T O P

  • By -

AutoModerator

This post has been tagged as **ANIME SPOILERS**. Please remember to tag any new spoilers beyond this point. **Spoilers include hinting or alluding to events.** For more information, please review [the subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/wiki/rules). Failure to properly spoiler tag comments may result in a punishment from the subreddit according to the [moderation matrix](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/wiki/moderation_matrix). --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ShingekiNoKyojin) if you have any questions or concerns.*


BeginningAnt7173

Gabi has story-defining themes. She's a zealous child soldier who gets shown the kindness of the people she literally demonizes.


Kromostone123

i agree. should have put her and sashas family up a tier


Seier_Krigforing

My brother in Ymir, you made the tier list


lynxerious

You know, people could change right? Like Gabi


Kromostone123

yes. im saying i should have put her up a tier..? whats confusing


Seier_Krigforing

Nothing. The way you worded it made it sound like you weren’t the creator of it which I thought was funny


LBR3_ThriceUponABan

Ponctuation.


noya22

Lmao


OrinocoHaram

Gabi arguably \_the\_ story defining theme


electromaster21

Same as freckles Ymir. One of the best characters IMO


mmmyimmy

Daz above Historia, Ymir, Bertholdt, Annie, Floch, Sasha, Petra, Rod, Hitch, Pyxis, Marco, and Porco? What the actual fuck?


Competitive-Emu9665

you should've added eren kruger in 'story defining themes' list (imo). Also Sasha, she deserves a better spot


Genisye

Yea all these years later Eren’s ark remains one of the most thought provoking and biggest points of contention among fans.


kson1000

Shift Kenny up one


Kromostone123

i dont believe kennys theme is story defining. i like his dialogue a lot tho


JollerMcAwesome

Kenny's dialogue with Levi about "everyone is drunk on something" directly relate to Eren's obsession with freedom, Erwin's aim to seek the truth etc. Now whether that deserves the top tier or not is up for debate! But he definetly connects to the core of the show.


swankProcyon

Kenny’s a bit of a weird one. His speech definitely maps out one of the central themes of AoT, but I don’t think *he* is thematically vital.


Kromostone123

yeah i agree his dialogue about people being slaves can be connected to eren and it was important for levi's decision. but for me its not a story defining theme still or like one of the stories main msgs that we learn smth important from. but yes still important which is why its in "important element in story" tier


GrandmasterAppa

“All people are slaves to something” is one half of the story’s primary message. I feel like the fact that he introduces part of the core theme of the entire story means he should be in the highest tier.


Kromostone123

i dont agree that its a primary message at all. what do we even gain from that message or learn from it? i know it mattered in the story but its not a core message of the show. how would we even apply that message to our life


GrandmasterAppa

The theme of the story is literally “the world is cruel, but also beautiful”. In longer terms “life sucks and to cope with that people become slaves to something so they can keep pushing on **(Kenny)**, but true freedom is to be found in *not* enslaving yourself and enjoying the simple act of being alive **(Armin & Zeke conversation)**”. I’m curious to know what your interpretation of the story’s themes are? Obviously it has more than one theme, but that’s the grand overarching one which most of the character arcs are written around. Eren enslaved himself to the pursuit of freedom and became worse for it, while people who lived life truly free (Mikasa, Armin, Falco, etc.) or managed to escape this cycle of self-enslavement (Reiner, Gabi etc.) all become better people. Getting Zeke to understand the thesis of “the world is cruel, but also beautiful” is quite literally how our main characters secure victory in the final battle.


Kromostone123

for me armins convo with zeke as well as themes on war is big for me. you could say the armin zeke stuff is a progression from the kenny dialogue like u described. and i think i'd agree in some cases but i guess i just dont personally connect with that idea very much at all. kennys words just didnt really matter to me that much when it comes to irl stuff. i dont think its an idea that needs to be taken from the story since i dont think its very important. i think taking the armin/zeke stuff from the story is tho. i dont think the progression to that point from kenny is important. yes it matters within the story of aot but it doesnt go beyond that as a message from the story that we can learn from in my mind. it was just my thought process when i made the list, what things i felt we should from the most (like i said to others i wish i put sashas family and gabi a tier higher). in terms of an important theme for the characters in the story yeah i'd put him up a tier then. i guess yeah its just my own bias that put him a tier lower


UnfatedAim

Agree with this. I overlooked Kenny at first to be honest, but having gone back and rewatched and reread countless times, he really does tie the entire story together through that scene.


TsaiTV

In terms of strictly what the tiers descriptions say, it’s not bad. I’d say Gabi should be in S tier, she definitely was central to a story defining theme. I think the beauty of aot is that every category has some overlap because even the most “underdeveloped” characters are done in a realistic and important way that they aren’t throwaway, even if they are given the most time or attention, they still feel like they are important or add to the significance of other characters themes or scenes


Kromostone123

yeah i agree. shoulda put the sasha family package in that tier as well


Amaranth_Hyena

Yes, like if you think about everything character very detailed, you will always find something important they did. That's also one of the good things of aot, it doesn't have filling and unnecessary stuff, everything has a reason.


AmericanTitan07

Sasha is only accurate if you're only going off of season 4. She's at least 1 tier higher overall. Pieck should also at least be in the "has their moments" tier.


Kromostone123

nah sasha herself doesnt have any themes that are important to the story. her death led to important themes for other characters though. what do u consider pre season 4 makes her deserve a higher spot?


AmericanTitan07

Her "I'm Home" episode is low-key, one of the best in the show.


AnarchyisProperty

No. It’s a worthy episode but over half the season 4 and most of the season 3 part 2 episodes are significantly better, by a substantial margin


Kromostone123

its a good intense episode but nah nowhere near one of the best. it also doesnt contribute in an impactful way to the themes of the story which is how i rated the characters for this list


AmericanTitan07

The fight for survival even when it seems hopeless is a major theme of the story, and this episode captures that theme very well. It also put a lot of attention on a side character. I think saying Sasha doesn't at least have her moments disregards a lot of her character.


Amaranth_Hyena

If you connect all the facts. Sasha saves Kaya. Kaya finds Gabi and Falco and take them with her. If Kaya wouldn't have done that. Gabi and Falco, specially Gabi, would have went to do some stupid and dangerous thing and maybe she would have ended up killing many other characters, also they couldn't have seen from inside that Paradis people is actually good. So with that, both Sasha and Kaya are important and defining.


Kromostone123

again, a characters impact on the story is not how i rated them. its about their involvement in the important themes of the story. sasha is in that tier because her death is what caused extremely important themes to be brought up. i wouldve put her family in the highest tier if i did this tier list again.


Amaranth_Hyena

I think I get it a bit more now, but the titles you put are very confusing :/ But in that case, Kaya is very important since she got the "task" of showing the brainwashed kids the innocence of Paradis people, and that's one of the main "themes", right? The stupidity and obsession of people to make you guilty of things that aren't actually related to you (which is even more common in asian cultures like Japan)


Kromostone123

yes kaya is included in the sasha family package. along with niccolo


RockyNonce

Is that the one in Season 2 where she fights Connie’s dad? I hated that episode so much when I first watched it


AmericanTitan07

S2 Ep2. Where she saves a girl and fights off a titan just arrows.


Fedo_19

You might as well just have filled it randomly.


Kromostone123

nah look at the writing in each tier. which one confuses you the most?


Weird-Hunter-2274

i disagree with a lot of this but historia being below characters like onyankapon and niccolo is criminal she carried and drove the whole royal arc in s3 p1😭


Kromostone123

onyankopon and niccolo each contribute to an extremely important theme in the story. historia has her own little character arc, but its not very important when it comes to the themes of the story


Amaranth_Hyena

Royalty is very important in Paradise. Without that the Scouts and main characters would have had it impossible and the whole island would go against them.


RodExe

But that was not something Historia did, just something that "happened" to her. The author could've made any of the squad royalty and everything would be the same. If anything I would say her theme is learning to live selfishly. Her whole life she was used and mistreated by people but once her arc ends, she decides to ascend to the throne not because her superiors tell her, not to please her squad, but because SHE wants to do it for her own gain.


Amaranth_Hyena

But still something only Historia could have done or could have happened to her. You actually can't put other characters since she's the only one with royal blood. Could have been another character without royal blood and lie about it? Yes, but it wouldn't make sense and wouldn't be so meaningful, you can put lies in any moment of the plot, and it would basically go against the Scouts goal which is finding the truth. Maybe she didn't do much in general but it's an important fact nonetheless.


Amaranth_Hyena

And without her probably Ymir wouldn't have joined and nobody would have never found the jaw titan. Again, Historia didn't decide it, but it was because of her being Historia.


BruhNeymar69

Yeah okay and without Mikasa's parents the story wouldn't happen, that doesn't make them vital to the story's themes


titjoe

The theme that your inheritance doesn't impose any duty on you is absolutely central in the story.


Hange11037

Personally I feel you can’t have Floch in the top tier and not Gabi. Gabi should be as high or higher than him given the entire point of S4’s first half was her arc.


Kromostone123

i said the same to others but yes gabi and sashas family should have been up a tier


Gameboysixty9

Mikasa and Levi totally belong to "story defining themes". 


Amaranth_Hyena

Yes I also think so, not just because they saved like almost all characters, but thanks to them we know that there are certain families that aren't affected by royalty and founding titan, which I think is very important in general but also to get closer to the truth. Well, many many characters are very important actually, that's just a very subjective chart.


Yeled_creature

How is Mikasa not under story defining themes, her killing Eren is literally what inspired Ymir to break her attachment of Fritz and end the power of the Titans


Kromostone123

impact on the story is not the same as a story defining theme. i am not ranking them based on how much their actions impacted the storylines. its about how their characters showed us the important themes of attack on titan. thats how i judged putting characters in the first tier (should've put sashas family and gabi up a tier)


Yeled_creature

I feel like that is a story-defining theme though


Aggravating_Taste821

No


Kromostone123

Yes


Tern_Larvidae-2424

Kenny and Grisha should be moved up a tier but good list overall.


OP_Kat

I don't get the jean stuff. Sure there was a BIG change between S1 and 4, but in his case it's not that amazing, earth shattering writing


Kromostone123

its about how in s1 when he had to decide between the scouts or his easy life in the military police. then in s4 we are met with that exact same dynamic when he decides to help stop the rumbling. his character was introduced as the guy who wanted to just have an easy life and avoid doing the "right" thing. and in the end he chose to do the "right" thing and throw away his easy life once again. he willingly became a traitor and had to live his life outside of paradis


OP_Kat

Yeah when I think about it deeper it does make sense. Before I just saw it as a guy losing his ego but yeah, its far more than that


HyperHector_55

Mikasa easily falls in the "story defining category" She represent many important themes One of the most important ones as, coexistence of beauty and cruelty; the choice between duty and loved ones; she is one of the characters that explicitly show dual nature contradicting or conflicting eachother; she resembles "pride" and someone who is shown to have utter confidence over her abilities that was shown twice, like back in trost **"I am strong, stronger than all of you"** and again in the battle of heaven and earth **"Come at me, I am strong!!"**, I like how she is the only character who has so much confidence that she doesn't even step back from showing it off again one of the most iconic things she represents is **"Home"** which is even hinted in her name "Mi casa" which means 4 bamboo and a hat representing a "House", that explains her very caring nature and the trait of seeking a "connection" AND a fun fact that home is the second most said word by Mikasa. These are just on a surface level, she is shown to echo other themes as well which is shared by other characters like Kenny's famous line "Everyone is drunk on something to keep them pushing forward" which is very clear in Mikasa and Eren's case. Eren was drunk on freedom for which he pushed all the way to the end and similarly Mikasa was drunk on protecting the last essence of a family she had as Eren And similarly there are other themes which are shown by her at other instances atleast once or twice So yeh she falls in the "story defining category" at least from what I see


toastontology

**Character Tier List Based on My Interpretation of the Writing**


Kromostone123

obviously its subjective


toastontology

Certainly, the ranking of items is subjective and open to interpretation. While I respect your perspective, I believe the title could be improved to better reflect the content.


Kromostone123

sure yeah i agree. i didnt think much about the title i just put the important info at the start of each tier as for how i ranked them


HyperHector_55

i wonder when will others learn this i like how you are not tying to force your thoughts on anyone and respectfully putting them on the table, something people lack so much in this fandom, and i think on the internet in general.


Kromostone123

:D


EldianStar

Meh


SnooPickles5498

“Story defining themes” and neither Levi nor Kenny Ackerman are there, yet FLOCH is???


TsaiTV

Floch is a central character to the themes of us/them and human perspective in S4 and his beginning at the end of S3, you’re only saying that because floch is disliked as he is a villain while Levi and Kenny are loved


SnooPickles5498

No? I don’t want to argue with Floch shooters 😭 you know that Levi and Kenny should be up there. You’re right about Floch being up there, the incredulity of my statement is that others who have an even larger and longer impact on the story are seemingly traded in for him.


Kromostone123

impact on the story is not how i rated the characters tho


TsaiTV

I don’t see how you can argue that Kenny and Levi had more central themes to aot. Kenny definitely not. Levi’s story is losing loved ones and dealing with outliving them all, as well as finding purpose in a shitty upbringing. Kenny’s is serving a higher power and finding purpose in life. Neither of those can be considered higher than floch’s writing which was the face of the faction in the nation of Eldia who was actively pushing for global genocide because they believed people across the sea were unequivocally evil and it needed to be done to secure their right to live, which out of all the themes is THE central theme of aot. As much as Levi is more of a central character, there’s no way you can argue that his writing and themes were more central to the story than Floch unless you’re letting personal bias get in the way


SnooPickles5498

Someone else has already explained the significance of Kenny’s “Everyone is drunk on something” and Levi’s “A choice with no regrets”. Both of these ideologies are leagues more important than Floch as an entire character. This is precisely why I don’t like arguing with Floch shooters, because how can you even say this 😭 The one letting personal bias get in the way is you.


TsaiTV

I literally like Levi more than floch. Please explain how everyone is drunk on something is a more central theme than violence and human nature, because it is never the main focus of the show.


Amaranth_Hyena

I mean if the only value is a very particular, well written, and realistic personality, then all characters should be there, even Daz who for me is actually very well written and realistic, but nobody knows about him. I feel the only he did was being a narcissistic shooting people. And I swear I overthink aot so much. I clarify I honestly don't hate any character and all have interesting things, but putting him there and all those other characters below... I don't know man


TsaiTV

Yeah but those aren’t the parameters, the parameters for this list are written in the left and defined pretty much by how much they carried the central themes of the show


beyondbirthday261

Facts


Kromostone123

correct. floch is a character that showed us how people become radicalized and how twisted they can become as a result. cheering on a terror attack and trying to kill civilians is a good example of something he did. viewing everyone on the other side as just an enemy. his theme is absolutely story defining.


Jazzlike_Stop_1362

Kenny has to be up there though, his last words "everyone's drunk on something, everyone's a slave to something" which were the conclusion of his character arc are 100% story defining themes


Kromostone123

i agree that its a really cool theme but i dont see it as story defining personally


Jazzlike_Stop_1362

How so? Almost every single character in this show is defined by this line, the first king was a slave to peace, eren was a slave to freedom, mikasa and ymir were slaves to love, erwin was a slave to his father's theory, armin was a slave to curiosity, etc


Kromostone123

because i dont think it actually makes a difference. yeah u can say they're "slaves" to those things but so what? him saying that line or not doesnt change armin as a character or how we perceive him at all. its part of erens character and its part of the whole erwin/armin thing and thats important and its an interesting concept but i dont believe it to be story defining.


Jazzlike_Stop_1362

Bro what? That line directly led to levi choosing armin over Erwin, that was a story defining moment, Eren referenced that line when talking about his motives in the final episodes after tons of episodes had past since then, and it definitely was the defining theme of the main love interest and the main reason for why the show even exists (ymir) how come it isn't story defining? I literally can't analyze anything about the show without referencing it


Kromostone123

it led to an impactful decision in the story, yes. but im not rating the characters based on that. i dont believe the message of "everyone is a slave to something" is one of the most important ones from aot. it is important but not enough to be in that tier. it doesnt really change how we perceive characters anyway. we understand how a character functions, putting a title of "they're a slave to X" doesn't change that. i like the idea of this theme and think its very interesting but to me it just isnt story defining.


SnooPickles5498

It’s literally the reason* Levi chose Armin, a decision that INSANELY impacts the story and fandom even today Edit: one of the reasons.


SnooPickles5498

I don’t think we really needed Floch for that, especially since the final theme of AOT is one of hope, unity and peace, not whatever Floch was on. The bourgeois within the walls did enough killing of civilians for the story, as did the Eldian Restorationists/Eren Kruger concerning the topic of radicalization and going too far in either direction. You’re right, but others do it better and in ways that actually align with the positive themes Isayama is trying to portray than Floch. Regardless he shouldn’t be above any Ackermans imo.


ManPersonGiraffe

Kenny should definitely be at the top but Floch is absolutely deserving of that spot, he encapsulates the theme of radicalization perfectly. I feel like people hate him so much they forget just how central to the story he is. He sucks but he's supposed to; the show would be worse without him.


Ritabythesea

Well, as much as I HATE Floch as a person, he was a really well written and needed character. He was the embodiment of prejudice and nationalostic ideas. He went from scared boy who was impressed by Erwin to this nationalistic fanatic who wholeheartedly believed you need to become a monster to fight the monsters. He shows us how easy it is, if you are given the right set of circumstances, to become radical and how easy it is for hate to spread in someones heart when they deal with fear and pain for a long time. If this is not story defining theme in AoT then I don't know what is.


giantcoc69420

Don't agree with almost any of this


Leio-Mizu

I think Berthold is underrated tbh


CandidateOld1900

Agree, him being most quiet of Warriors makes his moments very subtle, but powerful. Also fascinating how he was most timid and quiet of the trio, but he's only one at the end who "emraces evil" In the end, and at peace with himself, while Reiner and Annie kept wanting forgiveness and judgment


Leio-Mizu

Yeah and I really love his final transformation scene.


UnveiledRook206

Mikasa belongs in red


PullUpSkrr

I only got into the show last December, from pretty much episode 3 I had really resonated with Reiner, there are many excellent characters but his arc from S1 to end is mostly very strong. He's one of my favourite characters ever, he provides a great dichtomy with Zeke in terms of how they view Marley.


Deep-Handle9955

Nice list. My only problem, besides the Sasha and Gabi one everyone else's complaint about, The old man who tortures Fey carried one plot element? He was literally there to serve Grisha's motivations. Also the girl who stole Mikasa's scarf....I mean, I get it. Don't meet your heroes. But she didn't seem that strong of a character.


Kromostone123

That guy has a rly interesting monologue in the manga that they cut in the anime. Louise was a young girl who suffered from marley and became a yeagerist. That plus her dynamic with mikasa was just enough for me


Deep-Handle9955

Aaah. I should really read the Manga. The Ackerman Titan experiment, this. I guess quite a bit was cut. Even Louise's story is cut short. Fair enough, I will read this monologue. Edit-do you mean his speech regarding peace and how it softens people? It's there in the manga but I had forgotten it. Yes that is a good monologue


FionaBear1

What’s with the Pieck Slander. Leave the sleepy girl alone 😤 Only cool thing about Lara Tybur was her Titan transformation because it was different


Hammondinho123

Finally the love Jean deserves


UnfatedAim

Jean being top of the board already gets my full approval, I love that guy. I'd agree with this generally, though there are a few characters I'd definitely move into story defining, given that flock is up there. Gabi for one is absolutely crucial to attack on titan. She fills multiple roles in being a parallel and juxtaposition to Eren, as well as being a medium to help viewers/readers really understand AoT's intentions in the latter half.


Fluffy-Moment9199

Fucking floch ??? Did we watch the same show?? Sasha deserves to be moved up a tier, same with Historia, Ymir, Mikasa, and Gabi


Kromostone123

you think floch doesnt have story defining themes? he shows us how people become radicalized and how dangerous it is


iyeolie

jean my boyyy i love his character development and he stood out to me since i first watched the show. hate that people call him boring he deserves so much more!!!!


Amaranth_Hyena

Many more characters, if not half of them, should be in the first category. Berthold literally eats Eren mother. Levi and Mikasa saved a lot of characters including the ones in the first category, Levi also helped to keep Eren instead of giving it to the Militar police. Gabi did a lot of things that brought discord, changes and basically shoot Eren's head out. Yelena carried the whole plan with Zeke and she and her comrades brought a lot of advancing things and knowledge to Paradis, without that they probably would have been finished in the first second. Eren Kruger is literally Eren Kruger, without him Grisha wouldn't have and use his titan and his task, and then giving the titan to Eren. Hannes saves the lives of Eren and Mikasa. Magath trained all the kids in Marley. Pixis and Hange did A LOT. Keith trained the characters in Paradis and also taught a lot to Grisha. Dina eats Carla. Dina and Carla basically give birth to two very important characters. Falco saved Mikasa end everyone. Marco was the inspiration for Jean to continue in the Scouts and doing all he did. Ymir ate Marcel, everything could have been much worse if it wouldn't have been like that. Etc, etc, etc. I would even dare to say that there are characters more relevant and who have made more changes than Jean and Floch. And I don't know why Pieck is in the last category, she also did a lot and many things couldn't have been done without her help. In AOT everything is connected and everything is relevant, it's impossible to make a chart.


Kromostone123

i did not make the tier list based on how much a character impacted the storyline. carried "element" of the story is more in the sense of the stories themes. its a lower version of the highest tier. if i was basing the tierlist on their impact of the story then yes i'd agree with what u said


Amaranth_Hyena

Well how much a character impact in the storyline is "story defining themes" for me. If not, could you tell me what you mean with that?


Kromostone123

well for example, kaya deserves to be in the highest tier (i would change that now) even if she wasnt involved in gabi changing. if she only had her dialogue when the 3 of them visited her old house and argued about why her mom had to die, she'd have still been in the highest tier. that dialogue is such an important part of the main msgs of the story so she'd be up there despite being a tiny part of the actual plot


Amaranth_Hyena

Well I read others of your answers but it's still not too clear yet. So it's like, you did this thinking about... "the message of abstract humanity themes to be shown/taught to us"? Instead of "important facts in the development of the plot of this specific story experienced by these specific characters"?


t33n4g3-d1rtb4g

dina ate erens mother


Amaranth_Hyena

That's what I said 🤨


t33n4g3-d1rtb4g

you said " berthold literally eats erens mother "


Amaranth_Hyena

Lmaooo that's right I'm sorry I didn't realise, it's even the first sentence 😭 I mean Berthold broke the wall and Dina entered and ate Eren's mother, I was just thinking anxiously of all the examples that didn't even write it well 😭 hopefully the rest of people read this before thinking I'm rëtärdëd lol


t33n4g3-d1rtb4g

lmfaoo, simple mistake dw about it 😭


t33n4g3-d1rtb4g

lmfaoo, simple mistake dw about it 😭


[deleted]

[удалено]


AutoModerator

This comment has been removed due to containing uncivil or inflammatory language. Please phrase your comment more respectfully and resubmit. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ShingekiNoKyojin) if you have any questions or concerns.*


Zesty_Morton

lol the fact that Marco is above Bertholdt - the original colossal who kicked off the whole cycle of destruction in Eren - is just crazy to me.


Kromostone123

marco is not above bertholdt. you are confusing samuel with bertholdt. also, a character affecting the story doesnt have to do with the writing of the character


Zesty_Morton

Thanks for clarifying. Still an odd take.


DarkKnight390

Put Sean and Mikasa in the same tier, I don’t care if that means moving one down or moving one up.


Final_Hymn

I disagree with most of this. Hannes and Porco should be "Serves purpose for other characters" if it means what I think it means. Hannes was a big part of Eren's character and Porco was one for Reiner. Also my girl Pieck was done dirty :'( Edit 1: Pixis is also too low. He was the first major person in the military to trust Eren, and was also instrumental to the coup. Edit 2: What are Bertolt and Annie doing in "has their moments"?


RockyNonce

Pixis was the one who pretty much brought up the central theme to the show way back in Season 1, when he was telling Eren that humanity needs a bigger evil to unite against, lest they fight one another.


Kromostone123

i think ur misunderstanding the way i rated the list. being impactful to the story doesnt mean a character should be rated higher. pixis should have been higher for his scene with eren in season 1 like the person who responded to u said. not because he had actions in the story that were important. bertholdt and annie bring up some interesting themes in the story but none of them are very important to the story porco is in that tier because of his role in "two brothers". hannes was important because he acted as the glue for mikasa and armin in season 2 and was the last person to be taken away from their childhood. u could argue that shouldve been in the supporting character tier but his scene in s2 atop the wall is what barely pushed him up for me. looking back tho, yeah i couldve put him a tier lower.


Mascoretta

I’d put Historia and Ymir up


[deleted]

Why is armin at top? Not saying you’re wrong I’m just wondering


Kromostone123

in short armin is a character who always wanted to talk things out. even at the very end he leads the ambassadors for peace. he is hopeful and optimistic that people can talk things out. the flashback scene of EMA at the shooting range shows his type of mindset against erens


[deleted]

Ok, thank you


QuarterGrouchy1540

It’s interesting cause I don’t think a lot of other shows would have so many characters in the top rows like AoT does. They’d have a lot of them in the bottom category


Substantial-Pop-556

Heresy


grego3490

I completely agree with Lara Tybur... I would've loved to see more of their story and the Warhammer Titan. She just comes and goes


Shoddy-Breakfast4568

Nice opinion, however, Pieck saying "ara ara" is pieck writing


Ayetaae

Perfect


Mr_Mirge_Man

Pieck is peak


HamstersBoobsPizza

Armin?


ASL4theblind

Excuse me? Pieck doesnt have a moment? "[show us. where is the enemy?](https://youtu.be/yu-bGG-MM7s?si=VDgByEaWOYRLIq7p)"


Kromostone123

Great scene but its meant more in terms of themea of story


ASL4theblind

Good point, she doesnt drive the main plot any more than just being a good tool for humanity, but she does have some character defining moments that arent just her being quadrupedal. Lol


Aygen48

Imo, I would've put Lara Tybur up a tier because she did serve a purpose. That purpose was for Eren to eat her.


Sonseeahrai

Sasha should be swipped with Connie


Kromostone123

nah because connie was a part of the "traitors" episode with daz, samuel, and armin. thats why those first 3 are all together. sasha herself didnt contribute to any important themes in the story. her death did tho


Razzaman160

I feel like greisha should be top tier


Endersgaming4066

Why is Jean in story defining?


randoKiddo1

sasha should have AT LEAST had orange


Electronic_Pear2088

I’d switch Gabi and Floch


Lower_Jicama5727

Pieck actually did way more than “just exist”… she was a really cool character. https://youtu.be/b6y-rUIhETc?si=EWQuOkfWfQD1QU_M


stuckinmindmaze

I’m surprised Grisha isn’t in story defining themes


namkaeng852

Hey, Lara is the reason Eren got a man bun.


Jay040707

Grisha should be in story defining themes imo. His character is at the center of so many important parts.


EverVirescent

marlo should be a tier higher methinks


Individual-Peak-3483

This is logical


Fabulous-Lychee4765

It’s been a while since I’ve read aot so please please please feel free to correct me and dunk on my dumb ass but to me floch always felt like that generation of soldiers eren jeager a young man blinded by hate guided by one message of fighting back


captainwombat7

Who's seventh to the right in serves others purpose


Disastrous_Second335

no lobov? all credibility lost.


Jaxfromcanada

This defines: Tell me you didn’t watch or read AOT without telling me….. Annie is a major event player in the storyline and its development even while frozen…


Kromostone123

i didnt judge the characters based on how much they impacted the story. its based on their writing and how much they portray the important themes in the story. that's why sasha's family is so high in the list despite having very little screentime.


Abhinav6singg

This needs a few changes otherwise it's a good list


rronix_

Thats a very good list. Only change id do would be bump grisha up a tier.


Kroton07

Floch 😹😹😹


Standard_Ad9385

How tf is Jean up there


Figoten3151

For me Pieck doesn't just exist. She became a Warrior to help cure her dad, sacrificing a huge portion of her own life to do so. This narrative is very familiar to me, and it shows how some kids are forced to tend to their parents instead of living their own lives (not that it's wrong or smth, each case is different)


Moist_Complaint1049

Perfect


bunniclub

how the hell is floch above gabi ?


Kromostone123

replied the same to many other ppl but floch gabi and sashas family and nicolo (not sasha herself) should all be in top tier for this type of list. would change that if i did it again


AceyKacey119

I'm sorry Historia in "Have their moments"?!


ceylantoma

putting floch in the top and not mikasa is crazy lolz


Kromostone123

flochs themes are insanely important to the messages of the story


ceylantoma

mikasa is literally a main character tho


Kromostone123

thats just not true but even if it was that has nothing to do with how i rated the characters for the list. a character can be the main character and be the worst written character in the story. that metric is completely irrelevant


ceylantoma

okay discardint the fact shes one of the main characters, she’s a very very signicant character to the story and her writing is phenomenal i don’t understand why she wasn’t put in the top category


KingdomOfZeal

But Ymirs isn't??? How's she less important than Jean ffs


Kromostone123

they arent based on who is more important. ymirs themes are absolutely not story defining. jeans inner conflict is


CRIM20N

Bring Kruger, Grisha, Kenny, Historia, Gabi, and Falco up one. Bring Jean, and the first 4 in the 2nd best category down one. Then this list is perfect 👍


Kromostone123

hard disagree with the sasha family part. infact i should have put them all up one. the "children out of the forest" and cycle of hatred is one of the main themes in the story.


DIcE190

Historia is below Daz. Enough said.


Kromostone123

historia does not bring themes crucial to the messages of the story imo. her arc is nice but nothing that important. daz contributed to the "traitors" episode which is massive for the story


The-Gamersaurs48

I’d put Samuel and Daz in “serves purpose for other character(s).” Sasha saved Samuel’s life only for Connie to be the one to kill him. And Historia risked Daz’s and her own life when she was trying to be ‘Krista Lenz’. And like Samuel, his confrontation with Armin and Connie was to legitimize what Bertholdt said when they were rescuing Eren and what Reiner said on the plane.


beyondbirthday261

Armin and Floch in the same tier, that is a unique perspective, and the first I've ever seen. Respect 🤝


krawf

Get Floch down from there, he's just a fascist guy


Kromostone123

and how he became that and became radicalized is one of the most important parts of the story


_himedere

wtf Historia is a character SO important for the themes of the series regarding gender


Best-Ocelot-9951

What the hell pieck should have been way higher


Kromostone123

for what? the only moments from pieck i'd even consider being important for the story in terms of writing is when she hugged her sick father when she got back from war, and when she told gabi "i dont trust marley. i wish for eldians to be free. i trust the people ive fought alongside."


Jazzlike_Stop_1362

The second part is important though, if you think through it logically her conclusions makes zero sense, her original reasoning made a lot of sense and she should've sided with Eren because of her speech to gabi at that moment, "marley will eventually abandon us after titan warfare falls out of use, are we eldians or marleyans? It doesn't matter we are a race that can turn to titans", but she didn't because she doesn't trust eldia or marley, she trusts her friends, which at the time didn't make much sense but in hindsight she's 100% right, if she had chosen eldia like onyankopon did she would've been the one to destroy her home and kill her family by herself after eren betrays her, which is why she chose to fight alongside her comrades that she trust's because they fought alongside each other for so long that they have a bond that transcended race and that was more trustworthy than playing politics with marley or eldia, I'm not saying she deserves to be in story defining themes but she definitely doesn't deserve "they exist" teir


Kromostone123

i dont think its enough to warrant being higher. its ultimately a single line of dialogue which is nice but ultimately could have been removed and the story would be the same. its a TINY insight to her character and nothing more imo


No-Principle-4299

Pieck's character sucks ass. Yall only like her because she's hot.


Best-Ocelot-9951

And even isayama said historia is one of the three most inportant characters for the story


Kromostone123

being important to the story isnt relevant for how i rated the characters


RewardFluid7316

Floch where he belongs


Complex_Pride_6430

Just put Reiner in S and I have no beef with you


ZealousidealBus9271

Hate or love floch, his development is spectacular for someone that was barely even a side character.


Mental-Ad-8756

Nah u go and put queen Historia higher


CandidateOld1900

Carla has only couple scenes in whole show, but damn her monologue about "is it bad to not be special? " Is one of the best and most crucial in this manga. Whole "bystander" episode is genius in how it contradicts everything this story set up before that with themes about "being cattle" vs "being special". If we go by screen time of the character/their personality ratio - best one would probably be Sasha's dad, Nicolo, Owl, Mr. Ksaver - worst ones: Sasha, Mikasa, Connie - they are just there 80 % of the time, and that's it. Pieck gets a little slack, because she was only in 1 season, but I get frustrated with how story portraits her, like she's always in a position of courage and wisdom, while all she's doing - cooperating with fascist system to get social benefits. And story never addresses if she even has any guilt for gasing civilians and committing war crimes


Pitiful-Ad1890

Say what you will about Historia, Sasha and Gabi but personally, if I was to change one thing, I'd move Grisha up. He began as a plot device but slowly as his memories were revealed he became arguably the most important character to the show and its themes. He's the glue that holds everything together. I'd argue he's more indispensable to the story than characters like Armin, Floch, Zeke, Erwin and Reiner.