Attack on Titan has no shortage of strange lore, and the Wall Titans are no exception. Their existence is revealed early on—as early as Chapter 33—within the manga and they’re in a few episodes in the anime, too. But while they’ve been a part of the series for a long time, they can be a bit confusing. Fear not though, this simple explanation will help you to understand the Wall Titans, once and for all.
The history of the Wall Titans
When the Female Titan tries to escape by climbing the walls of the Shotess District, she falls and tears off a chunk of the wall, revealing the face of a mysterious Titan. This is confirmed later on to be a Wall Titan—and these strange Titans follow slightly different rules than most of the other monsters within this series. Be mindful that if you have not yet read the Attack on Titan manga up to Chapter 100, spoilers do follow in this explanation.
So, what are the Wall Titans?
Initially, after the face of the Wall Titan is revealed, Minister Nick calls for it to be covered immediately, as the sunlight might awaken it. Although no details are given about the Wall Titans for many chapters afterward, by the time the manga nears its climax with the Marley Arc, we get full context as to exactly what the Wall Titans are. In Chapter 99, Willy Tybur reveals the truth about the Wall Titans. After King Karl Fritz fled Eldia during its Great Titan War, he relocated the last of the Eldian Population to a place called Paradis Island. He then used the power of the Founding Titan to create millions of Titans and have them form 3 walls to protect the Eldians: hence the ‘Wall Titans’ existed to protect the population. Unfortunately, the power of the Founding Titan now is within the hands of Eren Yeager by this point. In other words, the world is truly in danger of the Wall Titans for the first time. Talk about ominous.
In other words, the Wall Titans are pretty important, but not in the way one might expect. While it takes a long time to get to this point in the lore, the Wall Titans are an integral part of what pushes the finale of this beloved manga (and by extension, the anime, as this same explanation is offered in the 64th episode). So, although the explanation is somewhat simple, it’s not as simple as one might think.
(featured image: MAPPA)
