It goes without saying that killing Titans is what Attack on Titan and its deadly characters is all about, or at least used to be. Regardless, the series has gone to great lengths to convey just how powerful Titans are and how a gruesome death is just around the corner when Titans are involved. However, as the Titans have gotten stronger, so has humanity and their ability to fight back for the sake of survival. That said, ten of humanity’s strongest warriors have killed more Titans than anyone else in the series.
For simplicity’s sake, the characters have been chosen based on the number of Titans killed on-screen in the anime. Since it can be hard to decipher the exact number of Titans when hordes are involved as they often are, these numbers are still estimates. Nevertheless, these estimations suffice as a yardstick of who’s responsible for the most Titan-related carnage in the series.
10 Armin Arlert – 2 Titans
Armin has had the reputation for being quite the pacifist for much of the series. In fact, while he has caused innumerable human casualties after obtaining the Colossal Titan, Armin didn’t have a single Titan kill or assist to his name until quite recently. In a tragic turn of events, Armin’s first Titan kill actually led to one of the most heartbreaking deaths in Attack on Titan in the form of Commander Pyxis. Armin ended up killing both the Commander and one of the many troops who were turned into Titans by Zeke in Season 4, Episode #22, bringing his total Titan kill count to two.
9 Keith Shadis – 2 Titans
Keith Shadis, the former Commander of the Scouts and fierce commandant of the Cadet Corps, has two on-screen Titan kills in the series so far. Although he has spent most of his time in the series training new cadets, the commandant displayed unwavering courage and zero hesitation when he sliced up two Titans in a matter of seconds to save his cadets in Season 3, Episode #28. That said, seeing as he was put in charge of toughening new troops, Shadis is definitely highly experienced and has probably sliced up many more Titans during his youth.
8 Nanaba – 3 Titans
Nanaba was a Survey troop part of Mike’s squad. She was among the only troops not under suspicion while at Utgard and was tasked with fighting the attacking horde. She was able to take down multiple Titans together with her fellow squad mates at Utgard before she and the others were overwhelmed by the horde. In all, Nanaba has killed a total of three Titans on screen though as a veteran she was quite adept at fighting Titans and probably had many more kills and assists.
7 Jean Kirstein – 3 Titans
Although Jean has only three confirmed on-screen kills, he is easily one of the most skilled at using ODM gear as well as firearms and Thunder Spears. In fact, Jean’s most impressive kills involve the Thunder Spears and take place mostly in Season 4 following the chaos of the Rumbling. Considering his skill and the fact that he has been part of nearly every major operation in the series it might be safe to assume that he likely has countless assists and maybe a few more kills to his name in reality.
6 Ymir – 4 Titans
Ymir has been under the radar for much of the series, and reasonably so as a Titan shifter hiding from both Paradis and the world outside. Nevertheless, Ymir has racked up four rather gruesome on-screen kills in all, albeit in her Titan form. Once again, these took place at Utgard when Ymir was forced to reveal herself as a shifter in order to protect Historia from the horde of attacking Titans. Ymir brought out the offensive side of the Jaw Titan in contrast to Pieck, ripping the napes of several Titans at Utgard with relative ease.
5 Mike Zacharias – 5 Titans
Known best for his keen sense of smell and persistent faith in humanity, Mike Zacharias has five on-screen kills to his name. Mike was easily one of the most valuable troops of the Scouts owing to his ability to smell approaching Titans. He was also considered humanity’s second-strongest soldier after Levi and left quite an impression when he allowed the 104th regiment to escape leaving him to face the Beast Titan and multiple other Titans alone in Episode #27. Despite being outnumbered Mike took down four Titans before meeting his infamously horrific death.
4 Eren Jaeger – 10 Titans
Although Eren has easily caused the most carnage and devastation in the series, Eren has only killed about ten Titans on-screen so far with most, if not all, in his Titan form. In fact, Eren boasts his first Titan kill in human form in Season 2, Episode #5 when rescuing Historia, Ymir, Reiner, and the others from the horde of Titans at Utgard. This number also includes the time Eren used the power of the Founding Titan for the very first time to kill the Smiling Titan in Season 2, Episode #12. Despite his initial passion to kill all the Titans it seems that Eren wasn’t quite good at taking down Titans at all.
3 Hange Zoë – 15 Titans
Hange has had only a handful of Titan kills for a majority of the series, choosing instead to capture and study them owing to their unbridled curiosity regarding the Titans. That said, their kill count skyrockets in Season 4, Part 3 when they takes out countless massive Wall Titans in the span of seconds and goes out quite literally in a blaze of glory bringing up her estimated total to fifteen on-screen kills. Characteristically, Hange goes out admiring the magnificence of the very Titans that set her ablaze and send her off to the afterlife.
2 Mikasa Ackerman – 21 Titans
Mikasa Ackerman is easily the most talented among the 104th regiment with approximately twenty-one on-screen Titan kills to her name. Mikasa has displayed an extraordinarily high aptitude for fighting Titans accompanied by impressive agility and an utter lack of fear that had her slaying handfuls of Titans with relative ease within the first few episodes alone. Mikasa truly makes it look easy and her real Titan kill count is surely much higher.
1 Levi Ackerman – 22 Titans
Captain Levi has easily killed the most Titans in Attack on Titan with a staggering twenty-two on-screen kills not including the countless he cut down during the first attempt to capture the Female Titan. That said, his actual Titan kill count is rumoured to be in the hundreds and is definitely what earned him the title of humanity’s strongest soldier. In all, Levi is an absolute whirlwind of carnage capable of cutting down Titan after Titan even when deathly injured or impaired.
With Attack on Titan anime nearing its finale the number of Titans killed can be expected to skyrocket. With an entire army of Wall Titans to defeat there’s surely plenty of carnage and exciting action in store with a fair share of heartbreak and tears as always. Regardless of what happens in Attack on Titan’s finale, it’s a certainty that more titans will fall.
