Warning: this article contains major spoilers for the entirety of Attack on Titan.
Death lies at the heart of Attack on Titan. From its opening pages, the story places its characters in a world where a single mistake, betrayal, or encounter with a Titan can change everything. Yet its most memorable deaths are not defined by violence alone: they are devastating because they reveal the survivors’ helplessness, the cost of war, and the endless cycle of hatred.
These tragedies are part of what makes the series such an emotionally demanding work, much like the turning points discussed in Jujutsu Kaisen’s climactic journey.
Carla Jaeger: the death that sparks Eren’s vengeance
Carla Jaeger’s death is one of the series’ first great traumas. When the Colossal Titan breaches Wall Maria, Carla becomes trapped beneath the rubble of her home. Eren and Mikasa want to save her, but Hannes takes them away from the danger, knowing that he cannot defeat the Titan drawing near.
Helpless, Carla begs her children to run. She is then devoured before their eyes. This scene fuels Eren’s rage toward the Titans and his decision to join the Survey Corps. It also captures the fundamental cruelty of this universe: a mother’s love is not enough to protect her family from chaos.
Faye Jaeger: a loss that haunts Grisha
Long before the events on Paradis, Faye Jaeger lives with her brother Grisha in the Eldian internment zone of Liberio. The two children leave the restricted area and catch sight of an airship. They are spotted by the Public Security Authorities and arrested.
Faye is taken away by an officer and never returns. Grisha later learns that she was fed to dogs. The brutality of her fate partly explains Grisha’s hatred of Marley and his involvement with the Eldian Restorationists. Her disappearance therefore affects more than one family: it helps set off a chain of events that will shape several generations.
Petra Ral and Levi’s squad: the illusion of safety shattered
Petra Ral belongs to Levi’s Special Operations Squad, an elite unit renowned for its skill. During the mission to protect Eren from the Female Titan, she fights alongside her comrades with remarkable coordination. But their experience is not enough against Annie Leonhart.
Petra is hurled into a tree and dies instantly. The scene is especially painful because it reduces an elite squad to utter helplessness within moments. Even the best soldiers are not safe when their opponent completely outclasses them.
Marco Bott: betrayal within the 104th Cadet Corps
Marco Bott is a kind-hearted member of the 104th Cadet Corps, valued for his sense of duty. After the Battle of Trost, however, he overhears an incriminating conversation between Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover. He realizes that they are hiding a decisive secret.
Reiner disarms him and leaves him without his ODM gear in front of a Titan. Annie is present, but cannot bear to watch. For a long time, Marco’s friends do not know the circumstances of his death. The revelation of Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie’s responsibility makes the loss even more horrific: Marco is not merely a victim of Titans, but of a secret war waged by people he regarded as comrades.
Mike Zacharias: facing the Beast Titan
Mike Zacharias is considered the Survey Corps’ second-strongest soldier after Levi. When Titans appear inside Wall Rose, he buys valuable time for his companions. His encounter with the Beast Titan, however, changes how the threat is understood.
The Beast Titan removes Mike’s ODM gear, studies it with curiosity, and then orders other Titans to attack him. Mike dies unable to defend himself. Beyond the horror of the scene, his death reveals that some Titans can speak, think, and command the others. The conflict becomes even more unsettling than it already was.
Nanaba: a hopeless sacrifice at Utgard Castle
At Utgard Castle, Nanaba and Gelgar try to protect Krista and the other members of the group while Titans continue moving after sunset. The soldiers hope to hold out until morning, but they are quickly overwhelmed.
Nanaba fights to the end to save the younger members of the group. Eventually restrained by several Titans, she is torn apart. Her death is among the most harrowing because it shows an experienced fighter with no possible escape, despite her determination to protect others.
Erwin Smith: the commander who gives up his dream
Erwin Smith carries the weight of every soldier sent to their death under his command. A brilliant strategist and an inspiring leader of the Survey Corps, he is driven above all by a personal dream: discovering the truth about the world and the basement beneath the Jaeger family home.
During the Battle of Shiganshina, Erwin leads a suicidal charge against the Beast Titan to create an opening for Levi. He is mortally wounded by the enemy’s thrown projectiles. His sacrifice allows the others to continue fighting, but he dies before reaching the truth he sought throughout his life. Armin will pursue that dream in his place.
Bertholdt Hoover: a tragic end for the Colossal Titan
During that same battle, Bertholdt is defeated after Armin lures him into a trap. Eren manages to pull him from his Titan form. On the ground, Bertholdt calls out to his former friends and expresses his fear and regret, but he can no longer escape his fate.
To save the severely burned Armin, he is injected with Titan spinal fluid and transformed into a Titan. He then devours Bertholdt and inherits the Colossal Titan. It is an especially bitter death: Bertholdt is an enemy, but he is also a teenager overwhelmed by a mission and a war that forced him to betray his friends.
Sasha Braus: when war takes away all lightness
Sasha Braus brings comic relief for much of the story through her love of food, her skills as a hunter, and her spontaneity. Her death following the attack on Liberio abruptly ends that levity. As the Survey Corps escapes aboard an airship, Gabi Braun gets on board and shoots her.
Mortally wounded, Sasha says the word “meat,” one final reminder of her best-known trait. Her death devastates Jean and Connie, while Eren’s nervous reaction highlights his growing distance from the group. Above all, she embodies the logic of vengeance between Marley and Paradis: each side loses its own people and turns grief into another reason to fight.
This contrast between outward warmth and underlying suffering recalls the themes explored in the duality of smiles in One Piece.
Ramzi: the innocent face of the Rumbling
Ramzi is a young refugee from Marley whom Eren meets before the Rumbling. His death, crushed during the march of the Colossal Titans, gives a human face to the victims of the catastrophe. The Rumbling is no longer an abstract act of destruction: it takes children, families, and people unconnected to the conflicts that led to this apocalypse.
The memory of Ramzi weighs heavily on Eren. His death exposes the moral cost of Eren’s pursuit of freedom and reminds readers that violence supposedly committed to protect one’s own people always harms innocents.
Hange Zoë: the Alliance’s last line of defense
Hange Zoë, commander of the Survey Corps, is known for scientific curiosity and a passionate interest in Titans. During the final arc, Hange realizes that the Colossal Titans will destroy the flying boat needed to pursue Eren.
Hange decides to stay behind and slow them down. Facing the Titans alone, Hange gives their companions enough time to take off. The sacrifice is strategic, but deeply personal: Hange gives their life so that the Alliance can still hope to stop the Rumbling. In their final moments, Hange sees the former members of the Survey Corps, including Erwin.
Ymir Fritz: a death that prolongs servitude
Ymir Fritz’s tragedy extends beyond physical death. Enslaved by King Fritz, abused, and then turned into the first holder of Titan power, she uses her strength to build the ruler’s empire. Thirteen years later, she dies while protecting him.
Her daughters are then forced to eat her body in order to inherit her power, which will later be divided among the Nine Titans. Ymir’s spirit remains trapped in the Paths, where she continues serving the royal family. Her true release comes only when Eren asks her to abandon that imposed loyalty. Her death, and her entire existence, illustrate the founding violence on which the world of the series rests.
Attack on Titan deaths FAQ
Which death triggers Eren’s desire for revenge in Attack on Titan?
Carla Jaeger’s death, as she is devoured in front of Eren and Mikasa after the fall of Wall Maria, directly fuels Eren’s hatred of Titans and his desire to join the Survey Corps.
Why is Sasha’s death so important?
Sasha represents a sense of lightness and innocence within the group. Her death, caused by Gabi after the attack on Liberio, shows that vengeance between Marley and Paradis strikes every side and destroys even the simplest bonds.
How does Erwin Smith die?
Erwin leads a suicidal charge against the Beast Titan during the Battle of Shiganshina. He is critically injured by the Titan’s projectiles and dies after allowing Levi to get close to his opponent.
Who inherits the Colossal Titan after Bertholdt?
Armin Arlert inherits the Colossal Titan after being transformed into a Titan with an injection of spinal fluid and then devouring Bertholdt Hoover.
