Eren Yeager was the main protagonist of the Attack On Titan series and arguably the character with the most screen time. As one of the nine titan shifters, he has had an opportunity to interact with and change much of the world around him.
However, there are dozens of characters within Paradis and Marley whom Eren has never directly crossed paths with, limiting his influence in spite of his otherwise extremely prominent role. By identifying them, we can better understand how the story functions without Eren's presence.
Warning: This list will contain manga spoilers.
10 Sergeant Gross Created The Titan Who Would Kill Eren's Mother
Sergeant Gross was a Marleyan officer who turned Eldians into titans for fun. He enjoyed their horrified expressions during transformation and would sometimes even feed one captive to another (as proven through his plan for Grisha Yeager).
Despite having been indirectly responsible for the death of Carla Yeager by creating the Smiling Titan, Gross has never interacted with Eren. This was largely due to the fact that he was killed by Eren Kruger well before the young hero ever reached the sea.
9 Karina Braun Saw Eren But Never Interacted With Him
Karina Braun was Reiner's mother and a woman adamantly loyal to Marley in spite of her Eldian lineage. She despised the Scouts, as seen by her reaction when Reiner shared his story of the time spent in Paradis.
Given her relative unimportance to Marley's defensive force, Karina has never directly interacted with Eren since she wasn't an important target. However, she saw his Skeletal Titan during the Rumbling and would have been crushed to death by him were it not for the intervention of Mikasa and the remaining Warriors.
8 King Fritz Was Dead Well Before Eren Was Born
King Fritz was the original master of Ymir and the man who conquered the world using the power of the titans. Since he died well before Eren's birth and did not wield the Attack Titan, the King never had a chance to interact with him.
Should the two have crossed paths, it's difficult to say whether or not they would have gotten along. On one hand, both were willing to uplift Eldians at the expense of the rest of the world. On the other, Fritz was the reason why his race was hated and feared to begin with.
7 Eren Kruger Died Giving Grisha The Attack Titan
Eren Kruger was the man responsible for saving Grisha Yeager and giving him the Attack Titan. Although he died well before Eren's birth, it was possible for the two of them to meet and communicate based on their titan's unique ability.
Despite this, Eren only spoke with his father when accessing the Paths when instructing him to destroy the Reiss family and claim the Founder. Kruger's assistance to the Eldian cause is often underappreciated considering that Eren's quest never could have begun without him.
6 Aurille Never Saw Eren Despite His Keen Interest In Him
Aurille was a noble who court marshaled Erwin under clause six of humanity's charter. He claimed that the Commander's exclusive usage of the Attack Titan was selfish and that he was to be hung for treason.
When a fake report came in regarding a titan assault, however, Aurille was more than willing to let a massive chunk of humanity's population die off. His irresponsibility was the premise for Erwin's coup and swiftly led to his detainment. Zachary would ensure that the noble would spend the rest of his days under the most bizarre and inhospitable conditions imaginable.
5 Dimo Reeves & Eren Never Crossed Paths
Dimo Reeves was the former president of the Reeves Company, a massive trading empire that helped to keep Trost afloat after the devastation of the Colossal Titan. His actions were partially to repent for plugging the only escape route with his own wagon during the second assault.
After learning that the military police intended to kill him as a loose end, he agreed to help the Scouts capture two of their soldiers. However, Kenny Ackerman learned of his treachery and assassinated him a short while later.
4 Nile Dawk Only Interacted With Eren's Body Double
Nile Dawk was a member of the military police who was charged with bringing Eren into the custody of the royals. Despite this duty, he only interacted with Eren's body double, Jean.
The real hero was actually confronting Annie Leonhart in a nearby tunnel, leading to the battle for Stohess. Try as he might, Eren would continue to avoid Nile until the government was overthrown and the Scouts were no longer fugitives. By that point, the military police had no business with him.
3 Eren Has Seen Kiyomi Azumabito But Never Truly Spoken With Her
Kiyomi Azumabito was an ambassador of Hizuru and a relative to Mikasa Ackerman. She first visited Paradis in order to form an alliance with its queen. Both nations would benefit from the partnership; Hizuru needed dependable allies, and the Eldians were generations behind the rest of the world in technological developments.
While Eren was present for some of Kiyomi's exchanges with Mikasa, he never partook in them or engaged her directly. He would continue to remain oblivious toward her after accessing the Founding Titan, as he was too preoccupied with destroying the world to explore Mikasa's lineage.
2 Eren Only Found Mikasa's Mother After It Was Too Late To Help Her
Although Mikasa's family may not have been particularly wealthy or socially accepted, they lived a blissful life in the mountains until bandits attacked their residence. Her mother put up a valiant fight but was murdered by the invaders shortly after their initial breach.
It wasn't long before Eren tracked Mikasa down, saving her from her abductors and helping her discover her abilities as an Ackerman. If he and Grisha had arrived hours earlier, they would have been able to prevent one of Mikasa's worst traumas from ever occurring.
1 Frieda Reiss Died Fighting Grisha Yeager
Frieda Reiss was a user of the Founding Titan. She attempted to protect the royal family from Grisha Yeager during his attack on the cathedral although failed on account of her minimal combat experience.
Eren may have guided his father's actions to destroy the monarchy and steal their power, although he never personally spoke to Frieda himself. Regardless, his actions in the Paths nearly turned Historia against him after Rod Reiss' abduction.