Attack On Titan Casually Pays Homage to Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List?!
Isayama must have taken notes on every movie he’s watched.
If you think only Gintama and Chainsaw Man can pay homage to Hollywood movies, then you wouldn’t have heard of Isayama‘s love for western media.
From Brock Lesnar to Jurrasic Park to a a movie critic’s review of The Dark Knight, the Attack on Titan author has a variety of influences that went into shaping his masterpiece.
This time, fans have noticed an interesting parallel between a particular scene in the Attack on Titan finale and Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List.
Remember that crying baby wrapped in red cloth being carried above people? Yes, this baby right here below.
For Attack on Titan fans, the baby represents hope and survival, and the red color, among the colorless, signifies that the baby is the future of humanity, while the others in the background will die.
While the dust finally settles after the battle, those who heard the baby’s desperate screams for help while its mother was about to jump with them will never forget it.
This scene parallels a particular situation in Schindler’s List, where a young girl, wearing a similar red-tinted dress, is surrounded by stark black and white contrasts.
There are unspeakable tragedies happening in both of these settings. On one hand, we have the Holocaust, and on the other, we have the Rumbling. Tragically, both of these situations include the deaths of people, but the circumstances surrounding these two kids make it especially tragic. Their crimson clothes are become more than just a flashy attention-getter; they’re a major thematic issue.
For the girl in Spielberg’s classic film, it represents war and aggression. But for the baby in AOT, it signifies innocence and the future. Isayama inserted a wonderful contrast to Schindler’s List while still maintaining its themes and parallels. A real genius for real.
By the way, the voice actor for that Attack on Titan baby is actually Eren’s Voice Actor Yuki Kaji’s baby. And even it had a thematic flavor to it as the anime staff claimed it was because the finale dealt with the themes of “inheritance” and “succession” (coming back to the meaning of the red color), and they felt it would be appropriate to utilize the baby’s voice as a metaphor.
So it ain’t just a coincidence that Attack on Titan shares a parallel with Schindler’s List. Isayama must have taken notes on every movie he’s watched.
Attack on Titan: Final Season Part 3 Part 2 released on November 4, 2023.
Crunchyroll describes the Attack on Titan anime series as follows:
“Known in Japan as Shingeki no Kyojin, many years ago, the last remnants of humanity were forced to retreat behind the towering walls of a fortified city to escape the massive, man-eating Titans that roamed the land outside their fortress.
Only the heroic members of the Scouting Legion dared to stray beyond the safety of the walls – but even those brave warriors seldom returned alive.
Those within the city clung to the illusion of a peaceful existence until the day that dream was shattered, and their slim chance at survival was reduced to one horrifying choice: kill – or be devoured!”
Source: Fandomwire
