The Attack On Titan production committee has halted their sale of “Eldian armbands,” due to their allusion to the Nazis and the Holocaust.
Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for Attack on Titan.
The armbands, which are worn by the marginalized Eldians in the fictional nation of Marley, are seemingly meant to evoke the imagery of Nazi Germany. Other elements of the plot also evoke the treatment of Jewish people during that time.
Members of the Eldian ethnic group are segregated into ghettos from the rest of the Marleyan population. Eldians are required to wear their armband at all times in the nation to remain identifiable to others.
Critics of the product’s sale referenced the similarities, and claimed that made the product unfit for sale or promotion. The Attack On Titan production committee issued an apology claiming their intention was not to promote discrimination.
「進撃の巨人」製作委員会よりお知らせです。 pic.twitter.com/BWD584iFN2
— アニメ「進撃の巨人」公式アカウント (@anime_shingeki) November 15, 2021
Regarding the “[Marley] Armband” that started taking orders on November 14
This product was created as a reproduction of the costume of the character who appears in the work.
However, there is no evidence of racism or ethnic discrimination in the work. However, it was not easy to commercialize something that was depicted as a symbol of racism and ethnic discrimination in the work.
However, we recognize that it was a lack of consideration to easily commercialize something that was depicted as a symbol of racism and ethnic discrimination in the work.
We are very sorry for this.
The “Attack on Titan” Production Committee has no intention of allowing any discrimination.
Therefore, as of today, November 15, we have decided to suspend orders and sales of the products in question.
If you have already ordered the product, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We would like to express our deepest apologies to all those who have already ordered the products and to all the fans of “Attack on Titan”.
We will make every effort to ensure that this does not happen again in the future.
Translation: DeepL [Adjusted]
The second part of the final season for Attack On Titan will premiere January 9th as part of the Winter 2022 anime season.
