Top 10 Most Tense Attack On Titan Moments

Age and trauma may have left Reiner haggard, but that doesn’t mean he still can’t be intimidating as hell. After Falco voices his disapproval about Gabi potentially being chosen to be the new Armored Titan, Reiner goes full-on interrogator mode. He’s so intense about pressing Falco about his loyalty to Marley that you fully believe he’ll break him if he doesn’t say the right thing. Sure, the whole thing was a test to see if he had the resolve to save Gabi from her fate, but still! Falco probably had a lot of nightmares after this.

Upon discovering Reiner and Bertholdt have been camped out on the top of Wall Maria, the Survey Corp begins a desperate search before the two can launch a surprise attack. Thanks to Armin’s ingenuity, he deduces that they could be hiding inside the walls. This leads the corp to slowly working their way across, tapping each part with their blades in the hopes of discovering a hidey hole. We all know Armin is right on the money, but waiting for Reiner to burst free and begin his assault is still a nail-biter!

It’s well established at this point that Levi is not the biggest fan of Zeke Jaeger. After all, as the Beast Titan, he not only slaughtered his soldiers but was directly responsible for the death of Erwin Smith. While still going along with their collusion, Levi has made it perfectly clear that he still has every intention of killing Eren’s half-brother as soon as things with Marley are resolved. As such, a simple discussion on the nature of trust inside of a carriage suddenly becomes a time bomb. We’re just waiting for Levi to finally pop off.

He’s the man with the plan, the fearless leader of the Survey Corp, and the one also willing to take the biggest gambles. Betting it all on the dependency of his team, Erwin allows himself to be captured and brought before the King and his nobles, sentenced to die as a scapegoat for their schemes. Thankfully, with the devil’s luck on his side, Erwin exposes the ruling class for their deceit, essentially causing a coup without ever having to raise a hand. It was certainly touch and go for a minute there…

It’s the decision that took the Survey Corp’s once dainty side character all the way into the realm of badass. Having learned the truth about the Reiss Family and what is expected of her, Historia is left with the fatal choice to either accept the Titan serum, kill Eren and lose her will to the First King’s ideology…or rebel. The way in which she rejects her father and rises up to become humanity’s Queen is truly a standout moment, but given her previous indecisiveness, we were left stumped on first viewing on which way she would go!

Granted, in hindsight this is more akin to Annie giving the “come hither” look, but when her identity as the Female Titan remained unknown, this looked like the end of Armin. He had been sent flying from his horse, she was right on top of him, it would have been so easy for things to end bloody. Yet they didn’t. Well before we knew about Titan Shifters and the Subjects of Ymir, the iron-clad rule was that if a Titan gets its hands on you – you’re dead. Which was what made this such a fantastic subversion!

The biggest of betrayals, and it began with a simple statement. Reiner’s low-key admission that he and Bertholdt are in fact the Titans that destroyed the Walls all those years ago is a bombshell unlike any other, and yet the casual manner in which he says it casts the whole thing into doubt. Was it a moment of madness or a confession of a heinous crime? The longer it goes on, the more the confusion and sense of danger grows, all the way until the whole thing explodes, cementing their change from allies to traitors.

For all the death and killing that occurs across the franchise, nothing sank hearts more than this decision to save a life, since it would mean sacrificing one beloved character for the other! With Armin and Erwin on the edge of death, it falls to Levi to make the crucial decision to make one of them the Colossal Titan. The idea of losing either is horrifying, since it presents us with the choice of practicality vs familiarity. Up until Erwin changes Levi’s mind in his final moments, it truly looked like Armin’s goose was cooked!

Jeez, this lad has dodged death more times than Eren and Mikasa have lost parents! With the reveal of Eren’s Titan form, the military are left petrified, willing to blow the whole lot of them up with cannons. To try and buy time and work their way out of this mess, all Armin can do is give the most impassioned speech of his life. It’s powerful, it resonates beautifully with his growth as a character, and allows just enough time for Pixis to come along to shut shit down. Hard to believe they came that close to being literal cannon fodder.

It was the reunion we didn’t know what we wanted. Infiltrating Marley, making Falco his unknowing tool, Eren played everyone, all leading to a confrontation with the now mentally unstable Reiner. The following conversation between them is as fascinating as it is harrowing, with both confronting their painful pasts, while also showing the two different kind of men they have become four years since their last encounter. For a moment, it looks like Eren is ready to forgive and forget…until he reaffirms his drive to kill his enemies. From there, its war.