Erwin Smith's "My Soldiers, Rage" Speech
Submission 845
Part of a series on Attack on Titan / Shingeki No Kyojin. [View Related Entries]
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| About • Origin • Spread • Various Examples • Search Interest • External References • Recent Images |
About
Erwin Smith's "My Soldiers, Rage" Speech refers to a memorable speech said by the Attack on Titan character Erwin Smith to inspire his soldiers before a near-suicidal cavalry charge. The speech achieved recognition online as one of the most memorable speeches in manga and anime and has been referenced in various memes since 2019, as well as seeing usage as a copypasta.
Origin
On April 9th, 2016, chapter 80 titled "The Nameless Soldiers" of the Attack on Titan dark fantasy manga series was released.[1] In the chapter, Scout Regiment commander Erwin Smith gives a speech before his disheartened soldiers to inspire them for a near-suicidal but necessary cavalry charge against the Beast Titan. In his speech, Erwin speaks about the meaning of their lives and deaths and screams, "My soldiers, scream out! My soldiers, rage!" as they charge against the Titan (panels shown below, right to left).
On May 19th, 2019, episode 16 "Perfect Game" of the season three of the Attack on Titan anime series premiered[2] in the United States. In the episode, the scene of Erwin Smith giving the speech is adopted (Japanese and English versions shown below, left and right).
Everything that you thought had meaning: every hope, dream, or moment of happiness. None of it matters as you lie bleeding out on the battlefield. None of it changes what a speeding rock does to a body, we all die.
But does that mean our lives are meaningless? Does that mean that there was no point in our being born? Would you say that of our slain comrades? What about their lives? Were they meaningless?
They were not! Their memory serves as an example to us all! The courageous fallen! The anguished fallen! Their lives have meaning because we the living refuse to forget them!
And as we ride to certain death, we trust our successors to do the same for us! Because my soldiers do not buckle or yield when faced with the cruelty of this world!
My soldiers, push forward! My soldiers, scream out! My soldiers, rage!
Spread
Following the premiere of the episode, the scene achieved popularity as a meme format, initially as a caption meme. On August 26th, 2019, Redditor dragonxxxxxxxx paired the image with a panel from another manga, with the post, since removed, gaining over 20,000 upvotes in the /r/memes[3] subreddit in five years (shown below, left).
The image saw more use as a caption meme and a redraw format in the following years. For example, on July 17th, 2021, Redditor Jonatan_5432 posted a redraw in the /r/HistoryAnimemes[4] subreddit that received over 3,300 upvotes in three years (shown below, right).
On September 10th, 2023, TikTok[5] user @getsuga_tenshou14 combined a viral video of a blind toddler riding a toy horse with the speech, with the post accumulating over 1.7 million views and 260,000 likes in 10 months (shown below, left). On September 14th, 2024, TikTok[6] user @the_holy_bean posted a remade version of the meme that garnered over 6.1 million views and 1.2 million likes in the same period (shown below, right).
Additionally, a version of the line "My soldiers, scream!" altered to "My soldiers! Cream!" has been used in memes: (example[7] shown below).
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] Attack on Titan Wiki – The Nameless Soldiers
[2] Attack on Titan Wiki – Perfect Game
[4] Reddit – SCREAM, MY SOLDIERS!
[5] TikTok – @getsuga_tenshou14
[6] TikTok – @the_holy_bean
[7] Tenor – My Soldiers Cream GIF
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