#snk chapter 38

[urjabhi]

Utgard Castle Aesthetic

Am I doing this right?

[momtaku]

Hi mom, I enjoy your blog! I have a few questions about Ymir's backstory that I wondered if I could pick your brain about? I agree with you that Ymir's backstory story worked in the narrative and was quite poignant but I keep coming back to that herring can. The language on the can looks like the ancient writing that even Grisha can't read. I know Ymir would be older than Grisha, but not by so much that such a language gap makes sense. The titan who recognizes Ilse seems to confirm her story tho

The herring can has been a source of endless speculation! It’s the meta gift that keeps on giving. Some of my favorite old crack theories and posts are about that herring can. A long time ago, @snkception and I discussed this and had great fun using the term “herring language” for the writing on the can, and “herring people” for the speakers of the language. Good times!  

So let’s do this… here are some things to consider…

Ymir can read  the “herring language”. 

Reiner may also be able to read it. He might have pretended not to in order to set Ymir up. He already suspected her of being from Marley, this was a good chance to find out.

The herring can and bottle of wine may have been left at Utgard by Zeke, It’s likely he was using the castle as a base while looking for Reiner and Bertoldt.

Ymir, Reiner and Zeke all natively speak the same language as those living in the Walled World.

Commercial canning began in 1813 so the can of herring can’t actually be that ancient. The herring language must be in use somewhere at present. And who would eat ancient canned herring anyway?

When I look at all these facts and speculation, I begin to wonder if the canned herring is actually a series red herring. We thought it was a clue to something significant, but maybe it means nothing. 

The best and easiest answer is that the present day Marleyans are the herring people and natively speak the herring language, while the Eldians speak the walled language. If true, it would make sense that the Eldians living in Marley would be fluent in both languages.

I’m open to any other thoughts and theories about this!

[momtaku]

Why You Shouldn't Rely on Scanalations

I've been doing my readthough using books I've purchased. Because I'm lazy, I use the scanalations to create my images. If the text is radically different, I retype it. Below is an example of "radically different".

  SCANALATION:

  OFFICIAL ENGLISH:

   Do you see the difference? In the scanalation, Reiner indicates he isn't interested in women. But in the official English, Ymir is talking. She's making a snarky comment about his sexuality and he fires one back at her.

I don't read Japanese, so I can't say which is more accurate or what Isayama intended. But it's fascinating to compare the version.

Here's the full text of both:

SCANALATION

Ymir: Oh, it's you Ryner. What, sneaking up with dirty intentions on a girl at night? What a shocker.

Reiner: I didn't think I looked like a guy who's interested in women. Oh, and by the way, you don't look like a girl who's interested in guys either.

Ymir: Oh really...

ENGLISH

Ymir: Creeping into a girls room at night, Reiner? That's surprising. You didn't seem like the kind of guy who was interested in women.

Reiner: Sure... and you don't look to me like the kind of girl who's interested in guys.

Ymir: Hah.

While I too enjoy the immediacy of scanalations, knowing that they are illegal bothers me. It's piracy, plain and simple. These sites are stealing Isayama's work and profiting from it.

Purchasing the book doesn't absolve me of guilt, but it shows my support of the artist. I feel good about that. 

[the-punmeister-blog]

What if the Wall Rose not breached and that big titan just turned everyone into titans?