Bronwen’s still not over Attack on Titan, and it’s a bit of a slow news day on a Wednesday afternoon, so she’s going to get some more things out of her system (previous blog can be found here).
Hi, just me again, here to talk about Attack on Titan more. I thought it would be a fun thing to rank some of the best characters, and say why I think they deserve the rank they’re getting.
Warning: Spoilers. This order is not necessarily the STRONGEST most kickass characters, or the ones who’ve contributed most; these are the ones I’ve personally enjoyed the most. Don’t agree? Fight me!
Special mention: Erwin Smith
To be fair, Erwin’s a great commander. As far as I know, his loyalty is unwavering and he does a great job of being a leader.
I just haven’t seen enough of Erwin to feel overly attached to him in any way. To be honest, Erwin’s mostly on this list because he chooses to die and save the beautiful angel that is Armin Arlert. Team Armin 100%.
10. Dot Pixis
Good ol’ Dot Pixis definitely has to be on this list, because he’s eccentric and silly. Once, he said he would not mind being eaten by a Titan if “it happened to be a stunning beauty.”
He also let Sasha work her ass off capturing a wild boar then cooking its meat, before putting an omelette in first place purely because it was lighter on his belly for a late-night snack.
But he’s also an effective leader and manages to stop a mutiny by successfully convincing the soldiers to continue fighting to retake Trost District. He always put humanity’s survival first over any personal goals.
9. Jean Kirstein
Jean is surprisingly popular with the fans, and although you don’t necessarily notice him at first, he’s a character that really grows on you. Saying that, in the special episode Sudden Visitor, he’s an absolute dick to his mum before beating Sasha by making an omelette.
Still, when it comes to fighting titans, he’s reliable and a bit of an unsung hero.
8. Mikasa Ackerman
Why is Mikasa so far down on this list? I just know people are going to come for me for even saying this. After all, she’s one of the strongest fighters in AoT, she’s shown strength of character, kindness, compassion, and loyalty. Well… she just is. There’s something about Mikasa that I find a bit two-dimensional (aside from in the literal sense) and she bores me.
She’s got this unwavering drive to protect Eren and be with him no matter what, and that’s been her main driving reason for getting into the scouts and just about every single action since. I dread to think what happens to her with Eren gone, because loving him seemed to make up most of her personality.
I’m also annoyed that when given the chance, when asked, Mikasa didn’t say how she actually felt about Eren. But he knew anyway. Both of them knew how the other felt and neither of them f***ing did anything about it. What a waste.
7. Sasha Blouse
I absolutely 100% needed Sasha Blouse AKA Potato Girl in my life. She brought some much-required comic relief to AoT, right from the start with the Potato Incident. But Sasha also proved she was kind, compassionate and a strong fighter who was willing to do what it took to save others.
I really enjoyed the special episode were Sasha and Jean went head-to-head in a cook-off; it was without a doubt the funniest, most ridiculous episode of the entire series, and I was so glad I got to see more of Sasha, having just slogged through the rest of the show.
As for the way Sasha went out, we all know she deserved better. For all that she’d been through, Potato Girl should have gone out in a way that at least made some sense, that felt justified in some way. Not just shot on an airship by Gabi.
Saying that, I did completely understand Eren’s reaction when he was told her last words were her asking for meat. I laughed, too.
6. Eren Yaeger
Okay, I have to put Eren somewhere so I suppose this is as good a place as any. Whilst Mikasa seemed fuelled simply by protecting Eren, Eren came across as purely driven by trauma-induced rage and hatred. Don’t get me wrong, he had good points, wanted a better life, and he cared deeply about his friends.
In fact, he loved Mikasa, which is why he was crying pathetically to Armin about how he didn’t want her to move on after his death, which was f***ing stupid. But, at least he went the extra mile to share those precious last moments with his friends, and they knew finally what was in his heart.
I think, for me, Eren goes from annoying, to acceptable, to totally unrelatable and then to heartbreaking tragedy. It’s sad, but brave of AoT to do this to their perceived main character.
5. Queen Historia Reiss
The character of Historia was a slow burn for me; after all, she first appeared as this shy, gentle character who would do whatever it took to help others. At first she was the kind, loving Christa who went through some hella development arc.
Eren summed it up pretty well when later he said she was no longer wearing a mask, and was just Christa (or Historia, I can’t remember when that was).
I also wasn’t expecting the tonal change in Historia’s “Yes, I will do whatever is required of me, Father” to “I’ve had enough of YOU AND YOUR SHIT!!!” but I was living for it. Historia is another great character I don’t think we saw quite enough of, and I would have liked to see more of her in the special episodes.
4. Levi Ackerman
The character of Levi has grown on me throughout the series, because he’s highly skilled, dependable and doesn’t let anyone down – well, aside from when he decided to save Erwin over Armin. I’ve pretty much forgiven him for that choice, though, because he respected Erwin’s wishes and Armin became the colossal titan.
He manages to singlehandedly bring down Zeke’s Beast Titan, and that’s quite something. Plus, when it comes to the crunch (almost literally) he also helps Mikasa enter the mouth of Eren’s Founding Titan so she can finish things once and for all.
I really appreciated the two-part special episode where we learn about Levi’s background, the fact he taught himself to use the ODM gear, and how he tragically lost his friends when the three of them tried to carry out a plan they arrogantly thought was smart.
3. Annie Leonhart
Annie has always been a really strong, kickass character, who we don’t always get to see as much of – but when we do, it’s worth it. Sure, she’s done things she isn’t proud of, but I think none of the characters got through to the end without substantial blood on their hands.
In the end, she harnesses the power of the female titan despite having said she didn’t really want to get involved, and she helps save Armin and Mikasa so they can both get to Eren and stop him.
Also, I ‘ship Armin and Annie SO BAD. They complement each other perfectly and it’s a subtle slow burn to their relationship… but it’s there. Armin spent four years speaking to Annie, and the scene where he all but admits what that meant really touched me. Those two are made for each other.
2. Hange Zoë
Hange Zoë is right up there for me, because she’s quirky and brings so much colour to the show, but also has so much depth of character; she’s intelligent, responsible, capable and becomes a powerful leader.
She’s also weirdly passionate about the titans, and treats any she manages to capture like pets. She knows how important it is to study your enemy, which she was able to quite ingeniously highlight in one of the special episodes, where she likened it to Levi coming to attack you and in order to beat him you have to study everything about him, including his toilet habits.
She went out of her way to save Levi, and, when everything was on the line and looking hairy, Hange stepped up and she did it in the most BADASS freakin’ way possible! I was still really sad she died at all, though.
1. Armin Arlert
There seems to be some debate about my boy Armin, who started off as a character you might have called ‘weak’ – but even back then, he still got in the heads of his bullies. He started off as a little boy paralysed in fear by titans. He grew stronger, oh so brave, and was able to use his brain smarts to work out many ingenius ways of beating the titans.
One of Armin’s most defining moments is when he sacrifices himself to save Eren, almost burning to death in front of the colossal titan so that one day maybe Eren can get to see the ocean. That broke my heart. Armin is my favourite character by far, and was way before this moment – and this is a time where I was a complete mess crying ugly tears.
Later, Armin questions Eren’s actions and reasoning when he turns against himself and hurts Mikasa, but also isn’t so deluded that he doesn’t know when to call it a day. He concedes Eren is the one that has to be stopped. He rises to the occasion every time, and always does what needs to be done.
Eren even foreshadowed this, with the quote: “The one who’s going to save the humanity isn’t me or the commander, It’s Armin!”
Here’s a video to back me up.
Well, that’s me hopefully having gotten something out of my system with this post. Thanks for humouring me.
Am I wrong about which characters are best? I don’t care, you’re very welcome to fight me in the comments below. In fact, I welcome it.
