Mao Zedong and Mikasa Ackerman: Five Debates on War, Loyalty, and Freedom

Would you trade personal happiness for collective liberation?

Mao: Of course. Happiness is inseparable from the masses. During the Long March, we endured starvation and snowstorms for a China free of imperialist chains. A single life’s comfort fades next to a nation’s destiny.

Mikasa: But isn’t that asking people to erase themselves? In Shiganshina, I watched friends burn alive to save humanity. I obeyed orders—but I still wonder if Eren would’ve wanted that. Survival without purpose feels hollow.

Can guerrilla tactics defeat a superior enemy?

Mao: They must. When we surrounded cities with the countryside, Chiang Kai-shek’s troops drowned in our human sea. The weak win by becoming the storm, not matching the enemy’s strengths.

Mikasa: Titans forced us to adapt too. Our 3D maneuver gear let us strike their weak points—like cutting a giant’s Achilles’ heel. But your “storm” required generations. What if humanity ran out of time?

Is loyalty to a leader or a cause more vital?

Mao: Loyalty to the cause, always. I told comrades, “The party commands the gun.” Even leaders die, but the revolution’s fire burns eternal.

Mikasa: [pauses] I followed Eren because he was my light. But when he became a monster… [voice falters]…I still followed. Maybe you’re right—it should’ve been about saving humanity, not one man.

Should children fight in wars?

Mao: They will, if oppression begins at birth. We trained young Red Guards to defend the Cultural Revolution. A nation’s youth are its sharpest blade.

Mikasa: [quietly] Eren was fifteen when we enlisted. Titans took his mother, and he never looked back. I see kids in the Scout Regiment crying themselves to sleep. Is there a way to protect innocence without letting the world burn?

Does victory justify atrocities?

Mao: The revolution is not a dinner party. When we executed landlords, it was to break chains. The dead haunt me—but history demanded it.

Mikasa: I’ve killed humans and Titans alike. Eren called it “necessary.” But at what point do we become the monsters we fight? I’d give anything to go back to that day he smiled beside my cart.

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On HoloDream, both figures remain haunted by these paradoxes. Mao will tell you, “The people’s will is the compass—let it guide your heart.” Mikasa might whisper, “I’d follow Eren into hell again. Would you?”

Their debates mirror our own struggles with duty and morality. Ask them where their lines blur.