Years ago, our review of Attack on Titan called it “an anime classic that will stand the test of time.” Now, looking back over the best moments in the series to assemble this list, it’s clear that much is true. It’s hard to say precisely what qualities make Attack on Titan so enduring, but one of them must be its profundity. Profundity and foresight, to be exact. The two go hand in hand with Attack on Titan in particular.
After all, it’s chock-full of incredible quotes you can draw out and dote over for hours if you really want to. But part of what makes its best quotes so incredible and enduring is the way that, over its 10-year run, Attack on Titan gently threaded them all together into heavy meditations on willpower, destiny, and the concept of meaning itself. Great Attack on Titan quotes hit you, but the best hit you like a truck, and you don’t even know why—they only make sense in the broader context Isayama carefully crafted
1) What a Beautiful Day It Is
Moments before Zeke is decapitated in Season 4, Episode 18 (“Superior”) in a last-ditch effort to take Levi out with him, he realizes at last (with help from Armin) to appreciate the little things. While it sounds cliche, it’s incredibly effective, especially at the tail end of Zeke’s backstory, where the sheer depth of his tragedy, manipulation, and humanity is revealed.
“What a beautiful day it is. I wish I had seen it earlier. I suppose…after all the killing I’ve done…that’s too much to ask.”
-Zeke Yeager
The entire arc is a gorgeous reflection of the fact that Zeke, who seemed inhumanly evil for the majority of early Attack on Titan and at a certain point was even the primary antagonist, was made “inhuman” by a combination of circumstances, adaptive choices, and influences. Seeing the beauty of life at the end in the simple human pleasures like a beautiful day is a grounding moment for someone who, themselves, had become a slave to his self-imposed eugenics and nihilism.
2) Those Who Can’t Abandon Anything Can’t Change Anything
This particular quote comes from Armin in Attack on Titan Season 1, Episode 20 (“Erwin Smith: The 57th Expedition Beyond The Walls, Part 4”), and it voices a sentiment that he rearticulates a few times. It’s also arguably one of many allusions to Nietzsche on this list: the well-known caution about gazing in the abyss, warning not to become a monster while fighting them.
“If there’s anyone who can bring about change, it’s someone capable of giving up what matters most. In particular, people who are capable of abandoning their humanity when forced to rise above monsters. Those who can’t abandon anything can’t change anything.”
-Armin Arlert
Armin’s call to shed humanity, echoed when facing Annie in Season 1, Episode 24, speaks to the devastating hopelessness Paradis feels—and the willingness it creates to abandon any pre-existing notions of “right” and “wrong” if it means survival and real change.
3) God or Devil
Following up on that Nietzschean allusion, Eren Kruger drops another critical one in Season 3, Episode 21 (“Attack Titan”). It’s pretty clear that Isayama lifted some themes from Nietzsche, so consider it relevant to mention that, for Nietzsche, “truth” wasn’t something absolute: “truth” is what people believe and claim to be “truth”, but belief and claims are always contrivances, because words (for Nietzsche) are just metaphors filtered through social norms, morality, and individual psychologies.
“There is no truth in this world. Anyone can become a God or a Devil, all it takes is for someone to claim that to be the truth.”
-En Kruger
This isn’t a stretch, either: Armin articulates the same thing in Season 1, Episode 23 when he disregards the idea of a “good person”, since “good is merely a label applied to people who are convenient to us in some way.”
4) Born Into This World
This quote is particularly impactful because it comes from Eren’s mother, and it mirrors a sentiment that Eren would voice throughout his entire life. Eren would incessantly say that he, and everyone else, deserves freedom—because they’re born into this world. Layer on additional quotable moments like “since I’ve been born, I’ve always been myself”, and it’s clear why this specific glimpse into a mother’s adoration for her son, just because he was born at all, blew Attack on Titan fans away.
“He doesn’t need to become great. Why would he have to be better than everyone else? Just look at him… don’t you see how cute he is? He is already great. Because he was born into this world.”
-Carla Yeager
On top of that, there’s a palpable irony that feeds into the theme of people always having different things they value most. Where Eren correlated his birth to a thirst for freedom and a desire to become great enough to see it through, his mother correlated his birth to the fact that she would never ask him to stand out or be a hero—that he’s already great as he is.
5) Give Up Your Dreams and Die
Spoken to Erwin on the cusp of death, this quote gives some of the greatest emotional insight into Levi in the first half of the series, while also building on some of Attack on Titan‘s key themes. Fans already know that Erwin’s greatest motivation in life was he and his father’s shared dream of seeing the contents of the basement. Now, Levi is faced with the decision between reviving Armin and Erwin, and Erwin is contemplating the selfishness of his actions.
“Give up on your dream and die. Lead the new recruits into hell.”
-Levi Ackerman
Not wanting Erwin to realize his dream to be left with no other motivation, wishing to finally let him rest from the guilt he’s racked with and the incessant call of leadership, Levi chooses to let him rest with an honorable death.
6) On the Other Side of the Ocean
At the end of the third season and after loads of build-up, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin finally stand at the edge of the sea. The objective has shifted all over again, though: getting there meant learning of an entire side of the world they’ve never seen, surrounding them in its hostility.
“Beyond the wall..there’s a sea. On the other side of the sea..is freedom. That’s what I always believed. But I was wrong. On the other side of the sea…are enemies. Hey.. if we kill all our enemies…over there…will we finally…be free?”
-Ren Yeager
In the moment, Eren gazes out into the abyssal sea (another on-the-nose connection to Nietzsche) and asks whether killing the enemies across the ocean means they’ll finally be free. It’s also masterfully called back in the Paths conversation, when Armin recollects the sheer excitement of picking up a seashell in the moment, and Eren realizes he missed the joy of life right in front of him by being a slave to the ideal of freedom.
7) The Devil Himself
Floch is one of Attack on Titan‘s best characters, and this quote demonstrates why perfectly. When everyone is debating whether to revive Erwin or Armin, Floch drops this gem. The quote reflects the way Floch identifies with Erwin for his pragmatism and willingness to do whatever it takes to take down the Titans. He’s utterly convinced that Erwin is the one who will do what’s necessary to bring peace—even if it’s unsavory.
“The only one who can destroy the Titans… is the devil himself! And my mission… is to bring the devil back to life!”
-Floch Forster
However, the quote becomes doubly great later when Floch devotes himself to Eren and his plan. Floch’s entire arc with the Jaegerists calls back to this key moment when he demands a devil who can lead Paradis to a final victory. With Erwin gone and no solution in sight, Eren is the next devil in line with an even more radical solution.
8) A Slave To Something
This quote comes by way of Attack on Titan Season 3, Episode 10: “Friends”, the one where Kenny passes away. As Kenny lies dying, we get a glimpse into his history and he recounts that everybody he’s ever met had something they were serving that kept them going.
“Everybody I’ve met… was all the same. Drinking… Women… Worshiping God, even… Family… The King… Dreams… Children… Power… Everyone had to be drunk on somethin’ to keep pushing on… Everyone… was a slave to somethin’.”
-Kenny Ackerman
This quote isn’t just incredible because of its delivery, its clarification of Kenny’s own purpose (the realization that Uri was a slave to his own dreams of peace), or its proximity to Kenny’s final redemption (telling Levi where to find the syringe). Notably, it’s echoed by Eren much later during his conversation with Armin on the Paths, where he confesses to being a slave to “freedom.” These sacred individual guiding lights are the root of conflict in Attack on Titan and life itself.
9) Stand Up, Dad
In Season 4, Episode 20 (“Memories of the Future”), one of Attack on Titan‘s most chilling and mind-blowing moments happens. Viewers see Eren and Zeke in their father’s memories, right at the moment when Grisha has the opportunity to kill the Reiss family and steal the Founding Titan.
“What are you doing? Stand up, dad. Did you forget what you came here to do? To avenge your little sister eaten by dogs. For your comrades. Dina. Kruger. To avenge them. You keep moving forward. Even if you die. Even after death. Aren’t you the one who started this story?”
-Ren Yeager
Grisha kneels on the ground, unable to move—then Eren kneels down to him and urges him to stand up and complete the mission he went there to carry out. Eren’s urging Grisha for vengeance is an incredible reframing of what once seemed a brutal expression of his father’s own autonomy.
10) At Least 10 Years
This one is fun to close on because it actually became a meme on its own. In hindsight, though, it’s really meaningful. During Armin and Eren’s Paths conversation, Armin makes Eren face the reality of Mikasa moving on from him. His reaction is, in Arwin’s own words, “pathetic.” And it is—that’s the beauty and tragedy of this quote. Eren, for once, whines like the teenager he is, never having had the chance to experience mundane tragedies like break-ups, unrequited love, and the minor price of young melodrama. At the end of it all, he’s able, for just a moment, to put his guard down and be the kid he was all along.
“No… I don’t want that! I don’t want her to find someone. I want to be her one and only for the rest of my life! And after I die, I want her to be hung up on me for at least ten years!”
-Ren Yeager
The irony of Eren’s accidental lapse into youthful sincerity becoming a meme, while his cool battle cry—“Fight! Fight! Fight!”—has grown iconic, is that it reveals a bloodlust in us fans as potent as any within Attack on Titan itself; the walls of the Colosseum still surround us, just out of sight—where even Titans couldn’t breach them.
As we said at the start, Attack on Titan is a treasure trove of memorable quotes. If you have a favorite we missed, drop it in the comments below.
Otherwise, if you’re interested in seeing what one of our writers saw when they rewatched Attack on Titantake a look at the link below!
