Does Eren die in ‘Attack on Titan?’

Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for the ending of Attack on Titan.

Attack on Titan is one of the most polarizing manga and anime series of current times — and one of the best. The story is packed to the brim with foreshadowing, intricate details, and insane plot twists not even the best theorists could have predicted. But among all these factors, perhaps the protagonist’s complexity is what makes Attack on Titan brilliant. Some love him, some hate him, but all fans of the series can understand his struggles and motivations, even as he brings about the end of the world as we’ve known it.

Eren Yeager is one of the best-portrayed hero-turned-villain characters in media, desperately plowing ahead in his fight for freedom, and willing to sacrifice almost anything. For better or for worse, this determination results in the Rumbling, leading even former comrades to turn their backs on Eren as he manipulates those around him to achieve his goal.

As the Attack on Titan anime reaches its final stages, Eren’s fate is more uncertain than ever. Could this story put an end to its own protagonist, or will the plot armor last forever?

Warning: Spoilers to follow.

Eren Yeager’s ending

Over the course of the story, the audience had a few scares, with the protagonist constantly throwing himself into danger without a second thought. Perhaps the best example is toward the beginning of the story, when Eren is swallowed by a titan to save Armin from harm’s way. Soon after, however, it’s revealed that the character is a titan-shifter, and despite suffering many serious injuries during the series, he can always regenerate his body — a rather useful side-effect of being a titan.

In part two of Attack on Titan‘s final season, the biggest cause for alarm is when Gabi shoots Eren’s head clean off with an Anti-Titan weapon. Even so, the protagonist escapes death by transferring his consciousness at the last second, and after his head makes contact with Zeke’s hand, Eren transforms into what fans refer to as the Doomsday Titan. Unfortunately, this is the beginning of the end for the protagonist.

In order to stop the Rumbling, Jean and the Cart Titan blow Eren’s head off, but in the end, it’s Mikasa who kills the protagonist for good. After his connection with Ymir is disrupted, Eren transforms one last time in an attempt to get it back, but Mikasa makes her way onto his titan’s mouth and cuts off his head. At last, the protagonist meets death.

The ending of Attack on Titan‘s manga left a lot of fans with mixed feelings, and it’s likely that history will repeat itself once the anime reaches its conclusion.

Part three of Attack on Titan: The Final Season premieres March 3 on Crunchyroll.