The Optimism of Attack on Titan’s Ending

Highlights

• The ending of Attack on Titan is bittersweet, with Eren sacrificing his life to end the war, but the cycle of hatred continues.
• The boy in the epilogue represents the possibility of a better future, mirroring Ymir’s journey but with pure intentions.
• The final ED suggests that even in death, Eren and Mikasa are reunited, highlighting the depth of their love.

Ever since April of 2013, Attack on Titan took fans by surprise with its unique premise, animation, reputable staff, and an overall intriguing story. From the beginning, it was widely agreed that Isayama had multiple endings in mind. One of which surfaced as a “final panel” on Twitter a few years back, which depicts a man, theorized to be Eren, holding an infant with the text, “you are free”.

This led many fans to believe in a hopeful and uplifting ending, as Eren finally breaks the cycle of war and can live in harmony in a world without titans. Come to the actual conclusion, we find that the war did end, but it came at a cost to Eren’s life. And moreover, we never see the “final panel” that was shared.

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Killing in The Name of Peace

Due to Eren’s obsession with “freedom” and exploring the world outside the walls, he had gotten his hopes up that there weren’t any other humans aside from those inside the walls. Upon finding out the truth about Marley and the curse of Ymir, he finds all his options exhausted, leading him to commence the rumbling, killing around 80% of the rest of humanity in the process. To put him out of his suffering and give his friends a chance at being the “good guys” in Marley’s eyes, Mikasa kills Eren, ending the Titan’s Curse. And while this does ensure peace for his homeland (Paradis) and friends for thousands of years, the land is soon attacked and war-torn, demonstrating that the cycle of hatred will never truly end. In the epilogue, a boy resembling Mikasa comes across the tree that Eren and Mikasa are buried under, similarly to how Ymir Fritz did before she obtained the Founding Titan’s power, implying that history is once again doomed to repeat itself. Though the circumstances have changed. Where Ymir stumbled upon the tree and fell in after being chased by dogs, the boy was led by his dog companion to the tree and voluntarily walked in.

Power in the Right Hands

During Ymir’s lifetime, she grew up in a world of slavery and war. Having been invaded by the Eldians and taken hostage under King Fritz, she rebelled by letting a pig escape. As a result, she was left in the forest to be hunted for sport by the king’s henchmen. In the epilogue of Attack on Titan, the boy appears long after Paradis has been destroyed. Though there are no signs of conflict or war, it could be concluded that this boy grew up in a time of peace. After Eren died, his head was buried underneath the tree that he frequently slept under, which is the same tree that the boy comes across in the far future. With that in mind, the parasite that “infected” Ymir, is also buried along with Eren, nurturing the tree. Because of the implications that a great power still dwells within the land of Paradis, the boy’s journey is mirroring that of Ymir’s. But rather than running in fear, he’s exploring in awe.

Design-wise, if we look at his resemblance to Mikasa, we can theorize the following: he’s a descendant, or he’s a symbolic representation. Mikasa was the key to Ymir’s salvation and moving on, and so the boy could be a representation of starting anew but without an underlying motive. Some viewers also believe he may be a reincarnation of Eren instead. When Ymir obtained her abilities, she used them to serve King Fritz in his mission of conquest – and not from a place of love, but obligation disguised as affection. Mikasa’s love for Eren was pure, and if this boy represents her, then his intentions are pure as well. While there may never be true world peace, this doesn’t mean things can’t become better or improve. And Isayama may very well be conveying to the audience, that with every dusk, there’s always a dawn that follows.

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Reunited

The final ED of Attack on Titan shows Mikasa shortly after her death, and remembering her life flashing before her eyes. In the end, she wakes up with Eren holding her hand, implying that even through all that heartache, he waited for her in the afterlife. This correlates with Mikasa’s last words to Eren, “See you later”. Moreover, the track that plays in the background is of the same name.

We may have not been able to witness Eren living in a world free of war, but the legacy he left behind paved the way for the possibility of a better future, and he got to be reunited with the person he loved the most.

Attack on Titan is available to stream on Prime Video.

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