Attack on Titan: Did Armin Kill Eren?

Eren Yeager is one of the protagonists of the manga Attack on Titan, created by Hajime Isayama. Armin Artelt is also one of the protagonists in the same series, and the two of them were very close friends even though – at one point in the series – they ended up being on opposite sides. After Eren’s downfall, Armin is the one who announces that he killed Eren, ending the Rumbling and the final fight. But did he do it? Did Armin kill Eren? In this article, we are going to reveal what happened there and what Armin’s role was in the whole process.

Armin did not kill Eren, he said to protect Mikasa

Eren realizes that he has a limited lifespan because he possesses two of the Nine Titans’ powers, namely those of the Attack Titan and the Founding Titan. Four years later, when Marley has conquered the Allied Forces of the Middle East, Eren leads the Scout Corps on a Zeke extraction in Liberius while guarded by the Colossus Titan Armin against Marley infiltrators.

After his leg is severed, Eren takes the identity of Mr. Kruger, a former Marley military officer. Willy Tybur conducts a conference and declares war on Paradis, but Eren moves fast and charges at Willy, killing him before swallowing his sister to gain Warhammer Titan power.

Eren is imprisoned as a result of his acts, but he escapes with a group of Jaegerists and continues his search for Zeke. Eren is attacked by a squad of soldiers commanded by Reiner as he introduces himself to Armin and Mikasa. Gabi almost kills Eren while attempting to reach Zeke in order to trigger the Founding Titan’s power. Zeke saves his brother, but it turns out that he is in charge of the Founding Titan’s power because Ymir Fritz, the source of the Founding Titan’s power, was bound as a slave to the first king of the walls’ descendants, and because he is a member of the royal family who is not descended from the latter.

Eren persuades Ymir to aid him after presenting to her the opportunity to choose for himself. When Eren is reborn, he lets loose the Titans inside the walls and pledges that he will wipe out all life outside of Paradis to protect the populace from him, thereby becoming the planet’s adversary. This is how the Rumbling started. Eren eventually summoned Armin to the Paths, and the two of them had a heart-to-heart conversation in which Eren tried to explain his reasoning to Armin, who was not convinced.

Although the two of them embrace each other in the end, Armin does not keep quiet and confronts Eren about everything he has done wrong, which is why this is such a pivotal moment in the series. And while Armin did not see eye-to-eye with Eren, he understood why Eren did what he did.

At the same time, the Titans annihilate a major chunk of Marley before a group led by Armin kills Zeke, ends the Rumble and cuts Eren’s connection to the Titan’s source. Mikasa is eventually the one who Eren is after a series of fights, which is how Ymir was also set free, as she saw an act of unconditional love being put aside for the greater good.

With Eren’s head off, the Rumbling was over. The Titans would soon disappear, and the biggest and most important battle in the whole series was finally over. What happened then? Well, as they approached the surviving civilians, Armin declared that Eren was dead, taking responsibility for what Mikasa ultimately did.

He thus proved that he was a true hero and that he cared for his friends; he did not want to take any credit. He simply wanted as little trouble as possible, and in that aspect, we really cannot but commend him for his behavior. We’re glad to have seen Armin develop into such a great character over the course of the series.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!