7 Best Attack on Titan Friendships That Prove The Series Isn't All Doom and Gloom

Attack on Titan is a series well-known for bleak moments. From the first episode to the last, there aren't too many happy moments within the series, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any. The friendships within Attack on Titan bring a lot of light to a series filled with doom and gloom. From friendships within the Survey Corps, to friendships within the Marley Troop forces, each relationship in Attack on Titan brings a lot of humanity to a series without it during so many crucial moments.

Some of the best parts of Attack on Titan happen in between important moments. The slice-of-life moments add just as much to the series as the fights and transformations, showcasing fun conversations, playful banter, and genuine moments of character growth. Without the friendships in Attack on Titan, the series would be too dark to digest. Thankfully, there are plenty of great people in the series for characters and viewers to lean on when times inevitably get tough.

7 Hange and Levi

Two of Humanity's Smartest Soldiers

Hange and Levi are two of the smartest characters in Attack on Titan. They're two of the most important characters in the Survey Corps and the humans within the walls should count their blessings that the duo is on their side. The first time Hange met Levi and saw him in his ODM gear, she couldn't believe her eyes. Even though Levi never had formal training, he was able to use the gear better than most trained soldiers. Hange is a scientist at heart, and when they saw how proficient Levi was, they lit up like someone who had just found their latest experiment.

A lot of the other characters couldn't look at Levi for more than his abilities on the battlefield, but Hange was one of the few who wasn't intimidated by Levi's skills. Hange was constantly poking and prodding him like an older sibling to a younger brother. It's a refreshing relationship that only gets better as the series progresses.

6 Niccolo and Sasha

They Bonded Over a Love of Food

Niccolo and Sasha have both the funniest and most heart-wrenching friendship in Attack on Titan. If Sasha had one trait everyone could point to, it would be her love of food. She loved food so much that she was able to break through Niccolo's cold exterior and reveal his appreciation for the people who ate his food. The first time Sasha tried Niccolo's cooking, she burst into tears of gratitude. Even Niccolo didn't know how to react. He just told her to slow her eating, as there was plenty more to come.

Niccolo and Sasha have an odd friendship because they're soldiers on opposite ends of the war. Sasha is an Eldian looking to free her country, while Niccolo was an indoctrinated Marleyan who thought that Eldians were devils. Sasha's genuine appreciation of his cooking made him see the humanity within the Eldians, whom he had thought were pure evil for so long. When he found out that Sasha was killed by Gabi, he was willing to end Gabi's life in an act of brutal revenge. If it wasn't for Sasha's parents wanting the brutal cycle of bloodshed to end, he would have done it too.

5 Levi and Erwin

Humanity's Best Commander and Its Best Soldier

Levi and Erwin were at the top of the Survey Corps. Levi is humanity's strongest soldier and one of the strongest characters in Attack on Titan. Erwin is one of the bravest characters in anime, delivering a skin-tingling speech as one of the best Commanders the Survey Corps has ever seen. Together, they operated at a level few other soldiers could even comprehend. They saw the outcomes of their actions like two seers who could peer into the future.

When the Beast Titan had the Survey Corps pinned down, Erwin knew exactly what to do. By sacrificing himself and the rest of his soldiers, he would be able to give Levi a small chance to take the Beast Titan down and make sure that their sacrifice wasn't in vain. The plan worked, allowing Levi to finally capture one of their most elusive enemies. While their relationship started as closer to enemies than friends, Levi and Erwin's respective abilities made them almost destined to be allies.

4 Gabi and Falco

Two Characters Who Had Each Other's Backs

Gabi and Falco are phenomenal characters in Attack on Titan. In a way, they mirror Eren and Armin respectively. Eren and Gabi both saw their homelands inexplicably attacked by an enemy they didn't understand, and Armin and Falco acted as their level-headed friends, trying to protect them from danger. Even though Gabi and Falco are Marleyan and act as antagonists for a portion of the series, they can't be blamed. Not only were they essentially brainwashed by their governments to believe that Eldians are evil incarnated, but Eren proved them right when he attacked Marley out of nowhere.

Gabi and Falco always have each other's backs. When Gabi wanted to sneak onto the Eldian airship, Falco was right there with her. When Niccolo found out that Gabi had killed Sasha, Falco took the hit for her. When Falco was transformed back into his human form when The Rumbling was finally over, Gabi couldn't have been happier to have her friend back in the (human) flesh.

3 Bertholdt and Reiner

The Colossal and the Armored Titans

Bertholdt and Reiner have a dark friendship in Attack on Titan. They're tasked by the Marleyan Government to go and reclaim the Founding Titan on the island of Paradis, and they commit atrocity after atrocity to make it happen. They start by obliterating Wall Maria, leading to the horrific deaths of thousands of people, and that's just their first act of wanton violence against the people of Paradis. Even though they were tasked with a horrific job, they're able to rely on each other to see their mission through.

Annie also went with Bertholdt and Reiner on their mission, but she was never as close as the two of them were. When Reiner reveals that he's the Armored Titan, Bertholdt is there to try and reassure him. While it doesn't work, the two still have each other's backs.

Attack on Titan is one of the greatest anime series of all time because everyone's character is worth paying attention to, the villains included. Bertholdt and Reiner could have been one-dimensional characters focused on evil, but through their friendship, it's plain to see that they're just two normal kids manipulated by the adults above them to become pure evil.

2 Connie, Jean, and Sasha

One of the Most Fun Friendships in the Series

Connie, Jean, and Sasha are always a good time when they're on-screen. Jean is a wild one, more than willing to get into a fistfight, even with his comrade Eren in one of Eren's best fights of the franchise. Sasha loves eating more than most people like breathing, and she'll do anything to get her hands on another potato. Connie might be one of the funniest characters in the series with his outrageous laugh, amazing fight poses, and relentless tomfoolery. Together, they make for an exceptional trio that always has each other's backs.

They don't start out as friends and instead bond over the hardships they all go through. It's a hilarious and heart-warming friendship that shows that even though they disagree on a lot of things, they still have love for each other. Nobody mourns Sasha's death more than Jean and Connie. They even see a vision of her once they defeat Eren and end the Rumbling once and for all.

1 Eren, Armin, and Mikasa

Friends Until the End

Eren, Armin, and Mikasa are the initial friend group in the series. They have been friends since they were children, and in a way, until the very end. While Eren tasked Mikasa and Armin with his own death, he gave them a sort of free will in the meantime. He could have controlled Armin's blood with his Titan powers, but instead let his friends fight as long as they could. Before Eren had become evil incarnate, enacting one of the most devastating moments of mass destruction in anime, he was best friends with Mikasa and Armin.

He protected Mikasa from slave traders and Armin from bullies. When they were kids, they ran around together and played without a care in the world. After the fall of Wall Maria, they became soldiers together. Armin is a great friend to Eren at the end of the series when he punches Eren for what he did, holding him accountable for his actions. Mikasa is a great friend to Eren when she kills him, finally ending his suffering and stopping The Rumbling from wiping everyone off of the face of the planet.