With the final act set to start airing in January of next year, the anime with some of the most compelling antagonists around is approaching a final climax. From the first of the brutal titans that appeared to the morally ambiguous figures which appear more and more in the later seasons, Attack On Titan features no shortage of interesting villains.
While not all of the antagonists in Attack On Titan have their own redeeming moments, a select few are given a chance to shine, fighting for what they believe is right in a violent and terrifying world.
Already showing off her fighting prowess and mysterious backstory from the moment she is introduced, Annie Leonhart is undoubtedly a badass. Her reveal to be the intelligent Female Titan, as one of the Titan Shifters, is one of the twists early in the show that established it as a series in which the viewer can never let their guard down.
In her form as the Female Titan, Annie attacks the survey corps in search of Eren, knocking Armin from his horse and leaving him defenseless. Whilst Annie could have taken the opportunity to wipe out one more potential enemy, instead, she recognizes him as the boy she trained with and decides to spare him. In a world of very little compassion, Annie shows that she is more than just an amoral villain.
Another Survey Corps member who trained in the 104th Training Corps, Bertolt Hoover is the quiet, reserved personality that hides the ability to transform into the Colossal Titan and bring terror to the people within the walls. As the largest titan seen at that time, Bertolt seemed to present one of the greatest threats to humanity in his titan form.
Furthermore, Bertolt comes across as cold and uncaring in the face of some of the tragedy he causes in aid of his cause, and he eventually embraces his role as one of humanity's greatest threats. His decision to take this burden on his shoulders in his commitment to protecting his friends and family is in itself an act of twisted heroism and shows the character's dedication to his ideals.
The bearded Titan only has a brief appearance in Attack on Titan, but it is nevertheless a memorable one. As one of the terrifyingly unpredictable deviant titans, the Bearded Titan tears through Eren's squad as they fight following the Colossal Titan's breach of the walls of Trost, and threatens to swallow Armin.
The sad truth was that these deviant titans were former Eldian restorationists turned into titans against their will, intelligent humans forced into performing barbaric acts. The Bearded Titan's act of swallowing Eren, who sacrifices himself for Armin, causes his first titan transformation and it was one of the most impactful transformations in the show. Whilst he wasn't in control of his actions, the Bearded Titan's act actually ends up giving humanity hope in one of their darkest times.
The human identity of the Armored Titan, Reiner Braun is the consummate soldier who was able to seem just as committed when fighting with the Survey Corps as when working against them in service of the nation of Marley, to whom he was truly loyal. Reiner became a favorite character for fans who admired loyalty. Like the other titans, Reiner brings terror to the citizens of the walls, being the one to charge at Wall Maria and allow other titans in.
In service of his home nation of Marley, this in itself could be considered a heroic act. However, unlike his comrades, Reiner confronts himself after and regrets the pain he brought to the people with whom he sat as friends while trying to blend in. Reiner talks about wanting to be a hero when he acted as the Colossal Titan, but what sets him apart is his realization that the violence didn't help anyone, and his admission of this to Eren steels his resolve to keep moving forward.
Otherwise known as King Fritz, Karl was the Eldian king who took the Eldians to Paradis Island and erased the citizen's memories of the outside world. The result of Fritz's villainy is obvious in the horrors of the society he ends up building, unable to leave the walls for the constant terror of what's outside and split up by a massive class divide only made worse by food shortages and similar struggles.
In doing so, however, Fritz was able to temporarily create a kind of peace for the Eldian people, an act of heroism. Though no one would agree with his methods, or that he may have been motivated to do so by the eventual assured destruction of the Eldian people by the military might of Marley, Fritz is able to briefly achieve what almost no one else was able to.
A serial killer who mercilessly targeted the military police, Kenny Ackerman eventually finds himself battling Levi's squad as one of the supporting antagonists of the series. Kenny's rumored victims number in the hundreds, and even his method of killing, slitting the victim's throat, is brutal.
Kenny's act of heroism comes in the form of his relationship with the young Levi Ackerman, whom he is the uncle of. Despite trying to convince his sister not to keep the child, Kenny nevertheless takes on the role of raising him after she falls victim to disease. Kenny was able to instill in Levi not just incredible athletic abilities, but also a strong moral compass despite his own nature.
The businessman who effectively causes more deaths by holding up a line of escaping citizens during the Battle of Trost in order to get his merchandise to safety, Dimo Reeves embodies selfishness and greed. He becomes hated not just by viewers, but also by the people of Trost, who make him an outcast after what happened.
Dimo Reeves's act of heroism is that, despite his status as a detested outcast, he nevertheless used his money to rebuild the city of Trost after the battle, supporting the people, providing jobs to them, and helping to rebuild the buildings destroyed by the conflict. Without Reeves, it is doubtful that the city would have been able to survive after the destruction it suffered.
Arguably the biggest threat in Attack on Titan, Eren's half-brother Zeke is the great "Warchief" of the Marley nation, whose ability to strategize and secure military victories using his intelligence even outweighs the destructive capability of the Beast Titan form into which he can transform.
Zeke Yeager's heroic moments are exactly the ones that make him villainous to the Eldians. Though he was indoctrinated into the nation, he is respected and looked up to in Marley, singlehandedly turning the tide of battle in their favor at points while using his beast form to direct shells at warships before they can attack. Zeke Yeager is undoubtedly the hero of the nation he is loyal to.
One of the things that Attack on Titan does best is developing characters of moral ambiguity, rather than simplistic representations of good and evil. The anime's protagonist, Eren Yeager, epitomizes this approach, as his hatred of the titans responsible for the death of his mother drifts into something more destructive over time.
While Eren can be considered a villain or at the very least a dark antihero, he nevertheless has moments of true heroism, including his act of blocking the gap in Wall Rose as titans swarmed into Trost, securing the first key victory for the military over the titans. Eren's heroic acts are a part of what makes his transformation into something far darker than a typical protagonist so compelling.
Despite becoming a supporting antagonist in the series, Floch Forster is one of the few characters who are willing to air his moral objections to some of the horrors being committed around him in the name of the war. Before he is scarred by the events and turns into the merciless supporter of Eren Yeager he becomes, Floch directly calls out his superiors when no one else will.
As Levi plans to disguise his attack on the Beast Titan with a suicidal charge by the other soldiers, Floch is the one who objects to this callous treatment of human lives. In the series, this moment becomes one of Levi's most iconic moments, but it is also a defining one for Forster. Again, later, when his superiors are forced to choose between saving Erwin or Armin with the Titan serum, it is Floch who risks his position to object to their emotions guiding the decision, when Erwin would make a stronger ally if he was saved.
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