Tiger

I'm told that Utsumi says in the audio commentary on the BD that there's 61 karuta cards and I found 61, albeit some of them only partial cards lol.... so here is my list!

with screenshots, Japanese text to the best of my ability (some of them are hard to read), and English translations

The karuta are supposed to be written in poem form and have 5 and 7 syllables in Japanese but for translating I just went with the closest meaning I didn't try to make them poems lol

It's sure to be a heartwarming, Fan & Fun experience!

It's about the moments you weren't able to see in the main series.

--Looking back at the scenario meetings, is there anything that stands out in your memory?

Like the fact that there was a longer version where (series writer) Ookouchi Ichirou, the producers, and I all came up with ideas for what to do in the OVA and decided on it, only to realize it didn't fit into the time limit plan I came up with myself and so it was rejected (laughs). Of course Reki and Langa are the main characters so they're going to appear in the OVA but we really wanted to include them all... and that would be difficult to do in one story so we made it into an omnibus format.

We could have been... us.

Sanji: Don’t you dare talk shit about my mother!

Zoro: I meant you dad.

So it begins. Sanji will be teasing Zoro every opportunity he gets.

 “You train all day while I cook and yet my bounty is higher than yours. Bet that stings, huh.”

“Walking up the stairs? I run on air. Makes sense why I have the bigger bounty.”

“Want another sandwich? By the way, I’m more wanted than you.”

The information in the Character Directory is like most official supplemental information - nothing new, but a chance for Isayama to clarify things that might not have been obvious. So I was very happy that he used this book to talk about the situation surrounding Erwin’s death.

For instance, it’s crystal clear now that when Levi told Erwin to give up on his dream and die, it wasn’t because Levi believed it was best for humanity. It wasn’t because Levi thought it was the right decision. It was because Levi realized it was what Erwin needed him to say. 

Isayama: Seeing Erwin in this state, Levi felt as if he were urged on by Erwin - “I hope you tell me to ‘abandon my dream and go to hell.’” He comprehended Erwin’s desire at that time.

Despite telling Erwin, “I will make the choice”, there was never really a choice for Levi. Erwin needed something and Levi delivered it. Because lending support to Erwin is what Levi did best. It all sounds very clinical until you look at Levi’s face when he realized what he had to do.

More than a year later and I’m still haunted by it. This man who threatened to break Erwin’s legs the day before in an attempt to protect him is having to grant him permission to die. But despite his personal pain, when Levi actually says the words, there’s no hesitation. He delivers to Erwin with as much steel and backbone as we’ve ever seen.

(….aaaaand a read more because this got longer than I intended. it usually does when it comes to Erwin)

After Erwin’s death a lot have been saying that levi chose Armin because he heard the ocean conversation between Him and Eren.But that’s not true Levi’s choice has and will Always be Erwin, his priority is Erwin .

Here he was determinant to inject Erwin with the serum ,even called Eren a brat who needs growing up , punched him for standing in his way .

But look what happens next 

Erwin pushed levi’s hand before he could even introduce the injection in his body.

Look at Levi’s face expression , he was not expecting Erwin to open his eyes or even move but he did .Erwin opened his eyes , pushed his hand and whispered something about his dream as a kid , thanked levi and then passed away.

Erwin whispered something to levi before dying , Levi looked at him in disbelief “ERWIN?” like “GONNA GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAM?” but Erwin simply thanked him and died peacefully . 

This is not the face of someone who would choose Armin tbh , he looks rather schocked and startled by Erwin’s words. I think Erwin asked him to give the injection to Armin, and so levi had to grant him his last wish . and he was left to face the pain .

Erwin died a very peaceful and beautiful death , yet even if levi injected Armin with the serum his choice is still Erwinn.It was Erwin’s wish he granted, he needed peace after all the suffering , after all the painhe went through .And Levi gave him that peace andrest he needed .”Thank you Levi” were his last words.

I’ve heard some criticism of Levi allowing Erwin to die, and Erwin choosing to die, in Chapter 84. They claim that it was a plot device to allow main-character Armin to survive that went against their characters. To them, I would advise them to reread the manga the chapter and really take in what’s going on.

Specifically, the flashback sequence. 

Isayama didn’t include those to fill up pages, you know. Each one is a crucial memory in Levi’s development which results in the decision he made. The salvation of Armin was very much a character-driven decision, not a plot one - it was made to be Levi’s choice for a reason, and his decision resulted in the perfect resolution to Erwin’s arc and extensive growth to Levi’s.

The first of these flashbacks displays Armin’s motivation. Again, this is by no means an ass-pull; Isayama planned for this all these chapters ago by having Levi listen in on this conversation because it his decision to save Armin is crucial to his development. It’s Armin’s dream which is crucial here. Look at the genuine joy and excitement in his eyes. He really, truly wants to see the ocean for the beauty of it all. But in the next flashback…

…Erwin’s words don’t match his actions. He expresses the same determination as Armin did, but without any of Armin’s fire. Even as Erwin speaks these words his head is downcast, and he even admits that he has no idea what he will do afterwards, whereas for Armin, the idea of seeing the ocean is more of a symbolic gesture for appreciating the freedom outside the walls - one of hope for the future itself.

As an appreciative side note, the parallels between Armin and Erwin continue to be strong, and the fact that both of their fates rely on Bertholdt, their third parallel, ties in the three interconnected worlds of the Warriors, the Survey Corps, and the 104th. It is a decision to save one of three halves of the same self. For Armin, the dream that drives all his actions is to see the ocean; for Erwin, the basement; for Bertholdt, his hometown. Levi doesn’t consider the worth of Bertl’s life in this equation, given his lack of a personal connection to him and Bertl being an enemy, but panels of Bertholdt between flashbacks do, I think, imply his connection to the two.

Anyway getting back on track, Levi hasn’t realised this crucial difference between Armin and Erwin yet. It takes a very important memory to trigger that recognition… 

The death of Kenny Ackerman in Chapter 69 is perhaps the definitive moment for Levi’s character development, as well as for the vital theme of Intoxication throughout SNK. In probably my favourite scene of the series, Kenny explains how in this cold, brutal, bloody world, dreams and aspirations are existential drugs to keep the trauma and the pain at bay, and give meaning to the endless slaughter.

But there comes a point where one experiences so much pain, so much loss, that the drug enslaves you. Just like how drug addicts eventually cease to take any pleasure from its consumption yet can’t stop because now they’re addicted, Kenny no longer feels any real longing for power; but after Uri’s death, that’s all he has left.  He sets himself a goal to distract himself from the emptiness inside. If he had still truly desired power, he would have taken the titan serum himself. But he doesn’t. His dream was simply the strings animating his lifeless body.

And the same is true of Erwin.

Kenny’s words about Uri echo back to Levi to refer to Erwin. As it should, as Uri and Erwin are the respective receivers of the infamous Ackerbond. He, like Uri, like Kenny, is enslaved by this dream. Erwin practically says it himself in Chapter 80:

The answers are the only thing that drive Erwin. Aside from that, his life is empty, thus his longing to die…but he can’t. Because the addiction still enslaves him.

This is, of course, the long-awaited revelation of the question Erwin asked his father in his flashback in Chapter 55, all those years ago.

“What doesn’t exist” in this scenario specifically refers to the lost records of humanity. revealing that dream at the core of Erwin’s character - to challenge convention and find the truth of what lies beyond. This is the dream. This is the memory that reappears in Erwin’s dying moments because it is the base essence of who he is - it is what plays inside his head with every decision he makes. This question is all he is now. 

And here it is, the explicit connection between Erwin and Kenny - the two most important people in Levi’s life. You can see the shock and pain in his eyes as he makes the connection and knows that Erwin was about to make the same choice Kenny had…

…to reject the serum and die. To be free from their intoxication at last. He doesn’t know about Armin’s situation. He’s making this decision because he does not truly want to see the basement anymore. Remember that Erwin is still in a delirious state - the recollection of Levi’s words to Erwin were included to show that here Erwin is not thanking Levi for offering him the serum; he is thanking him for his actions in chapter 80 - what he wanted to say behind his sad smile. By making the decision for him, Levi liberated him from his intoxication at long last. 

At this point, Levi knows that the cruellest thing to do to Erwin right now would be to return him to its grasp. The panel showing Armin’s eyes, free from the sadness of Erwin’s, shows that he still posseses the younger dream - the innocent dream of a younger version of Erwin’s self, before it escalates into a life-dominating intoxication. Levi knows that the younger dream is the one that must be preserved.

“Hell” is his addiction, the compulsion that swallowed up his life and caused him so much pain and grief. This is what people who insist that Erwin should have seen the basement before he died don’t understand. Seeing the basement could never be a positive thing for Erwin’s character, because once he saw it, he would have been overcome with despair because it could never have possibly lived up to his expectations. His goal would be complete, but he would still be a broken man, and upon discovering the secrets of the basement he will have no choice but to see those ghosts all the time.

Seeing the basement would not have been the fulfilment of a dream. It would have shattered it. It would have been the fruition of a toxic addiction which had ruined Erwin’s life, and by allowing Erwin to die, Levi gave him the agency to wrest back control of his life from its grasp.

And Erwin, by dying, fulfilled what the dream was back when he was a child, back when it was chaste, before it was the basement and when it was a simple question. With that question, he saw beyond the illusion and defied the powers that be. In accepting death, he in turn saw beyond the drunken haze of the dream and broke free of its control on him.