Attack On Titan Manga Vs Anime: 12 Ways They Are Different

Attack On Titan Manga Vs Anime: With both of the versions of Attack on Titan coming to an end, fans have all the time to compare and contrast the two sides of the same story. For the manga, fans still talk about how dark and bittersweet the ending was. Even some debates about the anime’s ending continue to play out. However, it would be hard to judge which one of these is the better version. Well, we leave that up to you to decide. Each fan has their personal preference. What we can do is lay out all the major differences between the two and let you decide the winner. So, here are all the major differences and similarities between Attack on Titan manga and anime.

Armin’s Character Arc

Naturally, while creating an anime, makers have to keep in mind the constraints of a twenty-minute episode. In such a case, many key moments from Armin’s arc had to be cut off from the anime. In the manga, Armin is as important of a character as Mikasa. Many of the acts that are pulled off by Mikasa in the anime were actually Armin’s in the manga. Thus, to tone down his character, the makers substituted him with Levi or Mikasa, or Eren himself.

Attack On Titan Manga Vs Anime: Ymir’s Past

Lady Ymir’s past was of key significance in the story. This is because he was the only character who had experienced life beyond the Walls. In the manga, the character narrates his past much later in the story. Thus, in large part of the story, fans were left without answers about the lives of people who were turned into titans. In contrast, the writing of the anime decided to uncover this early on. Fans believe that this was done in order to justify Ymir’s love for Historia.

The Three Leads

As opposed to popular belief, anime is not the proper adaptation of the source manga. Characters and story arcs need to be twisted in order to fit the popular anime character norms. A similar thing happened to the three leads, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. All three characters have slight differences in the choices they make in the story. While Eren is a lot more subtle in the manga, he is more aggressive in the anime.

Carla’s Death

In the first episode itself, Attack on Titan anime sets the dark tone of the story with Carla’s death. However, for the fans who have not read the manga, they would be surprised to know that Eren’s mother’s death was more graphic and lengthy in the manga. In the scene illustrated by Hajime Isayama, the Titan first crushes the lady in his fist. As blood came out of the openings, he chewed her to death. The anime version decided to tone it down for the first episode.

Toned-Down Brutality

As mentioned above, there have been similar cases when makers have opted to tone down the action sequences. Similar to the case of Carla’s death, a lot of action sequences were cut short by excluding the bloodshed and genocides. Because of the televised nature of anime, a lot of graphic scenes could not make it to television. Even after getting stamped as a dark show, there is a lot that the showrunners skipped for the animated version.

Attack On Titan Manga Vs Anime: Character Portrayals

A lot of characters, excluding the three leads, were altered from the source material for the sake of anime stereotypes. Like the character of Levi was more friendly and amicable as compared to the one that was portrayed in the anime. As all stereotyped ‘perfect characters’ go, Levi was also showcased as the serious commander who did not believe in cracking jokes or laughing over one’s troubles. Such changes were seen in many characters, including Annie, Historia, and even the titans.

The Eren Vs. Annie Fight

The Eren Vs. Annie Fight is one of the most talked-about differences in the Attack On Titan Manga Vs. Anime debate. This is because the entire direction of the fight was changed in the anime. In the original fight, Eren was never really the stronger one. Instead, it was Annie who thrashed him all through the fight. Also, Eren was helped by the survey corps to deal with her and crystallize her in the end.

The Character of the Priests

Much to the dislike of the viewers, the orthodox priests make their way into the story quite early in the story. The people who believe that the wall is sacred and holy made it to the screens in the first episode itself. However, the manga waited for quite some time before introducing this fanatic element in the story. Moreover, their character was twisted to a higher tone to set a precedent in the anime.

The Length

It is quite natural for anime to cut short on scenes, dialogues, and action sequences to fit the story in numbered episodes. Attack on Titan is a vast manga story. As compared to the manga, it has more elements. There were many panels that did not make it to the original draft of the storyline. Thus, if someone is hoping to get easter eggs from a storyline, then reading the manga would be a better option.

The Conclusion

The Attack on Titan manga continues to get thrashed for its choice of conclusion. The bittersweet ending was not only dark, but it also left behind some serious questions. The character arcs did not make sense after all the build-up that led to the final volume. On top of this, the biggest disappointment was the conclusion of Eren’s character arc. Was he the villain? Was he the hero of the story? Some questions are left for the anime to a better answer.

The Training Session

This has more to do with the chronology of the anime than with the changes. In the manga, after the first titan attack, Eren and his friends go to the military school before joining the Survey Corps. However, the anime tilts this story by taking them straight to the training grounds. And the story of his past was narrated through the flashback sequences, one after the other. Some fans did think this was a clever way of telling two tales at the same time.

Berserk Mode

The fans who have read the manga know that the fight with the Female Titan was nothing like how it was depicted in the anime. At the time when Titan Eren fought the monster, he took her down with his basic attacks. However, in the anime, Eren turns into a berserk, causing his body to heat up with fire. It was later explained Eren’s Berserk mode was a result of his rage. But with the manga logic, this addition did not make much sense.

These were all the large differences between the Attack on Titan manga and anime. But it cannot be denied that both versions of the same story are classics on their own. Even so, which version is your personal favorite. In the Attack On Titan Manga Vs Anime debate, which one would you choose? Let us know in the comment box below. For more such exciting listicles, keep an eye on this space.