Attack on Titan begins with humanity sealed inside three enormous walls, hiding from giant, mindless Titans that eat people. When a Colossal Titan kicks a hole in the outer wall, young Eren Yeager watches his mother die and swears to kill every Titan. That revenge plot is just the surface. Over four seasons the story turns into a war drama about who the Titans really are, who built the walls, and what the people outside think of those inside.
The cast is large and constantly shrinking. Below you'll find the main trio, the Survey Corps, the rest of the 104th Training Corps, the Marleyan Warriors, the royal family and the key figures from Marley, then the Nine Titans, the voice cast and an A–Z list.
- Creator
- Hajime Isayama
- Manga
- 2009–2021, 139 chapters
- Anime
- 2013–2023 (Wit Studio, then MAPPA)
- Japanese title
- Shingeki no Kyojin
Eren, Mikasa and Armin
Eren Yeager
Protagonist · Attack Titan
Eren is furious from the first episode: at the Titans, at the walls, at anyone who accepts living in a cage. He discovers he can turn into a Titan himself, and the military has to decide whether he's humanity's weapon or its threat. Over the series his idea of freedom hardens until he sets off the Rumbling, a plan to trample the world outside the walls. Few protagonists have moved so far from where they began, and the fan debate about him hasn't settled.
- Voice
- Yuki Kaji (Japanese), Bryce Papenbrook (English)
Mikasa Ackerman
Survey Corps · Eren's adoptive sister
Mikasa was taken in by Eren's family after he saved her from kidnappers who murdered her parents. She graduates top of her class and fights with an almost superhuman skill that comes from her Ackerman blood. Her whole life orbits Eren, and the red scarf he gave her is her symbol. The final arc asks her to decide what loving him actually requires.
- Voice
- Yui Ishikawa (Japanese), Trina Nishimura (English)
Armin Arlert
Strategist · Colossal Titan
Armin is physically the weakest of the three and by far the best thinker. He's the one who first dreamed of the sea beyond the walls and who works out the enemy's identities before anyone else. He inherits the Colossal Titan and, by the end, becomes the person who has to talk to the world instead of fighting it.
- Voice
- Marina Inoue (Japanese), Josh Grelle (English)
The Survey Corps
The Survey Corps (sometimes translated as the Scout Regiment) is the one branch of the military that leaves the walls. Its soldiers fly between buildings and trees with omni-directional mobility (ODM) gear and try to reach a Titan's nape, its only weak point. Their death rate is horrifying, and they're the heart of the story.
Levi Ackerman
Captain · Humanity's strongest soldier
Levi grew up in the criminal Underground beneath the capital and was recruited by Erwin after a failed attempt to kill him. He's blunt, obsessive about cleanliness and the best Titan-killer alive, but what defines him is how many of his comrades he loses. His promise to Erwin to kill the Beast Titan follows him through the entire second half of the story.
- Voice
- Hiroshi Kamiya (Japanese), Matthew Mercer (English)
Erwin Smith
13th Commander
Erwin is a brilliant, ruthless commander who will spend any number of lives for the truth about the world. Privately, his real motive is to prove a theory his father was killed for. His speech before the charge at Shiganshina is one of the most famous scenes in the anime.
- Voice
- Daisuke Ono (Japanese), J. Michael Tatum (English)
Hange Zoë
Squad leader · 14th Commander
Hange is a delighted, slightly unhinged researcher who wants to understand Titans rather than just kill them. They're the warmest presence in the Corps, and they inherit command after Erwin. In the final arc they carry the job of holding the alliance together.
- Voice
- Romi Park (Japanese), Jessica Calvello (English)
Jean Kirstein
104th · Squad leader
Jean joined up hoping to reach the comfortable Military Police and clashes with Eren immediately. The death of his friend Marco changes his mind, and he becomes a realistic, honest leader. He's one of the most believable characters in the series because his growth is gradual.
- Voice
- Kishō Taniyama (Japanese), Mike McFarland (English)
Sasha Blouse
104th · Archer
Sasha is the hunter's daughter who ate a stolen potato in front of the drill instructor on her first day. She's funny and perpetually hungry, with sharp instincts and a gift for the bow. Her fate in the Marley arc is one of the series' most painful moments.
Connie Springer
104th
Connie is a cheerful, not-very-bright soldier from a village that holds one of the series' darkest secrets. He and Sasha are the squad's comic duo, and his grief later shows how much the jokes were holding up.
- Voice
- Hiro Shimono (Japanese), Clifford Chapin (English)
Levi Squad
Petra, Oluo, Eld and Gunther
Levi's handpicked Special Operations Squad guards Eren during the 57th expedition. Petra Ral is warm and steady, Oluo Bozado imitates Levi badly, and Eld Jinn and Gunther Schultz are quiet professionals. Their encounter with the Female Titan is the moment the anime shows you no one is safe.
Moblit Berner
Hange's assistant
Moblit spends most of his screen time trying to stop Hange from getting eaten during experiments.
Keith Shadis
12th Commander · Drill instructor
The shouting instructor of the 104th, who was once Survey Corps commander and knew Eren's father.
Floch Forster
Survey Corps · Yeagerist
A survivor of the charge at Shiganshina who becomes Eren's most fanatical follower.
Inside the walls: the 104th, the royal family and the military
The 104th Training Corps graduated ten top cadets: Mikasa, Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, Eren, Jean, Marco, Connie, Sasha and Krista, in that order. Several of them were not who they claimed to be.
Historia Reiss
104th · Queen of the Walls
Historia spends the early series as Krista Lenz, a sweet, self-sacrificing cadet. She's really the illegitimate daughter of the Reiss family, the walls' true royal line. Choosing to live as herself, and refusing the role her father planned for her, is her turning point, and she becomes queen.
- Voice
- Shiori Mikami (Japanese), Bryn Apprill (English)
Ymir
104th · Jaw Titan
Ymir is a sharp-tongued cadet who loves Historia and pushes her to stop pretending. She's secretly a Titan shifter who spent decades as a mindless Titan. She later chooses to give her power back to Marley.
Marco Bott
104th
A kind cadet who wanted to serve the king. His death changes Jean and holds a secret about the Warriors.
Hannes
Garrison
A drunken Garrison soldier who rescues Eren and Mikasa on the day Shiganshina falls.
Dot Pixis
Garrison commander
An eccentric commander who backs Eren's plan to seal Trost.
Kenny Ackerman
Leader of the Interior Police squad
Kenny is a legendary serial killer turned enforcer for the royal government, and the man who raised young Levi in the Underground. He's the main enemy of the Uprising arc, and his last conversation with Levi explains a lot about both of them.
Rod Reiss
Head of the Reiss family
Historia's father and the hidden power behind the throne.
Grisha Yeager
Eren's father
A doctor who vanished after Wall Maria fell. His basement holds the truth about the world.
The Marleyan Warriors and Marley
Beyond the sea is Marley, a nation that uses Eldians with Titan powers as weapons. The Warriors are Eldian children trained to inherit those powers. The final season tells part of the story from their side, and it reframes everything that came before.
Reiner Braun
Armored Titan
Reiner was the dependable big brother of the 104th, and also one of the Titans who broke the walls. He spent years undercover until he could no longer tell which version of himself was real. By the final season he's a hollowed-out veteran, and his guilt makes him one of the series' most sympathetic characters.
- Voice
- Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese), Robert McCollum (English)
Bertholdt Hoover
Colossal Titan
Bertholdt is the quiet, indecisive member of the Warriors, and the Colossal Titan who kicked in the gate in the first episode. He went along with Reiner's lead for years and nursed a hopeless crush on Annie.
Annie Leonhart
Female Titan
Annie is a distant, deadly martial artist who joined the Military Police. As the Female Titan she nearly captures Eren on the 57th expedition. Cornered, she seals herself in a crystal and spends years asleep inside it.
- Voice
- Yū Shimamura (Japanese), Lauren Landa (English)
Zeke Yeager
War chief · Beast Titan
Zeke is Eren's older half-brother, raised in Marley, and the Beast Titan who pelts the Survey Corps with boulders like a baseball pitcher. His secret plan, to end the suffering of the Eldian people by ending the Eldian people, makes him the series' most coldly logical villain.
- Voice
- Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Jason Liebrecht (English)
Pieck Finger
Cart Titan
Pieck is a sleepy, perceptive Warrior who can stay in Titan form for months. She's the sharpest reader of people among the Warriors and a favourite with fans.
Porco Galliard
Jaw Titan
Porco is Reiner's bitter rival, who believes his older brother Marcel should have been chosen over Reiner. He inherits the Jaw Titan from Ymir.
Falco Grice
Warrior candidate
Falco is a kind boy who trains as a Warrior to protect Gabi. He befriends a wounded soldier in a Marleyan hospital without knowing who it is, which sets the final arc in motion.
Gabi Braun
Warrior candidate
Gabi is Reiner's young cousin, top of her class and fully convinced the people of Paradis are devils. She's deliberately hard to like at first. Her journey, from killer to someone who can see her enemies as people, is the series' clearest answer to its own cycle of hatred.
Theo Magath
Marleyan commander
The Warriors' strict commanding officer, who comes to doubt the system he serves.
Willy Tybur
Head of the Tybur family
The Eldian noble whose speech to the world declares war on Paradis.
Yelena
Zeke's follower
A tall, unsettling Marleyan volunteer who believes completely in Zeke's plan.
Ymir Fritz
The Founder
The girl who first gained the power of the Titans two thousand years before the story begins.
The Nine Titans and their holders
Nine special Titans can be passed on by eating the previous holder. Every inheritor gets thirteen years to live, the Curse of Ymir, which is why the shifters are so young.
| Titan | Known for | Holders shown in the series |
|---|---|---|
| Founding | Controls other Titans and alters Eldian memories | Frieda Reiss, Grisha Yeager, Eren Yeager |
| Attack | Sees its holders' future memories | Eren Kruger, Grisha Yeager, Eren Yeager |
| Colossal | Huge size and blasts of heat | Bertholdt Hoover, Armin Arlert |
| Armored | Hardened armour plates | Reiner Braun |
| Female | Hardening, agility, can call mindless Titans | Annie Leonhart |
| Beast | Unusual form; Zeke can turn Eldians into Titans | Tom Ksaver, Zeke Yeager |
| Jaw | Speed and the strongest bite | Marcel Galliard, Ymir, Porco Galliard, Falco Grice |
| Cart | Endurance; can carry weapons | Pieck Finger |
| War Hammer | Creates weapons from hardened flesh | Lara Tybur, Eren Yeager |
Voice cast
| Character | Japanese | English dub |
|---|---|---|
| Eren Yeager | Yuki Kaji | Bryce Papenbrook |
| Mikasa Ackerman | Yui Ishikawa | Trina Nishimura |
| Armin Arlert | Marina Inoue | Josh Grelle |
| Levi Ackerman | Hiroshi Kamiya | Matthew Mercer |
| Erwin Smith | Daisuke Ono | J. Michael Tatum |
| Hange Zoë | Romi Park | Jessica Calvello |
| Jean Kirstein | Kishō Taniyama | Mike McFarland |
| Connie Springer | Hiro Shimono | Clifford Chapin |
| Reiner Braun | Yoshimasa Hosoya | Robert McCollum |
| Annie Leonhart | Yū Shimamura | Lauren Landa |
| Zeke Yeager | Takehito Koyasu | Jason Liebrecht |
| Historia Reiss | Shiori Mikami | Bryn Apprill |
Hiroshi Kamiya's Levi is one of the most recognisable performances in modern anime. For more on Japanese casting, see our voice actors guide.
Themes and where to start
Attack on Titan's great trick is perspective. The first seasons make the Titans pure horror and the people inside the walls pure victims. The final season shows you Marley's children, raised on the same fear in reverse, and asks whether anyone can step out of a cycle of revenge. Eren and Reiner are textbook examples of the fall arcs described in our character development guide, and the series is unusually willing to follow through on character deaths.
Watch in release order: seasons 1 to 3, then The Final Season and its two-part Final Chapters special. The manga's last chapter has a slightly longer epilogue than the anime. If you want something similar afterwards, try Fullmetal Alchemist for war and conscience, Death Note for a protagonist who becomes the villain, or Jujutsu Kaisen for a newer, darker battle series. Every other guide is on our anime hub.
All Attack on Titan character names A–Z
A–B
- Annie Leonhart — Female Titan
- Armin Arlert — Colossal Titan
- Bertholdt Hoover — Colossal Titan
C–E
- Carla Yeager — Eren's mother
- Connie Springer — Survey Corps
- Dot Pixis — Garrison
- Eld Jinn — Levi Squad
- Eren Kruger — Attack Titan
- Eren Yeager — Attack / Founding Titan
- Erwin Smith — Commander
F–G
- Falco Grice — Jaw Titan
- Floch Forster — Yeagerists
- Frieda Reiss — Founding Titan
- Gabi Braun — Warrior candidate
- Grisha Yeager — Eren's father
- Gunther Schultz — Levi Squad
H–K
- Hange Zoë — Commander
- Hannes — Garrison
- Historia Reiss — Queen
- Jean Kirstein — Survey Corps
- Keith Shadis — Instructor
- Kenny Ackerman — Interior Police
L–M
- Lara Tybur — War Hammer Titan
- Levi Ackerman — Captain
- Marcel Galliard — Jaw Titan
- Marco Bott — 104th
- Mikasa Ackerman — Survey Corps
- Moblit Berner — Survey Corps
O–R
- Oluo Bozado — Levi Squad
- Petra Ral — Levi Squad
- Pieck Finger — Cart Titan
- Porco Galliard — Jaw Titan
- Reiner Braun — Armored Titan
- Rod Reiss — Royal family
S–Z
- Sasha Blouse — Survey Corps
- Theo Magath — Marley
- Tom Ksaver — Beast Titan
- Willy Tybur — Tybur family
- Yelena — Yeagerists
- Ymir — Jaw Titan
- Ymir Fritz — The Founder
- Zeke Yeager — Beast Titan
Frequently asked questions
Who are the main characters in Attack on Titan?
The story follows Eren Yeager, his adoptive sister Mikasa Ackerman and their friend Armin Arlert, three children from Shiganshina who join the military after Titans break through the wall. Survey Corps leaders Levi Ackerman, Erwin Smith and Hange Zoë are the other central figures, and the Marleyan Warriors (Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, Zeke and Pieck) carry the other side of the story.
What are the Nine Titans and who holds them?
The Nine Titans are the Founding, Attack, Colossal, Armored, Female, Beast, Jaw, Cart and War Hammer Titans. By the final arc, Eren holds the Founding, Attack and War Hammer, Armin the Colossal, Reiner the Armored, Annie the Female, Zeke the Beast, Pieck the Cart and Falco the Jaw. The table on this page lists earlier holders too.
Who is the strongest character in Attack on Titan?
Eren, once he controls the Founding Titan during the Rumbling, is the most powerful force in the story. Among ordinary soldiers, Levi Ackerman is called humanity's strongest and has the record to back it up, with Mikasa close behind.
Is Eren Yeager a villain?
He becomes the story's antagonist in the final arc, when he sets off the Rumbling to destroy the world outside Paradis. The series deliberately leaves room for argument about his reasons, and that question is one of the most debated in modern anime.
How many episodes and chapters does Attack on Titan have?
The manga ran from 2009 to 2021 and has 139 chapters in 34 volumes. The anime has four seasons, with Wit Studio animating the first three and MAPPA the Final Season, which ended in November 2023.
What does Shingeki no Kyojin mean?
It's the original Japanese title, usually translated as Attack on Titan. A closer reading is something like the advancing giant, which turns out to be a clue about the story's central Titan.