Times Attack On Titan Went Too Far

Attack on Titan has never shied away from showing its gory and grotesque scenes. This is precisely what has earned the series its rank as one of the greatest dark fantasy anime to have been made.

However, even with a show like Attack on Titan, there are scenes that make us think perhaps it has gone too far. Whether it’s Eren going on a rampage in the Final Season, Levi slashing through Titans, or Titans just eating humanity’s last survivors, the show has always peaked in terms of taking things too far.

Contains Spoilers

8 Fay’s Death

Episode 57: That Day

Fay was the younger sister of Grisha and although Attack on Titan has had its moments of horror, this was by far one of the worst.

Fay and Grisha grew up in Marley and, as Eldians, they were second-class citizens. When two Marleyan officers found the two outside their internment zone without an exit permit, they decided to punish the young Eldians. Grisha, being the loving brother he was, offered to take the beating for both of them while one of the officers took Fay away.

Things turned gruesome when Grisha didn’t find Fay back home after the beating, and two officers reported that her mutilated body was found by the riverbank. The truth was revealed seven years later, when Grisha joined the Restorationists. This is where we found out that Fay had been fed alive to dogs. Needless to say, for a show about Titans, this sure was one of the worst.

7 Hannes’ Death

Episode 37: Scream

Ever since Wall Maria fell, Hannes had been filled with guilt for not saving Carla, Eren’s mother, from Dina Fritz’s Titan. In an attempt to atone for his sins, Hannes jumped into the fight to rescue Eren and Mikasa. Meanwhile, Eren tried to activate his powers by biting his hand, but it was to no avail.

In front of Eren’s desperation, Dina Fritz’s Titan ate Hannes, splashing blood on Eren’s face. It was arguably one of the most gruesome deaths in the series. What made it worse was that Hannes’ sacrifice only bought them a few seconds of peace, and all Eren could do was mourn yet another sacrifice that had gone in vain.

6 Mikasa’s First Kill

Episode 6: The World The Girl Saw: The Struggle For Trost, Part 2

Given Mikasa’s childhood, it’s no wonder she grew up strong and selfless. The worst of her past is when she and Eren are about to be killed as children by a group of traffickers operating in the Capital’s Underground.

The traffickers had already killed Mikasa’s parents, and Eren was about to die as well. Left with no options, Mikasa picked up a knife and killed the men in a fit of screams. This was one of the most heart-wrenching scenes, especially because of its direction. Safe to say, however, it left a mark on Mikasa’s personality which made her the person she eventually needed to be, to make the graver decisions.

5 Marco’s Death

Episode 13: Primal Desire: The Struggle For Trost, Part 9

Dying in battle while fighting Titans is one thing but being fed to Titans by your own comrades while being unaware of the cause is way worse.

In Episode 13, during a mission, Reiner, Annie, and Bertholdt discuss their true identities as Titans when Marco overhears them. Realizing their mission is in jeopardy, they decide to silence Marco in the most tragic way possible.

Reiner restrains Marco as he struggles and orchestrates his death so that a Titan eats him. Marco’s screams as he tries to understand what’s happening created such a haunting scene that even Annie and Bertholdt questioned their choices.

4 Mike Meets The Beast Titan

Episode 26: Beast Titan

Episode 26, was arguably one of the best episodes of the show. Mike was one of humanity’s strongest warriors, tasked with scouting in the 57th expedition inside Wall Rose. But his squad was overwhelmed by Titans. Mike fought bravely, taking down several Titans before noticing the Beast Titan, which seemed abnormal.

Things worsened when the Beast Titan threw a horse at him, causing Mike to lose balance and fall into a Titan’s mouth. The Beast Titan verbally ordered the Titan to wait, but the Titan continued, and the Beast Titan killed it. Mike was bewildered as the Beast Titan started talking and asked about the gear.

Mike was so petrified of the situation that he couldn’t even talk, and seeing that, Zeke, the Beast Titan, simply grabbed his gear and walked away, leaving Mike defenseless against the other Titans. Before leaving, Zeke ordered the other Titans to go ahead, and we saw Mike being devoured as he stood there hopeless. Although at surface level, this does not seem so bad, watching Mike’s personality and hopes crumble despite gaining his senses back left us completely shocked.

3 Grisha Kills The Reiss Family

Episode 43: Sin

The Reiss Family was the true royal family, but unfortunately, this did not go in their favor.

After receiving the Attack Titan from Kruger, Grisha went to Paradis to find the true royal family to obtain the Founding Titan. When he finally met them, Grisha’s ideals revealed his sense of reason had succumbed to turmoil.

He transformed into the Attack Titan and killed everyone, including the children, and ate the Founding Titan. It was later revealed that Grisha had, in fact, hesitated, but Eren had orchestrated this plan to ensure the Founding Titan power was given to him.

2 Attack Titan Vs. War Hammer Titan

Episode 65: The War Hammer Titan

From the start, Eren is shown as a noble protagonist in Attack on Titan. Although he had moments of stupidity and ambition, it was clear he would avenge humanity against the Titans.

But then Attack on Titan took a turn. After learning Titan’s history and what had happened in Marley, Eren’s goals shifted to protecting Eldians from the world, not just humanity from Titans.

This became most notable when Willy Tybur declared war on Paradis, and Eren transformed into the Attack Titan to take down the War Hammer Titan. Here, we saw just how far Eren was willing to go to achieve his goals, massacring hundreds of innocent Marleyans, completely unfazed. For the first time, we were led to question if it was time to stop viewing Eren as the protagonist. This was arguably one of the series’ most violent scenes, especially due to the philosophy behind it.

1 Ymir’s Sacrifice

Episode 80: From You, 2,000 Years Ago

Power drives people to do things even Titans wouldn’t. In a final sacrifice, Ymir gave herself to save Fritz. Since Titan power can only be passed down by eating a Titan, Fritz ordered Ymir’s daughters to eat her. This is what ultimately led to the 9 Titans.

This scene was so gruesome that it wasn’t even animated and only a few glimpses were shown. Ymir’s corpse is chopped into pieces by Fritz’s soldiers as he, unfazed, pushes his daughters forward to eat their mother’s remains.

Though not shown directly, the sound effects gave us an exact idea of what happened and we won’t lie, we’re glad they did it.