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As others have pointed out, it's probably a mistranslation. To my mind, "Inside here, even flowers were spared?" is symbolic of the context of the story. Despite the history of this world, despite all the destruction outside the walls, despite all the forces attempting to exterminate them (represented against the flowers as Eren's transformation), humanity in the walls flourished, they survived.
Inside the walls, even the best of our human nature endured.
Very much seems to be the case. An additional level is Armin drawing attention to the fact that despite the destructive transformation, they and the flowers were completely unharmed. Thus offering an early insight into Eren's motivations and the journey his powers will take him on.
Which is extremely ironic considering Eren almost succeeds in destroying everything outside of the walls in order to keep those inside it protected, in order to "keep the flowers safe", as it were.
In The Rumbling OP the final shot is a colossal footprint having crushed a flower. Symbolically showing that Eren would trample other flowers, or otherwise the titans want protect the flowers anymore. (Arguably in the beginning Paradis was protected by titans as no one would want to visit the island anyways, even eating Marcel)
Derp, same essence of killing beautiful living things. Also shows a turn in Eren since he never wanted to hurt things weaker than him (in an OVA he stops the corps from hunting some wild animal) and now his path is leading him to killing anyways.
This couples with the whole Mikasa (paraphrasing now) line about the world being cruel yet beautiful, by extension, even in the destruction and chaos there is life and peace. The flower was there before and even in all the tension and turmoil of that moment, the flower remained unharmed.
Ngl, I thought this was going to become a plotpoint later on, same with the red energy spreading trough the attack titan when he first punched and the random red thing on the ground during the attack titans first apperence which i thought was a titan hart
The thing with him going Super Saiyan Titan against Annie was actually anime-only. That didn't happen in the manga.
IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, the anime was going to take the series in a different direction for Season 2. Which is why Eren also began fusing with Annie in the anime. Which also didn't happen in the manga.
Buuuuut we all know that ain't happened. Thank GOD.
Like other comments have mentioned, it's a mistranslation and the flowers were likely always there but were unnoticed until Eren transformed to save Mikasa and Armin.
The idea here is that it proves that the titan power isn't simply just a terrible destructive power by default but is dependent on how the user chooses to use it. Eren was only thinking about protecting Mikasa and Armin so nothing else got damaged, which is later also supported by how he did not damage the spoon he transformed his hand to pick up.
In the Japanese version I believe Armin just says something along the lines of "Flowers.. inside here?" while the English dub he says "Those flowers weren't there before"
I've seen a lot of instances like this throughout the series where certain liberties were taken with the translation for the dub, most of the time just for padding purposes to make sentences match the length of the scene / time the characters mouths are moving.
IMO in the original, Armin is just pointing out how the flowers were also saved from the blast / smoke and not just himself and Mikasa while his world is being turned upside down by the confusion of seeing Eren transform. That and this is one of a fair few instances where translators didn't seem to quite understand the context of a scene while writing the script for the dub
The flowers were there from the start, Armin noticed that Eren's Titan powers protected not just himself and Mikasa, but even the plants around them from the cannon.
Symbolism of....what? Plus, the way Armin addresses them, the surprise at their appearance, makes it seem like they have a direct tie to the ability to shift form but it otherwise doesn't seem to happen again
Only problem with this is that, outside of Titans, there seems to be no other tie with other forms of life while the SoaLM is bound to Ymir/Eren and the Eldian people. It's only after the SoaLM is released and returned to the earth that the nearby environment (e.g. the tree it resides in) becomes impacted/overgrown.
It's why it seems so weird that this is the only instance that the SoaLM does anything other than Make Titans™, as, based on what I recall, there aren't any other instances.
But that doesn't explain *how* the flowers appeared, especially considering Armin said they weren't there before.
Important scene be damned, we're having something close to a "Introducing a gun in the first act" scenario here.
Edit: it also doesn't explain *what* the symbolism is supposed to be, if it's supposed to have some form of symbolic value. We already know how important the relationship between Eren and Mikasa is, and it feels like there's better ways to show that than a single kind of flower that only has a "tie" in that the flower seems to be a common species where they live and thus would make sense to be around whatever scene the characters are in on Paradis.
I don't really understand how the flowers are supposed to be Chekov's gun, but it would change nothing of what happens in the story if the flowers weren't there, so there isn't a reason to give a practical explanation.
My guess was eren’s motivation for this transformation, it was protection. Powerful and terrifying on the outside while gentle and nurturing enough on the inside as to not even wilt a delicate flower.
They were always there.
It was a dub error to imply they appeared with Eren's transformation. The dialogue in Japanese is about the fact that Eren's transformation didn't harm anything inside his skeleton.
Are you sure? The English dub has Armin say, exactly, "Those flowers weren't there before.", is this a matter of mistranslation or differences in manga vs anime?
That just sounds like a weird translation. The sub says "the flowers survived, only on the inside?" I'm not sure what it really symbolises.
It's not a scene in the manga
Ah then if that's the case then it would make sense that it's supposed to show how intent is a large component in wielding the Power of the Titans; that it's more than just "become big monster", that there's more at play
Idk. The subs just say, "flowers, inside here?" I'd assumed Armin simply didn't notice before (the place was already green with moss or plants), and was trying to distract himself from a near-death experience by focusing on irrelevant shit.
Which is completely understandable! That's honestly what I would have thought, it's why the English dub and accompanying subtitles threw me off since it seemed like Armin was "more here" than not
Unless it’s a mistranslation, It could be due to titan powers having the ability to sustain life, like plants. It could be the reason to why grass, bushes, and small trees are shown growing rapidly and healthy after FOUR years in sea of giant footprints.
All good points, and they definitely hold up to everything else we see in the story! Plus it helps solidify that the thing granting the Power of the Titans is also the "Source of All Life", that its very presence (even spread over multiple Titan users) still can impact the environment
Just to clue the viewer in of the protective and gentler intent. The transformation was meant to protect not harm. It doesn't signify anything plot wise and wasn't in the manga as other comments indicated.
I also kinda wondered about this because they seemed to popup a couple times. Made me think about it even more when they did Ymir’s backstory and she fell infront of that flower looking at it.
I believe that, in some regard, it’s also paying homage to the original story. That titans could harden into wood/trees (and perhaps would have had other plant-like qualities; we will never know) as opposed to stone. It’s the whole “this world is cruel and beautiful” theme we see all throughout the show.
This one is actually attributed to Isayama who asked for the flowers to be included. He writes about it on his blog how he wanted the flowers to feel like they were an unnatural phenomena.
These purple ones never appear in the manga, but instead there is another flower that similarly is mysteriously depicted where Ymir is concerned. The shape is slightly different to the later depiction of the Ymir flower, but the first time it appears was in the Ilse's Notebook chapter where the titan mistook Ilse for the freckled Ymir, who of course is the namesake of the founder Ymir.
It's possible, but at least in this scene I think it may have a more literal symbolism. I posted my thoughts above that
> The idea here is that it proves that the titan power isn't simply just a terrible destructive power by default but is dependent on how the user chooses to use it. Eren was only thinking about protecting Mikasa and Armin so nothing else got damaged, which is later also supported by how he did not damage the spoon he transformed his hand to pick up.
Either.
A. A scrapped plot point.
Or
B. A reference to aot vol 0 where titans were made by a religious group to protect nature and destroy humanity Or so I've heard I myself haven't read it.
I believe those are campnaula flowers and symbolize gratitude and everlasting love. I think they were there to reinforce the romantic feelings Eren and Mikasa gave for each other
This post has been tagged as **DISCUSSION**. If the post has been spoiler tagged, please remember to tag any manga spoilers beyond this point. **Spoilers include hinting or alluding to events** For more information, please review [the subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/wiki/rules). Failure to properly spoiler tag comments may result in a punishment from the subreddit according to the [moderation matrix](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/wiki/moderation_matrix). --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ShingekiNoKyojin) if you have any questions or concerns.*
probably some sort of symbolism or something regarding erens shifting lightning
As others have pointed out, it's probably a mistranslation. To my mind, "Inside here, even flowers were spared?" is symbolic of the context of the story. Despite the history of this world, despite all the destruction outside the walls, despite all the forces attempting to exterminate them (represented against the flowers as Eren's transformation), humanity in the walls flourished, they survived. Inside the walls, even the best of our human nature endured.
Okay this actually makes a lot more sense, that it's a matter of mistranslation and thus the symbolism doesn't get carried on over that well.
Very much seems to be the case. An additional level is Armin drawing attention to the fact that despite the destructive transformation, they and the flowers were completely unharmed. Thus offering an early insight into Eren's motivations and the journey his powers will take him on.
Which is extremely ironic considering Eren almost succeeds in destroying everything outside of the walls in order to keep those inside it protected, in order to "keep the flowers safe", as it were.
In The Rumbling OP the final shot is a colossal footprint having crushed a flower. Symbolically showing that Eren would trample other flowers, or otherwise the titans want protect the flowers anymore. (Arguably in the beginning Paradis was protected by titans as no one would want to visit the island anyways, even eating Marcel)
I think its a butterfly. I have just watched the last season and im sure is a butterfly.
Derp, same essence of killing beautiful living things. Also shows a turn in Eren since he never wanted to hurt things weaker than him (in an OVA he stops the corps from hunting some wild animal) and now his path is leading him to killing anyways.
This couples with the whole Mikasa (paraphrasing now) line about the world being cruel yet beautiful, by extension, even in the destruction and chaos there is life and peace. The flower was there before and even in all the tension and turmoil of that moment, the flower remained unharmed.
It's even less symbolic and metaphoric than that, it's that Eren used his transformation to protect Mikasa and Armin.
Ngl, I thought this was going to become a plotpoint later on, same with the red energy spreading trough the attack titan when he first punched and the random red thing on the ground during the attack titans first apperence which i thought was a titan hart
Yea like when hange said they don't weight nun I legit thought they were some sort of projectection or ghost or some back then lol
I had a LOOOT of misconsepcions back then
But hey that's what made the mystery of the titans fun back then
Jojo ahhh concept
The thing with him going Super Saiyan Titan against Annie was actually anime-only. That didn't happen in the manga. IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, the anime was going to take the series in a different direction for Season 2. Which is why Eren also began fusing with Annie in the anime. Which also didn't happen in the manga. Buuuuut we all know that ain't happened. Thank GOD.
Like other comments have mentioned, it's a mistranslation and the flowers were likely always there but were unnoticed until Eren transformed to save Mikasa and Armin. The idea here is that it proves that the titan power isn't simply just a terrible destructive power by default but is dependent on how the user chooses to use it. Eren was only thinking about protecting Mikasa and Armin so nothing else got damaged, which is later also supported by how he did not damage the spoon he transformed his hand to pick up.
In the Japanese version I believe Armin just says something along the lines of "Flowers.. inside here?" while the English dub he says "Those flowers weren't there before" I've seen a lot of instances like this throughout the series where certain liberties were taken with the translation for the dub, most of the time just for padding purposes to make sentences match the length of the scene / time the characters mouths are moving. IMO in the original, Armin is just pointing out how the flowers were also saved from the blast / smoke and not just himself and Mikasa while his world is being turned upside down by the confusion of seeing Eren transform. That and this is one of a fair few instances where translators didn't seem to quite understand the context of a scene while writing the script for the dub
The flowers were there from the start, Armin noticed that Eren's Titan powers protected not just himself and Mikasa, but even the plants around them from the cannon.
S Y M B O L I S M
Symbolism of....what? Plus, the way Armin addresses them, the surprise at their appearance, makes it seem like they have a direct tie to the ability to shift form but it otherwise doesn't seem to happen again
the worm is the source of all living matter. thats what it symbolizes
Only problem with this is that, outside of Titans, there seems to be no other tie with other forms of life while the SoaLM is bound to Ymir/Eren and the Eldian people. It's only after the SoaLM is released and returned to the earth that the nearby environment (e.g. the tree it resides in) becomes impacted/overgrown. It's why it seems so weird that this is the only instance that the SoaLM does anything other than Make Titans™, as, based on what I recall, there aren't any other instances.
The flowers appear always in an important scene between Eren and Mikasa.
But that doesn't explain *how* the flowers appeared, especially considering Armin said they weren't there before. Important scene be damned, we're having something close to a "Introducing a gun in the first act" scenario here. Edit: it also doesn't explain *what* the symbolism is supposed to be, if it's supposed to have some form of symbolic value. We already know how important the relationship between Eren and Mikasa is, and it feels like there's better ways to show that than a single kind of flower that only has a "tie" in that the flower seems to be a common species where they live and thus would make sense to be around whatever scene the characters are in on Paradis.
The flowers didnt just appear, its because of the english dub. Armin simply noted that even flowers survived inside erens titan
I don't really understand how the flowers are supposed to be Chekov's gun, but it would change nothing of what happens in the story if the flowers weren't there, so there isn't a reason to give a practical explanation.
How is this an important scene with Eren and Mikasa?
My guess was eren’s motivation for this transformation, it was protection. Powerful and terrifying on the outside while gentle and nurturing enough on the inside as to not even wilt a delicate flower.
They were always there. It was a dub error to imply they appeared with Eren's transformation. The dialogue in Japanese is about the fact that Eren's transformation didn't harm anything inside his skeleton.
It's something like dandelion. Growing through the road. He didn't do anything, the flower was there prior.
Are you sure? The English dub has Armin say, exactly, "Those flowers weren't there before.", is this a matter of mistranslation or differences in manga vs anime?
That just sounds like a weird translation. The sub says "the flowers survived, only on the inside?" I'm not sure what it really symbolises. It's not a scene in the manga
Ah then if that's the case then it would make sense that it's supposed to show how intent is a large component in wielding the Power of the Titans; that it's more than just "become big monster", that there's more at play
i wouldnt count the dub as canon. soooo many mistranslations and just changing the translation
Ohhh nooo, it sounds like the sub is better for accuracy and I now have a new excuse to rewatch the series, how awful /s
Idk. The subs just say, "flowers, inside here?" I'd assumed Armin simply didn't notice before (the place was already green with moss or plants), and was trying to distract himself from a near-death experience by focusing on irrelevant shit.
Which is completely understandable! That's honestly what I would have thought, it's why the English dub and accompanying subtitles threw me off since it seemed like Armin was "more here" than not
Isayama: “hahaha… I don’t really know”
Unless it’s a mistranslation, It could be due to titan powers having the ability to sustain life, like plants. It could be the reason to why grass, bushes, and small trees are shown growing rapidly and healthy after FOUR years in sea of giant footprints.
All good points, and they definitely hold up to everything else we see in the story! Plus it helps solidify that the thing granting the Power of the Titans is also the "Source of All Life", that its very presence (even spread over multiple Titan users) still can impact the environment
Eren’s true love for armin instead of mikasa (joke)
Just to clue the viewer in of the protective and gentler intent. The transformation was meant to protect not harm. It doesn't signify anything plot wise and wasn't in the manga as other comments indicated.
I thought he didn't MAKE the flowers..rather he SPARED the flowers.. Eren is protecting Armin and Mikasa there. They are the flowers he is protecting
I don't think they came from anywhere. They were already there.
I also kinda wondered about this because they seemed to popup a couple times. Made me think about it even more when they did Ymir’s backstory and she fell infront of that flower looking at it.
Another misstranslation? Sugoi! Translator-sama, sugoi as allways.
I believe that, in some regard, it’s also paying homage to the original story. That titans could harden into wood/trees (and perhaps would have had other plant-like qualities; we will never know) as opposed to stone. It’s the whole “this world is cruel and beautiful” theme we see all throughout the show.
It's one of the many questionable creative liberties that the S1 director took, I wouldn't look too much into it, those flowers aren't in the manga
This one is actually attributed to Isayama who asked for the flowers to be included. He writes about it on his blog how he wanted the flowers to feel like they were an unnatural phenomena. These purple ones never appear in the manga, but instead there is another flower that similarly is mysteriously depicted where Ymir is concerned. The shape is slightly different to the later depiction of the Ymir flower, but the first time it appears was in the Ilse's Notebook chapter where the titan mistook Ilse for the freckled Ymir, who of course is the namesake of the founder Ymir.
If that's the case then he must have meant the symbolism that "despite everything the world still holds its beauty" that other users have pointed out
It's possible, but at least in this scene I think it may have a more literal symbolism. I posted my thoughts above that > The idea here is that it proves that the titan power isn't simply just a terrible destructive power by default but is dependent on how the user chooses to use it. Eren was only thinking about protecting Mikasa and Armin so nothing else got damaged, which is later also supported by how he did not damage the spoon he transformed his hand to pick up.
Hey I always found the spoon flashback to be a bit random and not very relevant for the story, thanks for the explanation
Either. A. A scrapped plot point. Or B. A reference to aot vol 0 where titans were made by a religious group to protect nature and destroy humanity Or so I've heard I myself haven't read it.
I always thought they grew there because of Eren’s transformation
They were already there.
These flowers where there before. This just shows that Erens "transformation" was meant to save them and even spared the flowers
I believe those are campnaula flowers and symbolize gratitude and everlasting love. I think they were there to reinforce the romantic feelings Eren and Mikasa gave for each other
Look up the aot fruition theory on youtube. The crawling titan in front of the sea also left a sapling in its path.
The ground.