Why Do Titans Eat Humans In 'Attack On Titan'? Explained For Fans

Oluniyi Akande
Oct 06, 2023 By Oluniyi Akande
Originally Published on Oct 13, 2021
Find the answer to why do titans eat humans.
?
Age: 3-18
Read time: 4.7 Min

Every 'Attack On Titan' fan must have thought about this one question.

Why do Titans end up eating humans in 'Attack On Titan'? Why do the Titans not attack the animals?

'Attack On Titan' is a huge franchise with Eren Yeager being the lead character. The series began in 2013 and gained popularity instantly.

Titans are giant man-eating monsters. They do not eat animals and get all their energy from the sunlight. So, there is no need for them to eat human beings.

The Titans also don't have a complete and functioning digestive system. There are various frightening scenes which include the Titans eating humans. The Titans don't eat the humans completely.

They only savor the part that includes the spinal fluid. It may signify that the Titans eating humans is not to satisfy their hunger but something else. Many fans wanted to know the reason for this weird behavior shown by the Titans.

Finally, their wait was over in season three when the reason behind the unnervingly horrifying diet of the Titans was revealed. The sole reason behind eating human beings is that the Titans want to regain their humanity.

Some humans known as Titan shifters possess the ability to transform a Titan into a human. The Titans hope that the human beings they are eating are Titan shifters.

Its first example was Ymir, who later revealed that she was a Titan for several decades. When she ate Marcel, a human, she transformed into a human being.

This also explains why they partially eat humans as per instinct. The spinal fluid alone has the serum, which contains the power of the Titan shifter.

The humans also appear as a glowing light to the Titans. This revelation in season three made fans much more sympathetic towards the Titans.

It also makes their story even more tragic. Be it the mindless Titan, smiling Titan (Dina Fritz), jaw titan, colossal Titan, hulking abnormal Titan (Rod Reiss), or any other, after a human attack, the Titan ate the human to regain their humanity and inheriting the capacity of the shifter.

To know more fun facts, you may want to read related articles on why do vampires drink bloodandwhat are the best zodiac signs.

Why do pure Titans want to eat humans?

The pure Titans resemble humans. They have certain physical deformities but they all have a common mindless nature. But in absence of directions from a founding Titan, all the regular Titans must wander around the world in a waking nightmare.

All the pure Titans attack human beings mindlessly. Just like all other Titans, they hope to eat a human that possesses the power of a Titan shifter. The Titans do not need to eat humans for hundreds of years.

They get their energy and all the nutrition they need from the sunlight. So, the only purpose of eating human beings is to get their humanity back. All, these tragic creatures want is to turn back into humans.

What happens when a Titan eats a human?

They get their energy from the sunlight and they have an incomplete digestive system. They do not possess a functioning digestive tract. They have a stomach cavity that fills after they eat human beings.

They can eat only a particular amount of human beings before they have to regurgitate. The Titans regurgitate a large sticky ball of stomach content which contains parts of a human being. They cannot completely digest their food and extract energy from it. They can normally live without eating humans or any other animal for hundreds of years.

Non-eldians can not transform into titans as eldians can.

Why do the human Titans attack humans?

Titans do not eat any other animal or organisms other than humans. The Titans do not get any nutrition by eating human beings. They get all their energy from sunlight.

All the Titans don't seem to attack humans to eat them. They only eat parts that contain the spinal fluid. The only reason all the Titans eat humans is to transform into their human form.

The human Titans are no exception. Only a few humans have the serum of Titan shifter in their spinal fluid. The Titans hope to eat humans which have the serum in them.

Only a Titan shifter will transform them into humans. Its first clue was given when Ymir revealed her story. She said she was a Titan for several decades and turned into a human after eating another human named Marcel.

Do pure Titans have humans in them?

Initially, all Titans were humans and were a part of the race called the subjects of Ymir.

Ymir became the first Titan after merging with a strange creature in a tree. These creatures have a spine-like appearance. All the subjects of Ymir were related to her and hence transformed into Titans.

They were injected with some serum in the nape of their neck. Many Titans can shift as per their will but others cannot.

It is theorized that when the serum is injected into humans, it completely transforms their bodies. Some of the Titans can break free and become Titan shifters, while the others cannot break through their Titan form so have no living human form left in them. Their human body and Titan form may have wholly merged.

Do you know why Dina Fritz ignored Bertholdt? The reason she ignored Bertholdt was that before turning into a titan, she had promised Grisha that no matter what she will find her way to get to Grisha.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for why do Titans eat humans then why not take a look at how rare are four leaf clovers, or things that are purple?

We Want Your Photos!
We Want Your Photos!

We Want Your Photos!

Do you have a photo you are happy to share that would improve this article?
Email your photos

More for You

See All

Written by Oluniyi Akande

Doctorate specializing in Veterinary Medicine

Oluniyi Akande picture

Oluniyi AkandeDoctorate specializing in Veterinary Medicine

With an accomplished background as a Veterinarian, SEO content writer, and public speaker, Oluniyi brings a wealth of skills and experience to his work. Holding a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Ibadan, he provides exceptional consulting services to pet owners, animal farms, and agricultural establishments. Oluniyi's impressive writing career spans over five years, during which he has produced over 5000 high-quality short- and long-form pieces of content. His versatility shines through as he tackles a diverse array of topics, including pets, real estate, sports, games, technology, landscaping, healthcare, cosmetics, personal loans, debt management, construction, and agriculture.

Read full bio >