'Attack on Titan' Creator Explains Reason Behind Major Character Death

"Attack on Titan," whether it be in the original manga or the world-famous anime series, has seen a lot of major character deaths. This does not come as a surprise considering that humanity is at war with the mysterious titans but along the way, the Survey Corps has lost a number of its valuable members. 

In a new interview, the creator of the manga Isayama Hajime talked about the tragic and heartbreaking death of a fan-favorite character and why it has to happen. [Warning: Contains "Attack on Titan" manga and potential future seasons of the anime spoilers.]

In a previous issue of the manga, the Survey Corps had a confrontation with the Beast Titan, the Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan at the Shinganshina District. As a result, many were injured including Armin Arlert and Erwin Smith. 

As the captain of the Special Operations Squad, Levi decided against injecting Erwin the titan serum and instead gave it to Armin. So the 13th commander of the Survey Corps died while Armin becomes a titan who, in turn, eats Bertolt Hoover and inherits the powers of the Colossus Titan. 

In the "Attack on Titan Character Director," Isayama has spoken about the death of the beloved character. The interview was transcribed by fuku-shuu on Tumblr and was first covered by Comicbook.com. 

"To have Erwin perish during that point was pre-planned," the manga creator stated. He also explained that throughout his journey, Erwin was in search for atonement because he believes that his actions led to the death of his own father. So, he joined the Survey Corps and, little by little, rose up through the ranks until he ended up as the leader of the group. 

He, however, grappled with an inner turmoil between an ambitious child and a responsible adult. His final scene was a study on how humans react when they come face-to-face with their own death. 

"For Erwin, this happened when the Beast Titan drove him to the verge at Shiganshina, and his true self-materialized severely," he added. "During that moment, what he displayed to us was that wavering between fulfilling his 'dream' through the basement and the 'responsibility' of fighting the Beast Titan to the death."

Isayama also said that everyone is enslaved by something and, for Erwin, it was his dream that became his master. The only way to find freedom from it is in death. 

"Attack on Titan" Season 3 is expected to premiere in 2018. According to rumors, it will adopt the "Uprising Arc," one of the most important events in the original manga.