Attack On Titan has long been hailed as a series with some of the best openings ever enjoyed by the anime community. They are praised by fans for the way they build hype, for their well-thought-out and exciting take on anime music, and for their stunning sakuga visuals.

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However, the Attack On Titan openings are also riddled with foreshadowing and hints as to what's to come in the series. Most of them are subtle, disguised or so fast they are easy to miss. These openings are masterpieces of symbolic density, and it is worth taking the time to appreciate the amount of thought put into the visuals of each introductory theme.

10 Opening 2: Armin Figuring Out The Female Titan's Identity

Armin Figuring Out Annie's Identity

In Opening 2, viewers see Armin covered in human blood, alluding to the impact of the deaths that happened during the expedition beyond the wall. The camera zooms in on his head, and the image gets superimposed with a multitude of lit candles. Then Armin looks aside as if focusing, and all the candles extinguish except one.

This is symbolism for Armin being distraught after the expedition's events and struggling to make the definitive connection between Annie and the Female Titan, even though he knows it makes sense. Finally, he gathers himself and realizes there is only one possible answer.

9 Opening 2: The Betrayal Of The Titans

Annie And Connie as featured in the second opening of Attack On Titan.

At the start of the second opening, some main characters of the show are shown one by one, facing the left of the screen. These characters are Jean, Sasha, and Connie.

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Bertholdt, Reiner, and Annie, on the other hand, are shown facing the right side of the screen, turned away from the rest of the group, foreshadowing that their loyalties lie elsewhere. Ymir and Historia are shown facing the left, but starting to turn towards to right; a nod towards their hesitation and mixed alliances.

8 Opening 2: The Water Droplet Falling Into Mikasa's Hand

Hands In AOT OP 2

In the second opening, the camera cuts from a shot of Annie's eye to bloody hands attempting to catch a droplet of water. That droplet never reaches the hands, as it stops right where Mikasa's hand appears. This is likely a reference to how Annie's goal is to capture Eren, and she attempts to in the forest, but Mikasa and Levi manage to stop her.

The falling of the droplet is symbolism for the conflict in goals between Annie and Mikasa and shows who ultimately comes out on top.

7 Opening 2: The Reflection Of The Female Titan

The Reflection Of Annie Inside The Wall

Attack On Titan's second opening shows many scenes of Titan rampage within the city. Upon careful examination, there is a puddle of water in one of the scenes which shows the Female Titan's outline. The movement of her hair is animated and clearly recognizable if looked for.

This spoils the fact that she will transform and be present within the city. It also makes way for the idea that what the rest of the characters in the opening are likely fighting against—most notably the transforming Eren at the end of the credits—is the Female Titan.

6 Opening 3: Historia & Ymir

Ymir Looking Grim In OP 5

Throughout the openings, light and dark have been very clear and notable themes. Scenes featuring Titans are dark, gory, and stylized, whereas the soldiers are often shown in pure, white light, symbolizing their fight for justice and their good intentions. With this in mind, it is an interesting hint that Ymir and Historia are shown in faded lighting with scenes of Titan violence flashing on top of them. This likely references how Ymir and Historia are truly allied to no one besides each other.

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The fact that they are shown together also foreshadows their story, which is covered as part of the arc. Historia turns around sharply as if looking for something, while Ymir stands, pensive, as if she knows that she is what Historia is looking for.

5 Opening 3: Grisha & Zeke's Hands

Baby And Adult Hand From Attack On Titan OP 3

The middle of the third opening features the hand of a soldier and a baby. It is left ambiguous as to whose hands these are; some fans have theorized that it is purely symbolic, a show of how hopes for freedom have been passed from one generation to another. Another popular theory is that these are Grisha and Zeke's hands, the former holding the latter's hand, full of hopes for the great soldier he would become.

This is regarded as a more likely theory, given how important Grisha's lore was to the arc. The Beast Titan was also hugely important, so it would make sense to give some focus to his backstory in the opening.

4 Opening 3: Hearts Lit Up On Beasts

AOT soldiers with their hearts lit up

The lyrics to the third opening say to "sacrifice your heart," a phrase often said by commanders in the show to tell their soldiers to devote themselves to the fight. As a reference to the phrase, the soldiers' hearts are lit up. However, the opening also features the Beast Titan and a group of large animal comrades with their hearts also lit up.

The implication here is that the Beast Titan and everyone who fights on his side are also putting their hearts and souls in the fight, and have their own motivation.

3 Opening 5: Framing Of Bertholdt & Reiner

Bertholdt And Reiner Saying Goodbye

In the fifth opening, there is a shot of Bertholdt and Reiner literally having each other's backs. They hold a fist out to each other as they say goodbye, unsure if they will ever meet again. This is a scene from the manga, but the framing is also meaningful.

Bertholdt is shown with his background being Shiganshina, which is where he ends up meeting his end. Reiner is shown in front of the outside of Wall Maria, symbolizing how he leaves the island and goes back to his home.

2 Opening 5: Armin Waking Up

Armin And The Colossal Titan Superimposed

The fifth opening very clearly shows Armin becoming the Colossal Titan with a series of clever frames. The first is a close zoom in on the Colossal Titan's face. The scene then fades to Armin, positioned exactly the same as the Colossal Titan, waking up with a start. The framing suggests they may be one and the same.

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Additionally, there is a split-second shot of Armin burnt to death inserted between the frames of him waking up from a nightmare. It is possible that his waking foreshadows the first time he wakes up after becoming the Colossal Titan, or a reference to the trauma endured in the fight that resulted in eating his friend. It could also be entirely symbolic, showing him being startled into the role of Commanding Officer after the battle.

1 Opening 5: Erwin In Front Of Dead Soldiers

Erwin Smith Surrounded By Dead Soldiers

There is a scene near the end of the fifth opening of Erwin standing in front of a group of soldiers whom viewers know to have already died in battle. This is partially a reference to a scene from the manga, where Erwin is shown to be haunted by the metaphorical spirits of his dead comrades.

However, him standing in front of the soldiers also foreshadows that he is about to join them in the afterlife. He seems to stand as their leader in the shot, which could allude to him leading almost all the soldiers under his command to their deaths.

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