For nearly a decade, Attack on Titan has maintained a level of popularity that is almost unprecedented, in no small part because the series is absolutely ruthless in its storytelling. The plot is unrelenting when it comes to characters meeting untimely ends, and it's fair to say that the series' outlook on humanity is more than grim.
The death count in the series is innumerable and among the deceased rest many beloved characters. Yet for all those characters who've died horribly, there are others who dodge the icy grip of death against all odds. For every justified demise, there's another one that feels like a betrayal. Spoilers ahead.
10 Should Be Dead: Eren
The most obvious candidate for the chopping block is none other than Eren Yeager. Reckless to the extreme, the number of times Eren has been rescued by Mikasa, Levi, Armin, or dozens of others (sometimes at the expense of their own lives) beggars belief.
Eren himself comes to realize this fact midway through the series and it weighs on his character, culling his recklessness and confidence. Eventually, this culminates in an almost sociopathic demeanor that makes him hard to empathize with.
9 Shouldn't Be Dead: Petra
The massacre of Levi's entire squad was one of the first times fans realized how savage Attack On Titan could be. While fans had already seen countless victims eaten alive and dismembered, rarely had they become attached to these characters.
Petra in particular was quickly embraced by fans due to her friendly nature and rapport with Levi. When she died an especially gruesome, violent death for Eren's sake, it was a real gut-punch. Though it set a precedent for the tone of the series going ahead and allowed Levi to "adopt" Eren's squad, fans wonder if it would have been so bad to let her live longer.
8 Should Be Dead: Connie Springer
There's nothing particularly fragile about Connie Springer, but his exact role in the series has never been especially profound. A likable enough character, he lacks the smarts and skills of the bulk of his cohorts, and it seems mere chance has spared him from a grisly demise.
Then again, there's a certain degree of realism to Connie's continued existence. Heroes often die, and foot-soldiers do as well, but war is not a story, and there's no rhyme or reason to the whims of death.
7 Shouldn't Be Dead: Hange
Is there a single character in Attack on Titan more endearing than Hange Zoe? Both mad-scientist and savage strategist, without Hange half of the series cast would certainly have perished before even stepping onscreen. Add to that the fact that Hange's non-binary presence was a beacon of representation in a bleak world, their sacrifice, while noble, is all the more tragic.
Hange survived proved so invaluable that fans thought perhaps they might make it to the very end. Though Hange served valiantly, there's so much more their brilliant mind could have contributed to the future of the new world, had they only been allowed to.
6 Should Be Dead: Historia
Historia's trauma is initially obscured by the friendly facade she wears, and this compounds the sense of self-worthlessness she endures once that facade cracks. But it's only then that Historia becomes an interesting character, more likable for her flaws and dark sides. Unfortunately, the moment the story fixates on Historia's bloodline and places her like a puppet on a throne, her potential is squandered.
While no politics in this series should be taken without a grain of salt, the bloodline motif has received justified criticism from fans. Is this show condoning or condemning bloodline monarchs? Historia is caught in the middle of this question. Add to that a more recent, very questionable character ending that results in Historia's pregnancy after fans were so long led to believe that Historia and Ymir were a lesbian couple, it's hard not to wish things had ended differently, even if that meant death.
5 Shouldn't Be Dead: Ymir
It's difficult to talk about Historia's questionable storyline without feeling frustrated about Ymir's. Ymir's story is a sad one, but her character arc is among the most gratifying, which has resulted in her becoming a fan-favorite.
Of all the titan infiltrators in Eren's squad, her path is the most muddled, as she did not ask for the titan power she was granted and was not raised understanding it. Ymir is a tragic figure marked by her selflessness in the face of danger and her willingness to hurt herself to spare her human friends. Her deep love for Historia, a clearly queer element, was refreshing in a series where love is so often decimated by war. For her to die alone so far from the rest of the cast is a true travesty.
4 Should Be Dead: Annie
Given that there are only 9 titan powers in the world, it seems too convenient that no fewer than four would place themselves, intentional or otherwise, in the same squad as Eren. This could be described as lazy storytelling, rewarding twists aside.
Of the four insurgents, Annie is the most fascinating. At last, she has returned, but for more than four years of story, she was essentially trapped in carbonite, absent for longer than she was a part of it. It's not that Annie doesn't deserve to live. It's that her living in a coma was a waste of her potential and she may as well have been deceased. The fact that there's a spin-off series focused on her personal history seems to confirm this missed opportunity.
3 Shouldn't Be Dead: Marco
Marco's death was one of the first pivotal moments in the series, and a poignant hint as to the dark depths the show would soon plunge. Fans immediately clung to Marco and his relationship with Jean, but that's not why he shouldn't be dead.
Storywise, Marco's death actually makes sense. And yet, in season three when the details that led to his gory demise are finally revealed, the knowledge is gut-wrenching. Marco is dead precisely because he was clever and good, and came too close to discovering the truth about Annie, Bernholdt, and Reiner. Their callous decision to sacrifice him so early on remains among the show's most haunting revelations.
2 Should Be Dead: Dot Pixis
Dot Pixis may have met his end in the manga at long last, but the charismatic leader of the Garrison still deserves a mention because he survived the series for too long. Pixis has always been a controversial character, to say the least. In fact, when Hajime Isayama confirmed that his character was based on an Imperial Japanese soldier known by Chinese and Korean fans to have been a murderous war criminal, the outcry was understandably livid.
There is no excuse for the death threats that Isayama received, but fans are right to question why a Japanese author would choose to model any "good guy" character after a murderer of innocents. It's no surprise that continuing to include this character led to theories that the series is only thinly-veiled propaganda. Writing Dot Pixis out earlier might have negated this cruel misstep.
1 Shouldn't Be Dead: Hannes
Hannes was, in many ways, the more wholesome foil of Dot Pixis. He was a level-headed grunt, at one time described as an alcoholic, and mundane as anyone. But his relatable normalcy in a field of extreme characterizations was part of his charm.
Hannes's bravery was often belied by what he thought of as cowardice. His first memorable action in the series was to save Eren and Mikasa, and thereafter he became a better man until his death. In a show where all the mentor figures get stripped away too soon, leaving our protagonists stunted and traumatized from the get-go, it's hard not to wish he had lived long enough to enjoy a well-deserved retirement.