Do you think isayama managed to accurately portray abuse relationships between ymir fritz and the king? I read some comments from japanese translators saying something along the lines of how it's strongly emphasized as love(?)
Like a lot of things in the final arc, OG Ymir's story could've used more time and development. It suffered from the same rushed pace and uneven development as the rest of the story. But when viewed independent of that, what we got was solid.
From what I can tell, the people who complain about OG Ymir's story do so not because they think the depiction of an abusive relationship was bad, but because the resolution involved Mikasa and they'd wanted something else. It was the reveal about Mikasa that they hated, not the idea that Ymir loved King Fritz. But people who hated the ending tended not to let any moments slide and so the information about OG Ymir became more to complain about.
Look, I'm not saying it's great, but the chapter with Ymir's backstory (122) holds the distinction of being the #1 ranked chapter in our poll. The depiction of a traumatized child slave who quite literally stumbled into massive power yet continued to dutifully served her abuser seems to have been understood. The majority of the fandom felt sympathy for Ymir. The concepts of Stockholm Syndrome and traumatic bonding were discussed.
People were also very excited to see Eren champion her.
"You're no slave. You're no God. You're just a person. You don't need to server anyone. You can be the one to choose."
It felt like a return to the Eren we remembered.
I don't see how the final chapter undid any of that. Eren still worked to free her. He worked to end the titan curse that she was perpetuating. But what I love about the reveal is that it wasn't just Eren or Mikasa freeing her. It's was OG Ymir freeing herself.
That's the part I wish people focused on. OG Ymir spent 2000 years working to get out of an abusive relationship. She maneuvered the situation with Eren and Mikasa to make that happen. She worked towards a means of escape. And I think that message is a solid one.
People in abusive relationships often love their abusers. This isn't shocking to anyone who has read about or spoken to abuse survivors. It's a significant part of what makes getting out of those relationships so difficult.
To answer your question in simplest terms, do I think Isayama managed to accurately portray an abusive relationships between ymir fritz and the king? Yes. He did a great job of that in 122. Did the emphasis on "love" bother me? No because I don't think Isayama tried to romanticize the relationship in anyway. He portrayed it as disgusting and horrifying. He depicted OG Ymir as a victim of abuse who was desperately trying to get away. Could he have done that better? Of course. Was it good enough? I think yes.
I hope this makes sense. Thanks for the ask!
