As the fight between Titans and humanity evolved through the course of Attack on Titan, it began to get a lot more complicated and a lot more rooted in some deep-seated animosity between the Marleyan and Eldian races. It got even more complicated when it was revealed that the power of the Founding Titan required someone of royal blood to control the Titan properly, but why exactly is this? As the manga draws closer to its big finale, it answered this question with an even more depressing answer than expected. But perhaps not considering the cycle of violence and oppression displayed thus far.
Chapter 122 revealed why the Founding Titan needs royal blood to work, and it’s because the first Titan, Ymir, was stuck in a cycle of abuse from the very first King Fritz that forced her to keep fighting and keep the power of the Titans within the royal bloodline.
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Chapter 122 explores the past of the Founding Titan, and reveals that Ymir was just an unlucky girl who had her tongue cut out when the Eldians came and took over. She was then used as a scapegoat for a crime, and was nearly killed until she stumbled on the power of the Titans and transformed into a Titan for the first time. King Fritz then abuses her by using her Titan form to build and expand their village, and kill his enemies.
Then he forces her to bear his children, and when she dies, he chops up her body and feeds it to them. Fritz demanded she carry on the power of the Titans, even long after death. With this declaration, Ymir is trapped in a vicious cycle for over 2,000 years. Fulfilling the wishes of the royal family as the power is passed through the generations, and thus reveals that Ymir has tragically been forced to do these things for an eternity.
But with Eren’s arrival, the two of them break out of this cycle. Eren pleads with Ymir to sop mindlessly doing things as she’s been forced to because she’s no longer the slave she once was. With their power combined, they’re ready to summon the Titans sleeping in the walls and destroy the world.
Attack on Titan was originally created by Hajime Isayama for Kodansha’s Bessatsu Shonen Magazine in 2009. It’s set in a world where the last remnants of humanity live within a walled city in order to escape the danger of the Titans, a race of giants monsters that eats humans. The lead character, Eren Yeager, ends up joining the military with his two childhood friends Mikasa and Armin after the Titans break through the wall and attack his hometown. Now Eren, Mikasa, and Armin must survive in a world where they not only have the Titans to fear, but the very humans they are trying to save. You can currently find the series streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
