Attack on Titan ended on a great note and wrote its name in the history books as one of the greatest anime to be ever made. After entertaining the fans for a decade and making them experience all kinds of emotions, everyone bid goodbye to Eren Jaeger in a feature-length finale released on November 4, 2023. While the manga ended in 2021, the anime took a couple of years to reach the finale.
Hajime Isayama’s ending was not taken on a great note by the fans, so he had to make a few changes before the release of the finale. Even though it proved to be a massive success, there is one aspect that Hajime Isayama wished he could have changed. It might have been his greatest regret with Attack on Titan.
Hajime Isayama Had Decided Attack on Titan’s Ending
Hajime Isayama is one of kind mangaka. While most mangaka decide the ending later and steer their story according to the flow, Attack on Titan’s creator had already set the ending to his magnum opus in the initial stage. He thought that he would introduce the main protagonist as the victim, and by the end of the story, he would become the aggressor. He had no hinge of doubt in his mind regarding the ending.
But it might have made him regret his decision after Attack on Titan’s finale. He does not particularly hate it, but having set an ending, he lost the scope of exploring other plots and had to follow a script that led to the conclusion that he envisioned. During an interview with The New York Times, Hajime Isayama said,
“It would have been nice if I could have changed the ending. Writing manga is supposed to be freeing. But if I was completely free, then I should have been able to change the ending. I could have changed it and said I wanted to go in a different direction.”
Hajime Isayama pre-planned everything and had to do everything according to it. Even though the fans have loved it throughout, it might become his greatest regret to have a set destiny. But does not necessarily mean that he hates the concept. It was his creation, and he does not hate it, especially after all the love he received through Attack on Titan.
Attack on Titan Ended on a High Note
Few series can have such a great ending as Attack on Titan. Everything was picture perfect, and Eren Jaeger causing the Rumbling shocked everyone. The minute details of Eren’s voice becoming deeper in the final season gave the fans a better experience. While everyone thought Eren to be the final villain, it was revealed to be the opposite. After Mikasa Ackerman killed him, it was revealed that Eren Jaeger did everything for his friends.
The outside world does not accept the people on Paradise Island. So he destroyed 80%of the human population and it was his friends, the people on Paradise Island, who stopped the Rumbling and became a hero in everyone’s eyes. He paved the way for everyone to live a happy and peaceful life instead of living in constant fear. Even though Hajime Isayama regrets deciding upon Attack on Titan’s ending so early, he is one of the few rare people who have done something special.
Most of the time, pre-planning an ending takes a wrong turn, as seen in the case of Game of Thrones. On the other hand, Breaking Bad had an unplanned ending, which turned out to be one of the greatest endings ever. Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan managed to break both records.
Attack on Titan is available on Crunchyroll.
