User blog:Neetaku/Top 5 Deaths in AOT

Greetings fellow wikia people (wikians?)!

Since there haven't been a lot of new blog posts on the wiki lately, I decided I'd try to get our blogosphere up and running again with a amazing blog that will bring AOT fans flocking from miles around!... Okay fine, LeviAckermanshipsereri already did that, but let's see if anything I write can produce the same results!

Now, anyone who is familiar with the AOT franchise knows that at some point, some time, someone is going to bite the dust. Sometimes that Someone is important... And other times they are not. But, obvious plot armor aside, AOT has undeniably had some memorable deaths, and this blog will be dedicated to honoring those who gave up their lives so that Hajime Isayama would be able to draw a cool scene into his series.

There are three things I would like readers to keep in mind when reading:


 * 1) Only canonical material was considered for selections, so any deaths from Before the Fall, Harsh Mistress of the City, and Lost Girls are out of the running.
 * 2) Everything here is entirely SUBJECTIVE and up for debate. If you don't like what I've picked, then make your own blog with your picks.
 * 3) GO TO 2.

Let's get started! :D

Mike Zacharias
Coming in at the bottom of the list, we have plus-sized Levi. During his 25.5 chapter stay (I count the Levi side-story as half a chapter), Mike made a name for himself as that creepy guy who never says anything and is probably awkward to talk with during a party. Still, despite his quirks, Mike proved himself to be an invaluable asset to the Survey Corps (I hear he's second only to Levi!). Mike met his end at the hands of the Zeke, alone and unarmed, crying in terror as he tried to defend himself with no Vertical Equipment, before being horribly devoured. This death has always stood out to me as one of the few deaths (alongside Marco's) that I wasn't able to predict in the series. Almost every other death (the original Squad Levi and Kenny, for example) has been telegraphed to the point that it's always a bit obvious when a character has come to the end of the road, but Mike's was a death that legitimately blind-sided me. Of course, after rereading the chapter, it becomes a bit more obvious that Mike is about to meet his maker (why else would Gelgar mention his abilities, unless Isayama wanted to drive home how dangerous Zeke is?), and this fact is enough to bump Mike down in the rankings.

Marlowe Freudenberg
Next up we have everyone's favorite narc, Marlowe! Marlowe is a bit of an interesting character in AOT, as he managed to go from tertiary Military Police guy number 1 in The Female Titan arc to honorary Squad Levi assistant in The Uprising arc to redshirt cannon fodder in the Return to Shiganshina arc. Marlowe started out as an idealistic young man with big dreams of reforming the Military Police. And he did (or at least helped to). That's right, folks, someone in Attack on Titan actually achieved their goals! By helping to overthrow Rod Reiss' regime, Marlowe really did help end the corruption in the government and Military Police, and got to see his goals come to fruition! His one mistake was thinking that his winning streak would continue during his time in the Survey Corps. Silly Marlowe! Plot Armor is for Armin! But in all seriousness, Marlowe's death was a tough one. Not only did Zeke give him one hell of a headache, but Isayama went as far as ship-teasing Marlowe with Hitch right before he died! Damn! Way to play with people's heartstrings, Isayama! Marlowe's death was another shocking one, as I was honestly expecting him to be the only person besides Erwin, but Isayama (quite wisely, in my opinion) opted to instead save Floch. Hopefully Marlowe's selfless donation of his plot armor to his comrade won't be in vain, and Floch will live long enough to go through some genuine character development, and develop into a character in his own right.

Kenny Ackerman
And now we come to a man among men: Kenny Ackerman. The man who trained Levi. The man who killed over 100 MPs. The man who couldn't do a damn thing against anyone from Squad Levi. Ah, plot armor, why must you ruin everything you touch? Kenny was one of the most genuine characters in all of AOT. Kenny just did Kenny, and if the rest of the world didn't like it, they could take it up with his knife. Or his guns... Look, the point is, Kenny is awesome. He's a guy who came from a tough background, who worked his way up to the top. And I challenge anyone to say his devotion to Uri Reiss isn't admirable. But, sadly, Isayama hates having awesome characters in his manga, and Kenny eventually went to kick it with Uri in the afterlife. Kenny's death is memorable not for its gore, or shock value, but for the genuinely emotional moment he had with Levi as he was dying. The moment when Kenny finally reveals his familial relationship to Levi is a genuinely emotional moment, and his explanation for why he abandoned Levi only drives home the emotional gut punch of this scene. Not to mention how Levi must feel, watching his only family (that he knows of) die before his eyes (and right after he learned that they were family, no less!).

Marco Bott
Ah yes, the infamous Marco. Whether it's theories that he's still alive, theories that he's gay, or Isayama padding his chapters because he doesn't want to make his fans too happy, people just won't let this kid die. But, regardless of what you believe, Marco's half-eaten body was found, burned, and buried, and he never showed any signs of Titan Shifter regenerating abilities. So here he is, on this list. Marco's death has always stood out as the first death of a major supporting character in the AOT series, and as one the most bitingly realistic deaths of the series as a whole. Marco's death is a realistic one. He died alone, with nothing to show for all of his work in the 104th Corps. He didn't achieve his dreams of working with the King, and he didn't even get the honor of sacrificing himself in a blaze of glory as most "good guys" do in stories. He just died. The fact that his death was a genuine surprise, and in such a realistic way, is what puts Marco at #2 on this list.

Hannes
Oh, I bet this one surprised some people! Yes, that's right, in my expert opinion, Hannes was given the best death in all of AOT's run! From the beginning of the series, Hannes' character has been defined by his regret at allowing his cowardice to get the better of him, and abandoning Eren's mother to be eaten by the Smiling Titan. After Shiganshina's fall, he cleaned up his act and climbed all the way to the rank of Captain in the Garrison so he could be a better protector to Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, and at times was even a genuine source of wisdom for them. Given all of this development, training, and maturing, it seemed genuinely possible that he would be able to redeem himself during his rematch with the Smiling Titan, but... We all know how that turned out. Hannes's death is a memorable one not only because of how tragic it is, watching the only parental figure Eren and Mikasa have left biting the dust right in front of them, but it also shows readers just how essential Hannes' lack of courage during Shiganshina's fall was. If he couldn't defeat the Smiling Titan even after five years of training, Hannes would have been destroyed if he had fought the Smiling Titan during the Fall of Shiganshina. And if Hannes had died then, Eren and Mikasa would have died as well. And the series would have been over before it could even start. In his dying moments, Hannes became the single most important character in AOT, as well as one of them most tragic ones. The only solace we can take from his death is the knowledge that, when push came to shove, Hannes was willing to lay down his life to protect Eren and Mikasa. Hannes, I think I can say with certainty that you have more than repaid your debt to Grisha. Rest in peace, soldier. It's high time you and Grisha went for another drink together.

And Now the Conclusion and Such
So, that wraps up my list of the best deaths in AOT. Maybe somewhere down the road, I'll make a list for the noncanon characters. Maybe I won't. Who knows? I don't, so I doubt you guys do.

What I can say, though, is that I am getting ready to kick off my first blog series some time in the near future. So, stay tuned for my first installment in A Song of Love and Hate. Working title for the first installment is "Book 1: A Game of Bad Guys". Release date not known at this time.