Hajime Isayama's manga adaptation to anime 'Attack on Titan' 「進撃の巨人」, or fondly shortened to 'AoT', has to be the longest television series that I have chased. A whole decade of watching and re-watching the shonen anime. I read the manga, watched the seasons of anime, and had to re-watch because I forgot what happened in the intervening years. LOL.
Considering that I've been watching it since 2013, the 2023 Finale has been years in the making. It felt like this never-ending finale of Two Specials in 'The Final Chapters' /「進撃の巨人」The Final Season 完結編: 前編・後編. LOVED IT. I watched them on Netflix, which only had a short window of streaming rights, like for only a week. I think Hulu has a longer streaming window since it's the official premiere platform (along with Crunchyroll). Even iQiyi offers it too.
If you haven't watched it and is a huge fan, get off this page right now.
⚠️ STOP READING AT THIS POINT. SPOILERS AHEAD. ⛔️
It's such a complex storyline, utterly worth my devotion to the series.
PS: All my favorite shows can have acronyms like this — GoT, and AoT. Oof.
There's a huge controversy over the anime's ending. Is it a huge disappointment for you? Or did you like it? Let me just state for the record that I like it. True, it diverges from the manga, but hey, why not... creative freedom, author's intention and all. Is it?
Eren Yeager, child solider, has finally grown up. He turns into a giant with every intention to defend his homeland of Paradis against the invading Titans and invader nation of Marley But along the way, towards the end, he turns into a killer. In trying to free his people from slavery, he used his powers for genocide.
In the scene before Eren crosses the Great Rainbow Bridge, he has one final conversation with his childhood friend Armin Arlert. This scene plays out clearly and a lot differently from the manga. In the manga, Armin thanked Eren for becoming a mass murderer killer to save his own people. It seems to hail Eren to be still a hero who saved the world, even to the extent of genocide.
I blinked at this when I read it years ago — in his friend's forgiveness, does this absolve Eren from his crimes? The right answer is NO. BUT, in the eyes of friends, if he can find forgiveness, then that's the power of friendship. We don't forgive the crime, but we remember the person, the human with his humanity behind it. Mikasa Ackerman, who had tragically, in a twist of poetic justice, delivered the final blow to Eren because she had to do it to save the rest of humanity. Cut off is head. He ironically died in the mouth of a Titan.
However, in the anime's finale, Armin doesn't say these lines. He doesn't thank Eren. They both dreamed of freedom for themselves, their people and Paradis, but they wanted to achieve it in different ways. That seashell is such a beautiful metaphor for this dichotomy. Armin held Eren accountable for his actions/crimes/kills. Armin doesn't forgive the atrocities even as he loves his friend. In the horror of all that had unfolded, and at this juncture, before Eren passed on, Armin told him, "We'll be together, in hell."
Eren explained that he knew, as his father knew, as the Fates had foretold: he would become a killer. He pretty much admitted that he was an idiot given god-like powers. He came to believe that people of different cultures and races could never live together in peace. For one to flourish, the other must die. He knew, and he relied on his friends to become the heroes to save the world, and perhaps give him comfort and solace as he prepared to face eternal damnation.
In an interview with The New York Times' Rafael Motamayor, Hajime Isayama shed light on the ending. He was involved in the anime's production, checking storyboards and giving his opinions. He knew it would be a production decision, but they ultimate respected the creator's input, and hence the anime's ending is as such.
How much of the ending from the manga did you have in mind when you first began writing “Attack on Titan”? And how much did it change along the way?
That was pretty much there from the beginning, the story that starts with the victim who then goes through this story and becomes the aggressor. That is something I had in mind right from the get-go. Along the way, certain aspects of the story didn’t go as expected, and I adapted and fleshed out certain aspects. But I would say the ending of the story didn’t change much.
The current economic and global situation right now is bleak. Every generation goes through war and bleak times. We're experiencing it, although not on a personal level, yet. I never want to, but how not to feel sad in these times. Is there no end to religious conflict? Is there truly no Utopia?
The manga ends with you showing the future of Paradis and sort of the cycle of war continuing. Is there no end to the conflict and the cycle you present in the story?
I guess there could have been an ending where it was a happy ending and the war ended and everything was fine and dandy. I guess that could have been possible. At the same time, the end of fighting and the end of contention itself kind of seems hokey. It kind of seems like it’s not even believable. It’s just not plausible in the world we’re living in right now. And so, sadly, I had to give up on that kind of happy ending.
I loved it that the Finale brought back Linked Horizon for the epic opening theme song of 'The Final Chapters', and that poignant closing song played during the final final final episode's credits. It ends exactly where it began. And if you spot that Tree and its huge significance and the kids, then you'll know that the Titans will rise again. That will be for another arc.
Ahhh... what a nice wrap to the era.
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