Attack on Titan: Who Is the Boy from the Final Scene?
Many texts and essays have been written about the ending of the Attack on Titan series by Hajime Isayama. Praised as one of the best series of the 21st century, the series ended with a very controversial ending that many fans considered to be disappointing and subpar in relation to the quality of the story in general. There are several often-discussed points when it comes to the series’ finale, and in this article, we are going to cover one of them. The topic of this article is going to be the final scene of the series, when the child sees Eren’s tree, as we are going to tell you who the boy is.
The ending of Attack on Titan suggests that the cycle might repeat itself
When Eren was able to fully assume the form of the Founding Titan and freely govern the Colossal Titans within the Wall, he unleashed the Rumbling, a massive assault on the rest of the world. Eren’s rampage comes to a stop when Mikasa eventually defeats and beheads him, thus bringing about world peace. The survivors of the fight decided to create a world where Paradis and Marley could live together after the Titans disappeared. Though they understood it would be a challenging process, they were nevertheless willing to give it a shot.
The epilogue informs us that even after Mikasa had a family, she frequently visited Eren’s grave while Paradis developed into a nation. Eren’s tomb was soon overshadowed by a tree. After Mikasa dies of old age, a bombardment completely destroys Shiganshina, and the hostilities that had been raging outside of Paradis eventually make their way to that nation as well. Many years after Ymir Fritz’s tree-growing incident, a forest covers the remnants, and the manga ends with a lone boy and his dog reaching Eren’s tree, which has grown enormously.
As you can see, Attack on Titan‘s story concluded with the enormous tree, just like it started. We know that the whole affair began when Ymir entered that tree and gained the power of the Titans. Naturally, the storyline changed over the ages, but it all started with that enormous tree. And as the epilogue implies, it might start over. Will it? We don’t really know. The scene is highly suggestive, and we think that Isayama wanted to imply exactly that, but we cannot confirm it.
It might be that the boy was just a random passerby who would not enter the tree and receive Titan powers. It might be that the tree cannot grant these powers at all. It might be that it is just a symbol that even if everything else was destroyed, the symbol of Eren’s sacrifice remains. But it could also be the beginning of a new cycle. The boy is crucial here, so let us talk about him a bit.
The identity of the boy has not been revealed, but it could be in the future
Sadly, we have to say immediately that the boy’s identity is unknown and that we do not know whether he is important to the series. Isayama never revealed his identity (heck, it might even be a tomboyish girl), and he seems alone with his god. The clothes remind us of the clothes that our heroes wore back in the day, but they are not completely identical. So, will the boy become the new Titan?
This is something that we, as we have said above, do not know, and we cannot really speculate, as the chances are 50:50. What we do know, at this point, is that the boy’s role and identity could end up being revealed next year when the small extra chapter comes out. It has been confirmed that an extra chapter will come out then and that it will discuss the events that transpired after Eren’s downfall. There is definitely space to explore the boy there, and we hope that Isayama is going to do it.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!