I believe it’s safe to say that Attack on Titan was the hit anime series of the season. Dramatic, stylish, and shocking, the series grabbed the audience with a titan-strength grip and wouldn’t let go, even after a season finale that went down with a boom! For those of you who don’t know the set up, the series is centered in an alternative world where humanity has been pushed to the brink by things called titans–human-like beings that tower above humans, making them look like dolls in comparison. For some unknown reason, titans began rampaging long ago, making humans their prey. Driven to desperation, humankind secluded itself within a space sectioned off by three impenetrable walls to stave off further titan attacks. In addition, they created a special military group trained in combating titans, although with little success. Despite the warnings from his mother and his adopted sister, Mikasa, that he’d get himself killed, young Eren dreams of joining the most ill-fated sectors of the military that venture outside the Walls. His other friend, Armin, also dreams of going outside the Walls, although doing so through the military is the last thing on his mind.
But after living in relative peace and safety for some time, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin’s lives are forever changed when a colossal titan breaks through the first Wall, once again releasing the horrors of titans on humanity. They manage to escape to the solace of the second Wall, but not without experiencing loss–Eren’s mother and later, Armin’s grandfather. Eren’s father has disappeared, too, but before that, he leaves Eren with a key to their basement and a mysterious message that Eren find out for himself what is hidden in the basement. Seeking revenge and the answer to his father’s strange demand, Eren becomes a military trainee with his two friends and begins the fight of a lifetime.
Balancing combat sequences in which the threat of death is very real with intense moments of character interaction and development, elements of mystery, and even some humor, Attack on Titan quickly became my addiction of the season; it’s the full package. One of the best surprises of all was the way the series has handled its female characters in relation to its male characters so far. It’s been a trend in shonen manga/anime (that is, series directed at boys) to star a large cast of characters who fight alongside the male hero. Within that group, there have been a good number of female characters in the ranks of fighters, albeit significantly fewer relative to the number of male characters. The catch is, however, those female characters are often differentiated from the male fighters as intelligent and technically skilled, but lacking in prowess and actual battle ability compared to the men. That’s not to say there are not exceptions, but I often run into that type of set up.
That’s why it was nice to see Attack on Titan playing with this trend and switching things around a bit. Instead of making the hero’s female friend the strategically skilled but physically weak character and the hero’s male friend the super skilled, battle prodigy, as happens with popular series such as Naruto, the series flipped the stereotypes. Mikasa acts as the prodigy soldier whose skill excels her comrades and Armin plays the role of the physically weaker genius strategist. I like this change because it removes those skill sets (combat skill/intellect) from a stereotypical connection with one or the other gender. Guys can excel at using their heads instead of their fists and aren’t always great at combat. On the other hand, girls can be great–even better than their male comrades–at combat.
That brings me to my thoughts on Mikasa. Mikasa, if nothing else, is an intriguing female character. Cool and collected to an almost alarming degree, you’re not going to see this female character hesitate in the face of danger. She’s shown over and over to be more than capable, starting in the first episode when Mikasa scares away a group of bullies who are about to hurt Eren and Armin with her mere presence. (Yes, you read that right: the female friend saves the guys for once.) In later episodes, she’s shown to have the potential to rival one of the best fighters in the military, a battle-hardened man named Levi. She’s not just physically strong, but also mentally as strong as steel. She’s able to rally herself to fight on even in the face of devastation.
She’s certainly far from perfect (she is human after all). Her devotion to Eren is at times worrying–sometimes it seems like Eren could tell Mikasa to jump off a bridge and she would–but it’s made clear that Mikasa has not made herself a mindless servant to Eren. Most notably, Eren tells her repeatedly that he doesn’t need or want her to protect him anymore, but that hasn’t stopped Mikasa from following her own wish to do so anyway. This absolute devotion does, however, make me pause and think of trends of female characters devoted to an extreme–romantically or otherwise–to a male character, which isn’t my favorite. At least in Mikasa and Eren’s case, the devotion is a result of a traumatic event, which makes Mikasa’s reaction, and the strong bond that forms from the event, more understandable than simply being an unhealthily love-crazy girl. I also like that, from the beginning, Eren and Mikasa’s bond is founded on helping each other, instead of one (aka the girl) always hanging on the other for survival. So far, Eren and Mikasa’s has been fairly even give-and-take. With any luck, the series will keep it that way. In addition, rather than make the tough-as-nails Mikasa vulnerable, a gimmick used frequently, the revealing of her tragic past serves to depict how she became so tough. The use of Mikasa’s background (as well as Levi’s) brings difficult questions about what it means to obtain the strength we often see in action-driven series like Attack on Titan.
But Mikasa isn’t the only dynamic female character in Attack on Titan, not by a long shot. The series is full of female characters who are just as skilled and active as their male comrades. From fellow new recruits to veterans to zealous researchers, there are many types of female characters popping up to play significant roles. Without spoiling anything, there’s a particularly nice twist involving a female character at the end of the season.
Imagine that. Practical uniforms for both men and women!
And can I just say that I am extremely happy that for once the female characters don’t get a cute/sexy, feminine version of the military uniform in the series? Creators seem compelled to give female officers miniskirts or pink versions of whatever uniforms the male officers are wearing, even combat operatives. Just because they’re female doesn’t mean you have to give them a cute uniform. It was refreshing to see a series that isn’t afraid of treating the female characters just like the male ones: they are treated seriously and don’t exist as attractive things to drool over. In fact, not only do the uniforms not objectify them, but the character designs themselves show that the female characters aren’t just there as eye candy. While there are some female characters in the cast that are cute or beautiful, there are also a number of female characters that don’t fit traditional and limited ideas of beauty. There are also no conveniently angled shots of female butts or boobs nor any unrealistically large female anatomy present. The female characters are treated just like the male characters. To me, that pretty much sums up how Attack on Titan succeeds with its female characters.
It’s violent. It’s brutal. But with interesting characters that break gender roles, good mix of character building and action, and a compelling plot that keeps you begging for the next installment, Attack on Titan is without a doubt my favorite series of the season. Give it a try if you haven’t already. You can watch the entire season for free (and legally) on Crunchyroll.com now.
Gagging on Sexism 
According to Jesuotaku there are two well written female characters this season: if you are looking for a ,,hero” that is Mikasa Akerman, if you are looking for a ,,loser” that is the main character of Watamote: Tomoko Kuroki.
Have you seen Watamote? And if you have seen it what is your opinion on the anime?
No, I haven’t seen it yet. I’ve heard of it though, and I was curious about the show myself. That’s an interesting comparison of two female characters. I certainly see the “hero” aspects of Mikasa. I guess I’ll have to watch Watamote to find out what Tomoko is like.
In Japanese culture, there is the idea that women should be willing to give their lives in service of their menfolk–at least, according to Nitobe Inazo. Of course, in medieval times, this was never possible on the battlefield, but I wonder if series like Attack on Titan play on that idea with characters like Mikasa, who is by far the most interesting character in the show. Japanese anime seems to be offering more traditionally masculine roles to female characters, and I have often wondered whether it is more in response to modern feminism or experimenting with their own cultural ideas.
It seems to me like everyone, male and female, in the scouting legion is expected to give their lives for those living inside the walls. I haven’t seen gender factor into any of the show’s writing (not the romances, nor the character traits, nor even who gets brutally killed and eaten). I don’t think that it’s possible to interpret it as anything other than an egalitarian statement that gender is secondary to other matters.
I can’t manage to read into the show any kind of statement that women should behave in manner X and men in a different manner Y, such as that women should die for the sake of men. Neither that one group should be protectors, nor servants, nor even romantic interests, of the other. There just doesn’t seem to be evidence of that, as far as I can see.
Mikasa is probably willing to die for Eren, but that’s her own idiosyncrasy — Eren doesn’t want her to, nor does the rest of society approve of it (or even the military, at least until they found that Eren was strategically important). There are also men who would die for females (like a terrified father who decides it would be better to die fighting to protect his daughter than to defect), and men who would die to protect other men (like Eren for Armin, and again when a minor character performs the same stunt), and women would die to protect other women (like Ymir for Christa). That kind of die-in-service-of mentality is everywhere in Attack on Titan and forms a major part of the struggle of certain characters, as they come to terms with valuing something or someone above their own life. But the gender of characters does not seem to be information that factors into whether or not this relationship will develop.
Yeah, I suppose that Mikasa’s devotion to Erin is idiosyncratic. But, she is one of the few Japanese still alive, so I would not be surprised if the author wished for her in particular to reflect the highest values of Japanese culture. The other characters are not Japanese, and so have a different standard of morality which seems to challenge Mikasa’s peculiar devotion. But, I have only watched the first 9 episodes, so I am unsure whether the series renders a judgment for or against this particular mindset. Yet, I’m convinced that Japanese values must have influenced the design of Mikasa’s character in favor desiring to serve Erin.
If you read the manga, then you will notice how anime “dolled-up” or make Mikasa and other girl much more prettier.
About Mikasa attraction to Eren, it’s the result of trauma. Her parents murdered right before her eyes. Her adoptive mother killed right before eyes. So it’s obvious that she’s quite protective to Eren, her only family (and possibly the man she love). It’s refreshing how often Mikasa protect Eren (it’s destruction of damsel in distress trope). If there’s no Mikasa, Eren will be as good as dead.
P.S: Do you read the manga? When Isayama-sensei, the mangaka, were asked to draw Mikasa with bikini, he draw her with abs, and eight packs. You can find google that picture. I’m almost laughing when male otaku crying “No, she shouldn’t have six packs!” Mikasa isn’t their anime waifu.
It’ll be interesting to see if well-toned girls will be the next big thing thanks to Mikasa!
I agree! When you think about it, almost every time that Eren vows “I’ll destroy every last titan!”, it’s a code that he’s about to need to get rescued, usually by Mikasa. If Eren were a female character I would probably be getting very annoyed by him being a damsel in distress so often, incapable of solving his own problems. But because he’s a male character, it instead becomes a highly amusing trope inversion.
I agree that the exclusion of gratuitous boob/butt shots actually makes the series stand out more as something worthy to be dissected in terms of gender roles (comparing manga/anime designs with fanart designs has demonstrated that), but I must take a somewhat different opinion when it comes to the design of the uniforms themselves.
The standard uniform in the series is a jacket that’s cut off at the natural waist-line and what I can only assume is a sash below the belt, that closely resemble short shorts. If anything, I feel like the author wanted to take a uniform that seemed more geared towards what would be “typical” for women and make the design more asexual, going along with his fair treatment of his women characters in the series.
That’s an intriguing point! It did strike me that certain aspects of the uniforms (such as the cloth that resembles short shorts) seemed like pieces of an outfit more typically associated with women’s outfits. I didn’t think out the design of the outfit in that way, but I like that thought. The outfit doesn’t appear to have been designed with only men in mind. It really works well for both, which is even better than just sticking women in an outfit made for men; it shows recognition of both of the sexes equally.
I think that’s even better, it was designed to be gender neutral, rather then being designed for one over the other.
One show– and in fairness, I’m biased, since I work on the show at FUNimation –that I think often doesn’t get enough credit for its female characters is Fairy Tail…probably because they are so often given to us in bikinis.
But it remains that one of the strongest wizards in the show (routinely seen as stronger than the main character) is Erza; one of the strongest spells ever cast in the show was performed by the female lead Lucy; and there are female characters in positions of power alongside the men all over the place, such as Mavis (the original founder of the Fairy Tail guild), and a couple of the magic council who basically rule all the guilds as well.
Attack on Titan definitely clobbers Fairy Tail when it comes to not exploiting its female characters sexually…but on the other hand, there are almost no women shown in positions of political or military power. I think the highest-ranking we’ve seen is Zoe, who is a lead scientist…or maybe Petra, who is an assistant to a male decision-maker (Levi). Granted, the world is pretty dystopian, but I don’t get the feeling that its male-dominated hierarchy is especially part of the commentary.
Mind, those are just some off-the-cuff thoughts. 🙂
Definitely the ones so far shown in the higher positions of power are men; I’m not sure that this will remain the case as the story progresses. Hopefully not, but we’ll see. I think that the highest ranking women that have been introduced so far are:
– Anka (Dot Pixis’ senior staff officer)
– Rico (stationary guard elite squad leader)
– Zoe, who you mentioned; it’s hard to say exactly, but her title of 分隊長 (division officer) likely puts her higher up in the chain of command than Levi, who is referred to as 兵士長 (lance corporal).
Never mind; looks like I’m wrong! Levi outranks Zoe.
I’m assuming you have not read the manga? I don’t want to spoil, so I’ll simply say that there is a female of higher authority. Historia Reiss.
Thanks for commenting! I hear from a lot of interesting people, but I believe this is the first time I’ve had someone who works at a big company like FUNimation comment. 🙂
Anyway, I also noticed the lack of high ranking female characters in Attack on Titan. It’s pretty striking when you think of the reasonable number of capable and competent female officers shown. I suppose I chalked it up to an issue of the world presented in the series, but as you mentioned, gender equality doesn’t appear to be a part of the plot so far. In fact, the number of female officers and the unbiased attitude toward them suggests a more modern take on gender roles within the society. Putting female characters in powerful positions is important so, I would love to see that happen in this series.
As for Fairy Tail, I haven’t gotten through too much of it yet, but I’ve started it. While the female characters in the series definitely suffers from sexual exploitation, I have noted, and am enjoying, the prominence of very strong female characters (most notably, Ezra) as well as the number of ones in high positions. I’ve got a fair amount of catching up to do before I reach the current point of the series, but I’m looking forward to seeing what Fairy Tail does with its female characters. (I’m also glad to hear that Lucy is going to get a moment to shine. I’ve been anticipating it!)
Historia Reiss, in the manga (apparently seasons 1-5 of the anime) is a female that is part of the political system. She is actually one of the exsisting female characters .
Thanks for reading and commenting! Not too long ago, I reached the part in the manga where Historia comes more into focus (I just finished volume 12). I’m excited to see where the story takes it from here, but it looks like she’ll add some variety to the main cast of female characters.
I think women not being in power actually makes sense within the context, the monarchy is filled with elitist, xenophobic and classicists, As we saw when 2nd wall broke down n they were trying to get goods in before other people. So their apparent misogyny is not a surprise. When bad people are in power, others get screwed over, titans are not the only villain, the monarchy is bad too and i expect to see that in 2nd season. So hence may be fewer females, because the higher up are full of paranoid schmucks as seen when kitts wanted eren dead and pixis wants things to reform, at least so is my interpretation.
I agree! Attack on Titan is a step in the right direction in many ways, but the show lost my interest after a few episodes. Mikasa was compelling and appealing as a character, but the reason for her devotion and dark nature were revealed far too early. I lost interest in the character.
Likewise, the show was unique and compulsive viewing when it was about mankind facing an insurmountable enemy and nearing extinction. I’ve never felt a TV show be so grim for such a long time. Yet as soon as they started controlling titans and fighting titans with titans it just became a medieval Evangelion and seemed to pile on all the tired anime tropes I was previously glad it had avoided. Such a shame.
[…] Erin at Gagging on Sexism has written a thoughtful look at Gender Roles in Attack on Titan. […]
The best thing about this show is definitely the “gender bending” with Mikasa and Armin and how equally the women are treated when compared with male characters. We have a diverse cast of females all of them with their own personality traits, wearing same military uniforms as men, no fanservice or over-sexualization, no fetishized deaths… Even with group shots, you can see female soldiers among males in the background and this is actually rare! Many shows have the token heroine and then every background character is male (like soldiers hanging around in a mess hall etc.).
Now, Mikasa’s blind devotion to Eren IS problematic. At least her backstory gives it a justification and it’s still better than shows where every single female is motivated by their feelings for males (I’m looking at you Naruto). And I believe the story portrays it as a not-so-good thing (moreso in the recent manga chapters), which gives room and hope for character growth.
Also, I would recommend everyone to read at least chapters 31-33 of the manga! Those chapters cover the last episodes. Read them just for Annie and compare with her treatment in the anime. In short, the anime did a huge disservice for Annie’s character (and actually Eren as well), you could even say they completely butchered her. I’m not gonna talk about this further to not spoil anything and ’cause I would just get angry again to no avail… but really, everyone should read the whole manga just for her (lol sorry biased for my queen), since they also cut scenes that were important when it’s comes to her relationship with Eren.
Still, I’m hyped for the second season (I’m fairly certain there will be one, this was definitely popular enough). Sasha is going to have her own crowning moment of awesome and then of course there are my favorite lesbian(s)…
It seems that many people are criticizing the show’s portrayal of Mikasa’s codependency/unrequited affection of Eren.
I’m just wondering… Mikasa’s blind devotion to Eren is definitely a flaw in her character (the only flaw so far, really). But at what point does a problem for a character become problematic for a show? Characters need flaws to be full and realistic, so good female characters need flaws which will take them away from the ideal.
But, if a character is taken away from the ideal — especially a strong female protagonist character — it might come across as making it look like the ideal itself is flawed, instead of the character. If the show portrays Mikasa as strong but emotionally dependent on Eren, how can we distinguish that from the show portraying “the ideal strong woman” as someone who is emotionally dependent on a man?
I’m not really sure what the answer is. But my personal opinion of the story so far in Shingeki no Kyojin is: Mikasa’s dependence on Eren is a flaw in her character, which takes her farther away from perfection — not just in our eyes as feminists, but in the storyteller’s eyes. And the challenge that she will have to overcome to grow and develop as a character is to lose her dependence on Eren. I think that the most likely way that will happen is that she will eventually realize, one way or the other, that Eren doesn’t and never will return her romantic affections. And then she will have some soul-searching to do.
Anyway, I’m not content with calling Mikasa ‘problematic’ until we see how her story arc develops. She doesn’t exactly fit my ideal of a strong female protagonist, but that’s not necessarily a problem, because she needs to have room to grow.
I never said Mikasa’s existence renders the entire show problematic though? I don’t even think it renders her entire problematic or that she shouldn’t have flaws, even if it has to be this flaw. But her devotion to Eren has reached a point where she doesn’t express many other interests than keeping him safe.
Ran Fan (FMA) is another female character who’s blindly devoted to her male companion Ling. But then her character arc wasn’t about Ling and she had her own relationships and dynamics with other characters along with having a huge effect on Ling’s character. I don’t even know why Mikasa and Armin are friends other than both like Eren and I think Mikasa’s relationship with Eren is very one-sided/unbalanced when it comes to the strength of their feelings (romantic or not) for one another, and this absolute inequality makes it negative for her.
In the end, for me this kind of male-centricness is one of those tropes associated with female characters that I’ve come to hate the most. The media often glorifying this kind of behavior from women as something desirable isn’t helping at all. With SnK fandom too, I guess I’ve run into people who simply see Mikasa’s devotion as something beautiful, romantic and tear-jerking too many times, haha.
I do believe and hope that she can grow out of it, but the manga is halfway done (the creator said he’s looking to end it with volume 20) and nothing has happened yet with Mikasa, while both Eren and Armin have already gone through tremendous amounts of development. Of course a lot can still happen, but until then I will see her devotion on Eren problematic.
But women do have such relationships, i do not see it as a flaw but an attribute. A woman can have undying love and still be feminist. Im tired of the notion that feminism is individualism and materialism, no it is making choices for one self and considering the power dynamic between both. It is an informed choice, she can do well without eren and still chooses to be so and she is aware of that. Had it been i cannot be without eren, then it is an issue, but it is i can be but choose not too.
Ah yes, Mikasa’s devotion to Eren is one of the shows weirdest and most creepy points. Until that is, you see the deeper meaning behind it.
If you look closely enough not just at Mikasa, but Eren’s questionable behavior towards titans, Armin and Erwins’s unnatural ability to throw away thier humanity, not to mention Levi and his squadron of trauma, you see the bigger picture: that none of these characters can be diagnosed as sane.
People tend to pick apart Mikasa, but I feel as though this is not just her problem- most if not all the characters cannot be regarded as sane regarding thier actions (this is especially clear to manga readers). And honestly, this is befitting of them considering they live in a world where Titans can eat them at any given time.
So in short, this is a series about preserving humanity, and the sacrifices one makes in order to do so, ironically.
Such a deep analysis… And here I’m thinking about where the heck these damn titans came from
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[…] Mikasa Ackerman nun eine „feministische Heldin“ oder nicht? Die Meinungen über Attack on Titan gehen […]
(Please excuse me if my english is bad, I’m no native speaker)
I don’t really see Mikasa’s protectiveness towards Eren as a problem. Actually, I think it’s the opposite, since it somewhat makes Eren into a “damsel in distress” and Mikasa into the white knight who saves the day. And that aside, like Jacob said, the show has other characters who would offer their life for someone else, like Ymir for Krista, or Eren for Armin.
Thank you for this review. I was interested in this anime but saw the rating as a “mature adult” series and immediately questioned if it was going to be full of unnecessary sexism. I’m going to bookmark your blog 🙂 XO
Now I really have no excuse not to start this (except for maybe waiting till more of it is out). My friends all love it too and have been telling me I need to start reading it as well.
Attack On Titan is so awesomeeee •^•
The only show I liked this much before this was Death Note, but I think this is better. Every anime inbetween has just been me cringing at the amount and badly timed fanservice. Is there any great animes, where gender isn’t an issue, and no fanservice, like Attack on Titan?
Try Fullmetal Alchemist : Brotherhood or Claymore. The first is written by a woman and a very good shounen. The second has an almost entirely female cast of warriors. It does feature nudity, but it feels more like an artistic choice then Fan service.
I’ve seen it , I loved it , I can’t wait for the film to come out.
B)
Hi! I just thought I should inform you that Hanji Zoe is supposed to be non-binary (from what I’ve read of the author’s intents??), not female, which is really cool, as I haven’t seen an anime/manga series showing that sort of representation before.