Attack On Titan: Fascist, or Criticism of Fascism? (Manga spoilers ahead)

With the coming of Attack On Titan's fourth season, as well as the final chapter of the manga, the story has begun to expand beyond the battle between the scouts and the Titans. As the mystery of the Titans unravels, it is revealed that AOT's plot centers around an ethnic conflict between two groups. With this new facet of the story, fans have begun to question whether or not the series has fascist elements, while others assert that AOT is a critique of fascism itself. 

In order to assess this, it is essential to first define fascism as a concept. According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, fascism is "A political philosophy, movement or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader..." 

The storyline follows the protagonist, Eren Jaeger, who resides within the walls that shelter the supposed last of humanity from giant, man-eating humanoids referred to as Titans. It is later revealed that those who live within the walls belong to a bloodline called the Eldians, who possess the ability to turn into Titans upon the injection of Titan spinal fluid. The Eldians have been at odds with the warring nation of Marley due to a thousand-year ethnic conflict. Those residing within the walls had been living on the isolated island of Paradis for thousands of years, thinking that they were the last of humanity. The Titans were actually persecuted Eldians residing in Marley, sent by the Marleyan military to torment the people of Paradis.

Upon Paradis's discovery of this, Eren Jaeger launches his plot to become the enemy of humanity. His plan, "The Rumbling," is to use the power of the titans to wipe out all of humanity but Eldia. This choice of Eren's is the main source of AOT's criticism. The protagonist of the story committing mass genocide obviously didn't sit well with many fans. Many felt that the creator, Hajime Isayama was portraying genocide in a positive light, which is, by definition, fascist. 

However, upon deeper analysis of the ending, Eren Jaeger's intentions become more clear. After all, Eren possesses the power of the Attack Titan which allows him to see into the future. His plan all along was to allow his friends to keep their free-will so that they could defeat him before the completion of The Rumbling. Eren aimed to make himself the enemy so his friends could be heroes. This was foreshadowed since the beginning of the series, with constant easter eggs hidden throughout every episode, urging watchers to think about who the true enemy is. There have been several iconic lines during the series implying that the "real" enemy is actually Eren. At the end of the series, Eren Jaeger isn't the protagonist, but the antagonist. His friends were given the power to stop him and become the heroes of humanity. 

Nonetheless, many fans still take issue with this. Regardless of whether or not Eren was stopped, wasn't genocide portrayed as the solution to the conflict of the series?

Well, not exactly. Many readers assume that The Rumbling was meant to resolve the conflict between the Eldians and the Marleyans. In reality, this conflict was never resolved at all. In the final chapter, it is revealed that Paradis rises as a nationalist state that continues to war against Marley. The conflict continues even a hundred years into the future. Eren's plan didn't solve the conflict, or even help Paradis at all. So why did Eren commit mass genocide?

Well, it wasn't for nothing. After defeating him, his close friends were revered as heroes by both Paradis and Marley, and later served as peace ambassadors between Paradis and Marley. They were shown to have lived long lives and even started families. Eren's plan succeeded in that it sheltered his close friends between the conflict between Marley and Paradis. But the conflict continues hundreds of years later. In the final pages of the Manga, a modernized Paradis can be seen being bombed by Marleyan airships. Eren knew the rumbling wouldn't end the war between Marleyans and Eldians. He did not exalt his nation over the individual, he only cared to protect his close friends. Eren's motivation for the rumbling supplements the overarching theme in AOT of moral ambiguity. He sheltered his loved ones, but at the expense of billions. 

However, AOT's theme of moral ambiguity has some implications of its own. Hajime Isayama evidently took inspiration from 1940’s Germany to model the persecution of Eldians in Marley. The Eldian internment camps, the red armbands, and the Marleyan salutes bare uncanny resemblance to elements of the Holocaust. Despite this, AOT encourages the audience to understand and even sympathize the Marleyans. In the fourth season, the show shifts to explore the perspectives of Marleyan characters.

The issue with AOT’s theme of moral ambiguity is that the Holocaust was not morally ambiguous. It was a one-sided act of genocide, and sympathizing with the side that replicates Nazi Germany is inherently harmful.

But whether or not Isayama intended to encourage the audience to sympathize with the oppressor is still up for debate. Some argue Isayama simply utilized historical imagery to tell a story that critiques fascism on a broader level. Others argue that using imagery from the Holocaust to portray a story about moral ambiguity is inherently problematic. 

But it’s crucial to assess the creator’s own beliefs, which undoubtedly have some controversy surrounding them. In 2013, a post surfaced on Isayama's official blog in 2010 in which he stated that the character Dot Pyxis was based on Yoshifuru Akiyama, the general of the Imperial Japanese Army. Akiyama commanded the army stationed in Korea, Akiyama undoubtedly contributed to the colonization of Korea.  Isayama referred to the general as "frugal and respectable." As a result of this, many Korean fans expressed their disgust of Isayama's reverence for someone who contributed to such horrendous acts in Korea.

In addition to this, Isayama has apparently expressed nationalist views on his suspected private Twitter account @migiteorerno. One user expressed that using character designs based on "Nazis" would inevitably provoke backlash, considering that the Japanese Army committed acts to the likes of Nazis. The user @migiteorerno then replied that referring to the Japanese soldiers as Nazis is "quite crude." @migiteorerno pointed out that, prior to Japan's occupation of Korea, Korea was not yet a country, and that Korea experienced great population growth under their occupation. 

While the account is not confirmed to be Hajime Isayama, there are significant connections between the account and Isayama's official blog. The strong evidence suggesting that the account is his private account disturbs many fans. If those were Isayama's true words, there is a vast dissonance between the anti-military and anti-authoritarian elements in Attack on Titan. However, some fans point out that Japanese textbooks have notoriously glossed over Japan's war atrocities, simplifying them or even downright ignoring them. This opens up the possibility that Isayama isn't defending the atrocities because he, like many Japanese citizens, is unaware of them. 

Despite the controversy surrounding both AOT's storyline and Hajime Isayama's personal beliefs, AOT nonetheless tells a gripping and beautifully written story that provides in-depth commentary on inequality, corruption, and human nature. But, in all cases, it is vital to think critically about the entertainment we consume in order to fully understand it.