Warning: Spoilers ahead for Attack on Titan.
The live action Attack on Titan the films were released seven years before the end of the manga, meaning Eren’s story ended very differently on the big screen compared to the ending we got from Hajime Isayama. It’s not uncommon for manga properties to receive live-action Japanese films around the same time they receive an anime adaptation. This happened with Attack on Titanwhose live-action adaptation began development in 2011. Attack on Titan the anime would premiere in 2013, with both films arriving in 2015. AoT The anime ended in 2023, two years after the manga’s conclusion.
Attack on TitanThe ending of was somewhat controversial, but its anime adaptation was a huge event anyway. Despite the multiple promises of a “final season” that continued to be divided into parts, Attack on Titan ended on a high thanks to two feature-length specials that undoubtedly elevated the manga’s final chapters. In many ways, Eren was the final antagonist of Attack on Titan. Although we eventually discovered the truth behind his Rumbling plan, Eren went from a traditional shonen protagonist with a dream to one of the most complex anime characters of all time. This is something that films have failed to capture.
Shikishima was the final villain in the Attack on Titan films, not Eren
Eren considered helping Shikishima, but eventually turned against him
When the Attack on Titan films were made, the idea that Eren would become the greatest threat to humanity was likely known only to the author. Cinema had the difficult task of telling a complete and satisfying story based on a series that had not yet ended. However, although changes to the source material were expected, the Attack on Titan the films told a very different story from the manga from start to finish. Shikishima, an original character, was the main antagonist and the final threat to be faced in Eren’s place.
While the Colossal Titan was technically the last Titan fought in the second filmShikishima was the main antagonist of the story. Drawing elements from Levi, Reiner, and Zeke, none of whom were in the film, Shikishima was the best soldier among the scouts, but he hid a sinister secret. He was not only Eren’s older brother, but also the “White Titan”, the film version of the Armored Titan. Believing that the government should have done more against the Titans, Shikishima planned to breach the wall and force the government to deal with the creatures once and for all.
The Attack On Titan films diverged from the manga from the beginning
Eren and Mikasa’s dynamic was completely different in the films
The conclusion of the Attack on Titan The films may have been completely different from what we saw in the manga, but the live-action adaptation diverged from the source material from the opening minutes. For example, Mikasa became separated from Eren and Armin at the beginning of the film during the Colossal Titan’s attackafter which they thought she was dead. Mikasa, now a Girl Scout working with Shikishima, would reunite with Eren and Armin a few years later. Mikasa and Eren’s relationship in the film couldn’t have been more different from the manga.
The structure of the story and the chronology of events are also very different. Although Eren transforms into a Titan and becomes a weapon and a liability in the film like his manga counterpart, nothing after that matches the source material. Eren is kidnapped by Shikishima, who wants Eren to help him with his plan. The origins of the Titans are also not exactly as we would discover in the mangawith the creatures being created after an experiment went wrong and a virus was released.
Hajime Isayama’s endgame for Attack on Titan was impossible to predict
The real ending of Attack on Titan took everyone by surprise
Hajime Isayama was involved in the production of Attack on Titan films, which means he probably carefully chose what information to disclose or not. Rumor has it that the mangaka attested that the films were different enough from the manga that the same story wouldn’t be told twice, but it’s difficult to know which of those changes came from him. Regardless, from the public’s perspective, predicting the end of Attack on Titan in 2015 it was practically impossible.
Attack on Titan began as a relatively new story, with survivors of a monster attack trained to be ready for the day the monsters returned. Eren Yeager’s plan was simple – he would kill all the Titans. However, after the series begins to reveal more about how the Titans work and where they came from, the line between heroes and villains becomes very blurred. Interestingly, the live action Attack on Titan The films were released around the same time as the manga’s Historia storyline was taking place, after which the tone of the story changed drastically.