Attack On Titan Ending Explained: Who’s The Boy At The End?
One of the most anticipated anime franchises in the last 10 years, Attack On Titan, finally reached its conclusion last week with the final three episodes released on March 5, 2023. The anime faithfully adapts most events from the manga, with a few minor changes here and there.
In order to protect his homeland Paradis, Eren is plotting to eradicate all humankind outside the island. How would Eren’s scheme end? Can Mikasa and Armin save him? And what lies in store after the anime ends? Let’s find out right away.
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#1. What Is The Final Season About?
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The grand finale continues the events of Season 4, with Eren now fully mastering the power of the Founding Titan, and starts the Rumbling to destroy all mankind outside of Paradis. His former comrades, such as Mikasa, Levi and Armin, however, refuse to take part in his genocide act, and rally with their allied forces to stop Eren.
In part 2 of the finale, as the Global Alliance finally gains an advantage, Mikasa successfully rescues Armin from Eren’s grasp, while Zeke allows himself to be killed by Levi, forcing the Rumbling to halt. Thanks to this, Jean is able to blow up Eren’s neck. From the gape, the Shining Centipede, a worm-like creature that first bonded with Ymir Fritz emerges, and Armin tries to destroy it using his Titan transformation.
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#2. How Does The Global Alliance Defeat Eren?
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Meanwhile, Eren resurrects with a new Titan form, and all the Eldian soldiers around are turned into Titans. Mikasa, now inside Eren’s Titan body, struggles to choose between Eren, her loved one and the rest of humanity.
However, thanks to a vision in which she sees her and Eren living happily in a war-ridden world, Mikasa finally gains her resolve to side with mankind, and decapitates Eren’s head inside the Titan’s body. She then holds his severed head on her arm, and shares their first and final kiss, while the spirit of Ymir watches from a distance.
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#3. What Is Eren’s True Intention?
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In the final part, Eren and Armin meet in the Paths, where the former reveals his true intentions for the Rumblings. It turns out, it was Eren’s plan all along to turn everyone into heroes by defeating him in the final battle. That way, they can earn enough respect from other countries to protect Paradis Island from external threats.
Eren also explains how everything was predetermined from the start to set Ymir free, with Mikasa playing the pivotal role in it. When Armir criticizes Eren for playing with Mikasa’s feelings, he finally confesses his true feelings for the heroine, stating that he doesn’t want to let her go.
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The protagonist also reveals that the Rumbling is the only way to ensure a future for the Paradisians. Armin, of course, doesn’t agree with Eren’s way of thinking but Eren tells him that it is inevitable because he “was an idiot who couldn’t make something different happen”.
Finally, Armin assures Eren that he’ll take responsibility for making Eren carry everything on his shoulder, and that they’ll meet again in hell. They hug one last time, and Armin returns to reality, with Eren now officially dead.
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#4. What Happens To The Characters After Eren’s Death?
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Eren’s reckless plan works, as now all Titan's powers disappear from the world, and Paradis is now at peace, albeit hasn’t been fully trusted by the outside world. While war is still going on around the world, all the main characters are now living their happy and peaceful lives, including Mikasa, Jean, and Levi.
The final scene of the anime shows us Mikasa visiting Eren’s grave, which is placed under the tree where he used to take a nap when he was younger. A bird, which is arguably Eren’s reincarnation, suddenly appears, and puts on the scarf to a weeping Mikasa. The bird then soars to the sky.
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Several years later, Mikasa, alongside her husband and child, pays a visit to Eren’s grave and puts flowers on it. Many years later, the same flowers are being put on an old woman’s body, possibly Mikasa, as she still wears the very same scarf that Eren gave her to the afterlife.
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#5. Who’s The Boy From The Post-Credit Scene?
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However, in the after-credit scene, the peace doesn’t last, as Paradis Island is bombed to ruins in a very distant future. The entire civilization on the island is eradicated, proving that despite Eren and Armin’s best efforts to bring peace to the island, ruins still await all the same.
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Source: MAPPA
The final credit scene showcases a young boy and his dog standing in the ruins of Paradis Island. The boy bears many resemblances to Mikasa, and he goes inside the tree that Eren was buried under. This scene heavily resembles the sequence where Ymir Fritz first gains her Titan power, so it might suggest that this boy might somehow gain the power of the Titans as well.
While the ending of Attack On Titan is tragic with so many deaths, it still has hopeful moments here and there as the remaining characters manage to live their lives peacefully after. What do you think of Attack On Titan’s ending? Let us know in the comments.
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