Attack On Titan Finale Confirms Who Mikasa Ends Up With (It's Not Who You Think)
"Attack on Titan" has had a rich, thrilling, and enduring journey over the course of its four seasons. As fans waited with bated breath with each passing cliffhanger over the decade that it took to complete the story, there have been some things that viewers have been wondering about since the beginning. While some of these questions concerned the mysteries of the show, including where the titans came from, others revolved around the relationships between the cast of central characters themselves.
Of course, one of the first elements that "Attack on Titan" fans are introduced to in the 1st season, while the main cast is still in the Training Corps, is Jean's (Kisho Taniyama/Mike McFarland) burgeoning crush on Mikasa (Yui Ishikawa/Trina Nishimura). Meanwhile, Mikasa has eyes only for her childhood friend Eren (Yuki Kaji/Bryce Papenbrook), leading to a classic love triangle, complete with a romantic rivalry.
Still, while Mikasa clearly loves Eren more than anything or anyone, after his death in the series finale, a few scenes in the credits suggest that she eventually chooses Jean as her partner. As "Attack on Titan" comes to a close, viewers see that Mikasa still regularly visits Eren's grave throughout her life and is joined by her family, including a husband who has Jean's unique ash-brown hair color.
Few fans would have expected Mikasa to fall for Jean
While it's at first played off as a gag that Jean would be obsessively combing his hair as he and the other peace ambassadors make the journey back to Paradis to meet with the Jaegerists, the cockiest member of the Survey Corps seems to have finally gotten what he wanted in the "Attack on Titan" series finale.
Furthermore, not only does Jean get the girl of his dreams, but it looks like the two are happily married for their whole lives and even have a few children along the way. All the same, nothing could ever break Mikasa and Eren's bond in "Attack on Titan," as is shown when she is inevitably seen being buried under the same tree, on the same hill, as Eren.
As for Mikasa and Eren, they do finally get their single kiss of the series, even if it comes at a horribly tragic and grimly macabre price. As Mikasa swings in to take Eren out and end The Rumbling for good, she cuts his head from his body and embraces him a single time as life leaves his body.
There is no clean, happy ending for a series like Attack on Titan
While this is not exactly the happy ending that some fans might have been hoping for, it was pretty clear by the midway point of The Final Season that this would not be the kind of anime that has a neat and tidy "power of friendship" type of conclusion.
Despite the fact that Mikasa is eventually able to move on somewhat from the death of Eren and even lead a seemingly long and happy life, the implication as the credits continue to show future events is that, eventually, Paradis is destroyed by warfare in the far-off future. The endless cycle of violence and retribution eventually returns, and the world of "Attack on Titan" is doomed as a result.
However, in the series finale, we see that the tree Eren and Mikasa are buried under has survived the ravaging of the civilization, and a young boy is seen entering the tree in the final shot, suggesting that maybe Eren and Mikasa are still together in the end, even if Jean is the one whom she ends up spending her life with.