Is Attack on Titan finally finished? Ending Explained. Was it canon?

Attack on Titan is an anime that has etched its name and won’t be forgotten as it realistically portrays serious timeless themes like war, sacrifice, never giving up, love, etc.

The Attack on Titan anime has finally concluded after a decade with its Final Season: The Final Chapters, Special 2, which aired on November 4.

The anime’s ending is considered canon to the manga, which concluded in 2021. However, it deviates slightly, but in a positive light.  

Keep reading to uncover more.

1. Attack On Titan Ending Explained

Attack on Titan’s finale, “Toward The Tree On That Hill” picks up from manga chapter 134-139.

It begins with Eren in his titan form moving towards Fort Salta and Armin, Mikasa, Levi, Reiner etc. trying to stop the Rumbling. While Annie, Gabi and Falco are on the steamship.

Reiner in his Armored Titan, tries to rip Zeke from his connection with Eren but to no avail.Then to make matters worse, the titan shifters appear to fight for Eren.

They are literally fighting at death’s doorstep as they barely manage to evade the titan shifters.

Armin gets trapped in a titan’s mouth however he gets transported to the paths and here he meets Zeke. It’s because of Eren’s powers by wielding the founding Titan.

Zeke gives him a lecture on life and its goal of multiplying, he even tells him about Ymir, who had fallen in love with King Fritz.

Fortunately, the former titan wielders also show up to fight back, even Ymir. Gabi and Levi are able to shoot the titan and Mikasa sets Armin free from the titan’s mouth.

Zeke also appears and is ready to be killed by his rival, Levi. Then with the help of the titans, Jean is able to blow Erens head off with the detonator.

Well, that obviously wouldn’t work on Eren’s titan form and the white centipede slithered back. Armin transforms into a titan to destroy Eren’s transformation but to no avail.

Now, Mikasa is in the paths with Eren, where they spend 4 years together in a separate timeline, which is two months after the end of Marley’s war.

After that interval, Mikasa is back to the battlefield and takes Eren’s life with one final slash.

Then we are transported again to Paradis Island within the walls where Eren and Armin are children.

Eren reveals his true intentions to Armin, that he deliberately became an object of hate and wanted to make his friends defeat him and be hailed as heroes of the world.

Eren talks about Ymir and how she had suffered for over 2000 years and was saved by Mikasa.

He even opens up to Armin about how his head is a total wreck as with the founding titans power, there are no lines that mark “Past” and “Present”, it all exists simultaneously.

He shares the grim reality of how he sent that wide toothed titan to eat his mom as Bertholdt had to stay alive for the future. Armin holds his hand to comfort him.

Then the scene shifts again to the beautiful sea with clouds hanging above where Armin confronts Eren about Mikasa.

Armin takes the guilt of a sinner along with Eren like a true besto friendo, and thanks him for everything.

This conversation had taken place while Armin was on the steam ship with Annie and gets implanted in Armin’s memories once Eren is dead.

Flash forward to the battle scene from where we left off transcending the material world.

Mikasa is holding Erens head and goes off to give him a proper burial. She encounters Ymir and bids her farewell.

Three years have then passed and Historia is the Queen of Paradis Island. A ship with Armin, Annie, Jean, Reiner, Connie, and Pieck approaches the Island for peace talks.

Levi is seen handing candy out to children, Gabi and Falco have grown up and are planting a tree, symbolizing peace.

Mikasa is under the tree, next to Erens grave. A bird appears to pick at her scarf which was given by Eren, symbolizing that she is free.

At the end, Mikasa’s burial is seen and her red scarf by her side.

When the credits play at the end, Paradis is seen to have revolutionized into a metropolis, and eventually another war breaks out, the never ending cycle of conflict of man is symbolized.

Paradis then becomes a beautiful city where nature has taken over. At the very end a man and a dog are exploring the area and enter a tree that is quite similar to the one Ymir had taken refuge in and gained the Titan powers.

With this it seems like another cycle with titans and wars is going to be repeated. This element of realism is what makes Attack on Titan stand out.

This unhappy yet realistic ending had made fans upset worldwide as it doesn’t cater to their romantic ideals, afterall the hero is supposed to live on.

However, that is not how the real world works and Isayama wanted to show that.

As revealed in his interview in The New York Times He was also tied like Eren and restricted to the ending that he had come up with when he was younger.

Quote:

“Writing manga is supposed to be freeing. But if I was completely free, then I should have been able to change the ending. I could have changed it and said I wanted to go in a different direction. But the fact is that I was tied down to what I had originally envisioned when I was young. And so, manga became a very restrictive art form for me, similar to how the massive powers that Eren acquired ended up restricting him.”

2. Is Attack On Titan Ending canon?

Attack On Titan Anime ending is Canon to the Manga as it delivers the same storyline and tragedy. However, it made a few tweaks to add emotional depth.

Especially the conversation between Eren and Armin in the paths, it made Erin more human, rather than the manga where it was a brief and cold conversation.

Check out the link below to know more.

3. About Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. Kodansha publishes it in the Bessatsu Shonen Magazine.

The manga began serialization on September 9th, 2009, and ended on April 9, 2021. It has been compiled into 34 volumes.

Attack on Titan follows humanity settled within three concentric walls to protect themselves from the terrifying titans that prey on them. Eren Yeager is a young boy that believes that a caged life is similar to that of cattle and aspires to go beyond the walls one day, just like his heroes, the Survey Corps. The emergence of a deadly Titan unleashes chaos.