Annie is a very controversial, but interesting character.
Other characters just forgave her for everything without Annie having a proper redemption arc.
Annie would be a perfect character, if she had been explored more.
Annie has always been one of the most controversial characters in Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin). Despite her having a pretty big fanbase, fans cannot ignore her problematic aspects and the fact that she killed dozens of scouts back in Season 1. Redemption arcs are a powerful thing, and there are plenty of media examples of characters that committed terrible deeds but changed and deserved forgiveness later. Why does it feel like Annie is not exactly one of such characters, then?
Not enough screen time
One of the main reasons for that is that Annie doesn’t really have a lot of meaningful interactions. She was captured at the end of Season 1 and spent the next 2,5 seasons sealed in a crystal. Annie was released only after the Rumbling began, and by the time we see her grown-up self again, it’s been about 7 years since the last time she was meaningful to the story. Even if you haven’t been watching Attack on Titan in an ongoing format, and you’re a newbie that binged the entire series at once, there have been so many things between Annie getting captured and released, that the memories have started to fade, and you’re not so angry at the girl anymore.
Annie could have been much more appealing
She has all the signs of being a complex and interesting character. We see that she’s mentally and morally struggling. Killing Marco was not an easy decision for her, as well as killing other people. She hated Reiner and Marley for turning her into a weapon and a killing machine. Annie does have depth and personality. But we see it so rarely, that it feels like all the puzzle pieces are here but we can’t fully connect them to finish the true beauty that Annie is.
It feels like all the other characters, along with the viewers, just forgot about the horrors that Annie inflicted on the Survey Corps in the first season of Attack on Titan. It’s understandable that Season 4 brought an issue of a much bigger scale, which is Eren’s plan to destroy the entire world, and everyone had to forget about their conflicts and differences in order to fight together. But Annie’s redemption wasn’t really developed. It’s just puzzling that everyone was so ready to forgive her and fight alongside her after everything she did.
Fans just wanted more character development for Annie. More depth into her true feelings and emotions, and how she was dealing with her guilt. She had to earn the trust of others, and not to just be given it without second thoughts.
Should we forgive her for everything she’s done?
Summary:
Annie is a very controversial, but interesting character.
Other characters just forgave her for everything without Annie having a proper redemption arc.
Annie would be a perfect character, if she had been explored more.
Annie has always been one of the most controversial characters in Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin). Despite her having a pretty big fanbase, fans cannot ignore her problematic aspects and the fact that she killed dozens of scouts back in Season 1. Redemption arcs are a powerful thing, and there are plenty of media examples of characters that committed terrible deeds but changed and deserved forgiveness later. Why does it feel like Annie is not exactly one of such characters, then?
Not enough screen time
One of the main reasons for that is that Annie doesn’t really have a lot of meaningful interactions. She was captured at the end of Season 1 and spent the next 2,5 seasons sealed in a crystal. Annie was released only after the Rumbling began, and by the time we see her grown-up self again, it’s been about 7 years since the last time she was meaningful to the story. Even if you haven’t been watching Attack on Titan in an ongoing format, and you’re a newbie that binged the entire series at once, there have been so many things between Annie getting captured and released, that the memories have started to fade, and you’re not so angry at the girl anymore.
Annie could have been much more appealing
She has all the signs of being a complex and interesting character. We see that she’s mentally and morally struggling. Killing Marco was not an easy decision for her, as well as killing other people. She hated Reiner and Marley for turning her into a weapon and a killing machine. Annie does have depth and personality. But we see it so rarely, that it feels like all the puzzle pieces are here but we can’t fully connect them to finish the true beauty that Annie is.
It feels like all the other characters, along with the viewers, just forgot about the horrors that Annie inflicted on the Survey Corps in the first season of Attack on Titan. It’s understandable that Season 4 brought an issue of a much bigger scale, which is Eren’s plan to destroy the entire world, and everyone had to forget about their conflicts and differences in order to fight together. But Annie’s redemption wasn’t really developed. It’s just puzzling that everyone was so ready to forgive her and fight alongside her after everything she did.
Fans just wanted more character development for Annie. More depth into her true feelings and emotions, and how she was dealing with her guilt. She had to earn the trust of others, and not to just be given it without second thoughts.
