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 Vol.21 

The End and Regeneration in Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan : Justice and the Devil, from Monstrous Beings to Others


Author
Mei-Hsueh SHEN
Synopsis

Attack on Titan is a popular manga created by Hajime Isayama. The people who live surrounded by the triple walls feel fear of the Titans that roam outside the walls, but they believe that they are safe inside the walls and lead peaceful lives. Howev- er, one day, the outermost wall is destroyed by the Titans, and humanity realizes that they were nothing more than livestock living in peace. This is the beginning of the sto- ry and the moment when the myth of safety within the walls comes to an end.
This manga has a dystopian setting from the beginning, but as the story progresses, serious issues such as justice, war, racism, and nationalism are presented one after an- other. The beginning of the story has a theme of “humans vs. monstrous beings,” but it later changes to “community vs. foreigners,” and in the end it becomes a problem of “us vs. others.” Throughout the entire work, the meanings of justice and evil are repeatedly raised, contemplated, and questioned. In the ending of the story, the world is moving to- wards peace, but many years later, Paradis Island once again erupts into war, leading to the collapse of civilized society and culminating in a “final” conclusion. This paper ex- amines the structure of the eschatological worldview in Attack on Titan, and deciphers the keywords such as justice, the devil, monstrous beings, foreigners, and others.