Attack on Titan: A Modern Epic Comes To Its End

When Hajime Isayama first published Attack on Titan back in 2009, he didn’t expect its massive success. In 2013, under Funimation and WIT Studio, the popular manga got adapted into an anime. After 11 years and an approximate sale of 100 million copies of his work, the story will finally come to an end.  

I first started watching the series back in 2013 after learning that the creators of Death Note, another widely popular manga and anime, were also working on this anime project. At the time, it was quickly getting praise and recognition by critics, the internet and the anime community.  

Trying to explain the entirety of the plot of Attack on Titan is complicated. To put it simply, the story takes place in a small civilization inside three walls. After his hometown is destroyed and his mother killed, a young boy by the name of Eren Jaeger swears to get rid of the titans who have brought humanity to the brink of extinction.  

The story has a simple premise but the actual plot is definitely more complex than that. Attack on Titan is probably one of the best pieces of storytelling I have experienced. But what makes it so good? Is it the animation? The soundtrack? Is it the talent and skill of the voice actors? Yes, that adds to the storytelling and world-building of Attack on Titan but it is the superb writing that makes Isayama’s story stand out from the rest.  

Isayama explores multiple concepts in his story. The very essence of humanity, oppression, the price of freedom, and what it actually means to be free. In the world of Attack on Titan, everyone wishes for a sense of liberation. They dream of a world that is not bound by walls and separation without knowing that they had freedom from the very start. 

Of course, such concepts vary from person to person and that’s what makes Attack on Titan so unique. There’s no right or wrong answer to what freedom really is. There is no clear hero and villain in the story, it all depends on the perspective of the viewer since each character all have their own flaws and their own motives.  

Subverting expectations is complicated in any type of storytelling but Attack on Titan does this flawlessly. There is great attention to detail in all aspects of the story. From the world-building to the characters and their individual storylines. Even the action scenes are well thought out to provide a very entertaining and emotion-inducing experience. Everything connects to create a cohesive story that motivates the viewer to want to learn more. As the story goes on, one cannot help but become more and more invested in the story. As more secrets are revealed, it leaves the viewers with more questions than when we started, leaving the audience being able to sympathize with what the main characters are going through. 

It’s the attention to detail, the character developments and the honest depiction of morality, that makes the show so great and the reason behind its popularity. 

For these past 11 years, Isayama and his team have continued to create and build upon the world that is Attack on Titan. During that time there has also been the adaptation of the manga into an anime, live-adaptation movies of the manga and museums and art exhibits after Attack on Titan. Everything has slowly led to this moment, millions of fans worldwide now awaiting for the final publication of Attack on Titan (or Shingeki no Kyojin) on April 9.  

Seven years of my life have passed since watching this show and I have to admit that waiting each month for a new chapter to come has become a routine for me. However, now that the manga is about to come to its end this April, I can’t feel anything but nostalgia. I have always wanted to know the resolution of this story but now I do not want it to end. I feel like a part of my childhood, and even early adulthood, will forever be gone once the story concludes.  

Although the manga is coming to its end and the first part of the final season of the anime has already ended, the second part of the anime is still in its making and is expected to be released on winter 2022. Even when I already know what it’s going to happen, it is still exciting to see what I’ve been reading finally be animated.  

Even when there’s no perfect story, Attack on Titan excels on its amazing story telling techniques and story development. There’s no doubt that this show has marked several of today’s generations, and the story of Eren Jaeger and Attack on Titan will be passed down as a classic. 

There are many more things I would like to praise Attack on Titan for but I don’t think I have enough time to analyze everything. I do encourage everyone who is reading this and who is not familiar with the show to give it a try. 

As Attack on Titan is coming to its end, with it brings a feeling of emptiness, but writing this has brought me comfort. For me, this column is a memoir of the feelings I had when I first started watching the show, and now that it’s ending; I still find myself having the same feeling of excitement. This show has made me feel so many emotions and it is why it will always be special to me.  

This is more than a column I had to write for work, this a goodbye letter to the story that made me fall in love with writing and storytelling.  

This is my goodbye to the story about the boy who sought freedom.