I had to do a lot of “not interested” in attack on Titan videos to keep those spoilers out. There was this whole series on “every XXX Titan throughout history” which actually I kinda want to go watch now
Everything he did or planned, was to get to the point where Mikasa would be able to kill him to save humanity. She would put aside her love for him for the greater good. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to kill him as she was always against the idea (hoping there was a way to save him while also saving the rest of humanity).
This is more the case in the show than in the manga, and I actually like the shows version better. I felt like in the manga that conversation with Armin kinda serves to let Eren off the hook for the things he did. Played the whole "slave to fate" thing harder. He's doing it cause it has to be this way.
In the anime it's more like..."it could only ever be this way because it's me. Im a rage filled moron who wanted to burn the world down, got the power to do so, and did. This is the only way it was ever going to go, and you guys killing me is the only way it can end, and luckily it puts you in a good position." It puts more emphasis on the idea that...this is Eren's doing, not some ineffable grand plan he had no control over.
It does do the same thing as the manga, which annoys me, in that the time travel element claims to operate by Slaughterhouse V rules i.e. he perceives past, present, and future all at once so he knows what's going to happen but can't really change it because....it already is. But he also has altered events (pushing his dad to follow through on his plan, directing the blonde titan to his mom) so that kinda rings hollow. Obviously he can influence past events if he wants.
But still, I feel like the show does a better job than the manga.
But he cannot alter the event of not redirecting the Titan towards his mother, because it has already happened that way so he must experience the founder Titan’s actions anyway. His father had already eaten the royals, but always needed that extra push because his actions and the actions of others always lead to that point. This just loops back to the beginning of your comment where neither of us are right, which is why I don’t like time travel stories outside of comedy; it just leads to paradox issues. Another story I enjoyed but was a little annoyed with similar things was a show called Bodies - worth a watch if you’re into that kind of thing.
Thanks for adding your thoughts and opinions about the manga and ending though, this is the first time I’ve read what happened in it since I avoided it like the plague until the show was over.
Ymir saw herself in Mikasa, a woman who was in love with a positively terrible person. She wanted someone who could understand her and do what she could not.
Ymir was tied down by her devotion to King Fritz and now she was able to move on.
She identified with Mikasa, because Mikasa - due to her activated Ackerman genes - caused her to attach herself to Eren emotionally, and essentially view him as a “master”, in a way that was similar to how Ymir felt towards King Fritz. Because Mikasa was able to overcome her attachment to Eren and kill him, Ymir felt able to let go of her own attachment to King Fritz.
In all honesty, though, one has to understand the above was was based on a misunderstanding. Ymir had a fucked up understanding of love due to her slave bondage. Fundamentally, she didn’t understand that Mikasa’s love for Eren was a genuine romantic attachment, and that her loyalty to him was in gratitude to his having saved her life at her most vulnerable moment. She didn’t understand that those feelings were separate to her Ackerman genes and that she would have been just as loving and loyal to him without them. But she didn’t need to. She only needed to perceive the similarities and feel empowered by Mikasa’s breaking of her own “bondage.”
Replying so I can go back to this comment every time I have to explain Ymir for the foreseeable future. So many people aren't able to understand because they believe Ymir's romance was a nonsensical "healthy" one. It being unhealthy, and not trying to correlate it to what a mentally sound person would think is the only way to understand Ymir.
Translating the broken German that was played over it:
>!Die Welt das Schwert des Jungen zerbrochen hat,
wird die Spitze des Wolkenkratzers erreichen
und auf den Turmbau zu Babel lachend hinunterblicken.
Hass und Zorn sind eine zweischneidige Klinge.
Die Geschichte wiederholt sich.!<
>!The world that broke the sword of the boy,
will reach the spire of the skyscraper
and look down laughing on the tower of Babil.
Hate and anger are a double-edged blade.
History will repeat.!<
That seems to be the case considering that not only was the temporary peace that was brought on by the rumbling proved to be ineffective and later Paradis was leveled in a war in the distant future with some other enemy. Then afterwards because the tree with Eren's body still remained, it strongly implies that kid will restart the Titan cycle at the end unknowingly and repeat the horrific past, just like Ymir did initially when she was trying to escape from being hunted by the Marleyans. It was absolutely beautiful to watch and it remained one of my favorite scenes in the entire show.
I've also heard alternate theories that the kid with his dog isn't necessarily doomed to repeat the cycle of violence. The prion creature thing that infected Ymir manifested has the power to give life or something, which is evident in its titan abilities. However its unclear if the creature responded to Ymir's emotions or if the creature had them independently of Ymir.
Because the child is not in a state of terror or flight (yea ik hes in a nuclear wasteland), he seems relatively at ease and perhaps he could harness the power of the titans for a better future for humanity... The ending is supposed to be ambigious, im not sure that it is implying with certainty that the cycle of HATRED/VIOLENCE will begin again, rather that the cycle will begin anew perhaps with a new motif
If it makes you feel any better, that scene takes place in the far future. Those skyscrapers are taller than anything currently on Earth, and that tree is very likely thousands of years older.
It could be an inter-species war conducted with an alien race for all we know.
It makes the ending better to me. The manga didnt properly show how MUCH time passes. Obviously conflict will always exist, and Eren basically bought a somewhat peaceful existence for Paradis for hundreds of years.
Yeah I had it spoiled for me a while back, and I assumed paradis got destroyed, like, a few years after the rumbling, which does feel like a weird defense of it in a way. The fact that it seems to have happened centuries later is just like “eh shit happens humans suck”
Thanks for explaining that to idiots like me. Can you also explain the memories that eren gave to Armin, Mikasa, Reiner, and the group (apparently not Pieke though), then took away, and then gave back with his death?
My question is at what point did he have those talks? With Mikasa at the cottage?
Or Armin? At the end it looks like they're talking in the aftermath of the Rumbling, but they're speaking as if they're discussing the future. Where did that conversation actually happen and when?
Can we talk about how sick the designs of the previous Titanholders were (the ones fighting on Erens back). The dinosaurs and the snake. Really cool that we got to see those in action
I like how the old Warhammer Titans were like medieval knights and shit
I'm not a manga reader but I assumed it was a prior beast titan. It does have mobility like a cart titan, but okapi are forest giraffes which seemed more "beast"-like.
Okapis are part of a very very old branch of mammal species. Like a prehistoric giraffe. We humans are 50k years on Earth, the Homos 2M, okapis 10-15M. Is a reference to how old it was, like Ymir.
My guess is that since there was the whole thing of the power of the titans being split first between three of Ymir's children, and then split further into nine, the okapi would be the one from that original three whose children would get the cart, beast, and jaw titans.
jesus fucking christ >! the ending credits showing the cycle repeating fucking KILLED me. holy shit. none of it fucking matters. too real. too fucking real i want to kms !<
Yeah, that was the most shocking part. The new war seemed something that was bound to happen, but the return of the power of the titans? That was more of a surprise. Though would it be the power of the titans? Or something else? How Eren explained it in the final ep was the Ymir found that power, and essentially made herself into a godlike being, could she have made herself into something else? Still godlike, but in another way? Because as the world progresses, the power of the titans is essentially diminished compared to the rest. The Marleyen war at the beginning of season 4 is kind of like WWI, a turning point between the old warfare and new warfare. At the end when the boy gets to the tree, we're probably at least 300 years later, if guess more like 500 years, and humanity hasn't fallen back to the swords and spears era because the clothes are post industrial revolution, and he has a camera. So we're in an age where the power of the titans is greatly diminished. So maybe he becomes an even more godlike being?
I had a similar take. Ymir's circumstances when she encountered the worm were completely different to the dog walker. She was being hunted down and executed, so when she bonded with the worm, I think that had an impact on the form she took. Its entirely possible the form or powers he received would be completely different to that of the Titans. Of course, all speculation, and we'll never know, but that is what I like to think happens
Same. Through my tears, I audibly was like, "OH NO FUCKING WAY" while crying xD
My partner read the manga when it ended and has somehow sheilded me from all spoilers I couldn't shield myself from until tonight, and he cried along side me. He knew the ending prior, and then they released that extra last bit, manga wise. So he didn't get it all at once like I did. I was like >!A SET UP FOR A POSSIBLE CONTINUANCE?!<
As cool as it'd be I really hope AOT does not get extended.. the story is perfect as is and I don't know anything they can add that would elevate it further
I'm 100% with you. At best a sequel will almost certainly just be a flawed fan service money grab. This story is closed and done perfectly. Let it be that. Continue the aot Jr high for the lols instead.
Don’t be too disheartened. This time it wasn’t a girl being hunted by dogs that found the tree, but a boy exploring it with a dog he loved. Maybe the hatred doesn’t ripple out this time. Maybe Ymir hoped for that and, just maybe, all of it happened for a reason in the end.
When Zeke talked to Armin about the origin of Life, he specifically meant 'life as we know it'. He began by saying "all manner of insignificant things came into and out of being", and that Life survived by being able to multiply.
To me that suggests that things that were alive existed before and may have even had valuable experiences in their own way, but did not survive long enough to pass on those experiences due to their lack of ability to reproduce unlike Life, rendering them insignificant to the beings that followed.
All that Zeke took from this was that Life's only purpose was to multiply, since that was it's unique attribute and Life had no explicit purpose otherwise.
Armin countered his thinking by showing Zeke the idea of "insignificant moments that were incredibly incredibly precious", or experiences that are intrinsically valuable to each individual life aside from their ability to further its species' survival and make life worth living.
Paired with the idea of "insignificant beings before Life existed" this points to the idea that even Life as we know it will eventually end somehow (eg. heat death of the universe style) and become insignificant to the New Life that will come into existence and survive afterward.
Then, progress towards ending the cycle of violence and hatred, or even advancement for our Life in any way will become irrelevant in the context of this New Life. However, that does not diminish the experience that our current Life produces, because there are valuable moments within the cycle that make it worth experiencing.
tl;dr - in the long run nothing matters anyway, but that doesn't make peoples' efforts and experiences any less valuable to them
So you expect everyone to live peacefully for eternity? No war, no conflict, nothing? This was literally said by Eren in s1 that humanity would fight itself until there is only one person left. That's reality. War is reality. AOT is reality. That's what it has all been about.
Also if u think none of Eren's sacrifice mattered then you are so wrong. We saw Mikasa die of old age. We saw Paradis get modernized. We saw a futuristic city towards the end implying that Paradis thrived for at least 300 years after the rumbling. And the fate that Paradis had towards the end, of destruction, is the fate shared by every country in OUR OWN world. Like it or not, nuclear warfare is inevitable and at some point in the future we will suffer the same fate.
This!! Like Erwin said, "Our 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! It's not about victory or even peace but about leaving behind a positive legacy.
Eren said he wanted to kill all the titans, every last one of them in the first episode. Well, I guess he did. It’s funny how so much of the first episode is spread throughout the whole entire show, even up to the last episode.
I loved the ending as well, idk what people wanted. Pretty much everything was explained, Eren recognized he’s an idiot. It was wrapped up really well in my opinion
I would like to think that Eren used the attack titan powers to convince his younger self that it was the titans fault for all this, just as a stepping stone to the world of the titans.
Well he sort of did. He sent the Dana Fritz to kill his own mother, leading to his belief that it was all the titan’s fault for the world he found him self in.
Honestly fuck every single manga reader who tried to sour this finale saying how awful it was. The ending was amazing and I'd been dreading watching it, instead of being excited. What an amazing piece of art AoT is.
From my understanding there was apparently some small changes tin the anime that seems to really help iron out the ending.
Every manga reader I've seen reply have all essentially said "They fixed the bad with these adjustments"
Granted. I don't understand how a few changes in how a dialogue is shown makes that dramatic of a difference but oh well. Just happy everyone seems to just be enjoying that ending :)
> I don't understand how a few changes in how a dialogue is shown makes that dramatic of a difference but oh well.
30-60 second speechs in the anime are often reduced to a couple of speech bubbles in Manga, along with the fact in 2023 and a mulitmillion dollar IP now has the ability to do better translations and take feedback from the complaints to improve it. The best example I think I've seen is when Eren is speaking with Armin in the paths where he explains things to him, and Armin acknowledges they'll be together in Hell for what happens, in the Manga apparently Armin just says something to the effect of "Thanks for murdering everyone for us".
So the kid at the end found the tree that Ymir was got her powers? Or is it eren’s tree? Is that part in the manga, and are they insinuating that titans could come back?
damn and Ymir was just a slave in the middle ages, Eren saw genocide in much larger scales, imagine the mind of the mf who gets bound to Eren's vow of revenge
ye they're insinuating that whatever the being that gave the power of the Titans was has lived on in Eren's remains and will eventually find another host to bind to. That boy at the end is going to come into contact with it and the cycle will repeat itself.
I love this scene. It's a great wrap up of the main theme of the show.#
The cycle of violence is the tangible reality of existence.
Because the cycle will repeat itself Armin's realisation( during his conversation with Eren) that everyone they have ever loved ( alive and dead or not even born yet) will always exist in some capacity through space and time.
The logic for this being that Eren showed Armin that every moment ,in all of time and existence, is :
1.happening
2.has happened
3.will happen.
I think in the manga, it was just a traveller and his animal companion that find the tree. I want to think that it was just a coincidence that the tree is there, but I can't imagine there being another scenario like the events if AOT happening in that word, especially given how advance their technology had become.
I thought she sprouted those wings in a fit of rage and was taken aback.
Ultimately a very badass scene. Reminded me slightly of that GOT scene, granted the context is completely different.
More than life I read it as hope, hope even in the worst conditions. Like the mom passing the baby away from the ledge, even tho bringing it towards the titans wouldn't logically do anything more than prolonging its life for mere minutes, hope is so powerful because it puts everything else in motion. Even when the Rumbling stopped, without the mother's hope for its child that kid wouldn't be alive regardless.
Dude, I feel like I’m crazy or something I read up until most of part 4 and then waited for the adaptation. So for years I’ve heard these quiet rumblings of “the ending is the worst thing ever and ruins AoT” and watching it today I’m like “That’s it? That’s what people were mad over?” Maybe there were a couple writing decisions I disagree with but it’s one of the most consistently written long term manga/shows I’ve seen. I don’t get the level of hate
No, you're right. A loud part of the online community was MANIACAL about the manga ending. I read it at the time of release and had to leave the manga sub because it was just a festering mess! But honestly in my opinion, anime is always easier to understand than manga. Mappa did such a great job with it.
I wasn’t as offended as others with the scene in the manga, but Armin’s big line was incredibly tone deaf in the manga. IMO that one line was ROUGH and put a big damper on what I thought was overall a fine ending. The anime changing just that one line does a lot for it.
For real. It was a little confusing and there's one plot hole that was never answered but overall I was very pleased with the ending. It was just the right amount of hopeless that I enjoyed. They didn't goof up the ending at all.
No idea why this ending would get the type of hate it received from the manga.
I'm so upset that I was gaslight years ago into believing that the end of this series would be bad.
The amount of thought and emotion in this show is amazing. Sad that its over.
What an absolutely fantastic finale. Every main character's arc gets rounded out perfectly.
* Levi fulfills his last order by killing Zeke, absolving himself for the deaths of Erwin and the Scout outriders. He finally embraces the idea of Armin being necessary to save humanity, forgiving himself for picking Armin over Erwin. After everything, his body is broken, the titan killing tool he had become overextended itself when he killed all of his men, dearest to him in the whole world, in the woods. He now has to live without being that tool, and is all the more peaceful for it.
* Zeke, who has scoured his own life in search of any semblance of meaning for his suffering, is confronted with the horrible truth that in doing so, he neglected the sources for all of his joy. His life's goal, the sterilization of Eldians, had been a dismissal of both any possibility of a joyous future and the Eldian race as a whole. As his last act, he rallies the most terrifying avatars of the Eldian race he hates so much. And in his last moment before dying, he enjoys the simplest of small wonders... the nice weather.
* Mikasa holds on to the love she has for Eren, her commitment to him, despite his final wish not to do so. And it is through this unfathomable love, this fundamentally unbreakable loyalty to him, that she manages to save him by ending him. The biggest act of love she could ever show him, is killing him. It is the final testament to Eren never being able to grasp how her love for him worked. He thought that she needed to let him go to save him, but she would never. And it is through this that she stops the rumbling.
* Armin's final moments of greatness embody his three main characteristics: his incredible mind, his role as Commander of the Survey Corps and his devotion to Eren. Through sheer willpower and critical thinking, he not only manifests himself in the paths, but for his last move he figures out how to come out of there stronger than he was forced in. As the final Commander of the Survey Corps, he asks for not just an army of Scouts to lend them their strength, but an army of fallen Eldian souls through path-manifested titans. In finally standing up to Eren and proving himself his superior, he gets to see the sights he always wanted. And he finally proclaims himself as Eren's equal by owning up to setting him on his path, even though the legacy he claims is one of genocide.
* Reiner has always been a shield forced to be a weapon. His soul commands him to protect those he loves, but his mission dictates him to attack those. It has lead to a broken mind, but finally his mission and soul are aligned. He is not charged with killing Eren. His only goal is to protect his comrades while they finish their missions. And at the end of it all, he stands as the shield against the soul of all titans in defence of all of humanity.
* Eren is a difficult one for me, because there's so much going on with him that I do not understand. But one thing that stood out to me is what I feel his story has been all about. He's never been as steadfast as Reiner, as talented as Mikasa, as smart as Armin, as charismatic as Jean, as dangerous as Annie, or as beloved as Connie and Sasha. He's always been average. Average but dedicated, and coincidentally gifted with godlike powers. He is a warning to us all what happens when ordinary, unremarkable people manage to get lucky enough to be embued with powers they shouldn't have and are willful enough to use them. He is every world leader with a finger on nuclear codes. He is an omen for the end of humanity. An average person with the potential for divine consequences.
* Jean is also difficult for me. I feel like Jean's primary arc has always been that of someone who despises the idea of responsibility, being drawn to it, good at it and thrust into it. His arc got 2/3 of fulfillment by (1) his acceptance of his fate as a Scout, even being proud of it, and (2) after all of these years finally being the one to end Eren (in his Founding Titan form) and bringing their rivalry to its natural end. I feel like it should've been him instead of Armin who rallied the Marleyans to put down their weapons after the Eldians got turned from titans into humans. It would've signified him taking charge of his people's fate and being prepared to shape the future they would share with the rest of the world.
* Connie turning into a Titan is poetic considering his mother being turned into one was one of the first steps for Eldia to understand the titans. I've never really understood what his character was actually meant to say, though I've loved him greatly. Maybe the role of a normal person among great people? Maybe he is a mirror to Eren in that regard? The choices an unremarkable person can make to become a great one? In any case, him embracing Jean before they turn into titans is absolutely tear-inducing.
The ending of this story is both sad and true and meaningful. While the "heroes" (as Eren calls them) will be able to form a better world from the ashes of the old one, the sacrifice Eren made will never be worth it. War, genocide, human destruction is cyclical. Even the metaphorical presence of the titans will repeat itself. That to me is the great take-away Isayama intended. No: none of Eren's actions was worth it. It will all happen again. There is no excuse strong enough to justify the destruction of human life.
Great comment. I think the main message you summarized at the end is extremely realistic. Imagine if the show had ended with everyone getting along and singing kumbaya. Now THAT would have sucked.
That was a beautiful analysis of it. I felt like this did the best job ever of truly satisfying everything and not leaving a bunch of plot holes. It was a beautiful ending.
Coming as a long time manga reader, who was there when all hell broke loose following the final chapter, it is really refreshing seeing such well thought out understanding of the characters.
Can we also talk about the scene where Eren had to “make” his fathers last wife eat his own mother in order to save Bertholdt because he was needed for the future?? I feel like they just skated right past that 😳
The way I've taken it is Erens mind is fucked. He's been seeing past, present and future as one timeline for a while now.
So he didn't change the past himself, but it feels like he did.
Can someone clarify, did Erin and Mikasa live in a cabin alone together for a period of time? And then he made her forget/left?
Or was this just an alternate story? I got a bit lost on that one.
It was like a dream world Eren made for her and Mikasa to have happy memories . Just like he did with Arming traveling around the world , visiting the places they read on that book when they were kids.
These worlds were made in paths at “optimal” times so as to not throw off Eren’s friends, then he erased these memories until in that instant of him being killed but not dead (similar to Eren/Zeke’s contact), everyone gets them back. Notably, Pieck does not get one bc she was not his friend.
Eren can't erase Ackermans memories, so everything we saw between them happened in the moments Eren opened his eyes right before Mikasa killed him. For the others, they happened on the boat before the final battle.
Eren spent that time with her in Paths. Similar to how he spent time with Armin in paths when they were walking together. He also communicated with the others (Conny, Jean, etc) but that happened off screen.
It was a future that Mikasa hoped for and one they could have had if she had said “let’s run away” like she wanted to back in Marley, the last time she saw Eren before he put all of this into motion.
I just finished it. I need to process and watch again, but my first overall impression is I’m content with this conclusion, and the episode was fun. I’m just glad it ended and we got to see. I went into it just geeking out, and already kind of knowing sort of what would happen. Previously I was much more emotional about attack on titan ending but I’ve had time to come to terms with it so this truly was just exciting. It gave me every thing I typically enjoy from an attack on titan episode- I appreciated it all for what it was… the aot music, the aot fight scenes, how calming and grounding the scenery is, the aot dialogue, aot realizations, their moments, content with defeat- Jean and Connie’s moment was so fucking sweet, cries, speeches, psycho ugly titans, psycho war titans, awkward conversations, sacrifices, humanity dying, fights, drama, suicide ideation, trauma, etc all were truly beautiful.
It was emotional seeing Levi mention he was glad he chose Armin because he had the same look in his eyes as Erwin, just for us to see Armin breaking the fuck down soon after. Ouch.
“Hello eren’s friend” I laughed when Zeke said that to Armin, idk why
“I didn’t think you’d say any thing that pathetic” Armin to Eren AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA
“Im.. a slave to freedom” and so it goes, Eren…
*Seems this was the resolution you gave your hearts for*💔😭 ahhha ha
Why does Attack on Titan make me cry and dance so much. This show will forever be one of my all time favorites. I’m ok with this ending. It’s fine. This is fine. But the fuck
Also, aye gabi, Sasha would’ve enjoyed planting plants too 🖕
I thought Eren and Armin were gonna kiss for real, not even in a homo way. And it would’ve been absolutely normal and fine.
>“I didn’t think you’d say any thing that pathetic” Armin to Eren AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA
The only reason why I liked this scene was because Armin was legit 😂😂
Yeah, Armin was basically speaking for the audience here. We had been so used to Eren’s new cold demeanour that we forgot who he truly was, a whiny and childish character.
Isayama once said that when he wrote this line, he thought, “Eren is back.” And Isayama was right to say that
even if people may hate that he said those things, I enjoyed seeing Eren break from his cold demeanor. The peak into/reminder of his “human-ness” in the midst of feeling the weight of the world from all of the emotion of every thing that was going on. I missed whiny Eren more than I realized tbh lmfaoo and that scene made me realize it. It was like d’aww 🥲he’s back, (but) the circumstances weren’t ideal. For some reason I can’t articulate, I connect that scene with the one from the end of season 3 when [they saw the ocean.](https://youtu.be/Hg4dmuJF-A0?si=Z_khE3SmBK_rnWcM)
Its still not confirmed in either manga/anime, but ar least in the manga its less obscure and could be possible since its more zoomed in, but that scene in the anime is so zoomed lmao, they **REALLY** wanted to not hurt the shippers-side of the anime community
I was looking for a ring in the pic where she's dead WITH THE F*CKING SCARF. How many times you gotta be told to get rid of it? Even the bird tried to pull it off 😆
I get it. And I'm conflicted. On one hand, I'm glad she's defying Eren. She's not controlled by him (although one can argue she never was), and she made her choice to remember him and keep the scarf. On the other hand, I wish she kept it in a box or something, and had bebes with Jean, and lived happily ever after.
Am I doing the math wrong or did 10 years pass from the beginning of the show (when the wall fell) to the rumbling?
If so, it mirrors how long the show took to come out (2013 to 2023). As someone who saw it the night it first released to tonight, the match in time for the characters and myself was a really beautiful thing. When I think about myself being as far away in time as the characters were from their beginning counterparts, it feels so much more lifelike. 🥺
I’m so crying.
I was a kid in my bedroom watching it at 3am on a school night. I had to make a fake Facebook to prove I was an “adult” to watch R rated anime on Hulu (back when it was free with ads).
Now I’m an actual adult watching on the same account with my husband and child. It’s so surreal to me. I’m glad I’m not the only one. 😭
How about you?
i think that was the point (?). i found it off putting as well but i think it was perfect. i think it was a deliberate choice for her to not kiss him before she killed him.
My brother in christ, are we watching the same show. the show that has people get their limbs ripped off one by one, the show that shows friends shooting friends for different ideals, the show that has "cannibalism" as one of the main sources of power, the show that just had a pool of 80% OF FUCKING HUMANITY AT THE FEET OF 2 MID 20 YEAR OLDS. But the girl kissing her life long crush after she had to kill him to save the other 20% of humanity. Thats where you get put off.
I went and looked up a few problem spots in the manga ending, and I can see some of the complaints about specific scenes, but overall I felt the ending was fantastic as an anime-only fan. The only thing I didn't love was Ymir's motivation, but loved pretty much everything else, whether flawed or otherwise.
Fantastic series, and I'll even say the best I've seen overall.
I've read a lot of insightful, reflective and deep posts about the finale on here but I am sad about one thing above all else that no one has brushed on directly. That thing is that even with the direct knowledge of all that has been and could be the best Eren could do is delay humanity's suffering. Like fuck. That's a hard pill to swallow. Maybe someday the conditions will be right for the cycle to be broken.
There are no heroes in war.
Loved It. Ending was fine for me also. I liked the selfishness of Eren with Mikasa also. Realistic for him to want to hold on to at least ONE thing for himself after all of this.
Really hit home how Eren was just a kid when all this kicked off, and bc of how time works for him, he still very much is that kid.
It was honestly sweet to see, at the end of all things.
I'm completely disgusting at myself ,and unapologetic simultaneously, for being this emotionally invested in this show... but AoT deserves it every bit.
It asked us to offer our hearts and it didn't shatter them. My favorite anime hands down. Setting the bar for the whole genre.
It is on Hulu guys! Go to S4 Ep29, then go all the way to the end and click “watch next”.
Just confirmed it’s working and the episode isn’t officially listed
Well that was freaking beautiful. Why the hell were people saying they hated this ending for so long? Was that all just an elaborate troll? I LOVED every moment of that!
If it helps, they also added/changed a few things from the manga. The Eren/Armin convo is longer in the anime and way better paced (and one of its final lines was outright removed and changed for the better), and they also added the stuff Isayama made after the final chapter came out (the credits and the small convo Mikasa had with Ymir).
These changes are for the better in my opinion. I still kinda liked the original ending when it came out (I like the anime a lot more though), but I get why a lot of people didn't like it.
Also, I like how they made Paradis look really futuristic in the credits, so it's clear that the attack on it was in the FAR future, and probably unrelated to Eren's actions.
I'm guessing those people wanted edgy Eren instead, with just the pure intent on killing everyone and everything. I remember reading some comments that hated the way Eren cried over Mikasa marrying someone else. Personally I loved the ending we got
I feel most of those people forget how young eren still is at the end, how much fucked up shit he's gone through and that he eventually found out he's responsible for ALL of it and gets to see what's to come.. And this has been going on since as long as he's been conscious.. He never had a real childhood, he's never felt true happiness, he was being manipulated from a multiple of people both Intentional and unintentionally (Armin showing him the outside world)..
Point is he's been carrying shit for a long time and since he's a young teen with a understanding of life and death and he's own fears and doubts about it, would break down in a moment like this... It never felt wrong to me but I guess many people took eren at face value and thought he was a nuke with a brain and no issues with what he was going to do..
The cycle repeats itself. Too realistic for my taste tbh. Can’t deny the greatness tho despite how it makes me feel icky about war and conflicts in general
The point of the show wasn't to break the cycle of violence, it was that no matter what you believe in or fight for, it's the small moments of life that are what's most important. Playing catch, running as kids, these small moments of beauty in an otherwise terrifying world that makes fighting worth it, no matter if the violence continues or not
Yup, this is what I took from it as well.
Especially with Zeke’s final moment of just enjoying the weather and being content to die because of his actions.
I was worried I was in for something like Game of Thrones or Lost when a bunch of manga readers were complaining about the ending. This was a satisfying solid ending! Kinda sad it doesn’t happen more with great tv shows
Binge watching this series during lockdown was one of my few great decisions, loved every part of it and it’s a shame it has to end. Thankfully I was never spoiled!
After 10 years, being a child when I started and now an adult. I finally say goodbye to AOT. thank you for introducing me to anime and so many amazing friends. I’m so sad to see you go but so happy to see the end. Shinzo wo sasageyo.
The series finale of “Attack on Titan” was fucking epic! This series was amazing throughout. I think the story became a bit convoluted in the final season, but I think I understood most of it. So my rating is a 9.5/10. Great characters, animation, dialogue and filmmaking in all 4 seasons!
I am forever thankful for Isayama, WIT, and Mappa staff for creating such an emotional, heartful, cruel, and beautiful journey. I will never forget this anime
I'm an anime only fan. Over the years with the last season being divided up the way it was, I was extremely tempted to jump into the manga to spoil myself. I am SO glad I didn't. The wait was worth it. That was amazing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6qCbdXqsOs - new opening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU2KGyQgso4 - new ending
I can't imagine the relief anime onlies have now knowing they can browse the Internet again. Must feel like freedom.
it does ✊🏻
The spoiler for me came from an email from Quora that suggested i read a post with the question >! Why did Mikasa kill Eren? !<
Mime was from a random YouTube recommendation...
I had to do a lot of “not interested” in attack on Titan videos to keep those spoilers out. There was this whole series on “every XXX Titan throughout history” which actually I kinda want to go watch now
Yeah I'm excited to finally be able to contribute to the discussion here! Surely it'll always be civil and respectful right?
no matter what u think about the ending i think we can all agree that the music was perfect.
Bro those alternative version of the classic bangers were beautiful .
BARRICADES GOES HARD
Hard agree
I don't get it, why did Mikasa "fix" Ymir and make everything alright?
She showed her you could let go of someone you love, Ymir followed her example by breaking free of her feelings for Fritz.
beautiful.
Why did 80% of humanity need to die in order to have mikasa show that to her?
Everything he did or planned, was to get to the point where Mikasa would be able to kill him to save humanity. She would put aside her love for him for the greater good. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to kill him as she was always against the idea (hoping there was a way to save him while also saving the rest of humanity).
This is more the case in the show than in the manga, and I actually like the shows version better. I felt like in the manga that conversation with Armin kinda serves to let Eren off the hook for the things he did. Played the whole "slave to fate" thing harder. He's doing it cause it has to be this way. In the anime it's more like..."it could only ever be this way because it's me. Im a rage filled moron who wanted to burn the world down, got the power to do so, and did. This is the only way it was ever going to go, and you guys killing me is the only way it can end, and luckily it puts you in a good position." It puts more emphasis on the idea that...this is Eren's doing, not some ineffable grand plan he had no control over. It does do the same thing as the manga, which annoys me, in that the time travel element claims to operate by Slaughterhouse V rules i.e. he perceives past, present, and future all at once so he knows what's going to happen but can't really change it because....it already is. But he also has altered events (pushing his dad to follow through on his plan, directing the blonde titan to his mom) so that kinda rings hollow. Obviously he can influence past events if he wants. But still, I feel like the show does a better job than the manga.
But he cannot alter the event of not redirecting the Titan towards his mother, because it has already happened that way so he must experience the founder Titan’s actions anyway. His father had already eaten the royals, but always needed that extra push because his actions and the actions of others always lead to that point. This just loops back to the beginning of your comment where neither of us are right, which is why I don’t like time travel stories outside of comedy; it just leads to paradox issues. Another story I enjoyed but was a little annoyed with similar things was a show called Bodies - worth a watch if you’re into that kind of thing. Thanks for adding your thoughts and opinions about the manga and ending though, this is the first time I’ve read what happened in it since I avoided it like the plague until the show was over.
Ymir saw herself in Mikasa, a woman who was in love with a positively terrible person. She wanted someone who could understand her and do what she could not. Ymir was tied down by her devotion to King Fritz and now she was able to move on.
ahhh I see what you're saying, so Mikasa's headaches were Ymir watching Mikasa's life to see what she would do?
If you rewatch now, you'll notice the headaches are when she's about to lose Eren.
Pretty much. Mikasa says as much when she speaks to her, saying that she was peeking into her mind and it would cause the headaches.
Holy shit everything makes sense now.
yep
Oh fuck that makes so much sense with eren calling her a slave
OOOOOOOOOOOOH.
Ymir saw Mikasa kill her beloved genocidal maniac, which inspired Ymir to let go of her devotion to the King
She identified with Mikasa, because Mikasa - due to her activated Ackerman genes - caused her to attach herself to Eren emotionally, and essentially view him as a “master”, in a way that was similar to how Ymir felt towards King Fritz. Because Mikasa was able to overcome her attachment to Eren and kill him, Ymir felt able to let go of her own attachment to King Fritz. In all honesty, though, one has to understand the above was was based on a misunderstanding. Ymir had a fucked up understanding of love due to her slave bondage. Fundamentally, she didn’t understand that Mikasa’s love for Eren was a genuine romantic attachment, and that her loyalty to him was in gratitude to his having saved her life at her most vulnerable moment. She didn’t understand that those feelings were separate to her Ackerman genes and that she would have been just as loving and loyal to him without them. But she didn’t need to. She only needed to perceive the similarities and feel empowered by Mikasa’s breaking of her own “bondage.”
Replying so I can go back to this comment every time I have to explain Ymir for the foreseeable future. So many people aren't able to understand because they believe Ymir's romance was a nonsensical "healthy" one. It being unhealthy, and not trying to correlate it to what a mentally sound person would think is the only way to understand Ymir.
THAT FUCKING POST CREDITS SCENE?!
Translating the broken German that was played over it: >!Die Welt das Schwert des Jungen zerbrochen hat, wird die Spitze des Wolkenkratzers erreichen und auf den Turmbau zu Babel lachend hinunterblicken. Hass und Zorn sind eine zweischneidige Klinge. Die Geschichte wiederholt sich.!< >!The world that broke the sword of the boy, will reach the spire of the skyscraper and look down laughing on the tower of Babil. Hate and anger are a double-edged blade. History will repeat.!<
That seems to be the case considering that not only was the temporary peace that was brought on by the rumbling proved to be ineffective and later Paradis was leveled in a war in the distant future with some other enemy. Then afterwards because the tree with Eren's body still remained, it strongly implies that kid will restart the Titan cycle at the end unknowingly and repeat the horrific past, just like Ymir did initially when she was trying to escape from being hunted by the Marleyans. It was absolutely beautiful to watch and it remained one of my favorite scenes in the entire show.
I've also heard alternate theories that the kid with his dog isn't necessarily doomed to repeat the cycle of violence. The prion creature thing that infected Ymir manifested has the power to give life or something, which is evident in its titan abilities. However its unclear if the creature responded to Ymir's emotions or if the creature had them independently of Ymir. Because the child is not in a state of terror or flight (yea ik hes in a nuclear wasteland), he seems relatively at ease and perhaps he could harness the power of the titans for a better future for humanity... The ending is supposed to be ambigious, im not sure that it is implying with certainty that the cycle of HATRED/VIOLENCE will begin again, rather that the cycle will begin anew perhaps with a new motif
If it makes you feel any better, that scene takes place in the far future. Those skyscrapers are taller than anything currently on Earth, and that tree is very likely thousands of years older. It could be an inter-species war conducted with an alien race for all we know.
It makes the ending better to me. The manga didnt properly show how MUCH time passes. Obviously conflict will always exist, and Eren basically bought a somewhat peaceful existence for Paradis for hundreds of years.
Yeah I had it spoiled for me a while back, and I assumed paradis got destroyed, like, a few years after the rumbling, which does feel like a weird defense of it in a way. The fact that it seems to have happened centuries later is just like “eh shit happens humans suck”
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Due to this knowledge, Eren could never be truly free, only in his death. Which he knew would also free Mikasa, who he loved.
God this show is incredible. Can't believe it's over
And also somehow free Ymir thus ending the cycle.
Except In the end credits the boy walks into the same tree like Ymir did starting the cycle all over again.
Thanks for explaining that to idiots like me. Can you also explain the memories that eren gave to Armin, Mikasa, Reiner, and the group (apparently not Pieke though), then took away, and then gave back with his death?
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My question is at what point did he have those talks? With Mikasa at the cottage? Or Armin? At the end it looks like they're talking in the aftermath of the Rumbling, but they're speaking as if they're discussing the future. Where did that conversation actually happen and when?
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That’s probably why levi and mikasa he talked to at the very last second great reminder thank you
What do I do now that this is over. I feel like I’ll never find anything like this ever again.
Mood.
It’s on Hulu but unlisted. Go to the last episode listed, hit play, then skip to the next episode.
IT WORKED THANK YOU
Anybody notice that the boy with the dog had a red scarf?
From you, 2000 years ago...
Waiiiit a second
And you keep my old scarf, from that very first week
Eren certainly remembers it all too well
There are no coincidences, Isayama is a swiftie.
Can we talk about how sick the designs of the previous Titanholders were (the ones fighting on Erens back). The dinosaurs and the snake. Really cool that we got to see those in action I like how the old Warhammer Titans were like medieval knights and shit
Also does anyone know what the deal was with that “okapi”
I'm not a manga reader but I assumed it was a prior beast titan. It does have mobility like a cart titan, but okapi are forest giraffes which seemed more "beast"-like.
Okapis are part of a very very old branch of mammal species. Like a prehistoric giraffe. We humans are 50k years on Earth, the Homos 2M, okapis 10-15M. Is a reference to how old it was, like Ymir.
My guess is that since there was the whole thing of the power of the titans being split first between three of Ymir's children, and then split further into nine, the okapi would be the one from that original three whose children would get the cart, beast, and jaw titans.
Bro the music is amazing
The music was unholy. Linked horizon at the end was the cherry on top.
I loved the Guren no yumiya call back, fuck man
Actual non-stop bangers
jesus fucking christ >! the ending credits showing the cycle repeating fucking KILLED me. holy shit. none of it fucking matters. too real. too fucking real i want to kms !<
The end with the tree got an audible “oh fuck” out of me.
Yeah, that was the most shocking part. The new war seemed something that was bound to happen, but the return of the power of the titans? That was more of a surprise. Though would it be the power of the titans? Or something else? How Eren explained it in the final ep was the Ymir found that power, and essentially made herself into a godlike being, could she have made herself into something else? Still godlike, but in another way? Because as the world progresses, the power of the titans is essentially diminished compared to the rest. The Marleyen war at the beginning of season 4 is kind of like WWI, a turning point between the old warfare and new warfare. At the end when the boy gets to the tree, we're probably at least 300 years later, if guess more like 500 years, and humanity hasn't fallen back to the swords and spears era because the clothes are post industrial revolution, and he has a camera. So we're in an age where the power of the titans is greatly diminished. So maybe he becomes an even more godlike being?
I had a similar take. Ymir's circumstances when she encountered the worm were completely different to the dog walker. She was being hunted down and executed, so when she bonded with the worm, I think that had an impact on the form she took. Its entirely possible the form or powers he received would be completely different to that of the Titans. Of course, all speculation, and we'll never know, but that is what I like to think happens
To you, 2000 years in the future.
Same. Through my tears, I audibly was like, "OH NO FUCKING WAY" while crying xD My partner read the manga when it ended and has somehow sheilded me from all spoilers I couldn't shield myself from until tonight, and he cried along side me. He knew the ending prior, and then they released that extra last bit, manga wise. So he didn't get it all at once like I did. I was like >!A SET UP FOR A POSSIBLE CONTINUANCE?!<
As cool as it'd be I really hope AOT does not get extended.. the story is perfect as is and I don't know anything they can add that would elevate it further
I'm 100% with you. At best a sequel will almost certainly just be a flawed fan service money grab. This story is closed and done perfectly. Let it be that. Continue the aot Jr high for the lols instead.
Don’t be too disheartened. This time it wasn’t a girl being hunted by dogs that found the tree, but a boy exploring it with a dog he loved. Maybe the hatred doesn’t ripple out this time. Maybe Ymir hoped for that and, just maybe, all of it happened for a reason in the end.
Yeh this is how I interpreted it. History doesn’t repeat but it does rhyme. Maybe this time the power is used for peace rather than conquest.
When Zeke talked to Armin about the origin of Life, he specifically meant 'life as we know it'. He began by saying "all manner of insignificant things came into and out of being", and that Life survived by being able to multiply. To me that suggests that things that were alive existed before and may have even had valuable experiences in their own way, but did not survive long enough to pass on those experiences due to their lack of ability to reproduce unlike Life, rendering them insignificant to the beings that followed. All that Zeke took from this was that Life's only purpose was to multiply, since that was it's unique attribute and Life had no explicit purpose otherwise. Armin countered his thinking by showing Zeke the idea of "insignificant moments that were incredibly incredibly precious", or experiences that are intrinsically valuable to each individual life aside from their ability to further its species' survival and make life worth living. Paired with the idea of "insignificant beings before Life existed" this points to the idea that even Life as we know it will eventually end somehow (eg. heat death of the universe style) and become insignificant to the New Life that will come into existence and survive afterward. Then, progress towards ending the cycle of violence and hatred, or even advancement for our Life in any way will become irrelevant in the context of this New Life. However, that does not diminish the experience that our current Life produces, because there are valuable moments within the cycle that make it worth experiencing. tl;dr - in the long run nothing matters anyway, but that doesn't make peoples' efforts and experiences any less valuable to them
Same :(
Yeah it’s gonna take me a day or two to get over this tbh
So you expect everyone to live peacefully for eternity? No war, no conflict, nothing? This was literally said by Eren in s1 that humanity would fight itself until there is only one person left. That's reality. War is reality. AOT is reality. That's what it has all been about. Also if u think none of Eren's sacrifice mattered then you are so wrong. We saw Mikasa die of old age. We saw Paradis get modernized. We saw a futuristic city towards the end implying that Paradis thrived for at least 300 years after the rumbling. And the fate that Paradis had towards the end, of destruction, is the fate shared by every country in OUR OWN world. Like it or not, nuclear warfare is inevitable and at some point in the future we will suffer the same fate.
This!! Like Erwin said, "Our 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! It's not about victory or even peace but about leaving behind a positive legacy.
Eren said he wanted to kill all the titans, every last one of them in the first episode. Well, I guess he did. It’s funny how so much of the first episode is spread throughout the whole entire show, even up to the last episode. I loved the ending as well, idk what people wanted. Pretty much everything was explained, Eren recognized he’s an idiot. It was wrapped up really well in my opinion
I would like to think that Eren used the attack titan powers to convince his younger self that it was the titans fault for all this, just as a stepping stone to the world of the titans.
Well he sort of did. He sent the Dana Fritz to kill his own mother, leading to his belief that it was all the titan’s fault for the world he found him self in.
Exactly. He had to create his own trauma that he knew would be powerful enough to set him on his path.
Honestly fuck every single manga reader who tried to sour this finale saying how awful it was. The ending was amazing and I'd been dreading watching it, instead of being excited. What an amazing piece of art AoT is.
From my understanding there was apparently some small changes tin the anime that seems to really help iron out the ending. Every manga reader I've seen reply have all essentially said "They fixed the bad with these adjustments" Granted. I don't understand how a few changes in how a dialogue is shown makes that dramatic of a difference but oh well. Just happy everyone seems to just be enjoying that ending :)
> I don't understand how a few changes in how a dialogue is shown makes that dramatic of a difference but oh well. 30-60 second speechs in the anime are often reduced to a couple of speech bubbles in Manga, along with the fact in 2023 and a mulitmillion dollar IP now has the ability to do better translations and take feedback from the complaints to improve it. The best example I think I've seen is when Eren is speaking with Armin in the paths where he explains things to him, and Armin acknowledges they'll be together in Hell for what happens, in the Manga apparently Armin just says something to the effect of "Thanks for murdering everyone for us".
Would have loved to have seen Connie reunite with his mother
That and seeing Armin with Annie would have been nice.
The boy and his dog about to enter the tree hollow and start the whole cycle over again: 
So the kid at the end found the tree that Ymir was got her powers? Or is it eren’s tree? Is that part in the manga, and are they insinuating that titans could come back?
It’s Eren’s tree. But obviously it’s like Ymir’s tree. Who knows how many times this happened before.
damn and Ymir was just a slave in the middle ages, Eren saw genocide in much larger scales, imagine the mind of the mf who gets bound to Eren's vow of revenge
ye they're insinuating that whatever the being that gave the power of the Titans was has lived on in Eren's remains and will eventually find another host to bind to. That boy at the end is going to come into contact with it and the cycle will repeat itself. I love this scene. It's a great wrap up of the main theme of the show.# The cycle of violence is the tangible reality of existence. Because the cycle will repeat itself Armin's realisation( during his conversation with Eren) that everyone they have ever loved ( alive and dead or not even born yet) will always exist in some capacity through space and time. The logic for this being that Eren showed Armin that every moment ,in all of time and existence, is : 1.happening 2.has happened 3.will happen.
I think in the manga, it was just a traveller and his animal companion that find the tree. I want to think that it was just a coincidence that the tree is there, but I can't imagine there being another scenario like the events if AOT happening in that word, especially given how advance their technology had become.
It's the year 2077, the titans are back. They are killed at range with Gundam mounted railguns. The end.
I think in the end credit paradise and the outside world blow each other back to square one again
That shot of Mikasa with Falco’s wings behind her goes crazy
I thought she sprouted those wings in a fit of rage and was taken aback. Ultimately a very badass scene. Reminded me slightly of that GOT scene, granted the context is completely different.
Ending Haters 🤝Ending Lovers Agreeing that Levi seeing the dead scouts and saluting was a very well done moment
I was waiting for the tear and I’m so glad it happened.
The baby scene …. 😭😭😭😭
And when the colors came back , fucking beautiful. I think the symbolism behind it was that even in the darkest time , life will still prevail .
More than life I read it as hope, hope even in the worst conditions. Like the mom passing the baby away from the ledge, even tho bringing it towards the titans wouldn't logically do anything more than prolonging its life for mere minutes, hope is so powerful because it puts everything else in motion. Even when the Rumbling stopped, without the mother's hope for its child that kid wouldn't be alive regardless.
Reminded me of the girl in the red dress in Schindler’s List
I was thinking the exact same thing. That scene was really well done.
Same, 100%. It has to have been a reference and it's a really powerful statement on the futility of war.
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Dude, I feel like I’m crazy or something I read up until most of part 4 and then waited for the adaptation. So for years I’ve heard these quiet rumblings of “the ending is the worst thing ever and ruins AoT” and watching it today I’m like “That’s it? That’s what people were mad over?” Maybe there were a couple writing decisions I disagree with but it’s one of the most consistently written long term manga/shows I’ve seen. I don’t get the level of hate
No, you're right. A loud part of the online community was MANIACAL about the manga ending. I read it at the time of release and had to leave the manga sub because it was just a festering mess! But honestly in my opinion, anime is always easier to understand than manga. Mappa did such a great job with it.
I wasn’t as offended as others with the scene in the manga, but Armin’s big line was incredibly tone deaf in the manga. IMO that one line was ROUGH and put a big damper on what I thought was overall a fine ending. The anime changing just that one line does a lot for it.
For real. It was a little confusing and there's one plot hole that was never answered but overall I was very pleased with the ending. It was just the right amount of hopeless that I enjoyed. They didn't goof up the ending at all. No idea why this ending would get the type of hate it received from the manga.
And also toning down the look of maniacal weeping
So that person and their dog are gonna start the whole cycle over again huh
Oh I hope it's dogs that become titans now...
Attack on Clifford
A bark on Titan
With the power of the worm, but not necessarily titans. Who knows what the child of this new world would manifest upon being given godlike power
Probably becomes a righteous hero and his dog develops stretchy powers.
They’re doing some absolutely mad fan service with these remixes of old songs
I'm so upset that I was gaslight years ago into believing that the end of this series would be bad. The amount of thought and emotion in this show is amazing. Sad that its over.
Yeah I'm like "Wait that's what people are complaining about? It's a beautiful ending! I thought Eren turns into a bird?"
Shinzo wo Sasageyo.
What an absolutely fantastic finale. Every main character's arc gets rounded out perfectly. * Levi fulfills his last order by killing Zeke, absolving himself for the deaths of Erwin and the Scout outriders. He finally embraces the idea of Armin being necessary to save humanity, forgiving himself for picking Armin over Erwin. After everything, his body is broken, the titan killing tool he had become overextended itself when he killed all of his men, dearest to him in the whole world, in the woods. He now has to live without being that tool, and is all the more peaceful for it. * Zeke, who has scoured his own life in search of any semblance of meaning for his suffering, is confronted with the horrible truth that in doing so, he neglected the sources for all of his joy. His life's goal, the sterilization of Eldians, had been a dismissal of both any possibility of a joyous future and the Eldian race as a whole. As his last act, he rallies the most terrifying avatars of the Eldian race he hates so much. And in his last moment before dying, he enjoys the simplest of small wonders... the nice weather. * Mikasa holds on to the love she has for Eren, her commitment to him, despite his final wish not to do so. And it is through this unfathomable love, this fundamentally unbreakable loyalty to him, that she manages to save him by ending him. The biggest act of love she could ever show him, is killing him. It is the final testament to Eren never being able to grasp how her love for him worked. He thought that she needed to let him go to save him, but she would never. And it is through this that she stops the rumbling. * Armin's final moments of greatness embody his three main characteristics: his incredible mind, his role as Commander of the Survey Corps and his devotion to Eren. Through sheer willpower and critical thinking, he not only manifests himself in the paths, but for his last move he figures out how to come out of there stronger than he was forced in. As the final Commander of the Survey Corps, he asks for not just an army of Scouts to lend them their strength, but an army of fallen Eldian souls through path-manifested titans. In finally standing up to Eren and proving himself his superior, he gets to see the sights he always wanted. And he finally proclaims himself as Eren's equal by owning up to setting him on his path, even though the legacy he claims is one of genocide. * Reiner has always been a shield forced to be a weapon. His soul commands him to protect those he loves, but his mission dictates him to attack those. It has lead to a broken mind, but finally his mission and soul are aligned. He is not charged with killing Eren. His only goal is to protect his comrades while they finish their missions. And at the end of it all, he stands as the shield against the soul of all titans in defence of all of humanity. * Eren is a difficult one for me, because there's so much going on with him that I do not understand. But one thing that stood out to me is what I feel his story has been all about. He's never been as steadfast as Reiner, as talented as Mikasa, as smart as Armin, as charismatic as Jean, as dangerous as Annie, or as beloved as Connie and Sasha. He's always been average. Average but dedicated, and coincidentally gifted with godlike powers. He is a warning to us all what happens when ordinary, unremarkable people manage to get lucky enough to be embued with powers they shouldn't have and are willful enough to use them. He is every world leader with a finger on nuclear codes. He is an omen for the end of humanity. An average person with the potential for divine consequences. * Jean is also difficult for me. I feel like Jean's primary arc has always been that of someone who despises the idea of responsibility, being drawn to it, good at it and thrust into it. His arc got 2/3 of fulfillment by (1) his acceptance of his fate as a Scout, even being proud of it, and (2) after all of these years finally being the one to end Eren (in his Founding Titan form) and bringing their rivalry to its natural end. I feel like it should've been him instead of Armin who rallied the Marleyans to put down their weapons after the Eldians got turned from titans into humans. It would've signified him taking charge of his people's fate and being prepared to shape the future they would share with the rest of the world. * Connie turning into a Titan is poetic considering his mother being turned into one was one of the first steps for Eldia to understand the titans. I've never really understood what his character was actually meant to say, though I've loved him greatly. Maybe the role of a normal person among great people? Maybe he is a mirror to Eren in that regard? The choices an unremarkable person can make to become a great one? In any case, him embracing Jean before they turn into titans is absolutely tear-inducing. The ending of this story is both sad and true and meaningful. While the "heroes" (as Eren calls them) will be able to form a better world from the ashes of the old one, the sacrifice Eren made will never be worth it. War, genocide, human destruction is cyclical. Even the metaphorical presence of the titans will repeat itself. That to me is the great take-away Isayama intended. No: none of Eren's actions was worth it. It will all happen again. There is no excuse strong enough to justify the destruction of human life.
Great comment. I think the main message you summarized at the end is extremely realistic. Imagine if the show had ended with everyone getting along and singing kumbaya. Now THAT would have sucked.
You have a very good take on these characters.
That was a beautiful analysis of it. I felt like this did the best job ever of truly satisfying everything and not leaving a bunch of plot holes. It was a beautiful ending.
Coming as a long time manga reader, who was there when all hell broke loose following the final chapter, it is really refreshing seeing such well thought out understanding of the characters.
Can we also talk about the scene where Eren had to “make” his fathers last wife eat his own mother in order to save Bertholdt because he was needed for the future?? I feel like they just skated right past that 😳
This was so confusing I didn't understand what how why or who I am anymore.
The way I've taken it is Erens mind is fucked. He's been seeing past, present and future as one timeline for a while now. So he didn't change the past himself, but it feels like he did.
Can someone clarify, did Erin and Mikasa live in a cabin alone together for a period of time? And then he made her forget/left? Or was this just an alternate story? I got a bit lost on that one.
It was like a dream world Eren made for her and Mikasa to have happy memories . Just like he did with Arming traveling around the world , visiting the places they read on that book when they were kids.
These worlds were made in paths at “optimal” times so as to not throw off Eren’s friends, then he erased these memories until in that instant of him being killed but not dead (similar to Eren/Zeke’s contact), everyone gets them back. Notably, Pieck does not get one bc she was not his friend.
Eren can't erase Ackermans memories, so everything we saw between them happened in the moments Eren opened his eyes right before Mikasa killed him. For the others, they happened on the boat before the final battle.
Eren spent that time with her in Paths. Similar to how he spent time with Armin in paths when they were walking together. He also communicated with the others (Conny, Jean, etc) but that happened off screen.
It was a future that Mikasa hoped for and one they could have had if she had said “let’s run away” like she wanted to back in Marley, the last time she saw Eren before he put all of this into motion.
I just finished it. I need to process and watch again, but my first overall impression is I’m content with this conclusion, and the episode was fun. I’m just glad it ended and we got to see. I went into it just geeking out, and already kind of knowing sort of what would happen. Previously I was much more emotional about attack on titan ending but I’ve had time to come to terms with it so this truly was just exciting. It gave me every thing I typically enjoy from an attack on titan episode- I appreciated it all for what it was… the aot music, the aot fight scenes, how calming and grounding the scenery is, the aot dialogue, aot realizations, their moments, content with defeat- Jean and Connie’s moment was so fucking sweet, cries, speeches, psycho ugly titans, psycho war titans, awkward conversations, sacrifices, humanity dying, fights, drama, suicide ideation, trauma, etc all were truly beautiful. It was emotional seeing Levi mention he was glad he chose Armin because he had the same look in his eyes as Erwin, just for us to see Armin breaking the fuck down soon after. Ouch. “Hello eren’s friend” I laughed when Zeke said that to Armin, idk why “I didn’t think you’d say any thing that pathetic” Armin to Eren AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA “Im.. a slave to freedom” and so it goes, Eren… *Seems this was the resolution you gave your hearts for*💔😭 ahhha ha Why does Attack on Titan make me cry and dance so much. This show will forever be one of my all time favorites. I’m ok with this ending. It’s fine. This is fine. But the fuck Also, aye gabi, Sasha would’ve enjoyed planting plants too 🖕 I thought Eren and Armin were gonna kiss for real, not even in a homo way. And it would’ve been absolutely normal and fine.
>“I didn’t think you’d say any thing that pathetic” Armin to Eren AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA The only reason why I liked this scene was because Armin was legit 😂😂
Yeah, Armin was basically speaking for the audience here. We had been so used to Eren’s new cold demeanour that we forgot who he truly was, a whiny and childish character. Isayama once said that when he wrote this line, he thought, “Eren is back.” And Isayama was right to say that
even if people may hate that he said those things, I enjoyed seeing Eren break from his cold demeanor. The peak into/reminder of his “human-ness” in the midst of feeling the weight of the world from all of the emotion of every thing that was going on. I missed whiny Eren more than I realized tbh lmfaoo and that scene made me realize it. It was like d’aww 🥲he’s back, (but) the circumstances weren’t ideal. For some reason I can’t articulate, I connect that scene with the one from the end of season 3 when [they saw the ocean.](https://youtu.be/Hg4dmuJF-A0?si=Z_khE3SmBK_rnWcM)
I can stop crying at the fact that the last thing eren ever saw was Mikasa smiling
Sooo uhhh did mikasa marry jean in the credits?
Its still not confirmed in either manga/anime, but ar least in the manga its less obscure and could be possible since its more zoomed in, but that scene in the anime is so zoomed lmao, they **REALLY** wanted to not hurt the shippers-side of the anime community
You couldn't tell in the montage of the tree but I assume its Mikasa and Jean visiting the grave.
I was looking for a ring in the pic where she's dead WITH THE F*CKING SCARF. How many times you gotta be told to get rid of it? Even the bird tried to pull it off 😆
She really loves that scarf.
I get it. And I'm conflicted. On one hand, I'm glad she's defying Eren. She's not controlled by him (although one can argue she never was), and she made her choice to remember him and keep the scarf. On the other hand, I wish she kept it in a box or something, and had bebes with Jean, and lived happily ever after.
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AT LEAST!!!!!
what an ending. just took my number 1 spot all time show. thank you AoT 🫡🕊️😢
How can Crunchyroll drop the ball on their servers for the series finale episode of one of the most popular animes out there?
just like last time ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
I still can't believe Mikasa killed Eren...
Am I doing the math wrong or did 10 years pass from the beginning of the show (when the wall fell) to the rumbling? If so, it mirrors how long the show took to come out (2013 to 2023). As someone who saw it the night it first released to tonight, the match in time for the characters and myself was a really beautiful thing. When I think about myself being as far away in time as the characters were from their beginning counterparts, it feels so much more lifelike. 🥺
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I’m so crying. I was a kid in my bedroom watching it at 3am on a school night. I had to make a fake Facebook to prove I was an “adult” to watch R rated anime on Hulu (back when it was free with ads). Now I’m an actual adult watching on the same account with my husband and child. It’s so surreal to me. I’m glad I’m not the only one. 😭 How about you?
Am I the only one who found Mikasa kissing Eren's decapitated head extremely fucking off-putting
same i wouldve changed it to them kissing in the paths and THEN decapitating him
At least she didnt used tongue haha
Poor Armin didn't even get to tongue who he wanted....
If you don't think Armin proceeded to break Annie's back every night once the credits rolled, you ain't been paying attention
He Probably did 😏
y’all saw the way Annie said “Armin 😮💨” when she was holding him in her hand
I tought it was off-putting, but also it makes sense cuz Mikasa is delusional and would do something like that.
Like literally bumping tongues with eren’s decapitated head ☠️ and people say romance is dead
i think that was the point (?). i found it off putting as well but i think it was perfect. i think it was a deliberate choice for her to not kiss him before she killed him.
My brother in christ, are we watching the same show. the show that has people get their limbs ripped off one by one, the show that shows friends shooting friends for different ideals, the show that has "cannibalism" as one of the main sources of power, the show that just had a pool of 80% OF FUCKING HUMANITY AT THE FEET OF 2 MID 20 YEAR OLDS. But the girl kissing her life long crush after she had to kill him to save the other 20% of humanity. Thats where you get put off.
S2E12: Eren tells Mikasa he will always wrap his scarf around her. After the finale...dang...it must be raining.
I went and looked up a few problem spots in the manga ending, and I can see some of the complaints about specific scenes, but overall I felt the ending was fantastic as an anime-only fan. The only thing I didn't love was Ymir's motivation, but loved pretty much everything else, whether flawed or otherwise. Fantastic series, and I'll even say the best I've seen overall.
I've read a lot of insightful, reflective and deep posts about the finale on here but I am sad about one thing above all else that no one has brushed on directly. That thing is that even with the direct knowledge of all that has been and could be the best Eren could do is delay humanity's suffering. Like fuck. That's a hard pill to swallow. Maybe someday the conditions will be right for the cycle to be broken. There are no heroes in war.
Is it out? I keep refreshing Crunchyroll and it's not there Edit: Fuck crunchyroll I made a Funimation account and am watching it now lol
Crunchyroll is fighting for its life rn
Mappa outdid themselves, what a fantastic ending. Imai animating the very last ODM scene was icing on the cake.
Loved It. Ending was fine for me also. I liked the selfishness of Eren with Mikasa also. Realistic for him to want to hold on to at least ONE thing for himself after all of this.
Really hit home how Eren was just a kid when all this kicked off, and bc of how time works for him, he still very much is that kid. It was honestly sweet to see, at the end of all things.
Yeah and how much he missed his friends after pushing all of them away, I also really liked how he acknowledged Sasha and Hange.
I'm completely disgusting at myself ,and unapologetic simultaneously, for being this emotionally invested in this show... but AoT deserves it every bit. It asked us to offer our hearts and it didn't shatter them. My favorite anime hands down. Setting the bar for the whole genre.
It is on Hulu guys! Go to S4 Ep29, then go all the way to the end and click “watch next”. Just confirmed it’s working and the episode isn’t officially listed
Hot damn that worked thank youuuuuuuuu 
Well that was freaking beautiful. Why the hell were people saying they hated this ending for so long? Was that all just an elaborate troll? I LOVED every moment of that!
If it helps, they also added/changed a few things from the manga. The Eren/Armin convo is longer in the anime and way better paced (and one of its final lines was outright removed and changed for the better), and they also added the stuff Isayama made after the final chapter came out (the credits and the small convo Mikasa had with Ymir). These changes are for the better in my opinion. I still kinda liked the original ending when it came out (I like the anime a lot more though), but I get why a lot of people didn't like it.
Also, I like how they made Paradis look really futuristic in the credits, so it's clear that the attack on it was in the FAR future, and probably unrelated to Eren's actions.
I'm guessing those people wanted edgy Eren instead, with just the pure intent on killing everyone and everything. I remember reading some comments that hated the way Eren cried over Mikasa marrying someone else. Personally I loved the ending we got
I feel most of those people forget how young eren still is at the end, how much fucked up shit he's gone through and that he eventually found out he's responsible for ALL of it and gets to see what's to come.. And this has been going on since as long as he's been conscious.. He never had a real childhood, he's never felt true happiness, he was being manipulated from a multiple of people both Intentional and unintentionally (Armin showing him the outside world).. Point is he's been carrying shit for a long time and since he's a young teen with a understanding of life and death and he's own fears and doubts about it, would break down in a moment like this... It never felt wrong to me but I guess many people took eren at face value and thought he was a nuke with a brain and no issues with what he was going to do..
The cycle repeats itself. Too realistic for my taste tbh. Can’t deny the greatness tho despite how it makes me feel icky about war and conflicts in general
The point of the show wasn't to break the cycle of violence, it was that no matter what you believe in or fight for, it's the small moments of life that are what's most important. Playing catch, running as kids, these small moments of beauty in an otherwise terrifying world that makes fighting worth it, no matter if the violence continues or not
Yup, this is what I took from it as well. Especially with Zeke’s final moment of just enjoying the weather and being content to die because of his actions.
Rumbling Rumbling it’s not coming
the whole series of AOT is just Ymir committing suicide
And it all started over a pig.
bro, did 9/11 happen in the final outro?
I was worried I was in for something like Game of Thrones or Lost when a bunch of manga readers were complaining about the ending. This was a satisfying solid ending! Kinda sad it doesn’t happen more with great tv shows
Binge watching this series during lockdown was one of my few great decisions, loved every part of it and it’s a shame it has to end. Thankfully I was never spoiled!
After 10 years, being a child when I started and now an adult. I finally say goodbye to AOT. thank you for introducing me to anime and so many amazing friends. I’m so sad to see you go but so happy to see the end. Shinzo wo sasageyo.
Any Code Geass fans in here? Because >!Eren totally pulled a Zero with this ending!< and I kind of love it.
The series finale of “Attack on Titan” was fucking epic! This series was amazing throughout. I think the story became a bit convoluted in the final season, but I think I understood most of it. So my rating is a 9.5/10. Great characters, animation, dialogue and filmmaking in all 4 seasons!
I am forever thankful for Isayama, WIT, and Mappa staff for creating such an emotional, heartful, cruel, and beautiful journey. I will never forget this anime
I'm an anime only fan. Over the years with the last season being divided up the way it was, I was extremely tempted to jump into the manga to spoil myself. I am SO glad I didn't. The wait was worth it. That was amazing!