The Attack on Titan the series took the world by storm immediately after its debut over a decade ago. It was an instant hit with its first couple of seasons, but its popularity definitely exploded towards the end, with its final season, and especially due to the conclusion of the character arcs of Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackerman. Throughout the story, one ship remained among the fans – Eren and Mikasa. While the two never ended up together, new notes from Hajime Isayama reveal a hidden ending that binds the two together, despite all the conflicts that plagued this relationship throughout the series. It's a small detail, but one that Isayama felt was worth pointing out and highlighting.
Attack On Titan: Each main character's age, height and birthday
Attack On Titan is one of the most famous anime series of the last decade. Here are some basic details fans should know about the main characters.
Isayama's message to the Anime staff reveals the true purpose behind the final scene with Eren
Attack on Titan reached its end in 2023, with the final anime season being adapted by MAPPA Studio. Needless to say, it was a hit as it saw the downfall of Eren Yeager after his use of the Founding Titan and the deployment of the Colossal Titans to flatten the entire world and annihilate most of humanity. Eren transformed from protagonist to anti-hero, but despite his inner conflict and dislike of his closest allies, he still cared deeply for them, especially for the likes of Mikasa Ackerman.
In one of Eren's final scenes, after he is finally taken down, he stares blankly at Mikasa. This moment was of course in the manga, but its adaptation could have been lost in MAPPA's anime. Isayama, the creator behind Attack on Titan, left a note about this exact scene, as he felt it was not accurately portrayed in the anime art. He told the Attack on Titan Chief Animation Director that he wants Eren to look casual but, despite that, still have a very small smile.
“The other day a rewrite was done after the original author checked it.
For this clip, I got a comment that said, 'I'd like Eren to look casual, but with just a little smile,' so I referred to the original panel and readjusted the right corner of Eren's mouth to make it look like he's smiling, and also made the corner of his mouth thicker to make it more striking.” — Attack On Titan Chief Anime Director
Small emotional expressions completely change the meaning of scenes. Had Eren not had a small smile towards Mikasa, his feelings for her could have been lost on her, and the reception of the scene could have been interpreted completely differently. Isayama found it more than important to point this out and get it fixed. With this comment, the chief anime director fixed the reference and added a slight curve to Eren's mouth to show off the slight smile. In many ways, this is why interference from original creators is so important, as small details can easily be forgotten due to oversight and heavy workload.
Eren's easy smile towards Mikasa is extremely important in the grand relationship. Although the two never ended up together as a couple and Mikasa went on to marry Jean, the two still shared an extremely powerful bond. Eren's feelings for Mikasa were finally conveyed to her, although she never received a true confession from him. Their bittersweet ending is definitely one that has caused heartache for many fans over the years.
Who is that character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Start
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)
How Mikasa accepted Eren's deep feelings for her at the end
Even after Eren's death, Mikasa never forgot him, and she would be seen visiting his grave even decades into the future. Mikasa would visit him with her now husband Jean, as well as her children. It's definitely sad for people who strongly ship the two, but Eren's character arc couldn't have ended in a better way.
Of course, for fans who want a happier ending for the characters, the anime introduced an alternate universe where they live in the real world and don't have to face an existential crisis and fight deadly battles. In that universe, Mikasa and Eren could actually end up as a couple.
Source: Key notes from AoT Chief Animation Director
