The very nature of the world in Attack on Titan means that its inhabitants are at constant risk of being killed at any given moment. As long as the Walls held, people had nothing to fear, of course, but everything changes when the Colossal Titan breaches Wall Maria and allows the monstrous horde to pour into Shiganshina.
This process is repeated again, but it makes no difference when it is discovered that Titans exist within the Walls themselves — such as the Armored and Female Titans. In addition to being caught and eaten by a stray Titan, many of the series' characters come so close to death that it almost seems impossible for them to survive. And yet they continue to do so.
10 Eren Would Have Been Digested If Not For The Attack Titan
During their first ever mission, Eren's team is overwhelmed by the Titans, who basically shatter their enthusiasm within the first two minutes. Thomas Wagner is among the first to be eaten, which infuriates Eren to the point of attacking point-blank.
Of course, his motivation changes from self-preservation to sacrifice when he finds Armin in danger, and, in every sense of the word, martyrs himself to save his friend. Though Eren doesn't know it at this point, he already has the Attack Titan within him, which consequently emerges through the mouth of the Pure Titan.
9 Annie Leonhart Sheathes Herself In Unbreakable Crystal
Annie, as the Female Titan, attempts to beat Eren's Attack Titan off, but he gets his second wind somehow — as shown by what looks like red-hot veins across his body. Annie decides to flee the scene, using her hardened hands to climb Wall Sina, but Mikasa slices her fingers off.
Eren jumps on her the second she hits the ground and tries to tear the human out of the Titan. However, he is unable to kill Annie because she sheathes herself within a crystalline substance that none of them can break.
8 Falco's Accidental Inheritance Of The Jaw Titan
Having consumed Zeke's spinal fluid-infused wine, Falco is liable to turn into a Pure Titan should Zeke roar in his vicinity, so Colt pleads with their War Chief to wait until the boy is out of earshot. This fails, not because Zeke is intentionally cruel as much as because of the time-sensitivity of his own situation.
Falco turns into a Titan, and is commanded to finish Reiner off; however, Porco is unfortunate enough to be in the area, so the boy goes ahead and eats him before the Armored Titan. Poor Falco has really been through way too much pain, but at least he's alive.
7 Conny Springer Atop The Tower Of Utgard Castle
A few members of the Scout Regiment (and others) are trapped atop Utgard Castle, surrounded by a horde of nocturnal Pure Titans who slowly start chipping away at the tower's foundation. Reiner kills one of the attackers, saving Conny and protecting his secret in the process, but the group looks like it's doomed anyway.
Except, of course, Ymir, Reiner, and Bertholdt are already Titans, and Ymir would do anything to protect Historia, so Conny ends up being the odd one out in the situation. If anything had gone wrong, he would have been the only one to die that night.
6 Mikasa Is Almost Devoured By The Female Titan
As good as Mikasa is, she's still far too inexperienced to take on the likes of the Female Titan, so it's extremely fortunate that Levi is around for the bulk of the fight. The Captain effortlessly neutralizes the Female Titan with his trademark whirlwind style, but Mikasa pounces on their prey's nape before he has a chance to warn her properly.
Levi shoves her aside, preventing her from being swatted like a fly. He receives a snapped ankle for his efforts but manages to extract Eren from the Female Titan's mouth before escaping with Mikasa.
5 Commander Erwin Continues Giving Orders From A Titan's Mouth
Having located the Armored Titan, Erwin Smith takes the call to chase after Reiner, aware that the Pure Titans look at all sentient beings as prey. The plan succeeds fabulously, but just as he orders his subordinates to rescue Eren Jaeger, an Abnormal Titan bursts out of nowhere and grabs Erwin by the arm.
In one of the most badass scenes in the entire anime, the Commander continues to issue commands while being literally eaten. Erwin survives this encounter, although his interaction with the Beast Titan ends quite differently.
4 When Jean's ODM Begins Malfunctioning In The Middle Of Battle
In one corner of the battlefield, Eren is trying his best to block the massive hole in Wall Rose, while his Scout teammates are keeping Pure Titans away from him as much as possible. Jean finds himself completely out of luck when his ODM gear stops working, so he does the only sensible thing and runs into a nearby building.
He finds a new working set on a dead body but observes a few Pure Titans approaching him as he struggles to put the new ODM on himself. It's a good thing for Jean that Conny, Annie, and Marco are around to provide enough distraction.
3 Armin Is Converted Into A Titan After Receiving Fourth-Degree Burns
Armin's scheme to weaken the Colossal Titan is as genius as it is reckless — it works perfectly, but leaves him almost completely charred. It's already shocking that he doesn't die of his burns instantly, but that's just because fate has something else in store for Armin.
A heated debate between Levi, Hange, Mikasa, and Eren ensues about who should be the recipient of the single Titan injection that Levi has. Half of them want to use it on Erwin, while the others insist that Armin be given a second lease at life. In the end, Levi makes the right decision: he chooses the future over the past.
2 Marcel Prevents Reiner From Being Eaten By Titan Ymir
Marcel tells Reiner that he intentionally got his brother banned from becoming a Warrior because he wanted to protect him, implying that he is fine with Reiner being killed on their mission.
It might sound cruel, but Marcel atones for his actions almost immediately after revealing this secret to the other Warriors. The Pure Titan Ymir awakens at that moment, but before she can snatch Reiner, Marcel pushes him away, getting himself eaten.
1 Literally Every Time Levi Ackerman Goes Into Battle
It remains a mystery how Levi is still alive after everything he has been through. In addition to his unbelievable strength, reflexes, and agility, his small size means he can move considerably faster than most other Scouts. Levi brings down the Female Titan and would have killed Zeke if Cart hadn't taken him away at the last second.
He also singlehandedly takes down over a dozen members of Kenny Ackermann's Anti-Personnel Squad, despite the latter being armed with actual guns. Levi may not be the protagonist, but he certainly has enough plot armor.