Learn Japanese with Anime - As A Warrior, I'll Fulfil My Duty To The Bitter End (Attack on Titan)

Analysis

The sentence is a bit long, so I’ll divide it into two parts: the main clause, which stands as a complete sentence, and the subsidiary part, which provides additional information.

Main Clause: 俺(おれ)のすべきことは戦(せん)士(し)として最(さい)後(ご)まで責(せき)任(にん)を果(は)た(た)す(す)ことだ.

This follows the basic structure “Noun Aは Noun Bだ“, meaning “Noun A is Noun B”. We’ll break down each noun.

Noun A: 俺(おれ)のすべきこと

The structure involves an adjective clause 俺(おれ)のすべき modifying the following noun こと.

俺(おれ) (pronoun) means “I” in an informal and masculine way.

の(の) (particle) indicates the subject in an adjective clause, functioning similarly to が.

NOTE

The subject marker の in an adjective clause can be replaced with が. In the comic, が is used:

す(す)べ(べ)き(き) means “should do”. It’s formed by combining す, which is the classical form of す(す)る(る) meaning “to do”, and べ(べ)き(き) meaning “should”.

こ(こ)と(と) means “things” that are abstract or intangible.

So, 俺(おれ)のすべきこと means “things that I should do”.

Noun B: 戦(せん)士(し)として最(さい)後(ご)まで責(せき)任(にん)を果(は)た(た)す(す)こと

戦(せん)士(し) (noun) means “warrior”.

と(と)し(し)て(て) (particle) means “as”.

最(さい)後(ご) (noun) means “end” or “last”.

ま(ま)で(で) (particle) means “until”.

責(せき)任(にん) (noun) means “responsibility”.

を(を) (particle) marks the direct object of an action.

果(は)た(た)す(す) (verb) means “to fulfil”.

こ(こ)と(と), in this case, is used as a nominaliser which doesn’t have a specific meaning on its own, but it turns a verb into a noun to indicate the action as a concept.

So 戦(せん)士(し)として最(さい)後(ご)まで責(せき)任(にん)を果(は)た(た)す(す)こと means “to fulfil my responsibility as a warrior until the end”.

So the main clause 俺(おれ)のすべきことは戦(せん)士(し)として最(さい)後(ご)まで責(せき)任(にん)を果(は)た(た)す(す)ことだ means “What I should do is to fulfil my responsibility as a warrior until the end”.

Subsidiary Part: 自(じ)分(ぶん)のした行(おこな)い(い)や選(せん)択(たく)に対(たい)し(し)

This also contains an adjective clause, which modifies the following noun. Let’s break it down.

自(じ)分(ぶん) (pronoun) is used to refer to the same person within the same sentence. In this case, it refers to 俺(おれ) which was mentioned earlier. In Japanese, instead of repeating, we often use 自(じ)分(ぶん) to avoid redundancy.

の(の) (particle), again, indicates the subject in an adjective clause, functioning similarly to が.

し(し)た(た) (verb) means “did”. It’s the past tense of す(す)る(る) (to do).

行(おこな)い(い) (noun) means “action”.

選(せん)択(たく) (noun) means “choice”.

や(や) (particle) is used to list representative things. It’s similar to “and”, but it also implies that there are other similar things not mentioned in the list. In this case, it could include things like his decisions, words, and so on.

So 自(じ)分(ぶん)のした行(おこな)い(い)や選(せん)択(たく) means “the actions I took and the choices I made.” In Japanese, we use the verb する with these nouns, such as 行(おこな)い(い)をする (to take actions) and 選(せん)択(たく)をする (to make choices), so 自(じ)分(ぶん)のした can modify both 行(おこな)い(い) and 選(せん)択(たく) with a single verb.

に(に)対(たい)し(し) indicates the target of an action, emotion, or attitude. In this case, it refers to what his responsibility is directed towards.

So, 自(じ)分(ぶん)のした行(おこな)い(い)や選(せん)択(たく)に対(たい)し(し) means “for the actions I took and the choices I made” or simply, “for my actions and choices”.

So today’s quote 俺(おれ)のすべきことは自(じ)分(ぶん)のした行(おこな)い(い)や選(せん)択(たく)に対(たい)し(し)戦(せん)士(し)として最(さい)後(ご)まで責(せき)任(にん)を果(は)た(た)す(す)ことだ means “What I should do is to fulfil my responsibility as a warrior until the end for my actions and choices”. In the anime, it translates to “The only choice for me now is to face the consequences of my actions and, as a warrior, fulfil my duty to the bitter end”.