I was almost certain that everyone will turned back into human - suprise, suprise I was right. It was just a cheap movement to keep the fans thrilled for a month. My heart cried for Connie and Jean, but this upsets me even more.

Jean really didn't have a vision about Marco? REALLY? When the spirits of all the deceased SC members are there, and Jean, one of the most important characters doesn't have a last-last goodbye with the person WHO WAS THE MAIN MOTIVE FOR HIM? It's okay if you ruin this man's whole character arc, but now totally forgetting about a thing that has determined his personality, development and actions during the WHOLE series? Keep me hung.

Connie, where's your mom? You were fighting for her and would even feed a child if that meant you can bring her back to life. HAHAHA.

I think I won't list all the characters whose development and/or arc were thrown into trash.

Everything is just rushed. I haven't been satisifed with the last eight-ten chapters - they weren't logical, some characters started to act OOC and the story just fell into pieces, being the shadow of itself. The Attack on Titan was a morally grey story about soldier life and centuries of hatred, but it got sugarcoated in the end - former enemies are acting like nothing happened, like none of the killed each other's loved ones or committed mass war-crimes. Yes, I know they've been trough a lot - but suddenly the whole world just forgets all of it? Meh. Completely goes against what AoT was originally about.

Of course, it's not a catastrophe, there were some stuff I enjoyed:

Levi's fate. He's an average character, but at least everything is okay about him - there are no holes. He's fufilled his promise to Erwin and now (as predicted) he is the only remaining veteran SC member of his generation. The last one. Also, his salute was beautiful despite the fact I didn't like the whole "SC ghosts" element in the series.

Gabi-Falco reunion. Anatomy 0%, meme material at max.

Overall the first ~130 chapters. They were truly excellent.

I'm grateful, that this story ever existed, its messages, characters and story is still something outstanding. I feel bad for it, I'm disappointed but that's it. It be like that sometimes.

Thanks for sending this in! I do see the point in the whole closure thing for Jean's arc, but here's the thing:

Marco wasn't just a plot device used to develop Jean's character. 

That's exactly what has me so upset about it. He was so much more than that, and ultimately, Jean wasn't the only one who was affected by his presence and his death. In fact, even after Marco dies in S1, he continued to be a key figure in pushing the plot forward and further developing characters, the warriors especially. We see it when Reiner begins heavily disassociating ("Why is that titan eating Marco?" despite being directly responsible for Marco's death). We see it in Annie, who in the OVAs is shown to have recurring nightmares about her hand in Marco's death (In 127, we see that she's not over it yet, either. She asks Jean: "Would you forgive me?"). We see it in Eren, who was fully expecting somebody like Marco to join the Survey Corps–only to be shaken to find out that Marco had died before he could even graduate. We see it in his and Armin's demonstration of wit as they worked together in the OVA, further proving that physical strength isn't the only factor necessary to come out victorious. I would even argue as far as to say that Marco was one of the main catalysts that inspired the scouts to keep pushing forward. This was especially true for Jean's case.

Most importantly though, the moment Marco dies at the hands of Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie is the exact moment we see that not everything in the show is in black and white.

This has always been one of the most important themes of the franchise. Because of his death, we suddenly see that Reiner, Annie, and Bertholt weren't just these Big Bad Guys set to destroy the heroes. We realize that it's much more complicated than that, and that this is what happens as a result of war. Of any war: that there is no good and evil, no right or wrong. The only thing there is is despair and destruction.

Him not showing up in the smoke in 139 was also a gigantic missed opportunity to finally close in on Reiner and Annie's journey towards redemption. I've posted about it before, but just imagine Marco showing up there next to Sasha, and it isn't just Jean who sees him. Reiner and Annie do, too. The two people directly responsible for his death. And because he's Marco Bodt, he smiles one last time and says "I understand. I forgive you. Take care of them for us."

Like, the sheer impact of that? Even if he didn't get to say anything, even if he just smiled at Reiner and Annie? That would have sent me. That would have set all of us as an audience, regardless of shipping preferences or anything else. We all would have cried regardless.

tl;dr I understand that Jean received his closure in 127, but the bitterness I feel about Marco not showing up in 139 wasn't about 127, or the closure Jean receives itself. It's because Marco was such an important character, played such a significant role in pushing the plot forward even post-mortem, and he was and continues to be–even after his death 8 years later–a fan favorite.