“A Glitch”: Attack on Titan’s Creator Already Explained One of the Series’ Biggest Mysteries

One of the most curious and unique aspects of Attack on Titan is the Titans themselves, but one of them still remains the most mysterious of the series: the talking Titan. These flesh-eating beasts wreaked havoc on humanity, and when they breached the walls of Paradis Island, they caused true, unspeakable tragedy to occur. However, not every Titan is built the same, and Hajime Isayama, the show’s creator, included these differences intentionally.

The Titans appear to look like average humans, just larger, but they are far from humane creatures. Their existence caused the Eldians of Paradis Island to take shelter within a set of walls, fearing an attack from the horrific creatures. Although the Eldians took every possible precaution, the ruthless Titans occasionally attacked anyway, eating people, ruining lives, and instilling great fear in the process.

Most Titans are seemingly mindless, driven only by innate motivations to eat and kill, but one Titan was astoundingly actually able to speak, which is certainly not the norm established in the series previously.

Most Titans Cannot Speak, But There Are Exceptions To This Precedent

There is evidence of one Titan who can talk, which remains unexplained in the story

Ilse Langnar was seemingly the only human in Attack on Titan to encounter this illusive and mysterious speaking Titan, while in the forest on an expedition by herself. Much to her amazement, she heard the Titan speak before it quickly killed her in her shocked state. The Titan’s behavior during this incident is quite confusing too, as it seemed to possess knowledge of the founder Ymir, calling Ilse both “a subject of Ymir” and “Lady Ymir” herself. It seems unlikely for a Titan to have human levels of intelligence, but this Titan undoubtedly seemed to.

Furthermore, the Titan’s actions became erratic and upsetting, as it began to cry out unprovoked. Before the Titan killed Ilse, it also tore at its own skin, perhaps suggesting some sort of internal battle or conflict within the Titan, or perhaps the ability to speak had cursed the creature in some other way. Regardless of the reasoning, this speaking Titan’s appearance in the series was very short-lived and sparked far more questions than answers during its brief appearance and interaction with Ilse. Thankfully, Hajime Isayama has explained his thought process when creating this one Titan who differs from the rest.

Attack on Titan‘s Creator Called This Titan’s Ability To Speak A “Glitch”

The talking Titan is “a defective item”

Isayama explained in a Crunchyroll interview that although most Titans cannot speak, there are exceptions that go against this typical standard, which he calls “a glitch.” This glitch is what allowed this one Titan to speak, and he further describes this anomaly as akin to “a defective item from a factory.” This makes the speaking Titan make a bit more sense, although it is still shocking to fathom a Titan who seems to possess some level of cognitive abilities and speech. There are still a lot of mysteries surrounding the Titans, but Isayama’s explanation clears this one up at least somewhat.

At the beginning of the series, all the Titans seemed to be incapable of reasoning or communication, but the constraints of what a Titan could be changed when the series introduced Titan shifters, another “glitch” of sorts that became one of the biggest plot points in the series. Later revealed to be due to the curse of Ymir, there were nine Titan types with special skills and talents that humans could possess, and transform back and forth between Titan and human forms. Eren is the first to discover this, when he morphs into the Attack Titan.

“So, in the beginning, I was just starting to develop more the idea of titans. There are normal titans, and there are abnormal titans. I considered normal titans to be kind of like programmed beings and then some of them would contain a ‘glitch’ almost like a defective item from a factory. That’s as far as I thought about that titan when I was writing the story.” – Hajime Isayama, Crunchyroll

Titan Shifters Are Similar To The Talking Titan

Titan shifters, like Eren, could almost be considered another “glitch”

One of the biggest twists in Attack on Titan is that humans can utilize Titan powers for short periods of time and change forms. This comes in handy during battle, but also brings up a whole host of drawbacks, such as Titan shifters only being able to live for 13 years. This could also be considered a “glitch” or deviation from the standard, non-talking Titans. Titan shifters possess unique skills that regular Titans do not have, such as faster speeds and increased strength, and they are able to change back and forth from human to Titan, which normal Titans are unable to do.

Although many aspects of Titans, such as their biology, how they operate, and what they can do, become clear over the course of the series, a lot about them is still up for interpretation and shrouded in mystery. The curse of Ymir and cause of Titans coming into existence are explained phenomenally well, but the Titans are still erratic, volatile creatures that can be difficult to understand and predict. However, this makes the franchise action-packed and intriguing, giving the main characters of Attack on Titan an important mystery to unravel that is continually broken down piece by piece throughout the series.

Source: Crunchyroll

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