The must-have anime The attack of the Titans has made us see all the colors in recent years. The journey that was rich in emotions is soon coming to an end and that is why we invite you to review together a top 8 of the most touching and moving deaths in the history of anime.
WARNING: This article inevitably contains spoilers regarding the Attack on Titan anime. If you don’t want to be spoiled, save this article and watch the anime first!
#8 Carla Jaeger
Here is a character who made a relatively brief appearance because Hajime Isayama decided to kill him as soon as he showed him to us. Indeed, Carla appears in one of the most moving and poignant pilot episodes of all anime. Carla Jaeger embodies the mother of the protagonist, Eren Jaeger, described and seen as a very kind and gentle sensitive soul, especially through the affection she has for her son Eren and his friend – adoptive sister – Mikasa. First of all, the first episode appears to be an ordinary and rather calm day, but the situation quickly deteriorated as we see the Colossal Titan destroying the wall that protects the people of Shiganshinaand opens a gap for other titans.
At the end of the episode, we see Mikasa next to Eren who tries somehow to save his mother. She finds herself trapped under the rubble while Eren, helpless, is a spectator of that harrowing scene where Carla inevitably ends up being run over and eaten by the Smiling Titan. This is something to mark our spirits and announce the color: sensitive souls, abstain!
#7 GRISHA JAEGER
Grisha is one of the main characters in The attack of the Titans, directly related to the protagonist Eren through his kinship. Indeed, Eren had to say goodbye to both of his parents from an early age, which in itself is truly tragic and sad. We understand better why this young man, with a traumatic past, sometimes lets himself be carried away by his emotions.
Grisha Jaeger has greatly helped the development of the plot, he was notably at the origin of revolutions in Mahr so that the oppressed Eldian people prevent a genocide of their ethnic group. He will eventually join the island of Paradise in search of the truth and will bequeath the Original Titan and the Assailant Titan by letting himself be devoured by his own son, Eren.
#6 MARCO BOTT
Everyone knows him as a big motivator for Jean to join the Training Squad, but he’s more than that.. Indeed, Jean was never very motivated to serve his nation by joining the army and fighting against titans. He prefers to take it easy and have a peaceful life. Marco, on the other hand, noticed that Jean had the ability to relate to others and would be a good leader. He even managed to convince him that he was brave and that he could handle any situation. Marco always knew how to find the right words whether it was with Jean or the others, people liked to listen to him and he knew how to comfort them.
Everything changes when Marco finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.. He unfortunately overheard a conversation between Reiner and Bertolt discussing their mission as the Titans sent from Mahr. He was then immobilized and disarmed by Reiner and Annie, leaving him alone and helpless against the threat of the titans and inevitably dies devoured by one of them.
This death is all the more striking and disturbing because once the trio of Titans (Reiner, Berthold and Annie) see Marco die, Reiner forgets that he sent his own comrade to his death due to his personality disorders. .
#5 HANNES
Hannes was a very endearing and deeply kind character, he was always in a good mood, but he often drank irresponsibly. He did not mourn the death of Carla Jaeger, whom he saw die before his eyes. He was hugely ashamed of his lack of courage when attacking Shiganshina and cared deeply for Eren, Armin and Mikasa. He took care of them after Carla was eaten and made up for it in a big way.
That’s not all, he tried to avenge the death of Carla Jaeger by coming to the aid of Mikasa and Eren during an attack by the Smiling Titan. This scene is one of the strongest and most moving moments of the animated series, triggering a surge of rage in Eren who cannot manage to transform into a titan to protect his friend and will subsequently provoke the power of the Original Titan.
#4 SASHA BLOUSE
It is during season 4, just after a triumph of the exploration battalion against the forces of Mahr, that Sasha sees her destiny turned upside down.. Sasha and her friends are at this time in an airship in charge of recovering the fighters of Paradis. Conny informs her friends of her relief that they survived this confrontation. Following this, the three begin to chat casually. That’s when Sasha hears a weird noise coming from the back of the airship but no one pays attention to it. Unfortunately, it was Gabi Braun who had entered to avenge her family, and this one fired on Sasha with a rifle which will die a few moments later while being emptied of its blood.
The community was greatly affected by the death of Sasha because she brought humor to soften manners but also a joie de vivre, especially through her passion for cooking. These qualities were all the more appreciable in view of the heavy atmosphere in which the characters of the series evolved. What’s more, the fact that his death led to the fan base expressing their anger at Gabi is a testament to how much this character was truly esteemed.
#3 SAMUEL & DAZ
Daz and Samuel were already present during the battle of Trost in the first season. Samuel was saved by Sasha by falling off the wall in the Colossal Titan’s second appearance and the psychologically devastated Daz lost hope of victory. Daz was so desperate that he would even try to kill himself, but Marco was able to stop him in time.
In Season 4 Episode 10, as Daz was trying to rearm the explosives on the ship after being informed that Connie and Armin betrayed the Pro-Jaeger side, Samuel shoots Armin and tries to fend Connie off. Despite his injuries, Armin tries to stop Daz and Daz threatens to kill him. To save Armin, Connie takes Samuel’s gun and shoots Daz in the head and then at Samuel, obviously reluctantly.
This fratricidal scene, both shocking and tragic, accompanied by a very well-placed flashback with the words of Bertolt, reminds us that it is always possible to justify one’s actions when one thinks of acting for the good of all. And when Connie was the victim of this same type of betrayal with Reiner, Annie and Bertolt, he could not accept or understand their actions. He now understands better this terrible position of having to sacrifice his own friends as well as the vicious circle that is the war between Mahr and Paradis.. There is basically no good or bad side, as both opponents justify their actions by the need to protect the future of humanity. Moreover, the reappearance of these two secondary characters who made a brief appearance in season 1 shows us once again that Hajime Isayama has an eye for detail and that each character has a certain importance and a role in the development of the story.
#2 FAYE JAEGER
Faye was a sweet, innocent girl. She was an admirer of airships and her brother Grisha took her to see them regularly. Faye lived in Mahr, a police state that abused her and her brother due to their Titans-related heritage. One day, Grisha sneaked with his sister into a forbidden area to see airships, Mahr police caught them and while one of them punched Grisha, the other lied and said he would bring Faye home.
What really happened was that the man threw Faye to his dogs while she was still alive. She could not survive these heavy injuries because of her fragility and her young age. Faye’s innocence and horrific murder is thus logically one of the most shocking and significant deaths of the entire series. Especially since it is the source of Grisha Jaeger’s hatred of Mahr, of his will to resist. This event is perhaps the one from which the true story of Eren and Sieg begins, which will seal the fate of all humanity.
#1 ERWIN SMITH
Erwin is probably the most charismatic character in the entire anime series. With his status as an Army Corps Commander, he possesses a true warrior spirit and unparalleled leadership. He captured the hearts of all fans of The attack of the Titans giving us shivers with every speech he gave to motivate his troops and his death was all the more shocking because it comes at a key moment in history. Indeed, Major Smith was one of the best strategists and demonstrated exemplary impartiality when it came to the future of humanity. Therefore, he was able to keep his cool and devised a plan to deal with the existential threat of the Titan Beast. In particular, he succeeded in convincing the exploration battalion to rush straight towards the enemy in order to distract them, thus accepting a tragic end. This daring strategy will bear fruit as Levi will sneak among the enemy and stop the Beast Titan.
In these last moments, Erwin refused to be saved by Levi who wanted to inject him with a serum to transform him into a titan so that he could eat Bertolt, the Colossal Titan, and then be able to regain his human form. Indeed, Erwin realized that his stubbornness to find answers to the questions that haunted him so much was ruining his life and he finally accepted death to find peace. This brave and mature act will also save Armin.
So much for this article, hoping to have made you resurrect past emotions. And do not hesitate to share with us in the comment space the death that has marked you the most in this ranking! We are looking forward to the last episodes of the series and one thing is sure: the MAPPA studio has not…
