As a 24-year-old female college student, I’m excited to share with you the struggles of the oppressed Eldian people in the popular anime series Attack on Titan.
In the world of Attack on Titan, the Eldian people are portrayed as a subjugated nation and devil worshippers. They are currently experiencing a period of turmoil, facing extinction, but also having the potential to become a turning point. The Eldian people living in the walled city of Paradis on the isolated island are under attack by the Titans who are Eldians turned into fighting machines by the Marleyan soldiers. The purpose of the battle is to capture the Coordinate Titan power and at the same time, to take control of the natural resources on the island.
With the power of Titan coordination and abundant natural resources, the Marleyans could dominate the world. The Eldian people living inside the walls have lived peacefully for a hundred years; their memories of the chaos of the past have been erased by the power of the Founding Titan that Karl Fritz possessed. Therefore, they live quietly without any emotional disturbance over their nation’s history in the past. However, on the other hand, there are Eldian people who choose to live with the Marleyans. They live in a special area called Liberio, which is a refuge camp for Jews in various European countries.
They are considered second-class citizens and no better than the Marleyans. From childhood, they are indoctrinated as descendants of devil worshippers and disgusting beings. They hate the blood running through their veins and believe that the Eldian people living inside the walls on Paradis Island are demons that need to be destroyed. It’s not surprising that the Eldian people, including children, have absolute hatred towards their own nation. In Liberio, the Eldian people are also treated very discriminatively. They have to obtain permission to visit certain places, and wherever they go, they must wear an armband to indicate their social class.
The Eldian people who are caught are given the Titan serum injection and dumped towards Paradis Island. Not only that, but the Eldians are also made into the main soldiers to fight in the war against Paradis Island. They have to prove themselves as good Eldian people to gain recognition from the Marleyans. In everyday life, the Eldian people are always sacrificed, including being made the main target in the war zone.
The racial discrimination faced by Eldian people in Attack on Titan, especially in Liberio, is similar to the discrimination faced by Jews by Nazi Germany. The Jews in the past were even mass slaughtered with poison gas or known as the Holocaust. This goes to show that Attack on Titan is not just a mere anime series but a significant representation of how racial discrimination affects societies and its impact on the lives of people.
