Attack on Titan fans had a leg up in a recent board exam in India. The CBSE Class 12 exam referenced Attack on Titan in an exam question, including excerpts from the manga (which is also a popular anime.) Fans were delighted at the surprise inclusion.
Note: This article has spoilers through the most recent episode of Attack on Titan. Comments should be limited to anime-only replies.
One of the Essays in the Exam Was About Attack on Titan
Mashable India reported that the question was on a CBSE Class 12 exam. On Reddit, one person who shared the question (u/AcanthisittaCivil992) said it was technically an Indian pre-board exam. And Redditor u/Areco77 clarified that pre-board means it was like a mock exam that the school makes to help students prepare.
Another person, u/AndheriRaath, provided more of an explanation, writing: “In Indian education system, 2 classes grades are important before college. 10th class and 12th class grades ( 15 yo and 17 yo respectively take it). So 12th exams means the final exams given in high school before you apply and go away to a college.”
Exam takers were asked to answer questions based on the Section A Reading, which was all about Attack on Titan.
The Question Has A Lot of Spoilers
The question also just happens to have a lot of spoilers. So if you were taking the exam and weren’t caught up on the show, some key points would have been spoiled for you.
Here’s the question, as shared on Imgur.
The essay shares the basic plot of Attack on Titan and then compares the show to the events of the Second World War on the Eastern Front. It claims that the Titans are stand-ins for the Russians and humans are stand-ins for the Germans. The writer warns, “Obviously, though, these parallels will not be exact as the primary purpose of the series was not allegorical.
The writer then claims that Eren is an Adolf Hitler type character, and Jager being German for hunter “both signifies Eren’s actions and furthers the use of Germanic themes and names.”
In the portion that was shared, the essay also reveals that Mikasa is the last Asian in existence.
On Reddit, u/ThespianException wrote, “It looks like they’re comparing Eren and the rest of humanity to Nazis for wanting to kill the Titans, using them as stand-ins for groups affected by the Holocaust. I figured they were gonna compare Marley to the Nazis because that’s the obvious one, but nope. They went in a whole different direction. What the F***?”
Redditor u/Juugle replied, “Well both marley and eren/the yaegerists are somewhat similar to the nazis. Marley puts the eldians in camps and marks them with the arm badges. The yaegerists are centered around a “‘Führer’ personality and believe in eldian supremacy and the total anihilation of their enemy.”
Attack On Titan has made it to Indian board exams!!(mandatory exams for all students) from ShingekiNoKyojin
On a different thread, the top-voted comment noted: “spoiler which you cant skip 💀.”
Another person replied, “This is NOT a W, this is some half assed cope logic to portray aot as Nazi propaganda.”
Most Redditors agreed that the comparisons weren’t good and missed out on a lot of nuance.
Redditor u/2yellow4u2 wrote, “which is funny because there are comparisons to be made, but all of the ones the paper tried to maker were incorrect.”
Still, people taking the exam or seeing the news had a lot of fun with sharing their discovery. One person wrote, “Imagine getting spoilers from an exam question paper.”
https://twitter.com/snigdhaman007/status/1502226034678136834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1502226034678136834%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fin.mashable.com%2Fentertainment%2F28676%2Fattack-on-titan-makes-it-to-cbse-class-12-exam-paper-fans-say-imagine-getting-spoilers-from-an-exam
Another person made fun of the essay itself.
I just learned Attack On Titan was the subject matter for a Marxist political media analysis in the board exams in India HAHAHAHAHA pic.twitter.com/PuymN3GQeh
— Kanan (@Acronusra) March 12, 2022
Another person commented, “If we get this question in the #Exams we are gonna score 150/100 for sure.”
https://twitter.com/Techy47661046/status/1501850563973349376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1501850563973349376%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fin.mashable.com%2Fentertainment%2F28676%2Fattack-on-titan-makes-it-to-cbse-class-12-exam-paper-fans-say-imagine-getting-spoilers-from-an-exam
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