[Attack on Titan] Is Mikasa's "Love for Eren" Familial Love or Dependence? A Thorough Analysis of the Strongest Heroine's Mentality

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In Attack on Titan, while Captain Levi is known as humanity's strongest soldier, the strongest heroine is undoubtedly Mikasa Ackerman. In her first battle in Episode 4, the way she scolded the despairing Armin and mowed down Titans was truly a masterpiece.

However, her principle of action is always solely focused on "Eren." Her obsession is so intense that we, the readers, sometimes feel confused, asking, "Is that love? Or is it attachment?" Today, I will connect the "beginning" of the story with its "conclusion (timeline)" to dig deeper into Mikasa's mentality.

1. The role of "Guardian" entrusted by his mother, Carla

At the beginning of the story, Mikasa's position was less like Eren's lover and more like a "surrogate mother." In the year 845, just before the Titans attacked, Eren's mother, Carla, was worried about the reckless Eren wanting to join the Survey Corps and asked Mikasa to stop him.

Also, on the night of the Training Corps graduation ceremony, when Eren got into a dispute with Jean, Mikasa intervened to settle the situation. For her, Eren was "family to be protected," and keeping that promise to Carla on that day may have become part of her meaning for living.

2. Just wanting to "be together"... The madness of enlisting together

The aspect of Mikasa that can be taken as "dependence" appeared strongly when deciding on their career paths. In Episode 6, when Eren announced his entry into the Survey Corps, Mikasa followed suit as a matter of course. Although her combat ability is outstanding, she didn't necessarily want to exterminate Titans or save the world. Simply "being by Eren's side and not letting him die" was everything.

From the scene in the Battle of Trost District where she tells Armin, "We have Eren's thoughts, so we can be strong", we can see that her emotional pillar is completely Eren.

3. The answer of "Love" shown in the ending (Spoiler Alert)

So, was Mikasa's love "dependence" until the very end? Here, let's look at the shocking conclusion in the "Timeline."

In the year 857, the "Battle of Heaven and Earth." Former comrades stood up to stop Eren, who was trying to destroy the world. And in the end, it was Mikasa herself who severed the head of the Titanized Eren and killed him.

If she had remained in a state of mere "dependence," she would never have been able to kill Eren. At the very end, she chose to "stop Eren (save the world)" over "protecting Eren." It can be said that this was the moment she was released from the curse of Eren and became independent as an individual.

4. Conclusion: Love that began as dependence became an eternal bond

After burying Eren with her own hands, Mikasa spent the rest of her life by his grave and is said to have passed away from old age around the year 915.

Mikasa started with "dependence," continued to protect him as "familial love," and finally fulfilled "true love" by stopping him. Her life was harsh, but the depth of that love was undoubtedly genuine.

The strongest heroine, Mikasa. Perhaps what she was fighting against was not just Titans, but her own weakness (her dependence on Eren).