Summary
- The Coordinate in Attack on Titan has immense power, allowing manipulation of Eldians and Titans through space and time.
- The Coordinate’s double meaning refers to a central point where paths converge and the Founding Titan’s real-world abilities.
- Obtaining the Coordinate is crucial for success, demonstrated when Eren taps into its power during a critical moment in the story.
Attack on Titan is rich in lore and backstory, a series where true understanding only arrives long after each event. One of the best examples of this is the Coordinate, arguably one of the series’ least-explained but most important phenomena.
Despite appearing early in the story, the Coordinate is a fantastic example of late-stage Attack on Titan. When it first appears, it makes little sense to the audience or the main characters. Only when we learn about the bigger picture and the knowledge gap that has held the main characters back do we understand the phrase’s true meaning, and why everyone is so desperate to get their hands on it.
Related
Attack On Titan: The Reiss Royal Family, Explained
As the true rulers of the Walls, the Reiss family has a turbulent history while serving out their role of continuing Karl Fritz’s ideology.
Understanding the Nine Titans
A lot of Attack on Titan revolves around the Nine Titans, the special titans whose powers are controlled by humans. These are all a result of the death of Ymir Fritz, the original titan, and how her body has been split over the years to create nine distinct powers. Many of these Nine Titans are easy to spot thanks to their unique powers, builds, and wielders. Eren’s Attack Titan and the Female Titan dominate early episodes, while creatures like the Jaw, Cart, and War Hammer Titans play key roles closer to the end of the story. However, one of the Nine Titans is much harder to notice: the Founding Titan.
The Founding Titan’s Unparalleled Strength
Unlike most of the other Titans, the Founding Titan is rarely seen in isolation; it is part of Eren from the start of the main story, so blends with his Attack Titan when he transforms. However, the power of the Founding Titan is very much felt throughout the whole story.
While most Titan powers are physical, the Founding Titan’s spectacular abilities go beyond space and time. Through screaming, the one holding the Founding Titan can manipulate descendants of Ymir Fritz in various ways, including:
- Communicate telepathically
- Alter their memories
- Turn them into Titans
- Control other Titans
The Coordinate: A Phrase Lost in Translation
The Coordinate is a fascinating phrase because it is initially only used by certain characters in the series, namely the Marleyan invaders, and can refer to slightly different things depending on the context.
In Attack on Titan, we’re mainly watching Eldians work out the truth of the Titans through trial and error. However, the Marleyans – including hidden Titan users such as Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir – know much more about what Titans can do, including the Founding Titan. A lot of the Titans’ power is thanks to the historical connection from Ymir Fritz to her descendants, the Subjects of Ymir – primarily the Eldians living within the walls. This connection, as much as it is understood, is visualized in the story through the sand-covered world of the Paths.
The Coordinate’s Double Meaning Explained
In the world of the Paths, we often see a bright tree shape with branches shooting out. This is technically the Coordinate – the location where all paths converge. However, that place doesn’t physically exist and is mainly just a representation of the power of the Founding Titan.
The Founding Titan, with its ability to manipulate other Eldians and Titans, is seen as the center of the Paths and the ultimate point of connection between the Subjects of Ymir. So, when characters talk about the Coordinate, they can be referring to one of two things: the tree-like location in the Paths; or the Founding Titan’s abilities manifested in the real world.
The Coordinate is Key to Victory in Attack on Titan
“Retrieving the Coordinate is our priority, as it should be.” Zeke to Reiner and Bertolt
The first time we hear the Coordinate talked about regularly is during the climax of Reiner and Bertolt’s planned kidnapping of Eren. This is when Eren saves himself and Mikasa by seemingly becoming able to command titans to do his bidding, tapping into his Founding Titan abilities for the first time. Reiner and Ymir, in particular, note how this is evidence that Eren has the Coordinate – the Founding Titan’s power.
Of course, it’s not until much later that Eren and the other Scouts gain a full understanding of what the Coordinate is and the power it holds. However, when its importance returns later in the series as Zeke’s master plan is revealed, the knowledge gap has closed, and Eren is prepared to fully utilize its power for himself.
Attack on Titan is a post apocalyptic themed anime where the world is plagued by monstrous creatures called titans. People live in walled cities to avoid the danger of the man eating titans. After they destroy his home, main character Eren Yeager swears to exterminate all titans off the face of the earth.