How should Attack on Titan season 4 tackle its anime ending dilemma? Based on the manga series by Hajime Isayama, Attack on Titan has delivered 3-and-a-half seasons full of gruesome deaths, weird naked giants, and stolen potatoes. Compared to how western media typically adapts comic books, Japanese anime more often stays true to its manga inspiration. Attack on Titan is no different, and though the TV variation might add small sequences here and there, the story told onscreen since 2013 faithfully retells Isayama's printed yarn.
Attack on Titan season 4 represents the breakthrough anime series' final run - or more specifically, Attack on Titan season 4 part 2 does, after part 1 ended on a dramatic cliffhanger. Eren Jaeger has gone rogue with the Founding Titan's power, conspiring with half-brother Zeke, who plots to end the Eldian race by sterilizing its population. Mikasa, Armin, and the other Survey Corps warriors (the ones still alive, at least) seek to stop the Yaeger Bros., but also face invasion from Marley, who would sooner kill the Eldians (and steal their island) than sterilize them. Attack on Titan season 4, part 2 will cover Hajime Isayama's final 23 chapters - but therein lies a dilemma the anime hasn't faced previously.
Attack on Titan's last chapter released in April 2021. The final volume then arrived the following June, and added 8 new pages to Hajime Isayama's original ending. These aren't just panels of combat or inconsequential dialogue either - the "writer's cut" fundamentally alters Attack on Titan's ending and defines its future. This leaves the anime adaptation facing two very different options for the finale. Will Attack on Titan season 4 follow the first ending, or animate the extra pages?
Though packing additional material into the final Attack on Titan manga volume has all the hallmarks of a savvy marketing tactic, it's also clear that the bumper version better represents Hajime Isayama's vision. According to the mangaka, these extra pages were cut purely due to page limit restrictions in the Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine April release, but were always intended as part of his story. That would strongly lean toward the anime following the second, longer version of Attack on Titan's finale.
Without giving away spoilers, the Attack on Titan extra pages are split into two categories. Some fall mid-chapter and clarify key plot points regarding Mikasa, Armin, and the meaning behind Attack on Titan's history. These "fix" pages will almost certainly be included in the anime, since they lift some of the ambiguity caused by the original manga print. Most of Attack on Titan's final chapter "Isayama cut" pages, however, comprise an epilogue flashforward that completely upends the outcome of Eren Yaeger's journey, then opens the door wider for a potential sequel. This scene divided Attack on Titan readers (who were already passionately split by the final chapter in its initial, slimmed-down form), and it's here the anime faces a bigger dilemma over whether or not to adapt the second, more open-ended finale, even though there's a greater risk of leaving viewers unsatisfied by an incomplete resolution.
Ultimately, the decision will likely be a business one. Attack on Titan's extra pages are infinitely more explicit in setting up a continuation of Hajime Isayama's story (some have even likened the ending to Boruto - the sequel to Naruto). Rather than let a good IP die, leaving the door open for a future Attack on Titan: The Next Generation makes better business sense. Expect Attack on Titan season 4 to feature some kind of post-credits adapting the manga's post-release epilogue... and to divide the fandom all over again when it does.