Eren starting the rumbling shook fans to their core. Read ahead to know what drove Eren to taking one of the boldest steps ever taken by a main character.
The rumbling from Attack on Titan is perhaps one of the most defining events in modern Shonen manga.
Eren’s desire for freedom and his passionate wish to save his home resulted in him carrying out genocide against the rest of humanity.
Eren was fine being crucified by the rest of the world as long as Paradis remained safe.
While the ending of Attack on Titan with the additional chapter 139.5 was grimmer than expected. It only showed how not even something as horrific as the rumbling could stop the world from warring.
So, what was the purpose of the rumbling? Why did it happen?
A paradox itself, the Attack Titan is a key to answering the question. The existence of the power itself subconsciously spurred Eren on.
Hence, it only makes sense if we start out from where we got to know how it ended up with Eren – Shiganshina.
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Shiganshina: The Truth
Shiganshina is a crucial place in the story. The story starts and ends here.
Eren’s primary motive had been to get back Wall Maria by exterminating his enemy, the titans. Till the reclamation of Wall Maria, Attack on Titan was more or less on a linear path of being a thrilling mystery.
Only Erwin could have hypothesized the possibility of humans existing outside the walls. However, with the reveal of the truth, the story finally took shape.
This reveals changed Eren forever.
The treatment of Paradis by the rest of the world only strengthened Eren’s ideals. Eren had always believed in the right to live.
He would go to extremes to make this possible for his own people, against all odds. Here is why Eren was ready to kill everyone across the ocean for the sake of his people:
Firstly, Eren has seen his countless innocent civilians die for sins they did not commit.
The thought of the current generation of Paradis Eldians shouldering the blame of ancestors. Along with being the face of anti-Eldian propaganda never sat right with Eren.
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He had always felt a responsibility of protecting those of his own home. Especially from the horrors of the world, which he saw firsthand when he steps foot in Marley.
Secondly, Eren has lost his comrades.
All of them lost their lives not knowing what lay beyond the thick forests of Paradis; never knowing that an ocean existed that isolated them from a world that had already moved on.
The death of the Levi Squad, who died trying to protect Eren, was a traumatizing event.
He lost not only his first team but also Marco in the conflicts at Trost. Eren later understood that he can never take their deaths for granted and it’s on him to make sure their sacrifice was worth it.
Moreover, Eren realizes the bloody history behind inheriting the Attack Titan. Pushed to the brink of survival, Grisha agreed to inherit the titan.
It becomes obvious that the inheriting of the titan was all leading up to this point. The sacrifice of Eren Kruger and of his own father, along with Kruger’s cryptic words of keeping Armin and Mikasa safe were burned into Eren’s mind.
The reveal at Shiganshina added more complexity to Eren’s one-track goal.
It seemed the corps had hit a dead end with making any progress, until their biggest enemy, Zeke Yeager turns out to be an “ally”.
Unfortunately, Eren was never to like Zeke’s plan.
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Eren loathed Zeke’s plan
Plans of both Eren and Zeke to bring the conflict to the end were on extremes. Zeke wanted euthanization, a plan to wipe out all Eldians.
On the other hand, Eren focused on saving Paradis in particular at the cost of the whole world.
Both sides brought up some philosophical arguments to the table.
Zeke’s own upbringing had instilled him in the dread of living as an Eldian.
Eren had grown up with a “never say die” attitude, emphasizing the importance of one living their own life with no suppression.
Clearly, it’s no big surprise that Eren would never be fond of what Zeke came up with.
When Eren awakened the full powers of his Founding Titan, he had transcended time.
Knowing that Eren would’ve loved to stay together with his loved ones if he could, the lack of any other options propelled Eren on the bloody path of the rumbling.
This comes to show that Eren wouldn’t choose Zeke’s plan even as a last resort. It’s not that hard to understand why!
Eren had grown up knowing that the vilest thing a human could do was to accept oppression and deny freedom for a more “comfortable” life.
To him, Zeke’s plan was probably shameless and in poor taste. Eren would never give up who he was, and his people, for the sake of the world who were not ready to forgive or forget.
Eren would rather kill off those outsides of the walls than have his own people sacrificed for the happiness of the world that hung them out to dry.
When Eren left the conference the corps were attending in Marley, he ponders upon the possibility of rumbling. As he watches people go on with his life, he understands that they’re no different from his own people.
He contemplates how all of them will be killed by his hands until he comes across Ramzi. Eren broke down, probably at how he saved a child who would one day die.
Therefore, it shows us that Eren was no bloodthirsty monster who was keen to kill everyone, it’s just that he had no choice.
Even if a choice had existed, it became history the second Willy Tybur opened his mouth!
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Willy Tybur’s Speech Triggered the Rumbling
Willy Tyubr’s speech remains one of the most enigmatic events in the story. What seems like a simple speech, when deconstructed, shows more than what is seen by the eye.
Be it his motive or the duty of the Tybur family, it left me wondering why he would want to declare war on Paradis, well knowing that it would activate the rumbling.
Hearing Willy’s words, it is safe to assume that Eren’s attack on Marley was more wide-scale than expected.
What was supposed to be a commotion created to assert dominance and whisk Zeke away turned out to be a bloody massacre.
Countless brainwashed Eldians of Liberio along with the corrupt Marleyan government and international dignitaries were crushed by Eren.
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With Willy’s choice of words and rapport with the heads of the countries, an attack on Paradis was inevitable.
While this egging on was intentional for the sake of clearing the guilt off the Eldians on the continent or not, Willy managed to trigger Eren into acting upon the rumbling.
Already convinced that diplomacy will not work out with the world that needed Paradis to be the bad guys to maintain peace among each other, Eren was running out of time and patience to watch Hange stall taking any actions.
By choosing to strike first, Eren cut off the option of peace completely and took it upon himself to fight tooth and nail to save the island.
Subsequently, Hange confronted Eren after the party returned to Paradis.
He argued that there is nothing the Survey Corps could do now, and this led to him taking things into his own hand.
It is important to remember that Eren was rushing as he wanted to get to Ymir through Zeke and not Historia.
This is because he was not ready for Historia and her descendants to be used as vessels of the Beast Titan and have their lives snatched from them.
The aforementioned is a testament to Eren’s fear of seeing his near and dear ones hurt.
Eren’s fear of involving his close ones
It’s safe to say that along the way Eren hurt his loved ones more than anything.
His intentions were actually out of his strong love and wish to see his friends happy, even if he wanted to stay by their side.
Eren had developed trauma from seeing those around him die to save him.
Not only that, but he was tired of seeing succeeding generations play their part in a conflict that should’ve ended long back.
Eren himself saw how he, his brother, the warriors from Marley, and the youth of Paradis were all struggling to play their parts.
That is why Eren decided to carry out the rumbling; to make sure the conflict ends with him.
Eren was ready to lay his life down. Yet, he would never want to have his friends take an action so bloody and monstrous.
As Armin concludes in chapter 139, Eren was ready to be seen as the villain so his friends could be seen as “heroes” and negotiate peace.
In the end, Eren’s wish did play out. Most of his friends survived and lived on. His lover, Mikasa, moved on as promised in the dream sequence in chapter 138.
Yet, she always kept him close in her heart.
However, Eren’s wish to end the conflict didn’t really come true. He managed to eradicate titans, the most important promise that he had made to himself years ago (which most people forget to give him credit for).
However, Eren failed to secure Paradis’ place in the world.
This approach sits well in the reality of our world. The most heart-tugging sacrifices never manage to bring full solace to conflicts after all.
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The rumbling was part of Ymir’s path to freedom
While the rumbling was a conscious decision from the Eren who knew nothing about Ymir’s own battle; it turns out that his actions were the last leg in Ymir’s path to freedom.
As Eren understands in the path, he had the powers to transcend time.
He realizes that the tiniest things, from Eren willing Dina to not eat Bertholdt (because according to the timeline, he has to survive to kick Wall Maria to trigger the story) that resulted in the death of his own mother, all happened so that one day he would be left with no choice but to carry out the rumbling.
This shows us that in the end, Eren wasn’t as free as he thought he was.
Yet, he still mentions that even if this wasn’t the part of Ymir’s endgame, he would’ve carried out the rumbling regardless.
Unfortunately for him, he was a ploy that Ymir used to lure out Mikasa. A woman who was similar to herself to see if sacrificing your love for the sake of the world is justifiable or not.
While Eren’s fate didn’t sit well with many, it does make perfect sense according to the theme of the story.
The conflict in Attack on Titan ran two ways; one with humans and the other with Ymir.
Though Eren lost sight of the goal his nine-year-old self had set, he managed to fulfill it in the end.
The Attack Titan’s Curse
Tying it down to the fact that Ymir waited 2000 years for this to play out, there is also the Attack Titan.
The Attack Titan users had all contributed to laying out this path so that Eren would be the last one to finish the conflict.
When he, along with Zeke, saw Grisha’s memories in the paths, Eren knew that he had done something irreversible.
The Attack Titan inheritors were truly slaves to the future.
Now knowing what he had done, Eren simply walked on the destined path knowing that it will ultimately result in the rumbling one way or the other.
Therefore, the purpose of the rumbling was also slated into Eren’s fate as the Attack Titan.
Attack on Titan masters irony. To think the Attack Titan walks on a path that is bound by the actions of future inheritors really shows how freedom truly is an illusion.
What do you think about the reasons behind the rumbling? Could it be avoided? Let us know in the comments!
FAQs
What is the real reason Eren started the Rumbling? ›
To make himself the center of hatred (to end the cycle of hatred with himself) to try to save the Paradis Islanders.
What was Eren's goal with the Rumbling? ›With the realization that he could use a royal descendant to gain access to Paths and communicate with Ymir, Eren's goal became clear: to set up a situation where he could release all of the Titans inside the Walls, colloquially known as "the Rumbling," unimpeded.
Was Eren wrong for the Rumbling? ›Eren's intended genocide of the human race undeniably makes him an irredeemable character -- but the Rumbling isn't the only one of Eren's sins that is wholly unforgivable. Eren has brought unimaginable suffering upon his closest friends by forcing them to kill their own comrades just to stop him.
Why didn t Eren activate the Rumbling in Marley? ›He doesn't need zeke to start the rumbling! He only wants his blood. The Power of founding Titan can only be activated with the help of royal blood.
How was the Rumbling created? ›It's "the stampede of millions of Colossal Titans," as Willy Tybur puts it. All three walls of Paradis Island — Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina — are made up of millions of hardened Colossal Titans, and the Founder Titan's ability to unleash them is what causes the Rumbling.
Why did Eren turn evil? ›Several of his friends died when the Titans invaded Trost. Then, he joined Levi's squad and felt guilty for his comrades' deaths during their battle against the Female Titan. The more friends he lost, the darker Eren's mindset became.
Did Eren's rumbling succeed? ›The Rumbling was never meant to end the world or stop enemies from attacking. In the end, the Rumbling accomplished Karl Fritz's goal of ending the war. At least ending the conflict between the Eldians and the Marleyans.
Does killing Eren stop the Rumbling? ›Upon killing Eren by severing his head from the spine, Mikasa kissed him farewell. Seeing Mikasa's choice, Ymir abandoned her hold over the Founding Titan, ending both the Rumbling and the Power of the Titans.
Why did Eren wipe out 80 of humanity? ›Because Eren wanted to end the titans which requires his friends to kill him but if they does that they can't go back to Paradis.
Who started the Rumbling? ›The Rumbling is an event set off by Eren Yeager that creates multiple colossal Titans, who rampage across the entire Earth. As described by the Attack on Titan Wiki, “The Rumbling was a cataclysmic event involving Karl Fritz's Wall Titans marching across the earth, destroying all life upon it.
Why didn t Eren control the Titans after the Rumbling? ›
Additionally, in the wake of the Rumbling, Eren's army did not include the remaining members of the Nine Titans. Though the Founding Titan can control Pure Titans, Eren may have purposefully ignored them so they could distract the Shifters, whom he could not control.
How many colossal Titans are in the Rumbling? ›According to his estimations, there were around 573,084 Wall Titans in the Rumbling.
Did Eren plan everything from the start? ›Eren did plan a lot. He still got surprised sometimes, so I don't think he planned everything. However, he planned enough. We know he orchestrated the massacre of the Reiss family.
Why didn t Zeke eat Eren? ›Why didn't Zeke tried to eat Eren and take the founding titan as he already have royal blood? Why didn't he took founding titan from Eren? He already has royal blood. From this he can use the power of Founding titan to it's full extent and achieve his goal.
Why did Eren laugh when Sasha died? ›Eren was devastated by Sasha's passing. However, because of what he experienced and what he had to do to save the Eldians, hearing Sasha's final words made sense to him and brought back memories of when they were younger, and it was easier to hate the Titans for the devastation they had caused.
Did Eren know the Rumbling would fail? ›Eren prior to starting the Rumbling knew that Mikasa's choice would lead to the extinction of the titan powers. He didn't know exactly what her actions would be, but he knew the result.
Who survived the Rumbling? ›Luckily Reiner, and Annie, Gabi, and Falco make it out alive, as well as Survey Corp members Levi, Connie, Jean, and Historia. Unfortunately, as the latest installment of Attack on Titan's anime showed, one of the greatest casualties is Hange Zoë who sacrifices their lives to slow the Rumbling's advance.
How many Titans does Eren have? ›Eren possessed the power of three Titans. From his father, Eren inherited the Attack and Founding Titans. After eating Lara Tybur during the Raid on Liberio, he gained the War Hammer Titan as well.
Why does Eren hate himself? ›He actually hates himself because he thinks that he is the one who drove her to ' slave ' after him and he wouldn't want to do that to anyone , especially Mikasa .
Why does Eren hate Mikasa? ›Eren's Answer
A tense moment in both anime and manga is where Eren has a talk with Armin and Mikasa in Marley after Sasha's killer was revealed. He tells Mikasa that he always hated her and that it's her Ackerman blood that ties her to him, not love of any kind. Eren even calls her a slave, which deeply wounds Mikasa.
Is Eren right or wrong? ›
While some think Eren is a hero, Many fans consider Eren to be a victim of the series of events that occurred in Marley and Paradis but Eren truly is a good guy who turned bad to protect his people.
How old is Eren when he starts the Rumbling? ›Eren Yeager is introduced as a ten-year-old residing in the town of Shiganshina who dreams of joining the Survey Corps in order to explore the outside world beyond the walls.
Why did Eren decide to destroy the world? ›It was then that Eren realized the hatred for Eldians (especially on Paradis) would never end, and it would be better to just destroy the world leaving only Eldians from the island “that bore and raised him”.
Is it possible to survive the Rumbling? ›7 The Rumbling Can Be Avoided By Simply Flying Over It
So long as the aircraft doesn't draw too close to Eren, their lives would be saved (since he could summon a War Hammer or Beast Titan to strike them down if they become careless).
If Eren dies without being eaten, then the Titan Shifters die with him.
Who can beat the Rumbling? ›Saitama could stop the Rumbling once it's started, but he'd obviously be the ideal candidate to prevent it. Saitama would start by knocking out the Jaegerists one by one and then gunning right for Eren.
Did Eren plan his death? ›Eren's goal was to make Armin and the alliance into heroes who save humanity from extinction by stopping him. His intention to die at the hands of his friends was an elaborate plot set up to guarantee their freedom. He sacrificed everything for those he cared about. All this wouldn't have been possible if he was alive.
Was Eren ever truly free? ›After all the things he did for making everyone free from their respective titans and for the survivors, he finally made his way to the freedom.
How many kills does Eren have? ›3 Eren Yeager Has A Titan Kill Count Of 23 (And A Lot More People)
Why did Eren not change the past? ›The only way Eren can influence the past is through the connection with another wielder of the Attack Titan who is able to receive memories from the future. He can't arbitrarily change things since he himself does not time travel--only memories do.
Is the Rumbling moral? ›
The primary argument against the Rumbling is a moral one: there is absolutely no justifiable reason for committing what's nothing less than extermination at a global level, and what makes it worse is how these innocent people lose their lives.
Who stopped Eren's rumbling? ›As confirmed in the manga chapter 137, titled "Titans," Zeke's death did stop the Rumbling once and for all. However, Zeke himself initiated getting killed to put a stop to Eren's plan. In fact, if it weren't for Zeke, it wouldn't have been possible for the Survey Corps to win the fight against Eren.
How are pure Titans made? ›Pure Titans are created by injecting Eldians with Titan spinal fluid. If a Pure Titan eats the human body of a person who possesses one of the Nine Titans, said Eldian will revert to human form and gain that Shifter's powers, whereupon they are cursed to live only 13 more years.
Who are pure Titans? ›Mindless creatures, Pure Titans, are humans who have been injected with Titan spinal fluid. These people have no control; Ymir, named after Ymir Fritz, was transformed into a Titan by the Marleyains. She described her time as a Titan like a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from.
Who has the strongest colossal Titan? ›Out of the Nine Titans, the Colossal possesses the most destructive power, and this power was on full display in Season 4 when Paradis Island launched a surprise attack on Marley. Armin possessed the power of the Colossal at this point, and he transformed inside the harbor in the middle of Marley's navy.
Who had the biggest colossal Titan? ›For the longest time, Bertholdt's Colossal Titan was the tallest character in Attack on Titan. He was also one of the most powerful Titans in the series who was slow but had immense strength and was highly intelligent.
What did Eren realize? ›During Season 4, Episode 20, "Memories of the Future," as Grisha Yaeger struggled with his task to slaughter the Reiss family, there was a brief flash to Eren kissing Historia's hand. This confirmed exactly what Eren saw that caused him to do everything he's done since: he saw the future.
Why didn t Eren try to change the future? ›The idea of "the future doesn't change" in AoT is that even if Eren tries to change the outcome of him saving Ramzi, he can't make himself because that's just the person he is. Eren Jaeger will save Ramzi, that future doesn't change because who Eren is as a person doesn't change.
Who is the Titan that killed Eren's mom? ›After the Scout Regiment's return to Trost District, Eren sees his father's memories in his dreams and comes to the realization that Dina was the Titan that killed his mother.
Why can't Zeke eat spicy food? ›Zeke seems to be a person who suffers from cat's tongue (猫舌, Nekojita?) which means that he cannot stand hot or spicy food.
Why didn't Zeke shake Eren's hand? ›
> Eren and Zeke didn't trust each other, both also didn't know what exactly is going to happen if they touch (like who is in control of the founding, are the other shifters (warriors) gonna sense it, are they gonna transform etc), so both can't risk it at that moment. >
What were Eren's last words? ›Advertisement: "If you want to try and stop me... then try to stop me from ever taking another breath. You are all free." Eren Yeager. Those are his last spoken words, after which he remains silent until he is decapitated by Mikasa.
Why did Eren's voice cry? ›Attack on Titan's story made Yuki Kaji, the voice actor of the protagonist Eren cry, citing his connection to the character's feelings. Attack on Titan voice actor Yuki Kaji says the story of his character and protagonist Eren moved him to tears while recording.
What was Eren crying about? ›Short Answer: Eren saw the memories of his future self. If you want a detailed answer, read on: So if my memory serves right, the opening scene has Eren and Mikasa are picking up firewood and Eren wakes up from a nap with tears in his eyes.
Why didn t Eren touch Historia to start the Rumbling? ›because eren needs to touch royal blooded titan shifter to activate coordinate. and historia is just royal blooded human.
Why didn t Eren control the Titans during the Rumbling? ›Additionally, in the wake of the Rumbling, Eren's army did not include the remaining members of the Nine Titans. Though the Founding Titan can control Pure Titans, Eren may have purposefully ignored them so they could distract the Shifters, whom he could not control.
What Eren really saw when he touched Historia? ›During Season 4, Episode 20, "Memories of the Future," as Grisha Yaeger struggled with his task to slaughter the Reiss family, there was a brief flash to Eren kissing Historia's hand. This confirmed exactly what Eren saw that caused him to do everything he's done since: he saw the future.
Why didn't the Titan that ate Eren turn human? ›Titan shifting power is transmitted by the consumption of spinal fluid. The Titan failed to drink eren and thus never became one of the 9 Titans.
Who stops the Rumbling? ›Upon killing Eren by severing his head from the spine, Mikasa kissed him farewell. Seeing Mikasa's choice, Ymir abandoned her hold over the Founding Titan, ending both the Rumbling and the Power of the Titans.