After a long wait, we are finally approaching the arrival of Attack on Titan‘s final episodes. When the series last left off in March, viewers witnessed Eren Yeager’s Rumbling come to fruition — his successful unleashing of an army of Colossal Titans upon the world. Convinced that the survival and prosperity of his people required the annihilation of all others, Eren’s radicalized actions resulted in civilizations being trampled to dust by the Colossal Titans. In the midst of the chaos, Armin questioned Eren about his motivations.
In a new trailer for the final episode, Armin’s voiceover recounts memories from his past with Mikasa and Eren. Armin wonders if his purpose was solely to exist during these times. Mikasa can then be heard assuring Eren that she will see him again. A few other images flash quickly across the screen — including a shot of the Titan who ate Eren’s mother. One thing’s for sure: the trailer makes it seem like fans are in for an emotional ending.
Director Yuichiro Hayashi had last updated fans about the final episodes this past May when he expressed excitement for the final product. He also assured fans that the series finale still needed some work in order to be done, which tracks pretty well with the Fall 2023 release date estimate provided by the trailer.
Fans have been waiting for this moment for some time now. In fact, the first part of season 4 — consisting of a total of four parts — was initially released back in December 2020. Therefore, it will have been nearly three years since the season’s premiere when the final episode finally arrives. That’s not too big of a surprise, though — the COVID-19 pandemic hit the animation industry particularly hard, and the release date of the final season lines up pretty well with the timeline of all those quarantines.
It will be interesting to see what anime fans make of the ending. The manga ended back in April of 2021, and the audience reaction was mixed. Not all fans have read the manga or know the ending, however, so some are still awaiting the fates of some of their favorite characters, answers to many of the series’ mysteries, and more.
There’s bound to be a wealth of opinions about the ending to go around. The series has always trended toward darkness, and The Rumbling is already about the darkest ending the series could have gone with. Make sure not to expect an entirely happy ending.