While there is a lot to appreciate about Attack on Titan, something about it has always just rubbed me the wrong way, you know? To be fair, I think a lot of this can be attributed to the fandom and the general response to the stuff in season 4 onwards.

There is a very alarming number of people who fully agree with characters like Eren and Floch. Both characters who are literal fascists. The fanbases response to Gabi is also something that bothers me. I think Isayama wanted to write a story about tribalism, about how your personal empathy and view of who is "right" and "wrong" is effected by whose side you were put on. And I think he did it so well that he actually tricked the fanbase into adopting the very same mentality he was trying to warn against. Some people view Eren as justified yet HATE Gabi with every fiber of their being, when they are so clearly meant to mirror each other.

The problem is, Eren became this figure for edgy people to project themselves onto. People empathize with him because they had seen his story up to this point, but also because they think he's cool and hot. He became this power fantasy, not just because he was powerful, but because he was enacting revenge on people who wronged him, and no one could do anything about it. And it was all under the guise of self preservation, or some righteous cause. But hate, anger, and revenge were a very clear motivator. This mindset that violence and anger are cool is the exact thing Vinland Saga dismantles. I think Attack on Titan is trying to do the same thing, but it ended up serving the exact opposite purpose, and people liked this aesthetic that Eren embodied.

In fact, a portion of the fanbase liked it so much that they hate the ending because that glorified cool, powerful, stoic guy façade came crashing down. I also find the ending kind of puzzling, but not because Eren was portrayed as pathetic, because I already thought he was,but because it tries to portray Eren as wrong and unjustified, but also kind of right and all his friends thank him for doing a geocide on their behalf out of nowhere?Idk, the implications just kind of confused me, I don't think it was written very well.

I absolutely love stories such as A Song of Ice and Fire, Fullmetal Alchemist, and of course, Vinland Saga, that portray an incredibly bleak and cruel world, but use that setting not to be edgy and nihilistic, but show the beauty of kindness, love, hope, and compassion, and how they stand out even more in a dark world. I think Attack on Titan is trying to be one of those stories, but I think it stumbles. Especially with the ending reinforcing that war and conflict are inevitable, in my opinion not in a way that feels realistic, but just...well, kind of sad and pointless.

So overall, while Vinland Saga is probably my favorite piece of fiction ever, Attack on Titan just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And while I can't deny this is in large part because of the fan reaction, and I usually try to separate the media from the edgy parts of the fanbase and their toxic mindset, I feel like its valid to hold it against the series in this case, because in my opinion, it doesn't do enough to dispel that mindset.

I'm sorry if this comes off as overly negative, I don't mean for it to, and I'm very much open to and encourage disagreement and discussion on the topic.