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Understanding Willy Tybur’s Speech In Attack On Titan

Willy Tyubr’s speech will go down in history as one of the most iconic scenes in anime/manga history. The frantic tone and carefully chosen words of Willy kickstarted one of the most important events in the story of Attack on Titan. While it may sound like he was vouching for Marley’s cause, the true message of the speech remains veiled. Confused? Don’t worry, we’ll break it down for you!

Why is Willy Tybur’s speech so vital?

Willy Tybur’s speech is vital for a simple reason- the story is on a completely new trajectory here on. At this point, Marley had halted the Paradis Operation after its failure four years ago. Due to the war with the Mid East Alliance, obtaining the Founding Titan became less of a priority.

But, with Willy’s speech, Marley adopted its most extreme plan to deal with Paradis- asking the whole world to wage war against the island. However, Willy did not do this out of sheer obligation, he had his own motives and ideologies which made waging war against Paradis the best option.

Why did Willy declare war on Paradis?

The Tybur family had spent the past few decades lobbying with other countries to make sure that the Eldians are treated well. This is why Eldians in Marley were treated much better. This was his final push to advocate better rights for the Eldians on the continent, indirectly so.

Willy Tybur declared war on Paradis to “smoke out spies” who had infiltrated Marley. The declaration of war was bound to rile them up and incite them into taking action. By making Paradis the villains, Willy also wanted to portray the Eldians on the mainland in a good light. But he would ultimately use them as a sacrifice.

Willy knew the enemy was in Marley, or close by. One such example is when Magath and Willy engage in a cryptic conversation about an “infestation of rats” in posts. It can be possible that it was Magath’s way of subtly telling Willy that the enemies have managed to infiltrate Liberio.

Seeing that Willy and Zeke were the people who had info about the spies, it is possible that they were working together and planned the mishap at the festival in Liberio so that Zeke could get away.

light fire underneath their asses

He was hellbent on ratting out the spies who have helped the enemy arrive onto Marleyan land. The military officials seem to be on top of Willy’s list of suspicions, which explains why he had them grouped together so that most of them can perish if the enemy were to attack.

He assumed, righfully, that Paradis forces would want to kill the military personnel too. Hence, Willy managed to make the Corps play into his own plan! While to the others this would look like a horrifying act of murder, it was actually a convenient way for Willy to wipe the officials out without getting his hands dirty.

However, during the ball/party that was held on the even of the festival, Willy said that he had a plan. Was declaring war on Paradis his ultimate plan? Do consider, Willy never finished his speech. Who knows what else he had in store?

But declaring war on Paradis itself was a pretty stupid move. If Willy knew that Eren somehow was able to use the powers of the Founding Titan without any restrictions, then declaring war only increased the chances of the earth shaking or rumbling happening. This makes us wonder if Willy had any ulterior motives in declaring the war.

Other than this, the most shocking segment of the speech was Willy revealing the truth about Helos. Let’s understand why he did so.

What did revealing the truth achieve?

By revealing the truth, it would initially sound like Willy shot himself in his foot. This is because the truth would take away all the respect the Tybur Family had. However, he was ready to give it up for the sake of Eldians. Willy was not happy with Marley’s expansionist ways and their treatment of the Eldians.

He wanted the world to know that the true credit of ending the war remained with Eldians. He wanted the world to know that the real problem was Eren Jeager and the Survey Corps, who were the trailblazers of the rebellion among the walls.

willy evidence
By repeatedly showing Karl in a positive light, Willy was trying to prove that Paradis has gone bad due to the existence of Eren Yeager and his allies.

nd when Willy revealed the truth, the ambassadors and other major people in the crows did seem to have a change in their attitude towards the Eldians. However, just as their conviction to wipe out the devils on Paradis was wavering, Willy declares war on the very same Eldians on Paradis who had claimed were peace-loving.

Why did Willy wish not to die?

Willy goes on talking about how he wishes his race never existed. Yet, he juxtaposes it by saying he doesn’t want to die, now that he’s been born. Clearly, this triggered something in Eren as his mother’s words were unintentionally (or intentionally, who knows) used in a selfish manner.

Its not hard to conclude that the “rebels” on Paradis have a fixation with wanting their people to stay alive. What if Willy carefully chose his words so that he could trigger the enemy into attacking the gathering?

Yet, why was he ready to sacrifice himself?

Willy was sure that acting like a martyr was the best way to convince the world of his cause. Maybe his line was supposed to make everyone feel sorry for him once he’s gone, and uphold his legacy by carrying out what he said. This could be why he was ready to sacrifice himself. He was alright with Magath informing him that he won’t be able to protect him.

willy sacrifice
Willy was a man who was ready to sacrifice many, including his family, for the sake of Eldians on the continent and Marley alike.

If he and numerous Eldians were to perish in an attack that was carried out by Paradis, it would serve Willy’s purpose. This would help the Eldians on the mainland and other countries to be viewed in a different light and as a separate entity from the devils on Paradis. This would perfectly align with Willy’s motives too.

Did Lady Kiyoomi know what was about to happen?

Yes. After meeting Willy, she quickly leaves with her delegation. Remember that she was in on Zeke’s plan to establish diplomatic relations with Paradis. Therefore, she fully knew about the plan to take Zeke away through the raid.

let us leave

Many dignitaries were also grouped together, ready to serve as bait on Willy’s orders. Neither Hizuru, nor Paradis could afford Kiyoomi dying. In fact, Kiyoomi does not hold back from making it seem like something is happening. She tells him her family knows he’s a brave man. She doesn’t hesitate to even say that she hopes he fulfills his duty “without incident”. Kiyoomi made it clear that something was about to happen.

Do you think this makes sense, or are we looking too much into it? Was Willy Tybur’s speech veiled and filled with intentions we don’t know? Let us know in the comments below!

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