Okay so why is it that series such as *The Promised Neverland*, *Maze Runner*, *Attack on Titan* etc. – those built on withholding a ‘world outside’ – always seem to miss the landing in the design of their broader settings? The atmosphere within the walls, within the island, for AoT and that inside the facility in Promised Neverland feels so much deeper, larger than itself, that once the greater world is revealed, it feels lacking in something.
This is all decidedly subjective of course, but could anyone explain why I feel this way? Is it really a fault on the writers’ parts, or could it just be the nature of such a setup? Maybe it’s just me? As an aside, what would you call this style where there is a greater setting withheld from the reader?
by 1nf3rn06006
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Interesting! I have definitely noticed this, too, now that you mention it. I wonder if it’s because that outside world is built up to be something so dangerous or remarkable that once it’s revealed, it is almost always going to be underwhelming. In that way, it might be a result of the setup as you suggested. However, I feel like the setup isn’t necessarily doomed to that by its nature, so it might depend on how the writer reveals information to the audience and creates/maintains tension. If there is no more tension/interest once the world is revealed, of course it is going to feel underwhelming, so there has to be some kind of continuing tension beyond that point, if that makes sense. That’s my theory on that.
As for a name of the style, I did some research to see if a name already existed, but I didn’t really find anything beyond perhaps saying that stories like this utilized an “isolated setting,” which I think works fine…to some extent. I think a little something is missing from that. All of the stories you mentioned keep the characters isolated on purpose, but a setting could be isolated for any number of reasons, so there’s not really that added element… Maybe I would call it a “dystopian horizon narrative?” Because the characters are trapped for often disturbing reasons against their will, causing the usually dystopian world (and, by extension, much of the story) to be cut off from the reader while still remaining within reach.
Really love this topic! Thanks for posting it 🙂
I didn’t really think a lot about it, but I’ll try to offer my view. I will also only comment on AoT, the only one I finished.
I would call it a mix between the allure of the unknown and the dialectics of “us against something/someone else”. The first part of the story has a nice aura of mystery related to titans and the outside world. Despite all the shortcomings, humanity stands its ground against an enemy it can’t fully understand, trying to recover the land and life it once lost.
When the other thing is finally revealed, that allure vanishes. Many people find this underwhelming, disappointing. It’s a matter of expectations, as many want something completely new, but often receive an already existing concept. This leaves the story in need of a new way to catch our interest. I think this is generally done by making characters lose the old _status quo_ and then conflict becomes unavoidable. They must find a way to overcome it, either in the internal (psychological) realm or the external realm, so we keep an eye on how they will manage the current situation.
IMHO, AoT makes several questionable decisions in the second part of the story. The conflict escalated but the resolution is horrible and the development does not address the core of the tension (the “us vs them” dialectics) in any meaningful way. It’s all about Eren’s megalomaniac desire to subjugate, an enterprise based on vengeance and superiority, and people saying “no, don’t kill them, it’s bad”. We don’t see the impact of the new tension between “races” and societies, or how it psychologically affects the characters. In this part, Eren is despicable, edgy. Other characters have little to no development and the story is a bit stagnated at the “who kills whom, who rules over whom, who defeats whom” mentality.
I personally disliked seeing a succession of blows with little elaboration leading to Eren’s pathetic last moments and no actual thematic opposition. We don’t get to see Armin or Mikasa evolve into strong, interesting characters that catch our attention and give us food for thought. All boils down to pointless events, to feeble characters, to Eren’s derangement—there’s no allure comparable to the previous setting.