Does Mikasa die in Attack on Titan? You might be curious to know Mikasa’s fate as she lives in a world where death is just around the corner. And now that the anime is ending, you’d want to know what happens to her at the end. If that’s the case, keep reading!
For any long-time fan of Attack on Titan, death isn’t an unfamiliar event to come across with. Ever since the first few chapters of the manga and episodes of the anime, we quickly see how the series offers a darker tone compared to others at its time, especially with the events of the fall of Wall Maria.
The death of Eren’s mother in the first episode helped set the anime’s theme and approach. The prospect of characters dying left and right is followed in several chapters that it’s almost very likely that your favorite character can die at a moment’s notice at any given time.
The world of Attack on Titan is incredibly dangerous, with the human-devouring Titans roaming around and the looming threat of war and battle between nations.
Just because of how dangerous the world of Attack on Titan is, it isn’t hard to imagine that our leading trio of Eren, Armin, and Mikasa would actually die at any given time.
The fact remains true for the first 2, however, as we find Eren to be seemingly killed a bit earlier in the series after a Titan eats him, and Armin getting almost killed much later in the series where he was burned alive beyond recognition from the steam emitting from the Colossal Titan.
However, both these characters weren’t really dead as they found themselves back and alive through the power of the Titans, eventually becoming Titan Shifters themselves.
But what about Mikasa Ackerman? She never got the powers of the Titans in the story; however, she’s an Ackerman, meaning that even without having the ability to transform into a Titan, she can go toe-to-toe and kill even the strongest one. So, when does she die in the story? In this article, we’ll talk a bit about Mikasa’s death, when it happened, and how!
Does Mikasa Die in Attack on Titan?
Between the trio of friends we’re familiar with in Attack on Titan, it has already been shown that Eren and Armin have faced death themselves, albeit for a short time. In Mikasa’s case, however, she never inherited any form of the Titan power as she doesn’t need it, being already a mighty warrior thanks to her Ackerman lineage.
Despite the dangerous fights she and the Survey Corps constantly encountered, Mikasa was able to live through all of them and never faced the doors to death even once. She is one of the few characters in the series who survive through to the end, even stopping the Rumbling by killing Eren, and lives in a relatively peaceful world where the Titans have been eradicated.
There are instances, however, where Mikasa almost finds herself getting killed due to her rash decisions or violent tendencies in things regarding Eren.
Many moments in the story showed Mikasa in dangerous situations where she wouldn’t come out alive, with some events going as far as her early childhood. This traumatic event in Mikasa’s life led her to develop a gloomier outlook after getting kidnapped as a kid and witnessing the murder of her parents right in front of her. She would’ve been the next one to be killed if it weren’t for Eren saving her then.
Her irrational side and behavior have also resulted in many situations where she could’ve been easily killed for a single mistake, such as earlier in the series, where Mikasa rushed ahead of her comrades and left herself vulnerable to attacks after expunging all the gas from her gear.
A similar incident happens again outside the walls, but both situations, fortunately, left her unharmed thanks to Eren and his abilities as a Titan.
What Happens to Mikasa at the End?
Talking about all the close calls to death Mikasa has had throughout the story, you might wonder what happened to her at the end. The short answer to this question is that Mikasa was able to live out her dream of a peaceful and happy life despite Eren’s absence from what she initially hoped for.
Throughout the entire events of the story, Mikasa is one of the surviving members of the group and Survey Corps who was able to return to Paradis Island, where she stayed for the rest of her life near Eren’s grave.
Her return to Paradis Island was intentional as she wanted to bury Eren in his favorite place, which she frequently visits and places flowers on. It was shown that despite her deep affection for Eren and Eren’s affirmed feelings for her and his desire for there to be no other person than him in her life, she was able to get married to someone in the end.
However, it is not confirmed by the author if Mikasa did end up getting married or not. We just see silhouettes of a woman, a man, and a child visiting Eren’s grave in the final chapter, so these are only theories and not confirmations.
However, at the end of everything, it cannot be argued that Mikasa could live a full and peaceful life, albeit without Eren, and died of natural causes instead of getting killed in battle. It was shown that in the end, Mikasa was buried together or in the same area that Eren was initially buried in as the scenery changed to reflect the passage of time.
So, the answer to the question, does Mikasa die in Attack on Titan, is both a yes and a no. A no because she doesn’t die in the main story, but yes, because she is shown to die of old age in the final chapter of Attack on Titan.
Not much was revealed during the manga’s conclusion, but fans hope the anime’s final season will flesh out certain bits and give us a better look into her life after the end of the Rumbling all the way up to her death of old age in the story. And probably, we might even see the state of the world after the eradication of the Titans!
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