Farewell, AOT!
Over a month after its official conclusion, the anime is now free of recency bias. Everyone’s had some time to sleep on the finale and reflect on its elements. The response continues to be overwhelmingly positive. This comes as a surprise with manga readers ripping the manga ending to shreds in 2021. Defendants of the manga ending had to wait a couple years to see just how well the anime ending would be received by non-readers. With the exception of a few dialogue changes, the ending largely stays the same. We’ll cover that soon enough.
The road to the finale was long and the lack of clarification surrounding the “final” season proved frustrating. Despite all the road bumps, MAPPA beautifully executed a finale fit for such a pillar in the anime community. Fans can be happy this series even reaches its conclusion with series often receiving abrupt cancellations.
It’s time to dive into the hour long special and break down some of the key elements. If you haven’t watched part one of the ending chapters, go catch up and check out our review of the first part before proceeding!
Map of the Finale
To keep on par with the dynamic pacing, the special wastes no time with needless recaps. The death and destruction from the rumbling continues to be felt from the opening scenes. The first half of the special is an hour long battle. The pacing has fluidity and is occasionally halted with necessary dialogue scenes for viewers to catch their breath.
The bloodshed and destruction of the Battle of Heaven and Earth is visually supported by cinematic shots of titans past and present. Each hero is given a moment or two to shine. Even the music, brilliantly composed by Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto, uses audio cues to pay homage to music way back from season one.
The remaining time after the end of the battle is devoted to an epilogue. Eren and Armin discuss their journeys at length. Let’s discuss.
Surprises and Creative Directions
One of AOT’s strongest attributes is its ability to continuously recontextualize plot points and character ideologies. Reasonings and justifications are ever changing and motives are sometimes misleading or hidden all together.
This is on full display with the second half devoting most of its screen time to Eren and Armin discussing Eren’s atrocities. Does the root of all the movements in motion start with Eren’s desire to be free? Is Eren truly a selfless protagonist who is willing to shoulder the burden of playing the villain to save those he loves?
The anime thematically argues that Eren is not a god. He’s just a teenage boy who abused godlike powers and doomed himself to fail. The cycle continues even after it’s broken temporarily. Eren gave the world a chance to start over with Paradis as the heroes of humanity. Years later the evolution of humanity also brings new weapons and military that ultimately destroy Paradis once more.
In the end, Eren achieves his goal of giving his people a chance above all else to take the world in a different direction. Eren can’t be held responsible for anything after that to a certain extent.
Ackerman Excellence
The Girl With The Red Scarf
From season one, the journey of Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackerman unfolds beautifully from a narrative stand point. Mikasa plays a protector of sorts to Eren early on. For reasons unknown, Mikasa is at Eren’s beck and call. Through the course of the series, Mikasa slowly unravels into her own being independent of Eren.
Levi Ackerman and Zeke Yeager share a similar parallel with less longevity but equally impactful to the story. The base of their conflict comes down to Zeke taking everything and everyone Levi holds dear to him without an ounce of remorse to show for it.
The finale brings these two conflicts to the forefront and gives them much awaited resolution. Mikasa is able to finally break Ymir from her own curse and in doing so liberates herself from Eren. It’s an internal battle that has manifested itself outside of Mikasa’s mind often. Comrades and enemies alike constantly ask Mikasa if she can put her feelings aside for the greater benefit of humanity. Without saying to much, the anime definitively answers the question highlighting the complexity and resolve of Mikasa’s character.
Humanity’s Strongest Soldier
In a beautifully set shot atop the founding titans body, a bruised and beaten Levi looks to confront Zeke. Eren and Zeke spend some time debating where the future of humanity will head. This conversation takes places inside the paths, but Zeke is quick to see Eren’s won’t change his mind. There’s nothing left for Zeke to do. Eren is the one who will decide the future of the world and Ymir.
It’s time for Zeke to concede defeat. He manifests his physical form as an extension of the founding titan’s body and reveals his location to Levi. Zeke admires the beauty of the landscape and regrets not noticing it sooner, but admits that’s too much to ask for someone of his character.
Humanity’s strongest soldier slices through sky and flesh bringing an end to his long standing nemesis. After the death charge of Shiganshina back in season 4, Levi finally fulfills his promise to Erwin Smith.
… To The Bitter End
And so the anime that was able to captivate audiences for a decade crosses the finish line. There are some parts that leave a bit to be desired. Not all the characters fates are verbally explained, most notably Historia Reiss. Yet there’s enough there for viewers to infer and further theorize. In certain aspects, there’s more expanded upon than the manga. Anime only’s, consider yourself a bit spoiled.
In the bigger picture, MAPPA is able to neatly tie the finale in a neat little bow. It makes use of all its assets to a great advantage. From the engaging dialogue to the animated action sequences that made this anime stand out in the early seasons. There’s much to be unpacked through multiple viewings. The replay value is high. You might not sympathize and feel for Eren, but you’ll get why he saw it as his only option. The ending could not have happened any other way.
What do you think?
