Will Attack On Titan Have An Anime Original Ending? What Could It Be?

Now that the Rumbling’s in full swing, Attack on Titan fans have a whole new fear.

From Levi’s explosive encounter with death, to Zeke’s UNO reverse card in the Paths, and to the dreaded chance of Zackly’s custom chair being used again, it’s evident that horror is pretty much an unwritten rule of the show.

However, none of that compares to the greatest fear the fandom shares – The ending!

With Episode 24 of the final season featuring the birth of the Eldian Avengers and their united front against Eren, the clock’s ticking as there are only 13 chapters left to the grand finale.

But why is everyone so anxious and downright petrified about the ending?

Cut to the outraged screaming, petitions, and ongoing debates when Isayama dropped the final chapter 139 in April, which only got worse with the additional 8 pages in the last Volume.

Suffice to say; both endings didn’t sit well with at least half the community, with the primary complaint being a decade of awesomeness ruined with an unfitting end.

But will the anime follow suit with the same finale? Or will it embrace originality and give us a new ending?

It is yet to be confirmed if the anime will get an alternate ending. With the show staying faithful to the manga, we can only wait and see what happens down the line.

1. 3 Reasons Why an Anime Original Ending Won’t Happen

I. Limited Resources

MAPPA is a popular animation and production studio with plenty of projects under its belt. Besides having new shows like Chainsaw Man, it also has movies like Yuri!!! on Ice the Movie: Ice Adolescence to cater to.

With their schedules booked, it’ll be challenging to allocate resources and time to devise an entirely new ending that could make or break the franchise.

Also, since the manga’s finale has soured the fandom, a double whammy of a poor anime finisher would crash the series and tarnish the studio’s reputation.

II. Fear of negative reactions

MAPPA is no stranger to the wrath of disappointed and angry fans.

With the studio getting immense flak because of its animation and its arguably deceptive trailer at the start of the season, everything from its CGI titans to character designs was shamed and constantly compared to WIT’s style.

And now that the stakes are high, it’s unlikely they’ll experiment with an uber-popular anime like Attack on Titan, considering the failure rate of such endeavors.

For example, The Promised Neverland started with a bright future but tanked when its second season went off track. Soul Eater also suffered when its finale went on a tangent from the manga.

III. Respecting Isayama’s work

MAPPA remains loyal to the manga to date, even accentuating it with stunning visuals and action that amps up scenes even more – Gory and bloody carnage of Marley’s invasion, Eren’s surreal ascendance to the Paths, ODM camera angles, and so much more.

The studio’s also done an exceptional job at imbibing life into its characters by capturing stellar facial expressions – Gabi’s entire emotional turmoil, Eren’s cold death stares, Yelena’s craziness for Zeke, and the Euthanasia plan.

They’ve also given side characters like Gabi’s parents and the Tybur family detailed and distinct looks.

But most importantly, the food looks delicious. No more of those weird chunks floating in gravy; we can finally feast our eyes on a good meal!

While the anime cut a sizeable amount of content from the manga, it was mostly exposition that would have dulled the pacing and was inconsequential to the immediate plot.

Instead, the studio decided to use the ‘show not tell’ approach and saved the info dump for when it became relevant – Zeke’s rundown of the Beast Titan powers shown through the titanization in Ragako.

So overall, there isn’t anything to show MAPPA diverging from the manga and giving the anime its own ending.

2. How Did Attack On Titan End?

Attack on Titan has two finales that share the same outcomes – The alliance succeeding in prematurely ending the Rumbling after Mikasa decapitates Eren, and a ravaged world with 80% of its population wiped out.

While the first one ended on a cliff-hanger with Eldian Empire being born and their ambassadors setting out to make peace with the remnants of humanity, the second one featured a fast-forward into a future where Paradis is completed annihilated by the outside world and left to ruin. 

Although the initial ending sets up Eldians as heroes of the world, it’s littered with plot holes and out-of-character moments that make it anti-climactic and abrupt.

From Armin casually pardoning Eren’s genocide to Mikasa being Ymir’s chosen one, it failed to expand on key plot points and made them seem out of the blue and misplaced.

Thankfully, the second one addressed the previous ending’s faults by giving us context on Mikasa’s importance, Armin’s forgiveness, and Ymir’s Stockholm syndrome.

However, it had equally alarming problems like Eren’s sacrifice ultimately going in vain, the fall of Paradis being left to imagination, and the lore becoming messy and complicated.

Both epilogues had the fandom split, with some demanding change, the others calling out the other half for their whining.

3. Which Ending Would MAPPA Adapt?

MAPPA’s decision to choose a finale will hinge on the risk each one poses to the studio’s credibility and the show’s marketability.

Even though the second one is a clear winner, it still has its fair share of issues. However, it is more to do with leaving the story open-ended than glaring fundamental flaws like the first one.

While the updated version better represents Isayama’s vision and fills in the gaps of the first ending, it gives the anime a chance to adapt new but potentially franchise-damaging material if done wrong.

Although the studio could go with a multiverse spin-off, it’ll have to be earth-shattering to rise to the fandom’s high expectations. So ultimately, it all boils down to providing a satisfactory ending and finding the safest route to profitability.

4. Was The Anime’s Ending Leaked?

Attack on Titan’s Final Season Special Event dropped an ever-so-subtle bombshell when the sound director, Mima Masafumi, accidentally revealed a change in the finale.

During his Q&A, he suggested the VAs talk about the possibility of the anime having the same ending as the manga. Eren’s VA, Kaji Yuki, then shifted the topic to avoid further addressing his slip-up.

However, it was already too late, as it threw the fandom into chaos, with some believing that he was indirectly referring to an original ending and others chalking it up to a fun prank.

While it doesn’t qualify as a leak, it’s interesting that the VAs tried to cover it up and that the interviewer was also in disbelief.

AoT Officials Bring Up The Topic Of An Anime Original Ending

5. Fan Theory: AOT no Requiem

AOT no Requiem is a fan-made finale inspired by the original visuals of Linked Horizon’s song ‘Akatsuki no Requiem’ (AnR).

[English Sub] Akatsuki no Requiem MV - Linked Horizon (Attack on Titan)

As the ED of Part 2 of Season 3, it was supposed to feature Isayama’s intended ending for the show but was ditched for Historia when the mangaka decided to roll with something else instead.

It symbolically represents a timeline where Eren succeeds in eliminating the entire world. Although it comes at the cost of his friends, the Paradisians finally and genuinely experience freedom as they flourish in a city atop a trampled world.

As Eren pays homage to his fallen comrades, he meets his younger self, presumably through the Paths, and embeds in him a memory that will awaken in the future.

Upon returning to Eren’s home and family, his kid self touches Eren’s shoulder, which triggers a flurry of memories that reveal the horrors of the Rumbling and the death of his friends.

As kid Eren watches his future self die and Paradis blossom into an advanced metropolis, he comes to terms with his future self’s actions, as he realizes they both have the same goal of living freely without the walls.

Since this finale is a retcon of the manga ending, fans speculate it may be the anime’s original ending due to overlapping timelines.

While many hints are scattered throughout the show and manga, I’ve listed the most significant ones below.

6. 3 Ways That Proves it Will be the Anime’s Ending

I. Episode 1 – Manga vs. Anime:

There’s a marked difference in how Eren wakes up in the manga and anime.

In the manga, we have an extra panel where Mikasa says – “See you later, Eren,” before he groggily opens his eyes and questions the length of Mikasa’s hair. But in the anime, he looks like he’s waking up from a nightmare and wonders why he’s there.

The only explanation for this dissimilarity is overlapping timelines.

While manga Eren probably woke up after a peaceful death in an alternate universe, anime Eren woke up with the memories of the AnR timeline and the horrors he would commit.

Other subtle details pointing to the anime being another timeline is Mikasa’s red scarf and turning left to face Eren instead of her black scarf and turning right in the manga.

II. Season 4’s ED – Akuma no Ko:

Besides setting it as your ringtone, alarm, and listening to it 30 straight times in a row, this season’s ED has more to offer than a beat that slaps.

While it seems to allude to the manga ending happening with the ruins of Paradis surrounding Eren, it actually proves the opposite!

If Eldians of Paradis were to go out into the world after the Rumbling is completed, what would be left behind is the abandoned remnants of the cage they lived in.

This makes sense, as there would be no other reason for Eren to be smiling at his home in such a state.

III. The opening and ED of Season 2

It seems that the intros and outros pack more meat than a couple of episodes—also, mega props to Isayama for foreshadowing the Rumbling and its aftermath way back in Season 2.

In the outro, we see a row of Walls Titans marching towards the world, followed by a long line of people wandering the barren land, thus proving the AnR ending.

But if you want more proof, notice the states of the statue at the beginning and end of Season 2’s opening theme.

Instead of being bombed to rumble like the rest of the city in the manga, it remains intact and covered with the same greenery seen in Season 4’s ED, further proving the Paradisians leaving their island to explore the world beyond.

7. Conclusion

Achieving the perfect finale for a series like Attack on Titan is a daunting challenge MAPPA may play safe given the internal war raging within the community.

However, that doesn’t mean the studio won’t go all out in animating one hell of an ending, whether it’s by the book or tweaked.

And although Isayama could have masterminded the entire controversial epilogue to hype up the anime, the fact that he created an impactful story that inspired such an uproar is all the proof he needs to go down in history as one of the greatest mangakas to have ever lived.

8. 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.