Analysis of the ending of Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin

Destiny, not freedom – Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin ending

One of the most popular manga series in the world, Attack on Titan, reached its conclusion. And, like most mangas, the ending was controversial. Some praised it as a fitting ending to the manga, while others considered it rushed and poorly written.

For the uninitiated, Attack on Titan (Attack on Titan or Shingeki no Kyojin for weaboos) is a manga (Japanese comic) series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It follows the story of Eren Yeager, a human who lives in a world where humanity has been confined within three enormous walls that protect it from a race of man-eating humanoids, known as Titans. Eren has sworn to rid the world of Titans after his mother was killed by one when he was a child.

Throughout the series, Eren joins the army and he, along with his friends and companions, attempts to drive back the titans from the walls and know the truth about them.

The great mystery of the series, of course, is the titans. Of the Titans, 9 are intelligent and can switch between human and Titan form. Eren himself can transform into a titan known as the "Attack Titan." These "changing titans" are essential to the plot, since they are the ones who pull the strings of the scenario. For example, the Colossal Titan was the one who tore down the first wall, leading the Titans to invade Eren's hometown of Shiganshina and massacre its inhabitants.

Finally, it is revealed that all titans are ancient humans, altered and twisted by a chemical serum. This race of humans, known as "Subjects of Ymir", are feared throughout the world for their ability to become titans, so they are treated like scum and only kept for their ability, which the country of Marley uses effectively. in the war.

The Subjects were sent to internment areas, the largest of which was the island of Paradis (aka the Walls, alias Eldia). From this moment on, the story adopts a new angle towards which it has been building. In a dramatic turn of events, our former hero, Eren, becomes the main antagonist. To protect his home, Eldia, he decides to commit a large-scale genocide, summoning gigantic titans to destroy all other humans on the planet. Only through the combined efforts of his former allies and enemies is he defeated.

Seems like a solid story, right? So why is it so controversial? Well, first of all, the ending can be considered unsatisfying from multiple angles. Some say the ending is a copy of Code Geass. The fact is that the conclusion was mediocre at best compared to the rest of the manga. Or, at least, that's what people say.

Some criticisms of the ending of Attack on Titan:

⦁ Ymir, the first Titan Shifter whose spirit helps Eren with his plan, continues to give her subjects the ability to become Titans even though she causes them pain and suffering for hundreds of years... why was she in love with her abusive husband? , who ordered him to continue giving the powers?

⦁ Eren's genocide plan only succeeded in delaying the people from continuing to attack Paradis, forcing Eldia to adopt a militarist/fascist ideology to protect itself from further retaliation.

⦁ Eren at the last moment became the "hero" again.

⦁ Eren could have used the Founding Titan to remove Ymir's Subjects' Titan ability in the first place, avoiding the need for genocide.

⦁ And last but not least: Even though Eren ranted about freedom, he was still bound to the predestined path of genocide..

So is this scene at the end redeemable? Well, some scenes age like fine wine. For example, Spiderman 3, specifically the infamous dance scene. When it came out, people were…unimpressed with it. And who could blame them? Seeing that scene, people felt uncomfortable and weirded out by the clumsiness of the whole thing. However, looking back on it now, one can see that that was the goal. At that point in the movie, Peter was carrying the Venom symbiote, which causes his entire personality to change. His idea of self-confidence, which was completely unreal, makes us shudder. The point of the change was to show how even Peter was corruptible. Of course, he eventually realizes this and gets rid of the symbiote.

There are two points we can take away from this. One, that the nuance behind this was obvious in retrospect, once we watch the movie again. No matter how long it takes us, The story will look better once we fully assimilate everything that happens, maybe we'll read it again once or twice. And two: this was something planned. This was there from the beginning. And these two points can also be applied to Attack on Titan.

Obviously, Isayama is no kind of genius and had his story planned out in detail from the beginning. That's something even the strongest of writers can't achieve. However, the overall plot and plot were something that was decided in the first few months of the manga's production. And if we look back at the story throughout the entire manga, we can see one thing.

Attack on Titan is not a story of freedom. It is a story of fatalism, of destiny.

This seems strange and contradictory, considering that the entire story seems to be about freedom at first glance. The explorers fight for their freedom. The Warriors (Marley's soldiers) fight for the freedom and safety of their families. However, if we look closely, we can see the elements of fatalism in detail. From the beginning, members of the Survey Corps are explicitly told that they will likely end up as titan fodder. The Titans are a certainty. The Titans are always there. This generates fear and horror.

To counteract this fear, the people of Paradis have to move forward, keep getting excited. They want freedom, but they can't have it, so they turn to an alternative. As Kenny Ackernman says in chapter 69, "Everyone had to be drunk on something to keep going... Everyone was a slave to something."

The people of the Walls had to keep going, keep pushing for that spark of hope. That hope later manifests in the form of Eren Yeager, who wields the Attack Titan, the very symbol of Eldia's hope. But even that is also predetermined by fate. In chapter 121, Eren reveals that he used his Attack Titan's Future Memory Inheritance ability to influence his father to give him the Attack Titan and the Founding Titan. So, from the beginning, the events of the series were predetermined, set in stone. Eren was destined to inherit the Attack Titan, and he was destined to commit genocide.

Comparison with Norse mythology

It's no surprise that Attack on Titan takes inspiration from Norse myths, with names like Ymir and the Titans directly related to the Giants. But there is much more. In a thesis written by bandwarrior on reddit, points out the different mythological aspects of Attack on Titan. Norse mythology focuses a lot on the concept of destiny, with Odin always trying to avoid his fate, and of course, the ever-looming threat of Ragnarok, the apocalyptic battle that will end all creation as we know it. Look here, we see that we also have an apocalyptic battle in the final chapter.

Bandwarrior explains that the different cast members of Attack on Titan parallel the different Norse gods. Erwin Smith, leader of the Survey Corps before his untimely demise, is Tyr, the one-handed god of justice (Erwin also has one hand, in case you were wondering). Levi Ackerman is Thor, giant slayer and protector of humanity. Hanji, or Hange, is Odin, one-eyed god of War and Wisdom.

And who is Eren Yeager at the end of Attack on Titan?

He is Surtr, the Bringer of Ragnarok.

Surtr is destined to cross the Bifrost and strike the first blow against Midgard. He barely pays attention to the beauty of the Bifrost, only focusing on the enemies in front of him. Now, what does that sound like? Eren crossed the ocean, not caring (as seen in chapter 90, where he thinks to himself that freedom won't come unless everyone in Marley is dead). Surtr has been waiting his entire life for his destiny, his revenge..

And Eren's destiny is also to bring carnage and destruction. That's simply what his future memories predicted, and he decided to follow that path. Because? Because he's confused. Eren is a slave of destiny. It represents us as humans, always fighting for that spark of hope. Your only freedom is to try to fulfill your destiny to create a better future. I think the moral of this story is: freedom is a lie, and by pursuing it, we become slaves to the destiny that surrounds us all.

Is it a really pessimistic ending? A lot. But I think that's the goal. The author tells us that, as human beings, we are tied to destiny, and that the only freedom we will achieve is to accept it and move forward.