A lot has been said about Attack On Titan’s divisive final chapter, but one thing that most fans agree on is that it was at least properly set up. Plot points and earth-shattering secrets were planted as far back as the story’s beginning, even if they only paid off in the last few chapters of Hajime Isayama's manga masterpiece.

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The interesting thing is that most of these twists and turns were hidden in plain sight, and can only make sense during an anime marathon or when revisiting the manga. Some details were hidden in deceptively casual dialogue, while others were literally in the middle of a scene.

Updated on March 9th, 2023 by Ajay Aravind: Attack on Titan is slowly barrelling towards its anime conclusion, although manga fans have been aware of the ending for a long time now. The series remains as popular as ever — as such, we've revamped this list with some more information about the various instances of foreshadowing in the series.

Anime and manga spoilers ahead.

10 Yuugure No Tori Revealed The Rumbling

A Mural Of The Rumbling

Attack On Titan’s ending credits have become a running gag in the fanbase because they somehow managed to spoil the story’s most important secrets and mythos. That said, these revelations would only make sense after finishing Season 4’s first half or reading all of the manga. Take Season 2’s ending montage with Shinsei Kamattechan’s song, for example.

Not only did it show The Rumbling before anyone even knew why there were Wall Titans (let alone know what a “rumbling” was), but it also detailed the creation of the Eldian race through their founder Ymir. These are important factors in the finale, especially in terms of The Rumbling and Ymir’s multi-millennial trauma.

9 Requiem Der Morgenrote Teased Historia’s Destiny

Historia's Flashbacks

Season 3 took a different, politically charged direction that focused on Historia’s lineage. As such, the ending credits revealed almost everything about her, including her forgotten past, her connection to Eren, her doomed love for Ymir, and her fate as Ymir Fritz’s pseudo-successor.

As a child, Historia wanted to emulate Ymir, not knowing that she would end up doing something similar. By the end of the overarching narrative, Historia became the Queen of Paradis and gave birth to a child to fulfill the duties thrust upon her. The key difference is that Historia technically had the option to refuse her destiny, whereas Ymir had no choice.

8 Eren Kissed Historia’s Hand & Saw Forever

Eren Sees The Past holding Historia's hand

Thanks to the royal Titan blood running in their veins, Eren and Historia unlock certain memories whenever they make physical contact. When Eren kissed Queen Historia’s hand during the anime’s recognition ceremony, he saw Grisha Yaeger begging Frieda Reiss to use the Founding Titan to protect Eldia and ensure his family’s safety.

At first, fans thought that this meant that Eren got his anger from his father. In truth, it foreshadowed Eren’s ability to transcend time and directly influence the past through the Founding and Attack Titans. As shown in the final chapter, everything from the beginning was the result of Eren rewriting past events to affect both the present and future.

7 Kruger Knew Who Eren Valued

Kruger Gets A Confusing Memory

One of the biggest revelations in the story was that the Titans’ power wasn’t just raw strength, but transcending time. During Grisha’s flashback, Kruger – the holder of the Attack Titan – tells Eren’s father to steel his resolve so that Grisha can eventually save Armin and Mikasa. This event transpired long before the birth of Eren Yeager and his friends.

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Through the Founding Titan, Eren enacted a self-fulfilling prophecy by setting the stage for The Rumbling. Kruger never explicitly met Eren, but Eren identifying his loved ones to Grisha makes a lot of sense. The ploy worked, as Armin and Mikasa ultimately survived.

6 The Smiling Titan Focused On Eren

Dina Eats Karla Yeager AOT manga

Generally speaking, the Pure Titans are mindless beasts, which is why the Smiling Titan, later revealed to be Dina Fritz, was so disturbing and terrifying. Something was just off with this Titan, especially since it exclusively attacked and devoured Eren’s loved ones. Since she was Grisha’s first wife, it was assumed that Dina’s Titan form was acting out of some sort of murderous envy.

However, the Smiling Titan’s strange behavior actually foreshadowed just how far-reaching Eren’s plans and capabilities were. In the final chapter, Eren reveals to Armin that he indirectly ordered the Smiling Titan to make his life hell, all because he needed the determination and rage necessary to end the world.

5 Eren’s Disturbing Question Was Rhetorical

Eren Points To His Freedom

In Season 3’s finale (Chapter 90 in the manga), the Survey Corps make it to the shore for the first time in their lives. While the group parties, Eren asks Armin if killing everyone on the other side of the ocean would set them free. Not only was this the start of Eren’s darkness, but it was also the beginning of Eren’s genocidal endgame.

After the time-skip, Eren is hell-bent on “moving forward” for Eldia’s sake through the Colossus Titans’ march. Moralizing about planetary murder wasn't asking Armin's permission, but a rhetorical inquiry. When Armin confronts Eren in The Paths, Eren admits that he had always been resigned to being the harbinger of the apocalypse.

4 Eren Promised To End The World In Season 1

Eren Promises To Destroy The World

When Eren beat the Female Titan to a pulp in Season 1, he off-handedly declared that he was going to end the world. At the time, viewers assumed that he was letting his fury do the talking. Cut to The Final Season’s first cour and Eren’s defiant statement suddenly makes terrifying sense.

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Eren took a villainous turn and decided that the only way to keep Eldia safe was to wipe out the world. Factor in the manga’s revelations that Eren can transcend time through The Paths, and his words in the Season 1 finale can be reinterpreted as a premeditated and determined declaration of war.

3 Eren’s Freedom Obsession Makes Sense

Eren Imprints Freedom On Himself

A common criticism about Eren is that there’s nothing to him beyond boundless determination and an obsession with freedom. This is why, detractors initially dismissed Attack On Titan, as Eren was just another annoyingly hot-blooded shonen hero. As it turns out, this wasn’t Hajime Isayama’s fault; Eren made himself this way.

As revealed in the finale, Eren used the Founder’s ability to imprint the idea of freedom on himself when he was born. Additionally, he made sure that his life was a nightmare so that he’d have the motivation to trigger a global massacre. In brief, Eren acting like a stereotypical shonen protagonist actually foreshadowed his future godlike abilities.

2 Eren’s Mysterious Dream

Mikasa Lives The Dream

When Attack On Titan began, Eren woke up from a dream that made him cry. Mikasa asked him what he was dreaming about, but he couldn't recall anything. The best Eren could come up with was that his dream felt like a lifetime. As revealed in Chapter 138 “A Long Dream,” Eren dreamt of a lifetime’s worth of peace that would make anyone tear up.

As Mikasa and the Alliance’s remnants charged at a Colossus Eren, she saw Eren’s dream: an alternate timeline where they ran away together, living out Eren’s last four years in the countryside. Like a once young and hopeful Eren, Mikasa woke up crying before she put him out of his misery for the final time.

1 The Bird Motif Closed The Time Loop

The Attack On Titan Bird Motif

Eren consistently compared his miserable existence to that of a bird trapped in a cage. His desire for freedom was best symbolized by a bird flying freely in the skies, and this motif showed up multiple times as if to remind him of his unreachable goals. Birds were also prominent in the closing credits, particularly Season 1 and 4's first endings.

The freedom birds were seen as Attack On Titan’s symbolism of choice, but they had a deeper meaning as revealed in the final chapter. Here, it’s heavily implied that Eren used birds and The Paths to witness certain events, like The Alliance’s voyage or Fort Salva’s capture. On a reread or rewatch, the birds now serve as markers of Eren’s visits from the future and a foretelling of his possible return from the afterlife as the bird that comforted a mourning Mikasa.

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