History AttackOnTitan / TropesAToF

* AntagonistTitle: The titular Titans are the main antagonists of the series, at least until the Uprising arc, when [[spoiler:the Royal Government serves as the main antagonistic group]]. The Return to Shiganshina arc focuses on the Titans again, but [[spoiler:things change once more after TheReveal in the basement. The title also doubles as a ProtagonistTitle, as "Shingeki no Kyojin" is the Japanese name of Eren's Attack Titan]].

* AnAesop: There are quite a few.
** Fascism is only sustainable through the violent subjugation of entire peoples, and though it may outwardly seem beneficial for the populace (and "cool" to an extent) it always leads to extreme suffering.
** Oppression will never stop on its own. If you want to be free, you need to fight. At the same time, people who benefit from the status quo will fight to defend it, and you need to be prepared to face adversity if you wish to liberate yourself.
** Humans are not inherently evil ''or'' good -- people are capable of doing bad things for good reasons, and vice versa.
** The CycleOfRevenge is extremely difficult to break, especially when it's one based on historical events that neither party was personally alive for. Plus, it's wrong to judge people based on the actions of their ancestors.
** When the oppressed overthrow the system oppressing them, they must be careful [[HeWhoFightsMonsters not to become the oppressors themselves]], thus [[FullCircleRevolution perpetuating the very same system of oppresion]] they fought to overthrow.

** Erwin remembers asking a question to his father who was a teacher, when he was boy at school, his father responded to him in private that he didn't have an answer to that but he'll try to find out. A few days after, his father was "disappeared" by the government, and several chapters later we learn what the question was:
--->'''Erwin:'''[[spoiler:How do we know humanity is extinct beyond the walls?]]

* CentralTheme: Change will not happen unless you push for it; if you don't fight, you can't win.

** [[spoiler:Annie Leonhart remained conscious while hybernating inside her crystal cocoon for 4 years. Later, she thanks Armin and Hitch for occasionally visiting]].

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Many characters eagerly wish for something only to recoil in horror when they get it, but the most prominent meta example has to be when Marley manages to con the remaining nations of the world into total war upon Paradis. [[spoiler: As the attendees are chanting "War! War! War!", out pops Titan Eren, who eats Wilbur, the AgentProvocateur, and then goes totally apeshit on the audience. As they're fleeing, the world leaders who were chanting "War! War!" cry out [[LampshadeHanging "Why did war start all of a sudden?"]]]]

* CPRCleanPrettyReliable. Averted in that it doesn't work, even though Hannah opens the airway properly with head tilt, chin lift. In the manga it's much easier to see [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe the reason why]].

* CliffHanger: Isayama is a ''huge'' fan of these, and several episodes of the anime feature one. If you get to the end of a chapter and it looks like someone might have just died, odds are the the opening of the next chapter will prove you wrong in some way or another.

** [[spoiler: The expanded epilogue of chapter 139 turns the original publication's open, BittersweetEnding into this. Eren's rumbling slaughters 80% of humanity and in the long-run, it does nothing to stop the cycle of hatred. Decades after the story's conclusion, war again comes to Paradis and Shiganshina, if not the whole island, is carpet-bombed and laid to waste. Decades after that, a child wanders through the ruins and finds the tree Eren was buried under. The tree has grown into a Tree of Yggdrasill identical to the one Ymir fell into, implying a new generation of Titans will be born and the cycle will continue in perpetuity.]]

* AntagonistTitle: The titular Titans are the main antagonists of the series, at least until the Uprising arc, when [[spoiler:the Royal Government serves as the main antagonistic group]]. The Return to Shiganshina arc focuses on the Titans again, but [[spoiler:things change once more after TheReveal in the basement]].

** In contrast, the mother of [[spoiler:Reiner Braun]] raised him on a hefty dose of emotional manipulation and pushed him into military service for her own benefit. Her influence brings out the worst in him, causing him to hurt others in a desperate bid to make her proud. That his experiences have left him a ShellShockedVeteran doesn't seem to bother her, instead bragging about the "honor" that her son's accomplishments have brought her.

* DavidVersusGoliath: Taken to the extremes.
** It turns out it's both literal ''and'' metaphorical.

** Although usually portrayed as TheDitz, [[CloudCuckooLander Sasha]] deserves a mention for being the fist character [[BadassNormal to have fought one-on-one against a Titan with no special equipment]] and lived to tell the tale.

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Several. Potato Girl is one of the first, but then we meet the Survey Corps Special Operations Squad, which is almost ''entirely'' made up of Bunny Ears Lawyers and [[MilitaryMaverick Military Mavericks.]]

** The titans themselves are a [[spoiler:weapon of mass destruction (WMD)]]. The kingdom behind the wall promised [[spoiler:the wall titans would purge the land of human life. Considering titans in general, have no problems eating ''anyone'', this is pretty much a guarantee of ‘mutually assured destruction’ (MAD). Setting the wall titans free would pretty much guarantee the deaths of everyone in the kingdom. However, considering their size and numbers, they would steamroll the planet, eventually finding their way to Marley]]. The story even goes as far as to treat the current titan threat as a [[spoiler:proxy war waged by Marley. If Marley never officially invades the walled kingdom, then the kingdom won't set loose the wall titans]]. This is similar to modern warfare, where if the nuclear nations went all out, all humanity would die. To avoid this, nations fight through proxy armies, by supplying fighters in local conflicts, weapons and training. [[spoiler:Eren's decision to unleash the Rumbling during the final act can easily be compared to the possibility of a besieged nation unleashing an all-out nuclear war.]]

** The titans themselves are a [[spoiler:weapon of mass destruction (WMD)]]. The kingdom behind the wall promised [[spoiler:the wall titans would purge the land of human life. Considering titans in general, have no problems eating ''anyone'', this is pretty much a guarantee of ‘mutually assured destruction’ (MAD). Setting the wall titans free would pretty much guarantee the deaths of everyone in the kingdom. However, considering their size and numbers, they would steamroll the planet, eventually finding their way to Marley]]. The story even goes as far as to treat the current titan threat as a [[spoiler:proxy war waged by Marley. If Marley never officially invades the walled kingdom, then the kingdom won't set loose the wall titans]]. This is similar to modern warfare, where if the nuclear nations went all out, all humanity would die. To avoid this, nations fight through proxy armies, by supplying fighters in local conflicts, weapons and training.

* ArtEvolution: As time goes on, the art starts to get steadily more detailed and the action scenes start getting better, as well as the art of drawing faces.

** [[spoiler:Played straight in Chapter 134. Historia gives birth to her newborn child while Eren tramples everyone who unfortunately happens to be in the Rumbling's path.]]

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Eren Yeager has all the usual tropes of a Shonen action protagonist. [[HotBlooded Full of uncontrollable emotions]]? Check. [[IdiotHero Clueless idiot]] [[LeeroyJenkins who has no sense of strategy]]? Check. [[HeroicWillpower Fights using only will power]]. Check. However, all these tropes are portrayed realistically with several negative consequences. While determination is necessary for combat, blindly attacking enemies head-on is a great way to ruin any clever plans that would minimize casualties. If anything, Eren himself can be blamed for causing [[NiceJobBreakingItHero needless deaths]] and [[TheLoad hurting his team]]. Almost without fail, his tendency for this type of action gets him brutally maimed. [[spoiler:Deconstructed further, in the wake of the Marley arc, with the post-time skip [[TheUnfettered Eren]] having grown into a [[KickTheDog thoroughly]] [[WouldHurtAChild ruthless]] WildCard. And his RoaringRampageOfRevenge now extends to ''everyone'' not on his island.]]

* DiedInIgnorance: Erwin Smith, 13th Commander of the [[BoldExplorer Survey Corps]], badly desires to know what is outside of the wall and what caused humanity's downfall at the hands of the eponymous Titans. Otherwise an "IDidWhatIHadToDo"-style PragmaticHero, he eventually has a HeelRealization while sacrificing his troops in pursuit of that information and then makes a HeroicSacrifice to pull them out without ever getting to know the truth. While the series has many CharactersDroppingLikeFlies before (and after) TheReveal, Smith is notable (and all the more tragic) as learning the truth was essentially his ''modus operandi''.