MAPPA turns Attack on Titan finale’s most harrowing scene into a Schindler's List reference

Over the past weekend, the Attack on Titan finale premiered on both Japanese broadcast television and streaming services internationally and was met with rousing praise. Fans specifically highlighted the direction of this final chapter, calling it the best directed installment of the entire anime series’ 10-plus-year run on television.

However, there is one scene in the Attack on Titan finale that is specifically earning praise from fans. The scene showcases the people of Marley desperately trying to save an infant baby’s life. It is shot entirely in black and white, with the exception of the child themselves, their mother, and the child’s swaddle cloth, which is the color of a deep red, almost akin to blood.

Shortly after the Attack on Titan finale ended, fans immediately took to Twitter to praise and point out how the baby in the scene is a reference to Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List. The film features a similar motif by showcasing a small child in a red coat, with her red coat being the only colored object in the entirety of the scene.

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MAPPA Studios earns fans’ love by connecting Attack on Titan finale’s tragedies to those seen in Schindler’s List

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As mentioned above, the Attack on Titan finale’s reference to the Schindler’s List film has been a favorite topic on social media since its airing. Within the film, the little girl in the red coat serves as a distress signal and a cry for help from the Jewish community to the Allied forces, who are overlooking the genocide being committed.

It can also be viewed as a depiction of the innocence of the victims, with her appearances marking pivotal moments in Schindler’s realization of the Jewish genocide’s horrors. Likewise, the adults are the ones putting her through this crisis and dragging her into a world she didn’t create, tying into the anime’s “Children of the Forest” theme.

Likewise, she also serves as a conspicuous figure amidst a relatively undetailed backdrop, which is an attempt to connect the audience to her story. This goal is seen in the Attack on Titan finale, where the child serves as an innocent victim in a world of hate they had no part in creating. The attention of viewers is drawn to it, and in doing so, the anime emphasizes the same message that Spielberg hoped to communicate in his film.

The reference also further drives home the anime’s drawn inspiration from the real-life Holocaust, as well as Nazi Germany and the tragedies the nation caused under Adolf Hitler. With this in mind, the referential scene from the anime’s final episode serves as an incredible unifying motif to the series’ prior themes and inspirations drawn from these real-life tragedies.

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