Attack on Titan: Explaining the Finale’s Post-Credits Scene

Attack on Titan is over now, and it would put things lightly to say it has caused discussion. For days now, Attack on Titan has been a hot topic online all thanks to its final episode. After more than a decade on the air, the hit series closed with an epic finale filled with action. Of all its scenes, it seems the anime’s cryptic post-credits scene has stirred the most debate, and we’re here to break down its final message.

If you have watched the final episode of Attack on Titan, you know what scene is being debate. At the end of the finale, Attack on Titan picks up to show a world far in the future. The scene seems to take place centuries in the future after Mikasa and her cohort have passed. Paradis has been built into a metropolis, but once more, war comes knocking. The scene shows the city being destroyed, and in the end, all we see is a young boy and his dog run into the massive tree outside of Paradis where Eren is buried.

The post-credits scene left plenty of fans confused, and it did so on two fronts. The first thing fans questioned was the destruction of Paradis. After all, Eren’s horrific actions ended up helping the Eldian race out in the end. Since Mikasa and her friends stopped Eren, the Eldian race was credited with stopping Eren’s global genocide. For many fans, this gave them hope that Paradis would be untouched for good, but that is not the case. Just as Attack on Titan has preached since day one, cycles never end. Eventually, humanity came back full circle, and the Eldian people were turned on once again.

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This horrible truth is clearly depicted by the bombing on Paradis, but there is more to it than that. Yes, the Eldian people were persecuted once more, but the post-credits scene also teases the titan cycle is ready to return. After all, we see a young boy stumble upon the massive tree Eren is built over, and it harkens back what we know of Ymir.

If you will remember, the young girl brought the titans back to our world after encountering a tree of her own. The tree was grown over Hallucigenia’s grave, the founder of all life and titans. Ymir became a titan disciple after encountering the tree, and now, it seems Eren is poised to restart the cycle. After all, he is now buried a sturdy tree whose history has been long since forgotten. Much like Ymir before him, this little boy’s trek into the tree signals him restarting the titan cycle. This means the curse of revenge that Eren broke long ago is about to be reforged, and the story repeats itself the same as history. 

How did you like the final episode of Attack on Titan? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!