Shingeki no Kyojin or Attack on Titan began its epic march towards its conclusion when the first part of its final season in 2020. Three years later, the epic dark fantasy anime finally ended, leaving fans devastated all around the world. The quality of the ending, however, was greatly improved in the anime, turning key points and reveals to align with what the series had set up so far.
However, there seems to be a reason why the final chapters of Attack On Titan took so exponentially long to be produced and presented before its eager audiences. While the anime’s ending was bittersweet, there was no reason creators could not take joy in making it.
The Final Episode has a Studio Ghibli Reference
A particular scene in the final episodes of Attack on Titan is taken from Studio Ghibli’s hit fantasy anime film: Spirited Away. The film follows a young girl who is stuck in the spirit world after her family takes a wrong turn, and must enter into the service of a spirit to free her parents.
In the film, there is a particular scene where the protagonist, Chihiro, finds herself hurtling down a set of stairs. Trying to keep up with the momentum, Chihiro raises her hands, bent at the elbow and parallel to each other, to balance herself running down the stairs. While the perspective was different, the same action was repeated by Piek, the Cart Titan as she escaped the Warhammer Titan’s trap, while descending from its weapon after abandoning her Titan body. Fans have taken notice of this, taking to X to talk about the little easter egg:
Cinematic parallels.
Spirited Away & Attack On Titan #AttackonTitan #SpiritedAway#AttackonTitanFinalSeason pic.twitter.com/5TJAxqzCCL
— arman⁷ | (@audrk99) November 8, 2023
As fans watch and rewatch the final episode of Hajime Isayama’s titanic epic, the smallest of details have sprung out to fans, who have been privy to how the show functions.
Also Read: Will There Be a New Attack on Titan Series? Hajime Isayama’s ‘Bad Boy’ Project Sparks Rumor
What’s next for Attack on Titan?
The Attack on Titan manga ended its run back in April of 2021. Since then, no new information has surfaced about the continuation of the series. The anime too, has finally come to an end. While a spin-off under the name Attack on Titan FLY has been announced by Hajime Isayama, there is no official announcement that the series is slated to continue.
However, unlike most famous manga and anime, Attack on Titan is not a Shueisha property It was published by Kōdansha, for which the series was the biggest hit to date. Given how lucrative the series has been for the publisher, it is highly unlikely that the franchise will be put to rest for good. Much like Dragon Ball with Shueisha, there is a high possibility that Attack On Titan will have subsequent entries in its story, albeit not all of them might be a direct continuation.
