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With Attack on Titan final season part 3 around the corner, fans cannot wait to witness the epic conclusion to the war-torn saga of Eren, Armin, and Mikasa.
The hype for the anime adaptation of Hajime Isayama's bestselling manga is at an all-time high, which is natural considering the amount of promotional material, special events, and image previews that Studio MAPPA is releasing each day.
Attack on Titan final season part 3 is set to release on Saturday, March 4, 2023, and anime-watchers are on the edge of their seats in an attempt to predict what's in store for the characters.
Luckily, the preview images offer a hint as to how the story will progress while leading up to the epic finale.
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Disclaimer: The following article contains Attack on Titan anime and manga spoilers.
Attack on Titan preview images tease the ending and other manga moments
1) Hange sacrifices herself so that her friends can escape
Attack on Titan season 4 episode 3 can already hear the death knell tolling for Hange Zoe. Levi's gesture to her in this preview makes it all the more evident that Hange will go out in glory like in the manga, not only taking out a Colossal Wall Titan by herself but also buying her friends enough time for them to escape the hangar. She deems this action necessary to keep the Titan shifters alive to face Eren.
Levi's gesture - "Dedicate your heart" - takes after Commander Erwin's famous catchphrase, pointing to the ultimate dedication and self-sacrifice expected of the Survey Corps. It will be heartbreaking to see Hange follow in Erwin's footsteps and devastating to witness Levi's reactions as the sole surviving member of the trio.
2) Zeke comes back once more
Zeke's return to the anime after his supposed death is foreshadowed by the grinning face of the ape-like Beast Titan fans love to hate. Attack on Titan season 4 part 2 saw Zeke get enveloped by Eren's glowing tentacles after the latter started his transformation into the gigantic skeletal creature.
Eren's older brother has come back from the brink of death several times. He survived being cut up by Levi, came out alive after being swallowed by a Titan, and even survived being enveloped by gigantic tentacles.
Manga readers know of Zeke's return in the form of a human being attached to Eren's giant mass, as well as how the story ends for this sympathetic villain.
3) Levi kills Zeke... again
Attack on Titan manga readers are also aware of how Zeke finally meets his end, at the end of his arch-nemesis Levi. This preview image and scene from the trailer foreshadow Zeke's imminent demise as a determined Levi fixes his glance on his weapon.
Levi's bandaged face and missing fingers are, in a way, Zeke's doing, and humanity's strongest soldier of Attack on Titan can finally seek vengeance in his rematch.
The final battle between the two is a much-awaited event for both first-time anime-watchers and manga readers who cannot wait to see the scene animated.
4) Eren has an omniscient flashback as he starts the Rumbling
This Attack on Titan leaked image foreshadows Eren's mental state that manga readers can recognize from chapter 131. It showcases Eren Yeager's loneliness as he faces the world alone with his army of Titans.
Stuck as the original founding titan, Eren suffers from guilt, compares himself to Reiner, and remembers his early days in Marley in the Attack on Titan manga.
As he takes this trip back in time, he remembers the orphan Ramzi that he saved from merchants. This rescue becomes ironic as in the present day, Ramzi himself is crushed by a Titan awakened by Eren's rumbling.
Eren also remembers his time with Armin inside the walls, and this preview image serves to show that despite his decisions, Eren still possesses humanity and compassion within him.
5) Armin realizes Eren's true plan was not to destroy humanity but rid the world of Titans
Before the fate of Attack on Titan's protagonist is sealed, Eren has a chance to converse with his best and oldest friend Armin where he reveals his true intentions. Here, it is revealed that Eren had been playing God with his friends, modifying and erasing their memory and prophesying their actions for the desired outcome.
This outcome is not to destroy humanity but to rid the world of Titans and showcase Eldians as the heroes who had accomplished them. Eren's actions make sense in the context of the narrative, as he did not take away the powers of his friends.
Armin realizes that his best friend had become the big bad for them to rally against and defeat, and in doing so, had offered himself up as the ultimate sacrificial pawn.
6) Mikasa kills Eren to save the world
Mikasa Ackermann is one of the most controversial characters, with some fans praising her for her displays of strength, a rarity among female characters in shonen.
Others dislike her biased attitude towards Eren. However, members of both parties can agree that her teary eyes in Attack on Titan season 4 part 3 foreshadow big things to come in the anime.
Indeed, Mikasa's role in the Attack on Titan anime is of the greatest significance as she is the one to finally end Eren's life after sharing a last kiss with him. Eren bears no grudges for this, however, and reveals that Mikasa had always been the one destined to kill Eren and set Ymir free.
7) The source of all life continues as hinted at by the picture of the giant tree
The tree in the Attack on Titan preview picture foreshadows the ending to the story, by means of an epilogue. The tree had grown over the ground where Mikasa had buried Eren's head and bears an uncanny resemblance to the tree that the original founding Titan Ymir had stumbled across before setting the events of the story in motion.
Fans believe that the tree foreshadows the continuance of the source of all life, the parasitic spinal cord-esque organism that had given rise to the Titans. Others believe it is a reminder of Eren and his sacrifice, as well as a sign that he lives on in some shape or form.
Fans can read the Attack on Titan manga on Manga Plus and Viz Media, and catch up to the anime on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
