Uncovering Reiner Braun - The Hero without an Identity (Attack on Titan)

keep moving forward that's all we can do Aaron jger is adant that he and rer Bron are the same that they are two sides of the same coin but who exactly is Riner Bron Riner was born into a world of ignorant children taught by ignorant adults as Aaron once described it a rather astute observation because riner's mother mother is one of the worst offenders of this ignorance she wholeheartedly believed in the eldian propaganda and passed that on to her only son ingrained in the two of them were the ideas that they were descendants of devils which is why they were abandoned by riner's father it's why they are segregated from the rest of the population rhiner's mother spent so much time loathing the blood that ran through her veins the thought of it even bringing her to tears so like any child would Riner made it his life's goal to to bring a smile to his mother's face the only way to do that is to make them honorary marlean that would give them a sense of worth and belonging and the freedom to leave their town and maybe to even bring their father back that would become riner's dream Marlene indoctrination is disturbing as Warrior candidates these eldians are forced to memorize and recite speeches and Oaths as part of their subservience to Marley when Falco steps out of line for a second rer threatens to inform him from speaking ill of the honor of inheriting one of the nine Titans getting informed on means that without investigation the individual's entire family becomes Titans to be dropped out of a plane that is the threat that looms over their heads if any of them dare to step out of line that's what will happen if the Warriors fail their mission falu then recites this speech calling his own blood Wicked and promising to devote himself to Marley Forever This indoctrination runs incredibly deep with multiple components there is the physical punishment of being isolated and segregated from the rest of the civilians being treated as less than human means that they aren't even normally allowed to speak to other Marans we see that in the way that colt responds to Zeke being able to talk to the other officials but most of all it's the mental torment that affects these people the most regularly getting called all types of insults descendants of pigs Devils Etc their lives were con ly hanging by a threat threatened by eldians who are turned into Titans in front of their very eyes for riner's case in particular you add all of these different elements and the fact that the one common trait that Riner has is that he is overly honest Riner is a prime and easy candidate for propaganda and it doesn't help that his mother is adding fuel to the fire this is the most untainted version of rer Bron the purest most authentic version of him until he becomes a man this awkward loyal hardworking overly honest kid is rer Brun a kid who desires to save Humanity the very first crack in riner's already unstable identity comes before he is set to take off to pyade where he decides to visit his father and his father abandons him and his mother once again for their devilish blood because of this a part of him felt useless as one of his key points for motivation was to reunite his family despite like this Riner continues to move forward saying that though he might not have a father he is still the chosen Warrior entrusted with the Armored Titan he will still become a hero the second Kraken riner's identity comes on the island when Marcel reveals to Rina that he wasn't actually chosen to become the Armored Titan based on his own Merit after these two events Riner can no longer see himself as somebody useful he is desperate to be someone to do something that will change his situation and so Riner looks inwards of their group Marcel was the clear Leader of the Band physically the strongest of the four and the older brother figure he was the one who helped Riner when Porco attacked him and on the island Marcel ultimately sacrifices himself to save Riner and what's fascinating about this scene is that rina's thoughts are then bolded on the panel while Marcel has sacrif IED himself this kid who plans to be the quote hero who saves everyone is running away in the very same panel this is a reoccurring theme Rina runs away from the Titan here he runs away from reality when he becomes a soldier he then tries to run away from facing down his very actions this is a character trait that persists with the Armored Titan Rina just went against everything he was supposed to be in a split second but Marcel was a hero because because a true hero is somebody who sacrifices even their own life to save others Rina ran away and Annie blames everything on him she beats rhina to a bloody pulp and pleads for the Armored Titan to just die and he does this is the moment when Rina loses whatever personality he had and he adopts his very first personality he tells Annie that rina's dead if you needed Marcel then I will be Marcel he says rhina is abandoned by his father for his blood twice and his mother never looked at him or valued him until he became a warrior before that she only looked at rhina with sadness and regret and now he learns that he wasn't even chosen to become the Armored Titan rina's identity is completely shattered at this point he has no reason to believe that Rhino Bron is enough to become a hero no reason to believe that he has inherent value so he adopts other identities so that he may one day fulfill the dream that that will grant him that validation his thought is that Rhino Bron will be enough if he saves the world the only confidence he hopes to gain in his identity is conditional so rhina becomes the leader of their group still armed with his personal goal but also adding Marcel's ability to lead and to influence has the three of them take down wall Rose eventually adopt the stories of others and it's his idea for them to join the scouts R's desperation can tug the one thing that Annie and Berto desire most their lives and the safety of their families not only does he become Marcel mentally but he packs on all this muscle to take on the role that he is playing physically what's most alarming here and the art highlights this is how young they were when this all transpired using Rina as the focal point really illustrates how young they were because rina's physical change over the two years that they were hiding in the walls is so drastic they were 12 years old when they took down W Maria 12 years old literal children when they were chosen changed and corrupted rina's face and his body have changed so much when you compare him to the way he looked at the beginning of this flashback this kid whose gun is comically larger than his body is the same kid who was tasked to save the world as a soldier rhina is forced to face down his contrasting BL leaves on one hand RH of the warrior is tasked with slaying the eldian Devils but as a soldier he finds people who are just like him people who desire to save Humanity who have dedicated their hearts to it he finds Aaron who seeks his guidance on how to be just like him how to be mentally strong how to keep moving forward rhina meets Connie in Historia he meets Marco and so when it's time to confront his contrasting beliefs when it's time to kill Marco and civilians rina's mind Shields him creating the soldier Persona why is Marco being devoured rina's mind cannot fathom the horrors that he has to commit he can't be the soldier and the warrior at the same time the guilt is way too much it's too heavy Rina has all of this propaganda burned into him about these filthy eldians who ruined everything for them but when he faces them down and sees them for who they truly are this is his way of coping with what he was supposed to do as a soldier rhina still carries Marcel with him he plays that older brother figure to the rest of the Scout we see that notably when he interacts with Connie and Armen like helping Armen out with his heavy backpack protecting Connie more than that Rina understands the ethos of being a soldier of being a scout he says that being a soldier means entering The Fray and shielding the people they are supposed to protect no matter the odds or the enemy and we see him do that time and again but it eventually comes to a halt when Rina finally snaps abandoning the scouts for good where rer truly comes into his own as a character is after the time skip for all that time spent across the sea rhina could not face down the reality that he was a monster that he had killed and betrayed decent people now that he has no identities to hide behind Rina spends all of his time condemning himself and reminiscing over the friends he used to have when he's at the dinner table he's asked to relive some of his memories and the only ones he could think of are fond ones these were people he truly befriended and bonded with friends that appreciated him and valued him the very things he was searching for internally he found on that island and those very same friends he fought and betrayed Rina is suffering he knows that he's a bad person he knows that he is surrounded by terrible people and he is doing terrible things but something keeps pushing him forward he is battling against his own nature in this state Rina has lost the qualities of the warrior and the soldier that he once had Marcel's courage his leadership his strength seemed to be missing in the armored tip now he is a shell of himself he has no resolve no willpower nothing it's a pretty stark contrast to the character that we came to know Rina failed and he blamed it all on himself he was the only person to return from their mission he fa berold Annie Marcel his Nation his family himself not even changing his own identity could save him Rina is now a broken man looking for a way out Rina tries to run away from it all he tries to run away from facing down everything that he did back on parody he sees Gabby and Falco kids falling victim to the very same pressures of their nation that he did and yet he cannot do a thing about it which brings us to Aaron Rina and Aaron are foils to each other as stated Aon once expressed a desire to be just like Rina in that basement however Aaron finally realizes that they have always been the same as children the two of them desired to be someone they both wanted to change fundamental parts of their world that they were unhappy with Aaron because he was born into this world his mother told him he was special Rina because he was born into this world his mother told him that they were devils descendants of pigs Aaron believes he is born with a Birthright something that he cannot explain a passion to see the rest of the world a passion to be free and yet he is caged Rina is a prisoner of propaganda and indoctrination who desperately desire desired to change the situation around them and placing these two panels right beside each other creates an accurate parallel these are two children who could not bear to exist or to die in this world without changing something Rina and Aaron both vowed to destroy their faceless enemies across the sea even after they slept under their enemy roofs after they ate the same food and both realized that quote over the sea inside the walls they are all the same they realize that both Nations had some good and some bad but Aaron says that where he and rer differ is because rer was taught that everyone across the sea was evil again ignorant children taught by ignorant adults Aaron sympathizes with Rina in a way absolving him of his own responsibility blaming rina's choices on history and his environment but Rina adamantly rejects the notion that he has suffered he rejects the idea that he is a victim he's recognized that he has has become this terrible person and does not want to be absolved of his sins no Rina wants to be punished for them judged for them just like the man who took his own life in front of him back when they infiltrated W Rose three chapters before this Aaron tells Falco that those who push themselves into Hell by their own free will see a different hell than those forced to by external factors like history or environment he explicitly uses rina's words and says that those who know are the ones who will keep moving forward rhina in admitting that he is not a victim reveals to Aaron that he is that second type of person and that is all the confirmation that Aaron needs that they are indeed the same Aaron and rhina both hide behind a lie that they outwardly tell others and themselves which masks their true dream the LIE is that everything that they do is because they want to save the world a respon HS that Aaron scoffs at but saving humanity is the lie that they both choose it's the one goal and feeling that can climb over even guilt what's a few lives to saving hundreds of millions right these two characters lie over and over again throughout the series but at their core Aaron and Rina are selfish they each have a childish dream that they've continued to carry that pushes them past even hell that has anchored their every step rhina wanted to be a hero he wanted wanted that recognition that adoration that he never got he yearned for his inherent existence as RH of Bron his identity to have value something he never got not from his parents or from his peers and Aaron says that everything he does is for his friends and for the island and to save the world but in reality his true honest goal has been a selfish desire for Freedom a pure unadulterated Freedom a blank canvas he says Rina can only reveal his most authentic self he can only be honest in front of Aaron because Aaron is rina's victim the one who should be judging him the one who should be handing out his punishment when Aaron and rhina are faced with the reprehensible morality of their actions they both cry they break down they crack and they weep Riner goes to Aaron to Jean to the rest of the scouts again to be judged and punished Riner believes he should die because of what he'd done Aaron goes to Ramsey the boy in chapter 131 to be judged and to this boy he exposes his truest stest desire but where Rina stops Aaron continues to move forward and so Rina is the only character who understands this aspect of Aaron because after these events when he looks at Aaron he sees a mirror he sees a man just as selfish and as monstrous as he is he too believes that they are the same and so in chapter 133 on the plane because they are so alike he believes that were he in Aaron situation tasked with such a responsibility on route to the rumbling he would want someone to stop him simply because of his nature they keep moving forward because they've seen something beyond that hell in that basement Rina finally lets go of that lie that he's been telling himself for over a decade he confronts the selfishness and again he wants to to die because of it but this story won't let him off that easy rhina won't let himself off that easily so he has to rebuild his identity every time Rina uses that justification of becoming a hero of saving the world you can see it in his face now how embarrassed he is to have such a childish desire bring him this far now Rina can atone in chapter 127 at the campfire Rina takes full responsibility for the horrors that he spearheaded on that island in front of Jean he wants to be punished and he accepts any consequence in front of Annie he does the same Rina must atone with his body nearly dying to protect Annie Gabby Connie Falco and the other Scouts when the occasions arise just like at the campfire or when taking down the jurists Marco got eaten because of me Annie was only following the orders I was giving her but most of all for Rina his most remarkable transformation is the way in which he views saving the world and being a hero which has been one of the main themes of this story Yelena provokes everyone prepared to fight Aaron because at one point in time they all once believed that they were saving the world save the world are there any words sweeter or more alluring she says you give yourselves to the sublimely exciting idea that you will save hundreds of millions of lives you gulp it down to wash away all the hatred you felt in the past in chapter 133 Connie struggles with the fact that Samuel and da former Scouts turned jerus that he killed called Connie a traitor while they claimed they were saving the world but it's Rina who uplifts Connie and Jean telling them that even if they won't be redeemed they must still keep moving forward in this series morality gets thrown out the window rather quickly for all parties involved because everyone has subscribed to the idea that saving Millions will redeem you from the hundreds or the thousands you've killed the glory and the pride that you will feel will be worth it the story ultimately argues that chasing down heroics at the cost of your Humanity won't bring you anywhere rhina is the prime example that it's just not worth it but instead to truly save Humanity they must be willing to sacrifice I'm sure that Jean nor Connie ever thought that saving the world meant fighting alongside the man who killed their best friend the man who let Marco die such a gruesome death to save Humanity means to save even those who wish to kill them this story is adamant that those who will save Humanity are going to be the ones who are doing it for the right reasons so for Rina now there is no Warrior no Soldier no Marcel to hide behind there is no more hero Rina has to face himself accept what he's done and craft his identity into someone he can actually Bear to be someone who doesn't want to die it won't be a person that he is proud of but it has to be a person that he can bear Rina in accepting that and pushing Connie and Jean to save the world has finally stripped down every notion of the man that he once was including that dream that selfish desire Rina continues to move forward under the belief that his mother and all of liberio have already perished so Rina does all of this knowing that he won't get the praise and recognition from his peers that he once desired he won't get the validation from his mother that he once desired he does it knowing that he will never be redeemed he has nothing and no one to save and yet he does it anyways and he encourages the others to try and save the world as well Rina doesn't want to run away anymore this is what atonement looks like Rina has finally become a hero Rina has the Armored Titan in the final battle throws his body around and he truly becomes Humanity's Shield he was a massive help in defeating Aaron and wiping out all of the Titans and all the Titan abilities as the story nears its conclusion Rina is pleased to see that his mother is still alive after all and he greets her with a look of childish disappointment for the final time rhina has failed he's no longer a warrior or a Titan he can't save his mother anymore and he tells her this he isn't the Armored Titan anymore he's no longer a warrior his mother Embraces him anyways and she apologizes for everything the root of rina's greatest identity issue was the lack of validation he had received for being himself and you contrast that to when Aaron was born when his mother told him that he was already special because he was born into this world Rina never had that and so he felt that he needed to become the warrior in order to make his mother proud in order to make her even see him he needed Marcel the leader to become the hero to become a soldier to save the world but with this small step starting with his mother's validation because everything always begins with the parents Rina can finally begin to heal and accept who he is Rina Brun can finally exist for once in his life Rina has suffered a lot a suffering that he feels is deserved but regardless of it all and even 3 years after their final battle Rina has no choice but to keep moving forward this time though for peace in order to atone

Channel: Sage's Rain

Views: 61,157

Keywords: anime, film, tv, aot, attack on titan, snk, shingeki no kyojin, eren yeager, eren jeager, reiner braun, annie, armin, connie

Id: EuGmwr9hp04

Length: 22min 29sec (1349 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 01 2024