#Shingeki no Kyojin spoilers

[traffys]

i’m sorry but their relationship, their chemistry, their bond is SO much better in EVERY way. their scenes carried SO much more emotional impact and CARRIED the final episode. i don’t care. argue with a wall. eremin is canon to me.

[erwinsarmrest]

listen to me i don’t really ship eren and armin but i certainly see the appeal and i can see where they’re coming from

and let me tell you. the new episode? i actually thought they were gonna kiss i swear to god. saying shit like “it’s okay. we’ll be together forever in hell” and then both of them moving in for a hug SO FAST i though they were about to make out

[reysfxrce]

"see you, hange. keep watching us"

and they're doing it levi. they will always be with you

[firel-yy]

🥀🕊

[genericpuff]

And with that, 2000 years of history and 10+ years of an animated adaption later, Attack on Titan is over.

I wasn't planning on making an essay post about this but like all of my essay posts, it got crazy out of hand, so here we are. I have a lot to say on it and the more I wrote, the more I realized exactly what the Attack on Titan finale was about. It's cathartic. It's also kind of a big shitpost but not for the reasons you might think.

Spoilers for the Attack on Titan finale ahead! CW: DISCUSSION OF WAR AND GENOCIDE AHEAD!

Now for anyone who knows what I'm about to talk about (and anyone who follows my stuff here), I'm sure you're wondering , what side do I fall on in regards to Attack on Titan's ending? Am I about to talk shit about it? It's very divisive and somewhat inconclusive. It followed the exact ending in the manga which, while expected, was still disappointing to many who had hoped the anime would take some other path.

But I have to ask, could there have been any other way?

Eren committed mass genocide, bordering on extinction of the entire human race. There was no way that he was gonna come out of it redeemed or as a hero, and he knew it. He went straight up Walter White core here and like Walter White, he is not a hero.

The fact that the Marlayans have been constantly going to war with other countries using Eldians as their personal soldiers goes to show that for countries that seek out conquest, there's no target too small or insignificant that can't be marked as an "enemy", and we see that reflected in Eren as well, in his pursuing of "freedom", an ever-moving goalpost that can never truly be satisfied.

The Jaegerists were hellbent on creating a new empire on the bloodshed of Marley - 'an eye for an eye', so to speak.

Nothing was ever going to truly satisfy either 'side' in the conflict of humanity vs. Eldians because such conflicts' origins have been obfuscated in hundreds of years of history, propaganda, and generational trauma that has repeated itself for so long that many don't even know what they're fighting for anymore, aside from one thing - that they don't want to suffer, that they shouldn't have to suffer for the actions of their ancestors, that they want peace and happiness but don't know where to start with taking the first step.

I think people are disappointed in this ending because, let's face it, it's anime, and it's an anime adaption that took years to finish. We always want to see some kind of vindication from stories like these, but I think in having vindication, it ultimately removes the point altogether of what's being said.

As much as we may try to fight it, try to deny it, the course of human history travels in a circle. Conflict will always arise. History is written by the victors, and those victors will be seen as heroes by whichever side they're fighting for regardless of what heinous acts they may have committed to justify their salvation. And after all of that conflict, regardless of the result - time goes on, and new conflicts arise.

But I don't think that means we have to succumb to grief and suffering and that's a point that I'm seeing missed in a lot of the discussion around the finale. There's a very powerful scene between Armin and Zeke, in which Armin talks about how he was born to run up the hill with Mikasa and Eren. He recognizes fully that if his life isn't meant to be long, he can still cherish those small moments that he thinks back on fondly, the moments that defined his life with the people he cared about.

And that's really all life is. Small moments and experiences that stick with us until the end. The very act of being born in and of itself is a cosmic miracle that gives us the chance to experience things that bring us joy and stay with us forever - however short or long that 'forever' may be. We take these small moments for granted when we're comfortable, but we look for them the most when we're suffering.

If I can relate all this to another piece of media that says the same thing - albeit with a much brighter ending - FF XIV: Endwalker also asks a similar question to Attack on Titan - is the only meaning in life to suffer and die? Of course, by its end, we learn that while death and suffering is an inevitable part of life - not something that should be avoided - it shouldn't persuade us to give in to fear and despair as a constant state of being. And I think Attack on Titan goes for a very similar approach, albeit slightly more as a cautionary tale - a nihilistic reminder that ultimately, the losses and victories we find in our current point of history are still just that, a single point, a blip that will be forgotten until it's ultimately repeated, and there's no escaping that.

It cautions us that freedom cannot exist without constant vigilance for war and conflict. It cautions us that our values and core beliefs for attaining freedom, love and happiness can be twisted into a weapon to cause harm, vindication gained at the cost of another. It cautions us that when left in the wrong hands, power can and will be abused by the ignorant while propagandizing itself as "the greater good".

So why not just find the joy that we can? The friendships, the little moments, the things that bring us happiness even if only temporary. Conflict is inevitable, suffering is inevitable, but that doesn't mean life isn't worth living. "Happiness" is not a tangible end point - it's the side effect of living a meaningful life that's true to yourself.

Attack on Titan is over. Some will argue the ending was the only way, others will argue that there could have been another way and that the anime adaption had the chance to change it but still didn't for reasons beyond their comprehension.

But isn't that the whole point? We'll argue. We'll bargain. Many of the arguments made will reinforce our own beliefs further rather than sway us. Many of us will insist there had to be another way, just as Armin insisted that this couldn't have been the only way, that humanity must have had another option. Meanwhile, many of us will acknowledge that at the end of the day, this is the story Isayama wanted to tell, and regardless of whether or not it makes him an idiot toying with his audience and admitting defeat by lampshading it in the penultimate scene of Eren admitting to his own idiocy, this was the power given to him and he used it in the best way he knew how.

Much like in any conflict, there's one thing that unites both sides - the human need for joy, connection, and freedom.

We might not agree on how Attack on Titan ended, but we can agree that it was a hell of a ride, and I hope we can all agree that it was worth riding, even if it wasn't satisfying for everyone in the end. It brought many people together regardless of their backgrounds, experiences, and differences, and connected them through something they all loved for over ten years. And despite how big a part of our lives it was, life will still go on, and we'll move on to other things to watch, enjoy, and argue over. Isayama will move on to whatever awaits him next, knowing fully well that his choice was his own, that he created the series he wanted to create regardless of how people feel about it. We'll all look for our own forms of joy and happiness as life moves on around us, as conflicts come and go.

Isn't that really what freedom is at the end of the day?

[mikasanojiyu]

fucking NOTHING makes me cry like that one scene in aot where everyone is nearing the cliff and falling into the water to avoid the rumbling and that man passes the woman’s baby back to save it

and it ends up living

even through all the hatred and chaos of the situation the human instinct is to save children and that is just so fucking heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time

[pfpanimes]

⌕ shingeki no kyojin - FINAL!

like or reblog if you save/use.

[keepcalmandbeonepiecetrash]

Im sorry. I had to 😅😅

[selkiemoonofficial]

you asked for this (minus my vote, which was to see the results early)

(I really hope this doesn't come out cringey)

[vainilla-milk]

Oh, Reiner... You stole my heart again (ಥ﹏ಥ)

[traffys]

this eremin shit is SERIOUS. they should have been endgame im in AGONY

[agathas-megacoven]

Shoutout to Levi for not lying down and letting the collosals walk all over him after all the shit Isayama has put him through, he is SOOOO much more resilient than me

[tentz]

What an amazing episode, other than the heartwarming Aruani boat scene,

The scene that absolutely got me was when Annie hugged Reiner, T-KT OST kicking in, and the 104th saying thier goodbye to Ann in a friendly manner.

It reminded of thier Season 1 friendship back when everything was mostly okay 💔

Shingeki No Kyojin - S04E29 [ Rumbling ]

[hammah-head-shark]

I don’t think I’ll recover over the way Armin cried at seeing Eren’s head.

[derpymidnight]

Favorite quotes from the AOT finale

"We're scout regiment. Scouts don't know when to quit."

"Erwin, I have no doubts about my decision not to choose you. To entrust the future to someone with the same look in your eyes you all had."

"I'm the one you wanted to see, right, Levi? I didn't want to see you, though!"

"No... That'd kill me! I don't want her to find someone. I want to be her one and only for the rest of my life! And after I die, I want her to pine after me for at least ten years!" "Oh... I see... I didn't think you'd say anything that pathetic..."

"I can't help but notice your fixation with your hair. Who are you trying to look good for?" "The ladies who'll be reading the history books in school." "Don't you mean the field guide to horses?" "It's a real shame your life got longer, Reiner."

[selenestarmoon]

I don't know about you but with chapter 407 I feel like AFO is like Eren Jaeger and Cinder Fall: a traumatized person who has had a series of horrible things happen to him who prefers to be seen as a monster because that gives him control over his own life than admitting that he is a victim who never had control of anything that happened to him in his life.