Editor's Note: This entry contains spoilers for the Attack on Titan manga and anime series; read at your own caution.

About

Eren Crying, also known as Eren's Confession, refers to a sequence in chapter 139 of the Attack on Titan manga series in which the protagonist Eren Yeager breaks down in tears as he considers the thought of the character Mikasa Ackerman finding somebody else after his death.^[1] Considered to be an out-of-character moment and ill-fitting in the context of grander events by some fans, the panel became a subject of memes and references in the Attack on Titan fandom, with interest towards it revitalized by the release of the final episode of the anime adaptation in November 2023.

Origin

On April 8th, 2021, chapter 139 "Toward the Tree on That Hill" of the Attack on Titan manga series was published. In the chapter, the character Armin Arlert recalls memories of discussions with protagonist Eren Yeager that were previously erased from his memory.

In one conversation, Armin asks how he feels about the character Mikasa, who is in love with Eren, finding somebody else after his death, to which he initially replies "I don't know." After being punched and pressured by Armin, Eren breaks down in tears and admits that he doesn't want Mikasa to find another man and wants her to remain hung up on him for a long time, but later says that he really wants her to be happy (panel shown below).

Immediately following the release of the chapter, the sequence and the panel of Eren crying, in particular, became a subject of memes and references in the Attack on Titan fandom as some fans considered the moment to be too much in contrast with Eren Yeager's character and ill-fitting in a grander scheme of events. For example, on April 9th, 2021, X^[2] / Twitter user @Yuki_BLC posted a Virgin vs. Chad meme that received over 260 reposts and 1,700 likes in two years (shown below).

Spread

The meme of Eren crying continued to spread after its release, primarily among the franchise's fandom. On April 9th, 2021, Redditor lethalmc posted an I Don't Like Sand meme based on the panel that received over 7,000 upvotes in the /r/titanfolk^[3] subreddit in the two years (shown below).

The scene reemerged in online discussions in early November 2023 shortly before the anime adaptation of the final chapters of the manga was released on November 5th, 2023. For example, on November 4th, X^[4] user @arminkills posted a Tommy Shelby Holding a Gun video caption meme referencing the scene that received over 4,600 reposts and 22,000 likes in two days (shown below).

armin: mikasa’s gonna find another man-eren: pic.twitter.com/cFC92MXNWQ

— hunter hunter (@arminkills) November 4, 2023

Following the release of the final episode, multiple posts with still images of Eren crying in the anime adaptation were posted online across all major platforms, inspiring more memes and discussions in late 2023.

Various Examples

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Search Interest

External References