Attack On Titan: How Erwin would handle Season 4

Post-Shiganshina:  "I love how Armin was blabbering about being able to get along with the volunteers while the volunteers were busy importing Zeke infected wine.. LOL. Discussing their nation's problems in front of a foreign visitor (Kiyomi) who is drooling over their resources. The only way Hange uses to resolve issue nowadays is by locking people up. Four Survey Corps even beat Hange at logic in their small debate, lock them up. And the so-called smartest Armin couldn't see all this and predict where it's going. Instead they just follow orders like slaves."

Survey Corps Commanders #1-13 had to fight tooth and nail to keep the Survey Corps from being disbanded by the corrupt government; they endured being jailed and tortured, did legworks behind-the-scene to gain more money and resources for the Corps,... all the while received nothing but resentment from the misinformed people. 

Things were completely different when Hange took office: the Survey Corps has gained massive popularity and trust among the people. The reclaim of Wall Maria has secured them a special funding from the government. Plus, they've gained the Colossal Titan, along with a fully-realized Founding Titan. YET Hange and Armin still managed to achieve nothing in 4 years and relied on Hizuru to act on their behalf. Not only they trust foreigners blindly, they allow them to drive Paradis politics.

Paradisians want a strong leader who can stand up to Marley. They're finding themselves in a situation as complicated as the Uprising Arc, but without a leader who can play the game as well as the last time.

Leadership isn't just a role; it's a mindset. A mindset that Hange and Armin can't fit into.

Frankly, the political incompetence on all sides is what tanks Season 4. I miss when tactics and great thinking were employed. Now it's just going in blind and hoping for the best. This Season's protagonists aren't clever or charismatic; they just spout endless platitudes while being surrounded by utterly moronic friends and enemies, who reach even deeper levels of mental retardation when the plot demands it.

The military turn against Eren as they plan to have another soldier steal his Founding Titan. Back then, when the government wanted to kill him, Erwin protected him and utilized his power for the greater good. Now, Hange's long-term imprisonment of Eren is the cause of commotion that splits the Eldians into different fractions.

Unfortunately, a lot of AOT fans believe the narrative of "nothing could have been done" - which is a simple cop-out of the situation. A LOT could have been done that the characters did not do. The political landscape presented in the manga isn't an impasse, which is the convenient narrative that Isayama wanted us to believe. Considering how quickly and easily the Marleyans cooperated with the Walldians in the final chapters, that "impasse" narrative wasn't accurate. Even a hard-headed leader like Magath bonded with Shadis and admitted he was wrong. So imagine Paradis could make friends with several countries if Marley wasn't interfering.

I find it astounding that Paradis was sitting on a weapon of mass destruction and never bothered to actively use it as a deterrent and a bargain tool to push for aggressive diplomacy and fracture the collective hatred that the world has for Paradis. I think that someone like Erwin, who has consistently shown the most proactive, pragmatic and idealistic visions for his decisions, would have been able to achieve a realistic political maneuver to save Paradis without resorting to a full Rumble.

Hange is kinda dumb when it comes to people and speaking to adversaries. She shows it in the prison scene with Eren, and she shows it in the capture of the Marleyan ship. She isn't great at making plans or taking calculated risks of her own creation. Hange's manner does not command respect from the foreigners. This isn't about being masculine or fearsome. Take Daenerys from GOT for example: That 155cm-tall woman commands a queenly aura.

Erwin: One look at the enemy and he saw through their nature.  

Another instance: he was able to predict the enemy's moves in Shiganshina and devised a countermeasure within 2 minutes.

Hange: looks at cars and thinks they can eat carrots. How can you expect her to "read" the enemies?! By locking up dissenters, she makes enemies of her soldiers. She admits in hindsight that bad leadership has brought a civil war upon the land.

Erwin would've gathered way more intel than Eren and co managed before Willy's speech. He would've used any opportunity to send a message to the world. His power was his words and in real world, we know that words are stronger than swords.

Hange's leadership sharply contrasts Erwin's:  Remember when Eren shouted in Court and horrified everyone? Remember when he was brought back from the courtroom, Erwin sat down, shook his hand and said, "You have my respect. Let's work together, shall we?"

[ Erwin was able to use people to the best of their abilities. He respected Armin's intellect and told his soldiers to listen to Armin while no one else would. He was also able to "read" Levi and completely "reformed" him from a thug to a hero. Although he had never met Levi before, he was able to "read" him correctly and used his emotions for Farlan and Isabel to capture them. And when Levi broke down after they died, he knew that Levi was about to regret it and thus he gave him a "no regrets" speech. 

He never spoke to Zackley and Nile about overthrowing the government. The only one he spoke to was Pixis, who frankly told him that he refused to take sides. But he knew that when push came to shove, most people would prioritize their families over everything else, so rather than asking Nile to take his side, he told him to "protect your family, not your job". Second, he knew exactly what Pixis needed in order to join him: proof that the gov cared nothing about humanity. ]

He's the mastermind of >90% of the strategies in Seasons 1-3.  He is the kind of man who won't force anyone into obedience but gives them options. He knows how to gain trust and use people. He overthrew the government with minimal resources and allies. Those skills would be invaluable when dealing with other nations.

Another argument I see in the fandom is "Erwin sacrificed too many soldiers so he wouldn't hesitate to go for a FULL Rumble".  Ok, back then, those sacrifices were necessary to win against the Titans and they really had no other way because of the huge differences in powers between Titans and humans.  But now the landscape is different: Paradis is pretty strong compared to Marley. Considering that Erwin always took the least costly route first and believes that violence is human nature and that there's no such thing as "a war to end to all wars", he wouldn't do a full Rumble. He's a long-term visionary. He would most likely do a partial Rumble + diplomacy.

If Erwin were alive, he would make agreements of peaceful resolution with the world. There is a reason he's been removed from the story just before the Basement Reveal just like there is a reason Levi was removed just before the finale: These guys excel at their respective strengths way too much.

He is proactive, not reactive. He has always operated with minimum information and resources, but he has never stood still doing nothing.

You could simply use normal diplomacy with the Rumble as a negotiation chip, exploit the hatred that other nations have for Marley to shift the global hostility from Paradis to Marley, offer trade using Paradis-exclusive exports like iceburst stones which are an essential energy source as important as gas and oil. As long as Paradis crafted a careful public reputation as a nation that could end the world anytime, no nation would attack them because no nation is stupid enough to tackle someone with "nuclear weapons" and whose economy is so intertwined with the world. Also remember: Marley's true objective is Paradis' resources and the Founding Titan; fear and history are just a propaganda to pull the word to its side. Aggressive negotiations and manipulations from Paradis will absolutely fracture this "common hatred" that the world has for Paradis because GREED drives world politics.

I am not so naive as to suggest that somebody can miraculously make their enemies turn over new leaves and live in harmony. IF you think that's what I've been saying, you're missing the point:

The reason we don't have WW3 is because war is too costly, not because we like one another or we are a peaceful species. Diplomacy isn't genuine friendship; it is negotiation-manipulation.

Paradis would ask other countries for cooperation under the premise of mutual economic development and cultural exchange. Again, Greed drives the world. Also, I imagine that Paradis would be able to make allies with several countries that are Marley's enemies by simply helping them win the war against Marley. Losing the 4-year war also means Marley wouldn't be able to expand their influence.

[ I do not believe that everlasting peace can ever be achieved UNLESS humans have advanced to a higher state of mind capable of achieving Utopia, which requires us to be free of greed, materialism and prejudices - which is a very distant dream. As Erwin said, humans will always find something to fight over.  But I digress... ]

Paradis' goal shouldn't be "everlasting peace" because I doubt humanity can ever achieve that. Their priority would be to destroy the enemies' military forces, and at the same time, interweave their economy and technology with the rest of the world. The goal is to become a superpower and remain as such, which they can totally do without a full Rumble.

Paradis would do extensive research and spywork on the nations that declared war and tried to figure out their strengths and weaknesses. They could also infiltrate Marley and caused an Uprising against the warmongering government. Within Marley, Magath and other officers were already having a conflict in which Magath was more than willing to send all of them to death (which he did in Liberio). With the radical officers out of the picture, it wouldn't be too hard to shape Marley's new government. Erwin would facilitate this process; much less blood would be spilled.

Erwin would speak with other countries' leaders, and things would turn out very differently. If any Paradisian can earn respect from their enemies, it is Erwin. His persuasion skills would come into play; he'd likely succeed in making many nations go along with his plans. Let's not forget that Marley has lots of enemies around the world, too. Paradis would appear worldwide as the liberator of the peoples oppressed by Marley and leader of the free world.

"I guess Isyama had to nerf Paradis before the Marley Arc so they wouldn't immediately curb stomp the shit out of Marley. Imagine Paradis with a Colossal Erwin, a fully-realized Founding Titan, a not-so-depressed Levi, Mikasa, Hange, the list goes on."

Eventually, as Titan powers disappear or become obsolete, no one would continue fearing Eldians. Marley will no longer be able to use Titans as war weapons so they'll no longer have a reason to invade. Paradis would at least be on equal footing with the world now. Years of mutual, interdependent developments will erase that hatred/fear. Real-life politics is proof that a foreign power's treatment of the people will determine whether that power will be liked or disliked.

Internal affairs:

Erwin once again would be reforming the Paradis government, as Zachary became more like the monarchs they had deposed of.

He would be the one who would actually listen and talk to Eren. Eren believed that none of his friends could handle the truth so he kept all information to himself. However, it's different with Erwin because he could handle the truth and would go about it in a different way; he would have made rapid decisions that would satisfy him.

Eren and Floch would remain loyal to Erwin. There would be no Jaegerists.

Dealing with hostility isn't something new to him as for more than half of his life, he was part of the hated Survey Corps.

He would 100% prevent the wine poisoning.

He would raise the soldiers' morale and unite the military under one goal.

If Erwin was alive, you would see his amazing interactions with the outside world that was full of philosophical nuances, along with decisive "battle of minds" political games.

It is said that "the truth might be completely different from what Kruger, Grisha and everyone know". Given his curiosity, Erwin would definitely continue to get to the bottom of this truth.

Watching Paradis dealing with the outside world without a full Rumble would have been incredibly interesting. Isayama could have woven a really intriguing, difficult story out of that concept.

Attack On Titan has lost so much potential when it took out Erwin.

Read another fan's viewpoint on what Erwin would do.


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Howl's Moving Castle: Destructive Kindness

Don't get me wrong, "Howl's Moving Castle" is my #2 favorite Ghibli film that I watched multiple times. It has so many deep meanings and awesome characters. It has so many deep meanings and awesome characters.  

However, there's one single thing in this movie that I dislike: Ghibli tries to preach “always be nice to people even at the expense of yourself”, which I find extremely unrealistic, naive and self-damaging. 

For instance: When the Witch of the Waste caught fire because she grabbed Calcifer, Sophie poured water on her to save her.  Calcifer had explicitly told her multiple times that his life and Howl’s life were connected in a way that if one of them died, the other would die, too.  Are you telling me you're sacrificing both Howl's and Calcifer's lives to save hers??! It's not like dumping water on her is the only way; you could hit her hands with a stick and she'd drop Calcifer. She's a 120-year-old woman at this point, are you saying you can't overpower her?! ALSO, when the Witch grabbed Calcifer, her hands weren't getting burned at all (Sophie got burned when she touched the fire, but the Witch didn't)...  After all, Howl and Calcifer were so kind to Sophie. On the other hand, the Witch had never done a single nice thing for them; instead, she repeatedly sabotaged them despite their kindness to her.

Sure, Ghibli preaches "forgiveness". But I think they went overboard with it here, because they inadvertently send a message that no matter what horrible things you (the Witch) did, there's no consequence or repercussion and you even get your previous victims taking care of you in your old age. 

Second, Sophie took the Witch into Howl's house and cares for her. The Witch at this point is too old to eat a meal by herself. Are you telling me that you'd take in some random elderly woman and spoonfeed her every meal, bathe her and change her diapers??!  I'm sorry, this is too farfetched to me and it makes Sophie's character unreal. 

I also got an impression that the Witch is taking advantage of Sophie's kindness, eg, the Witch is able to smoke a cigarette by herself and grab Calcifer by herself but she isn't willing to eat a meal by herself. It's as if she's waiting for Sophie to "serve" her.

Yes, I understand how movies always try to preach “always be nice to people no matter what”; however, "always helping others at great costs to yourself" is not a motto I would advocate.

Remember when Sophie refused to help the Witch walk up the stairs? She was nice, but NOT the kind of “angelic niceness” that helps everyone at the expense of herself.  She's a human, not an angel.  Thus, she feels ‘real’ in this scene. As the movie goes, she feels less real because her niceness has progressed to a kind of self-destruction that negatively impacted innocent people.

"Helping others within your means" would be a better message for kids and adults.

Attack On Titan: The Biased Narration In Favor of Shounen

I really don't agree that Armin is as smart as Erwin. But I can't really blame the people who think so, because the narrative given by Isayama was very biased:  The author spent a lot of time putting Armin in the spotlight by having him narrate Erwin's strategies while shedding very little light on Erwin's thought processes although he did a lot more than Armin.

I've seen many people asking things like:  "How did Erwin figure out there were other Titan Shifters?", "How did Erwin figure out Reiner was a spy?", "How did Erwin figure out the Founding Titan could control people's memories?", etc.

Again, I don't blame people for not catching these details since the narrative isn't honest. Armin is just narrating Erwin's action/deductive work; this is priming the viewer to think that Armin is smarter than Erwin while in fact the opposite is true. Have you noticed that the show doesn't bother shedding light on what Erwin actually did behind-the-scene? The viewers don't see Erwin's deductions so most end up mistaking his deductions for Armin's, or thinking that he's "less smart" than Armin.

For instance, look at this thread where someone asked how Erwin knew there were other Titan Shifters. It is a common question among the fandom.

Armin is smart, but not to the level of "smarter than Erwin". The hype around so-called "genius intelligence" in many anime series is made up by the fandom because the anime says it instead of showing it.

Erwin came up with >90% of the strategies in S1-S3. He has been the brain of the SC all along.

Seasons 1-2:  how he predicted the Titan Shifters and devised strategies to catch them:

Titans had never been smart enough to get over or through the Wall. But now there were a Colossal one that appeared out of nowhere, broke the wall and vanished TWICE, and an Armored one that did the same thing. When the Colossal Titan appeared out of nowhere to break the Wall the 2nd time in front of Eren & other cadets, none of them saw him run away, and he didn't engage in combat but vanished in thin air again, and there's no place that such a giant could've possibly hidden himself, so one possibility is that he was one of the people within the Walls all along.

Then Erwin learned that Eren has the ability to transform into a Titan and vanish at any point. Putting two and two together, he concluded that Eren wasn't the only human with the same ability.

Erwin knew Eren wasn't an enemy because he had done a background check on him [ extra info from Smartpass ].

One more crucial clue that Erwin knew they would come after Eren:  The first time they broke the wall, the Colossal and the Armored Titans appeared together. We would expect the same behavior the 2nd time, but the Armored Titan never appeared the 2nd time. What does it mean? → Their motives must have changed halfway through:  If they saw Eren transform, then their motive was probably to find him.

Erwin didn't know for sure that there would be a Female Titan but he knew that there was a high possibility that a spy had infiltrated their ranks during the fall of Wall Maria and that they would go after Eren because he's a Shifter working for the SC. What happened with Sawney & Bean (Hange's experimented Titans) confirmed his suspicion.

That is why only soldiers that Erwin knew before the fall of Maria could be trusted with his expedition plan.

After the deaths of Sawney and Bean, Erwin was able to narrow down the list of suspects, as only a soldier was able to kill the Titans with 3DMG. Because of this, he went around asking cryptic questions to try to weed out traitors. "Who do you think the enemy is?" Basically, he was looking for people who had the same suspicion as he did: that someone among them sneaked into the city during the fall of Wall Maria 5 years ago. If you understood the question, Erwin knew you had the same suspicion and therefore could be trusted, as a traitor would likely play along with the popular belief that a crazy Titan-hater must be the culprit that killed Sawney and Bean.

On the night of the induction ceremony when the cadets joined the Survey Corps, Erwin instructed Levi to take Eren out on a ride to survey the area. This was Erwin's way of narrowing down the suspects. By having Eren leave and the ceremony on the same night, he could deduct that if the enemy did not attack Eren or show up at the castle to kidnap him, then it must mean that they were somewhere else: the ceremony. If someone was missing from the ceremony, it would be suspicious, so they must be there. He specifically mentioned Eren and his basement in his speech to the cadets because he suspected it must have been one of those who saw Eren at Trost: the 104th. He believed that the spy would be immediately interested in joining the SC in order to go to the basement. So, whoever joined the SC at this point was ruled IN as suspects.

So, now Erwin knew 3 things: (1) there's a spy among their ranks, (2) they were a Shifter or had connection to one, (3) they were going after Eren.

During the expedition, everyone was told different sections where Eren was going to be. Some were told it's the right flank; others were told the center rear, the left flank, etc. Because the Female Titan attacked from the right flank, this put anyone who had been told that that was Eren's location under immediate suspicion (Reiner).

Erwin also predicted that the Female Titan would transform again and went after Eren, therefore he instructed Levi to stay behind to save Eren.

After the expedition [ extra info from official Smartpass ], Erwin did a background check on Annie and found that she came from the same village as Reiner and Bert. This is the reason Reiner and Bert ended up as suspects and were put under Mike Squad's supervision at Castle Utgard as far away from Annie and the Survey Corps as possible.

In Season 3, Erwin figured that the real reason that the government kidnapped Eren was because he possesses the Founding Titan, and from that, he deduced that the Founding Titan has the ability to alter memories and that's why the government was after him.

Yes, it is frustrating and not a lot of people realize what a great strategist Erwin is, because most people (including me) will not fully understand these details on our first watch (unless we take time to connect the dots). Actually, Armin was mostly reiterating the findings that the Survey Corps had found. The series tried to establish him as "a genius" by "showcasing" him in multiple ways while "forgetting" to credit Erwin.

Meanwhile, the narrative focuses a lot on moments where Erwin's plan has failed, thereby making people think that "his plans always failed" or "he's no good".

A lot of stuff about Erwin's leadership and what he does behind the scenes is truly... behind the scene. A lot of people don't know what his job as a Commander really entails. You can only find more about it in the semi-canon Smartpasses, which you can find here.

The problems that Japanese animators face

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REOf3xfamzM

 The people at the top hoard all the fruits of labor from the people at the bottom.  Artists and animators - the people who sit and draw thousands upon thousands of frames - are the backbone of an anime and thus the most important components in a production. They deserve much more recognition + 5x higher wages!