Top 10 Moments In Attack On Titan

Attack on Titan finale screenshot

Attack on Titan (also known as Shingeki no Kyojin) ran for a decade and in that time became a global phenomenon. Some of the greatest animators, musicians, and voice actors in the industry came out in force to make Attack on Titan something memorable. This transcended the anime fandom, transforming people who’d never even seen an episode of Dragon Ball Z into die-hard weebs, complete with merch to prove it.

Attack on Titan is dark, oppressive, and brutal, but it can also be incredibly sweet, heartfelt, and exciting. And now that it’s finished, we can finally look back at the series with fresh eyes. Most of the series feels entirely recontextualized now that we’ve had some late-story revelations, and we can now finally understand just how intricately Hajime Isayama has been plotting out its biggest reveals since the very start.

Major spoilers ahead for the entire Attack on Titan series – as you would expect – but if you’re a fan looking for a trip down memory lane, then you should sit back and reminisce with us as we list the top ten moments in Attack on Titan.

Related: Attack On Titan’s Message Is This: We’re All Stupid And Doomed

10. Zeke’s wine

The best AoT scenes always start serenely. Levi’s muttering to himself about how he’ll keep a promise, and when he looks over at his usually placid prisoner, Zeke, he sees the man just sprinting off into the distance. Why? How far does he think he’ll get in the woods when surrounded by soldiers who can quite blatantly see him? Then Zeke screams – roars – and all of the soldiers fall from their tree branch overlooks before turning into Titans. This is Zeke’s final gambit, positive that the sober and uninfected Levi would never tear through his own squad to keep a hostage. Well, Zeke was wrong.

9. I’ve always hated you

It doesn’t matter what Eren’s intentions were at this moment, there’s no way to feel good about how it went down. We’ve always known how Mikasa has felt about Eren, and in this moment he’s not only rejecting her, but telling her she’s been a fool and a slave for the entierety of their relationship. Armin’s the one utterly outraged by this, and after being held back, lands a solid punch straight to Eren’s jaw. Only, Eren doesn’t flinch and proceeds to give Armin one of his most brutal-ever beatings, possibly even worse than the time he almost died.

8. Hange’s last stand

The eccentric Hange has always been one of the best characters in Attack on Titan, and Hange’s series send-off is incredibly powerful, perhaps even eclipsing the final episode. The heat of the Titans Hange fights is enough to burn skin and set clothes on fire, and yet they give their heart for the sake of humanity, and fights until the last breath. Hange is incredible and deserves nothing less than one of the most memorable moments in the whole series.

7. You were the one who started this story

Grisha was a madman, willing to do anything for the glory of Eldia. He sought out the Reiss royal family and wiped them all out, after all, even the women and children. Right? Zeke tries to show this memory to Eren, only to see Grisha fall to his knees, unable to do the deed. Until Eren kneels next to his father and tells him to fight, fight until death, and fight even after death. After all, Grisha was the one who started this story.

6. To You, 2000 Years From Now

It was only after dozens of chapters and episodes that people started looking back and asked why, exactly, the first episode is titled the way it is. And only with the context from the end of the series can we actually deduce exactly what it meant. The episode starts and Eren wakes up from what felt like an incredibly long dream with tears in his eyes, and that’s just the first hint as to where the series will go.

5. Levi VS Female Titan

The Female Titan seemed borderline invincible when introduced. She effortlessly wipes out Levi’s Scout Squad and then set her sights on the Scouts’ most valuable asset, Eren Jaeger. But that’s when Levi catches up to her and starts systematically dissecting her like a test subject. Slice down the arm, gouge out the eyes, attack the ankles to disable mobility, and then when she’s down and against a tree, a flurry of blows to ensure Eren’s retrieval, and the squad’s escape. This is the first time Levi gets to show off, and he’s shown to be one of the most fearsome characters in the entire series.

4. I will keep moving forward

Eren’s reunion with Reiner in Marley is one of the most tense scenes in anything ever. At this point we have no idea what Eren’s plan is, we don’t know why he’s in Marley, and Reiner’s just as clueless as us – all we really know is that Eren isn’t the type to let things go. Reiner and Eren’s chat goes on for some time, and sees Reiner collapse to the floor, apologizing profusely. That’s when Eren takes his hand, helps him up, and says “I think we were born this way. I will keep moving forward until I destroy my enemies.”

3. Levi VS Beast Titan

We’re onto the top three moments in the series now, and Levi’s performance against Zeke as the Beast Titan is right up there. This immediately follows an incredible sacrifice from almost the entire Scouts unit, including soldiers who had been drafted from other regiments. They marched towards the Beast Titan like a stampede, screaming and shooting flares as the Beast crushed boulders and pitched the shrapnel at them like colossal shotgun blasts. When everything goes quiet Zeke notices the Titans to his right have all been felled, and that’s when an ODM hook latches onto Zeke, revealing Levi in the smoke. What proceeds is intensely satisfying, and incredibly emotional.

2. The Basement

Eren’s didn’t even have the right key the the basement door. The main goal of half of the entire series, and Eren didn’t have the right key all along. Of course, Levi just kicks it in – they’ve come too far for a lock to stop them now. Inside the basement the team finds answers, but a bunch more questions, too. What are the Titans? Where do they come from? What happened to humanity outside? The truth was all here: they weren’t the last remnants of humanity, struggling for survival. They were a faction in an ongoing war.

1. Reiner and Bertholdt reveal

There’s not a single person who didn’t double-take at the dialogue in this section, especially the anime. Reiner outright tells Eren that he and Bertholdt are the Armored and Colossal Titans, and the camera pans away to an entirely different conversation. It’s so matter-of-fact that it convinces you that you missed something important. Then we flash back to the conversation, and Reiner’s talking about how they started their attack on humanity, as Mikasa grips her blade tightly. As it turns out, the Scouts were all suspicious of Reiner and Bertholdt already, and this confession from Reiner was just coming a bit earlier than planned – out in the open, instead of conveniently underground, in a confined space.

Reiner realizes that the jig is up, removes his bandages, and declares himself a warrior as his arm heals before their eyes. That’s Mikasa’s cue to come in swinging as she cuts down both Reiner and Bertholdt, but doesn’t cut deep enough, allowing them time to transform into the Armored and Colossal Titans. The music swells in this scene as a fusion of electronic distortion, angelic vocals, and thunderous sounds all give way to a soaring operatic chorus. This is easily my personal favorite Attack on Titan scene, one that I’ve gone back to dozens of times, and epitomizes all of the shock and suspense that has made the series a once-in-a-generation sensation. This is Attack on Titan at its very best.