Having finally watched Ep 13, I have comments to add about the suggestion "Annie joined Reiner after training."
Obviously, I can't consider the Anime completely canon, but some production decisions do provide insights (more like ideas) to confusing original scenes back in the manga. Notably Annie's bewildered face when she was saying sorry to corpses. After hearing the Anime interpretation on her tone of voice, I have a hunch she killed "humans" for the first time. And I suspect after that, Reiner's reasoning (whatever it is) somehow works into her and making her team up with them.
And yes, I think Annie and Reiner do hate each other back at the training camp, and Reiner saying he was "glad" she was alright after saving Connie could be an attempt to get on her good side.
I'm more and more in love with Annie lol, even though they're only speculations, but she seems like the kinda character I personally like.
---------- Post added at 06:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:49 PM ----------
OK, that's cool. I was just kind of surprised there. Writing a PM is a good idea...
I just wanted to say *here* only (*not* over there, lol) that although I could see how one might read into Isayama's story an allegory about remilitarization (because I totally saw it myself at the beginning of the story), this story gets so much more complicated as it goes on and it isn't right to judge it by what you see in the beginning only. As someone who knows some things about story writing it was clear to me that even if this allegory was intentional, that "remiltarization" wasn't necessarily going to be presented in a good light, just like Eren's early obsession with revenge (which imo is slowly fading as his character develops). It seems more and more likely with recent chapters that the humans within the walls are doing/have done something so awful it could cause the world to end. That doesn't fit the allegory at all if it's just about reigniting the fires of an Imperialistic Japan.
And even still if it turns out for whatever reason it really is a pro-militarization of Japan story, he still has a right to tell it. Let them respond to it in their art rather than trying to fight art with violence.
In terms of SnK, anyone with at least half a brain and not so worked up with the racial feud will definitely agree with you, because I do too. But the stupid thing is that the Japanese and Korean (I don't mean them in the generalised way) have been at it for eons, or the Chinese/Japanese, so much so they nitpick the slightest of things to comment on. The Korean media pick on the Japanese, and the Japanese media pick on the Chinese (and vice versa.) I'm beyond tired of this but it is unfortunately a mindset
conditioned into society. I, and no doubt you too, will probably have an idealistic solution to the issue, but as with all ideals, there are far too many who won't give up their pride for peace, and hence it will not work out any time soon. And in fact, as long as the current politics live on (in one form or another,) nothing is gonna get better. I'm not familiar with Korea, but the Japan and China as I know will never give in lol.
Going back to SnK, I just find it really silly some of the Koreans have picked up on a totally random point and started criticising. But truth be told, this is not the first time, and definitely won't be the last, and it doesn't just happen in Korea either :/ The world we live in lol.