Why Attack On Titan’s Ending Fails

 Why Attack On Titan’s Ending Fails

First off I’d like to put a disclaimer for spoilers of 3 different anime/manga (Code Geass, Attack on Titan, Death Note), though not directly spoiling anything it could be bad so you don't have to read this article. Also, many things in this will make much more sense if you have seen/read Code Geass, Attack on Titan, and Death Note.

As some of you may know, Attack on Titan ended a while ago and after having some time to jump off the hype train and the chance to hear about the release of spoilers for an addition to the ending chapter, I’ve had some time to reflect and think about the ending with a clear mind. After seeing the ending, I found many similarities between the ending of this series, Code Geass, and Death Note. 

Like many people, I was able to draw connections between Code Geass, Death Note, and Attack on Titan. The premises and witty and unpredictable plot are all very enjoyable. Most notably, all the main characters wanna save the world in some way. Now for the point in the title, I think the Attack on Titan ending did it the worst. For those who don’t know, spoilers of 8 additional pages of the epilogue were released, and it does not make sense and it destroys the entire point of Eren’s actions leading up to that point, and many fans are unhappy. The final chapter tries to portray “former” villain Eren, as a hero who basically committed genocide for the sake of his friends and always loved them despite pushing them away. Sounds very similar to Code Geass right? Absolutely, but it also fails miserably at it. There is no twist or reveal of Eren’s intentions and his point of view isn’t even debatable like Light's ideals in Death Note. Personally, I have no idea as to what author Hajime Isayama was thinking when he was finishing up the series. Despite having such a unique and interesting cast of characters, many of their fates are left loose and the story takes a turn back to where it started, the main trio Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. After reading the story, you realize that there has been zero to no character development in the main three and most of the story focused on fleshing out other characters and world-building. Everything was just really confusing and nowhere close to a satisfying ending. Unlike Code Geass, it did not leave an impression on me that I will remember. If I have anything to say to defend it, my guess is that the expectation was too high. Isayama built a massive world and amazing plot but it was too good for its own good. 

Though this doesn't completely ruin the experience, it still had some negative impact on my enjoyment of the series. Everything leading up to the ending is just as good as I said before, but now that things are getting complicated with extra bits the author wanted to include and people getting mad, I think it is a good idea to give it a read and form your own opinion on it.

-Jaewoon