#aot theories

[ukeshik]

I have one Edith by AOT, which makes me goosebumps and almost hysterical every time.

And now I'm thinking about the whole story.

What if Eren Kruger came to see the airship on purpose? Because I saw that it was Eren Jaeger who had to finish everything. Did Kruger come there on purpose to meet Grisha and his sister, and deliberately killed his sister so that Grisha would hate Marley and take the road that was needed, just because Kruger saw it in his memories of the future?

Maybe someone has already talked about it, but now I'm really thinking about it. And I feel bad about it. It's horrible.

[karizard-ao3]

What do you think of the theory that Ackermans aren't capable of killing another one?

I've never actually heard of this theory? I mean, it's true the Ackermans have never managed to kill each other but what is the reason people are saying that is?

[happybird16]

I actually think about this every once and awhile, but do you think that they get so used to being injured and healing instantly that it just becomes second nature to them? They don't even fully process the injury or the pain, it's just there and then it isn't.

Do you think that the shifters who survive the final battle and lose their powers ever accidentally hurt themselves? Like, for example, Reiner is doing some construction work to help build houses for people in the aftermath and accidentally falls from a roof. As he's falling he has the full thought of 'oh well, I'll just heal' but then as he's lying on the concrete all roughed up he has the painful 'What a minute...' realization

no but the most tragic thing about shifters is how their appearance contrasts their experiences

because the regeneration works so well that it doesn't leave any scars on their bodies. their flesh is so unscathed and perfect - hell, shifters don't even have callouses that's how fast they heal - and it doesn't show just how much they went through as warriors. any horrible wound that may be deadly for a normal human they can recover from all the while suffering under the same pain.

they all should be dead ten times over yet the regeneration keeps them alive and acutely aware of the most fatal, painful and traumatic of experiences and with no marks to ever account for it. you wouldn't be able to guess what hell they were forced to live through just because their bodies are that durable

the only thing that the regeneration is unable heal is their minds which most certainly are deeply damaged due to everything they've gone through

[happybird16]

"We were running towards that tree on the hill... to see which one of us would get there first.."

This is just a gut feeling, but I think Armin was the last of the trio to die. He was probably the one to make sure Mikasa was buried at that tree, right by Eren's side.

[cielettosa]

fanfics, headcanons, theories, fanons and fanarts keeps a fandom alive, even after it ends

[briefpeachdinosaur]

Bsd Theories that I don’t believe

Discussing the "Naomi isn't real theory" and "dazai can't die".

Ppl who want to Baby atsushi.

Dazai and chuuya at 15.

Including: Naomi, Tanizaki, atsushi, chuuya and dazai.

I accidentally put this Clip here but I wanted smt else, how the hell do I remove it???

So I saw this theory that Naomi isn't a real person and Tanizaki created her with his ability.

But why would he create an illusion of her?

I read that it was because Naomi is death and he couldn’t handle it, so to not go insane he created the illusion of her.

I do get why people think that she isn't real but here is why I think she is real.

So first we should look into the work of the real Tanizaki Jun'ichirō: the irl Tanizaki published a book with the Titel "Naomi" Naomi was a character in the book, a very importierent one. The story basically follows Naomi and the main character who is a man (and I forgot his name) they met at a Restaurant (if I remember correctly) and Naomi is a waitress there, he falls inlove with her and they became boyfriend and girlfriend but to not be judged from others (bc they Aren't married and it was back in the day) they just said they are siblings but they are NOT siblings. I think in the book they also started to live togehter (again if I remember correctly).

In the book Kirako Haruno also Shows up who is also a character in bsd and is mostly known as Fukuzawas Assistent. In the book she is (again if I remember correctly) an stage actress.

So Haruno and Naomi are both not acual people who lived in real live but characters based on the work of Tanizaki.

(This is Haruno)

(Very cute and pretty)

It's normal in bsd that some of the characters Aren't inspired from real life and are characters from books from the irl authors. Or are ppl who had something to do with them.

So like I said the "Naomi isn't real theory" is a theory I don't really believe, why?

Well first of if Naomi was an Illusion created by his ability then why would he worry all the time about her ? You guys remember how he was ready to kill higuchi when she almost killed her? If she was truly just an illusion created by him then he would have known that she wouldn't die and she wouldn’t have been bleeding from her attack.

We also saw him being worried about her in season 4.

It's just like with Elis, when mori and Elis (whom is his ability) fighted with Fukuzawa and mori basically lost and Elis was disappearing he wasn't worried or something because he knew nothing would happend to her.

Or when he and Elis almost died in the car that was meant to kill them Elis saved him in time and he also didn't ask if she is alright he knew she was because she is his ability, so he naturally knows that she is alright.

But it was never like that with Jun'ichirō and Naomi. He was very often worried and she did things that suprised him like the time when Higuchi almost killed her he was taken aback.

While I do recognize that it also could be that he believe that so much that she is alive and well so he subconciously made her so "real" thats why she is injured sometimes.

I think they must have meet in school or a little before.

Asagiri properly wanted to add his work in this way and it was mostly meant to be a funny way to include the work of Tanizaki.

Was it really funny? Not really.

Is it a little strange that he did that like this? Yeah it is.

And also:

Jun'ichirō is obviously unconfortable with all the physical Touch Naomi gives him in public. He often tells her something like

"Naomi we're in public not now" and she dosen't really Listen to him. Which makes it even more uncomfortable to watch because he’s often very uncomfortable with it. She is definitely overstepping a boundary with that which isn’t okay. We always see her being very close or having her arms around him but that isn’t what he minds it’s that she is doing too much and also touching him too often on purpose to get this reaction of him being nervous.

I really don’t know why asagiri did that to Naomi.

However, we can clearly see that they both really care for each other (even though they can be very uncomfortable to watch).

I do admit its strange that she talks in 3 person but it’s only when she is with him.

I think both are very good characters but often a pain when they are together, separate from each other they are definitely more comfortable to watch not only because they aren’t touching each other but also because we get to see a very positive side on both of them and that they also care for there fellow friends around them.

Also in real life there was an actress for Naomi whom was Tanizakis sister in law.

What is funny is that the irl chuuya, at some point, fell in love with her and called her his Ideal wome in the poem he wrote about her.

Yep He even wrote a poem about her (thats kind of cute tbh)

So would Naomi be chuuyas ideal women in the bsd universe? Well... I don't know but I guess so.

I also wanted to say that I think It's pretty obvious that Tanizaki and Naomi Aren't siblings.

And I'm 100% sure that there not siblings.

BTW : The real Tanizaki was WILD he tried to rizz up his DAUGHTER IN LAW and he had a Sex game (I can't) with his sister in law ( Naomis actress) and his wife...

Also I don't think dazai can't die or that he is the book.

Listen if dazai was on that one Thing last year where some rich ppl tried to go to the Titanic I swear he would survived that somehow but I don't think he is unkillable.

When he was shoot by fyodors Assassine he was injured and could have died but fyodor didn't plan for dazai to Die, I think he knew atsushi was there to save him.

Also remember how chuuya shoot him in the shoulder? Well that was unplaned and he was really pissed (chuuya) so he took revenge so no, dazai also dosen't know "everything" and literlly not everything is in dazais "perfect plan" and chuuya could have acually died in the 'Prison break arc' when he and fyodor where " drowning " And I'm pretty sure that dazai didn't tell chuuya abt that, that he and fyodor will take a swim in that strange water they were in and yosano, kenji and Tanizaki could have died too while he was away (how did they even survived that long? I guess there plot armor is pretty good too)

If chuuya didn't pull that "one trick that they did all the time back then" with the gun shoot he could have really died so yeah.

And if chuuya really was a Vampire back then fyodor could have easily killed him tbh.(how did Dostoevsky didn't get that chuuya isn't a Vampire I thought he had an almost or same IQ as Ranpo ?)

And why I don't think he is the book or that he knows everything? Well in the one chapter where he found out about fyodor Dostoevskys Real ability he looked so suprised so if he knew about everything he would have know that all along.

(Dostoevsky that mother f**ker is the real unkillable man lol)

(I'm tired of hearing ppl say "it was dazais plan all along thats why they didn't die" like what-?😭🙏)

Anyway lets also talk about how the fandom wants to baby atsushi + the sexualisation of Chuuya and dazai when they were 15.

I think it’s SO problematic that the fandom is basiclly sexulaising chuuya and dazai when they are 15.

Sorry but if your older then 16 you shouldn't be thinking that when they where 15 that they where "hot" or whatever. Dazai is shown to be very unstable at 15 and chuuya dosen't even know who he is at 15 because he had zero memory's of his past.

Only after stormbringer he knew who he was and what happend to him and alot of traumatic stuff happend to him and by the way just bc you know your past dosen't mean you now know who you are.

He was 16 in stormbringer and still had to process what happend to him which was btw alot.

Remember the one Clip where he shot that guy and keep shooting even though he was already dead? Well, many find that hot.

However, dazai (in the anime) is speculated to have had a Breakdown and you can notice that when he said: this is more then you deserve

And his eyes where very dark in that moment and the artist of bsd herself said that the eyes are a reflection of there mental well being.

In the novel it was : what a luxury!

While shooting and is described to have a "bizzarly childlike" expression. So in the novel he knew what he was doing, if anything.

But I noticed that everbody is simping over that secne or using it to show how insane he can be or how his voice was so hot and all.

Guys please, if you take the Text with the acual context of the secne I feel like we get to know more about him.

Why is that such a Luxury for the dying man? Probably bc he wanted to be the dying man but that is just what I think.

Why is it more then he deserved? Probably because he was the one who wanted what he had and maybe because he thinks he deserved it.

I do have to say that bones made them look much older then 15.

It's like simping over kenji who is also 14. Thats just strange.

Kenji and kyoka acually look 13-15.

Both chuuya and dazai were at a bad place at 15, and sexualising them in Fan arts is not okay.

Both of them there past are very traumatic (if the bsd dazai had the same past as real dazais Osamus. The irl dazai (and chuuya too) had quit a traumatic up bringing that explained alot of there views in there work and lives but it would also explain why the bsd dazai is how he is)

It's the same when ppl who are older then 15-16 simp over Ranpo in his backstory Episode when he was like 14??

Anyways, what I also wanted to point out is that It's so SO weird that ppl want to BABY atsushi who is an 18 boy, okay he might be come across as naive but that dosen't mean he is stupid or acually naive.

It is the same with Armin of aot.

He had a VERY traumatic past (man literlly Has PTSD )and anyone who has been trough abuse is naturally a little more mature then ppl there age or knows how to take care of themselfs and while I do recognize that atsushi wants acuall love and affection from others I don't think making him seen like a Baby and wanting to Baby him is what he wants lol.

He isn't a Baby who can't take care of himself so why are yall acting Like he is?

Also atsushi is ruthless and he can be really mean.

All the ppl who say : atsushi would NEVER say anything mean!!!

Yeah he would never with YOU (🫵) but he would with akutagawa whom he lets his inner mean side out and is basiclly letting him 90% of there interactions very much known that he isn't quit found of him.

Anyways I hope you liked this Post and thankyou all so much for reading ❤️

❤️

[pumkshrark]

Dazai tries to commit suicide in the mafia in the agency and before the age of 14 in 3 acts:

[nuri148]

maybe, instead of choosing others over his freedom, instead of only committing 80% Rumbling (leaving enough people to lead to the demise of Paradis)... Maybe Eren will even choose his freedom this time via 100% rumbling, etc.

I skipped the FF parts basically bc I only know it from name; and I will say that the argument for AoT having a different anime ending is well made. However, I feel compelled to point out something here as this paragraph incurs in a factual error that I've seen popping up several times in AoT meta, that is, Eren "doing an 80% rumbling". Er... No.

Eren did go, canonically, for a 100% Rumbling.

The only reason it was an 80% rumbling was because the Alliance stopped him before he could complete the remaining 20%.

IDK if the prevalence of the 80% rumbling phallacy is due to mix-up with the original plan of doing a "mini-rumbling" using only the wall titans in the Shiganshina walls, or a mental trap out of sympathy for Ereh and the tragedy of his arc. I do find the "only 80%" unsettling though, bc that's still a full-on genocide yet somehow sounds like trying to excuse Ereh. ("Oh, never mind the boy, he didn't want to kill all of them! Another scone?")

That said, over time I've made my peace with the manga ending so if the anime ends the same way I won't be disappointed. And I prefer they keep it the same instead of changing it in a way that makes it even worse. Moreover, so far the anime has not deviated from the manga enough to think there will be a different ending. It'd be interesting though if the different timelines theory proves right and something is changed. However, with the little deviation seen so far, I think if they do it will be subtle, like Eren dying in a slightly different way, or his head being disposed of differently, then a last scene just like the first one with child Eren waking up in a different way from the two we already know.

Attack on Titan AOE vs. Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth Parallels

Alright fam. This is my ultimate multi-fandom post! This will go out to fellow AOT x FFVII fans -- especially those who have been looking into the AOT/ANR theories regarding AOE.

Obviously there will be heavy spoilers for both Attack on Titan as well as for Final Fantasy VII (OG and Remake).

Recently I've dived into the theory and lore to FFVII and a LOT of it lines up with what's been theorized for AOT regarding different medias being different timelines for one entire story:

For AOT, the manga is theorized to be a different timeline than the anime.

For FFVII, the original game (OG) is now officially implied to be a different parallel timeline than the current Remake.

In AOT, Eren and Paradis Island's fate from the Manga ending is death, that Paradis is still destroyed despite everything he does to prevent that. In the Manga, he reaches 80% Rumbling and then dies by Mikasa's hands; a sacrifice he was willing to make in order to allow Mikasa, Armin and friends to be heroes and live long lives (which they do) and for Paradis to survive -- however the cycle of hatred still continues on when Paradis is bombed, negating most of what he acted towards.

Before I get into this next part, let me also mention that the Cabin dream is implied to be a previous or parallel timeline -- in this, we see Eren die; his eyes slowly close, fading to black to his peaceful death as Mikasa says, "See you later, Eren..." which directly reflects the beginning pages of the manga of the moments and words he sees just before he wakes up underneath the tree. In other words, when Eren dies in Cabin timeline, he awakens to what we know to be the Manga timeline. It's a peaceful wakeup, sitting up against the tree as he had been sitting at the Cabin during death. He doesn't cry -- he only wonders why Mikasa's hair was long (because when he saw her last in Cabin timeline, her hair was short). Then the manga story ensues, leading up to his inevitable death by Mikasa beheading him -- a violent, gruesome death in the Manga...

...To which he wakes up in the Anime, in fright and shock, laying down on the ground with his head laying directly where Mikasa had laid his headstone in the Manga post-war, as if he'd just woken from his violent death in manga.

This is very similar to what is actually happening (not just theorizing) with FFVII right now.

In the original (OG) game, Aerith is killed by Sephiroth while trying to save Midgar/the world from Meteor destruction, then her soul is essentially absorbed into the Lifestream. In the end, Cloud defeats Sephiroth (who also goes into Lifestream), but in the process, Midgar is still completely destroyed by the Meteor as it was too late to completely save everything, even if the rest of the world was saved.

There are already some parallels here:

Rumbling = Meteor. The world is saved, but still experienced mass destruction. Lifestream = somewhat like Paths, allowing people to transcend time/space/etc.

However a big thing paralleling AOT theories is that the FFVII OG game ends with Aerith (remember, she was killed), surrounded by Lifestream energy, closing her eyes... Then the Remake game opening with Aerith, surrounded by Lifestream energy, opening her eyes as it leads to the new game unfolding.

Aerith woke up in a new timeline.

And there is plenty of evidence throughout the Part I that shows that she knows what is fated to happen based on the OG game/previous timeline:

She knows details about Cloud even though he didn't share/she acts like she already knows him well.

She gives him a flower because he's a 'special' customer, and says that the flower is a symbol for when lovers reunite.

She knew that the Plate would fall and destroy Sector 7, even though Tifa and Cloud were doubtful, but she couldn't tell them. (Tifa: "Aerith... What are you not telling me?")

She knew Tifa wanted her to save Marlene, even before Tifa even said it

In the special cut scene between Cloud and Aerith, she tells him with sadness that everyone dies eventually. And she advises Cloud to never fall in love with her (because she knows how that tragically ended in the original). She KNOWS she's fated to die.

And these are ALL differences from the OG game -- Aerith didn't have any of these reactions, dialogue, thoughts, sentiments before. She is implied to be operating in Remake with the knowledge of how things ended before: that she would be killed, that Midgar would still be destroyed, that Sephiroth would still be alive.

Except this time, with all that knowledge of OG fate, Aerith is now trying to actively veer things away from the tragic fate and destiny laid out before them. (Side note, Whispers are also game-original and are trying to reel things back to fate/destiny. Also, Sephiroth, being part of Lifestream from OG, is also operating with the knowledge that he failed in the OG. Like Aerith, Sephiroth is trying to change destiny.)

And if that isn't enough yet to convince you that it's a different FFVII timeline... ZACK IS ALIVE. They show him make it out of the battle that killed him before. It is an entirely new journey. (I will cry if/when Zack and Aerith reunite)

Now we circle around right back to AOT.

Like Aerith, Anime Eren is theorized to know how things ended in the Manga: his death, Paradis' destruction, etc. He gained this knowledge when he kissed Historia's hand (in both anime and manga), gaining access to memories of the future... and of the past. But not just memories of the Anime timeline. Founding Titan Eren is interconnected with Paths, the way Aerith is to Lifestream, both of which surpass time itself, as we've seen with Eren/Zeke traveling through his memories. (There's a lot of imagery alluding to Manga art intertwined with Anime, but that's a sub-sub-sub-theory)

There is also a side theory that Aerith transferred memories to Red XIII (as she pressed her hand to his forehead upon meeting) because he was already most attuned to the Lifestream itself, and he becomes her aid almost. Likewise, there is a fun theory regarding Eren using Falco as a messenger/Falco receives memories from Eren (which is why in Anime, Falco recalls memories of 'flying around with swords'... Which couldn't have come from Ymir Freckles. You can only see memories once you HAVE the Titan shifter; Falco at the beginning of S4E1 was still just Falco. Falco has also already been used as a messenger of Eren's letters. Falco is also one of the most neutral characters who shows empathy and understanding of both sides. He is a special character. If AOE happens as theorized, many think Falco will play an important role)

Now there is a certain tragic ending that we think Isayama has been alluding to for forever. I'm not gonna say it here because some of you will get triggered over attachment to certain characters/ships and whatnot. But the core of it is that we think Eren is going to do things very differently to change the fate and destiny -- that maybe, instead of choosing others over his freedom, instead of only committing 80% Rumbling (leaving enough people to lead to the demise of Paradis)... Maybe Eren will even choose his freedom this time via 100% rumbling, etc.

Honestly, who knows! There may be an entirely new ending that's the best of both worlds for every single fan. (...Sarcastic, though, because not everyone can or will be pleased. Even for FFVII, OG purists are frustrated by it veering off.)

I do not believe AOT Anime is going to end the same way the Manga did even if I have reasons for wanting it to stay the same (y'all know me and why I would NOT want it to end different; there are special scenes between my OTP I need to see, especially post-war) but it's because we've seen many consistent things throughout the anime -- through the story, dialogue, recurring imagery, etc. all for a separate detailed post -- that Isayama could have potentially been foreshadowing since 2013 towards a new ending.

"What's the lie? What's the truth?"

The fact that Tetsuya Nomura (maker of FFVII) is already doing this meta-narrative of having one media/game being an entirely different timeline than the original content is SO cool, and affirms that if Isayama is pulling this same stunt, it's not because of fans trying to riot and change an ending, but because that's... well, that's what could've been planned from the start, and because it's a really unique storytelling technique that would elevate a work by making many pieces come together as one, singular, consistent story in a brilliant way.

Obviously there's no IRL link between FFVII and AOT, but again, Nomura doing this makes it less crazy and more probably for another Japanese mastermind storyteller to do this, too. (And I won't even START on Muv Luv/Muv Luv Alternative! But it's the same thing, too!)

I'll stop there for now. Any AOT AOE x FFVII fans out there?! PLEASE tell me I'm not alone LOL

[eirenses]

rewatching aot with full knowledge of what are the motives of certain characters is just mind blowing. like observing reiner, annie and bertholdt in every scene just gives me such a whiplash. every single little interaction and everything they say gives the viewer clues.

isayama really planned certain scenes years ahead. like every plot twist is so well refined and thought out

[titan-desuu]

How I rewatch / reread AoT after seeing those symbolism theories

[aoehacker]

[theory] Five Year War

tldr: in alternative timeline Mid-East War was 5 years long, instead of 4.

Illustration by Hajime Isayama for 3rd anniversary of Hita's museum opening.

As you can see, it is an alternative timeline where Reiner and Berthold decided to join forces of Paradis (+Marco is alive). As for the reasons... this theory is not about why Reiner joined Paradis, but I will point out some foreshadowing.

chapter 108 - nice foreshadowing: Porco is looking down on Reiner, and calls him traitor.

chapter 46 - foreshadowing of Reiner becoming a soldier.

chapters 15 and 96 - obvious contradiction; in different timelines Reiner had different experience.

chapters 3, 17 and 97 - obvious contradiction in Reiner's behavior.

chapters 40, 47, 89 and 95 - obvious contradiction; but I'm not sure how it impacted Reiner's personality; I didn't find any clues that could explain his different behavior shown in chapter 15. Also, Ymir has consistent devil ears in 40, 47 and 89, but in 95 she has normal ears.

chapters 16, 39 and 96 - obvious contradiction; one wants to go home (which has nothing left), another wants to be a true warrior.

chapter 94 and 95 contain contradictions about:

Reiner being smart.

Reiner is not smart.

Reiner being admitted because of his loyalty during the test.

Reiner being admitted because he was licking captain's boots.

Reiner truly believing in Marleyan propaganda (inner thoughts).

Porco reprimanding Reiner for being loyal Marleyan dog.

Porco being surprised that Reiner is being loyal Marleyan dog.

Reiner talking about some ideological checkup before major operation, which we never saw him encounter beforehand.

chapter 93 - Porco mentions the moment, when contradiction starts.

chapter 81 - Reiner somehow knows that Levi is dangerous, even though he never ever saw him in action; chapter 97 - we have no explanation to how Reiner was able to go through ODM check-up; chapter 132 - Reiner somehow worries about Hange, even though yesterday is the first time he ever met her (aside from being captured in Shiganshina and being blindfolded) (and Pieck doesn't care one bit).

Alright, enough with Reiner acting different. Let's talk about the war!

NOTE: after later discovering more clues, I concluded that 5 year war happens not because of Reiner's betrayal, but to completely more ridiculous reasons which sound completely far-fetched, but, hey, evidence is evidence. Just treat clues pointing to "Reiner's betrayal" and "5 year war" as two distinct things. If Reiner betrays, then whole story will go into much more interesting direction, rather than just being 5 year war. But I left this theory as it is, cause laziness and some of reasoning is still applicable to the timeline, where Reiner betrays. My current conclusion: 1. Reiner not betray; 4 year war timeline; attack in 1 month 2. Reiner not betray; 5 year war timeline; attack in 1 month; Restorationists still exist; Zeke was recruited by Ksaver & Kruger (ch137 shows his connection to Kruger) and told him about 100 year old plans; only Grisha & Dina were disposed; Pieck might also be an actual Restorationist 3. Reiner betray; unknown year war timeline (maybe 5 years, but doesn't really matter); very probable that extracting Zeke was done around 5 months after Willy's speech

chapter 108 - 4 year war, 4 years ago Anti-Marleyan Volunteers

If you are not aware, Isayama is constantly switching back and forth between multiple timelines in his story and trying to present it like it was all a single timeline. It is very easy to spot in artistic choices by WIT. In another cases, you will have to look for contradictions in dialogue. I suggest you read u/Ellen_Yevner theories if you want to be convinced about constant switch of narratives.

Besides u/Ellen_Yevner posts, I also provide a somewhat comprehensive evidence (that is related to this post) for timeline switches below in the section about 109th corps.

So, in essence: every single panel of manga and every single cut of anime can be a completely different timeline. The above image (ch108) is another example of that.

First panel shows Reiner and says that Zeke planned raid on Marley for four years.

Third panel doesn't show Reiner, and says that Zeke snuck Anti-Marleyan Volunteers four years ago.

chapter 90 - waited through winter

Of course it makes absolutely no sense! It was clearly shown in the story, that after battle for Shiganshina, Paradis waited through winter, before they went to explore the southern port, where Marley turned Eldians into Titans. And Paradis came into contact with Anti-Marleyan Volunteers by ambushing them on the sea.

In my opinion, no matter which timeline it is, the earliest Paradis could have met Anti-Marleyan Volunteers is one year after battle for Shiganshina (because they have to clean up the Titans first).

With above assumption in mind, and with the hint from Isayama about Reiner and Berthold joining Paradis, we can conclude that there exists an alternative timeline, where Mid-East War was fought for five years. I will refer to it as Timeline 5; and 4 year war is Timeline 4.

Because Reiner & Freckled Ymir didn't return to Marley, Marley would only have Zeke and Pieck. That will surely restrict them in their war efforts, and they would be much more cautious, which would prolong the war for one more year.

chapter 93 - Zeke has 1 year left; ships started missing 3 years ago; first ship was sent in "851年".

In Timeline 5 Zeke would have 0 years left, by the way.

chapter 113 - 109th corps

I understand, that training corps are going outside of training grounds for other activities, and their presence in Shiganshina does not mean that they are about to graduate. But we don't actually need to assume for how long 109th corps have been studying.

While it is not explicitly stated in the story, there is an obscure dialogue that happen in chapter 18: instructors score trainees, and this scoring plays a major role on their final result. It was even said that Marco wouldn't get into MPs with an attitude like that (hold it, that's another theory). And after that they talked about the upcoming hypothetical attack on Trost, the same one which 109th corps are participating (Shiganshina). I don't think it is a ridiculous statement to make: scoring in any organisation (school/college/etc) is done in the last year.

Now I will talk about OAD#2 "A Sudden Visitor", which depicts that hypothetical attack on Trost.

But before that, I need to establish some basics about "years."

I will talk about 854 first. Let's assume Mikasa did not want anyone to know that it is Eren's grave (that's why his name is absent). Then what was the point of specifying the "date of death"? To whom is the date written, if nobody knows whose gravestone this is?

I ask you: what people write on tombstones? Some passing words to the person, name of the person, date of birth, date of death. Sasha's tombstone was like that (but it did not use Arabic numbers). So, the correct form would be to leave everything as it is, but to remove 854: "here forever, rest peacefully, my most beloved, my dear". I hope I'm making myself clear that Mikasa refers to Eren as "854", as in 854th version of Eren.

When Eren is crying about "Mikasa finding another man", he means finding another Eren. "10 years at least" -> Eren & Mikasa know each other for 10 years. When he says "none of them wanted to die either", he means none of previous versions of Eren wanted to die either ("I don't want to die").

In manga there are panels of "844", "845", "847", "850" that are not presented as years, but more of something that actually exists in the story (like a person, or an object). They are not dialogue bubbles, but are inside of manga panels. Logically, they should relate to loops or whatever.

But in anime they only ever used this terminology once very inconspicuously in ED#3 (845). Every other time in anime they would use "845年", which usually translates as "Year 845", but can also be translated as "845th". I've asked native Japanese, and it was confirmed that it is valid translation.

There is not a single time that ANY character EVER mentioned years in absolutes. Like, you'd think that Karl Fritz escaping to Paradis and threatening the entire world with the Rumbling would be referred as an actual historic date. Yet even that event is only referenced as "around 100 years ago".

^^ Except that one time in Lost Girls Manga by Annie.

^^ And in chapter 70 volume preview. But it's not like volume previews are super important part of the story tbh. In Colossal Edition they are removed when bundled, only the last one is left (ex: edition 1 contains volumes 1 to 5; previews for 2-5 are removed, and preview for 6 is left as is). TODO omnibus (I think it was the same).

Any type of "fake previews" or "School Castes" are left as is, so it means they should be canonical, and not some gag feature of tankobon and Bessatsu.

This "year" terminology would signify that something historically major happened around 850 years ago to start a calendar. Yet when Grisha's father and Ksaver were narrating history 600, 1200 and 1800 years ago, nothing like 800 ever popped up.

Guidebook "Inside" lists chronology of manga events. Events are not referred by any specific year, but only relative to each other, and they put "(850)" etc alongside it. Here you can read the English version. Anime guidebook lists events as "years."

My current theory is that "845" is a loop, and "845年" is an actual year. But not always. It depends on which timeline it is. Both terminologies are canon in both mediums. The "year" terminology is only used to identify which subset of timelines we are observing (the ones, which had something major happen around 850 years ago). The ones which didn't, obviously, don't use "year" terminology altogether. My theory is based on Eldia vs World (2000 years) against Eldia vs Marley (100 year) conflict. I know, sounds crazy that for 1900 years nothing changed too much that all the main cast were born either way (as in same parents had sex with one another). But it is what it is. Complain to Isayama for creating something so illogical 😉

So, what I'm trying to say, is that if you see "Year 849" and "Year 850", it doesn't mean that one happened earlier than the other. Story is still switching timelines, and a lot of events happened completely different. This whole post about "5 year war" and "Reiner's personality" are just two events.

I've legitimately spotted like 50+ of those events. If we are talking about individual panels, then... not downplaying it, it's in several thousands. I can talk on and on about almost every single page of the manga (it's not a hyperbole). I'd like to list all the things I know. But, as you know, 139 chapters, 89 episodes, all supplementary material as manga, novels and guides... and all this theorizing work not paying the bills 😢

Don't restrict your view to only what you know. Only look at what you see right now. This statement will be demonstrated below:

(this is still not complete, but I'm too lazy for it; maybe one day I'll add more points)

(I chose points that relate either to OAD#2 or in/directly to Reiner; although, there are still a ton of other clues in mentioned episodes and chapters)

01x03 02:48 Keith says that they are "in for a 3 years of hell." "They probably lived through hell 2 years ago."

01x16 public disclosure further confirms 3 years of training.

Eren & Mikasa killed bandits at 9 years old in "844" and "844年".

chapter 15 Eren says that he and Armin stayed at settlement till they were 12 years old.

chapter 16 Eren assumes (not confirmed by recipient in the same panel) that Berthold & Reiner spent 2 years of settlement work before enlisting.

chapter 16 Berthold says that government is forcing every 12 year old to enlist because of the fall of Wall Maria. Then Berthold says that he chose to be a soldier. Then Berthold says that he has no will of his own. kekw.

chapter 16 Berthold says that they were in Wall Maria. Then he says that they escaped to Wall Sina... somehow.

chapter 95 Reiner says that he was 12 years old when he left to Paradis, and came back "middle-aged man" (whatever you understand by middle-aged, 21-22 year old boyo... allegedly).

01x03 Berthold says that majority of them are here because they don't want to lose face. They are cowards, if they chose to be workers. After 12 they become trainees (as in military only accepts from 12 years old, and not enforcing). It's the same meaning as in chapter 16 "because it's the thing to do."

01x03 Berthold says that he is not different from them (previously he said that they are cowards if they chose to be workers), because he chose in hopes to get into MPs to get to Wall Sina, where it is safe. So, if you did not catch my drift, hoping to get into safe place is cowardly. What he means by "not different" (in that timeline) is that all of them are cowards who want to get into MPs and they are not reprimanded for choosing to be workers.

So the conclusion of the above: government does (not) force to join military. There does (not) exist an opportunity to join MPs.

chapter 16 & 01x03 Berthold says that if MPs doesn't work out, then they just give it all up (as in retaking the Founder or the infiltration plan, as I understood).

01x04 takes place at "850年". It immediately says that it's been 2 years after enlistment.

OAD#2 takes place at "849年". Keith says that it's been 2 years of training.

OAD#2 is named "#3.25", 01x04 starts with "850年". So OAD#2 should take place before 01x04 chronologically (for general audience).

chapter 17 states that it's been 2 years after beginning training. It depicts Eren fighting Reiner & Annie & Jean.

01x04 depicts Eren fighting Reiner & Annie & Jean. 104th graduate.

So you can already tell that anime made the entire story completely nonsensical with "year" terminology, when we compare with manga. No, even when we compare anime to anime.

Despite any episode or chapter stating that it happened in certain "year" or "loop" they still immediately begin to switch between multiple loops back and forth. So don't ever use those values as a reference.

Should you treat "845年" as "845th loop", or use my current standing theory that it refers to actual year for a subset of loops, it's up to you.

Also just noticed, 01x03 19:00 contains the most insane foreshadowing that I've ever seen this franchise ever do (because I think that even after the story continues, nobody will spot it for years). It goes together with chapter 73 really well.

So, finally, about that OAD#2 (some important points were mentioned above):

With the above points about TODO I don't even remember what i wanted to write here 😭

Connie says that it is the first time ever visiting walled city. That means that trainees never ever went to cities for training, other than for graduation (hypothetical attack). This is super important, because writers are hinting that it is supposed to be interpreted as first Trost visit, and the next one (or this was the last) will be the graduation, where Eren was cleaning cannons with Connie & Sasha & Samuel & etc. Because it is never mentioned what happens in between "hypothetical attack Trost" and "graduation Trost", from writing perspective, we should assume that nothing happened... like 2nd point below this.

I didn't read other supplementary material, so the above statement may only be true for SOME timelines (as, you know, in time travelling story you can never truly assume anything in absolutes).

This contradicts chapter 92 and 04x01 Reiner maintaining cannons on the wall alongside Eren & Berthold & Sasha & Connie (+Mikasa & Armin in anime).

Jean further confirms this being a graduation exam by being super confident about joining MPs.

Jean says that Mikasa is the only one who can outmaneuver him, even though he scored 6th, and was outmaneuvered by Connie & Sasha in 01x04.

If we were to treat OAD#2 happening before 01x04…

Then Jean gets outmaneuvered by Connie, and then he proceeds to have the same discussion as he had in manga about stealing the prey. This contradicted in 01x04 Jean gets outmaneuvered by Connie & Sasha and acts like it's the first time that someone stole prey from him.

(points below are just bonus)

Then to make it even funnier, Reiner says that it will be Jean who won't make it into MPs (hold it, that's another theory😂)

Then Armin ends up in the same room that Eren was resting after battling Annie in... Stohess? And also Pyxis walking down the same corridor that Armin was walking in 01x25 (hold it, that's another theory🤣).

And then Jean exclaims that Annie won't get into MPs if she bails out (hold it, that's another theory😭).

So it is pretty clear that 109th corps is in their final (2nd or 3rd, depending on timeline) year, thereby proving that it is indeed... 5 years since 104th graduated? yeah, right. With all these events happening at different years and with different conditions (12 years old), even I'm not sure, lol.

"Alright, but is that it? So what if they fought for five years, instead of four? What does it matter?" I hear you ask.

Well, it does matter! Because what Paradis lacks the most? Time!

Here are some examples of Isayama re-iterating the lack of time for Paradis:

chapter 106

chapter 107

chapter 108

It also matters from strategical perspective, when it comes to The War for Paradis arc.

chapter 108 - Reiner; Zeke has 1 year left; Global Alliance will attack in 6 months

What would change in Timeline 5, if Zeke has 0 years left?

Reiner proposed to attack immediately, because he didn't want to give Zeke time to prepare any plans (because he still has 1 year left).

If Zeke had 0 years left, (we have to remember, that in Timeline 5 Reiner joined Paradis) Magath decision would probably be conservative - to wait for Global Alliance to form and attack in six months.

Although, it is hard to predict. Magath may also think why Zeke even escaped to Paradis, even though he has 0 years left.

From one perspective, Paradis will only gain a mediocre Titan.

From another perspective, Magath may question why raid on Liberio (with the intention of evacuating Zeke) was done in the first place, and what are the future plans of Paradis.

Magath could conclude that they are plotting something, but it is debatable whether he will make a surprise attack. Porco won't propose anything hasty, because in chapter 95 he was described as someone who follows orders.

chapter 118 - Reiner is described as the main reason, why Marley attacked so early.

chapter 118 - sounds very contradicting; isn't Global Alliance not formed yet? Isn't there like still 5 months before they all come together?

So, from above images, without Reiner pushing the decision, I'd say that in Timeline 5 Marley would attack together with Global Alliance, presumably in 6 months. This gives Paradis 18 more months in total.

Oh, poor Gabi will have her uncle be another traitor 😭

Some explanations about how alternative battles for Shiganshina went, because, I think, this will be when Reiner chooses to switch sides (2024-10-27):

Berthold which wanted to end it all, because of Reiner going crazy. He did not experience whining and begging for forgiveness. This one was eaten by Armin.

Berthold which always made his own choices. Berthold which wanted to see whether he will be whining and begging for forgiveness.

As I might be incorrect, and there are actually more than 2 Berthold personalities, I will just specify what I think is appropriate.

Berthold being the last one who pats his buddy on the back.

Reiner being the last one who pats his buddy on the back.

Berthold exploded during the Clash of Titans.

Berthold escaped without exploding during the Clash of Titans.

Eren had a convo with Armin about outside world.

Eren doesn't have a convo, and both of them sometimes are shaking during the fight.

Some of the above can be mixed together, for example: the one who always made choices can have an emotional breakdown and cry over killing people.

Eren fought Reiner away from the Walls, because Berthold chose to fall on Eren by himself, not waiting for Reiner's signal ("Berthold's surprise attack"). They don't know that Reiner's roar is a signal to Berthold.

Berthold waited for Reiner's signal to fall on Eren. Armin can analyze Berthold character. He said that he has no will of his own. After defeating Reiner, Armin will suggest to flush out Berthold by Eren roaring. Hange squad will survive and fight Colossus Titan with Levi squad.

Berthold can ask to be launched on his own initiative, if battle is prolonged.

Berthold waited for Reiner's signal to be launched.

Eren beat Reiner by fluke, because Reiner is not a great fighter, and Annie did not teach Eren to fight. Mikasa sliced exposed parts of Armor. Eren used chokes and joint locks, but did not come close to beating Reiner. Eren has confidence in defeating Reiner with hardened fists.

Eren beat Reiner with ease, despite Reiner being good at fighting, because Annie taught him how to fight. Hange has no confidence in Thunder Spears, because she doesn't know whether it will pierce armor... because they didn't succeed in hardening experiments (firsts as concentrated armor)? Maybe Eren didn't drink Armor bottle?

What if Mikasa sliced their heads off? They would learn of this Titan power in advance.

Thunder Spear explosion is SO strong, that you need tall buildings and good positioning not to get yourself killed (quality over quantity).

Thunder Spear explosion is not that powerful, so you can just choke up the spears (quantity over quality).

Sasha & Connie were ready to kill Reiner. Jean was the most determined, but then questioned himself why would he change his stance after advising Hange not to kill him.

Sasha & Connie were saddened by Reiner's death (Reiner big brother).

Reiner only spread his consciousness to Titan's body, which resulted in memory loss.

Reiner spread his consciousness also to Titans' brain, which retained his memories.

Zeke infiltrated alone, fearing that they will give away info about Pieck via footprints. Zeke instead obtains ODM gear in secret from Pieck.

Zeke infiltrated with Pieck. Military will find Pieck's footprints, and conclude that quadruple build should be fast, therefore it is an intelligent scout Titan. They will devise some plan to either go around this scout (Warriors will not have much time to prepare;at most 2 minutes), or to split forces before entering Shiganshina (they will be able to pincer Zeke & Pieck).

Dirk and Marlene squad engage Reiner, while recruits & Klaus squad & Levi fight Titans to protect the horses, which are bunched up in one place.

Dirk & Marlene & Klaus squad & Levi fight Titans to protect the horses, while recruits are scattering horses.

Erwin decides to halt operation to find Reiner's position, Levi does not get close to try to kill Reiner.

Erwin decides to proceed at fast pace for quick and decisive battle. Armin finds Reiner hiding in the Wall. Levi tries and fails to kill Reiner. Erwin sends Levi to protect the horses.

Erwin told a theory he and his father had when he was a trainee. Erwin has a dream to learn the truth and prove their theory. Levi orders Erwin to give up on his dream and die. Levi chooses Armin, because he has the same look in his eyes.

Erwin told his father's theory when he was a kid. Erwin sent Miche & Nanaba & Gelgar to death by fooling them (Zeke & Pieck infiltration). Erwin wants to prove his father was correct. Levi chooses Shiganshina as Erwin's resting place.

chapter 77 Marco's death: Berthold has no will, Annie taught Eren fighting, Reiner is a warrior.

Scouts stand like idiots after Reiner head was blown off.

Armin tells them that it is not over, because Levi was not able to kill Reiner by piercing his neck.

Armin stalls time. He shakes in fear, because he can't do anything.

Armin genuinely tries to negotiate with Berthold. Berthold later comments that Armin fought well all the way to the very end. Explanation: Armin would argue that Berthold told that he didn't want to kill anyone, which is a contradiction to him deciding to kill everyone. Instead of that stalling tactic by mentioning Annie. Not only that, it contradicts the entire reason for Berthold's character development from Marco's words.

Berthold (which wants to end it all) spots Reiner. Hange squad surround Berthold. Some went off to finish off Reiner.

Berthold (which makes his own choices) does not spot Reiner. Hange squad goes to finish off Reiner. Then they will engage in a battle of attrition with Colossus.

Berthold does not spot Reiner. Hange squad dies. Berthold does not know the position of squad Levi.

Berthold doesn't blow Eren's house.

Berthold blows Eren's house.

Hange's group arrived late. Hange stopped Mikasa from attacking Floch.

Hange's group arrived early. Connie & Jean said nothing against attempts to revive Armin instead of Erwin.

Reiner made a promise to Ymir to deliver a message.

Reiner & Berthold made a promise to Ymir to save Christa. This blood debt will probably be the reason that will make them switch sides.

[rintoorou]

the sad edits bullied me into watching jjk.

[authenticleviackerman]

The takes I see on Levi on TikTok, not showing emotion ≠ not feeling emotions like other people. What Levi does isn't stoicism. It's emotional numbness caused by shutting down emotions in order to survive and not go insane.

Also to clarify, stoicism doesn't equal not feeling emotions, but rather accepting things as they are without outbursts of anger or hatred towards other people, life or even oneself. Levi isn't really an example of that.

[harley-rose25]

ErenJaeger is not a slave, except to himself.

So uh this is my take on the whole fate/destiny, future is set, Erin can't change anything, Erin is a slave thing. Basically, My view is that its not so much that the time line is set and Eren can do anything to change his own actions, like he's a puppet being controlled by Ymir or something; rather, the actions Eren takes are set because of who Eren is. Or, the circumstances are such that Eren will always make the decision to do the rumbling, because the world pushes him towards that action. Its not that he literally has no agency and cant choose otherwise but that the person he is will always choose to sacrifice the world to save Paradis if he's pushed to that.

I hope that makes sense... It's like if you have to choose between oatmeal and a bagel for breakfast and you hate oatmeal. You're gonna choose the bagel. not because your being controlled and have no agency but just because the person you are cant stomach oatmeal.

So the time line is fixed because basically everyone is trapped in acting in accordance with who they are in this same way. (note: I don't mean that everyone is being their true *authentic self, acting in accordance with who they are can mean not being their authentic self because the pull to conform and not stick out is stronger for them, or it could mean being extra weird than they actually would be otherwise because they dislike being though of as normal or boring.)

[teenitrash]

Another sad AOT post (WARNING: It's kind of long because of the pictures :)). I saw a bunch of TikToks and Tumblr posts about random sad AOT facts and then I thought about some of the ones I saw a little more, and I realised something so damn ironic and sad.

Majority of the main characters who died never achieved their goal or desires, regardless of how trivial it was:

Eren never achieved freedom for himself and was rather a slave to it. He also never got to live his life in peace with Mikasa and Armin like he wanted

Sasha never got to see her people take back their island from the titans (and those who hated Eldians) and farm for more cattle like she wanted. Even after Paradis became "independent" and the titans disappeared, she had to fight in the Survey Corps until she died

Hange never got to see a flying titan and never got to properly ride on the Cart Titan's back

Erwin never got to the basement and never found out the secret of the titans

Petra never got to marry Levi (regardless of who you ship with Petra or Levi in AOT, it is canon that she liked him)

Bertholdt never confessed his feelings to Annie and never got to date her like he wanted

Ymir never got to marry Historia

Hannes never got to avenge Eren's mother, Carla, because he was eaten by the same titan who ate her

Kenny Ackerman never obtained the power of the Founding Titan like he wanted and never got to see the world the way Uri did

Keith Shadis never got to become a hero or "someone special." As the watchers, we can think of him as a hero who sacrificed himself to help humanity, but in the show itself, no one will remember his name because they didn't even know he was on the boat and they didn't know he helped them before they left the port.

Zeke never got to experience life after he finally felt that he wanted to live again. He had a very late realisation of this, but it still counts. After Armin reminded him in the Paths about why we as humans continue to live, he decided that he wanted to live again after reminiscing about his time with Mr Ksaver. Levi killed him before he could

Compared to all the characters who lived and either achieved their goal or never really had goals in the first place, it just makes me so sad thinking about the irony of it all. All those who died, morally grey or not, never got to achieve their dreams because of their circumstances and the cruel world they were born into. Isayama when I catch you

[nikakistos]

Did Mikasa (re)marry?

Exactly three years ago, i wrote a post with the title "Mikasa will kill Eren". I haven't written a lot about AoT since then. I still keep AoT in my heart and i read news and posts about it daily. Although i do not participate that much in discussions about it, i still read what other people have to say. This is about to change. Yes, i know that the anime ended 3 months ago and i know that AoT's time in the spotlight is probably gone for good, with very few events ahead of us. In time, people will move on to other works. That is the cycle of life for fans of stories of any medium. And yet, now, more than ever, i want to start writing about AoT and my favorite characters (Mikasa, Eren etc) again. I will begin by offering my view on whether or not Mikasa married or, more accurately in my opinion, remarried after Eren's unfortunate end.

Why remarry?

Why do i use the term remarry? After all, Mikasa and Eren were never officially married. There was no ceremony, no rings, no nothing. If anything, in the physical world, the last time Mikasa and Eren spoke was when Eren told her he hated her. That is indeed true. However, Mikasa and Eren spent quite some time in the paths together (be it months, years, or a few minutes). The realm of the paths is (was) not a dream place. It wasn't something fictional. It was reality, just like Armin described it in chapter 136. It is a different dimension where time goes by very differently compared to the physical world.

Eren brought all of his friends in there to speak to them and reveal his true intentions. With Armin, he also went on a journey, visiting all the places they wanted to see. With Mikasa, after talking to her about his plan, they decided to forget it all and spend their time together. They replayed the "What am i to you" scene from chapter 123 and Mikasa chose to express her true feelings to him, while also telling him to run away together. Eren then grabbed her arm and they escaped to the mountain cabin. From the way they act towards each other, it is easy to tell that they viewed themselves as husband and wife. This is also showcased by what Mikasa wrote in Eren's tombstone. The last word is "あなた", which typically means "you" in japanese, but, when used by a spouse to her husband, it means "sweetheart, dear etc". So, it is obvious that for Mikasa, Eren was her husband and the same holds true for Eren. This means that if Mikasa were to marry, it would be her second marriage, or, at the very least, this is how it would seem to her. For all intents and purposes, Eren and Mikasa were husband and wife in the Paths and after his death, Mikasa is presented as a widow.

The extra pages and the songs

Anyone who was reading the manga during its run knows that the original ending, the one shown in the Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, had Mikasa thanking Eren for wrapping the scarf around her while the bird was flying away. The bonus pages expanded the original ending and showed Mikasa visiting Eren's grave again and again, once with a man and a newborn child, still young, and once accompanied by two couples and their young children, while old. The difference between the two is also reflected in the episodic format of the anime ending, where the bonus pages do not appear and the closing song is different. Instead of "二千年… 若しくは… 二万年後の君へ・・・", which played in the special version, the episodic format uses "いってらっしゃい".

The episodic format provides an emotional closure for the relationship between Eren and Mikasa. The lyrics of the song reveal that Mikasa wants to and believes that she will meet Eren again. The original animation of the ED song implies that Eren and Mikasa do meet again in the afterlife after Mikasa's death. They are now free to be with each other for eternity.

The special format represents the theme of "life goes on". Wars never end permanently. They are just interrupted by long periods of peace. The same applies to Mikasas' life. In the anime, Eren's grave is visited by all of his friends, exactly 3 years after his death. Exactly 11 years after his death (7 winters and 8 springs after his friends visit his grave, slow it down as much as possible and count the season changes), Mikasa visits his grave with a man and a child. This scene has 2 very popular interpretations. One is that Mikasa married someone (Jean) and had a child with him and the other one says that Mikasa remained single and virgin forever and that the kid is adopted and that the man is Armin.

Let's start with the second option. The major arguments are that (in the manga) Mikasa still covers her Hizuru tattoo with the bandages and that she she offers roses to Eren's grave and that the number of the roses signify that she never found someone else. Some people also argue that Mikasa loving someone else romantically goes against her character.

I do not agree with this interpretation. Covering her tattoo does not mean that she didn't pass it down to her children and even if she didn't pass it down, it doesn't mean she didn't have kids. Also, in the anime, the flowers she offers are not roses. I would agree that it would be out of character for Mikasa to find someone else, but only as long as Eren was alive. It would probably take her a very long time, but if the right man appeared, maybe she could fall in love again.

During Eren's crying tantrum about Mikasa to Armin, he mentioned that if she were to find someone else it should take her 10 years at least. The anime went out of its way to show Mikasa appearing with her new family, a man and a newborn kid exactly 11 years after his death. This points towards Mikasa remarrying. The anime also added a ring to her left ring finger during her funeral scene. The lyrics that play during Mikasa's visits to Eren's grave with her new family are these "時が運んだ 穏やかな日々 手向けた花のように秘めた言葉は 誰にも告げず逝く". This means that the time brought gentle days to Mikasa and she kept her feelings for Eren to her heart, with the flowers and the words on the tombstone revealing their true extent. In my opinion this showcases that Mikasa spent peaceful days with her new family, but she kept her feelings to Eren deep in her heart, as shown by her constant offering of flowers to his grave and the words she wrote in the gravestone.

For me the biggest indication that Mikasa did remarry is the fact that these scenes exist in the first place, both in the manga and in the anime. Isayama felt the need to show these images, when the Magazine ending was very open to interpretation. There would be no point to adding these scenes, only to make the ending more ambiguous. The bonus pages are there to clarify what happens to Mikasa's life and the island in the long years after Eren's death, not to muddy the waters. If Isayama wanted the ending to be completely open to interpretation, then there would be no reason for the new pages.

Why Jean?

Shipping wars are part of most fandoms and the AoT fandom is no exception. During its run, the biggest rivalry was the one between the EM and EH supporters. Now it is between EM and JK fans. EH was never a thing in the story, but the relationship between Eren and Mikasa was the most important in the story. The entirety of Attack on Titan is built based on the relationship between its male and female leads. They are the backbone of the story and without them there would be no AoT. Of course, a tragic conclusion for them hurts people. Especially when Mikasa eventually gets married to someone that, during the duration of the plot, she didn't show any interest. But, this is not really relevant. The moment Eren died, the plot pretty much ended. The plot does not follow Mikasa's healing process and family life, because it doesn't affect anything. Also, it is so far into the future that the characters involved are practically different people. Maybe in the future Isayama will show this development in a short story, like he will do with Levi in vol. 35, but, for now, this is just an additional detail that is only 3 panels long.

Even without mentioning the physical aspects of the man shown next to Mikasa, Jean, throughout the story has been presented as the "Eren-lite". He is second best to Eren and he compares himself to his "rival". He is jealous of how much Mikasa cares about Eren, he places directly under him in training, he views him as more courageous, strong and cool than him. On the other hand, Jean is presented as a mentally stable person, while Eren is not. Jean of course can never be as passionate as Eren and he can't match Eren's kindness when Eren is kind, but he could also never be as cruel as Eren. He disguises as Eren throughout the story and he is presents himself as the best successor for Eren's titan. Most importantly, Jean shares a special connection with Eren, he understands him and he loves him.

So, it is no suprise that Isayama would have him end up with Mikasa after Eren's death. There really is no one better for Mikasa. Jean is the best option if she can't be with Eren. He cared for her throughout the series, protected her once and he even tried to paint Eren in a better light after the latter offended Mikasa. He is also the only one who can understand her love for Eren and still be with her without getting jealous over the fact that she would never be able to love him as much as she loved Eren. This is something that even Jean's voice actor expressed in the recent Attack on Titan festival that celebrated the 10 years since the beginning of the anime. He felt that Jean got to be with Mikasa and he was comforting her, but he knew that he could never replace Eren in her heart. Yui Ishikawa, Mikasa's voice actress, also said that for Mikasa, no matter how many years pass and how many things she experiences throughout her long lifespan, Eren will always be the number 1 in her heart.

Does that diminish her love for Jean? Does that mean that she never truly loved Eren? No. It simply means that Mikasa fell in love again, 10 years after Eren's death, with a man who is as close to Eren as possible. Jean most likely won her over. She didn't marry him out of some desparate need to be with a man, but because she found the strength in her heart to love someone again, even if it wasn't to the same extent as before. That doesn't make her dirty or impure, like some fans want to believe. This obsession with virginity is frankly stupid. First of all, Mikasa, by the time the she remarries, is, probably not a virgin. Unless she only spent a few minutes with Eren in the world of the paths, the two of them probably did more things than just talking and fishing. Even if she were, virginity is nothing special. Mikasa marrying someone else and having kids with him does not mean Eren got cucked. It doesn't mean that Jean won against Eren Mikasa still loving Eren does not mean that Jean got cucked by a dead man, nor does it mean that he got damaged goods. These points of view are ridiculous and are only expressed by very immature individuals and/or incels. Jean is probably somewhat sad that Mikasa and Eren didn't get to live the life they wanted together and he is probably thankful to Eren for giving him the chance to live his dream life. Jean is not the type to gloat or ridicule his dead comrade, nor the type of guy to be bitter, because Mikasa loved Eren so much.

Mikasa moved forward with her life (not moved on, widows hate this term, because it is closer to forgetting your previous spouse), without ever forgetting her big love or changing her feelings for him. And in the end, after spending many decades with her new family, she passed away peacefully and reunited with her most beloved person in the world in the afterlife. For some, Mikasa reuniting with Eren in the afterlife means that she didn't remarry, because her husband should be her soulmate and if she is with Eren she didn't have a second husband. I disagree here as well. There is no information about how the afterlife works and making assumptions about it based on real world theology is dumb. People can love more than once. If your last spouse is your soulmate, then what happens to people like Grisha? The only thing we can do is go by what is shown and what is shown is that Mikasa both remarried and met Eren in the afterlife.

The same goes for those who believe that Mikasa should not meet Eren in the afterlife, because Eren is a criminal. Attack on Titan does not pass judgement to the actions of its characters that much. Of course, Eren's actions are horrific, but the entirety of the cast and the narrative tries to shift the blame to many more people than just Eren. Eren is not the only one responsible for how things turned out. All the characters sinned. Not to mention, Mikasa expressed her certainty that she would meet Eren again in the end in the final ED song and this is what is shown. Furthermore, after Mikasa's death, the lyrics that play are these "レクイエムレクイエム檜には君た花を 罪を散すなら 暁よ照らせ". This means that if sins are to be forgiven, then dawn will illuminate the flowers under the cypress. Eren's sins by the time Mikasa died have, probably, been forgiven. In any case, repeating my previous words, we can only go by what is shown and what is shown is that the two of them do reunite in the end.

What is the point of the debate?

The debate is probably meaningless. Whether or not Mikasa married does not affect the story in any way. It simply concludes Mikasa's story. Of course, this means that i wrote close to 3 thousand words for nothing, LOL. Nonetheless, i find it ridiculous that large amounts people still debate about the frankly obvious context of 1 panel. This toxic debate should have stopped long ago. What matters is that Mikasa got to live a long and happy life with a person who loved and respected her, just like Eren ultimately wanted and she then reunited with her most beloved. Sure, it hurts that we couldn't see more of Eren and Mikasa as a couple, after being introduced to them from the very first page of the story, but this is no reason to slander other parts of the fandom or the voice actors who did their best to portray these characters for over a decade. Mikasa was lucky enough to be loved so much by two men. She got to spend her time on Earth with one of them and infnity with the other. Despite all of her shortcomings and the bad luck she faced in her life, Mikasa rose stronger from each challenge and earned her happily ever after. This is what's important. In the future, we might get to see more of her family life with Jean and the time she spent with Eren in the paths and her next meeting with him.