Why Isayama Regrets the Ending of Attack on Titan

Overview

The video examines Hajime Isayama’s reflections on the ending of Attack on Titan. Isayama has said he did not fully portray Eren as a repellent figure, and that the result felt somewhat insincere to him.

The narrator argues that many of the series’ core ideas were present early on, even as its focus expanded from a survival story into a political and anti-war drama. Isayama’s account of the series’ success also comes into focus: as expectations grew, he felt he lost control of a story whose ending he had planned for a long time.

Violence, responsibility, and moral ambiguity

A major theme is the series’ uncomfortable honesty about violence and human nature. The video points to Gross, whose enjoyment of cruelty challenges viewers who take pleasure in seeing him punished. It also considers the competing beliefs of Zeke and the Jaegerists.

Rather than offering easy heroes, villains, or moral answers, the story repeatedly asks who is responsible for cycles of hatred—and whether anyone can claim to be an innocent victim.

The finale’s treatment of Eren’s friends

The narrator’s main criticism is that the finale seems too sympathetic to Eren and too forgiving of the danger he puts his friends in. Earlier choices carry visible costs, as with Sasha’s death, while many of Eren’s friends survive the final conflict despite being placed in mortal danger.

The narrator argues that this contrast weakens the sense that Eren’s actions truly put them at risk. A harsher ending—with more deaths or a more complete Rumbling—might have made the consequences feel more consistent, though the original plan is unknown.

Armin’s role

Isayama reportedly felt that he had not conveyed Armin’s complicity and responsibility clearly enough. The narrator interprets the image of a bloodied shell shared in Armin and Eren’s conversation as a reminder that they are connected by their dream of the outside world—and by the violence that destroyed it. It is not, in this reading, an indication that Armin approves of Eren.

The video notes that the anime adjusted some dialogue and jokes about the “reading oath” meme, while emphasizing that the scene is about accepting an uncomfortable truth, not excusing the massacre.

Isayama and the future of Attack on Titan

The video closes by reflecting on the burden of completing a hugely successful first serialized work. Isayama has said he has no plans for new content, and that writing more Attack on Titan material feels like revisiting ideas he has already explored.

The narrator hopes Isayama might create something different someday, then jokes that Attack on Titan Day may bring more merchandise and collaborations—perhaps a Levi-themed burger—rather than a major story announcement. The final tongue-in-cheek lesson is to be kinder to artists, lest fan pressure help push them away from their work.

People and characters discussed

Hajime Isayama; the narrator, Koroto; Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Zeke, Reiner, Gross, Sasha, and other Attack on Titan characters; George R. R. Martin; and Robert Kirkman.