Attack on Titan last episode post-credits scene explained

Four seasons and a decade later, Attack on Titan finally came to a close in a monumental 90-minute-long finale that will forever echo in the hearts, minds, and web forum conversations of fans.

One of the most talked about points will certainly be its post-credits scene, so let’s dive in. (Spoilers for all of Attack on Titan will follow, obviously.)

What happens in Attack on Titan’s post-credits scene

After Mikasa finally kills and lays Eren Yaeger to rest in a place they both used to hang out at when they were kids, she keeps on visiting him until she too passes away. The final scene makes it clear that Mikasa still cares for Eren despite his brutal actions. It’s a touching ending to their story. It’s not, however, the ending of the entire story.

After Mikasa passes away, the camera stays on Eren’s grave while also showing the fast-forwarded evolution of Paradis’ cityscape in the background.

The events of the finale culminated in a relatively long-lasting peace, but not an everlasting one. Throughout the credits, we see war once again striking Paradis. This time it’s a Titan-less war, but one that no hero manages to stop before it is too late.

This new war completely ravages Paradis, possibly even the rest of the world. Once the war and the credits sequence are over, with no one seemingly alive to claim victory, we find the world is once again covered by beautiful green vegetation. We then see a young person, likely unaware of the events past, venturing through the post-apocalyptic lush landscapes of Paradis to discover and enter the now-hollowed tree above Eren’s resting place.

What does Attack on Titan’s post-credits scene mean?

The post-credits scene points out the fleeting nature of peace and prosperity — so long as they depend on humans. Throughout its four seasons, Attack on Titan shows more carnage than most anime out there, carnage that has a huge impact on every character living in that world.

You’d like to think that after such a dramatic conclusion, the world would unite in an attempt to make things better for everyone, but it is not so. Either because evil has taken over once again, or simply because people tend to forget, the world of Attack On Titan is engulfed in a war so destructive that it dwarfs even the troubles caused by the Titans that we’d been fearing for a decade.

After not having learned the lesson — or simply because history has been lost — the only way forward becomes backward, and someone will once again discover and misuse the power of the Titans.

Or, if you possess an extremely cynical heart that believes corporate greed has laid claim to the hearts of all humankind, you can take it to mean that studio MAPPA is planting some seeds for a sequel should all of its future plans fail.