Staff Decide Attack On Titan Eldian Armbands Merch Maybe Weren’t Such A Good Idea After All

The production team for Attack On Titan The Final Season have decided to halt production of Eldian Armbands as merchandise, after realizing the negative connotations and comparisons to Nazi Germany.

In a statement on their website, they posted that they had produced the Eldian armbands with intent to be a cosplay prop for Attack on Titan fans, but decided against it when they realized the connotations.

“This product was created as a reproduction of the costume of the character in the work. However, we recognize that the easy commercialization of a symbol of racism and ethnic discrimination in the work was an act of insufficient consideration”, the translated statement reads. “We are very sorry for this”.

This isn’t the first time the armbands have caused controversy- readers have been criticizing them since they were introduced in the final arc for Attack on Titan, due to the comparisons to armbands Jewish people were forced to wear.

Attack on Titan’s final arc in general has drawn a lot of comparisons, largely in part to the author’s own nationalist views. Considering the international success of Attack on Titan, there’s a lot more than Japanese sensibilities to be cared for, so it makes sense that the production company wouldn’t want to start selling merchandise evoking imagery of one of the most well-known yet somehow still-denied human atrocities.

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