The False Mask of Eren Yeager 

Hope you enjoy this video! It does not contain any manga spoilers. For those who aren't aware, I have started filming reactions to each episode of the current season. They are available here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VZhb3qY2w7U.html Also, if you want to discuss each episode live with me, you can follow my Twitch, where I do episode discussions every Monday morning! www.twitch.tv/Aleczandxr/ One last thing - not sure why people are assuming otherwise, but I have read the manga.

In s1, Eren had no chill and we laughed In s4, Eren still has no chill and we are terrified. He was really always this way

I believe that Eren defines himself not with freedom itself, but rather the pursuit of it, and he realizes the sad contradiction that creates, because in order to pursue freedom one must not have it, therefore Eren *needs* the existence of that which takes away his freedom in order to define himself by taking it back, and what makes this even more tragic is that reaching absolute freedom is impossible, so he just wants to die fighting back and pursuing it as much as he could, he wants to live in a way that he will regret least.

Eren saying “I am free I hate anything that isn’t free” is like Griffith’s speech about dreams and friendship. They’re both the ideal self instead of the actual self

4:21 That transition is amazing though, I got mad chills 😭😭😭 Eren is such a good character man...... It's so obvious how he's not nearly as free as he acts like he is, that he wishes he was, after so many moments in the series of failing to protect people he cares about. And of course he isn't free, being trapped inside a literal time loop that he had no choice but to carry out, and there's such poetry in that and how it applies to his character; even if he did genuinely hate Frieda's ideals and hated his father for not being able to stand up to her, his demeanor afterwards still makes it clear he hates what he had to do to them, another example of his own powerlessness. When I first started the show I never in a million years could have imagined that Eren would reach this point, and yet it's so impressive that I can look back on it all after Eren claims that this is who he's always been, and see that absolutely none of it feels out of character for him, and that this is such a natural place for him to end up. Love him, and love this video, AJ 💕

Eren was talking to Mikasa and Armin, like he was talking in front of a mirror.

The finale did a great job portraying Eren taking off that mask from himself and revealing that he was actually a slave to freedom.

Everyone is to some extent shaped by their environment. Eren even more so than Zeke I would argue. Eren was born inside the walls. He was born into a class of livestock and that makes him angry. He wants to see the outside world and to break out of the walls that have defined him since birth. The Rumbling is the ultimate symbol of Eren breaking down the walls and setting himself and Eldia free. The walls that once bound him are now the weapons he uses to "Kill everyone over there to be free".

Something interesting to note is how the scene with Reiner changes if you consider that Eren knew he was going to start the rumbling. Eren knows that it’s going to happen no matter what, it’s predetermined, and in that regard, he has no choice in the matter. It’s like Eren talked to Reiner to get closure on this and to absolve himself of guilt, because he wanted Reiner’s confirmation that he has no choice but to begin the rumbling, just like he thinks Reiner had no choice but to attack the walls. But Reiner admitting that he had free will and chose to destroy the walls despite the fact that he’d probably get his Titan transferred if Reiner failed and returned to Marley shows that even someone in circumstances as restricted as Reiner has free will. Thus, Eren also has free will, and Eren smiles at Reiner because while it’s optimistic for Eren to know that he still has free will, that also means that he will have to bear the burden of blood on his hands. Even if the future is predetermined, Eren still makes the choice, and thus he’s still guilty.

holy crap, that part where you edited eren laughter from one scene to the other was literally magical. I seriously got goosebumps

I love this dichotomy within Eren that you perfectly highlighted in this video! I find it interesting that during the table scene Eren argues that Mikasa has an innate nature to her that has dictated her life and actions due to her Ackerman instincts. Eren uses this to argue that she isn't free and that she's a slave because she can't make any decision that goes against this nature of hers. Yet during that scene and also later with Zeke, Eren argues that he has a similar sense of nature to him in regards to being free and stealing other people's freedom. Though this time Eren says that his innate nature is what makes him free, which on the surface seems to make sense but can also seem quite contradictory since if he's been dictated by this innate nature of his, then it means he also can't make any decision that goes against it and it's what purely defines him. Going by this logic if Eren can't define himself outside of this nature just like he argued Mikasa can't outside of hers, this makes him just as enslaved to it as she is. (I don't think I even need to mention how contradictory Eren's argument as to why Armin is a slave is. Arguing that having Bertholdt's memories has enslaved him. Meanwhile Eren has Grisha's, Kruger's, Freida's, Lara Tybur's and potentially many more memories flowing through his head creating, a clashing, confusing and contradictory mess to his psyche.) Which leads into the argument that Eren is very much projecting his own insecurities onto Mikasa and Armin. And since we now know in the anime, Eren has seen the future, and all his actions are leading towards that future. He is simply living his life, like an actor reading off of a script. You could argue he's not even making his own decisions if they're all determined/decided by future visions he has no control over and can't change. Or you could spin it the other way and say the only reason the future won't change is because Eren would always make those decisions due to his innate nature regardless. The topic of Free will in regards to Eren's character is one of the most fascinating aspects of him. How free he projects himself as, compared to how free he feels he is, versus how free he actually is. Depending on your views on determinism and how they apply to Eren, there are multiple different arguments that can be made about how much agency Eren really has. It's fascinating! Great video as always AJ!

I fucking love this take. Never, ever considered that this could've been why he laughed after Sasha's death. Beautiful.

It's crazy when you think about it. His whole character is based on his desire to be free... Yet in the end, he's the ultimate puppet, pawn and hostage of the very thing that gave him ultimate power ... And it was of his own choosing. Imagine that. You identify with your freedom or mission to achieve it that you willingly imprison yourself completely and utterly

Yes dude great take on Eren laughing/crying after Sasha's death, he STILL feels useless and not strong enough.

Eren's mask makes me wonder how many historical figures in our own world have worn a false mask (or been put on a false mask by their admirers and/or haters). The figure that we see in history books & the popular imagination may be very different from the actual person that lived.

Just a tidbit that supports this thesis: The AU Attack on Titan high school manga written by Isayama (confirmed to be canon, despite being a joke) states that Eren would have this monster side to him no matter what. However, a blind man could see that certain events shaped the person he would become.

"Everyone had to be drunk on something to keep them going." - Kenny Ackerman

The one thing that bugs me is that people think Eren changed and that the “world made him this way.” When in reality he was just born this way, as the story and even Eren himself has said several times. All the hints were there and people refused to accept it. As a anime only I’am very excited to see where this goes EDIT: basically what I’m saying is that the world didn’t make a demon, the demon was always there he just needed a perfect scenario to release it

Whenever someone close to Eren dies, Eren has a nervous breakdown.

I think the dichotomy of Zeke and Eren can also be seen under a different light, not incompatible with the reading you gave. Last year I found an excerpt from a paper by a certain Peimin Ni that analyses the difference between the concept of freedom in the West and the East, focusing in particular on Taoist philosophy. Both are defined as a state with complete lack of coercion and restraints, but while the first one is more focused on the external restraints, the second is a bit more focused on the internal ones. To become free, someone from western culture has "to clear the external constraints and coercions on the individual's will or desires, and never involves a critical examination of one's own will or desires". The Taoist instead "focuses on modifying the self that can be in conflict with external constraints. Instead of being critical of the external environment and requesting the environment to give room to the individual's desires or will, the Taoist requires the individual to be critical of him/herself, and to be in harmony with his/her environment." I find very interesting the fact that these two concepts of freedom are fully embodied in their most toxic connotations in Eren and Zeke respectively, and as the paper says the answer is probably somewhere in the middle. I am a manga reader and I can attest that Isayama has still a lot in store for us but what his work says about freedom is one of the biggest things I got from the manga. Also excellent video, and also very much needed. I kinda wish stuff like this existed before the manga's ending dropped ahah

Personally, rather than Eren being a slave to follow the fixtures of fate at certain time points, I think it’s more so that Eren chooses that future he sees and works towards it since it ultimately leads into the end result of what he wants. To end the Titan curse. With the benefit of seeing his conjured up scenery of a new world starting from scratch, free from walls. That path can’t be a path unless he paves it, unless he wanted it. That future he saw was only there not because the universe had the Rumbling as a fixed time point but because Eren would have done a Rumbling no matter what for his freedom, because it’s in his nature to. Though Grisha was “fated” to steal the founding Titan that day, he wasn’t fated to do it without Eren. Grisha’s humanity and heart wouldn’t allow him to do it on his own, it was fated that Eren would manipulate him because it’s to Eren’s desires to always want to reach that end result. He is so driven to achieving his definition of freedom that it’s extremely self destructive to him and he keeps doing things he doesn’t want to do but it’s to reach that result nonetheless, he just has to keep moving forward. And eventually those desires and powers have him so muddled he does the worst thing he could ever do to himself and that’s the twist in the final chapter. I think if Eren really wanted to, he could have averted that fate, that those time points didn’t have to be fixed. As you said, he works toward it because something at the end of it compels him. To me, he’s not truly forced by “the universe” or fate, but rather by his own nature. Just as every other character is a slave to something in the story. He is a slave but not necessarily to some otherworldly cosmic fate or fixed timeline where critical points have to happen like some assembly line, but to his definition of freedom and his own choices, where he keeps doing things he hates because of goal in the far future, and that even with his powers, he still has to choose things along the away that result in bad consequences that he’s not aware of (like Sasha’s death).

Eren's path reminds me of Stanley Parable. To achieve "freedom" he has to act in accordance with a plan set out by someone else i.e. the future Eren.

"I might be a fake, but even so, I have to make this succeed... I have to become everyone's hope!" - The same Eren that we know in the Battle of Trost District. Eren knows more than anyone that he isn't free in this world. But to make this succeed he has to believe so. Otherwise he will never be able to move forward. Contrary to what we thought (myself included), he has precedents to his attitude in this season, and this is actually a more realistic way of portraying his development as he ages and grows older. We have to remember and realize that he became a titan when he was, like, 16! This guy probably didn't had a light mustache at that age. It's truly messed up to think most of the cast were just teenagers fighting for their lifes as well as for what they thought were the last reminents of humanity. You can't make a more disturbing and stressful teenage than this.

This take helps me to appreciate ch.139 even more.

If someone doesn't get Eren's nature after he states it out-loud in plain terms, there's no helping them.

Eren, what a man you are!

Maybe it's just the sheer contradiction of everything he's striven for playing out in front of his eyes. He yearns for freedom, and yet he's trapped by factors far beyond his control. He can see what's about to happen but he can't do anything about it. He's supposedly the most powerful being on the planet, and yet he's utterly powerless to change his fate, or the fate of others. And he's so exhausted from carrying that knowledge, of learning that everything he's believed in was a lie, of realizing that all of his struggles, discoveries, and achievements have brought him no closer to attaining freedom.

One detail I like is that right after Eren lives past the memories that his future self showed him he seems to become himself again; the brash emotive type. From that point on everything is uncertain again and he is free to see things through via his own actions rather than being predetermined.

I'm just hoping that you make a video about reiner and mikasa after the end of the anime (when everyone's character arc is finished)

The biggest give away was in OP "All I ever wanted to do was save your life, I never wanted to grab the knife"

The best way to describe Eren is "slave of freedom". He yearns absolute freedom so much that he is unable to stop himself from doing all the horrendeous things he does. Yet he is desperate that he can't change everything and is cruel to everyone as a result. Because he was not able to accept that he is not free completely, lost all his freedom at all and is a slave of himself much more than anyone else.

Of all Attack on Titan content creators, I enjoy your content the most by a very wide margin. You make extremely thought-provoking, at times even emotional (And I'm not an emotional person in the least), videos and I guess the only real reason I decided to comment was that I felt you deserved my thanks. As well as a sub/like, of course, thanks for the content bro.

Saw someone asking if that beach scene was actually eren talking to his future self and it just changed so much

Attack on titan is the best written story i have ever had the privilege of seeing. Yes, even the ending

I freaking love how the "Eren killing to save Mikasa" event is pretty much obvious to us as viewers (without it being spelled out) but cause they refuse to speak about or acknowledge the event, we as the viewers, overlook it completely. Eren has always been driven by the same ideals hes shown in the latest few episode.

i just love your channel so much

Aleczander, I just want to tell you how much I appreciate these videos you do. While i like to think of myself as someone who is philosophical I've never been good at finding the words to express my thoughts and emotions to the rest of the world. You do an absolutely beautiful job of that in these videos and the way in which you break the themes of some of my favorite animes down is always a joy to watch. I know it might sound a little corny but I just really wanted to let u know that. AOT really is a great story and one I feel you can apply to the modern world in alot of ways. The stories that each group of ppl tell themselves to justify their actions and the truths behind those stories arnet always one and the same.

This channel is literally amazing

This is one of the best videos when it comes to Eren's character I have ever seen. Thank you so much for this. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is such a fantastic character analysis, thank you.

Everytime i see one of your videos in my feed it makes me happy!

"Rather than letting someone steal my freedom, I'll steal theirs first" - Eren Yeager "I rather betray the world, than let the world betray me" - Cao Cao

I think his motivation is especially in the final season to protect Mikasa and arman. Remember when Krüger talks to geisha at the sea wall.

I thought about that self-despite he felt correlating so much this present events BUT NOT THIS DEEP holy. GOATed analysis as always

Hearing 'Cold Light' in the background is fantastic stuff.

Great video. Your videos are always a treat

I personally can't wait to see how people react to the rest of the episodes. Amazing analysis my dude!

first time seeing you, great insights and very digestible! awesome vid

I haven't seen anything from you in a while I'm so excited to watch this!

Great video man really enjoyed it

Awesome transition of laughing scenes at 4:20 (nice).

Imagine if Luffy clashed with Eren. It would be so cool since Luffy is like the polar opposite of Eren; he is the freest man in the world. I could imagine Luffy screaming to Eren and saying that fate doesn't matter or something badass like that.

this guy legitimately makes the best videos on youtube

I was happy that eren took of his mask when he was with armin towards the end of the manga

"all i ever wanted to do was right things i never wanted to be the king i swear" these lines right here characterize eren so well. all he ever wanted to do was help the people of the walls by joining the scouts to fight for freedom so they and him could be free, which he viewed as the greatest reward. he never asked to be placed in a position leading the yeagerists and influencing the past and starting the rumbling or seeing the future. he never asked to be this figure of great power, influence and ideals to the world and leading a group dedicated to that ideology. all he wanted was for every eldian child to be born free. he didn't want to do some of the things that would lead to freedom, like killing the tyburs in marley and killing huge masses of citizens and getting armin to nuke the navy fleet with the colossal titan steam. he didn't want to kill the reiss kids. but he had to; because he's been placed in the position where he has to do these cruel acts to ensure that a specific future happens. this is because he knows that he's the only one who can make it happen as he saw the future when he kissed historia's hand and gained the memories of the future, he has 3 powerful titans in him, and he is in a unique position with the founder. he isn't of royal blood so he's not bound by the old king's will to keep the eldians in the walls, but he can touch zeke, a person of royal blood, to gain full access to the founder's powers. plus he can access the paths to influence events. so what i'm trying to say is that the only future where eldians are truly free rests solely on eren. eren didn't ask to have this much pressure and power. he sort of is the king of the walls. he holds the founder's power and literally controls the fate of eldia. and just like a king, he has seen many losses and has had to make huge sacrifices and hard decisions. he started as a little kid with big dreams, a strong will and an enormous amount of determination. and now he's in way over his head. and he's only 19 years old. imagine how hard doing what he did must be. the insane amount of stress and pressure he must be feeling. i 100% understand why he looks so broken at the table scene with mikasa and armin. "all i ever wanted to do was save your life i never wanted to grab a knife i swear" i think this one relates to the table scene a lot too. he wanted to protect mikasa and armin all throughout his life. he wanted to wrap mikasa's scarf around her and make sure armin saw the ocean. i think he honestly was trying to help them by showing them how they weren't free; mikasa by her ackerbond and armin by bertholdt's memories. he seemed really pained that they weren't free. you could see it in his eye. to him being free is the greatest salvation. i also think it was to push them away from him so they didn't get hurt by him. he never wanted to hurt them but it was the only way to push them away, so they didn't get hurt and so they didn't oppose what were already hard decisions for him to make about his plans for molding the future. i noticed he hurt his friends where they were most vulnerable. the fighter mikasa with words and the strategist armin with punches. i also think there were frames of him with tears in his eyes in this scene. anyway this is just my take and feel free to reply with any insights or anything that you feel that i've missed. this new op is literally the best thing i've ever heard. eren is one of the most complex characters i've seen in fiction ever. i can't believe that i used to be a levi fangirl lol.

That thumbnail is raw. Fantastic work as always

Thanks mate for such quality AOT content.

"If you can't fool your friends, how can you fool your enemies?"

Man, your videos are so great!!!

This is the first video analysis that I 100% agree on, so many people misunderstood erens character even after reading chapter 131 Really good video

Fantastic video as always! Eren really is the most ironic character in all of AoT... the boy who wants nothing more than freedom while in reality being nothing but a slave to fate. Very tragic character indeed.

Always happy for a video from you bro. Just on time too. This will be a good weekend.

I am incredibly excited to see how the Anime handles the "controversial" ending, I feel a few of the key points have been handled better so far and I hope that continues, as Eren's views/outlook weren't best explained in the manga leading to a lot of people misinterpreting the messages

Once again, great video!

Interesting coming back to this 2 years later after the ending.

If you want to get something, you must ready to sacrifice another... For me this statement explains every Eren's do's

Excellent analysis of eren's character and point of view in this last chunk of the story!!

I think there are two erens. one who despises the world and truly wants it to end, and one who is desperately sad and lonely and just wants people to be happy. I believe these two aspects of him are in constant conflict after spending so much time in Marley, the way that reiner developed split personalities from his stay in Paradis. not to say that I think eren has split personalities, but I do think there are two distinct aspects of his personality and he can't really settle on one

Enjoyed the video! Also, you might like Sages Rain's video on freedom concerning Eren and in general. I found that I enjoyed it quite a bit and it was something to think about. Have a nice day everyone.

great video and you have a lovely narration as well

brilliant video, as always

I live for essays like these lad

Thank you for the video, love your content

This was a beautiful vid, as always. And this is something I wish certain "fans" of AOT would understand. Eren isn't some stoic, badass who knows what he's doing. He's as emotional as the boy who saw his mom getting eaten all those years. All he can do is maneuver around the bloodied world and pursue both his freedom and the right to help his people. THAT'S Eren Yeager.

Damn i love this video It shows me again why i love eren so much as a character

Huge supporter! your YT videos are narrative genius! I love your streams too... all piller energy is welcomed here! I really really hope you breakdown the demon slayer narrative at some point!

Just seen the tweet, had to come check this out

Ahhhhh, another good one! I always believed and believe that Eren did what he did for a greater cause in the end but as you said, what does he see that we cannot. This last episodes have been something special and enlightening! Thanks for doing this :]

Keep Moving Forward - Eren Jaeger

Eren is one of the greatest characters ever conceived, from chapter 1 to chapter 139.

Another great video!!

Eran was never free and he eventually realized it, in the pursuit of said freedom u loose it, ur fight for a cause and not urself requires u to give urself up because to do that for the people he cared. And at the end of the story was the real eran finally being able to cry out

Nice explanation! Good work!

thank you. you have no idea how many manga readers missed this completely when the ending happened

Eren Yeager without freedom: *unemployed meme*

I love the thumbnail

I used to think everyone was wrong about the ending. I've read every take on it under the sun. Now I've reached the point where I don't know any more and I just listen to people who aren't dickheads that have some validity behind their words.

Eren should win an Oscar for his acting.

Ay he's going in. I'm very happy you love AOT

The kind of person so unwilling to give up his freedom he'd rip his hands off just to break free from his chains. The kind of person that would go against the entire world by himself to defend the lives and freedom of his people. The way he choses to use his freedom is to sacrifice himself for the freedom of others.

He is like a bird in the cage that ymir shaped 2000 earlier

we are eating way to good 2 back to back aot videos by aj

What people forget as well is that history was repeating itself. The King of the walls said that if the island of Paradis was EVER attacked, the Rumbling would occur. This was much bigger than Eren. He just happened to be the one who was fated to carry it out. What type of normalcy can you have when you’re literally put to work, used by the military/government, and then the fate of your homeland is pretty much thrust upon you?

Nice. Loved the examples you used about how Sasha’s death and Hanes’ death evoked the same reaction from Eren, where he just laughs at himself. It’s semi-subtle, but also clear and obvious indicator of how he feels about himself.

You deserve more subscribers

Fuck this is deep. It's like Eren lost his soul the moment he kissed Historias Hand in Season 3. His conscioussness as already aware of what he was going to do anyway. So he was like a puppet to serve to archieve the future he saw for himself. It`s very deep man.

The transition around 4:25 actually hit so hard

I believe that Eren also saw an alternate future where he didn't inact the rumbling and in that alternate future, his friends and the people of Paradis perished. Much like how Doctor Strange saw different futures in their battle against Thanos. Eren saw that the only way to protect those important to him was to inact the Rumbling thus he had no choice.

God I love that thumbnail. Haven't even watched the video yet, I just had to say immediately.

Damn that thumbnail hits different