Attack On Titan: Every Question That Must Be Answered Before The Show Ends
The end of Attack On Titan is closing in - here's what the anime needs to address before the conclusion. The violent world of Attack on Titan has changed greatly since a young Eren Yaeger first watched his mother get eaten by his dad's ex. Hajime Isayama's epic anime and manga series began in a world of mindless, man-eating Titans, with the last remaining humans camped behind three massive circular walls. By the time Attack on Titan season 4 starts, however, the truth has been revealed.
Humanity's walls are located on Paradis Island and the inhabitants belong to a race called Eldians, who all have the potential to transform into Titans. They're trapped on Paradis by the dominating force of Marley from across the ocean, who waged war on Eldia long ago. In Attack On Titan's fourth and final season, the fight against Marley begins when Eren launches a surprise invasion, killing soldiers and civilians indiscriminately. While the likes of Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert look for the most peaceful solution, Eren is careering down an increasingly dark path in his pursuit of freedom.
The final episodes of Attack on Titan season 4 are imminent, but the anime adaptation is still some way off the original manga. This means Attack on Titan will either end the story early, or be continued via a movie or "season 4 - part II." However Attack on Titan wraps up, these plot points need addressing first.
Attack on Titan season 4 has seen Eren Yaeger become increasingly alienated from his friends in the Survey Corps. After assaulting Marley against orders, Eren orchestrated a mutiny on Paradis Island, executing the military's leader and founding his own so-called "Yaegerist" movement. Eren clearly has designs for half-brother Zeke, but his intentions still aren't clear. Eren's deepest desire is to protect his friends without condemning them to the fate of becoming Titans, while also attaining the freedom he craved since youth. How he hopes to achieve this is known only to Eren himself (and perhaps Attack on Titan's own evil Ken doll, Floch).
Attack on Titan still hasn't definitively answered whether Eren is truly a villain, and even in the manga this remains a point of ambiguity. Could Eren's evil deeds be part of a misguided attempt to unite Eldia and Marley by turning himself into a common enemy, or has he simply developed a God complex and believes any price is worth paying to save his Survey Corps buddies?
At its core, Attack on Titan's story has always been a struggle for freedom. The enemy might've changed from Titan to human, and the cage might now be an entire island instead of three walls, but how will the situation between Eldia and Marley stand when the dust settles? If Armin gets his way, the two sides will learn to coexist peacefully, understanding that each country shares part of the blame for their bloody history. Unfortunately, Marley seem intent on wiping the Eldians out altogether, and with Pieck loitering in enemy territory, that mission is already underway. Eren and his followers, meanwhile, seem to believe that Eldians can never be free so long as Marley still stands. Will one side emerge victorious against the other? Will Armin put an end to the hostility? Or will the battles to come spell doom for both Eldian and Marleyan alike?
Attack on Titan could potentially end where it began - with a few remaining Eldians stuck behind walls and their memories wiped. Maybe the only alternative to an apocalyptic war between Eldia and Marley is for Paradis Island to once again cut itself off from the world and live in (almost) blissful ignorance.
Since Attack on Titan began, the titular naked giants have formed the beating heart of the story, but their origins are still largely a mystery. The anime adaptation has only revealed that, once upon a time, a girl called Ymir "made a deal with the devil" in exchange for the powers of the Founding Titan, and from her the rest of Eldia's monstrous history sprang. However, the devil origin was always mere speculation, and there's surely more to learn about how a normal human girl started a race of near-invincible monsters.
Attack on Titan still needs to explain the true nature of the Titan power, how it transferred to Ymir, and what the Eldian Empire turned into under her rule. According to Eldia, Ymir was a savior that Marley became jealous of; according to Marley, she was a tyrant who oppressed the countries she conquered. The truth likely sits somewhere between those conflicting accounts, and Attack on Titan needs to provide a less biased history lesson before the finale.
The Ackerman clan have been a source of mystery ever since Mikasa was first spotted tormenting Eren's bullies in episode 1. Possessing inhuman strength and an indomitable will, Attack on Titan has already revealed that the Ackermans were produced through scientific experiments long before the story begins. It's also known that the Ackerman clan of the past (Levi and Mikasa's ancestors) were raised as guards for the royal Eldian bloodline, before eventually rebelling and becoming endangered outlaws.
Yet there's still a plethora of Ackerman questions Attack on Titan needs to address. Why are the likes of Mikasa, Kenny and Levi so strong compared to normal humans? How are these extraordinary powers activated or awakened? Regarding the Ackerman clan's drive to fight and protect, does Mikasa guard Eren so fiercely because it's in her DNA? And will the biological engineering of her body cause any long-term side effects in later life?
Currently in Attack on Titan season 4, every member of the main cast is accounted for (or the ones still alive, at least). The surviving Survey Corps members are collected on Paradis Island, while the Marleyan warriors were last seen back in their homeland, with the exception of Pieck and Zeke, who have made their way across the sea into enemy territory. But a huge question mark still hangs over the fate of Annie, the Female Titan. The first Marleyan infiltrator to get caught way back in Attack on Titan season 1, Annie defended herself from death and interrogation by wrapping herself in an impenetrable crystallized cocoon.
Attack on Titan has sporadically showed Annie's inert body in the Survey Corps base, guarded day and night but remaining unmoved for years on end, but the story of Annie Leonhart surely won't end in such ambiguous fashion. Whether the Survey Corps march to victory, vie for peace, or are utterly defeated, Annie can't remain out of the action forever. The Female Titan must be taken out of storage to find resolution before Attack on Titan's finale.
Attack on Titan isn't an anime that puts much stock in character pairings, but there's still some romantic business to address in season 4, most importantly the potential feelings between Eren Yaeger and Mikasa Ackerman. Since their childhood years, Mikasa's love for Eren has been obvious, from protecting him at all costs, to cutting her hair in response to Eren's off-hand comment about preferring short styles. Eren hasn't exactly reciprocated those gestures, remaining mostly oblivious to Mikasa's attraction throughout the seasons. Like any TV romance, Attack on Titan must address whether Eren and Mikasa's romance is fulfilled, or remains forever unrequited.
Attack on Titan season 4 throws an added spanner in the works with the pregnancy of Historia. During their time together in the Survey Corps (and even after Historia's royal ascension), Eren and the Queen have shared some chemistry, much to Mikasa's annoyance. Historia is now pregnant after Yelena told her that being with child would prevent the Paradis government turning her into a Titan-shifter. Eren Yaeger is also conspiring with Yelena, and showed himself to be vehemently against making Historia the next Beast Titan. Could the baby be his?
Attack on Titan is a famously unhappy anime, and Hajime Isayama infamously planned to kill off the entire cast in his initial story outline. How many of the Survey Corps gang will survive in the actual finale? Eren's current path could lead him towards self-destruction, and either Mikasa or Armin could go down with him as a sign of their friendship. As the eternal soldier, Levi's purpose might be exhausted in the final battle, while Connie, Jean and the Marleyan Warriors could all be subjected to Isayama's bloodthirsty pen - especially Reiner, who has been struggling with the burden of his guilt in Attack on Titan season 4.
There'll be deaths in Attack on Titan's finale, that much is certain. But could any of the main gang find their "happily ever after" when Eldia and Marley are done squabbling? Could Armin lead a new, reformed Eldian government? Will Mikasa fulfill her obligation to the Azumabito clan? Will Annie ever see her father again? If there are any characters left standing when Attack on Titan ends, the anime can reveal what becomes of them in later life.
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