Attack on Titan initially looked like a grim and hopeless post-apocalypse anime, but then Eren started turning into something big, angry, and naked and there's also that one female titan who looked suspiciously like a certain blonde girl. Before you know it, the whole show transformed into a subtle mecha anime but with flesh and giblet mannequins instead of robots.
That's by no means a bad thing; in fact, it made Attack on Titan one of the best and most unique mecha anime in existence. It's all thanks to the Shifter Titans and their imposing onscreen presence. The best fights in the anime always involve these titans. Of course, the most visceral and violently satisfying among them would be the titan-on-titan fights or those that involve several Shifter Titans, such as these examples.
8 Eren's First Transformation
- Appearance: Season 1, Episode 7/8
- Titans involved: Attack Titan, regular Titans
The first time a Titan fought other titans in Attack on Titan would be when Eren sort of died. It's also the second time in his life (the first one was when he ate his father) that he transformed into a titan and it was a glorious display of the Attack Titan. One might not even consider this one a fight since he slaughtered all the regular titans.
Even as early as his first transformation, Eren proved that he's a perfect host of the Attack Titan, as he made good use of his rage to fuel his Shifter Titan's purpose. In hindsight, he single-handedly won the battle for Trost after killing all the regular titans who attacked. Moreover, Eren as the Attack Titan consequently saved the green cadets of the Survey Corps, including Mikasa.
7 Eren Vs. Annie
- Appearance: Season 1, Episode 24/25
- Titans involved: Attack Titan, Female Titan
The Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan might have caused Paradis' shrinkage but the Female Titan controlled by Annie proved to be the most malevolent and clever of them all. She even took on the best of the Survey Corps and lived in a rather frustrating chase where some of the main characters nearly perished.
Eren finally got his chance to fight the Female Titan, though, and it served as a gripping finale for Season 1. They had the most epic stage of all too, the residential district on Stohess. Suffice to say, the collateral was monumental in scale as the two Shifter Titans rolled and tumbled on all available structures — even a church wasn't spared. Eren's victory here might be a bit hard to swallow, though, especially since Annie is a veteran Eldian warrior and is equal to Mikasa when it comes to combat skills.
6 Rod Reiss Vs. The Survey Corps
- Appearance: Season 3, Episode 45/46
- Titans involved: Rod Reiss' titan, Attack Titan
Technically, Rod Reiss' titan isn't a Shifter Titan but more of an anomaly caused by faulty spinal fluid intake, but the thing was twice the height of the Colossal Titan. At the very least, it deserves an honorary label as a shifter. In any case, it was one of the most epic skirmishes of the Survey Corps since they've never fought anything that big.
Their cannons and explosives were mostly ineffective and it was the Attack Titan's turn to save the day once more. Though Eren's involvement was brief compared to his other more fleshed-out battles, shoving a New Year's worth of gunpowder into Rod Reiss' mouth was quite the coup de grace. The follow-up by Historia slashing his father dead among the meat chunks was the cherry on top.
5 Eldian Warrior Assault
- Appearance: Season 4, Episode 60
- Titans involved: Beast Titan, Jaw Titan, Armored Titan, regular titans
Apart from the Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan's attack on Paradis, the series didn't give many opportunities for veteran Shifter Titans to display their strength in a coordinated war effort. That is until the very first episode of Season 4 where Marley's Eldian Warrior Unit put an end to the Fort Slava standoff.
They did so with cold efficiency and brutality. Zeke spearheaded the assault and thinned the enemy ranks by siccing some expendable regular titans on them while the Armored Titan and the Jaw Titan dealt with the anti-titan artillery. All that was left afterward was mopping up the stragglers in a one-sided fight. Even as the anime's world modernizes, Titans remain the dominant military power.
4 Eren Vs. Reiner Part 1
- Appearance: Season 2, Episode 32
- Titans involved: Attack Titan, Armored Titan, Colossal Titan
As mortal enemies, both Eren and Reiner had numerous run-ins and battles with Reiner usually taking all the big fat L's even as early as their first Shifter Titan fight. One cannot deny just how glorious their first battle is in Season 2, Episode 32. Reiner, due to his fractured mental health, just revealed that he and Bertholdt were shifters.
An enraged Eren hell-bent on making the two pay for their betrayal fought Reiner's Armored Titan without hesitation. This was where Eren started utilizing his Attack Titan better and even incorporated the Female Titan's moves to defeat the stronger and tougher Armored Titan in an initially fair fight. Sadly, Reiner just had to call his boyfriend, Bertholdt to save him.
3 The Paradis Bowl
- Appearance: Season 4, Episode 76-78
- Titans involved: Attack Titan, Armored Titan, Beast Titan, Cart Titan, Jaw Titan
The Marleyans just couldn't stand by and recover idly without retaliating against Paradis' earlier and devastating attack. And retaliate they did. While theirs wasn't as explosive as Paradis' attack on Marley, Reiner's cool entrance and trash-talking gave the Eldian Warrior Unit assault quite a presence.
What made the fight even more awesome was that Eren was outnumbered and literally outgunned. He was taking on the Armored Titan, the Jaw Titan, and the Cart Titan all at once before Zeke's Beast Titan came in as reinforcement for his brother. All this took place in semi-3D sadly, but the animation has since improved noticeably compared to the first part of Season 4.
2 Eldian Warriors Vs. The Survey Corps
- Appearance: Season 3, Episode 50-54
- Titans involved: Attack Titan, Armored Titan, Beast Titan, Cart Titan, Colossal Titan
By far one of the longest battles in both the anime and the manga, the Shiganshina Reclamation arc was also the Survey Corps' finest moment. That's because it's also their first victory against the full might of Marley's Eldian Warrior Unit consisting of the Armored Titan, the Beast Titan, the Cart Titan, and the Colossal Titan at that moment.
It was a proper battle too where Zeke showcased his tactical and strategic genius, which matches that of Armin's and Erwin's. After cutting off half of the Survey Corps from their command, Zeke forced them to fight on two fronts. Eren's group barely managed to take down the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan but the real sacrifice came from Erwin Smith and the troops that were with him. Thanks to Erwin's deceptive charge and last stand, Levi was able to defeat the Beast Titan and forced what remained of the Warrior Unit to retreat, resulting in victory — albeit a Pyrrhic and bittersweet victory.
1 All-Out War
- Appearance: Season 4, Episode 65-67
- Titans involved: All living Shifter Titans except the Female Titan
This was the incendiary (figurative and literal) opening of Eren's grand plan for revenge and justice. It basically involved dragging Paradis' reluctant military to draw first blood after Marley declares war against them. The Attack Titan slaughtered the most important Marleyan officials, wiped the floor with the Jaw Titan & Colossal Titan, and consumed the War Hammer Titan in a rather stomach-churning massacre that secured Paradis' massive advantage.
Still, despite Eren's bloodlust, most of the casualties are on Armin's hands after deploying the Colossal Titan and nuking the whole Marley harbor, likely killing millions with the explosion. Afterward, the Survey Corps veterans gave their age-old enemies a break even though they probably could have ended everything on the spot or even bagged a few more Shifter Titans.