Is this the end of Captain Levi? Are his fighting days over?

The most anticipated anime series of 2022 is back in action! The 17^th episode of the final season of Attack on Titan aired on the 10^th of this month, kicking off with the three-way battle between the Attack, Armoured and Jaw Titan.

While most fans were ecstatic to see this legendary battle animated, some were terrified about the fate of their favourite Scout Captain Levi Ackermann who was seen broken, bloodied and seemingly lifeless at the end of the episode.

With the future of humanity’s strongest soldier uncertain, every anime fan has been fervently asking two questions – Is Levi dead? And if not, is there any hope of recovery?

Thankfully, Chapter 125 of the manga shows that Levi is alive, though heavily bandaged and immobile. But he soon recovers in subsequent chapters to fight once again.

How did Levi manage to survive?

Episode 16 saw Levi blown away by the explosion of the Thunder Spear lodged in Zeke’s torso. As stated by a shocked Commander Hange, exposure at such a close range would cause shredded internal organs and death on impact.

With two fingers chopped off, half a face pierced with debris and lifeless, unresponsive eyes; it looked as if the Scout Captain had met his end.

However, his body seemed to remain miraculously intact and when Hange refused Floch a chance to take his pulse, we knew there was still hope.

This was further confirmed when she jumped in the stream nearby with his body while the others were distracted by Zeke’s emergence from a titan.

Finally in Chapter 125 we see that Levi did in fact make it, though severely injured and unresponsive when Hange crossed paths with the Cart Titan Pieck and Commander Magath, stating that he was “just a harmless man who refused to die”.

But how did he manage to survive a blast of such magnitude? While much of his recovery goes unseen, one could say that Hange might have given it her all to keep him alive, seeing as she was absent for majority of the chapters that followed after.

Attack on Titan Season 4 Episode 14 - Levi vs Zeke Round 2 (Full Fight) [HD]

Or it could be attributed to his bloodline, though enhanced recovery wasn’t mentioned as part of the special skill set of the Ackermann clan.

But perhaps this is eluding to mild regenerative abilities, seeing as Marley tinkered their DNA with Titan spinal fluid.

Whatever the canon friendly reason that fans come up with, they probably owe their thanks to the editor of the manga, Kawakubo who challenged Isayama, the author whenever a character was about to be axed.

Even though the mangaka originally planned for Levi’s death, Kawakubo talked him out of it by asking him if his death would be meaningful. Without any justification, Isayama had no choice but to reconsider and Levi was able to live on.

Will he Recover to Fight Again?

Levi does recover to fight again, though he remained fairly silent after the unplanned rendezvous with Pieck and Magath, only speaking to Hange about his vow to kill Zeke and to mutter about how noisy the group of Marleyan warriors and Eldian Scouts were when his sleep was disturbed.

However, by the time the group arrived at the coastal Marleyan city Odiha, Levi was already seen walking and even bid Hange farewell before her ultimate sacrifice to buy the group some time to escape the Wall Titans.

Later on, he’s seen fighting alongside the group atop Eren’s Founding Titan, being able to use the ODM gear despite his severe injuries and loss of an eye.

He was able to fight against titan shifter husks, finally avenge Erwin by decapitating Zeke and assist Mikasa in delivering the final blow to Eren.

But in an attempt to save Connie from being killed, he lost the use of one of his legs, effectively decommissioning him from his captaincy. In end, his injuries left him permanently seated in a wheelchair.

While it’s tragic that we won’t get see our human Beyblade captain in his titan killing glory again, it’s worth mentioning he went down swinging, fulfilling his promise to Erwin and his fallen comrades.

How is Zeke Still Alive?

While Levi had a brush with death and only caught the impact of the explosion, how did Zeke manage to survive after the actual source of it blew him into two pieces?! And what was up with the titan that put him inside its belly?

Even though Zeke is the Beast Titan with regenerative abilities, the extent of his wounds were too severe to be healed by regeneration alone.

Having been blasted by numerous Thunder Spears during his fight with Levi and getting his legs sliced to ribbons, coupled with the pain of dismemberment, he was too weak to even try.

He was saved by the Founder Ymir, who moulded his body in the unknown land of the Path. While the Path serves to connect all Eldians and a channel to transfer the memories and will of the titan shifters, the endless sand covered land below is used by the Founder to fashion the bodies of the titans.

It seems to transcend space and time, as Zeke thought he had spent years there, when it was actually an instant in the real world. The titan was probably used for its flesh to reconstruct Zeke or a means for him to cross over into the land of the Path.

Regardless, he was able emerge perfectly fine from its bones having zero traces of the horrific mutilation he had before.

About Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. Kodansha publishes it in the Bessatsu Shonen Magazine.

The manga began serialization on September 9th, 2009, and ended on April 9, 2021. It has been compiled into 34 volumes.

Attack on Titan follows humanity settled within three concentric walls to protect themselves from the terrifying titans that prey on them. Eren Yeager is a young boy that believes that a caged life is similar to that of cattle and aspires to go beyond the walls one day, just like his heroes, the Survey Corps. The emergence of a deadly Titan unleashes chaos.