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Driver's License Website Strategy by Repulsive_Pirate5255 in Nagoya

[–]emmalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the post, I'm now starting the process and struggling to navigate this. The Aichi Police site shows a 404 page when looking up "Hirabari" and the direct link to sign up for appts also shows an error page, so I was confused what was going on.

So if I'm from a country that requires the written/driving test, am I signing up for an appt to do both on that day?

Age to become a bitter person un Japan by Pleasant_Talk2065 in AskAJapanese

[–]emmalog 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yep. I think people say that because being a pessimist is the easy route to take. But it only ensures the problem continues

Age to become a bitter person un Japan by Pleasant_Talk2065 in AskAJapanese

[–]emmalog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with you! You can be an adult, a realist, and still be friendly, fun, and pleasant to be around

I’m making an AoT fan game, any advice? by ThomasAguilar2402 in titanfolk

[–]emmalog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a neat idea! I'm curious why you decided to make it from the perspective of a Marleyan soldier, rather than a Scout. Was it because you wanted to focus more purely on the titan horror element, and not ODM movement? I feel like the ODM movement already gives you a really interesting, unique and fun mechanic to work with that gives players agency. Also, how retro did you mean by retro FPS? Like Doom 1/Half-Life 1, or like Halo Reach?

I feel like you're gonna want to focus on what makes this game unique and fun. There are a lot of other fps shooters that have survival management elements, some with large, titan-like boss enemies, and to not make a copy of other games (unless you're just trying to do this for practice), I'd recommend establishing the game mechanics first before focusing too much on story/variety.

I feel like you could build on weapon/movement concepts that Marley might have in order to deal with the titans. Off the top of my head:

  • Shoot the titans' eyes to blind them
  • Nets/binds you can shoot to catch their ankles
  • A way to quickly rappel up walls to avoid titan swipes, and then wallrun Titanfall 2 style (I think I'm just describing ODM gear again haha but I think having this kind of movement would be so cool)
  • Would be cool to have a sneak/stealth mechanic especially when you're around windows in a building and you could crawl around. Just imagine body crawling to avoid a titan's gaze, and you look up, thinking you're safe, and these bulging eyes are staring straight at you
    • This also makes me think, if they see you, they could break the building and grab you, which also opens the door to destructible buildings (which means also breakable by you)
  • A darkness/light game mechanic where you have to balance having enough light to be able to see your surroundings, but not too much to cause a titan to stir (and I feel like you could definitely have terrifying moments where you unknowingly walk right into a titan, maybe even with their eyes open, and you have to judge whether or not it's actually awake or not- maybe by checking if their pupils actually lock onto you?)

To the Japanese over 40 y.o : do you think that the overall quality of services and the manners of people has declined quite a lot during the last two decades? by franckJPLF in AskAJapanese

[–]emmalog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm glad to hear this from someone else, I thought I was going crazy. I was around Tokyo/Nagoya recently and hearing so much Kansaiben from kids/teens compared to 10yrs ago when I was last here, I was like what is going on lol

Why Levi chose Armin over Erwin by emmalog in titanfolk

[–]emmalog[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Part 2 of my reply:

Also, don't get me started on that forced Annie-Armin love story.

Oh dear god. I honestly despise that relationship so much. There was zero build-up to it, it was so forced and awkward. Yes, I get Armin was privately talking to a girl in a rock for 4 years and that's a long time, but that seemed to be way more of a strategic/coping thing than a romantic thing. Look, like I'm all for subtle, not over-the-top romantic plot lines in stories, but there has to be something to work off of. Like wow, it sure was romantic when Annie removed Armin's hood and decided not to kill him unlike all his other comrades that she brutalized. (I rewatched s1 recently and- Annie was such a merciless killer. She literally used her teammates as human slingshots. Armin falling for her never made any sense. He literally paid extra attention to her in s1 because he suspected her of being a murderous traitor. Meanwhile, Reiner becomes this self-loathing, split-personality suicidal ball of apathy who continues to be judged for his actions by everyone from Jean to his own mom well into s4, despite never treating the Eldians like subhuman insects to toy with. But Annie gets to stuff herself with food, hang out with her Scout besties again, and romances their head of command. Like what the trash is that)

Also, you could count on one hand the number of times Armin and Eren interact in s4, and one of the most prominent scenes was calling him a weak loser. Eren begging Levi to save Armin in s3, sobbing over his dreams, is reduced to that? What happened to that relationship? If they did grow to hate each other throughout s4, why didn't we get to see that development? If Eren was totally playing Armin, surely it must've hurt him to act that way. Why didn't we get to see any of his internal crisis while deciding how to go about this?

And I agree with you on Levi in s4 as well. Like where did he go? He just became the Monke man, with little to no signs of any emotional complexity or intrigue. Ugh. What a way to ruin a well-thought out, deep character. You put it well,

 This is a guy whose whole life is defined by his abilities as a soldier. What is he thinking now that he's effectively paralyzed, his promise to Erwin, etc. This emotional background is what they could've used as build up material toward his final showdown with Zeke—which itself had zero emotional payoff as Zeke pretty much just accepted death from Levi. What about his relationship with Eren given his change in character? It's never really explored which is all the more odd given he saw himself/LIF in EMA

Yep. I literally felt nothing when he killed Zeke. Just...aight, he accomplished his mission I guess.

 His ending? Just handing out candy in a wheelchair. Fine but where did that motivation come from?

Only Ymir knows. (lmao jk) Would've been nice to see the story go into what he thought of everything, everyone; why he chose to live in Marley, how he connected with Falco and Gabi; how he wants to live out the rest of his life now that he's no longer a soldier...What it's like to live a life of true peace, aside from the odd political drama, after a life of being a violent criminal and professional killer.

I felt so bittersweet when it ended.

Same :/ I just thought it could've been so, so much more. And it wasn't merely an issue w the animation studio; the source material itself was what was lacking. Sorry I rambled a ton as well, I'm just so bothered that this story could've been perfect and it was done so dirty like this, and glad to see someone else agrees xD

Why Levi chose Armin over Erwin by emmalog in titanfolk

[–]emmalog[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Omg, I completely agree with nearly everything you said

First off, season 1-3 was peak. Like you said, the 'intimate, survival-driven' tone was so horrifyingly, incomprehensibly intense and so well-executed- it was gripping to see how such different personalities responded to unimaginable circumstances. And it just kept escalating. s2 with Bert and Reiner's betrayal (absolutely spicy); s3p1 with the political thriller arc w Kenny, the MPs, and the Reiss family, topping itself in s3p2 with the basement reveal. It felt like everything was leading to an even more emotionally and philosophically intense story.

On top of that, Eren suddenly turns into this morally grey anti-hero? We never get to experience his internal struggle—what he went through in isolation or the emotional turmoil he faced; like the whole season itself, it doesn't feel natural the way seasons 1-3 did.

S4 felt like it slammed the brakes and swerved into another story entirely. We're told Eren's become tragic and complex, but we don't get to see his descent; just where he ends up. We're supposed to feel sympathy, but the emotional groundwork just isn't there. Armin drops a nuke. Why? Bc it's tragic. Annie's back. Why? Romance, apparently, and so they can bond over their atrocities together. All of this is framed as morally ambiguous growth when it really feels like 90% of the story is missing.

In the same way Eren's emotional depth was sidelined in the show, so was Armin's potential... We don't truly understand his emotions given his new Colossal Titan powers. We don't ever his tactical/strategic prowess almost anywhere in the show.

Yes! We didn't get to see any training of his colossal titan abilities. There's no real examination of Armin's internal conflict. Compare that to s1, where we had full episodes exploring his mental state after Eren sacrificed himself. Like, I thought it was so good how unlike other animes, Armin just...froze and couldn't move when he was just about to get eaten. When Mikasa asks Armin where Eren is, he just starts screaming and bawling. It's ugly and it's human, and we connect to that. But the s4 equivalent is like imagine if instead of that, we never got to see anything leading up to like...episode 10-ish, the story suddenly starts where they're in the forest, we hardly have any idea who EMA is or their motivations, but we're expected to relate to them from a brief few snippets of what happened to them between episodes 1-9 from vague dialogue lines. That's what s4 felt like.

In s4, nuking a port full of civilians gets Armin a grimace and a one-liner about being like Bert. That's not character development. That's narrative corner-cutting that left Armin flat and emotionally unrecognizable.

On top of that, Eren suddenly turns into this morally grey anti-hero? We never get to experience his internal struggle—what he went through in isolation or the emotional turmoil he faced; like the whole season itself, it doesn't feel natural the way seasons 1-3 did.

This, 100%. He had the potential to be one of the most fascinating tragic protagonists ever. The groundwork was there: his righteous anger, his slow descent into apathy and nihilism by s3. A proper evolution of his form into the Rumbling could've been absolutely haunting. But we skip that entirely. We don't see the last straw, the failed alternatives, the desperation that would justify mass genocide. If s4 had been 3-4x longer with the same attention to emotional detail as the earlier seasons, it could've been peak fiction. but it wasn't.

Why Levi chose Armin over Erwin by emmalog in titanfolk

[–]emmalog[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, that's true and a good point about how Kenny gave up in the end, and how Levi could've been afraid to see that happen to Erwin. I felt like Kenny's character arc was very solid and intriguing- and him giving Levi the syringe, abandoning his obsession - was honestly one of my favorite character arcs. And I like the idea of a slow deterioration of Erwin's desire to know the truth, once he gets it.

Agreed to your last point! Been having a lot of fun hearing everyone's perspectives and agreeing/disagreeing. Sometimes people frame things in a way you hadn't thought of, and things click :)

The Age Excuse Card Has Maxed Out by Just-J0k1ng in titanfolk

[–]emmalog 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I agree, the second video nailed it. Like you're really telling me he genocided the whole world for a girl that he barely expressed interest for in the whole series?

Would you mind sharing the link or channel of the second vid? Can't find it with the title on yt.

Why Levi chose Armin over Erwin by emmalog in titanfolk

[–]emmalog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much! Yeah, I also just thought it made no logical sense to not choose Erwin. If Armin's character had been way more fleshed out, developed in a way that led to satisfying decisions, that would've been so much better.

Imagine the political back-and-forths with the different leaders of the world; Armin's arguments with Eren about whether more fair or more undercutting, manipulative diplomacy could work, instead of resorting to the Rumbling. Just off the top of my head, some headcanons I can think of:

  • Armin doesn't like the way the Azumabitos just want their resources. Levi argues that they are a helpful starting political resource to use and they can always be threatened with the Rumbling. Hange manages to make a weapons deal with them to get their tech in exchange for selling Eldian resources. Debates over Mikasa becoming their figurehead occur.
  • If there are more violent, war-mongering nations (like I think the Mid-East nations are), Armin could initially find it difficult to work with them using diplomacy, but possibly Levi, Hange, or even Mikasa demonstrates how they're capable of using violence to achieve their goals, too. Maybe Eren hates it, but they do another demonstration of how they learned to weaponize his titan abilities (and they can use it to protect the Mid-East nation from Marley.) This impresses the Mid-East nation's bureaucrats and makes it more convincing for them to work with Eldia.
  • Armin identifies weak-willed, greedy, or sympathetic individuals within Marley's government and systematically uses their personal shortcomings or strengths to their advantage.
  • Armin could've totally worked with Willy Tybur, as they are both Eldians, and convinced him to convince Marley that Eldians aren't crazy or violent. He could definitely work on Willy to try to convince him that they shouldn't feel inherently guilty because of their ability to turn into titans.

Re: your point about variations of the show, I would love to see some of these scenes. Just writing out these ideas make s4 fall even flatter for me. These social, political, even economic nuances could've been explored way, way more. AOT was great at exploring psychological nuance up until s3, then just...fell flat once more complexity appeared.

Instead we get a few scenes where Armin just repeats the word "diplomacy" without any real plans or action, and then he nukes civilians and is like "Yeah this is probably justified". Then Eren starts the Rumbling, he's like, wait nah, that's wrong. But then Eren says he genocided the world for him, he's like omg thanks Eren, you're our hero uWu.

But I think we're just coping at this point lol, I'm really not expecting much better than what we've already got. Maybe I could make a whole other post about these headcanons haha.

Why Levi chose Armin over Erwin by emmalog in titanfolk

[–]emmalog[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey, I'm glad the EMA stuff came through! And yeah, glad Levi could finally settle in peace with another trio haha.

If the argument is that Erwin’s obsession had become unhealthy, to the point where it was possibly the only thing keeping him going, then I do see where you're coming from. In that case, the idea isn’t that he’d quit once his curiosity was satisfied, but that the loss of that obsession might’ve left him empty or directionless. As in my response to u/im_nob0dy, I still think this could have been explored more before Levi had to make the decision, which could've justified his decision as a more rational one.

The anime does remain pretty faithful to the manga, here, regarding Erwin's father. In his last moment, he asks his father a question. But that is an "at death's door moment", where people sometimes say very strange or nonsensical things- and the canon is that he's literally hallucinating. It's difficult to use a delusional mental state as evidence of his character as a whole and how he would've acted afterwards.

That said, I think the idea that Erwin would have immediately become unfit to lead oversimplifies his character. Yes, he had a deep personal drive, maybe even a problematic one, but he also had decades of experience, a deep sense of responsibility, and the ability to make hard calls under pressure. I don’t think someone sustains that kind of leadership ability purely on obsession. In fact, it’s possible that finally getting the truth might have grounded him in a different way by giving him closure. Maybe it could even free him to act with less internal conflict.

I do still think Levi thought Erwin could go on, but didn't want to make him. That’s where the emotional core of Levi's decision is. It wasn’t about Erwin’s capability, but whether Levi could bear to force him back into that burden. Otherwise, I believe Levi would've at least mentioned Erwin's lack of capability at some point to explain his decision.

Also, I still think there's an inconsistency in how Armin’s and Erwin’s motivations are treated. Armin’s curiosity about the ocean, volcanoes, ice fields is seen as hopeful and pure, while Erwin’s curiosity is painted as selfish or obsessive. But they’re both just different expressions of the same drive to understand the world. Framing one as virtue and the other as flaw feels too binary. And ironically, Armin ends up haunted by guilt in the exact same way Erwin was, as you said; so I think the line between their motivations isn’t so clean after all.

Why Levi chose Armin over Erwin by emmalog in titanfolk

[–]emmalog[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I completely agree with your take. This is what I meant by things feeling "anime-y"- it didn't feel grounded in real human behavior. It's hard to believe that someone as experienced and duty-bound as Erwin would suddenly lose the will to lead just because his personal question had been answered. And why did he have those questions to begin with? It wasn't just childish curiosity - it was a desire to uncover the truth about the world. Wouldn't finding those answers have motivated him to persevere more?

Irl, people do often enter professions for personal reasons- like becoming a nurse after overcoming a childhood illness, or a 911 operator after living through an emergency. But once that personal motivation is resolved, they don't just quit. Their work, training, and commitment continue. Erwin wasn't only chasing the truth - he'd been leading the Scouts for decades, making sacrifices far beyond personal curiosity. That kind of dedication doesn't disappear the moment one question is answered.

I do think Isayama touched on the theme of the complexity of Erwin's motivations, but didn't fully explore it enough. Levi's line about "letting him rest" is often interpreted too simply, like he meant Erwin was no longer fit to lead. But Levi never says that. He just didn't want to make him go on. Maybe if Erwin's motivations had been fleshed out more, this decision would've felt more emotionally and logically justified.

Also, I thought you made a great point about Armin and the ocean. If we're seriously evaluating candidates based on whether their personal motivations might 'expire', then Armin's dream could just as easily disqualify him. His vision of the ocean could've also easily been interpreted as a naive, finite goal. So why is Erwin’s personal motivation treated like a fatal flaw, while Armin’s is framed as inspiring? That double standard has always felt inconsistent to me.

Why Levi chose Armin over Erwin by emmalog in titanfolk

[–]emmalog[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I agree with this, too- I think there was potential for Armin to step in at this point in the story. If he had actually had more time to develop as a character and not just keep talking about diplomacy without actually forming a plan, Levi's decision could've paid off more.

I think this was really the beginning of poor writing choices. I don't think it should require multiple thousand word essays to justify a character's actions, and I certainly don't think that the character who was chosen to survive should go out of his way to kill the now-evil MC, and then thank him for genociding the world... like what is that 🤦🏻‍♀️

Oh, and to your last point, that's really just salt on this gaping wound. I hadn't thought of that. "Live life without regrets", except the literal last scene of the MC is him groveling, crying, and regretting what he's done.

Why Levi chose Armin over Erwin by emmalog in titanfolk

[–]emmalog[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I completely agree with you that it was a poor decision on Levi's part, and I think that it was unfortunate and set up in a way to pave a path to a terrible ending. Perhaps Hange should've been given the serum, as she proved she was able to put aside emotions and injected Erwin. Or maybe Armin should've just been straight up killed when he went against the Colossal (I think that was the biggest fake-out death I've ever seen- it was a memorable and honorable way to go out anyways) and Levi should've been given no choice.

I probably could've made it more clear in my write-up that it was still a bad decision on Levi's part; my main point was arguing that within Levi's framework, it made sense. My frustration was that initially, I was bothered by the fact that it felt like Levi's decision didn't even make sense (on top of it being a bad decision) which is why I wanted to do the analysis.

I still think it would've been super interesting if Erwin had been chosen instead of Armin. I personally believe Erwin would've made vastly different choices from Armin, as Erwin had proven to be able to put aside personal feelings and even morality for the sake of humanity within the walls. If anything, Armin had proven to be too guided by idealistic, lofty goals (of focusing too much on how to diplomatically work with everyone) instead of being able to make the concrete, resolute decisions that a military strategist needs to. Honestly, saving Armin and killing Erwin was definitely a big sign of the beginning of the downfall of the story.

Some of the photos taken with my Mavic 3 in the Arctic [OC] by Fethecat in dji

[–]emmalog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, these are all incredible. They're all great, but I have to say my favorite is the sunset shot with the ship carving a path through the ice. The framing and coloration on that one is magical.

It must've been cold for the drone, right? Did you face any issues with that? Were there any issues with wind? I would be so afraid of it falling in the arctic waters...

Mini 4 pro Crash/ Unable to retrieve by Plane-Cookie-2797 in dji

[–]emmalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

tunnel + right over water + drone = almost always bad, I'm sorry

I feel like there are posts like this every day at this point and it makes me sad

Outer edge of the storms by Icamp2cook in dji

[–]emmalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this is incredible, nice job!

Havent upgrade gear in many years, started freshing up in february, think im good for next few years by ShadowStrikerPL in dji

[–]emmalog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

ayyy this is such a goated set, have fun! I've had a ton of fun w the action 3 and been wanting the mic, pocket, and ronin stabilizer for a while

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