Attack on Titan: Why Does Eren Want to Destroy the World?

Hear us, anime Sekai, the world of Attack on Titan is in great peril. Eren Yeager has started the Rumbling, and the fallout is nothing but chaos! In episode 80 of Attack on Titan, Eren undoes the hardening of the Walls in Paradis, thereby freeing all of the Colossal Titans that have kept the island safe for hundreds of years.

The Wall Titans are now walking across the world, on their way to commit mass genocide. Our villainous protagonist Eren Yeager has taken quite a turn from his original character introduced in Season 1. Eren has gone from a boy who swore to destroy the Titans to a villain who wants to destroy most of the world sans Paradis Island.

Viewers have often wondered why Eren's personality drastically changed going into Attack on Titan Season 4. Here's what we think.

Attack on Titan: Why Does Eren Yeager Want to Commit Mass Genocide?

Attack on Titan fans wondering why Eren wants to destroy the world need only remember his speech to all subjects of Ymir about the Rumbling. Eren tells everyone who can hear him during the speech that he wants to protect his homeland, Paradis Island, and its people. He explains that even though Paradis does not desire the extinction of the outside world, the world desires Paradis' destruction.

Eren's older brother Zeke wanted to sterilize all Eldians, so they would eventually be wiped out entirely. However, Eren does not wish for his race to be extinct. Moreover, Zeke's "euthanasia" plan had other problems, rightly pointed out by Connie in another episode. What would happen to the Eldians once they were all old and dying, with no young ones left? Who would protect them from the world then?

After all the death and destruction Eren has seen, he realizes that the cycle of hatred will never end. He wants to eliminate any threats that await his people and has decided to take the responsibility of their lives upon himself. Here's Eren's full speech to the subjects of Ymir, across the world, explaining his decision to start the Rumbling:

"Hear me, all Subjects of Ymir. My name is Eren Yeager. I now speak to all the Subjects of Ymir, by way of the Founding Titan's power. Every wall on the island of Paradis has been unhardened. the Titans buried within them have begun to walk. My goal...is to protect the people of Paradis, who bore, and raised me. But the world desires the extinction of the people of Paradis. Over countless years, their hatred has grown beyond this island. They surely will not stop until they have killed every last one of our people. I reject their desire. The Titans of the Walls will trample and rumble all the lands beyond this island. Until the lives there... are eliminated from this world!"

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