The au (a mobile co./brand in Japan) SnK special site has those interviews of the SnK characters. They are similar to what we have in the data books, but a bit more detailed. Not sure if they are considered canon or not…but interesting info nonetheless.
So far we have Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and Hange. Now (is it still ongoing? ) they are having a poll to see which character would be next to be “interviewed”… the choices are Sasha, Jean, Annie, Reiner, Bertholdt. I think it’s @shingeki_SP and then #au進撃_キャラ質問募集 to state the choice? I think a simple “ジャンに質問です。” will do, as that’s how others had posted.
(yea…the competition is BIG. You see, there’s Sasha and Annie, not to mention new fujoshi’s favourite Bertholdt! Ah well, of course I do hope Jean will be featured either next month or the following.
Mentioned that there was an Armin interview as well as Hange. Now take a look at a similar poll back in March. The choices were, Armin, Sasha, Hange and Jean. Now we know Armin and Hange won that vote. Sigh…why can’t they feature Sasha and Jean afterwards, but has to put back to a vote with even more character choices? (haha…..I am really pessimistic about Jean’s popularity. 😛 he was placed 9th in the last official poll after all.. ) I can see Sasha, Annie, or Bert. being next, and then Levi and Erwin will be added to the pool of characters, and so on… 😐
‘ve been wondering
I know I am probably being technical picky, but I find it funny when people type, “I prefer the sub over the dub”. Why? Because really, both are “dubbed” (albeit with different languages).
(probably shouldn’t tell people about the poll?…since…the anglosphere SnK fandom has such a minority of Jean fans. )
June 2 edit: now less than a week til new chapter arrives. with all those speculations of important characters dying…hmm…..(once more, do hope Jean’s picture is w/o cross in manga volume 15’s characters chart! / ….he’ll still be in the 104th top 10 line up on the back cover.)
Luckiest Unlucky Guy - Jean Kirstein from SnK 
You know, I really thought Jean was very popular with the Attack on Titan fanbase, based on the response that viewers had with my fan art.
When I did polls in Pixiv and Tumblr for my pro-wrestling fan works on which character they’d like to win the match, it always ends up overwhelmingly in favor of Jean over Eren. That’s despite the fact that in canon, Eren should’ve been the stronger one and, in effect, the one most likely to win in a physical fight against Jean.
And when I check out my Pixiv statistics on what search term people use to check out those fan works, a lot of my traffic actually comes from the search terms related to Jean. Very few access my works using search terms related to Eren. It’s weird, really.
To see that other polls like the ones you presented here show a different story really surprises me.
And in response to your last point, I really hope Jean doesn’t die. I’ve started to grow fond of the character, and it would be really disappointing to see him die already.
He’s popular, but probably not in the top spot for many. You’d get comments like, “I like Jean, but ________ s my favorite”. The RBA+Y team benefits from being in the grey-zone, and people do finds those characters more interesting. Then the rest gravitates towards the “strongest” and main protagonist character(s). Jean is none of those; and so far Isayama presents him as the clean (as in “good” ) guy, and being the equivalency of “normal” in the story (normal family, etc. ) < – (that might change, though I hope not. I prefer Isayama to just keep him as "normal" )
That's also a reason why it'd be a loss to the story if they kill off his character right now (of course i wish he lives until the end), as he brings such breath of fresh air in the otherwise chaotic world in the story.
and pixiv tags, I think those who searched “ジャン・キルシュタイン” came across the list of results, seeing that your work stands out (and also being a multi-page entry), and proceed to click in. + also the tag “エレン・イェーガー” has 3x the results of “ジャン・キルシュタイン”. (maybe using “ジャン・キルシュタイン” tag does gives more audience comparably..)
Seems like Jean got it after all.
http://allhailcookies.tumblr.com/post/88366670153/look-what-i-found-one-of-those-interviews-from
wow…thanks for the update! such a good surprise to counter what’s happened in latest chapter. hope the good news continue next month. 😛
(I checked that shingeki_sp twitter feed and mostly I saw were Annie and Sasha votes…so I thought he’d lost. )
Well, I could be a party pooper and say that maybe his character interview got pushed forward because next chapter is really his end and this way he gets one last hurra before he bows out… But overall I find it still more likely that he survives, especially with the cliffhanger and Armin reaching for his gun. (Judging by the art on pixiv, Japanese fans also seem to believe that Armin saves him.)
But yeah, good for Jean, especially since Annie and Sasha have beaten him at other character polls. Though popularity seems to generally fluctuate in SNK fandom quite a bit. Last summer Jean won second place in the AnimeOne popularity poll (and he was only 500 votes below Levi which was fairly impressive given the overall number of votes) and there was the “most popular trainee” poll you screencapped. On the other hand, in a recent general poll for anime characters the only SNK characters who made it into the list were Levi (duh), Eren, Mikasa, Historia, Sasha and Annie. Dunno what that says – is Jean more popular in hardcore SNK fandom or among the more casual SNK fans? Does Jean’s ranking depend on whether the poll has more male or female voters? Who knows.
There’s also the discussion on the sound effects text used in that hat+blood panel. It’s not the same as the sfx used when Kenny and his goons were taking shots at Levi and Hange’s squad members.
(Seems to me, and I’ve said in previous posts) Jean is overall liked by the a majority of the fans, but not the absolute / #1 favourites. If it’s a race, he’d be getting a silver, bronze medals. Or maybe he has a lot of sleepers fans.
Also, fan favourites are usually characters who would not exist in real life (or at least rare). Jean’s is too real.
Yeah, I saw some discussion about the sound effects, though the only thing I learned was that the “Mikasa slashes the woman” theory is unlikely because the sound effects indicate a gunshot. Let’s wait and see how it happens exactly.
I don’t disagree, but Jean’s doing still exceedingly well for being “normal” (not a shifter, not an OP badass and no tragic backstory). Plus, other than Armin’s insecurity issues, I see him mentioned the most often in terms of whom fans identify with/who’s reactions they find most realistic/relatable.
Plus, he does seem to be liked for his colorful personality (selfish+rude yet kind+ compassionate, awkward and somewhat comedic).
So it could be a gun, but not one of those anti-human device guns…then it’s either Armin, or as another wild theory I’ve read on 2ch threads, someone from the MP. (since they are in Stohess.. )
Jean probably has as much insecurity issues as Armin, maybe a bit different.
>Plus, he does seem to be liked for his colorful personality (selfish+rude yet kind+ compassionate, awkward and somewhat comedic).
These recent chapters have me thinking if kind+compassionate is what Jean really is, and the selfish+rude has only been a façade…because I’m sure he’d have the same breakdown if asked to kill a human even before his Trost “awakening”.
Well I don’t think any characters can replace his role, but he sure can replace some of the others. (that’s why the oddness if he really dies here)
Armin makes the most sense to me given how many scenes his friendship with Jean got this arc (which hints at it having some plot/character development importance, why else give it so much screen time). Plus, it would provide s nice sort of irony: Armin proposed that sacrifices and killing people are necessary to win and Jean rejects that, yet this attitude is what saves Jean’s life.
I agree that Jean’s insecure in his own way, but he expresses it differently so not everyone in fandom picks up on it as easily as on Armin’s low self-esteem. (Probably one of the reasons why they’re friends to begin with…).
Agreed. I do think that Jean is to some degree really self-centered but I think he is also pretty empathic so that kind of counters it. As it is, he seems to be still in the process of learning how to read other people’s emotions and respond appropriately to them. During training, he was very focused on being the best, getting other’s attention via bragging and trying to assert that his worldview is objectively right. His more nurturing/compassionate side only really came out when he realized through Marco’s death how precious the friends he has left are to him.
But yeah, trainee Jean would respond to killing the same way, I think.
Yeah, the thing with Jean is that he represents a certain POV and certain themes and that is important, too, even if he has no ties to the series’ mysteries.
It’d also be interesting if he fires the shot with a pistol no one knew he was hiding. That’s like a double-dose of Armin “dark side” growth. This chapter will be amazing whe animated, not just because of the action sequence, but also I’m looking forward to excellent voice-acts.
Funny how even though Jean’s supposed to be Eren’s foil, there hasn’t been much interactions between those two – significantly less when compared to Armin (talking about post-trainee days of course). What’s more, just look at every time Jean’s character grows, Eren was absent; so Eren’s seeing a “new” Jean every time they meet.
Mayve he had the “I’m not here to make friends” attitude during the trainee days, thus the competitviteness and etc. (Although in various omakes, it is implied he actually wants friends… I guess that explains him being attention-seeking). A lot of people do seem to forget the real reason of him joing the SL wasn’t (only) Marco, but friends.
And I think he’s the only one in the main cast who has no ties to the series’ mysteries. (there’s probably mysteries surrounding Sasha’s hunter village..I’m not sure..but if Isayama had planned to off her, then I think they are also “normal” people?)
[lol…I just realized the comments are getting longer and longer….]
I don’t know about this action making Armin “dark”. There’s nothing morally wrong about killing to save a friends’ life. I’ll declare Armin dark once he does something that can’t be justified as easily.
Yeah, that episode should be definitely fun once it’s animated. Too bad that a second season is still so far off.
I’ve noticed that, too. Funny considering that Jean is Eren’s rival. Probably because Eren keeps getting kidnapped or put in squads separate from the 104th. But I don’t really mind, it gave Jean the opportunity to grow beyond his initial rival role and his interactions with Armin are really interesting and enjoyable. And true, Jean is probably really different every time Eren reunites with him. Based on his comment in 51, Eren seems to have noticed that a bit, too.
I definitely think that Jean’s always wanted friends, even if he doesn’t seem to admit it to himself. The problem was that his attitude put people off but Jean’s unable to be anything but honest even if it’s not something that will win him points. So for a while he was probably a bit unhappy. (He seemed hurt, too, when Reiner pointed out his past selfishness, even though it was true.)
I’d wager that Sasha has nothing mysterious about her unless Isayama rewrites things to include her more. Armin technically doesn’t either and Connie has his revenge against MT but he also isn’t mysterious.
It’s more about him concealing a weapon in secret…as he wouldn’t have done this before (probably).
To think the events from 51 to 58 will only take six episodes, even though it seems a lot has happened.
Jean is slowly taking on Eren’s role in Armin’s social life. At least he seems to always be there vs. Eren being almost always absent. I too like that change. That also makes him one of the few characters who have some sort of connection with all three of the main trio – as in he can tag along with them, and it wouldn’t look odd at all.
What’s been suggested is he’d been labeled as the “bad guy” by his peers, and that’s been carried over even through jokes – as shown in 51.
Armin and Connie aren’t about mysterious, but having connection to the grand story plot – and Armin himself being one of the “main” characters.
Maybe. Though Levi owns at least one small gun and Armin’s reaching for where the 3DMG sword holster is. So he might have gotten it from Levi.
Yeah, but if it took more than six episodes the pacing would be way too slow.
I dunno if Jean’s taking Eren’s place exactly, but he seems in the process of becoming an extremely precious friend to Armin. And yeah, at this point Jean has a connection with all members of EMA which seems like a positive sign. Good for Jean’s future in the plot and also something that makes killing him off pretty weighty, so at least Isayama would probably let it have a lot of impact if it happens. And I think that Jean’s good for EMA, too, with his different outlook and critical thinking. The trio can be kind of insular.
Aren’t the bad guy jokes more about Jean’s looks, though? He looks kind of thuggish with her narrow eyes and the circles under them. At the very least, he doesn’t have the sort of face you immediately trust lol.
Armin’s definitely a main, yeah, but the only one with no connections to shifter and wall history stuff. Not that it matters – his skills and relationships with EM make him vital to the story.
This will be the mystery of “who killed who” being discussed over and over again for the next four weeks.lol.. I kinda hope Armin got the gun in secret though..
Maybe because the settings changed so many times during those chapters, as compared to previous arcs.
Not exactly taking Eren’s place, but filling in partially. There was also comment (forgot if it was from Isayama) hinting the future deterioration of the friendship between Eren and Armin; so I am glad at least Armin will still have a close friend at the end (barring either of their deaths).
True…but likely the combination of non-trusting face + rough/rude words = “bad guy”.
Agree, and the only other “mystery” on him was his parents, which has already been partially answered.
(this is I think the most/longest actual discussion on Jean I’ve seen anywhere…)
From what I recall, other translators suggested that Isayama didn’t word the whole Eren/Armin thing that extremely and it sounded more like there’d be conflict between them but not necessarily a big break. Plus, people on 4chan claimed that the Japanes fans weren’t freaking out because they read Isayama’s reaction to Araki’s “birth of a dictator” comment as a polite refusal. The language barrier makes this whole creator comments deal difficult sometimes.
But yeah, however it will go down, it seems like Armin will have at least Jean in the end (and maybe Mikasa, too, we don’t know how she’ll react).
Hahaha, then I’m glad that I could be part of it. I kinda wish there was some big SNK centric forum out there. People usual have character and pairing fanclubs in such places, so that’s a good place to find like-minded people and nit-pick with them over favorite characters and relationships. Tumblr is not that great for discussion and every other place is too general, so it’s mostly SNK plot talk.
BTW, the original poster accidentally deleted the first link of the interview, so here’s the reupload:
I think 4chaners translated already part of it, but obviously there’s more. I hope we’ll get detailed summaries for the rest at least.
Plus all sorts of talk on Isayama tweaking how the story will end and etc. I think it’s best to treat these kind of hints as possibilities rather than predictions…though with the manga coming out only once per month, it’s easy to get caught on to ANY sort of “leaks” one can find. ..
I think there’s some consensus that not all three of EMA will survive til the end?
There are SNK centric “sub”forums. …the closest thing to a SNK centric forum would be that reddit, but it’s not the best place for characters and relationships discussion either coz it’s organized by popularity. I always look for comments in notes when reading tumblr pages, but most of them are “likes” and “reblogs” system messages. lol
Thanks, was checking it yesterday after work and it said “pages not found”.
The series has a few years to go so I agree that getting too worked up about these comments might be unwise simply because we don’t know if Isayama will stick to it or if he means it really in this or that way.
From what I know 4chaners find Eren most likely to die but see MA living and seeing the sea together. The Eren death prediction seems partially based on the idea that he will make some heroic sacrifice and partially that no more titans will exist at the end of SNK, even shifters. It makes sense, but who knows if Isayama thinks the same way. (I always kind of wondered how exactly he saw the “everyone dies”-ending play out.)
Oh know the Reddit forum, but like you I didn’t find it very satisfying in terms of character-centric discussion.
And I do pretty much the same on tumblr like you.
Oh and more material for your blog: http://fuku-shuu.tumblr.com/post/88467491092/jeanmarco-in-the-next-snk-ova
I guess everyone dies in the end doesn’t mean humanity lost the war. It also depends if “everyone” = the core cast we’ve came to be familiar with. Perhaps characters will be (new) introduced/reintroduced….although it might be a little late in the story timeframe to add core characters (but that is assuming a 20~25 volumes story).
At least the Japanese 2ch has dedicated characters threads. …but it’s quite hard to follow…
Yea. I added that to the new entry. I wonder if it’d be an animated version of some missed scene(s) in the anime or an expansion of it.
I kind of assumed that he did mean that everyone in the core cast died. But he was never specific so it could have been meant somewhat differently.
Also doubt that he will add new members to the core cast now but you never know.
I heard about the 2chan character threads. Wish I knew Japanese, I’d like to be able to read them.
Probably mostly original stuff, there are almost no scenes between them that were left out in the anime. Unless the marketing is exaggerating the role of Jean/Marco in the OVA3.
Would want to see that (alternate) ending after the story has ended. But I’m not sure how that can work out.
Those new recruits in MP shown in the 30s chapters – does it seem like they can reappear in the story?
The only scene I can think of is that short chat they had during the flashback chapters – but that’s already been repurposed for the supply station scene in anime. So I guess all original it will be.
Jean is good source for OAD material because he is “non-mysterious”, and thus the anime staff runs no/little risk of writing something that could contradict with canon. Though I am sure anti-fans will cry foul of more Jean being featured. lol (from the looks of reactions and comments, yes…)