I wonder how many panels have characters randomly seeing a bird (which would be Eren bringing them into paths?)
Ahh. I didn't think about that, I just assumed it was their spirits being at peace but you could be right. Though If what Zeke said is true, paths was around before titans showed up so why would them ending stop paths? Though I guess they are clearly linked so it makes sense one going affect the other.
So now that we know, these memory shards show what Eren did know.
Things that Eren knew:
Pieck would infiltrate and not shoot.
That he would fall into Zeke's arms to cause the Rumbling.
That he would meet a boy named Falco some day.
He's also the falcon that Falco stretched his arm towards.
Eren Kruger's past with his parents
Frieda's past with Historia
He'd beat up Armin
He'd also invade Liberio
Ramzi
Dina looking at Bert
Forcing his dad to kill most of the royal family
birbs
meeting grandpa Jaeger
the sappy stuff that he said to his friends
Etc.
"A world without death" does not necessarily mean an eternal realm. It was likely created when the parasite interacted with human sentience, or something.
So now that we know, these memory shards show what Eren did know.
Things that Eren knew:
Pieck would infiltrate and not shoot.
That he would fall into Zeke's arms to cause the Rumbling.
That he would meet a boy named Falco some day.
He's also the falcon that Falco stretched his arm towards.
Eren Kruger's past with his parents
Frieda's past with Historia
He'd beat up Armin
He'd also invade Liberio
Ramzi
Dina looking at Bert
Forcing his dad to kill most of the royal family
birbs
meeting grandpa Jaeger
the sappy stuff that he said to his friends
Etc.
Alternate universe not deconfirmed
One thing that I really liked:
the fact that Armin already knew everything, but was memory wiped. That was a really clever way of introducing Eren's perspective this late in the game AND was very sad at the same time. I'm glad my boys got one good talk at the ocean after all.
same, the founding titan's memory wiping power has been a convenient plot device the whole series, but it was well used here
Indeed... Who knows where PATHS could lead.
I guess it also depends on how it's translated, the one I'm looking at said "free of death", so it made it sound like a paradise and that may not be the author's intent I suppose. This went deeper than I was expecting it to lol
Maybe, I could see it go where she is truly stuck in paths for eternity if we got Zeke's plan. But like you said well never know.
Armin
was Helos if there had to be singular figure. Although in actuality, it was Mikasa but Armin is taking the credit for it.The group at large is Helos though.
I didn't really think people were expecting that to come back given Willy was like "yeah we made this up it's fake", but at the same time Armin and the others are pretty blatantly a real take on that. Out of curiosity what made you point that out? Like what about Helos was important to the point where it needed to come back?
I honestly don't know why some readers made such a big deal about Helos.
He was a made-up symbol from 100 years ago and only mattered to the people that lie was sold to. Then Willy wants to go to war against Paradis, and thinks they will need a new Helos-like figure. The end.
He was a made-up symbol from 100 years ago and only mattered to the people that lie was sold to. Then Willy wants to go to war against Paradis, and thinks they will need a new Helos-like figure. The end.
It's been a while since I've been this disappointed by an ending. It's just so thematically hollow, unmemorable and addresses none of the interesting questions, themes and plot points posed by the story in a satisfying manner. Character assassinations all around from Eren to Mikasa and Ymir, embarassing attempts to whitewash a genocider by constantly making his friends glorify him, cheap melodrama all around. I felt emotionally disconnected from the events happening in a way I've never felt before on AOT. I can't believe they really pulled a Kayaba Akihiko on us at the very last chapter. Everything felt rushed and tacked on. What a way to fumble the landing of a great series.
I sincerely doubt this is the original ending Isayama had in mind. It feels like something he haphazardly put together after scaring himself out of following the original plan. It's clear as day by reading his interviews that Isayama became very insecure about how to end the series once it gained popularity, probably out of fear of backlash against a dark ending, which ultimately persuaded him to go for a safer, more standard route. I'm not against a happy ending but this isn't it. This didn't feel earned or satisfying. It really didn't resonate for me in any way except for that brief Levi moment. I feel like we needed at least an extra volume to pull off what he wanted to do here well, and even then some plot points are just fundamentally broken. Ymir's motivation and character arc ended up being an awful joke.
This isn't enough to ruin the series for me, nothing can take away those first 123 chapters. Truth be told I was enjoying this arc up to 134. It's really just the last 5 chapters that were a mess. Still excited for Season 4 Part 2 to see some of the better chapters animated.
I sincerely doubt this is the original ending Isayama had in mind. It feels like something he haphazardly put together after scaring himself out of following the original plan. It's clear as day by reading his interviews that Isayama became very insecure about how to end the series once it gained popularity, probably out of fear of backlash against a dark ending, which ultimately persuaded him to go for a safer, more standard route. I'm not against a happy ending but this isn't it. This didn't feel earned or satisfying. It really didn't resonate for me in any way except for that brief Levi moment. I feel like we needed at least an extra volume to pull off what he wanted to do here well, and even then some plot points are just fundamentally broken. Ymir's motivation and character arc ended up being an awful joke.
This isn't enough to ruin the series for me, nothing can take away those first 123 chapters. Truth be told I was enjoying this arc up to 134. It's really just the last 5 chapters that were a mess. Still excited for Season 4 Part 2 to see some of the better chapters animated.
bonus chapter releases where you see that Eren and Mikasa grew old together in paths ala Inception. Lived and loved together and ultimately said goodbye.
Mappa has been doing a good job of expanding little details. And honestly beyond chapter 123, the rest of the season can be done rather quickly. So hopefully they do add stuff that expands on the story, Eren talking to his friends and enemies, and him spending time with Mikasa. But idk, it's asking a bit too much for something that ended like this.
Definitely needed another chapter or two. It's not like anyone was holding a gun to Isayama in order to finish it.
Mappa has been doing a good job of expanding little details. And honestly beyond chapter 123, the rest of the season can be done rather quickly. So hopefully they do add stuff that expands on the story, Eren talking to his friends and enemies, and him spending time with Mikasa. But idk, it's asking a bit too much for something that ended like this.
Definitely needed another chapter or two. It's not like anyone was holding a gun to Isayama in order to finish it.
Alright. Just read it.
Overall the ending was meh. It was fine mostly but key scenes just make me go WTF. Isayama really messed up at some points.
Overall the ending was meh. It was fine mostly but key scenes just make me go WTF. Isayama really messed up at some points.
Eren's fate and resolution was what I wanted. For him to be exposed to be this pathetic piece of garbage and for people who thought he was "chad" for going full genocidal murderer to have the rug taken from under them.
The issue I had however was that we had so many of our heros go "poor Eren did it for us!!!!!" Seriously Isayama? You didn't think how bad of a message this shit sends? It is trash. They should have called the trash can a trash can. He is a pathetic incel that should have been forgotten about.
Mikasa is another flaw. She is such an awful character if this is really the end of her story. The fact she never got over him and the pathetic incel got what he wanted is so fucked up. I wanted her to finally move on. What an awful end.
Paradis's fate makes sense. You gotta remember that when our squad left them to go after Eren they were in a fascist state. That isn't easy to get rid of especially for people who didn't actually see what the rumbling was like. It should hopefully ease of after Armin and his company arrive and attempt for peace. Will they succeed? It could go either way.
It seems like there are a lot of people in Paradis who are not down for the fascist ideas that the yeagerists are going for. Hitch, Sasha's family and others looked like they didn't like it.
Historia was thankfully not as far gone as I thought. It seemed like she is open for peace if her people wouldn't die as a result. At least how I read it. Her helping Armin and his friends advocate for peace is the sign. Still I get why people thought differently.
It seems like there are a lot of people in Paradis who are not down for the fascist ideas that the yeagerists are going for. Hitch, Sasha's family and others looked like they didn't like it.
Historia was thankfully not as far gone as I thought. It seemed like she is open for peace if her people wouldn't die as a result. At least how I read it. Her helping Armin and his friends advocate for peace is the sign. Still I get why people thought differently.
Gabi and Falco being a couple who take care of Levi is a great ending. I loved this so much. They deserve the happiness. Out of every character in the series they were the most innocent. Yes even Gabi who was mind washed into being a soldier.
Onyankopon looks fly as hell and I love that he survived all of this.
Connie and Jean survived and I am glad. Both of them were a source of positivity in the series and were always doing the right thing (as much as they could) so to see them finally get their break is great. A shame we didn't see Connie reunite with his mother though.
Ymir being "inlove" with fritz was something I thought about before and it makes sense. She could have killed him when she became a titan yet she didn't. Stockholm syndrome is hell of a drug. Poor girl.
Onyankopon looks fly as hell and I love that he survived all of this.
Connie and Jean survived and I am glad. Both of them were a source of positivity in the series and were always doing the right thing (as much as they could) so to see them finally get their break is great. A shame we didn't see Connie reunite with his mother though.
Ymir being "inlove" with fritz was something I thought about before and it makes sense. She could have killed him when she became a titan yet she didn't. Stockholm syndrome is hell of a drug. Poor girl.
1. What happened to the wall titans? Surely they would revert as well like Ymir (rip) after she ate Marcel?
2.Where did the worm go? It was surprising we never saw it die.
3.Where did Farmer boy throwing stones at Historia come from?
2.Where did the worm go? It was surprising we never saw it die.
3.Where did Farmer boy throwing stones at Historia come from?
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There are definitely some bad parts but overall the overreaction in the fandom seems unearned. I'll wait for the official translation for my final thoughts but so far the part that I really don't like is all characters thanking Eren after they get their memories back, everything else is guilty of been underdeveloped but it's been read in the worst way possible for memes and drama sake.
- Ymir had a toxic relationship that couldn't let go (underdeveloped as it is) and seeing Mikasa choose to let go of her toxic relationship and end it all inspired her and formed her final decision. It's unfortunately underdeveloped, but the idea It's fine.
- Surprising none, Paradisians are as shitty as the rest of humanity. They cheered when the rumbling happened, they cheered over the carcass of Zackley and now they are forming a fascist army. Seeing as Historia is heading the peace talk and protecting her friends family, I don't even know she is supposed to be read as a Yaegerist but a couple of more panels would have helped
- Hate the incel simp shit, talk about about a fandom that can express themselves only with memes. Eren is just falling apart and confessing his selfish desires. He knows they are pathetic but he's having a menta lbreakdown for all the guilt and the idea that he will die in a couple of days as a 20 years old or something.
- Ymir had a toxic relationship that couldn't let go (underdeveloped as it is) and seeing Mikasa choose to let go of her toxic relationship and end it all inspired her and formed her final decision. It's unfortunately underdeveloped, but the idea It's fine.
- Surprising none, Paradisians are as shitty as the rest of humanity. They cheered when the rumbling happened, they cheered over the carcass of Zackley and now they are forming a fascist army. Seeing as Historia is heading the peace talk and protecting her friends family, I don't even know she is supposed to be read as a Yaegerist but a couple of more panels would have helped
- Hate the incel simp shit, talk about about a fandom that can express themselves only with memes. Eren is just falling apart and confessing his selfish desires. He knows they are pathetic but he's having a menta lbreakdown for all the guilt and the idea that he will die in a couple of days as a 20 years old or something.
😭 My poor boy Levi ended up crippled, he really is the Might Guy of this series.
thank you, I'm here reading these posts like ???
The thing about her is that I want her to get the god damn over Eren. That's the route I wanted her to go. Just why Isayama decided this fate for her will always puzzle me.
Armin's a borderline lunatic and kept bringing up throwing something important away to change things so OF COURSE he's gonna respect Eren killing 80% of the population.
Even thought a lot of the final chapter is underwhelming, I don't think anything is really out of place.
Even thought a lot of the final chapter is underwhelming, I don't think anything is really out of place.
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Eren killed 80% of the population but ended up being the catalyst to end the titan curse, you have to respect it
I'm fascinated by what would happen like 25-50 years in the future. Paradis probably gets erased off the earth and the "heroes" get forgotten right? The current main cast just feels like a mutation of the Yeagerists and yeah you all seen some shit but the rest of the world isn't gonna take them going "Have you heard the story about our hero Eren Yeager?"
I'm fascinated by what would happen like 25-50 years in the future. Paradis probably gets erased off the earth and the "heroes" get forgotten right? The current main cast just feels like a mutation of the Yeagerists and yeah you all seen some shit but the rest of the world isn't gonna take them going "Have you heard the story about our hero Eren Yeager?"
God, I can't stand Mikasa as a character. The last two chapters had a chance to turn that around and utterly failed to do so.
Not sure how I feel on the ending, but it's not series ruining at least. Fuck the whole Ymir thing and "thanks for killing 80% of humanity, Eren" crap.
Not sure how I feel on the ending, but it's not series ruining at least. Fuck the whole Ymir thing and "thanks for killing 80% of humanity, Eren" crap.
A reddit take I think really nails the part that was good:
Eren seeks, above all, to be free of walls and limitations. He hates those who would trap him in walls and restrict his freedom. It's why he hated the Titans, even before they killed his mother. It's why he sought to join the Survey Corps, who represented humanity's desire to be free, even before his home city was attacked.
Eren seeks, above all, to be free of walls and limitations. He hates those who would trap him in walls and restrict his freedom. It's why he hated the Titans, even before they killed his mother. It's why he sought to join the Survey Corps, who represented humanity's desire to be free, even before his home city was attacked.
This is activated in Ch 89 once Eren sees his future memories. At this point Eren, who truly believe the most important thing was to be born into this world and pushing his own will forward, knew he was destined to brutally massacre and kill millions of people. Worse, as time passed it became clearer and clearer he could do nothing to stop it. Not because he didn't want to stop it, but because he knew his own nature and saw it coming that it would be inevitable based on his own outlook of the world. It's essentially like watching your future self commit genocide, be horrified, then grow more numb as you realized this is who you always were and always would be.
So you have Eren full in conflict within himself through the story, both at the horror of what he will do and finally acceptance of who he is. And all of it is consistent, because it's all in the name of his stated goal to be free, and make the people of Paradis free.
In the end I recommend everyone re-read Ch 69 as Kenny and Uri nailed it right then. We're all a slave to something. Eren, ironically, was a slave to delivering freedom to his people by destroying half the world. This is a far darker take to me than him just murdering the entire planet and rolling back to Historia. This is stating something deeply troubling about our own human nature, and how the things that drive us, the things we love, are often the things that destroy us. It wasn't the ending I predicted, or even the one I really wanted, but I think it's brilliant and devastating in it's own way.
So you have Eren full in conflict within himself through the story, both at the horror of what he will do and finally acceptance of who he is. And all of it is consistent, because it's all in the name of his stated goal to be free, and make the people of Paradis free.
In the end I recommend everyone re-read Ch 69 as Kenny and Uri nailed it right then. We're all a slave to something. Eren, ironically, was a slave to delivering freedom to his people by destroying half the world. This is a far darker take to me than him just murdering the entire planet and rolling back to Historia. This is stating something deeply troubling about our own human nature, and how the things that drive us, the things we love, are often the things that destroy us. It wasn't the ending I predicted, or even the one I really wanted, but I think it's brilliant and devastating in it's own way.
This is why I adore how the anime adapted the ocean scene. Eren is completely broken.
Yeah I don't understand the incel talk, Eren knew he was about to die and was finally talking to someone for months, he was venting out all of jis frustations, even he knew that what he said was wrong and was ashamed of it.
Mikasa part was shit, her whole character was EREN and nothing more.
Mikasa part was shit, her whole character was EREN and nothing more.
I feel like all of this characterization would have been preserved even without the semi-rehibilitation he received at the end.
It was always there. Him being a slave to his predetermined destiny and "moving forward" would still have been there without him secretly planning to fail and set his friends upas world heroes.
Any self-sabotage on his part should've been just the guilt-ridden part of him wanting to fail.
This is just my own bias speaking. From the very end of 123, I dreaded the possibility of this being some secretly benevolent plan to scapegoat himself as the devil. While he went too far for such a neat white-wash snd acknowledges himself as an irredeemable piece of shit, the reveal and, at the very least, the thank you from Armin and the mourning from the alliance doesn't sit well with me.
None but Mikasa and Armin should mourn him as some tragic figure.
It was always there. Him being a slave to his predetermined destiny and "moving forward" would still have been there without him secretly planning to fail and set his friends upas world heroes.
Any self-sabotage on his part should've been just the guilt-ridden part of him wanting to fail.
This is just my own bias speaking. From the very end of 123, I dreaded the possibility of this being some secretly benevolent plan to scapegoat himself as the devil. While he went too far for such a neat white-wash snd acknowledges himself as an irredeemable piece of shit, the reveal and, at the very least, the thank you from Armin and the mourning from the alliance doesn't sit well with me.
None but Mikasa and Armin should mourn him as some tragic figure.
It's quite literally a ghost story. Sure, Ymir's not very developed as a character and doesn't have much of an "arc", but that's just how it goes in ghost stories.
Thank you!
Part of the incel talk was caused by earlier bad translations that truly made him sound absolutely pathetic as well as the misinterprations going on at the time such as his attachment possibly being one of the factors that lead him fown his path and the bird Eren keeping watch on Mikasa to make sure she is still attached to him.
I apologize if the NTR joke I made earlier was improper, made it before reading the full thing.
Damn do I want to see Mikasa move the fuck on though. The climax of 138 went down the toilet with that graveyard scene.
I apologize if the NTR joke I made earlier was improper, made it before reading the full thing.
Damn do I want to see Mikasa move the fuck on though. The climax of 138 went down the toilet with that graveyard scene.
Dawg this was the worst part. She's starts out as my favorite characters in season 1 and ends up one of the weakest, although this was already faciliated by the cringe kiss at the end of 138. She's so weak-willed, she can't let go of a genocididal maniac. 🥴 I wish she had stomped Eren's ass and moved on. Instead, it feels like she was unironically written by some incel. She doesn't grow during the series at all.
Agreed.
I wish I had gotten my way and she killed him by choking him with the scarf and moving on.
I wish I had gotten my way and she killed him by choking him with the scarf and moving on.
I feel like this is one of the most satisfying endings I've ever experienced in my entire life. I genuinely feel that my faith in certain characters and ideals was rewarded.
Okay now that I was able to read the full chapter, I'll say I like it a bit, it's solid but not incredible.
- So my biggest gripe with the ending was the "thank you Eren...you crazy genocidal bastard" aspect of it. Especially Armin, wtf was that. Did a biiig double take on that part.
- The whole Eren incel thing now makes little to no sense. Eren is just showing that he doesn't want to die and wanted to stay with Mikasa and the other. He is sad that his life is ending. Wanting Mikasa to not forget him is a way of clinging to life.
- I like that after the rumbling, the world didn't automatically become peaceful, that's just not realistic, especially in this world. There's a lot of work to be done and that's what Armin and co is going to do.
- While the last panel was cute, don't really like how Mikasa just went into isolation with her dead boyfriend...
I mean it seems obvious now that Eren's plan was to set himself up as the big bad buy that would make him an existential threat to both sides, such that they would need to focus their attention on him to survive. He wanted to erase the power imbalance between them in the process, such that one side couldn't just go back to dominating the other in the process. I mean it is an extremist position, but not all that different from the scenario in films where aliens invade earth and it serves to 'unite humanity'. Obviously Eren has a lot of inconsistencies along the way, but I actually think that is one of the more interesting aspects of the ending. It was an extreme form of the ends justifies the means, seems kind of inspired by Griifith in Berserk, although with the opposite opposite direction where he was willing to tarnish himelf to ultimately ensure a better future for his friends first and foremost, while Griffith sacrificed his friends for his own gain.
Erins relationship with Mikasa was rather immature, and very typically Japanese anime of bumbling around avoiding genuine expressions of romantic love. I mean he loved her, but just gave her the cold shoulder treatment. and the love was never actually developed beyond gesturally platonic.
Erins relationship with Mikasa was rather immature, and very typically Japanese anime of bumbling around avoiding genuine expressions of romantic love. I mean he loved her, but just gave her the cold shoulder treatment. and the love was never actually developed beyond gesturally platonic.
Yeah, so funnily enough up until this chapter I didn't like the ending at all, but with some reflection I think it is fairly interesting.
So I dropped this series a while back when the manga switched point of view to the gabi, falco group and I haven't had the chance to catch up. I've been skimming some of the chapters lately but when I heard the manga was ending I figured I'd go ahead and read it since I dont have much emotional investment in this series.
Unfortunately it seems my worst fears were confirmed. For a while now I've had a sneaking suspicion that iseyama was going to try and find a way to justify erens genocide. Like sure,he pays lip service to the idea that genocide is bad but ultimately frames the story in way where is it was necessary and even was kind of a hero for doing it. Just awful.
I enjoyed this manga and was entertained by it, but even before this ending I've always felt it was kinda overrated. Overrated is a word I hate to use because it gets thrown around too often on the internet but it definitely fits this series.
Like I said before, I've enjoyed AOT but I've never felt the writing was much deeper or more clever than the average shonen manga. This chapter just reaffirms that opinion.
Unfortunately it seems my worst fears were confirmed. For a while now I've had a sneaking suspicion that iseyama was going to try and find a way to justify erens genocide. Like sure,he pays lip service to the idea that genocide is bad but ultimately frames the story in way where is it was necessary and even was kind of a hero for doing it. Just awful.
I enjoyed this manga and was entertained by it, but even before this ending I've always felt it was kinda overrated. Overrated is a word I hate to use because it gets thrown around too often on the internet but it definitely fits this series.
Like I said before, I've enjoyed AOT but I've never felt the writing was much deeper or more clever than the average shonen manga. This chapter just reaffirms that opinion.
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She did let go of Eren since she killed him, no? Even choosing to remember him is an act of defiance when he tells her to forget him because he thinks it'll make it easier for her to kill him. She's taking the harder path, killing him while still holding onto him, rather than writing him off completely.
That was one of the worst endings i've read in a while, especially for a series that ended on it's own terms.
Complete butchering of characters (especially historia), a ton of unexplained plot points, unsatisfying conclusions. There is 0 reason the marley cell next to them wouldn't butcher the surviving eldians, both by the ingrained racism and the fact that not even 10 minutes ago they turned into man eating beasts. Sure they reverted, but who's to say they won't turn back again.
Also reverting the titanizations of last chapter is such a cheap pull of the heartstrings i could not take it seriously at all.
Only redeeming aspect of it was that it didn't end in a saccharine note. World is still fucked and Paradis is still a fascist state, which is both terrible but also a reasonable assumption. There is no world peace and a truce seems tenuous. Certainly better and more interesting than a world peace everyone holds hands scenario.
Complete butchering of characters (especially historia), a ton of unexplained plot points, unsatisfying conclusions. There is 0 reason the marley cell next to them wouldn't butcher the surviving eldians, both by the ingrained racism and the fact that not even 10 minutes ago they turned into man eating beasts. Sure they reverted, but who's to say they won't turn back again.
Also reverting the titanizations of last chapter is such a cheap pull of the heartstrings i could not take it seriously at all.
Only redeeming aspect of it was that it didn't end in a saccharine note. World is still fucked and Paradis is still a fascist state, which is both terrible but also a reasonable assumption. There is no world peace and a truce seems tenuous. Certainly better and more interesting than a world peace everyone holds hands scenario.