Attack On Titan Finale Includes Some Major Original Scenes

Attack on Titan has aired its finale episode, and the anime certainly took the opportunity to add some important material that was not found in the original manga. (SPOILERS)

Attack On Titan Finale Ending – Anime  & Manga Differences 

Armin & Eren’s Goodbye – One of the biggest changes that fans seem to overwhelmingly support is the new dialogue added to one of the keystone scenes in Attack on Titan’s finale: Eren and Armin’s final goodbye. 

The Attack on Titan TV series adds much more nuance and clarity to how Armin perceives Eren Yeager’s horrific choices with The Rumbling, and how he both loves his friend while acknowledging that they’ve both done things so unforgivable that they’ll be paying for it in the afterlife. The anime also draws a much clearer portrait of Armin’s guilt with his proclamation that he would be in hell right next to Eren; some fans felt the manga ending had Armin condemning Eren while ignoring his own culpability. 

After The Rumble – The Anime adds some additional scenes depicting the aftermath of The Rumbling, and the efforts of the heroes of The Battle of Heaven and Earth helping with humanitarian efforts on Marley. Ironically enough, Levi ends up wheelchair-bound and handing out candy to the young refugee kids in Marley – a heartwarming turn, considering how he previously outed young thief Ramzi for pickpocketing the Paradis Scouts. Considering how horribly Ramzi died in The Rumbling, Levi is serving up penance as much as he is candy. 

Memories Come Alive – The infamous ending to Attack on Titan‘s manga saw Mikasa sitting by Eren’s grave, under the tree they used to race to as kids, talking to him. The anime adds images of Kid Eren and Kid Mikasa (seen in the very first episode of Attack on Titan’s anime), who appear as phantom memories that Mikasa is watching before Kid Eren is replaced by the current sight of Eren’s grave. That moment conveyed Mikasa’s heartbreak – and broke ours, as well. 

Attack on Titan’s TV series goes even further, showing the end of Misaka’s lifespan (she’s laid to rest nest to Eren) and the darker fate of the world. Civilization progresses only to be annihilated, only to return to a naturalistic state and regrow. At the end of the show, a young boy and his dog are wandering through the thick forest that used to be Paradis Island and come to the tree Eren was buried under – a tree that is so large it’s implied to be housing the power of the Titans again – much like Ymir discovered millennia ago. 

All in all, Attack on Titan fans seem to be taking the anime’s execution of the finale and the series’ epilogue much better in anime form. 

Attack on Titan is now streaming on Hulu and Crunchyroll.