10 best Attack on Titan moments fans will never forget, ranked

9) Survey Corps vs. Female Titan

While not as terrifying as the first appearance of the Beast Titan (wait for it), a sentient Female Titan chasing down the Survey Corps beyond the walls was pretty scary at that time. Fans were left baffled as a blonde-haired intelligent Titan ruthlessly massacred a bunch of people without suffering a single blow on her quest to kidnap Eren.

Enter Levi Ackerman. In a spectacular first display of why he’s considered humanity’s strongest soldier, he slices up Annie’s Female Titan in a matter of seconds and rescues Eren from her mouth. Despite the Scouts and the Warriors allying up at the end to fight against Eren, one wonders if Levi ever forgave Annie for the lives she took that day, including those in Levi’s own squad.

8) The Owl

Another day, another great Attack on Titan plot twist. Eren Kruger, a.k.a. The Owl, is a supporting character in a series of flashback episodes revolving around Eren Yeager’s father Grisha. The Owl was the creator of the Eldian Restoration movement, which aimed to topple the tyrannical Marleyan government and free the Eldians from their control. He was successful at this because he passed himself off as a Marleyan, and rose very high in the ranks of the Marleyan military.

The plot twist comes after Grisha, at the time a young revolutionary in Marley, is found out and banished to Paradis Island. It is here that the Owl not only reveals his true identity to Grisha, but offers to pass on the Attack Titan to him. Later, Grisha will pass on the Attack Titan to his son Eren Yeager, our main character. The Owl also mentions Armin and Mikasa by name, even though they’re not even born yet at this point in the timeline.

At this point in the anime, there is a lot of confusion regarding the true origin of the Titans, what lies beyond the ocean, and the overall history of Paradis. This scene, along with the entire arc of Grisha’s childhood and marriage with Dina Fritz, helps provide some clarity. It was also one of the earliest hints that the Attack Titan has the power to see through time, since whomever possesses it can access the memories of its future users. While much of what happens in AoT is Eren’s own doing, one can point to this moment as the point that cemented his future as we know it.

7) Ymir transforms into the Jaw Titan

It was raining Titan-Shifters in season 2. When Eren and company are trapped in Utgard Castle, Ymir (not the Founder, but the unassuming member of the Survey Corps) transforms into the Jaw Titan and takes on a horde of Pure Titans with the striking agility and bite force the Jaw is known for.

Sassy, snarky, and with a fondness Christa (Historia), Ymir was the last person on the 104th Cadet Corps that anyone expected to be a Titan. Well, that’s Attack on Titan for you. As shocking as this moment was, Ymir’s past and subsequent future made it tragic as well.