Attack on Titan is one of those shows that can be hard to explain without giving away major plot points. Simply saying that humanity is being terrorized by 15 meter tall, man eating, humanoids doesn’t do it justice. Aja Romano, a writer for The Daily Dot, describes the show as, “... bloody, even gory, and personal trauma gets handed out like candy.” While I agree and could spend the entirety of this response on the plot alone, there is one character in particular that I will be focusing on. Arguably one the most complex characters of the series and one of the shortest, Levi Ackerman is said to be humanity's strongest soldier.
Levi grew up in the underground city, a haven for homeless and miscreants alike. After his mother’s death he was found and raised by his uncle, being taught how to fight, knife skills and how to rely on his own strength. Once his uncle was satisfied that he could watch his own back, he left Levi to once again survive on his own. Levi along with his two friends quickly gained a reputation. The fact that they could use military maneuver gear better than most soldiers drew the attention of many. They are eventually cornered by the Survey Corps, the branch of the military that travels outside of the walls in which humanity resides in order to learn more about the titans and the world outside, and a chase proceeds. One thing leads to another and Levi along with his two friends end up joining the Survey Corps. Things appear to be better for a short while, they were out of the dark, cramped, underground city and had actual jobs. Unfortunately on an expedition outside the walls, Levi’s two friends are killed by titans, blood that he can’t help but see on his own hands as the leader of their close knit group. However life continues to move on, Levi advances to the position of Lance Corporal and is given his own squad. His skill with the maneuver gear and his number of individual titan kills quickly earn him the title of humanity’s strongest soldier. 
To put it simply, Levi doesn’t take anyone’s shit, the only person he listens to is Erwin Smith ( Commander of the Survey Corps). He’s rude, offensive, and has weird quirks like holding his teacup from the top. He’s an obsessive clean freak and is not above beating his subordinates if it will save their lives. Despite all of this however, no one can deny his drive to keep not only those around him alive, but humanity as a whole. The fact that he works so hard to keep others alive, makes him such an interesting character in my opinion. As the show progresses, you start to get the feeling that death follows him. Between the death of Levi’s squad and eventually finding out that all of the titans use to be ordinary humans, you realize just how much blood he has on his hands. However,no matter how heavy his conscious is he never stops fighting. Despite the darkness of his past and the bleakness of the future, Levi still pushes forward and puts his faith in humanity’s last hope.
Works Cited
“A Beginner's Guide to 'Attack on Titan,' the Most Intense Anime of 2013.” The Daily Dot. N.p., Mar. 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http:/
This is an incredibly interesting piece. I am not familiar with this series, or anime at all for that matter. This piece gives very decent background coverage of the series as a whole, and you have done a wonderful job of explaining the plot without giving everything away. You used quotes and your sources well and the writing style made it very easy for me, someone who is ignorant to this genre, to read the piece and understand what is going on. Well done(:
ReplyDeleteThere isn't a lot that I would change about the piece as a whole, but I was expecting a stronger argument about why Levi is the best or strongest soldier. You started off very strong in telling me who he was and setting up an argument, but I felt as though you may have almost rushed the argument itself in the end. Maybe two paragraphs at the end describing why he's the best. Of course, this is hard when trying to keep from giving it all away.
All in all, this was a great piece and there isn't much that I would change. This is a job well done in my book(:
I think it would serve me better as the reader to get more background on the argument (like I said in my first response) to have some elaboration on statements like "death seems to follow him". The whole last paragraph could be expanded and could really maximize the piece as a whole. Discussing why his conscious is so heavy may be equally beneficial. Like I said, the summary is necessary and I realize that rambling on and on is always a concern, but I wouldn't want to drown the argument with the summary. I'm starting to sound redundant and ramble. I hope this makes sense (:
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