History Foreshadowing / AttackOnTitan

* When the rest of the Survey Corps has to hide in a forest in order to ambush the Tians, Jean vents to Armin about the idiocy of the plan which ends with him saying "I don't want to start a mutiny, at least not yet." Come Chpater 51/Episode 38, the Survey Corps ended up starting a coup d'état against [[AncientConspiracy the government]].

* You'd have to be able to understand Japanese to catch it, but one of the verses of the second season opening is about traitors. The second half of the season is about Reiner and Bertholt's betrayal.

* During the mission to recapture Eren after he's been kidnapped by Reiner and Bertholdt, Armin gets under their skin by claiming to them that Annie's being tortured. Enraged, Bertholdt calls the Survey Corps "Children of The Devil." At first, it just sounds like a random insult, and a really lame one at that, but it refers to how the people of Marley, the Titan Shifters' home country, refer to the people living on Paradis, the setting of most of the story, as being descendants of The Devil.

* An anime-only example: We learn Ymir's backstory much earlier in the anime than we do in the manga which foreshadows the existence of Marley and the conflict far beyond the walls of the setting. In the manga, we see Ymir's backstory after the existence of Marley has been revealed to the lead characters and the reader. In the anime, we see it long before that, during the arc where Reiner and Bertholt reveal their treachery and attempt to kidnap Eren and Ymir. In the process, it also ''heavily'' foreshadows where all the Titans came from and also confirms the existence of an organized society beyond the Walls.

** The second scene shows Ymir Fritz's Titan and the conquest of Eldian. Soon after, the ending depicts a king and three girls devouring a corpse. This is a direct representation of King Fritz forcing Maria, Rose, and Sheena to devour their mother Ymir's corpse to inherit her titan power.

* Armin and Zeke, each on separate occasions, were deemed the "one who will save humanity." In chapter 137, it is their union that finally puts an end to the Rumbling, thus saving humanity. Ironically, Armin was deemed the savior by Eren himself, who is also responsible for putting Zeke in the position to turn the tide in the Survey Corps' favor, making it an odd example of a SelfFulfillingProphecy.

* So much in the third ending (Season 2 Ending). Majority of these scenes were not even in the manga at the time.
** The scarf in the first scene, that is Mikasa's scarf and the devil could symbolize Eren, making the whole scene represent Mikasa's and Eren's [[BittersweetEnding tragic ending]].
** The second scene shows Ymir Fritz's Titan after her death.
** The third scene, literally Ymir's children eating Ymir Fritz.
** The next few scenes, ancient Eldian Titans invading Lago.
** The scene with the Colossal Titans, could foreshadow either the creation of the Three Walls or the Rumbling.
** The line of people, possible Eldians relocating to Paradis and their memories being wiped.
** The sun scene:
*** The bird could either represent Falco and the Alliance escaping Armin's transformation or Eren's death and being represented by a bird.
*** The sun, that could be Armin's transformation
*** The four people, they could be the titans who were reverted back to humans after Eren's death.
** The final scene:
*** The Founding Titan being crossed out, hinting that the Eldians would lose the ability to become Titans and Titan shifters are no more.

* So much in the third ending (2nd season ending). Majority of these scene were not even in the manga at the time.
** The scarf in the first scene, that is Mikasa's scarf and the devil could symbolize Eren, making the whole scene represent Mikasa's and Eren's tragic ending.
** The second scene shows Ymir Fritz's titan after her death

** The next few scenes, ancient Eldian Titans invading Lago
** The scene with the Colossal Titans, could foreshadow either the creation of the three walls or the rumbling

** The sun scene
*** The bird could either represent Falco and the alliance escaping Armin's transformation or Eren's death and being represented by a bird

** The final scene
*** The founding titan being crossed out, hints that the Eldian's would lose the ability to become titans and titan shifters are no more.

* So much in the third ending (2nd season ending). Majority f these scene were not even in the magna at the time.

*** The four people, they could be the titans who were reverted back to humans after Eren's death

*** The founding titan being crossed out, hints that the Eldian's would lose the ability to become titans and titan shifters are no more

* Armin and Zeke, each on separate occasions, were deemed the "one who will save humanity." In chapter 137, it is their union that finally puts an end to the Rumbling, thus saving humanity. Ironically, Armin was deemed the savior by Eren himself, making it an odd example of SelfFulfillingProphecy.

* The murals painted on the Wall that divides the two groups of recruits are ''full'' of visual cues about some of the subtler hints we've gotten on the world and spoilers from the manga, especially a paper-doll-like chain of humanoid figures that represents the Titans that serve as the foundation for the Wall.

* Exclusively to the anime, Eren's final fight with Annie has him activate a BerserkerRage SuperMode which is immediately followed by a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown of the Female Titan. Not only is it highly distinct (having blue eyes instead of green and noticeably sharper teeth among other things) and far more dangerous, Eren's voice borders on VoiceOfTheLegion and utters [[OmnicidalManiac "I'll destroy the entire world"]] and [[ArcWords "I am free..."]] seemingly out of nowhere, things that are rather uncharacteristic of Eren at that point. Come the revelation of the Attack Titan's time-transcending abilites, and, well...

* Exclusively to the anime, Eren's final fight with Annie has him activate a BerserkerRage SuperMode which is immediately followed by a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown of the Female Titan. Not only is it highly distinct (having blue eyes instead of green and noticeably sharper teeth among other things), Eren's voice borders on VoiceOfTheLegion and utters [[OmnicidalManiac "I'll destroy the entire world"]] and [[ArcWords "I am free..."]] seemingly out of nowhere, things that are rather uncharacteristic of Eren at that point. Come the revelation of the Attack Titan's time-transcending abilites, and, well...

* An anime only example, we learn Ymir's backstory much earlier in the anime than we do in the manga which foreshadows the existence of Marley and the conflict far beyond the walls of the setting. In the manga, we see Ymir's backstory after the existence of Marley has been revealed to the lead characters and the reader. In the anime, we see it long before that, during the arc where Reiner and Bertholt reveal their treachery and attempt to kidnap Eren and Ymir. In the process, it also ''heavily'' foreshadows where all the Titans came from.

* During the mission to recapture Eren after he's been kidnapped by Reiner and Bertholdt, Armin gets under their skin by claiming to them that Annie's being tortured. Enraged, Bertholdt calls the Survey Corps "Children of The Devil." At first, it just sounds like an insult, and a really lame one at that, but it refers to how the people of Marley, the Titan Shifters' home country, refer to the people living on Paradis, the setting of most of the story, as being descendants of The Devil.

** Furthermore, as Connie laments who can do such a thing to children, the camera ''pauses in Eren'' for a brief while.

* When Eren kisses Historia's hand and has a flashback to his father killing the Reiss family, he freezes in place and made a rather... bizarre face. Which was rather strange, considering he had already seen the scene once before when Historia touched him under the Reiss chapel. During his dialogue with Zeke in Liberio, as he is recounting his 'disappointment' with Grisha due to the latter's murder of the Reiss children, he also refers to this particular insident, and not the one before. This was explained thirty chapters later, when we realized that Grisha has actually hesitated before killing the royal family and was persuaded into it by future!Eren via the use of Paths, and that past!Eren saw that moment, as well the future memories of the Rumbling that his father received via Attack titan powers.

* Kruger mentions Mikasa and Armin while urging Grisha to take his Titan and fulfill his mission, when none of them were even born by then. We find out in Chapter 121 that the Attack Titan's another power is to [[{{Seers}} peer into the past and present wielders]] of its Titan.

* A particularly subtle and brilliant example occurs in Chapter 15. The recruits gather around Eren to ask him about the Titans, including the legendary Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan. As he is describing each, the panels focus on [[spoiler:first Bertolt and then Reiner, as he describes their Titan forms]]. This is much more subtle in the anime; the camera [[spoiler:barely catches Bertolt in the bottom of the screen during part of the description of the Colossal Titan, returns to Eren, then shifts to a shot of Reiner from behind during the description of the Armored Titan. After dinner, Bertolt asks Eren and Armin about their motivations to gauge their reactions to the fall of wall Maria]].
** [[spoiler:Bertolt and Reiner also mention their goals of going to the interior and returning home respectively, which foreshadows Bertolt, Reiner, and Annie's goal of finding and retrieving the Coordinate]].
* During the Battle of Trost, there are three instances of subtle foreshadowing regarding [[spoiler:the Titan Shifter nature of Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner]]: the first being the aforementioned persons [[spoiler:being with the rest of the recruits trapped with low gas. While the others are discussing how the situation is hopeless, when Annie asks Reiner what to do he says "Not yet." with his hand near his mouth.]] The second is them [[spoiler:being unusually interested in finding out more about the Rogue Titan and making use of it, instead of wanting to get away from it like everyone else]] and the last moment being the same individuals [[spoiler:immediately rushing toward the site of Eren's partial transformation instead of being stunned by the sudden sound, hinting that they are familiar with the tell-tale signs of Titan-shifting]].
* After the Battle of Trost, when the recruits are retrieving the bodies of the fallen/eaten comrades, [[spoiler:the usually stoic, detached Annie seemingly breaks and starts apologizing to the corpses. This becomes a lot less about survivor's guilt after you realize she's a Titan spy.]].
* Also, in the anime, when the Colossal Titan appears there's a brief flash of lightning before TheReveal. [[spoiler:It hints at its true nature of being a Titan Shifter.]]
* The second end credits of the anime has a particularly subtle one. We see the main characters standing on either side of a wall that separates them into groups of two. [[spoiler:Considering that Reiner, Ymir, Annie and Bertolt are Titan Shifters, this can be seen as an intentional foreshadowing to their alliances. Krista, on the other hand, while not being a Titan Shifter, is also hiding her true identity, just as the other four.]]
** There's more: [[spoiler:watch the fight sequence after Titan Eren breaks the Wall. None of them participates, rather tellingly.]]
* [[spoiler:The murals painted on the Wall that divides the two groups of recruits are ''full'' of visual cues about some of the subtler hints we've gotten on the world and spoilers from the manga, especially a paper-doll-like chain of humanoid figures that represents the Titans that serve as the foundation for the Wall.]]
* During the ceremony where the recruits choose their military branch, several recruits agonize internally about the decision. [[spoiler:We don't get to see the perspective of Annie, Bertolt, Reiner, Ymir, or Krista]] since their thoughts would give too much away.
* A brief chapter shows Ilse Langnar, a member of the Survey Corps [[ApocalypticLog writing her last moments in her diary]] as she finds a Titan who talks to her, calling her [[spoiler:"Ymir-sama"("Lady Ymir" in the localization)]] before realizing [[IdenticalStranger its mistake]] and eating her. Her diary is later found by Levi and Hange. When Hange hears that name 20 chapters later, she is visibly shocked, hinting at [[spoiler:Ymir's]] true nature.
* After the [[spoiler:supposed fall of Wall Rose]], Reiner tries to be even more [[BigBrotherInstinct supportive of Connie and the others]] even putting himself in extra danger, and Bertolt keeps giving him worried looks. [[spoiler:We find out that not only are they the Armored and Colossal Titans but Reiner's [[SanitySlippage sanity has been deteriorating]] and [[BecomingTheMask he has developed split personalities]] to cope]] and that Bertolt is pretty scared and upset by this.
* You'd have to be able to understand Japanese to catch it, but one of the verses of the second season opening is about traitors. [[spoiler:The second half of the season is about Reiner and Bertholt's betrayal.]]

* There are a lot of subtle hints foreshadowing the situation outside the Walls:
** During the Scouts' stay in castle Utgard, they find certain items that have labels on them. Unfortunately, nobody seems to understand the language. [[spoiler:Aside from Ymir, who finds a can of herring and is able to identify it. Herring is a ''seawater'' fish]].
** The Scouts nickname the ape-looking titan 'Beast titan', since they have never seen an ape. [[spoiler:Ymir, however, refers to him as 'a monkey'. Eren repeats: 'a monkey?' In the original Japanese text, Ymir says 'monkey' using kanji, but Eren says it using katakana, implying that he just repeated the word without understanding its meaning]].
** During return to Shiganshina, Armin finds [[spoiler:a coffee grinder and three cups with residual 'black liquid' that he can't identify. A coffee grinder also has a cameo during Reiner's flashback to Marcel being eaten]].
** When fighting in Shiganshina, [[spoiler:Reiner is wearing modern-looking military boots]].
** The Beast Titan likes using [[spoiler:baseball terms. Baseball as a sport was only developed during 19th century.]]
* [[spoiler:Reiner]] refers to himself and his allies as short-lived mass murderers. Rather than referring to being killed for their actions, he's talking about [[spoiler:Titan shifters only living thirteen years after gaining their power]].
* During the mission to recapture Eren after he's been kidnapped by [[spoiler: Reiner and Bertholdt,]] Armin gets under their skin by claiming to them that [[spoiler: Annie's]] being tortured. Enraged, Bertholdt calls the Survey Corps "Children of The Devil." At first, it just sounds like an insult, and a really lame one at that, but it refers to how [[spoiler: the people of Marley, the Titan Shifters' home country, refer to the people living on Paradis, the setting of most of the story, as being descendants of The Devil.]]
* In Chapter 54, Frieda Reiss reads a picture book to Historia on which she exemplifies the subject (a little girl receiving something from a cloaked figure) as a kind and gentle individual whose actions should be followed; later in Chapter 86, [[spoiler:Grisha Yeager attests that he had read a similar book during his research into the subject of the Eldian Empire. The book is about Ymir Fritz (the Original/Progenitor Titan) receiving the Titan power from the Devil in a similar fashion as Frieda's book, though the book is material from the Kingdom of Marley, who hate Ymir Fritz and her people, the Eldians, explaining the biased connotations they give to this event (as the Marleyans argue that the Eldians conducted ethnic cleansing against them, and consider them descendants of the Devil)]]
** One of the "Information Available For Public Disclosure" tidbits mentions how the territory surrounded by the Walls is rich in fossil fuels and other natural resources, [[spoiler:which is the main reason the Kingdom of Marley is set on wiping out the people inside the Walls and claiming the entire Island of Paradis]].
** [[spoiler:Reiner]] at one point refers to himself and his companions as short-lived mass murderers. While apparently referencing their death in battle, he's referring to [[spoiler:Titan Shifters having shortened lifespans]].
* An anime only example, we learn [[spoiler:Ymir's backstory]] much earlier in the anime than we do in the manga which foreshadows [[spoiler:the existence of Marley and the conflict far beyond the walls of the setting. In the manga, we see Ymir's backstory after the existence of Marley has been revealed to the lead characters and the reader. In the anime, we see it long before that, during the arc where Reiner and Bertholt reveal their treachery and attempt to kidnap Erin and Ymir.]] In the process, it also ''heavily'' foreshadows [[spoiler:where all the Titans came from.]]
* The end credits of the second season of the anime show backstory events that would only be revealed years later in the manga, such as [[spoiler:the fall of Lago and Ymir's daughters eating her corpse.]]

* A subtle one is during training, Eren injures his head during 3DMG training. [[spoiler:He recovers quickly (in one night!) and can be seen with small amounts of steam leaving his head. It's easily mistaken as a visual indication of his embarrassment and frustration rather than his Titan healing abilities manifesting]].

** At the end of the same episode, [[spoiler: Shadis mentally tells Grisha that he should be proud of Eren. Shadis and Grisha's prior relationship becomes important in season 3]].
* Throughout Willy's speech about [[spoiler:the true history of Eldia and Paradis Island]], he is profusely sweating. One might think it is simply stage fright. [[spoiler:Then we learn that he knew that agents from Paradis (specifically Eren) would try to assassinate him during the event. He was willingly setting himself up as a martyr to turn Marley against Paradis, so he was sweating because he knew he was about to be killed soon.]]
* There is a lot of clues with regards to [[spoiler:Zeke and Eren's]] ultimate goals that were only revealed by symbolism or clever use of paneling:
** During chapter 100, [[spoiler:Willy' proclamation that "he wished for the extinction of all Eldians" is followed by a panel of Zeke, but his retort that "he does not wish to die... because he was born into this world" is followed by a panel showing Eren]].
** In one page of chapter 113, [[spoiler:Zeke thinks that Eren is the only one who understands his plans. This panel shows Zeke and Eren looking into different directions; the panel directly below it shows the edge of a forest, with barren land directly under Zeke, and a forest full of trees under Eren]].
** A bit more subtle one, in chapter 115: [[spoiler: during a flashback to Eren and Zeke's conversation in Liberio, Zeke's panels are leaning to the left. When Eren is saying how Grisha killing the Reiss family was necessary to ensure Paradis' survival, his panels also lean to the left. When Eren then claims Grisha to be wrong and agrees with Zeke's sterilization plan, his panels immediately start leaning to the right, implying that he is lying at the moment]].
* Xaver was first shown [[spoiler:in the Eldian ghetto during Grisha's childhood]], and then [[spoiler:hugging young Zeke when he sold out his parents to Marley]]. While he was implied to be important figure to [[spoiler:Zeke]] by the fact that the latter wears his glasses, his full involvement was only revealed in chapter 114.
* When Eren [[spoiler:kissed Historia's hand and had a flashback to his father killing the Reiss family]], he froze in place and made a rather... bizarre face. Which was rather strange, considering he had already seen the scene once before [[spoiler:when Historia touched him under the Reiss chapel]]. During his dialogue with [[spoiler:Zeke in Liberio, as he is recounting his 'disappointment' with Grisha due to the latter's murder of the Reiss children]], he also refers to this particular insident, and not the one before. This was explained thirty chapters later, when we realized that [[spoiler:Grisha has actually hesitated before killing the royal family and was persuaded into it by future!Eren via the use of Paths, and that past!Eren saw that moment, as well the future memories of the Rumbling that his father received via Attack titan powers]].

* In episode one of the anime only, Mikasa is seen hauling twice as much wood compared to Eren, hinting at her vastly superior strength.
* A subtle one is during training, Eren injures his head during 3DMG training. [[spoiler:He recovers quickly (in one night!) and can be seen with small amounts of steam leaving his head. It's easily mistaken as a visual indication of his embarrassment and frustration rather than his Titan healing abilities manifesting]].
* [[spoiler:Reiner]] refers to himself and his allies as short-lived mass murderers. Rather than referring to being killed for their actions, he's talking about [[spoiler:Titan shifters only living thirteen years after gaining their power]].
* During the mission to recapture Eren after he's been kidnapped by [[spoiler: Reiner and Bertholdt,]] Armin gets under their skin by claiming to them that [[spoiler: Annie's]] being tortured. Enraged, Bertholdt calls the Survey Corps "Children of The Devil." At first, it just sounds like an insult, and a really lame one at that, but it refers to how [[spoiler: the people of Marley, the Titan Shifters' home country, refer to the people living on Paradis, the setting of most of the story, as being descendants of The Devil.]]
* When the new trainees are being questioned on their goals, Marco earnestly voices his desire to serve under the king. Shadis tells him that's a fine goal, but he doubts the king will like someone like Marco. As we later learn, the Military Police are by and large highly corrupt.
** At the end of the same episode, [[spoiler: Shadis mentally tells Grisha that he should be proud of Eren. Shadis and Grisha's prior relationship becomes important in season 3]].

* In Chapter 54, Frieda Reiss reads a picture book to Historia on which she exemplifies the subject (a little girl receiving something from a cloaked figure) as a kind and gentle individual whose actions should be followed; later in Chapter 86, [[spoiler:Grisha Yeager attests that he had read a similar book during his research into the subject of the Eldian Empire. The book is about Ymir Fritz (the Original/Progenitor Titan) receiving the Titan power from the Devil in a similar fashion as Frieda's book, though the book is material from the Kingdom of Marley, who hate Ymir Fritz and her people, the Eldians, explaining the biased connotations they give to this event (as the Marleyans argue that the Eldians conducted ethnic cleansing against them, and consider them descendants of the Devil)]]
** One of the "Information Available For Public Disclosure" tidbits mentions how the territory surrounded by the Walls is rich in fossil fuels and other natural resources, [[spoiler:which is the main reason the Kingdom of Marley is set on wiping out the people inside the Walls and claiming the entire Island of Paradis]].
** [[spoiler:Reiner]] at one point refers to himself and his companions as short-lived mass murderers. While apparently referencing their death in battle, he's referring to [[spoiler:Titan Shifters having shortened lifespans]].
* Throughout Willy's speech about [[spoiler:the true history of Eldia and Paradis Island]], he is profusely sweating. One might think it is simply stage fright. [[spoiler:Then we learn that he knew that agents from Paradis (specifically Eren) would try to assassinate him during the event. He was willingly setting himself up as a martyr to turn Marley against Paradis, so he was sweating because he knew he was about to be killed soon.]]
* An anime only example, we learn [[spoiler:Ymir's backstory]] much earlier in the anime than we do in the manga which foreshadows [[spoiler:the existence of Marley and the conflict far beyond the walls of the setting. In the manga, we see Ymir's backstory after the existence of Marley has been revealed to the lead characters and the reader. In the anime, we see it long before that, during the arc where Reiner and Bertholt reveal their treachery and attempt to kidnap Erin and Ymir.]] In the process, it also ''heavily'' foreshadows [[spoiler:where all the Titans came from.]]