Though Attack On Titan is considered by many manga and anime fans to be one of the greatest stories ever told, not all of the arcs are equally received. The series has changed a lot throughout the years since Eren joined the military to avenge his mother's death and claim his freedom.
New characters and plotlines were introduced, a lot of lore has been explored, and plot twists have shocked fans in ways they never could have imagined. So which arcs show how great the series truly is and which ones could have been better? Here are all of the arcs from the manga, ranked from worst to best.
9 Fall Of Shiganshina
Fall of Shiganshina is the first arc in the series. In a time where many people think they are in peace behind the walls, those that want to go outside are looked down on. However, Eren wants to join the Survey Corps and help humanity take the world back from the titans.
His desire increases when the titans break into Shiganshina District and kill his mother, causing him to join the 104th Cadet Corps. Though this arc was a great way to get fans interested right away, it is also really short and simply introduced the readers to the characters and setting. For what it is, Fall of Shiganshina is amazing, but the other arcs are even better.
8 104th Training Corps
The only other arc that is very short is the 104th Training Corps arc. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin joined the 104th Cadet Corps and met the comrades that they would fight many battles with for the rest of the series.
Though this arc had the least amount of action and nothing majorly important happened, it was a treat to see what training to fight titans was like and how a lot of the main characters interacted when they first met. Looking back on the arc, there is also a lot of foreshadowing despite being a small part of the overall story.
7 The Uprising
Rather than battling against titans, The Uprising arc focused on the Survey Corps' fight against the Military Police Brigade. The MPs had covered up a lot of secrets that they didn't want the world to know about. Once the Survey Corps started finding out the truth, the two military branches became enemies. Kenny Ackerman, the man that raised Levi, turned out to be an MP, giving fans an insight into the beloved character's past.
One of the secrets that the Survey Corps learned was that Historia was actually the princess of Paradis. After Rod, her father, tried to manipulate her into becoming the Founding Titan, she fought him and became humanity's queen, allowing the Survey Corps to gain more power than ever. Out of all of the arcs, this one seems to be the most forgettable, despite how important it was.
6 Battle Of Trost District
With the members of the 104th Cadet Corps finally being able to decide which branch of the military they would want to join, they felt like they could do anything. However, the feeling quickly changed when the titans returned and broke into Trost District.
The Battle of Trost District arc showed just how dark and brutal the series would get, killing off many characters and showing intense battles for the first time in the series. In the battle, Eren saved Armin and was eaten by a titan. However, instead of dying, he and the rest of the Eldians learned that he could turn into a titan. Humanity put their trust into Eren, hoping that he would be the weapon they'd use to defeat their enemies.
5 The Female Titan
In the first few arcs of the series, there wasn't a true antagonist. However, that changed with The Female Titan arc. Now that Eren and his friends had joined the Survey Corps, their dreams were closer to reality than they had ever been before. During a mission, they encountered the Female Titan, who wanted to capture Eren.
Though it was quite obvious for fans, the members of the 104th Cadet Corps were shocked to find out that their former comrade, Annie, was actually their enemy. While Eren and Mikasa defeated her, part of the wall broke off, revealing that there were titans inside of the wall and causing the Survey Corps to start realizing that their world wasn't what it seemed to be.
4 Clash Of The Titans
Though Eren and his closest friends are in the Clash of the Titans arc, characters like Reiner, Bertholdt, Ymir, and Connie have an even greater role. When a group of titans got inside of Wall Rose, the Survey Corps tried to help as many civilians as they could. While doing so, Connie found a titan that resembled his mother who tried speaking to him. This caused the Survey Corps to realize that all of the titans were actually humans this whole time.
Meanwhile, when meeting up with Eren, Reiner revealed that he was the Armored Titan and that Bertholdt was the Colossal Titan, hoping that Eren would help them end the war they were fighting in. Refusing to do so, they captured him and Ymir, who was the Jaw Titan. In the fight, Eren was able to kill the titan that ate his mother and found out that he had the power to control other titans, causing his enemies to retreat.
3 Marley
Like the Clash of the Titans arc, the Marley arc focuses a lot on Reiner's character. Four years after his battle against the Survey Corps, he has become depressed and suicidal. His only reason to live is for his cousin, Gabi, and her friends in Marley's Warrior Unit, who all look up to him and want to become his successor. Falco, another child in the Warrior Unit, met Eren, who tricked him into bringing Reiner to him. Eren snuck his way into Marley in order to attack Marley, the same way that the warriors had attacked Paradis.
As Zeke, Pieck, and the rest of Marley's Warrior Unit fought the Survey Corps, Eren was able to inherit the War Hammer Titan. When they retreated, fans were shocked to learn that Gabi killed Sasha and that Zeke had been working with Eren the entire time.
2 Return To Shiganshina
Finally ready to take Wall Maria back from the titans, the Survey Corps went to Shiganshina. There, Reiner and Bertholdt, along with two of their comrades, the Beast Titan and the Cart Titan, fought their old friends. The Return to Shiganshina arc had some of the greatest fights in the series and a lot of characters died, such as Erwin and Bertholdt.
However, the reason why this arc was one of the best was due to its ending. Eren, along with Mikasa, Levi, and Hange, went into his father's basement. There, they learned about the past that Grisha hid from his family and the rest of Paradis. Humanity had not perished and the titans were actually used by Marley to attack Paradis. Many shocking secrets were revealed due to Grisha's past life, which changed a lot of fans' perceptions on the series.
1 War For Paradis
Though the series isn't over yet, this last arc is already the best. After returning home, Eren and the Yeagerists, a group of people that see Eren as their true leader, take control of Paradis. In order to fulfill his goal, Eren needed to make contact with Zeke. Upon doing so, Eren was able to control all of the Eldians and titans however he pleased. He unhardened all of the titans and is currently using them to destroy all of the countries that wanted to kill his people.
The Survey Corps and Marley's Warrior Unit joined forces to stop Eren, bringing characters like Mikasa, Reiner, Armin, Annie, and Levi back together for one final fight to save the world. This war has been one of the greatest in all of manga, and as long as the ending is as good as the rest of the series, the War For Paradis arc will truly make Attack On Titan one of the greatest stories ever written.