There are few anime series that are lucky enough to make a fraction of the impact as a phenomenon like Attack on Titan. The iconic action series is set to finally reach its long-awaited conclusion, and it’s done an excellent job at pushing its story forward to challenging and surprising places that have elevated the material to another level.
The intricate storytelling and fearless plot decisions are part of the reason that Attack on Titan is considered to be one of the very best anime series of its generation. The action, characters, and Titan designs are all reasons to adore the anime, but there are also many genuinely shocking moments that leave Attack on Titan’s fandom questioning everything they know.
10 The Reveal Of The Female, Armored, And Colossal Titans’ Identities
Attack on Titan delivers a handful of mammoth surprises each season, but the biggest twist that truly gets everyone’s attention occurs back in season two when the identity of three villainous Titans gets revealed. It’s still a relatively fresh idea in the series at this point that humans can shift into Titans and so it’s incredibly destabilizing for the Survey Corps to learn that three of their trusted members Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie, are actually working for the enemy. It’s a moment that establishes that no one can be trusted any longer in Attack on Titan.
9 The Origins Of The Fritz Family’s Arrangement With The Founding Titan
Titans are plentiful in the anime series, but during the earlier seasons they're viewed as a mysterious enemy that seem like they might never be fully understood. It's a serious turn when it's revealed that the genesis of the Titans was actually calculated rather than some act of nature. Ymir Fritz, the head of Eldia's original royal family, engages in a pact with the devil that turns her into the Founding Titan as well as establishes how the Fritz bloodline will perpetuate this power for generations to come.
8 The Contents Of Grisha’s Basement Are Revealed
It can be an ambitious prospect to tease a mystery from the very beginning that takes several years to finally reveal. It’s easy for this strategy to disappoint expectations or lack the foresight to be a truly satisfying answer.
Attack on Titan teases the ominous nature of Grisha Jaeger’s basement, and it takes Eren and company three seasons to get in there. However, it splits the series’ world apart. It’s revealed that the world is much larger with advanced technology that the Eldians could have never imagined, and they’ve been kept in a dishonest bubble.
7 The King Is A Decoy And Rod Reiss Is The True Leader
Attack on Titan is a series that lives in deception and subterfuge, but one of the more memorable surprises involves the monarchy within the Walls and feels almost Dickensian in nature. King Fritz is the ruler of Eldia, but the figure that's ruled for years as the King is actually an imposter and the real king and Fritz descendant, Rod Reiss, is hidden as an elaborate safeguard maneuver. Everything falls apart once Rod Reiss' truth comes out, but it redefines everything that follows in the season.
6 Armin Becomes The Colossal Titan
It’s incredible to see how Titans slowly turn from a threat into an asset. Initially it’s only Eren who pulls double duty as a Titan and Survey Corps member, but this paradigm gets shattered when Armin tries to play hero against Bertholdt’s Colossal Titan. This is one of the more emotional moments in the series and it works so well because at first it looks like Armin is about to pass away, only for him to in fact gain the power of one of the most intimidating Titans of the lot. It’s a fundamental shift for his character.
5 Gabi Assassinates Sasha
One of the most exciting things about the final season of Attack on Titan is how Gabi and Falco’s stories run parallel to the narratives that have turned Eren and company into the characters that they are today.
Gabi experiences a tremendous amount of loss and courage in a brief amount of time and her adrenaline pushes her to not just infiltrate the Survey Corps’ airship, but succeed in the assassination of Sasha Blouse. Sasha’s death is a surprise, and it’s an act that has major repercussions for both Gabi and Eren.
4 Zeke Jaeger Possesses Royal Fritz Blood
The logistics that govern the different Titans can seem fairly confusing to outsiders, but Attack on Titan slowly parses out information, with a crucial detail being that the Fritz family's royal blood has a special effect on the Titans. The Fritz family seems to be a rather closed off clique, but the end of Attack on Titan's third season reveals that Zeke is actually the son of Grisha Jaeger and Dina Fritz, which means that Zeke does in fact have royal blood and it makes him a major player in what's to come with the possession of the Founding Titan.
3 Zackly’s Assassination And Eren Leads The Anti-Eldian Resistance
There’s a growing sense of dread during the final season of Attack on Titan that becomes more palpable with each passing episode. It’s terrifying to see characters lose sight of themselves and get corrupted by power and pressure. Eren’s questionable actions and if he can still be trusted is a major source of tension and this schism reaches a terrifying boiling point when Floch and other “Jaegerist” revolutionaries plant a bomb that kills Zackly and several others, all as part of a larger plan to secure Eren’s freedom.
2 Kruger Is Revealed To Be Eren Jaeger
The final season of Attack on Titan expertly juggles many disparate storylines at once while characters are several steps ahead of everyone else. However, Attack on Titan lets these mysteries properly percolate in order to generate the most impact. A seemingly tender moment from the first half of the season involves Falco aiding an injured war veteran named Kruger. Kruger eventually reveals that he’s actually Eren and Falco’s assistance has actually doomed his own people in a way. This is a major twist, but it hits even harder since it marks Eren’s big reintroduction into the series after season three.
1 Season Four’s Introduction To Marley
There were high expectations surrounding Attack on Titan’s final season, but the last batch of episodes begin in a manner that’s by far the biggest and most surprising twist that the series has ever done. Eren and the Survey Corps are sidelined for multiple episodes while the anime instead humanizes the Marleyan Warriors. It’s a bold angle that isn’t afraid to shatter the audience’s expectations as it thoroughly plays with who the real heroes are in this final season. The surprising and enigmatic new theme song only makes these final episodes feel more atypical.