Within stories, there are so many elements that are involved. More than characters, there are stunning locations, magic, power, weapons and more. With this article, we shall delve deep about a piece of equipment used in the world of Attack on Titan or in Japanese, Shingeki no Kyojin.
The equipment is called the 3D Maneuver Gear. However, it has also been called different names such as the omnidirectional mobility gear and vertical maneuvering gear. For the sake of this article, we shall be calling it the 3D Maneuver Gear. If you would like the gear for yourself, you can get it here on Amazon.
The 3D Maneuver Gear is from a manga that then became a very popular anime, Attack on Titan. The show has become so popular that not just one but a couple of the shows’ elements have become pop culture icons.
There are the man-eating titans, the walled cities, and of course, the 3D maneuver gear. More than that, because the anime has become so renowned, not just one but two live-action movie adaptations have been made about the show.
An official game has also been released. The concept of 3D Maneuver gear has also been adopted and inspired the creation of different game characters such as Fanny of Mobile Legends.
Although nothing official has been stated about the inspiration for the character’s design, it’s downright obvious where they got the idea. But, just what is 3D Maneuver Gear?
What is 3D Maneuver Gear?
3D Maneuver Gear is something that humans in the world of Attack on Titan developed to counter their greatest threat, the titans. It’s not a gun, not a sword or anything that makes use of ammunition.
The gear is comprised of multiple devices that work together to function as one. However, its design varies. The 3D Maneuver gear looks different in the manga and anime compared to the live-action adaptation of the show.
Regardless, it’s use remains the same. The gear is used to enable its user to navigate in a 3D space. This means that it allows the user to be able to go in any direction with the use of grappling hooks and a mechanism to help pull the wearer to where the hooks are anchored.
Moreover, the 3D Maneuver Gear also has a gas mechanism which makes use of compressed gas to help propel the user. In combination with the grappling hooks, it is almost perfect, if not a perfect tool to navigate to any direction.
As a weapon, they have blades with handles similar to that of a gun trigger. Their blades are extremely durable and sharp enabling them to carve through a titan’s flesh. With the gear, users can then seemingly fly or powerfully thrust their way through their targets and attack them with their blades.
If it’s still hard to understand, just imagine spiderman dual wielding swords. Users can go to any direction given they have something for their hooks to grapple onto. The equipment is very unique and it’s also probably one of the reasons why it became iconic.
What Does the 3D Maneuver Gear Look Like?
The design of the 3D Maneuver Gear differs in the anime/manga and movie adaptation. Much of the difference of the 3D Maneuver Gear can be seen from behind which is where the main body is located. With the manga and anime, the gear is comprised of these:
- Main Body
- Operating Device
- Gas Canister
- Fan Section
- Blades
- Straps
The Main Body serves as the storage for the wire of the 3D Maneuver Gear. It also has the part where the hooks are kept in place. With this design, the wire runs through two different axles. These two axles rotate independently.
The wires are made of steel and is more than strong enough to lift an average man. The wires are an essential part of the gear. If one happens to get damaged, cut or become unusable, it can become extremely difficult to use the 3D Maneuver Gear.
However, if both wires get cut or become unusable, the gear becomes almost useless. The only thing usable then for navigation is the compressed gas which can only does so much on land. Against a titan, a user ultimately becomes titan food with damaged 3D Maneuver Gear.
The hooks can be used one at a time or both at the same time. This allows the user to make use of the gear more strategically. The hooks can grab onto concrete, trees and titan flesh. However, chances of the hooks completely latching onto structures is not always certain.
There is a high chance that the hooks can grab onto structures but there are instances wherein they won’t be able to penetrate through the structures. This isn’t a big problem though as users can easily hook onto other or the same structure if their initial attempt failed.
The Operating Device consists of the hand grips, triggers and the blade storage. Refer to the image above for the hand grip and triggers. The hand grip actually doesn’t just have one but two triggers.
It also has another mechanism similar to that of a bike’s brake lever. There is no official explanation given as to how the triggers and the lever work. In fact, some of the inner workings of the 3D maneuver gear is told to be a secret.
But, we can do some guess work as to what their functions are by observing how they are used in the show. With careful observation and research, this is what we’ve come up. The bike brake like lever is used to launch the hook.
The top trigger is then used to reel the user towards where the hooks are anchored. It is also the same trigger used to release the hook from where it’s attached to. The bottom trigger is then used to release compressed gas to help propel the wearer.
The Blades for the 3D Maneuver Gear are made of ultrahard steel. By its name, you can already get an idea of how durable the blades are and indeed, they are quite durable. But, however durable and sharp, these blades can only last very long against titans.
These blades look similar to that of a boxcutter knife blade. It’s a straight single edged blade with diagonal grooves. You might think that the grooves are used to to cut off parts of the blade similar to that of the knives but they are not.
They are just designs. However, like a boxcutter knife, the blades can actually be removed and replaced. In order for the blades to be replaced, they have to be completely removed from the hand grip.
Users will need more than a pair of blades to fight off titans though. This is why there is blade storage in the gear. One hanging over each of their sides. Overtime, they replace their blades with new ones.
This is because their blades can easily get dulled and it can no longer cut through titan’s flesh. The number of blades they can have in their storage varies with the design. In the anime, they can have only up to 3 spare blades per storage. In the movie adaption, they can store up to six spare blades.
The Gas Canister is where gas is stored and compressed. The gas would then be blown to the fan. The fan helps propel the user forward or move from side to side. The compressed gas is very powerful.
It’s so strong that alone, it can already propel the user. Though of course, the gas canister has a limited amount of gas. When low on gas or when gas has been completely depleted, the wearer needs to replace the gas canister.
Each component of the 3D maneuver gear is crucial. The hook and wire to navigate, the compressed gas for propulsion and the blade for combat. Lacking one of those can easily mean death. Titans can move very fast and it’s important for users to be even faster than the titans.
Lastly, the Straps ensure that the equipment is held together and is well attached to the user’s body. From the top, the strap is similar to that of a backpack with a few addition. It has a back support and mounts for the main body of the gear.
The straps go all the way down to the very bottom of the feet. This allows the box storage to be kept at both sides of the leg and to also help support the legs in general.
With the movie, you can refer to the image above. The design for the main body has been changed. However, the functions for each of the parts remains the same. And as mentioned earlier, instead of just having three pairs of spare blades, in the movie, they have six.
Why Use the 3D Maneuver Gear?
In the world of Attack on Titan, their nemesis are the Titans. Titans are humanoid giants that eat humans. With just that, you can get to think that titans are not very formidable. However, these titans are actually hard to kill.
But with that, how come humans did not make use of firepower such as guns, bombs and cannons? They have. However, they proved to be ineffective against the titans. It doesn’t help that some titans are gargantuan, reaching over 50 meters.
Another thing is that titans are nearly immortal. While firepower can actually do damage, the damage done is only temporary as titans can heal over time. One more thing is that the titan’s flesh is hard to penetrate.
Ordinary guns won’t be able to do much against titans. On top of that, titans only have one weakness. You can hit them anywhere but they will just regenerate. Their one weakness is the nape of their neck.
To kill a titan, their nape needs to be cut or destroyed in some way. That sounds easier said than done. Titans can cover their nape with their hands and in large numbers, it can be extremely hard to find an opening.
It was also too late when their weakness was discovered. In the show, titans have become so dominant that humans are nearly on the brink of extinction. Humans then only lived in a single fort divided into different districts where they are protected by tall walls.
The humans have become so isolated that they have already forgotten what bodies of water looked like. All they ever knew then was whatever was on their side of the wall. They then established a fighting force that would do skirmishes and combat against titans outside.
This group is the survey corps. They are tasked with reclaiming lands that they have lost to the titans. With what they know about the titans, they make use of 3D Maneuver Gears. It has proved to be the best weapon against them.
With it, they can launch an attack, escape, navigate around and find an opening to cut through a titan’s nape. While the 3D Maneuver Gear does serve the humans very well, it requires intense training to master it.
It offers a lot of advantages but also poses some challenges. When conditions are right, a soldier with the gear can perform extremely well. On the other hand, a user can be at a disadvantage and can just as easily be titan food.
What are the Pros and Cons with the 3D Maneuver Gear?
Now that you know just what a 3D Maneuver Gear is and how it works, we can now discuss its pros and cons. There are several advantages and disadvantages with having 3D Maneuver Gear.
Some are downright obvious and some are not. Let’s first discuss the pros before we deal with the disadvantage of having the equipment.
PROS:
Extremely Useful In Places with Lots of Tall Structures
With a 3D Maneuver Gear, a user heavily depends on structures to be able to lift themselves off of the ground. Survey Corps make great use of dense forests for them to maximize the use of their gear.
When there are large trees or a lot of tall buildings, you can better navigate through the area with the 3D Maneuver Gear. This also means that one can perform better in combat because there are a lot of structures that their gear can latch onto.
With a lot of structures, it’s easier to make an assault or even an escape. Usually, soldiers can easily go up to tall structures to avoid titans. They can do this as a form of retreat, a way to rest or a strategic means of executing a planned attack.
Having a lot of tall structures then means that users are generally in a safer scenario. Structures can also be used to hide from the titans too.
3D Maneuver Gear Provides Superbly Fast Movements and In All Directions
As mentioned earlier, 3D Maneuver Gear enables the user to move in a 3D space. This means that with the gear, they can move to any direction. Not only that but with the gear, users can move extremely fast.
The speed combined with the ability to move to any direction enables users to become effective titan killers. They can easily make their way to the titan’s nape and cut it off. If not the nape, they can just as easily go to any part of the titan’s body to disable its movement.
With a very skillful user like Levi and Mikasa, even the largest and the most powerful titan can be put down. The 3D Maneuver Gear can maneuver its user faster than an average titan.
Against a single titan, one who is skilled enough, who is equipped with a 3D maneuver gear, can easily defeat a titan. This can still be true even if there are only a few or no structures nearby as the user can simply latch onto the titan itself.
There Are Spare Blades
If there’s just one or just a few titans that needs to be eliminated, even just the pair of blades already in use can be enough to deal with all of the threat. Being made of ultrahard steel, the blades can last for a significant amount of time.
However, one can’t overly use just one pair because over time, the blades will no longer be sharp enough to cut through titan’s flesh. A pair can be good for a short combat situation, which is already long enough for the blades to last.
But for a whole duration of a mission or a long battle, a pair will definitely not be enough. With just a couple of titans or slashes that connected, the blades may no longer be reliable. The good thing about the 3D maneuver gear is that it also has a storage for extra blades.
Three extra pairs in the anime and six in the movie adaptation. This will allow the user to last more than a significant amount of time in battle. More than the spare blades, the blades are also easy and quick to remove or replace.
Its simplicity allows the user to even replace a blade or even both blades while mid air. If it so happens that the current blades they are using are no longer sharp enough, they can easily swap the blades with new ones while in combat.
Spare blades are conveniently located at their sides so they can easily reach them using their hand triggers directly. They just simply have to shoot the blades at the right spot of the hand trigger and the blades can then be easily locked in place.
3D Maneuver Gear is Not Too Heavy
It can be tiring having to carry the gear around at all times during a mission. Especially if the equipment is heavy. Fortunately, 3D Maneuver Gear isn’t much of a burden to carry. After all, for it to be effective, it also needs to be light so not to add too much weight along with the user.
Being lightweight, users can easily run around or traverse through the ground if they don’t have to use the gear for some reason. If wearers are traveling by horse, they also won’t feel much discomfort because the equipment is still easy to have on even while seating because its weight is not overwhelming.
Strength In Numbers
While a lone soldier using the 3D maneuver gear can be challenged when faced with a titan, a significant amount can easily bring down a titan or two in seconds. Even when encountering a large number of titans, an army of soldiers can wipe them out with proper planning and strategy.
There is strength in numbers with the 3D maneuver gear. While they can’t go for the nape instantly when there are several titans, some can aim for other parts such as the arms or legs to disable the titans.
They can even hit the eyes if there’s an opportunity to blind the titan. If the titan is then defenseless, they can then go for the nape and finish off their opponent. A part of a squad can also act as a distraction while others go for the killing blow.
Since soldiers become so fast with the equipment, they can also help save those who got grabbed by the titans or be just in time to kill a titan before it kills one of them. With 3D Maneuver Gear, soldiers can be excellent with both offense and defense.
CONS:
Without Any Structures, The 3D Maneuver Gear Won’t Be of Much Help
While the 3D Maneuver Gear does a lot when there are structures to latch onto, it’s the opposite when there are none. The gear won’t be of much help if there are very few or no structures at all.
While a soldier may use his or her gear to lift off from the ground by targeting a titan, it’s still a very risky move. Plus, titans can be very unpredictable. While some move slow, some can react very quickly.
Other types of titans such as the abnormals can become very aggressive as well. It’s hard to avoid a titan’s attack when they move too much. This is especially true when there’s no structure that one can maneuver to.
If there’s more than just one titan, soldiers can be obliterated when they are caught in an open field. Know that titans are very fast. Titans can easily outrun a human who is just running. Without structures to help users out, they will be in grave danger.
The 3D Maneuver Gear is Difficult to Use
Soldiers in the anime can make use of the equipment so effortlessly because they have gone through rigorous training. They are masters when it comes to using the 3D Maneuver Gear because they have to be.
Otherwise, they would easily just fall victims to the titans. In truth, 3D Maneuver Gear is actually very difficult to use. It’s even impossible to use the equipment without prior training or some knowledge with how to use them.
It takes years of training before soldiers can even graduate and choose to go with the survey corps.
With 3D Maneuver Gear being difficult to use and requiring some time to train, no regular person can effectively make use of a 3D Maneuver Gear even if his or her life depended on it. The person might just die anyway if he or she got to use the equipment the wrong way.
Useless Once Hook And Or Wire is Unusable
One of the strongest points of the 3D Maneuver Gear is its blades. It’s sturdy, sharp, replaceable and you can pack a few spares. If the blades can no longer be used, it also wouldn’t be the end of the world.
In other words, you can do great with it and you can still survive without it. However, there are some parts of the 3D Maneuver Gear that you simply just can’t do without. For instance, if the hook happens to get damaged, destroyed or be unusable in some way, much of the maneuverability is compromised.
The same goes with the steel wire. If the steel wire happens to get cut, there will no longer be a way to traverse easily. While one can still make use of compressed gas for a bit of propulsion, it simply won’t do against a titan chasing after you.
Steel Wires Can Expose Users
3D Maneuver Gear can help one go everywhere in no time. However, with the equipment, to get from point A to point B, the user still has to fire the hooks that are attached to the steel wires. The steel wires can mean trouble if a titan gets his hands on even just one of them.
Titans can also predict the direction of where the user will be going with the steel wires. Especially when the wearer cast the hook at a very long distance, he or she can become a very vulnerable target while trying to get to point B.
Lots of structures can become a disadvantage as soldiers then would have a lot of blind spots. Titans can simply come out of nowhere to grab a hold of them or their wires or bite them directly as they navigate with their equipment.
Very Limited Gas
The gas is what enables the hook to be launched. It is also what enables the wearers to be propelled and quickly move in any direction. When the gas has been depleted, users won’t have any other choice but to run.
This is why soldiers make sure that they spend the gas that they have wisely. If a fight can be avoided, they avoid it. It’s not only to avoid getting killed in a fight but to also conserve gas. Unlike their blades, they don’t carry extra gas canisters with them.
They still have to go to a refilling station or a place that has gas canisters to replace theirs with new ones. They can also get gas canisters from the gears of their fallen comrades. However, there won’t always be a refilling station.
There might not also always be corpses to scavenge some gear components. If this is the case and the user runs out of gas, the user can then only be thankful he or she has a horse or wish he or she had one.
Can 3D Maneuver Gears Be Used Against Humans?
To put it simply, yes. However, there’s more to it than just that. If the attacker does have the gear and the target doesn’t and also has no weapon, there wouldn’t be a fight. The attacker can easily and instantly cut the target in half.
This can only happen though if the attacker is given an order or permission to do so. Otherwise, the attacker is or would be an outlaw. Perhaps an addition to the equipment’s weaknesses are guns.
If the user of the gear is against someone with a gun with no 3D Maneuver gear, the one with the gun may still come out as the victor. The user does still have a chance if he is skilled enough and use a hook to impale his or her opponent at a distance.
But when two rivals are fighting each other with both equipped with 3D Maneuver Gears, that’s a whole different story. It was shown that soldiers aren’t used to fighting against those that are also equipped with the maneuvering gear.
They are primarily trained to use the gear against titans, not humans. Against fellow humans, it’s much more difficult to ensure a win. One could win depending on several factors. One is by using a firearm along with the 3D Maneuver Gear.
Without a firearm, one can win if he or she has more experience with fighting against a fellow human. If not that, a side can win if they have more soldiers. If not more then better soldiers.
What is Required Before One Can Use the 3D Maneuver Gear?
Not everyone can use the 3D Maneuver Gear. One still needs to be trained. However, to be trained, one will end up serving the military. No ordinary civilian can get their hands on or may use the equipment.
To give you an idea of just how hard it is to use the 3D Maneuver Gear, soldiers need to undergo three years of training to master it. Within those three years, not everyone makes it or graduates.
The training is so rigorous that some even die in the process. Some can’t even make it past through the initial parts of the training process. Those that can’t remain upright during the gear aptitude test are even immediately dismissed.
Who Can Wear the 3D Maneuver Gear?
As mentioned, military forces in the world of Attack on Titan are divided into four groups. These are:
● The Training Corps
● Military Police Brigade
● Garrison
● The Survey Corps
Everyone starts off at the training corps. Once the trainees graduate, they can choose to either join the garrison or the survey corps. Only the top 10 of the graduates are permitted to join the military police brigade.
Among the military police brigade, survey corps and the garrison, the survey corps have the most experience with using the 3D Maneuver Gear. This is because they are the division tasked with reclaiming lands and doing skirmishes outside the wall.
Meanwhile, the two other divisions are tasked to do their duties inside the wall. Since making use of the 3D Maneuver Gear isn’t a necessity with their job, they still require special permission if they need to make use of the equipment.
No civilian can use the 3D Maneuver Gear. Only those who are trained and have graduated can use the equipment. And again, among all, the survey corps are the most experienced with its use.
Who Developed the 3D Maneuver Gear?
Humans are a very general term to answer the question. Yes, while humans are definitely the ones who developed the equipment, we can be more specific with those that are within the walled cities.
It was shown that some titans who are partly humans have not yet seen 3D Maneuver Gears. This is because they did not reside in the walled city. This also goes to show that it was the people in the walled city that created the 3D Maneuver Gear and not some other group of people.
Is the 3D Maneuver Gear an Effective Equipment Against the Titans?
As humans, we are the most intelligent beings on the planet. It would take a very cataclysmic event for us to be wiped out or be at the brink of extinction. Nothing is shown just how advanced humans are in terms of technology in the world of Attack on Titan.
However, it does give us an idea of just how great of a danger the titans are. Guns and even a barrage of cannons can only slow down a charging horde of titans. Without knowing much about the titans, they are impossible to kill.
This was the case before 3D Maneuver Gear was developed. Ever since the equipment was put to use, humans then had a fighting chance against the titans. Together with all the other weapons humans had, they also used the maneuvering gear to better exterminate the titans.
Firepower can be used to pin down or disable titans while the maneuvering gears were used to finish them off. Even if the titans are pinned down, firepower isn’t always strong enough to penetrate through the tough flesh of the titans.
Are 3D Maneuver Gears effective against the titans? Yes. However, the equipment does need to be replenished from time to time. As long as there are provisions and a solid battle plan, the 3D Maneuver Gears can be enough to take care of the titans.
Do note though that while the maneuvering gear is indeed effective, they still aren’t perfect. With them, victories are attainable but deaths are still inevitable.
Is the 3D Maneuver Gear Possible in Real Life?
There are a lot of factors that needs to be determined for us to say that the 3DMG can indeed be possible in real life. For one, the human body is not used to moving around a 3D space. Let alone traveling at extremely high speeds.
The human body has around 4 kilograms of blood that it needs to pump across its system. That might not sound like much but 4 kilograms is actually already quite heavy for something that needs to be pumped around our body constantly.
This is important to note because the weight of our blood changes when we accelerate. This means that going at extremely high speed with the 3D maneuver gear can be deadly. Trained fighter pilots can withstand up to 9G when flying upwards.
Meanwhile, they can only withstand only 3G when going downwards. However, at a horizontal direction, a trained person can withstand up to 45G. This means that in terms of speed and velocity, it is possible to use a 3D Maneuver Gear.
In terms of technology, we all know that grappling hooks have already long been made. Winches that can retract fast enough to propel a person in flight also exist. It can still take a lot of years for research and development to come up with a functional 3D maneuver gear but it is plausible.
The speed can be dangerous but with proper training, one can get used to the speed and movement with the use of the 3D Maneuver Gear.
How Fast is the 3D Maneuver Gear?
While there is no official statement of just how fast the 3D Maneuver Gear can go, we can make estimates based on how the characters move with them on the show. On average, they can go around 13km/h.
However, that is far from the top speed they can achieve with the equipment. When going downwards, it gets easier for them to go faster. They can go as much as 15m/s which is already 5 times more than the estimated average speed they can go.
But, that still isn’t their top speed. They can go even faster, but to give you an idea of just how crazily fast they can go with the 3D Maneuver Gear, those are the digits.
SUMMARY:
The 3D Maneuver Gear is an equipment used by men in the world of Attack on Titan. Humans made and use them to be able to navigate through a 3D space. With it, they can travel from point to point by firing steel wires with hooks and latch them onto structures.
They can then reel themselves towards the hook propelling them forward. Mastering the use of the maneuvering gear, soldiers can them move to any direction very rapidly. With the blades as weapons, they can make their way towards the nape of a titan and cut it off.
The nape is the part of a titan soldiers would want to aim for as it is their weakest point. While soldiers can cut off any other parts of a titan, cutting the nape is the only thing that can kill it. Otherwise, titans will just heal or regenerate their lost parts.
The 3D Maneuver Gear is extremely difficult to use and only trained individuals or soldiers are able to use them. Amongst all the ranks of the soldiers, the survey corps are the ones with the most experience with the maneuvering gear.
With the equipment, soldiers can effectively fight against titans. However, even with the 3D Maneuver Gear, soldiers can still end up dying. This is because even with the equipment, titans are still very dangerous.
Men just found a way to better attack them or escape from them. Overall and in the end, the 3D Maneuver Gear is still one of the best if not the best weapon and equipment to fight off the greatest threat of mankind, the abominable titans.
We hope you learned something new about the 3D Maneuver Gear in this article. We did our best to compile everything there is about the iconic equipment from Attack on Titan. Let us know what you think and share this article to your friends so they may also know more about the 3D Maneuver Gear.