Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan is filled with a roster of characters that play a giant role in the trajectory of the whole series.

Focusing on the side characters, there are several individuals whose limited screen presence had a lasting impression on all of us.

These characters possessed a charm that compelled you to learn more about their motives, backstory, and lore, masterfully weaving them into the overall storyline.

Their complex, impulsive, or morally conflicting decisions bring a nuanced depth to the series even if they don’t get the spotlight. So, here are the most interesting side characters in AoT without whom the series wouldn’t have had such a monumental rumbling.

We recommend watching the anime or reading the manga in advance to avoid the significant spoilers of Attack on Titan’s most interesting characters in the following list.

10

Lara Tybur

Why Did You Have To Ask Him?

Lara Tybur is undoubtedly the most underexplored character among the upcoming entries, making her an ideal starting point for the list. She was a member of the Tybur family, who were Eldians that held an influential position in Marley.

Her inherited War Hammer Titan powers were a secret from Marley’s government and civilians to protect her family’s position. This secret helped create misdirection for Eren Jaeger, who infiltrated Marley under the alias of Eren Kruger but couldn’t figure out the identity of War Hammer Titan and devoured Willy instead.

Unfortunately, she lost her plot armor when Eren Jaeger punched her during her transformation as a Titan, and consumed her Titan powers. Ironically, her last words were calling Eren an usurpur and asking if he had any last words.

That said, her quiet demeanor and emotional composure during the entire fight made her short presence more interesting.

9

Frieda Reiss

Suffering With Power!

Freida Reiss leaned on peace, love, and harmony as portrayed by all the moments she shared with Historia, her half-sister. Sadly, her personality drastically changed after receiving the Founding Titan as she became much more susceptible to the First King’s will and opinions, contradicting her former self.

When Grisha Jaeger confronted her in the chapel and begged her to save her family from the invasion of the Titans, she refused with a cold demeanor and a monologue. As she stood tall with her family, they urged her to kill him when Grisha was vulnerable. Ultimately, this led to one of the most pivotal scenes in the series, resulting in her death alongside most of the Reiss family.

However, before declining Grisha’s help, she paused, her face filled with distress. Given her personality, that made me infer that without the power of the Founding Titan, she might have stopped the invasion.

8

Niccolo

Loss, Grief, And Healing

From seeing him red-faced after being complimented by Sasha on his food to seeing him support and mourn Sasha’s family, Niccolo has undergone a turbulent character development.

As a proud Marleyan who hated Eldian devils for their heritage, Sasha changed his outlook on life, people, and the world around him. It is a bummer that we didn’t have more screen time for them together.

When he found out Gabi Braun was responsible for her brutal death, he couldn’t control his rage and wanted to kill Gabi, asking Sasha’s father to kill her, or he would do it himself. But after he heard Mr. Braus’s monologue with the utmost willingness to forgive Gabi, he gave up his raging frenzy and was inspired to become a better person, helping others.

This was evident when he later comforted both, self-loathing Gabi and Kaya by saying that everyone has a devil within them.

7

Hitch Dreyse

Less Stress, More Chill

In a world infested with Titans, Hitch Dreyse played her part by working as a private in the Military Police Regiment. Although she joined the regiment out of laziness, she had it tough due to her superiors dumping most of the work.

Contrary to other self-righteous characters, Hitch’s sarcasm and laid-back personality brings a relatable layer to an otherwise gritty story of AoT. One of her character traits I found amazing was that she always had more genuine empathy and concern than she let on.

Be it her duties as a senior Military Police officer or taking care of Annie, her subtle character growth while keeping her personality traits was quite heartwarming. Her brief screen time proved you neither need to be a hero nor a villain to get through and play your part.

6

Floch Forster

Driven By Survivor’s Guilt?

Surviving the suicide charge led by Commander Erwin, Floch was a heavily traumatized side character who went through great lengths as a devout Jeagerist. This made Floch grow from a coward to a violent and harsh individual that only cared for Eldia, his homeland.

He was certainly a brave soldier. After all, he was the only survivor who listened to Erwin’s last speech and knew Eren’s plans before the rest.

However, Floch had no idea about the intentions of the men he was greatly influenced by, making him persistently ignorant and simply blinded by their ideals. It even made him go on a power trip and unnecessarily kill innocents. Nevertheless, at his heart, I think he was always scared of things not going his way.

This was evident when he had a frightened look when Mikasa was missing, and during his final moments, when he asked Hange and Jean not to go after Eren, as he was their last hope.

5

Dhalis Zachary

Twisted And Sociopath

There is no character as disturbingly psychopathic as Dhalis Zachary. His sadist tendencies cannot be justified, even if they stemmed from his resentment towards the monarchy and nobles. While he was a premier overseeing all three military regiments, he had little to no interest in saving humanity.

From his point of view, it was a payback for a lifetime of being looked down on for not having royal blood. All he cared for was his torture machine, which he believed was the greatest work of art ever conceived.

The only reason he helped Erwin’s coup against the monarchy was simply because of his personal spite. In the end, his antics make him no lesser evil than his enemies or other morally complex characters in Attack on Titan.

4

Kaya

Sasha Fan-Girl

There is no doubt that Kaya has had one of the saddest backstories in AoT for her traumatic past.

She was rescued by Sasha Braus as she was unable to move after seeing her mother get devoured by a Pure Titan. Kaya had idolized Sasha ever since, wanting to help people.

With an emotionally closed-off and quiet personality, it was amazing to see her character grow over a short duration. This was beautifully portrayed during her conversations with Gabi and Falco as they discussed past history at the farm.

I almost broke down when she said her mother had nothing to do with the crimes Eldian committed centuries ago. But what was even more enticing to see her character flip when Kaya learned it was Gabi who killed Sasha, expressing a painful and rageful reaction to her grief.

3

Kenny Ackerman

Certified Free Bird!

Kenny Ackerman was infamously known as Kenny the Ripper for murdering over 100 Military Police officers in the past.

Kenny had no loyalty or sense of attachment to anyone except Uri Reiss, sharing a genuine lifelong friendship. Learning more about the Titans and their power, he secretly had a desire to gain the god-like power by serving Rod Reiss. However, when he learned he couldn’t access those powers, he was angry and turned against him.

As a maternal uncle to Levi Ackerman, he raised him as a child until he was capable, yet until his last breath, he never told Levi the truth.

I admire that Kenny was more self-aware than most of the characters, saying everyone had to be drunk on something. And it made perfect sense that Hajime Isayama partially based him off Trevor from Grand Theft Auto 5 as he matched his chaotic energy.

2

Hange Zoë

Sole Titan Research Team

As a free-thinking individual and person of science, Hange Zoë stands a step ahead of several other characters in AoT. Given how little the Survey Corps knew about the Titans, her passion for researching was essential to saving humanity.

Hange was kind-hearted and selfless, and her goofiness helped ease out the bleak, depressing scenes in the series. But it was sad to witness her expressing this side less frequently when the threat to humanity became severe.

Despite not having a background history, she remains one of the most fascinating characters for her quick-wittiness and vibrant personality.

1

Eren Kruger

Owl And A G.O.A.T!

Eren Kruger was unarguably the most crucial side character that shook the trajectory of the series. If it wasn’t for him, neither Grisha nor Eren Jaeger would have received the powers of Attack Titan. What blew my mind was when he mentioned Armin and Mikasa, he was as clueless as Grisha. But still, he went on to ask Grisha to start a family within the walls.

When accessing his father’s memories, Eren Jaeger sat there talking with Grisha, showcasing how intricately everything was connected. Further, I couldn’t help but appreciate his striking parallels with his successor, Eren Jaeger, from their burning rage against the world to remorse for killing innocents.