There are a lot of amazing characters in Attack on TitanBut not all of them are pleasant when they are first introduced. Since one of the main ideas of the manga is that there are no definitive good or bad because it is all a matter of perspective, some characters who were considered villains at first were later considered misunderstood. Either because their pasts were revealed or because they had a great development, the fans changed their opinion of them for the better.
On the other hand, there are also characters who did not become more sympathetic, or who completely lost the fans they had at the end of the series.
10 Reiner got more likeable when people learned about his backstory
To most fans of Attack the titans They liked Reiner at the beginning of the series, or at least they had no reason to dislike him. However, when he revealed that he was the Armored Titan and that his best friend Bertolt was the Colossal Titan, fans were shocked, as many viewers hated the Warriors as much as the Study Corps.
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Luckily, Reiner redeemed himself in the eyes of many readers when they learned about his childhood and how he became the mass murderer they once hated. At the end of the manga, Reiner was even considered by some to be one of the most heroic characters in the series and was forgiven for his past actions.
9 Mike died before he was so cute
Mike was one of the strongest soldiers in the Survey Corps. While that’s really cool, sadly he was killed by the Titan Beast shortly after being introduced.
Since other characters he was attached to, such as Erwin, Levi, and Hange, are loved by many readers, Mike had the potential to become someone’s favorite character, and he probably would have been if he had been on the series longer. But since only a few scenes he was in are truly memorable, he didn’t get that chance to be seen as a great character like his friends did.
8 Gabi was nicer after learning that Elders aren’t devils
Gabi was one of the most hated characters by fans of Attack on Titan for a time. A lot of people were angry or upset at how she viewed Eldians as demons, but what made most of the fans think so negatively of her was the way she killed Sasha.
Sasha was one of the series’ most beloved characters, at the center of many moments that made fans laugh. Luckily, Jamie had a redemption arc in which she learned that the people she wanted to kill were actually innocent, and she did everything she could to fix things with them.
7 Gross died with readers’ hatred
Gross only appeared in a few scenes, but if it weren’t for him, things would have been very different, and some characters wouldn’t even have been born. When Grisha was a boy, he took his little sister, Faye, to an area of Marley where Elders weren’t supposed to go. Gross caught the two of them and, while Grisha received a beating from Kruger as punishment, Gross fed Faye his dogs.
This was incredibly disturbing, and Gross had tortured many more people besides Faye. Luckily, fans got the last laugh as they saw the sadist suffer the same as his victims when Kruger betrayed him and bestowed his Attack Titan on Grisha.
6 Jean became more likeable when he entered the Corps of Inspectors
When Eren, Armin, and Mikasa first went to the 104th Cadet Corps, fans met many characters who played significant roles throughout the manga, one of them being Jean. At that time, Jean intended to become a soldier in the Military Police.
However, after one of his best friends, Marco, was killed in an attack by the Titans, he knew he had to join the Inspector Corps. This was one of the best character developments early in the series, and Jean only got better from there.
5 The truth about Yelena made her less likeable
Yelena was a member of the Yeagerists who would have done anything for Zeke. She followed all his plans and also helped Eren. At first, it was believed that he hated Marley and was doing everything he could for Zeke to get revenge.
But it was later revealed that he actually lived in Marley and was only working for the Yeagers so that he could play a major role in the story, even if that role was to let a race die out or the majority of the population die. In the end, almost every word Yelena said was a lie.
4 Zeke became a much loved character after his past was revealed
The Beast Titan was considered a main antagonist for a long time, mostly because it killed most of the Survey Corps. However, once fans found out that Grisha had forced Zeke to become a Warrior when all he wanted was to be a boy, they felt bad for him. He even had to let his parents die, as they put him and his grandparents in danger.
Despite this, he always wanted to help the Elders, although he had very different plans than what Grisha and Dina wanted to do. After learning how hard his life was and how much his family used him throughout the manga, it became difficult not to love him.
3 Levi was already so nice from the start that the fans couldn’t like him more
From the moment he was introduced, Levi instantly became one of the series’ most beloved characters. Although he has had a few moments that remind fans of how amazing he is, it’s hard for him to be more likeable when he’s already so cool.
It even has a spin-off prequel series, Attack on Titan: No Regrets, which fans enjoyed reading as the prequel revealed how he met his closest peers and joined the Survey Corps. Since most of the characters have only appeared in the main series, this shows that Levi is not only humanity’s strongest soldier, but also his favorite soldier.
2 Eren was a generic protagonist who became one of the greatest characters ever written
When Eren was first introduced, many viewers considered him a stereotypical protagonist who shared many character traits with other anime heroes. He was never a bad character, but many fans thought that those around him were more interesting.
Towards the end of the series, Eren’s personality changed a lot. He did terrible things that no one expected him to do, and he also suffered a lot. When fans finally learned the full story of everything Eren had to do, some even felt bad for him. By the last chapter, Eren had become one of the most complex characters ever written.
1 King Fritz was always one of the most hated characters in the series
King Fritz is possibly the most important character in the series. Without him, Eldia would not have gone to war with other countries and Ymir Fritz would not have come into contact with the Source of All Living Matter, becoming the first Titan. He was a terrible person who once chased Ymir for letting a pig escape.
However, once she obtained her Titan powers, she used her to defeat all her enemies, had children with her, and forced those children to eat Ymir’s body when she died in order for them to gain her abilities. Without King Fritz, most of the struggles the characters faced throughout the series would not have been a problem, and he never cared about the damage he caused.