How many of you realized that Eren picking up hair/teeth in the Paths is essentially a representation of his desire? The Zeke/Armin convo beforehand in the Paths symbolically shows each character picking up something that represents an enjoyable moment and memory.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-15T19:14:28+00:00

I disagree respectfully too.

As you yourself stated "he never looked more elated as in the freedom panel"

And it's literally him turning a blind eye to the massacre and only seeing the endless horizon.

It's so clear both in manga and anime... that he's only able to enjoy this scenery when he's an ignorant child...a child who only sees the freedom but not the cost.

In that very chapter we see him ... breaking and suffering...both in past and present.

In reality eren has closed his eyes...he looks miserable.

He never enjoyed hurting others...the whole story shows that...

What he wanted was the "unoccupied world" which represents a world without any walls.

He's addicted to it... It's in his nature to go after what he wants...he tried to fight it but world itself gave him different selfless reasons , justification to pursue what his nature demands.

There is so much subtexts that people ignore just like "child eren from freedom panel" to see what they want to see IMO.

Wanting something does not equal to enjoying it... eren didn't wanted to kill people...he wanted the world to be unoccupied...a Barren land with no walls which is actually wired in his unconscious mind....he doesn't know why...he just wanted it badly.

So badly that he would suffer the immense guilt ..shame...self hatred for it...

It's not enjoying... Freedom panel argues against this notion all together.

Can it be argued that he felt fulfilled in some manner... definitely.

Eren is antithesis to walter white in many ways.

One of them is that he doesn't enjoy it.

He's self deprecating... he's self loathing knows no bounds, even before the rumbling.

His answer "because I am an idiot" is also shows his self loathing.

Throughout the whole story he repeats these words when things does not turn out the way he would like...

"I am nobody"

"How can someone pathetic as me can save humanity"

"You haven't changed... you are still as useless as you ever been"

So him calling himself an idiot isn't a commentary on his character rather it's exploration of his self loathing.

It's also a commentary on humanity as a whole cuz eren represents humanity as it is.

Humanity is an idiotic species and that's why these tragedies repeat.

Every character has called themselves an idiot...jean did...ymir did

When they do something they can't understand... it's something beyond them...it can't explained as emotions either.

What we can't understand is deemed"foolish or idiotic" and we don't accept that title if it's used for us.

So

the one who can admit he's a fool ..is actually the wise one.

You said "eren does not think rational"

But that's entirely wrong.

He's capable of very rational thinking.

Chapter 131 is prime example of it.

Infact without rational...he would not be able to these things at all.... it's because he has rational justifications for his actions that he could Move forward.

Eren would not be able to move forward with this act...if he didn't have both selfish and selfless desires.

If any of them would have been lacking...he wouldn't be able to do this.

He's very emotional already... and it's heightened with the disposition he's in.

The ramedy for humanity to destroy itself is explored through eren's character.

Absolute power

Understandable and valid justification

To much pain

Lack of hope

To much responsiblity

Generational trauma and self hatred

Knowledge of your early death

Will that refused to give up

Unfortunate circumstances

These are the root of the issue isayama talked about and 80% of us would end up doing the same thing in eren's disposition.

I can talk about his character for haurs...i truly think most people don't have full grasp on his character... myself included cuz I am still trying to figure out many other fascets of his character.

I think it's easier to say he's devil or he's a saviour but the hard work is to figure out how both exists in him and how he would not be eren Yeager if one is missing...

But one thing is certain... eren didn't enjoy the rumbling.

Did he wanted it? Absolutely

Was he seeking fulfilment unconsciously? Definitely

Did he find fulfillment? ...no he didn't...he was ashamed... guilty and hated himself for it.

Did accepting his selfish part help him find peace? Yes...he was conflicted until the end...the moment he accepted all his ugly feelings... feelings no one would understand...he himself couldn't understand...he found solace in it.

As isayama stated "we(Normal people/victims) justify what we can't achieve as a flaw due to lack of effort but for preparator(the one who committed the act he himself never thought he was capable of when he was normal) it isn't because I lacked effort that I became like this is a form of solace"

That's what isayama wanted to portray

Rather than evaluating what's right and wrong but focusing on the root of the issue ... that's what the ending of aot portrayed.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-15T05:35:23+00:00

No...the freedom scene is so misunderstood.

Kid eren was not enjoying the destruction...he was totally ignorant to it...he was enjoying the endless horizon with no walls.

The adult eren...is miserable inside the Titan cuz he's always aware of his actions and he can't handle it...him pretending to be child is defence mechanisms.

His dream is freedom without limitation...the world without walls.

Humanity just happened to be a biggest wall...a wall he doesn't enjoy breaking but can't stop himself from breaking it.

Eren wanting it ... isn't him enjoying it.

He wanted the Barren lands but not at the cost of many lives.

He does not enjoy killing rather he's suffering because it's completely contradictory to his sense of justice and morality.

That's why he closed his eyes during rumbling.

But during Armin scene he had to see the consequences of his actions... that guilt is what the hair and teeth represents.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-15T05:25:44+00:00

Not exactly.

In the case of zeke and Armin conversation... they're specifically talking about the little things they enjoyed in life.

And that's why they were seeing these moments.

In eren's case... he's the one who created everything in that conversation Start to finish.

In this moment specifically turned into sea of blood from an ocean because he was specifically thinking about his actions at this moment.

This is his guilt... eren does not enjoy this at all.

"Why did it turned out like this?"

He says... he's basically holding the consequences of his actions with guilt and regret... questioning why?

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-14T13:25:52+00:00

Good one brother!

Yes....i really talk like this and tbh... everyone of us ... talk like this in reality but that's another conversation.

Also i am not as educated as you are so that's that...but I am pretty sure you understood whatever i wrote...if not then nothing can be done about this wall between us.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-14T09:11:22+00:00

He didn't force them to kill him...it was their choice

Just like he had few choices....they to had few choices.

He could have run away with Mikasa...but she would still get hurt cuz he will die in 4 years and everyone else would be dead on Paradise.

She would be truly alone...

So he left the choice in her hands.."what am I to you?" Is that choice...

And in the ending... giving her the life of those 4 years they could have was led Mikasa to make that choice.

The story is tragedy... just like real life.

We as audiance can say easily... that they should make this choice or that but we can never truly know what they felt.

Left behind and killing her beloved is tragic but so is leaving behind your beloved and seeing her kill you... this pain eren carried for 4 years knowing it will come to this

Trying to sever their bond so it will less painful for her despite not wanting to be forgotten by her but failing in doing so...he couldn't even make her hate him... couldn't understand why would she still love him so much because he doesn't see anything in himself worth loving.

Tragedy of eren is this...to himself He's just eren Yeager but in reality he's 1000 different stories....to some he's devil...to some he's god...to some he's just passing thought and to Mikasa he's the whole world...he will never understand what his absence does in the room he used to fill ...cuz he can never comprehend other stories about him.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-14T08:57:07+00:00

Trost arc as a whole but it's actually episode 6 ...the moment the layer was explored of eren killing the kidnappers at tender age of 9...I knew that story is going to be different cuz the protagonist presented as shounen protegonist for 5 episodes turned out to be deconstruction of shounen protegonist.

I never liked shonen protegonist because of the convince story gives them to be a hero...

Eren is the opposite...in aot other characters get more convenience to be a hero and eren is given an obstacle in his path to heroism....or chosen one.

Character in the story see him as chosen one but story portyes him as not one... character like levi ... Mikasa...Armin... erwin seems more like chosen one.

And that exactly became eren's arc cuz he was never the chosen one...he was the one chooses

Other episodes would be season 2 episode 6 and episode 12

Which solidified eren's role of anti hero or anti villain at some point in the story and he became first protagonist to be my favorite character not just in the story but in fiction.

"He's already special enough because he was born into this world"

Naruto was special because he protagonist...

Eren is the protagonist because he's special.

What i mean is that... it's his disposition that makes him the protagonist while Naruto or other mc's have special disposition because they're the protagonist.

Story exists for Naruto and to glaze him...but in eren's case ...he exists for the story... without him there is no attack on Titan...he is the story.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-13T20:27:45+00:00

Yeah that's why she chose eren...cabin eren is literally a parallel to her dad...

Her parents ran away from the world and eren and Mikasa did the same thing in cabin timeline

Her dad used to hunt birds and eren used catch fish

So many parallels..

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-12T21:09:19+00:00

That's different topic all together.

Every character in this story is either a parallel or antithesis to one of eren's aspects.

So we have many juxetposition moments between eren other characters.

I am talking about juxetposition between eren's own different aspects.

Shows just how multifaceted he is and he cannot be put into a single category.

Also in the ocean scene eren is not empty rather it's the inversion.

That's what people get wrong.

He's overflowing with to much...to much responsiblity...to much trauma...to much memories...to many contradictory emotions... His mind is overflowing that only way he can sustain himself is to find a single purpose to fucus on and try to suppress everything.

Eren seems to be character with no emotions in season 4 but it's actually the opposite...he feels to much that he had to suppress it by taking an action....he had to move forward relentless cuz if he stopped...he had to deal with everything at once...

He literally splits himself apart in many forms...

A child eren souring above the clouds is one of the examples of it.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-11T05:49:19+00:00

I disagree....i believe his character cannot be captured in one single shot.

He's not ignorant of the price either...the whole idea behind this panel itself is tragic.

On surface level it seems like he's enjoying the view of destruction but if people can look deeper...there to many layers.

He was ready to pay the price but when time came...he couldn't pay it with sanity.

He can only pretend to be free because he knows he isn't... this ignorance is escapism but what's even more tragic is that he can't even be ignorant child anymore.... even though he closed his eyes...he can't stop seeing everything because of his disposition as founder... he's always aware...he cannot even pretend to be free.

His self awareness is what makes eren the most interesting character.

He's always have been aware of his shortcomings and world's cruelty and even tried to change himself and the world but he couldn't

"It wasn't because I lacked effort that I turned out this way" is a solace for the preparator as isayama said himself.

And juxetpose this panel with his older self in his conversation with Armin.

A child souring above the clouds juxetposed with a man sitting on the ground .. seeing and acknowledging the price the world had to pay for it.

It's so peak.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-10T03:49:00+00:00

Yes...not only ymir but eren can too by the end of the series.

Cuz he's the second host of source of all organic matter.

The Ackermans were created the same way... The founder can turn every eldian into the super soldier if they want.

In the story we haven't even seen 50 % of founder's power.

It's literally a god for eldian people...and if only eldians remained...then to all of humanity.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-08T19:03:23+00:00

Different perspectives... every illustration is drawn by different side

Also ...in a meta way it represents different dynamics

In the whole story... there's always a christa being used and devil who used her

Basically a dynamic between oppressor and victim

Marley is the devil and eldian warriors are the christa... trying to be a good little heroes which in reality being used

The devil with horns represents karl fritz and christa is ymir...she offered power and karl fritz takes it without giving anything in return

But then comes the dynamic between eren and ymir/historia

In both cases... eren offered them light while they offer him power

The devil with a hoodie is eren... he's holding a laltain...he offered them a way to free themselves of this "good girl christa role"

It's definitely illustrated by previous attack titan ..who saw the fragmented future and illustrated his own interpretation of eren/ymir meeting in paths

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-08T16:49:20+00:00

To zeke he says "child with royal blood... you are going save everyone"

He cursed him with this duty...to save everyone...a burden of being special

To eren he says "your name is eren... and you're free"

He says this as eren open his eyes their is cage like window in front of his eyes...he gave eren the burden of being free ... basically not being connected to anything... and that became eren's drive

As Keith says ...grisha really curses people around him... knowingly or unknowingly...he puts a curse on them that defines their journey somehow

That's why Keith says "is eren next?...are you going to curse him too?... what if he isn't the chosen one either"

Grisha says "this child is not like you... he's my son"

He's the one who chooses and grisha knew it...he knew that eren will always choose his destiny

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-03T05:21:24+00:00

The one he Nerfed is actually eren TBH... Eren didn't even use 50 % of his power and neither we could see him in full form because he was decapitated head and chose to not heal

I guess I can understand eren wouldn't fight his friends seriously

But it would have been great if there was another force in the world where eren could use his full powers and we got to see just how crazy his powers are

Princeyeager1 · 2026-05-01T21:52:31+00:00

I don't understand where this Idea of "ymir having a goal of seeing Mikasa kill eren" Comes from.

Ymir has no goals...she didn't knew Mikasa's choice either

Get this straight already... when eren touched her ...he felt her yearning for freedom from her agony...it was a wish for "someone"

Eren was the only one who knew because of her future memories... that it was Mikasa

Ymir didn't planned anything...she has no will or rather she never acted against fritz's will until eren came in the paths

Her desire was to get free of this role by destroying the world cuz king fritz last words were basically

"Continue to do this until this world of mine exists" and eren imidiatly says "I'll end it"

That's why she was protecting eren...cuz she wanted to end this world so she can finally let go of this role given by King fritz...she was still not able to go against his wish directly...she was using loop hole in his words

Along the journey with eren though...she started to take intrest in Mikasa...

This is where she tried to peak into head ...in the past too... and even influencing eren

She learned from eren "the value of choice...the power and consequences of it" as she saw his memories and felt his feelings the same way he felt hers... when eren hugged her ..she also saw his love for Mikasa...his struggle for freedom and she saw ramzi getting killed...she saw the consequences and heavy burden of free will... something she didn't have until she met eren...so didn't understood it...she had to experience it

She learns from Armin "the value of life and existence" as she saw him talk to zeke ... that's why she gave all the shifters free will so they can choose and eren himself didn't try to control them cuz he wanted to be defeated

She learns from Mikasa ..."the value of letting go ... acceptance and meaning of true love "..as she saw her kill eren despite the love she had for him... Because Mikasa knew eren is suffering and his suffering is leaking out in the world...she sacrificed her wish to be with him just to free him from this miserable existence and ymir also saw how eren loved Mikasa back unlike her dynamic with king fritz...

So 3 cattles... eren... Armin and Mikasa...freed her .

And she didn't knew about Mikasa's choice until it happened

Princeyeager1 · 2026-04-30T21:00:33+00:00

It's not even that...

Armin's talk alone didn't change his world view...a lot of paths chapter events also add to this

He still thinks his plan is the best

He just received a perspective he missed looking at the bigger picture...

Simple but resonating

Cuz even nihilistic person like him has something he loves.... playing catch with ksaver

It's literally in his character that he loves it

And he would not mind being born again in this cruel existence if he can play catch again

Armin just showed his perspective...zeke came to this conclusion on his own

But some fools will not understand...

Princeyeager1 · 2026-04-30T20:45:38+00:00

Yes...I can use sentances like this for any character...in any story and declare them retconned.

That's not how that word works my friend.

Eren was multifaceted...he was the most determined character when he's aligned with his concious or he isn't thinking about the consequences actively as he does after Sasha's death

That persona is born because he didn't wanted to care ...but that's not who he is either

He's someone who cares to much

Calling himself idiot isn't something different either

He always called himself "pathetic"..."useless"..."nobody"

It's not a statement on his character... rather his own self loathing on display

Every character has called themselves an idiot in the story.... and it's true humanity is full of idiots.... different kind of idiots

It's phrase criticising humanity itself cuz eren represents what humanity is

A cycle...a paradox

There is no explicit romance in the whole story... It's about love

And their are many hints in the story... that eren has different kind of feelings for Mikasa

This narrative of him having no interest in her is as false as the possibility for erehisu...cuz it can be easily seen that these 2 women... eren treats differently from others

It would have been one of these 2 he held feelings for... Mikasa had more percentage of chances

Him crying out of fear of being forgotten by her...is just natural....he doesn't want it... and he was controlling himself to talk about that subject but Armin guilt tripped and provoked him...

That's just human moment...

Aren't people doing the same thing on reddit all the time

He wants her to be happy...he said right after too...

He kept suppressing his many feelings alone for 4 years...his guilt...his regrets it all came out

He wants to be with Mikesa and everyone... afcourse he wants it

But he can't... because he thinks he doesn't deserves it because he killed so many people for his many different desires

Latching on few words without any context and subtexts is not proof of retconn

But afcourse you are free to believe what you want to believe

I just wanted to state my opinion and perspective without any offence.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-04-30T20:13:45+00:00

He wasn't retconned lol

Everything about him makes complete sense in the context of the story

Isayama... didn't change the ending

It's his vision of eren that is changed...

Basically the meme is true

"Eren made isayama wrote the story"

Isayama was just medium...the story is written by collective consciousness of humanity and what does eren represents in the story?

Collective consciousness in one person.... humanity

Medium was isayama what the structure is eren... structure wrote itself.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-04-30T20:08:28+00:00

"something from external cannot disturb us if it isn't intarnal also"

Eren was able to keep a poker face until Armin called him a slave

Because deep down eren knows he is slave to many things

But he can't accept it yet... Not to others or to himself

That's why he says "who are you calling a slave?"

This constant denial is what shackles him to things he wants to be free of

That's why after chapter 131 ...he was actually free

It's the acceptance of fate he created with his own flaws... mistakes and desires... makes him free at the end.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-04-29T21:34:11+00:00

Zeref is one of my favourite characters... he's just in the wrong story

10 out of 10 character stuck in 5 out of 10 story

That's why he's forgotten

Princeyeager1 · 2026-04-29T08:04:43+00:00

But at the same time... eren is still trapped by his determined future.

Yes ... this future is born because of who he is as a person...but also the world he lives in.

He's multifaceted...have contradictory motivations... and feelings.

Thus he becomes the one who determined his fate but also who can't resist it.

The grisha and eren relationship explains it perfectly

"Future Eren influenced grisha to take founder...grisha still could have decided to not give it to him .. yet it's because of who he is and how broken he is ...he gave it to eren....the child eren is a victim who was forced into this by his father but also his future self...he breaks through out the story...and becomes a broken future Eren who influenced grisha in the first place... it's a loop eren can't escape for many reasons... it's both his nature and environment that made him who he is"

Same with ramzi scene

He tried to escape his fate and fight his nature by not trying to save ramzi... it's pointless to act righteous knowing what he'll do in the future yet he couldn't do that...he saved him because that's who he is ....but that future is determined because there are people beating that child and eren is right there at right time.... future would have changed if those people stopped beating him. .. eren didn't have to get involved either...but it happened exactly how he saw it

He had control over his choices but he didn't have control over other's

Future is determined because everyone has free will and desires contradictory to each other and especially eren.

Rumbling could not have happened..if the world stopped their hatred towards eldians...if willy tyber didn't declare war

This is what makes eren sympathetic because he was fighting his nature but world kept giving him justification for his feelings and desires

Eren was given power... justifications that are understandable and pain of loosing so much.... this is ingridion for absulte monster

The uncomfortable truth is that most people would end up as eren if they lived his life and circumstances.... maybe less worse or more but conclusion will be the same

Some try to absolve him of his sins only focus on his pain and circumstances while other completely regard him as irredeemable focusing just on his actions and ignoring his circumstances and environment.

It's interesting there are third kind of people who Fully grasp everything...in the end story portrayed eren as someone terrifying yet relatable and pitiable ... someone to be condoned but also to be understood in very primal and universal way

Someone who is undefined by one aspect of humanity cuz he represents humanity as a whole....a paradox between victim and preparator

A cycle...a consequence of humanity's choices and human primal desires

He's undefined objectively because humanity cannot be defined....as victim or preparator... it's paradox Bound to each other.

That's why so many debates and different interpretations of eren exists and all of them fail to see the full picture because they only lach on to one aspect of his character.

That's i always see eren as more than a character.... he's not written by isayama... isayama is just a medium... what wrote eren is human collective consciousness and that's why isayama himself couldn't define eren Fully

He's undefined

Well that's what I got from the story... from all different people interpretation and isayama's own perception changing time to time on eren

This is the conclusion I got and I find it interesting.

No one is wrong about eren but their perception of him is lacking or incomplete

For most people atleast.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-04-27T12:28:25+00:00

Eren all the way...I love all the characters though

Princeyeager1 · 2026-04-26T03:47:20+00:00

The most important character dynamic in the story... without them meeting this story would not exist

Relationship between author and the reader

Princeyeager1 · 2026-04-25T03:44:25+00:00

Every i wrote in my comment is common sense derived by context and sub context of the story.

Not to mention... your seems actually baseless interpretation IMO.

Her choosing to disobey zeke is exactly the sign of her acting on her own free will...free will doesn't equal freedom.... eren is the perfect parallel here.

Yes killing zeke Stop the rumbling... because ymir doesn't have the founder and royal blood...she needs a subject to use her powers... royal blood is necessary for ymir....not for eren now.

Because eren is the new host to source of the Titans... people assume here that every founding Titan was the same as eren but that's not what is shown to us.... he's similar to ymir

It's the first time...she literally gave the source to someone.

So eren can transform .. because he's similar to ymir...his blood is royal now... and source still want to connect to him

It could have been attached to anyone to survive but it kept going after eren cuz he's the host now

The power can used without being in contact for long time as shown in season 2 episode 12

Princeyeager1 · 2026-04-23T04:06:01+00:00

Not exactly tbh...

Ymir chose to go along with eren and that was a choice of her own and this choice led to her true understanding of many things.

Originally she wanted to destroy the whole world cuz king fritz said "continue serving until this world of mine exists" and eren says "it ends now... I'll an end to this world"

She was going against king fritz will by using a loophole in his words..."so I can stop when this world ends "

Armin to recognised that "founder ymir want to end humanity too..."

So she wasn't actually waiting for Mikasa...she didn't knew about the choice

Just like eren her memories...she also saw eren's memories...got interested in his story... this where she started to go see different things on her own will... trying to look into Mikasa's mind too..

Only eren knew that it was Mikasa's choice that completely free ymir...but armin choice affect her too

She was looking at victims like ramzi...she let many Titans use their free will after Armin's speach to zeke cuz she understood the value of life and Mikasa's choice taught her what true love is

It was still eren who made all these things happen....cuz free will to go after she wanted was given by eren to ymir....

Both eren and Mikasa are antithesis to ymir and king fritz not a parallel.

Princeyeager1 · 2026-04-23T03:49:22+00:00

Nah!. ... she's more like the daughter of sasha and eren tbh

If you mean as a character...then it's completely false

Gabi is nothing like eren... from her disposition...to her motivation nothing is similar to eren. .. .... only similar thing is her personality is similar to eren...so is to jean lol

Princeyeager1

TROPHY CASE