Hajime Isayama, the author and illustrator of the Attack on Titan manga,
originally had planned four different endings for Attack on Titan. These endings were confirmed and
revealed by the author through various interviews and announcements. The current ending we received
in the manga was ending number 4. We will be going over ending 1 from 2008, ending 2
from 2013, ending 3 from 2017, ending 4, which is the current one we received in the manga,
and possibly ending 5, which goes over the possible theory of a unique anime-only ending.
The manga is considered by many fans of the series, as one of the worst endings
of all time. Where every chapter was carefully planned and calculated,
but when it came to the finale there were so many issues. So what happened and why did it happen?
We must first understand Isayama himself and the thought process on why he changed the endings.
Isayama would release multiple one-shot chapters to start off his mangaka career. His goal was to
earn enough money to quit his job at the Internet cafe during that time. This led him to experiment
with many different ideas. In 2005, at the age of 19, he would start off by releasing a 65-page
one-shot chapter titled Humanity vs Titans, later known as Attack on Titan Volume 0. He
released the chapter and sort of forgot about it, dedicating his time onto different projects.
He was experimenting with different ideas to see what works and what doesn’t.
After Humanity vs Titans, Isayama would release two more one-shots. In 2008,
after Isayama became a full-on mangaka, he would release two more one-shots titled Heart Break
One and ORZ. Isayama would win some minor awards and start gaining some recognition.
At the age of 22 or 23, Isayama’s editor would recommend and convince him to turn
Humanity vs Titans into a fully serialized manga. So Isayama would later spend the next few months
thinking of ideas and plot twists. After planning out the story and getting ready to release it,
there were a few major problems. First, his editor would not allow him to publish
the manga without setting a clear ending set in stone. And second, manga publishers were
rejecting his manga. Isayama would quickly decide on an ending, he planned to give the
series a tragic conclusion similar to that of the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Mist.
An ambiguous ending where most characters end up dying and the final message being interpreted in
different ways by the readers. For Isayama it was quite simple, if the story didn’t succeed
after the first few volumes, he would end the story and continue with a new project. After all,
it was his editor who decided to give him the idea. Attack on Titan would
be released on September 9, 2009 and new chapters would start releasing every month.
The second major problem Isayama had was about the story and art style. Manga publishers were
rejecting him over and over again. His story was too dark and not suitable for their audiences,
and his art style was rough and not good enough. He was about to quit being a mangaka,
but after many, many attempts, a manga publisher would be interested in publishing his manga.
The story itself was well-received, but more than that, you could feel and understand the
emotions in his drawings. While he still had the art style of a student and there was no
reason to compare him to a professional mangaka, there was emotion in every page and every line.
Isayama would slowly continue releasing chapters and volumes,
but there was a single very important moment that would inspire him to change the ending.
In 2013, the anime adaptation would be released. It’s popularity would
reach mainstream success and surpass both Isayama’s and Wit Studio’s expectations.
Isayama was more inspired than ever before. He achieved his main goal of living comfortably,
so his full focus was on writing something truly enjoyable. This led to Isayama finally
changing the original ending into something new and different, aka ending number 2.
Ending 1 was depressing and it would break many hearts. Isayama would change it to something
not as depressing. He would announce that he was planning to end the story in 20 volumes,
which with the current story we have, would be right at the end of the Return to Shiganshina
arc. What would have most likely happened is the following, what would be revealed
in the basement would be changed into something different and more appropriate.
It would be changed if the author didn’t want it to end on a cliffhanger.
Zeke would also probably die, since of course, there would be no rematch. Other than that,
there would probably not be any other major changes. Eren, Mikasa and arguably Armin would
all still be alive as they have finally defeated Reiner and the rest. If this was the ending it
would be pretty bad in my opinion, what’s revealed in the basement changes the show
forever and after the time skip we get to see so much development on every single character.
Now why did this happen? Why did the ending once again be changed? Well, we’re about to
find out. At the start of the Marley arc, Isayama was super motivated. He explained
in an interview he considers the Marley arc as the peak of his art style and the happiest he’s
ever been while making Attack on Titan. This would once again lead the story to a different ending.
In a 2018 interview, Isayama would showcase a sketch of the final panel of the story.
If we compare the current ending, and the ending he showcased in the interview,
they are extremely different and share almost no similarities. He would also announce only 5%
of the story was left, and that we are in the climax of the story. In the same year, Isayama
also announced that he had binge-watched Game of Thrones, and he would be inspired by the story
in his future chapters. Unfortunately, he was disappointed with the ending of Game of Thrones,
this might have influenced his decision in once again changing the ending for the fourth time.
But first, let’s understand ending number 3. The text bubble says “You are free”
and it’s showcasing either Eren with most likely Historia’s daughter OR it’s Grisha holding Eren as
a baby. There are some fan version of this panel which I’ll be showcasing on screen. The reason why
this character is saying “You are free” is because the cycle of repetition has finally been broken,
the curse of Ymir has been lifted. No longer would this new generation need to fight,
no longer would they need to risk their lives. This is probably an ending where Eren wins.
There are two possible ways this could have happened. First, it hints at the end
of the Titan's curse, and how the world will never have to experience it again.
Or Eren succeeded in destroying the entire world, so there would be no more conflict,
and the lives of those he cares about would no longer be at risk.
Before we move onto the fourth ending of this video, make sure to leave a like down
below and show some support, this video took a lot of effort and research to make
and you only need 1 second to leave a like. Anyways, let’s continue on with the video.
Ending 4 is the current manga ending we received in the manga and the most
controversial one in this video. Many fans are unsatisfied with the ending
and believe it ruined the show. Basically, Mikasa kills Eren and stops the rumbling,
the Titan curse is removed but there is still a possibility for war in the future.
Isayama revealed in an interview that the climax was a very difficult theme
for him to draw. So he regrets not being able to express it properly in the manga.
When the final volume was released, a few extra pages were added to the final chapter.
The ending was supposed to show three people walking towards a tree on the hillside. After
discussing this with his editor, Isayama changed the ending to the current one we have. Isayama was
super worried about the ending, the closer he was to the final chapter, the harder he would
try searching for reviews and comments online. Armin in the manga might seem to be approving of
the massacre, when he does not. Isayama thinks it’s due to his lack of writing. Eren's actions
are the worst of worst, and Armin does not approve of them. He feels that the way he drew
it was somewhat immature. Armin didn't approve Eren's actions, but he was benefited from the
massacre regardless of his intentions. And since Eren could never be understood by anyone, he told
him "Thank you for being a mass murderer for our sake" as a way to get as close to him as possible.
For Isayama, the last part of the manga is a difficult theme beyond his ability. He feels
that he has not been able to fully express these themes with the manga, so he regrets it. We all
have our own opinions of the ending. Some love it, some hate it and some find it right in-between.
Through his work, he connected with more people that he imagined and has been very happy to
share his experience with readers. Now that the series is over, he is free and enjoys walking
around with a cup of sake in his hand, as he believes that this is what freedom is all about.
Isayama’s belief of freedom could be interpreted in many ways.
His expectations as an author have continued to increase. After 11 years of writing the manga,
he finally has achieved the free time he desired and most definitely deserves.
This leads us perfectly to the final ending and final part of this video.
Due to Isayama regretting not being able to properly explain the ending,
this has led to many rumors of an anime-only ending. Whether only small changes are made
or a whole separate conclusion takes place, it is very likely that something about the finale
will be changed in the anime adaptation. This is nothing new, Isayama also regrets some aspects
of the first few chapters, so he changed them in the anime to better fit his vision of the story.
Will there be an anime only ending? Probably not. However it's very likely there will be
some minor changes in dialogues as well as some of the plot holes will be fixed.
In the previous Attack on Titan seasons, the opening and ending foreshadow the
future of the show. The final shot of the new opening seems to be an integral piece
of evidence for the theory. It relates to the older Akatsuki no Requiem (AnR) theory.
The opening theme visuals end on a butterfly crushed underneath the foot of a Colossal Titan.
In the older AnR theory, there’s a section where butterflies seem to symbolize Eren’s friends
trying to stop the Rumbling. These butterflies are killed after touching giant arrows, symbolic
of Colossal Titans. So the scene represents Eren’s friend’s attempts to halt the Rumbling.
If anything, the opening seems to foreshadow the original ending heavily. There’s a scene
where Eren walks through a courtyard as white birds fly around him. This is
obviously symbolic of his reincarnation into a bird at the end of the series.
Another scene shows what seems to be Mikasa, Jean, Reiner,
and Connie visiting Eren’s grave. This would seem to reference the extra ending pages when Mikasa,
Jean, and presumably Connie and Reiner go to visit Eren’s grave when they are much older.
Finally, a scene in the opening highlights Mikasa wrapping her scarf around herself.
This seems to foreshadow her wrapping her scarf around herself before eventually
resolving to kill Eren inside his new Founding Titan form.
Unlike the opening, the ending seems to wholly foreshadow the anime sticking with
the original Attack on Titan ending. For starters, the ending opens with childhood
Eren having his red scarf wrapped around his neck. This scarf is then carried by
the wind and becomes a bird, symbolic of Eren’s eventual reincarnation and desire for freedom.
The latter is incredibly important to the story’s final chapters.
Another scene in the trailer shows decrepit areas of Paradis, including the recognizable
Utgard Castle and Paradis throne room. The country’s ruin is symbolic of its eventual fate,
as seen in the extra pages, where Paradis is eventually bombed for its resources anyway.
Finally, an adult Eren is enveloped by an aura with colors reminiscent of the bird from earlier
in the ending. The wind blows him and the aura away, likely further foreshadowing his
reincarnation into a bird and desire for freedom overall. While there is one piece of evidence
for an anime-original ending in the opening, it seems Attack on Titan will
be sticking with the series’ original conclusion. The finish wholly consisted
of foreshadowing for the original ending, and a majority of the opening indicates this as well.
I hope you guys enjoyed watching this video, but don't click off just yet.
If you guys want to see a full explanation on how Isayama created Attack on Titan, then click
on the video you see on screen. It took a while to make so if you enjoyed it, then show some support
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