Original artwork, not a still
This world is cruel, but also very beautiful.
— Attack on Titan • 2013
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The line holds Mikasa's whole character in one breath: she has seen the worst a person can do and still treats the world as worth protecting, because of the boy who gave her a scarf. Fans use it as the series' most quoted bit of hope inside a hopeless setting, and the ending theme's title, 'This Beautiful Cruel World', echoes the same pairing.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Attack on TitanShow the scene
Attack on Titan, season 1, episode 6, "The World the Girl Saw: The Struggle for Trost, Part 2" (aired 12 May 2013). During the fighting in Trost, Mikasa recalls the day young Eren saved her from the human traffickers who had killed her parents. In the flashback he gives her the red scarf she keeps for the rest of the series, and Dr. Jaeger takes her in. She comes away from it believing the world is cruel, and the line returns as the reflection that closes her memory. The episode adapts the manga's sixth chapter.
Sources (2)
- Attack on Titan Wiki: The World the Girl Saw: The Struggle for Trost, Part 2 (anime episode page)infobox, quote box and SummaryReference checked
- Attack on Titan Wiki: Mikasa Ackerman (manga character page)infobox quoteReference checked
Context reviewed
