Welcome to another edition of Writing Insights where I will look over various stories from movies, shows, games, and anime to discuss the ways writers can improve their work. Today the topic will be based on the anime hit Attack on Titan (SPOILER WARNING AHEAD FOR THE ANIME!!!!) Today’s post will be a part of my series: The Art of Character Development. One of my favorite aspects of talking about shows and books comes from the conversational aspect. Sometimes, you just never know where a fun, honest conversation about a show will take you. This analysis on Floch is one I’d never thought I would do since the series has a bevy of other deep, complex characters to look into, but a conversation with one of my favorite people in the world sparked this analysis. So, here we go. My hot take of the week is that Floch is one of the most brilliantly written characters in all of anime. Ok, hopefully, if you’re still here that means you didn’t exit the page because you thought I was insane. So, let’s get into the analysis, shall we? Look I get it. Floch is one of the easiest characters to hate in the whole show. From the introduction, he comes off as weak and annoying. Then he transitions into crazy, violent, and wholly unlikable in many regards. But that’s the point. As the audience, we are supposed to hate Floch. Just like we as the audience are supposed to hate the nation of Marley. Floch’s character is the perfect parallel to the nation of Marley. Based on the history of the anime, the citizens of Marley were an oppressed people due to the fear of the Titans, the stronger force of the world. This fear and oppression for centuries defined them. It ensured that when they were in a position of power, all those years of fear and suffering twisted into cruelty aimed at their oppressors. When Marley was introduced, they were shown as a nation operating off their superiority complex, but that complex was built as a means to weaken their former oppressors and to build up national pride. All their horrendous actions were glossed over as righteous acts since it was directed toward the people that had ruled over them. In essence, Marley acted in the same way Floch has as we see the same characteristics within him. At first, he was a weak person, oppressed by the power of the Titans. But when given the chance at power, his negative experiences with oppression molded him into an oppressive force himself. The survivor’s guilt that haunts Floch makes him latch onto this idea of the Eldia Empire’s restoration. For him, just like Marley, he needs his suffering to mean something. He needs surviving years of fear and oppression to matter. As such, he becomes the very monster that he cowered under before. Floch even goes as far as adapting the armband system that Marley used to classify citizens which only further reinforces the similarities. Yes, that action represents people learning from their oppressors, but it is just one of many subtle instances that indicate that Floch’s entire transformation is based upon this parallel between him and Marley. His transformation acts as an expertly crafted window to show the audience how Marley came to be. Just as Floch rallied the people against the world in the name of freedom from their enemies, Marley did the same against the people of Elida. Brute force and despicable means were employed by both hiding behind those ideals to justify their actions. So yes, Floch does suck, but Marley sucks as well. The two are two sides of the same coin, which goes to show the masterful job of character development. Having a character change to become the mirror of another is always a great tactic to use for character development, and Floch’s example stands out as one of the best. Comments are closed.
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Book ListThe Order: Shadows of the Apostles Archives
September 2022
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