Where Did The Titans Come From? 'Attack On Titan' Anime Facts Revealed

Oluwatosin Michael
Oct 13, 2023 By Oluwatosin Michael
Originally Published on Nov 04, 2021
Read on to know where the titans came from in 'Attack on Titan' anime.
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Age: 3-18
Read time: 6.4 Min

Titans are a race of giant monsters who eat humans and the coordinate is the power that can create Titans and control them.

If you’re an anime fan or planning on starting AOT, you may be stuck with the question of the origin of Titans? AOT first appeared in the Japanese manga of the same name as the anime.

Titans are gigantic humanoid beings that devour and eat humans for no apparent reason. The 'Attack on Titan' anime is an action series that incorporates themes related to the refugee crisis, friendship, and loyalty among others.

The series alludes to the fact that Titans are an alien species to humans and that there isn’t a lot known about them. The anime further shows how their human civilization is confined within three walls of Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina in the world.

Venturing beyond these walls is nothing but an invitation to death. Living in this fear went on for a century until one day, Titans had begun to invade these walls for no valid reason.

The Marleyans continued to attack the king. It is the human’s vs the Titans now. However, later it is shown that the military police were hiding the secrets of the Titans to protect an illegitimate government.

These secrets unfold to become dark and deep as things start to come to light and the deceiving nature of humans is laid bare. War is then on the horizon, but this time, it is not just with Titans, but other humans as well.

After reading all about the power of the Titans and the island of Paradis, do read about where did Godzilla come from and where did the name America come from?

What is a Titan and why do Titans smile?

Titans in the anime series ‘Attack on Titan’ have a strong resemblance to humans. These Titans were all deformed at some point in time in their body proportions. The majority of Titans have exceptionally wide mouths with either entirely flat or sharp teeth.

Titans had quite masculine bodies in nature but lacked reproductive organs. Due to this, Titans did not mate.

Their interactions with other organisms were also nil. Furthermore, this did not decrease their numbers or affect their activity. When their form is in transformation for the first time, the human with titan powers becomes a danger to both its allies and enemies.

If you have read the manga or watched the series, you may have seen the majority of these Titans smiling. It is one of their notable features including that of Colossus Titan and Beast Titan.

Apparently, these creatures have smiling features because they are in a constant state of euphoria; the idea of human consumption is to help revert back to their human form. Both the show and the manga are yet to lay out why Titans manifest these emotions.

What’s known so far is that they’re mindless about their emotional states. The most well-known Titans are Colossus Titan, Beast Titan, Cart Titan, and Founding Titan.

Zeke's spinal fluid was used to transform Falco into a Titan with epithets like Beast Titan.

Where did the Titan powers come from?

The power of the titan, also known as Kyojin no Chikara, which means a titan’s power, allows its subjects to be transformed into intelligent Titans that have unique abilities and specific characteristics. This is also known as the nine Titans.

Those who were known as the holders of the nine Titans had the power to regenerate from injuries. They also gained the access to the precious memories of Ymir’s previous subjects that had the power before them.

It was also said that if pure Titans had gotten their hands on the power of the Titans, then pure Titans can return to being human.

After Ymir had made the decision related to relinquishing her power, all the existing and surviving Titans lost their power of a titan and returned to become humans. For a human with the abilities and power of a titan to transform and become a part of the nine Titans, they must suffer an injury where it draws blood.

Pure Titans have been employed to fight wars ever since they came into existence, initially by Eldia and lately by Marley. These Titans can only be killed when someone slashes the nape of their neck using two swords.

How did Ymir become a Titan?

Did you know that the nine shifters were divided into Eldian noble houses?

A chapter in the manga of 'Attack On Titan' had taken us through the past of Ymir, who is the first origin of the titan to ever walk the earth.

As we see Ymir’s past thanks to the Jaegar brothers, Eren and Zeke who are two-time traveling exploits, it is clear that the world of AOT is one of the best franchises when it comes to pure nihilism.

As we dive into looking at the history behind Ymir’s terrible past, we can see how she became the first titan in the world.

Being a member of the nations of Eldia, Ymir was shown to be unfairly blamed for the death of a pig and was sentenced to death.

Shee was then hunted down in a nearby forest and injured, where she wandered near an old tree. Within its roots, the tree held a terrible secret.

Furthermore, Ymir had plunged herself in the tree and in the water beneath it, a strange creature that was spine-like had attached herself to Ymir, granting her the powers of a titan.

This marked her as the first example of a lumbering creature.

She chose not to take revenge on the town that had judged her and instead, chose to become an elevating unwitting participant for the nation of Eldia.

The story proceeds with her bearing the king's children, where the titan powers were given to them in one of the most traumatizing and horrifying ways possible, eating Ymir off by her offspring.

As the progeny of Ymir gobbled up their mother’s remains, the titan’s power spread within the nation of Eldia and thus began the franchise that we all know.

Why can Titans only live 13 years?

Ymir had a curse, where she was killed after 13 years of her acquiring the titan power.

Due to the fact that no other titan could surpass the founder, every person that gains the titan power meets with the ‘Curse of Ymir’ that limits the subjects of Ymir the rest of their lifespan to just 13 years after acquiring the titan power.

When the last years of their lives origin come around the corner, their bodies keep becoming weak with no control until they eventually perish. During the final year of Uri Reiss, Eren Kruger, and Tom Ksaver, they all appeared to be sick and have considerably aged.

Are there any good Titans that exist in this anime series? The answer is no. Titans are for sure bad guys who devour humans.

Titans don’t have any digestive organs and get all their energy from sunlight. They only seem to be interested in attacking humans.

They reveal this eventually in a chapter of the manga and in Season 3 of 'Attack of Titan', although they had sprinkled some hints in season two of the series. The truth is not just horrifying but sadly tragic. They devour humans because subconsciously, they are hoping one of them has the power of the Titan shifters.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Where Did The Titans Come From?

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Written by Oluwatosin Michael

Bachelor of Science specializing in Microbiology

Oluwatosin Michael picture

Oluwatosin MichaelBachelor of Science specializing in Microbiology

With a Bachelor's in Microbiology from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Oluwatosin has honed his skills as an SEO content writer, editor, and growth manager. He has written articles, conducted extensive research, and optimized content for search engines. His expertise extends to leading link-building efforts and revising onboarding strategies. 

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