The Attack On Titan universe is distinguished from many other anime for its realistic (but still unusually high) body count. Heroes and villains alike die frequently throughout the story, sometimes even shortly after they’re introduced.
While this may be attributed to the perilous nature of the series, many fatalities could have been avoided with little effort and planning. By identifying them, we can better understand what opportunities were missed. Bear in mind that this list will contain manga spoilers, as some avoidable deaths have not yet occurred in the anime.
10 Ymir Could Have Stayed With Paradis Since Historia Was Safe
Ymir’s primary goal was to ensure the safety of Historia. She thought that by forfeiting herself to Marley, they might show leniency toward the Eldian queen in the eventuality that her nation collapses.
However, it was later revealed that Paradis was more than capable of defending itself. On the contrary, Marley was the underdog after the Rumbling began. Considering this, Ymir had no real incentive to go along with the Warriors and allow Porco to devour her in order to reclaim the Jaw.
9 Hannes Could Have Been Saved If Others Helped Him Fight The Smiling Titan
Desperate to make amends for his failure in Shiganshina, Hannes confronted the Smiling Titan and attempted to defeat it. Meanwhile, Eren and Mikasa stood back, watching in stunned silence as their friend and mentor was devoured.
Should either of them have lent their assistance, the monster would not have had nearly as much success in the battle. Eren wouldn’t even need to access the Attack Titan to win – he’d just have to touch the giant since it possessed the blood of the Fritz family.
8 Dot Pyxis Could Have Refused To Drink Marleyan Wine
Dot Pyxis was offered fine wine by the captured Marleyans soldiers, a gift that had been promised to have been aged to perfection. He accepted without knowing that it had been secretly tainted with the spinal fluid of the Beast Titan.
Should he have been more distrusting of his enemies, Dot never would have been transformed into a pure titan and forced against his friends. His death created a vacuum in Paradis’ leadership and helped to enable the eventual Yeagerist takeover of the nation. In the end, Dot died as the same type of monster that he spent his life fighting.
7 Sasha’s Death Could Have Been Avoided If The Airship Was Secured Properly
Sasha was one of the Scouts’ most formidable members and a participant in the Marley raid. As the group departed from the destroyed nation, they had a sentry mounted on a tether below the airship in order to fend off attackers and alert the heroes of incoming threats.
However, this worked against them since it gave Gabi an opportunity to stow away on their vessel. Should they have simply foregone using a sentry in the first place, they would have saved the lives of two respected warriors.
6 Lara Tybur’s Death Could Have Been Avoided If Marley Was More Prepared
Lara Tybur was a significantly more skilled user of the War Hammer than Eren and would have defeated him if not for Mikasa’s intervention. The Scouts’ harrying attacks distracted her long enough for him to pinpoint a weakness in her body and exploit it.
If the Marleyans were better prepared to defend their prized titan (or if Zeke was actually willing to lend a hand in the battle, instead of feigning his usefulness) Lara’s death (and the Rumbling) could have both been avoided.
5 Marco’s Death Could Have Been Avoided If He Was More Subtle About Confronting The Warriors
When Marco overheard the Warriors confessing themselves as the Armored and Colossal titans, he was stunned. Foolishly, he called out to them, ensuring if what he’d just heard was correct.
Given the circumstances, he should have known better than to alert the long-sought-after traitors of his presence and quietly slipped off to inform his superiors. Doing so would have abbreviated their infiltration of Paradis and prevented him from losing his life.
4 Keith Shadis Stayed Behind To Stop The Yeagerists When Magath Was Already There
When the heroes needed a vehicle in order to catch up with Eren, they were soon overwhelmed by the Yeagerist forces. In order to counter their foes’ large numbers, Magath lured them onto a boat full of explosives and prepared to detonate it.
Moments before the inferno, Keith Shadis joined him and introduced himself. This was an entirely unnecessary sacrifice, as only one person was required in order to activate the trigger and provide the distraction their comrades needed.
3 Carla Yeager’s Death Could Have Been Avoided If Hannes Did His Job
One of the reasons why Hannes wasn’t able to perform well against the Smiling Titan was due to the fact that there were no buildings nearby. In Shiganshina, he would have an immense terrain advantage since he could latch onto whatever he wished with his ODM gear.
However, his cowardice prevented him from acting against the creature. Instead, he collected Eren and Mikasa to run away. Considering that the Smiling Titan was the only giant in the area, the heroes realistically could have saved Carla Yeager if Hannes defeated his opponent in their first encounter.
2 Marcel’s Death Could Have Been Avoided If The Warriors Were Prepared For Paradis
When the Warriors arrived at Paradis, they were completely unprepared for the threat of pure titans. Ymir almost devoured Reiner, narrowly missing him in favor of Marcel instead (as he felt guilt over his role in his friend’s ascension in becoming a warrior).
If any of the titan shifters had been prepared, they would have been more than able to stop a single feral titan from killing their comrade. Poetically, this included Marcel himself, as the Jaw titan would have afforded him incredible mobility with a relatively little stamina cost.
1 Eren’s Death Could Have Been Avoided If He Listened To Armin
In the end, Mikasa and her allies could not condone the brutality of Eren’s rumbling. As Armin held off his former friend as the Colossal, Mikasa broke through his teeth and took his head from inside the Founding Titan’s skeletal body.
Eren’s revenge could have been satisfied if he simply used the wall titans to flatten Marley, and the Scouts most likely would have assisted him (albeit reluctantly). However, his radical actions forced them to oppose him in the name of humanity itself.
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