Why Attack on Titan's Japanese name makes more sense, explained

With Attack on Titan: The Final Season Final Edition Part 1 set to release soon, it seems like fans of the series have finally come to realize the true meaning of the anime's name.

When the series first premiered, fans were confused over its name as the way it was structured meant quite the opposite of what was happening in the story. However, as the story progressed, the title became much clearer.

Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan follows the story of Eren Yeager, a boy who was a resident of Shiganshina, a district within Paradis. One day, when the walls were breached by giant-humanoid beings called Titans, he lost his mother, following which he swore to annihilate all Titans, only to later find out how he was capable of becoming one as well.

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Why Shingeki no Kyojin makes more sense than Attack on Titan

Founding Titan as seen in Attack on Titan The Final Season (Image via MAPPA)

At the start of Attack on Titan, many fans may have wondered why the series was titled "Attack on Titan" when it was the Titans themselves who could be seen attacking humanity. That is because the English title for the series isn't quite as appropriate to the series as it seems to be.

Attack on Titan's Japanese title, i.e., "Shingeki no Kyojin" means the "Titan of Attack" or "the Attack Titan." This is a much more appropriate title for the series as it hints towards Eren Yeager, who is the Attack Titan, one of the Nine Titans passed down by the Eldian people for nearly two millenniums after the death of Ymir Fritz.

Eren Yeager as seen in Attack on Titan The Final Season (Image via MAPPA)

The Attack Titan has played a vital role ever since its appearance in the anime. This included fighting the Titans, taking back Shiganshina, and more.

With the story coming close to the end, it became quite evident that the Attack Titan had the ability to look into the memories of future inheritors, which allowed Kruger to look into the memories of Eren, which in turn also allowed Eren to look into the memories of the former Attack Titan wielders.

This played a key role in the plot as after learning the backstory of the Nine Titans and Ymir Fritz, Eren only saw one way to stop the discrimination against the Eldians, which was to annihilate the rest of humanity. Following that, Eren teamed up with Zeke, deceiving him and becoming the Founding Titan, thus acquiring the ability to initiate the rumbling. Soon after that, he began his attack on humanity.

The Rumbling as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

When Eren began his attack on humanity, it seemed like the plot of the story had been reversed, as Eren's actions seemed similar to that of the Colossal and Armored Titans at the beginning of the story. Previously, it was Eren who witnessed his land being attacked, but this time, it was Eren himself who did the same to innocent bystanders.

Even during the Founding Titan and the Colossal Titans' attack, one of the soldiers of the mainland can be heard shouting "Shingeki no Kyojin," referring to the Attack Titan. This made it clear that the title of the anime always referred to Eren and not his initial goal.