Attack on Titan Anime Finale Reportedly Undergoes Cuts at Netflix

Attack on Titan's anime series finale rocked fans – even those who had previously read the manga. Attack on Titan's TV series added an extra epilogue to the ending of the story – one that took us beyond the lifetimes of Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, and their friends, to show that the cycle of war, decimation, and rebirth would continue long after them. However, now there is word coming in that a different cut of Attack on Titan's anime ending made it onto Netflix. 

A post in the Attack on Titan Reddit informs fans that " Episodic Cuts of Part 3 finally came out on Netflix and they removed the ending..." It continues to inform AoT fans that it's "Not the whole ending, but it just straight up ends with Mikasa on the tree saying 'Thank you.' Then 'The End' shows up on screen. The entire Linked Horizon ED is just gone, like how Under The Tree ED is also just gone in non-special cuts of Part 3."

(SPOILERS) Indeed, the original ending to the Attack on Titan Finale Part 3 features a montage of Paradis Island's landscape, at the site of Eren Yeager (and eventually Mikasa's) grave on a hillside. As the years roll on, Paradis advances into a modern metropolis, and then a futuristic one; however, war, strife, and nuclear annihilation eventually reduce that civilization to rubble and takes humanity back to a steampunk era. The final scene shows a boy and his dog wandering into the massive woodland area that used to be Paradis, only to find a Titan-sized tree with a massive opening greeting him. 

Attack on Titan's anime finale did more to advance the deeper themes of Hajime Isayama's story than the manga did – largely thanks to that epilogue sequence, which made viewers ponder the dark cycle humanity seems trapped in. 

Why Did Netflix Change Attack on Titan's Anime Ending? 

There seems to be a serious debate about whether or not Netflix is responsible for changing Attack on Titan's anime. It's pointed out in the comments that both Attack on Titan's Finale specials were cut down into episodic segments by MAPPA, and broadcast in Japan after the feature-length versions of the specials. It's this episodic version of Attack on Titan's ending that cuts out the longer epilogue montage and final scene, instead ending on Mikasa at Eren's grave, thanking him for the scarf, like in the manga. 

Netflix in Japan and other overseas markets are now streaming the episodic cuts of Attack on Titan's finale, including the abridged ending.  

If fans are looking for the feature-length Attack on Titan finale specials, they are both still available to stream on Hulu and Crunchyroll (at the time of writing this). Attack on Titan is NOT currently streaming on Netflix in US territories.