Mikasa has experienced personal growth during the series.
Mikasa Ackerman has a rocky relationship with Attack on Titan protagonist Eren Yeager. It is undeniable that the two have a special bond, but their exact relationship has never been revealed. However, the tension between Eren and Mikasa often brings the latter’s character down to her feelings for him.
Despite her Ackerman genetics and a talent that rivals Captain Levi’s, Mikasa seems to care about little more than Eren, easily overshadowing her character and making her seem shallow. This point is easy to justify until the third season of Attack on Titan, but with Mikasa’s actions in the fourth season, her obsession with caring for Eren faded.
Mikasa found out about Eren’s horrible lie, which changed everything
Attack on Titan has developed the character of Mikasa bit by bit since the first episode of the anime, establishing a base character in the first season and using it in subsequent seasons as a device to strengthen the ending of the story. Everything that Mikasa knew from the beginning has been called into question in recent episodes. His identity, his view of the world and his feelings for the person he cares about most are challenged.
The moment Eren lied to Mikasa – saying he hated her and claiming that her place in the Ackerman family tree was the only reason she cared about him – changed everything for her. Her Ackerman origins led her to an identity crisis, making her question why she was so attracted to Eren. This process forced Mikasa to expose herself to her insecurities, a challenge that led her to experience all five stages of grief.
First stage: denial
When the Yeagerists trapped those threatening Eren’s plan in the basement, Mikasa faced some awkward conversations with her teammates. Connie Springer suggested that Eren had changed since his solo mission on Marley, believing that he had become the kind of person the scouts had always opposed.
Connie stated that if Eren sided with the enemy or became the enemy himself, she would kill him. Mikasa becomes distraught at the thought of Eren’s death and insists that there are other ways to reason with Eren, denying to herself that she has changed.
Second stage: anger
Soon after, Annie Leonhart suggests a similar plan of action. She believes that Eren must be killed to prevent him from slaughtering the world. Once again, Mikasa is disgusted at the thought of her best friend dying and reacts with anger. She is frustrated that the only conclusion her friends draw from her is Eren’s death, when she wholeheartedly believes that she can be saved.
Third stage: Negotiation
Mikasa keeps insisting that there are other ways to save the world and save Eren as well. This persistence stems from his denial and a shred of hope, believing that he doesn’t need to kill him to stop his rampage. She tries to talk to him twice: at the table and on the paths, with neither success. It is then that Mikasa begins to see that Eren is hell-bent on her plan and that no one will stand in her way, not even her.
Fourth stage: Depression
When all else fails, Mikasa is forced to accept the weight of reality, which is when negative feelings kick in, leading to depression. This is shown in Attack on Titan chapter 138, “A Long Dream”, in which Mikasa reaches her limit and can’t take fighting Eren anymore, wishing she could go home. Mikasa always said this to Eren, but for the first time, she was indeed going home without him.
Stage 5: Acceptance
The final stage of the duel is Mikasa’s acceptance as she realizes there is only one way for the torment to end. In the final battle against Eren, she decides that she must stop him, questioning why things have to end this way. Mikasa then kills the only person she considered her family, her home, a friend, and a lover, concluding the arc and character development for her.
Mikasa lost many family members, friends, and teammates throughout Attack on Titan, but no one came close to losing Eren. The character of him without depth of him was used by Isayama as a plot device to show the emotion and meaning of Eren’s death, reinforcing the ending of the story. Mikasa’s acceptance that he must die by his own hand is what makes previous assumptions about the character difficult to justify; if they had been true, he would never have killed the person who meant the most to her.