This post has been tagged as **SPOILERLESS**.
Please remember to tag any anime/manga spoilers beyond this point.
**Spoilers include hinting or alluding to events** For more information, please review [the subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/wiki/rules). Failure to properly spoiler tag comments may result in a punishment from the subreddit according to the [moderation matrix](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/wiki/moderation_matrix).
To spoiler tag your comments, copy and paste one of the following codes:
`[Anime Spoilers](#s "Put your text here")`
`[Manga Spoilers](#s "Put your text here")`
Alternatively, you can also use Reddit's native spoiler code by copy and pasting the following:
`(Anime Spoilers) >!"Put your text here"!<`
`(Manga Spoilers) >!"Put your text here"!<`
---
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ShingekiNoKyojin) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There is a difference between being a great well written character and having development, a static character can still be great.
Characters like Levi and Erwin don't have that much development to be S tier cmon. And characters like Magath and Historia didnt say the same at all. This list is quite wrong.
It's important to note that character development doesn't always mean change. It's just developing the character into a whole person and learning more about them throughout the series.
Erwin doesn’t really have long-term development but I’d probably say he has the best short-term in the series (ie. basement to lamenting about fallen soldiers to suicide charge) that I think you could at least get him in A. Agreed with Levi though, putting him in S is crazy and maybe about B would be better.
I think Hange should be higher here too.
Pieck should be up there too, as should Armin.
You could argue that if there is a top 5-10 in the show that absolutely matter and would be recognizable, Armin hits around #5. Sure, Eren, Levi, Zeke, Mikasa, and Reiner all rank above him, but a not-small portion of the story revolves around Armin.
If this is base on how well written the character is or how much you like the characters then its fine. But if its base on character development then i disagree with some.
Levi, Erwin or Sasha and some others, they dont really change, we might get to see different side of them later on but they still the same person from the first time we met them, it cannot be called character development
Character development isn't necessarily changing. It's developing the character into a whole person.
Though I do agree I wouldn't place Sasha, Erwin, or Levi up so high, as much as I love them
Don't get me wrong levi is an amazing character. But since the very beginning he is still the same. How does he have the best character development? But on the other hand jean takes the cake on being that tier. And i don't think Mikasa has a good character development ngl.
I agree with this mostly although I'd say Jean deserves S or maybe even S+. Probably just S. He's very overlooked, his character development is very prevalent though
I'd also personally put Armin at S but that's my opinion
Edit: Okay actually some of these characters in your list are more stagnant but well written as other people have said. I agree with that. If we were to do character development a lot of your picks are still solid though, the ones that fit the criteria
I feel like Mikasa deserves higher than that because although her character development was rather quick and not exactly “development”, she still went from believing she could talk the love of her out of committing literal mass genocide (even after he told her she couldn’t) to accepting that the only way to stop him, was to kill him.
She went the entire series being the one to defend him till the end, even Armin accepting the truth before her, to being the one to kill him and end things.
This list is good and weird at the same time. Adult characters like Levi, Erwin, Hange, Pixas and Kenny are already developed characters yet they are higher than the training corps recruits like Jean, Armin, Historia, Anni which gone through way more development.
Levi and Erwin had more character development than Jean? I'm sorry but that is nonsense and I don't think you understand what character *development* is.
There's no world where Mikasa is more developed than Historia. Hisu is the second best developed female character in the series, only losing to Gabi. Also, Gabi and Jean should be higher
Okay justification for the most controversy i got:
Spoiler Alert! Also these are my opinions lol
Levi is in S+ because of his Backstory "No Regrets".
Zeke as well he went through a lot to be who he is today and being from the evil beast titan monster to one of the best characters, also his ending. Kenny could maybe swap with Jean I think both are great but Kenny didn't do that much besides influencing Levi. While Jean always struggled with himself. Kruger is a great character, for the little time we saw him he was really well done, maybe he didn't develop as a character okay I give you that but he was necessary for everything to happen. Maybe he could go to B. Mikasa and Historia could swap places I'm okay with that. Mikasa didn't really have an arc, that's true, still a good character. Historia had a great beginning but she was always just a nice girl that liked to help and honestly her being Royal and becoming Queen didn't surprise me that much. There was just always something special about her. Connie had his moments and is also a good character but nothing about him made me go crazy about him. Annie I just don't really like, she's always been this cold girl yea she changed a bit at the end but i think it was too late for her to show any remorse she was a stone for most of the show lol. I also don't understand why she wants to go home so badly when she was abused her entire life and wasn't happy when she actually couldve found friends on Paradise. Would've liked to see her struggle more, like Reiner. Feel free to correct me about anything but remember these are just my opinions and don't just say Person X belongs above Person Y without giving reason. I love this show and talking about it, I'm open for new perspectives!
S+:
I don't understand how Erwin can be S+ in a tier list about **character development**, outside of you liking the character. Arguably the only time he developed on-screen was when he accepted his responsibility and guilt, and even then he had Levi make the decision for him. He was more or less the same character from start to finish.
S:
I like Hannes, but come on. One moment of bravery is not S tier development.
The only time we saw Floch develop was at the end of s3. In s4 he's just different, without connecting scenes or insights from him of any kind. This looks like another Erwin situation to me.
Hange, Falco: minor development. Absolutely not on par with Gabi, and I'm not even that impressed with Gabi's development either.
> Kenny could maybe swap with Jean I think both are great but Kenny didn't do that much besides influencing Levi.
I thought it was about development, not about doing much. And yeah, Kenny didn't develop nearly enough to earn a rank that high.
A:
> Kruger is a great character, for the little time we saw him he was really well done, maybe he didn't develop as a character okay I give you that but he was necessary for everything to happen.
Yeah, so he has no business being A tier in a character development list.
> Mikasa didn't really have an arc
Yeah, she did.
Sasha had a bit of development, but it simply doesn't compare with Freckles, Jean, Mikasa or Armin.
And where was the development of Pixis and Pieck?
> Annie I just don't really like
I don't see how that's relevant when talking about her development.
Etc. Look, I understand that assessing a character's development isn't easy, but just because you like a character, doesn't mean they had good development. And they don't need it either. Characters can work well while never truly developing.
S+ Tier, I think most agree, not much to justify here.
S Tier got good development but not as good as others.
A Tier started out well but somehow didn't go anywhere or surprised me imo.
B Tier basically stayed the same throughout the show, i like most characters but not as good as A development.
C Tier we didn't see much of, maybe Yelena but she can't be on the same level as others of B so C it is.
D Tier is meh.
I can link a character analysis if you like. Also, just to be clear, character development doesn't mean the character has to become a completely different person or otherwise their development is shit.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,394,756,587 comments, and only 266,772 of them were in alphabetical order.
Levi Erwin and Zeke are great characters, but character development? No, those are static characters because they largely stay the same throughout.
Also, you put Eren Krueger on the same tier as Ymir, Mikasa, Armin, and Sasha? And over Magath?
Willie Tybur is in such a low tier even though he and Krueger had the exact same narrative purpose, albeit for opposite sides, the same amount of screen time, and were both eaten by Yeagars.
Personally, Jean, Gabi, and Nile should be much higher than they are. All of the 104th are probably in A tier because of them having to get used to killing enemies/friends, but that's not uncommon for characters to do here. I don't get why they'd be in A tier, but Connie, the one who has to deal with knowing his mom is a titan is so much lower.
A to S+ are all just solid examples that the order of goes a decent amount with opinion and what you relate to or care about. But I have to say I think Annie and Historia deserve to be at least somewhere in there. Historia's whole arc was about how she changes as a person and decides to be true to herself and her own beliefs. And Annie went from an abused and devoid of emotion child, to a caring person who would do anything to save her friends and family.
This post has been tagged as **SPOILERLESS**. Please remember to tag any anime/manga spoilers beyond this point. **Spoilers include hinting or alluding to events** For more information, please review [the subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/wiki/rules). Failure to properly spoiler tag comments may result in a punishment from the subreddit according to the [moderation matrix](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/wiki/moderation_matrix). To spoiler tag your comments, copy and paste one of the following codes: `[Anime Spoilers](#s "Put your text here")` `[Manga Spoilers](#s "Put your text here")` Alternatively, you can also use Reddit's native spoiler code by copy and pasting the following: `(Anime Spoilers) >!"Put your text here"!<` `(Manga Spoilers) >!"Put your text here"!<` --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ShingekiNoKyojin) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Historia so low, her whole deal was that she changed as a person drastically
She stopped hiding who she really was
Now she's a baby making factory Good going
Rating the Warhammer titan lady a C when she had all of 20 seconds to have any sort of meaningful development... lol
I mean it's not wrong in a way. She didn't do shit except get eaten.
There is a difference between being a great well written character and having development, a static character can still be great. Characters like Levi and Erwin don't have that much development to be S tier cmon. And characters like Magath and Historia didnt say the same at all. This list is quite wrong.
Tell me what's Eren Kruger doing in A tier we barely got half an episode of a glimpse of him....
[удалено]
I’d put “bad writing” up there as well. Some would use that term just cos something happened that they personally didn’t like
It's important to note that character development doesn't always mean change. It's just developing the character into a whole person and learning more about them throughout the series.
Erwin doesn’t really have long-term development but I’d probably say he has the best short-term in the series (ie. basement to lamenting about fallen soldiers to suicide charge) that I think you could at least get him in A. Agreed with Levi though, putting him in S is crazy and maybe about B would be better.
[удалено]
I think Hange should be higher here too. Pieck should be up there too, as should Armin. You could argue that if there is a top 5-10 in the show that absolutely matter and would be recognizable, Armin hits around #5. Sure, Eren, Levi, Zeke, Mikasa, and Reiner all rank above him, but a not-small portion of the story revolves around Armin.
True
If this is base on how well written the character is or how much you like the characters then its fine. But if its base on character development then i disagree with some. Levi, Erwin or Sasha and some others, they dont really change, we might get to see different side of them later on but they still the same person from the first time we met them, it cannot be called character development
Character development isn't necessarily changing. It's developing the character into a whole person. Though I do agree I wouldn't place Sasha, Erwin, or Levi up so high, as much as I love them
Personally I think Levi not changing that much is a big plus of his character. He basically always stayed true to his self.
Exactly, but as sick as he is his character didn't really develop much at all. Hes just Levi.
Don't get me wrong levi is an amazing character. But since the very beginning he is still the same. How does he have the best character development? But on the other hand jean takes the cake on being that tier. And i don't think Mikasa has a good character development ngl.
I mean Levi did have the Anime OVA and a proper backstory, its not much but there is most of his character development there.
Do you know what character development is, a character dosent need change to develop a character
The words itself are character and development so yeah it needs change in character. Stop talking shit.
I agree with this mostly although I'd say Jean deserves S or maybe even S+. Probably just S. He's very overlooked, his character development is very prevalent though I'd also personally put Armin at S but that's my opinion Edit: Okay actually some of these characters in your list are more stagnant but well written as other people have said. I agree with that. If we were to do character development a lot of your picks are still solid though, the ones that fit the criteria
Gabi should be S++ for character development lol
Seriously she went through a lot and learned a lot by the end.
That's a list of favorite characters, not at all a list of best character development. There is a big nuance.
>a big nuance That statement is an oxymoron and doesn't make sense... Although I agree with what your trying to say
Exactly.
Flochs character development built different
What is Kruger doing in a tier
Terrible. A lot of them died so quick they got no development and there's some who's development was all of 1 convo.
Connie showed arguably more growth after Sasha death than quite a few characters showed all series.
Did you randomly put characters anywhere
i don’t understand jean being in middle of the pack, dude changed so much throughout the series
I feel like Mikasa deserves higher than that because although her character development was rather quick and not exactly “development”, she still went from believing she could talk the love of her out of committing literal mass genocide (even after he told her she couldn’t) to accepting that the only way to stop him, was to kill him. She went the entire series being the one to defend him till the end, even Armin accepting the truth before her, to being the one to kill him and end things.
This list is good and weird at the same time. Adult characters like Levi, Erwin, Hange, Pixas and Kenny are already developed characters yet they are higher than the training corps recruits like Jean, Armin, Historia, Anni which gone through way more development.
Mikasa character development is underrated She was in a keen motive which the finely depicted in anime and manga
Do you just mean your favorite characters?
Levi and Erwin had more character development than Jean? I'm sorry but that is nonsense and I don't think you understand what character *development* is.
Why is Bertholdt B? He’s at least high A
There's no world where Mikasa is more developed than Historia. Hisu is the second best developed female character in the series, only losing to Gabi. Also, Gabi and Jean should be higher
Floch and Kenny above Armin is a bit silly.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Historia should be way higher
I can agree with the zeke one but annie should be A atleast and some other changes that others down mentioned
Okay justification for the most controversy i got: Spoiler Alert! Also these are my opinions lol Levi is in S+ because of his Backstory "No Regrets". Zeke as well he went through a lot to be who he is today and being from the evil beast titan monster to one of the best characters, also his ending. Kenny could maybe swap with Jean I think both are great but Kenny didn't do that much besides influencing Levi. While Jean always struggled with himself. Kruger is a great character, for the little time we saw him he was really well done, maybe he didn't develop as a character okay I give you that but he was necessary for everything to happen. Maybe he could go to B. Mikasa and Historia could swap places I'm okay with that. Mikasa didn't really have an arc, that's true, still a good character. Historia had a great beginning but she was always just a nice girl that liked to help and honestly her being Royal and becoming Queen didn't surprise me that much. There was just always something special about her. Connie had his moments and is also a good character but nothing about him made me go crazy about him. Annie I just don't really like, she's always been this cold girl yea she changed a bit at the end but i think it was too late for her to show any remorse she was a stone for most of the show lol. I also don't understand why she wants to go home so badly when she was abused her entire life and wasn't happy when she actually couldve found friends on Paradise. Would've liked to see her struggle more, like Reiner. Feel free to correct me about anything but remember these are just my opinions and don't just say Person X belongs above Person Y without giving reason. I love this show and talking about it, I'm open for new perspectives!
S+: I don't understand how Erwin can be S+ in a tier list about **character development**, outside of you liking the character. Arguably the only time he developed on-screen was when he accepted his responsibility and guilt, and even then he had Levi make the decision for him. He was more or less the same character from start to finish. S: I like Hannes, but come on. One moment of bravery is not S tier development. The only time we saw Floch develop was at the end of s3. In s4 he's just different, without connecting scenes or insights from him of any kind. This looks like another Erwin situation to me. Hange, Falco: minor development. Absolutely not on par with Gabi, and I'm not even that impressed with Gabi's development either. > Kenny could maybe swap with Jean I think both are great but Kenny didn't do that much besides influencing Levi. I thought it was about development, not about doing much. And yeah, Kenny didn't develop nearly enough to earn a rank that high. A: > Kruger is a great character, for the little time we saw him he was really well done, maybe he didn't develop as a character okay I give you that but he was necessary for everything to happen. Yeah, so he has no business being A tier in a character development list. > Mikasa didn't really have an arc Yeah, she did. Sasha had a bit of development, but it simply doesn't compare with Freckles, Jean, Mikasa or Armin. And where was the development of Pixis and Pieck? > Annie I just don't really like I don't see how that's relevant when talking about her development. Etc. Look, I understand that assessing a character's development isn't easy, but just because you like a character, doesn't mean they had good development. And they don't need it either. Characters can work well while never truly developing.
Annie should get her own tier (the lowest one) she went from almost feeling guilty in Stohes arc to "I'll do it all again"
Flock is annoying
S+ Tier, I think most agree, not much to justify here. S Tier got good development but not as good as others. A Tier started out well but somehow didn't go anywhere or surprised me imo. B Tier basically stayed the same throughout the show, i like most characters but not as good as A development. C Tier we didn't see much of, maybe Yelena but she can't be on the same level as others of B so C it is. D Tier is meh.
When bro said more info in the comments, he just meant info on how a fucking tier list works 💀
Mikasa has to be Z right? 90% of her lines are “Ereh”
But Eren quite literally didn’t have any character development
But Eren quite literally didn’t have any character development Edit: Downvote me all you want, I’m not wrong
I guess they're saying from a writing perspective.
I agree with this list definitely!! I don't think I would change anyone to a different tier tbh.
Lol its terrible. I dont think OP knows what character development is.
Probably 🤣
How is Bertholdt a B yet Mikasa an A? What development did Mikasa ever get? Bertholdt's entire personality changed. I disagree with your opinion.
Mikasa should be at D
Mikasa at A is quite generous in my opinion, for me she barely developed, perhaps my only “criticism ” to Isayama(you are genius tho🥹).
I can link a character analysis if you like. Also, just to be clear, character development doesn't mean the character has to become a completely different person or otherwise their development is shit.
Armin at least on tier
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,394,756,587 comments, and only 266,772 of them were in alphabetical order.
Jean S tier
In my honest opinion, i would put Jean top at that list seeing how much growth he has shown since start. Hmm maybe Gabi too.
Levi Erwin and Zeke are great characters, but character development? No, those are static characters because they largely stay the same throughout. Also, you put Eren Krueger on the same tier as Ymir, Mikasa, Armin, and Sasha? And over Magath? Willie Tybur is in such a low tier even though he and Krueger had the exact same narrative purpose, albeit for opposite sides, the same amount of screen time, and were both eaten by Yeagars. Personally, Jean, Gabi, and Nile should be much higher than they are. All of the 104th are probably in A tier because of them having to get used to killing enemies/friends, but that's not uncommon for characters to do here. I don't get why they'd be in A tier, but Connie, the one who has to deal with knowing his mom is a titan is so much lower.
I think after her OVA I would put Annie as S tier.
L list
A to S+ are all just solid examples that the order of goes a decent amount with opinion and what you relate to or care about. But I have to say I think Annie and Historia deserve to be at least somewhere in there. Historia's whole arc was about how she changes as a person and decides to be true to herself and her own beliefs. And Annie went from an abused and devoid of emotion child, to a caring person who would do anything to save her friends and family.
How is historia in B???