Shingeki no Kyoujin - 16

"What Should Be Done - Prelude to the Counterattack 3"

How do you choose between living in fear and dying for the sake of finding a small way out?

Normally when you like a series, it's fun to imagine being in that world and experiencing the magic that makes it uniquely itself. Unfortunately with Shingeki, I thank the goddesses I have nothing to do with such a place. As cool as medieval-esque spider-men soldiers are, I don't envy the sorts of dilemmas and situations these soldiers face in the least, especially when horrifically graphic and painful deaths loom on the horizon for the innocent and guilty alike. It's been a while since such an especially bleak world comes to the forefront, at least since Shinsekai Yori, but even then, I don't particularly feel any desire to want to be a part of this and I'll be honest; I'd rather go blind before joining the Survey Corps.

Of course that's just me and my cowardice speaking, but honestly, how foolish and courageous does someone have to be to offer themselves up on a silver platter for the tiny hope of changing something? It's not the wrong choice, and it is by all means the bravest choice, but honestly and truly, when faced with those kinds of odds, would you choose to join? That's why it strikes me as both honest and a bit strange for Erwin to tell the new recruits the blunt truth; people who join the Survey Corps tend to die. Often. That's admirable, yes, but is it a good recruitment strategy? I'm not sure if that makes for good characterization on Erwin's part or bad storytelling on the mangaka's part, but in the end, I suppose it does its job; it emphasizes just how scary and terrible a choice this is to make for these very young and very brave soldiers.

It's that old saying about dying for one's country being a very noble and wonderful thing, except in this case we're talking about the whole of humanity. It's also kind of ironic that such a concept is coupled with that other saying about never knowing the outcome unless one tries, in this case where the result of failure means death. It's definitely an intriguing dilemma, though one I'd hate to have to face, and one I personally feel rather conflicted about. In the words of a certain anime character from last season, what's the point of making everyone happy if you're not happy yourself? Or rather, would you really be willing to die for the sake of an abstract idea like saving humanity? Isn't that a little naive? The dead can't really benefit after all, though I suppose everyone in this series is something of a sitting duck regardless. Well, it's probably silly of me to try to philosophize on such an abstract conundrum anyway, but one thing is for sure: these kids have a hell of a lot more courage than I do.

N.B.: Thanks to Ivan for the caps!