Attack on Titan is one of the most popular anime of all time, with the latest anime making waves in the industry and gripping the interest of fans like the first season once again. The series is filled to the brim with memorable events and legendary characters, with everyone from the Eldian Warriors to the Survey Corps being some of the greatest characters to ever feature in an anime.
Given how dark Attack on Titan really is, it goes without saying that several people in the show perform some ruthless actions, showing just how pathetic humanity is. Keeping this in mind, here are some of the most ruthless characters ever featured in Attack on Titan.
10 Mikasa Ackermann
Mikasa is a pretty gentle soul, so some people might be taken aback at seeing this name in such a list. However, there are times when Mikasa doesn’t fail to show her savage side.
From stabbing two men as a child to tearing everything and everyone apart whenever Eren is endangered, Mikasa doesn’t mess around. Her priorities are clear for everyone to see, and only someone with a ruthless streak could slice and dice Titans with such finesse.
9 Levi Ackermann
It seems that the Ackermann clan is notorious for being quite savage when the situation demands it. This is also why characters with this name are beloved in the series, with Levi being a prime example of the same.
Levi is a valuable soldier for the Survey Corps who can kill Titans with amazing precision and finesse. He’s one of the main reasons why the Survey Corps manage to gain so many victories over the course of the series…regardless of how painful these victories might’ve been.
8 Reiner Braun
In Reiner’s defense, the man does end up growing a conscience after joining the military on Paradis Island. However, that doesn’t excuse his terrible acts that led to such unnecessary loss of life in the series.
His arc is easily one of the most engrossing ones in Attack on Titan, and fans can’t wait to see how his character develops further in the show.
7 Bertholdt Hoover
While Bertholdt also showed regret over his actions, he wasn’t affected in the same way as Reiner had been in the series. Of course, viewers can make the argument that he didn’t return to Marley, so there wasn’t any opportunity for his psyche to be explored in the series.
His actions as the Colossal Titan brought death and destruction upon everyone near him. Most people were happy to see him breathe his last, especially since his death led to Armin coming back from the grave too.
6 Annie Leonhart
Annie Leonhart is easily the coldest member of the trio that breached the inner walls of Marley’s enemies to sow death and destruction. She was pretty stoic in her actions and genuinely looked like she believed in her mission.
However, Annie did show moments of remorse, especially when it came to her interactions with Armin. Unfortunately, her personal views on this conflict haven’t been explored yet ever since she encased herself in crystal.
5 Rod Reiss
The Reiss family features some of the most twisted and manipulated characters in the entire series, with Rod Reiss being a prime example of the same. It’s a great thing that Historia wasn’t manipulated by the words of this deluded fool.
However, Rod Reiss showed his true colors when he revealed that he never cared about Historia’s wellbeing at all. Instead, he decided to ingest the Titan formula she discarded in a bid to bring the powers of the Founding Titan back into the hands of the Royal Family.
4 Dhalis Zachary
At a glance, Zachary seems like a pretty normal human being whose wise nature allows him to gain such a powerful spot within the military. However, there’s a twisted side to this character that is revealed after the coup that overthrows the pretenders to the throne.
Zachary is seen enjoying the act of torturing the monarchy, including making them wear a rather unique mechanism that forces them to do a rather heinous act. It’s hard to imagine someone so calm like Zachary to gain enjoyment out of these twisted actions, but that’s what Attack on Titan says with its views on humanity as a whole.
3 Yelena
The newest character in Attack on Titan who has made serious waves is Yelena. This Marleyan soldier ends up betraying her own people out of blind faith in Eren Jaeger and his master plan.
She has shown a penchant for constantly crossing the line to get what she wants, which can be pretty gruesome at times. What makes things worse is that her face rarely changes expressions when committing these acts.
2 Eren Jaeger
Watching Eren change from a young and naive boy into a cold-hearted warrior who wants to decimate humanity itself has been quite a major transformation indeed. No one could’ve expected this character to swerve in such an extreme manner.
His actions have been unexplainable, and his apparent goal of seeking out an Eldian genocide seems rather fishy. Fans of the anime are eagerly awaiting each episode of the final season to find out what Eren’s true intentions really are.
1 Gross
A name befitting such a putrid individual, Gross is one of the most diabolical characters on the entire show. He was a corrupt general who found enjoyment in torturing Eldians and turning them into Titans for his amusement.
Watching him meet his end at the hands of a Titan was pretty poetic, even though that didn’t reverse the atrocities he’d committed. However, there’s no denying the fact that most Attack on Titan viewers absolutely hated Gross, especially for what he did to Grisha’s sister.
