I recently finished Attack on Titan and the more I think about it, the more I feel that the Titans were almost never the real story. Beneath all the action, violence and freedom that Eren kept talking about, the series was really asking much deeper questions about humans, information, fear and the choices we make when we believe our version of the truth is the only truth.

What stayed with me the most was how information itself became a weapon. There were two sides, Marley and the people living on Paradis Island, with each side growing up with a completely different understanding of history. They were taught different stories, different enemies, and different reasons to fight. What one side considered truth, the other side considered lies. And because most people never had the opportunity to see the other side, generations continued to inherit the same hatred.

That made me question something very simple. How much of what we believe is actually our own understanding, and how much of it has been given to us since childhood?

The series shows how easily information can shape people. Tell someone the same story for years, surround them with fear, punish them for questioning it, and eventually the story can become reality in their mind. It is not necessarily that people are born wanting to hate or fight. Sometimes they are taught whom to fear before they are even old enough to question why.

And that is where Attack on Titan became much more than an anime for me.

It made me think about questioning the system too. We are often told that questioning is important, and I agree. But the series also made me wonder, how far should we question? Which questions are we willing to ask, and which ones are too uncomfortable because they might force us to rethink everything we already believe?

Even the idea of freedom becomes complicated. Eren spends so much of his life chasing freedom, but what exactly is freedom? Is freedom simply being able to choose for yourself? Or does freedom become something else when achieving it requires taking away someone else’s freedom?

And then there is Eren.

Was he a hero? Was he a villain? I don’t think the story makes that question easy, and perhaps that is exactly the point. His decisions cannot be understood through a simple good versus evil lens. The same person can fight for freedom, love his people, make terrible choices, and cause unimaginable suffering at the same time.

That is also why the journeys of Eren, Mikasa, and Armin stayed with me. Their story is not simply about winning a war. It is about growing up, discovering that the world is far bigger and darker than they imagined, and then having to make choices when there is no completely right answer.

For me, Attack on Titan is ultimately a story about information, perspective, freedom, sacrifice and the consequences of believing that our truth is the complete truth.

And perhaps the most uncomfortable question it leaves behind is this: when people are raised on different truths, who do we call the enemy?

The journey of Eren, Mikasa and Armin was absolutely worth watching. ❤️