One of the tragic similarities between Attack on Titan and Star Wars' prequel trilogy is that the central element of both stories focuses on the slow but unstoppable transformation of a major hero into a primary villain, namely in the fall of Eren Yeager and the corruption of Anakin Skywalker. Each character's inspiring courage and bravery in the early part of the saga are completely overshadowed and undone by their oppressive brutality in the latter parts. But are the two equally reprehensible, or can one's path help redefine how fans see the other?
Anakin's fall is obviously heavily foreshadowed, given that fans always knew the child in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace would eventually become Darth Vader. But even taking the prequel trilogy as its own story, his descent feels inevitable. He was a hero. but there was always something haunted about him. He was a rather sensitive individual who easily connected with others but had a difficult time controlling the emotional connections he made. The people he had the deepest connections with and who centered him - namely his mother, Ashoka, and especially Padme - left him in the most tragic circumstances. Moreover, as a Jedi, he was forced to repress these connections, even as they made him who he was. Lastly, there was the constant influence of Palpatine, influencing his emotions and promising him what seemed like his only chance at happiness.
Conversely, while there were some early markers of the equally sensitive Eren’s turn, such as the pain he felt over his mother's death, his downfall was much less predictable, and many fans perceive him as a heroic character who suddenly turned to darkness. However, beginning with his contacts with Historia, fans can get a better understanding of the issues that influenced his choices. Specifically, because he held the power of the Attack Titan, Eren could simultaneously see the future, present, and past. Kissing Historia’s hand triggered something in those memories that led him on a path to meet the true Founding Titan Ymir, and once he met her something changed in his mind such that he believed his prior actions were mistaken and that his only path was to unleash the titans onto the world and exterminate humanity.
So, did Eren or Anakin suffer the darker fall from grace? Surprisingly for fans who have seen Eren's terrifying final form, the answer is Anakin. Even before he entered the Jedi Order, he was made aware of the power of the dark side and given training on ways to control it. This understanding would have surely impressed upon him what would happen if he gave in to it. Moreover, in Count Dooku, he saw first-hand what the result of a turn would be. However, despite this, he still gave in to the dark side.
Anakin had access to the support of Jedi across the Star Wars galaxy to help him overcome his problems and yet did not make use of it. On the other hand, Eren was suddenly made all-powerful, and aware of a future he did not clearly understand, with no support or training on how best to proceed. He was forced to make an imperfect and uninformed choice in an unimaginably stressful situation with little time for reflection. Anakin had options and ignored them, while in Attack on Titan, Eren tried to make the best of an impossible situation. While Eren's choice cost a staggering number of lives, Darth Vader was ultimately responsible for even more deaths, meaning that while Attack on Titan's supposed hero literally became a monster, Star Wars' padawan is something even darker, showing that while fans are right to condemn Eren, his darkest moment has to be understood as a combination of factors that often get ignored.