Vivi😍

The emotional damage it brought to me again 😭😭

Just by looking at the two photos here, when they both hold Levi to her chest, you will notice that they both protect him from the cruel world that surrounds him in their own way.

I heard a lot of people compare the "give up your dream and die" with "dedicate your heart". Many say that they are the same but I have to say the difference is obvious. In fact, I believe they are actually quite the opposite.

The most obvious difference is who is being the decision maker here.

Right before Levi said give up your dream and die, Erwin was actually hesitating and confessing that he just wanted to go to the basement. However, Levi was the one who made up his mind and promised to Erwin that he was going to kill the beast titan. This is another choice of no regrets. The line "give up your dream and die" was actually an encouragement to Erwin to fullfill his responsibility as a commander. The reaction of Erwin was also quite interesting. He actually smiled after Levi said this, which proves that hearing what Levi said also made him realized that it is his time to die and he is fine with it after Levi gave him his word.

This is also the beginning of Levi‘s fixation about killing the beast titan. He was actually partially responsible for the death of Erwin and those who followed him to the beast titan.

For Hange, it is actually quite the opposite. It is Hange who said "so just let me go" and "my time has come". Also，Bessatsu Shounen has basically confirmed that the intention of Levi facing Hange before her sacrifice was to stop her.

Another thing that is worth noting is that , Hange was smiling before Levi said "dedicate your heart", and Levi was the one who looked sad and hesitate. Hange‘s expression changed after hearing it, which is quite the opposite of Erwin‘s expression before and after Levi’s words.

In other words, I think it is Hange who convinced Levi to let go and that it is her responsibility to stand out and sacrifice. Levi was being the selfish one for wanting her to stay.

So I think to this point we can all understand the difference. One is Levi‘s choice and the other one isn’t.

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Kohaku: Able to endlessly, step by step, hack away at something for what they believe in. That’s the kind of guy I’m attracted to.

note: this is a more in-depth version of what I have posted earlier.

This post is an attempt to make sense out of Levi’s nuanced dialogue in chapter 132. But before proceeding please read this tweet first to understand the context of this post: link to original tweet 

Please also read this analysis done by shunkani, explaining the nuance present in the original Japanese text. 

it is important that you read the posts I’ve linked above because what I am about to say here is not gonna make sense if you don’t.

Like always, note that what I am about to say is only my own interpretation of the events and should not be taken as absolute canon confirmation.

In chapter 132, Levi has a line that lost its nuance in the English translation. As explained in the linked posts above, Levi comments on Hanji’s unrequited love for titans but there is an implication that a mutual love shared with someone else.

What if that someone is Levi? When you think about it, it is not farfetched to assume that it was him considering how close he is to Hanji.

Other than that, there is an incident in the chapters prior to 132 that presents a strong case on why Levi could be referring to himself. Yes that’s right—Hanji asking Levi to live with him.

Now I’ve seen people try to dismiss what Hanji said to Levi in the forest and insist that there is nothing possibly romantic with it and that Hanji was simply expressing their want to run away because they are tired so here is my take on it:

After tending to Levi’s wounds, Hanji says,

“Maybe we should just live here together. Right Levi?”

If Isayama only intends to have Hanji express their exhaustion and desire to run away from everything, why didn’t he just make Hanji say something like 《"I want to run away Levi. I am tired.“》 ?

Why did it have to be Hanji expressing their want to live together with Levi? It was like Isayama tried to hit two birds with one stone. He had Hanji say their desire to run away and also to be with Levi.

Another factor in this is Hanji blushing after realizing that Levi heard what they said. Again, some fans have tried to refute this by saying that Hanji blushes all the time.

Yes Hanji blushes a lot but also consider the context of the scene. For second let us pretend tha these two characters are not Levi and Hanji—let’s pretend that they are Character A and B.

Character A is with Character B, and the former thinks the the latter is asleep. Character A then takes this as a chance to voice out their feelings for Character B.

A few moments later, Character B brings up what Character A said. Character A realizes Character B heard their confession and so they blush.

I mean look at it, you could easily pretend that what happened in the forest was something that came out straight from a romance novel or a shoujo manga.

And come on are we going to pretend that the run away and live with someone to start anew isn’t a common trope in romance?

Another argument I’ve seen is that maybe Hanji was just embarrassed that Levi heard them expressing their want to abandon their duties. This one is very easy to debunk.

Remember the beginning of Uprising Arc? Hanji shows their hesitation to Levi in continuing the titan experiments with Eren because they are afraid that the MPs might go after the SC just like what they did to Pastor Nick.

In both situations, Hanji was trying to run away and evade something and Levi was present in both situations. But did Hanji blush after showing their want to run here? No they did not.

Then what else could possibly the reason for Hanji’s blush other than a hint for romantic feelings?

Next let’s talk about Levi’s response to Hanji.

Levi subtly implies to Hanji that he heard what they said by asking,

“If we keep…running and hiding…what will that get us…?”

Some say that this was Levi rejecting Hanji but I disgaree. To me what Levi said sounds more like a We can’t run away yet if we still have things to do.

Levi also said that because he is aware of Hanji’s strong sense of responsibility.

“I know you…you’re not able to stay out of the action…”

He knows Hanji would’t be satisfied in being a bystander.

Another thing to note here is that Hanji is the one who arrives at the conclusion that they can’t.

Levi himself did not really gave a direct answer—and that is expected from someone like Levi who seems to be awkward and inexperienced in romance. It is understandable if he was caught off guard with what Hanji said and thus couldn’t give a proper response.

Now getting back to chapter 132.

After seeing Hanji’s exchange with Pieck, Levi says:

“…So, four eyes. yet another love for a titan gone unrequited, I see.”

So like what had been explained in the posts above, Levi comments on Hanji’s unrequited love for titans but implies that there is mutual love shared with someone.

With what happened in 126 in mind, who would be the most reasonable choice for that someone if not Levi? What if this was Levi’s response or way of acknowledging Hanji’s words back in the forest?

Just think about it. Hanji gives Levi something like a confession and then a few chapters later Levi suddenly implies that Hanji shares a mutual love with someone. The connection between the two events is not really difficult to make.

Like I said earlier, Levi not being able to form a direct answer is expected considering he seems to be the type who would be extremely awkward at love. Maybe he just needed time to sort his feelings first. Another thing to consider is they are both soldiers in duty.

Also can we talk about how Levi suddenly decided to call Hanji “four-eyes” again? It was like Levi is making an effort to go back to those days of normalcy.

An ambiguous and vague confession is also something that is so in character of Levi because of his awkwardness with words. Another is because he doesn’t have to be direct with his words because Hanji and him share a deep understanding of one another.

Before anyone tries to brush this line off as nothing, I would like to point out that Isayama changed the kanji used in the dialogue in the volume release. This was pointed out in the tweet by @/kasumi_kasa as shown above.

The point I am trying to make here is that if this line is something we should just simply brush off, then why would Isayama bother making changes to it in the volume release?

The kanji in the original chapter release was 片思い but was changed into 片想い in the volume release. Both are read the same way (kataomoi) but just like what @/kasumi_kasa had explained, the kanji used in the volume release which is 想い, is indicative of a deeper form of love.

Also take note that the latter is an unusual way of writing unrequited love in Japanese.

Taking that into consideration and the implication of a mutual feeling with someone, does that mean Levi and Hanji share a deep form of love?

See the lengths Isayama is going through just for this one line? It really feels like the is trying to push something here.

Now onto Hanji’s side. If by any chance we are correct that Levi was indeed confessing his feelings to Hanji, then did the latter caught what Levi was trying to say?

In my observation, it is very likely that Hanji had caught on to it because of their seemingly flustered and hesitant reply towards Levi. The hesistance is present in the pause (the three dots) before Hanji’s dialogue.

“…We"ll be friendly in no time.”

Another thing I would like to point out is how Hanji suddenly diverted the subject.

This is actually kind of ironic if you think about it. In 126 Hanji was the one who is seemingly confessing and Levi was the one who brought up their duties. Here in 132, it was Levi’s turn to confess but Hanji was the one who brought up their duties.

My honest take on here is that it feels like Hanji was on the process of moving on and abadoning whatever feelings they had laid down in the forest so they could focus solely on their cause but then Levi suddenly drops something like this on them.

Hanji would be understandably flustered just like how Levi was in 126. Honestly in the end, both of them are just so awkward at romance.

So this is where I am gonna end this attempt at analyzing what was said in 126 and 132. I hope I was able to convey my thoughts properly. If you have made it this far then thank you.

their first meeting is very, very awkward. hange was having a very bad day and when she accidentally stumbles into someone on a way home, she completely loses it. she shouts "watch where you're going! are you blind or what?"

and levi answers with "well, actually...."

hange gets SO embarrassed. but she also. starts laughing because it was such a stupid mistake

she apologizes to levi and asks him out for a coffee

levi thinks that hange does it out of pity so he refuses to go

but then hange's like "no! i'm not asking you out because you're blind! i'm asking you out because you're handsome!"

levi is still reluctant and hange adds "it's my treat!", and, of course, levi just can't say no to free tea

so many puns. hange uses so many puns.

obviously, one of her favorite is "i'll be your eyes, levi!". she says it every time, she and levi go somewhere together

also levi uses cane and doesn't really need hange to hold his hand, but. it makes him feel warm, so he lets her

actually hange is the only person who is allowed to help levi. he hates appearing vulnerable in front of everyone else, but her

he found out that hange wears glasses months after they've become friends and he was so betrayed by that discovery. there were so many jokes he could have used!

now, every time, he needs hange's help, he says "i need you to share your four eyes with me". that joke makes him smirk every goddamn time. hange finds it incredibly endearing

once he asked hange to describe what she's looking like, and hange started ranting and obviously exaggerating her appearance. when she finished, levi was like "huh. it sounds like you're really ugly. let me check"

he asked hange to take off her glasses and then he traced her features with his fingertips

"wow, your nose is enormous. and you have a really large forehead"

hange lifts her lips in a smile, and levi gasps as he touches it. he murmurs something like "can i touch it too?"

hange nods, expecting to feel levi's fingertips. instead, she feels his lips on hers

levi's verdict is "not as bad as you've described it"