As the story goes on, there are several plot twists that change what we know about the world, the Titans, and the remaining humans. But one of the first and most important plot points is that certain humans can transform into Titans at will—people known as Titan Shifters. Each Titan Shifter has a unique form and some even have special powers or abilities. But aside from that, the revelation of each Titan Shifter is groundbreaking, and the actual transformation scenes are awesome. Here are our picks for the best Titan transformation scenes in Attack on Titan and why they stand out against the rest.
10. Eren’s First Transformation
First off is Eren’s first transformation in the series (not in the timeline). It’s the scene where we think he’s dead because he was swallowed whole by a Titan—and that became the trigger for his transformation. The moment we see an arm tear out of the Titan’s mouth? Simply badass. It turned the heartbreaking scene into an awesome rage moment for Eren the Titan Shifter who just found out about his new powers.
9. Colossal Titan’s First Appearance
In this scene—which is one of the earliest scenes in the series—we aren’t able to see where the biggest Titan came from (apparently out of thin air). All we see is an explosion of lightning, and it makes us want to watch. Right after the Colossal Titan peers over the walls, chaos comes next. It kicks open a hole in the wall, destroying buildings in the process, and that allows dozens of Titans to flood through the streets of the city.
8. Reiner and Bertholdt’s Transformation
This traitor-reveal moment is one of the most intense and goosebumps-raising scenes in Attack on Titan, giving us Mikasa’s wild slashes and Eren’s disappointment with Reiner and Bertholdt. The traitors among the Corps—Reiner and Bertholdt—both transformed at the same time, triggered by the cuts caused by Mikasa. With the Colossal Titan almost destroying the walls and the Armored Titan capturing Eren, they almost accomplished their mission right here.
7. Bertholdt’s Nuke Transformation
In this episode, Bertholdt was supposed to transform into the Colossal Titan while mid-air inside a barrel, so that the energy released during his transformation would act as a nuke. But he didn’t, because Reiner would’ve been caught in the explosion. It wasn’t until later, after a brief sword fight with Mikasa, that he transformed into his Colossal Titan form and set off the explosion. His transformation alone is enough to annihilate an entire city.
6. The Eldian Reinforcements
The early parts of Attack on Titan feature special Titan Shifters who can transform into their Titan forms. But in the later parts, we learn that normal people can turn into Titans—but they get stuck permanently. This scene showed how cruel Marley was with their Titans in battle—not just against their enemies, but cruel toward their own people. We see the Eldians wrapped up and dropped from a plane, then turned into Titans that rain down as weapons for combat.
5. Warhammer Titan Appears
Lara Tybur’s Warhammer Titan transformation is quite unique among all the Titan Shifters because the host’s body doesn’t reside in the nape like it does for the other Titan Shifters. Like the Armored Titan, who materializes armor over its skin during transformation, the Warhammer Titan has the ability to craft weapons for battle at will, including spikes and a giant hammer. This Titan transformation also subverted a common trope in anime, in which people wait for their enemies to transform or power-up.
4. Armin’s Colossal Titan
Armin inherited the Colossal Titan from Bertholdt and became a Titan Shifter like him. Just like Bertholdt’s own transformation, Armin’s explosive transformation wiped out the port and the navy ship, delivering a powerful aftershock to where the main battle was happening.
3. The Female Titan and Armor Titan Duo
Reiner and Annie joined forces in this scene, in their mission to acquire the flying ship. They both transformed into their Titan forms at the same time, protecting their allies and the ship. What makes this scene one of the best is that it was Annie’s next transformation after her crystallization in the early seasons, along with Falco’s first as the Jaw Titan Shifter (which he inherited from Porco).
2. Eren Versus Annie
Eren’s transformation at this moment is one of his best because it’s fueled and triggered by pure hatred. At first, he wasn’t able to turn into his Attack Titan form because of his doubts, but here he decides to finally transform and the resulting sequence is badass.
1. The Founding Titan Transformation
Eren’s Founding Titan transformation was the best in the entire series as everyone thought Gabi succeeded in killing Eren. We also thought that Zeke got full control and only used Eren’s Titans. But the tables turn for Eren when he manages to use Ymir’s power to activate the Rumbling, which releases the Wall Titans that trample everything aside from Paradis Island and its populace. His Founding Titan transformation is quite bizarre, as it’s much creepier than the other Titans and is way bigger than even the Colossal Titan. There is also an “unknown creature” that pulled his decapitated head and started the Founding Titan transformation. Read next: The best spin-off anime series worth watching
