“What I did was wrong…I’m not going to ask you to forgive me after all that’s happened…There’s one thing…just one thing i want to ask of you. I don’t care if you make the entire world your enemy. Even if every other creature alive comes to hate you, your father will always be on your side. So please, promise me that you’ll come back!”

Parenting is a rough job, but are there times where parents stop and think about how their children can be capable of being cruel? Case in point - a young teenage girl who committed tons of bloodshed for a cause personally worth fighting for. Attack on Titan’s second story arc focused on a Female Titan that was determined to kidnap the main character, Eren Jaeger, for the sake of killing mankind. Her story reflects a world where society forces people to be more individualistic and possibly fall into ruin.

HUGE SPOILER ALERT after the jump for fans not familiar with Titan or starting out with the series.

The Female Titan is a Titan-Shifter sent to spy inside the walls to bring destruction to humanity. Her Titan form debuted in Volume 5/Episode 17 as she attacks several members of the Survey Corps during the 57th Expedition outside the walls. She manages to be a handful, as many of the soldiers didn’t know how to handle a Titan that had the intelligence of a human being. A trap was laid for her inside a big forest, but the Female Titan manages to escape and kidnaps Eren. She was momentarily taken down by both Levi and Mikasa Ackerman, who rescued Eren from her clutches. Another trap was laid for the Female Titan (in her human form) back inside the walls at the Stohess District. It was revealed that she was Annie Leonhart, member of the Military Police and one of Eren’s former military classmates. Annie finally gets captured, but not before remembering what her father told her and encasing herself in a crystal to get away from those who hate her.

With Titan being a story that takes place in a Western setting, it can make sense that there is a focus on individualism. Individualism is considered an important part of success over in the West. You have to stand out above others and/or separate yourselves from the pack. Dogs eat dogs. While certain cultures do value group dynamics, individualism can become prevalent in those that want to fight for change.

For Annie, it’s as if she was taught by Stone Cold Steve Austin on how to handle life. Keep your enemies close to you at all times to monitor them. However, Annie seemed to have nice thoughts towards Eren and Armin Arlert. She taught Eren how to fight during her trainee days. The latter was spared from death when she ran into him as the Female Titan during the 57th Expedition. Does this mean that Annie secretly wanted connections?

A book called “Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect” may provide the answer to that. It suggests that we crave connection more than our own interests. We have a social cognition network that always seems to be active, even when we don’t think it’s there. You can say that that Eren and Armin’s strong wills got Annie’s brain excited and in turn, generated some fondness for the two. It’s “human nature”, so to speak.

While her sympathy did lead to her downfall, Annie was not taught the value of connection as a young child. You can’t expect anyone to grasp the idea of meaningful friendship without repeated experiences enforcing that idea. Of course, it is hard to do so if you’re in a world where friendship seems to be more like “Let me use you without giving anything back.” Makes you wonder how much isolated people have become due to advancements or stagnation in society.

Parents can give life to potential monsters in their children. No child can act and think without the influence of their environments. Also, while it’s nice to know that family is always there, sharing experiences with different people outside of the family life helps you grow. While parents do argue about the choice of friends their kids make, why would Annie’s father suggest that she hate everyone? It makes it seem that he was a bit unfit to be a parent. However, parents can be more strict and blunt with their daughters than their sons. It’s as if Annie has to hate people against her will and it puts her at odds with her true feelings. Totally a mix of first and third world problems (due to the nature of the Titan landscape), wouldn’t you say?

Annie mentions being weak a few times to other people during her screen time. While Eren did call her a liar because her behavior and combat abilities say otherwise, the fact that Annie shows her “human” side makes you wonder. Annie’s story also reflects how today’s world sends conflicting signals on how a young girl should grow up. I’ve seen ads on the subway that promote inner beauty of young girls, yet they may be ignored because of the constant exposure of physical beauty ads. As much as women’s rights have evolved over time, it is still a man’s world and whatever they say/do has more “value” than women’s opinions.

Sometimes I wonder why the 2nd story arc was focused on a female-type, intelligent Titan. Was it to suggest a sense of individualist feminism trying to stand out in a cruel world? What do you guys think?

In America, we have an act called “No Child Left Behind” to address our school education problem. But with how children, regardless of gender/sex, can turn out to be like Annie, that principle needs to extend to where it matters most - understanding life outside the walls of school/home and how they don’t always have to act like a Titan in a world filled with them.

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