005 • Ymir

「 W E L C O M E • T O • M Y • B L O G 」

mini character study • O9 / 10 / 23   •

sorry for the long break, i've been so busy!

i hope everyone is still enjoying these little

character   study    posts.   if they get too

repetitive i will try to change things up a

bit but personally i'm having fun mixing

in some writing to go along with my new

edits.   and since i'm not so much of a

story writer, this seems like the way to go.

(´• ω •`)

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「 T I T L E 」

“unveiling identity: a brief analysis of ymir”

edit made by me. proof in the comments

#ymir

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「 I N T R O 」

on this journey through examining the many

interesting characters that make up the cast

of    aot,    it   is   evident   that   the   idea   of

self-discovery   is   an   important    recurring

theme to the overall narrative. ymir, a soldier

with a mysterious past and abrasive attitude,

embodies   the essence of a complex and

transformative figure. although she plays a

relatively    limited     role     in     the    greater

progression of the story, ymir nonetheless

serves     as      a      thematic      linchpin     in

understanding the delicate balance between

personal desires,   moral   choices,   and   the

impact of one's circumstances. her origins,

transformation into a mindless titan, and her

interactions with historia destroy and rebuild

ymir's character throughout the course of her

arc and give us insight about the nature of

our own humanity.

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「 O N E 」

"mysterious origins"

ymir's character is introduced as an enigma.

the earliest glimpses we   are given of her

origins   were a miserably harsh life as an

orphan. eventually as more is revealed about

her history we learn that she was given the

false title as a reborn goddess to bring hope

to the eldian people living in marley. although

it is all a lie, she grows to be a kindhearted

girl who genuinely cared for her people. she

proves this when she even sticks to the lie in

the face of certain death in an attempt to

save them (and not herself) from their fate.

but ultimately it doesn't work, leaving ymir to

wonder whether it would have been better all

along     if     she    were    never    even    born.

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「 T W O 」

"starting life anew"

ymir's 'demise' after her life as a goddess

marks the beginning of her profound journey

of self-discovery. the decades she spends

wandering as a mindless titan essentially

erased her original human identity, and her

eventual return to humanity set the stage for

a   new chance at finding her place in the

world.   her   second   life   comes when she

steals the power of the jaw titan, and ymir

makes a choice then to live her life only for

herself.   she   knows that her selfless acts

caused only agony in her previous life, and

so she instead prioritizes selfishness as a

virtue. she chooses this time to be greedy

and to value only herself and her survival.

good or bad, every decision she makes will

be    for    her    sake,    and    no   one   else's.

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「 T H R E E 」

"lessons learned"

one of the interesting and unique aspects to

ymir's arc is that when she is first introduced

in the story, she has already had her epiphany

about self-actualization that so many other

characters    are   only   just   beginning.   she

comes   off   as   blunt and even insensitive

toward   some   of   the   others in the 104th

trainee squad as she pushes them to make

the same conclusions and shows frustration

toward   anyone    she    perceives   as   being

inauthentic. of all of these interactions, the

most significant of course is her relationship

to historia. as a girl who was always kind,

caring, and loyal, and who was stripped of

her   true   name   to live the short life of a

selfless   hero   in   the   military,   it   was like

holding up a mirror to her own past. ymir

saw in historia a chance to right the wrongs

her younger-self   made   by   preventing   the

same    story    from     playing     out     again.

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「 F O U R 」

"complex allegiances"

ymir's   true   allegiances are more complex

than they may appear at first glance. contrary

to her professed philosophy of caring only

for   her   own self-preservation, it becomes

clear as her arc progresses   that many of

ymir's decisions continue to be influenced by

her   innate   desire   to   protect   the   people

around her - historia, the other recruits, and

even reiner and berthold. ironically, she is

also   the   first   character   to   truly   hold   a

completely neutral stance within the story.

despite siding with paradis as a soldier, she

can also sympathize with the warriors due to

her past in marley and journey to reclaim

agency over her own destiny.

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「 F I V E 」

"legacy and sacrifice"

ymir's journey proves that she was the one

living a false life all along and in the end, she

could not escape from her innately selfless

nature. her legacy is marked by her ultimate

sacrifice   for   the   sake of her friends and

allies, rather than a selfish pursuit of her own

desires. the truth is that at her heart, she has

always   been   one   of   the   most    selfless

characters in the show all along. in trying to

stop historia from becoming the same kind

of person she had been in her first life, ymir

discovers that selflesness and kindness are

not bad traits and that it was futile to keep

denying   who   she   really   was.    with    that

realization, she was able to make her final

decision on her own , even if it meant a

painful goodbye. she was done with stealing

and with lying, and acknowledged the life she

stole for her "rebirth" was not her own and

decided to "return" it, once again showing her

true colours.

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「 O U T R O 」

ymir's character in attack on titan serves as

the thematic backbone for a major arc of the

story. her past experiences as an outcast and

her journey of self-discovery contribute to her

complex     and     multifaceted     personality,

making   her   a compelling and memorable

character in the series. ymir's journey and

evolution of her motives reminds us of the

power     of     personal     growth     and     the

importance of understanding one's identity in

a world filled with uncertainty. although she

initially    appears    aloof    and   self-serving,

prioritizing her survival above all else, ymir's

true self emerges in the end as someone

who will always sacrifice herself for the sake

of others. it is tragic in a way that her second

life ended much the same as her first one,

but   the difference was that this time she

lived her life the way she chose to live it. no

one made her choices for her and so she had

nothing left to regret.