Attack on Titan has featured some brutal deaths, owing to the fact that its subject matter has always been dark, existential, and tinged with tragedy. Based on the eponymous manga series by Hajime Isayama, Attack on Titan revolves around Eren Yeager, who goes on to join the 104th Cadet Corps after a smiling Titan devours his mother. While these events give way to Eren’s discovery of unlocking the power of a Titan itself, his motivations turn murkier with the progression of the series, with Eren emerging more as an anti-hero figure with covert ambitions.
The death of Carla Yeager lies at the heart of Eren’s heartbreaking tale, brutal and violent as it is, both in the manga and the anime. However, the anime alters details of Carla’s death in the sense that it tries to minimize the egregiously graphic and bloody nature of her death, although managing to deliver a powerful emotional blow. Visually violent or not, Carla’s demise is one of the first meaningful deaths in the show, especially when situated in the context of Eren’s arc and the absolute brutality of Titans.
Prior to the tragedy, Eren’s mother forbids him from joining the Survey Corps after Mikasa expresses Eren’s desire to join the military. This inevitably creates a tussle between mother and son, spurring Eren to run away from home for a while. However, during the invasion of Wall Maria, the Colossal Titan breaches the Wall of Shiganshina District, and some of the flying debris falls on the Yeagers’ house. Trapped beneath the rubble, Carla is unable to move as her legs are crushed by the impact. While Eren and Mikasa attempt to free her, they are unable to lift the heavy beams holding her down. Helpless and utterly broken from within, Carla shares an emotional goodbye with her children, begging them to run and escape while they still can.
While this scene is particularly heartwrenching even in the anime, the manga manages to evoke stronger emotions due to the detailed panels depicting what happens right after, along with the horrified reactions of Eren and Mikasa. The stark cruelty with which the Titan drags Carla’s body in the blink of an eye is devastating to witness, which is inevitably followed by a graphic portrayal of the Titan chomping down on her torso. What is, in fact, a hail of blood appears like specks of dust when compared to the Titan’s ginormous size, accentuating the imbalance status quo between the humans and the Titans.
Although the anime portrays this scene with incredible nuance, as it is a dizzying amalgamation of emotive animation and potent emotional score, the manga depicts Carla’s innards spewing out of her mouth. Moreover, a deeper layer of cruelty lies embedded within Carla’s death, as she is consumed by none other than Dina Fritz in her Titan form, who happened to be Grisha Yeager’s first wife. However, Carla’s death is only the beginning of the end in Attack on Titan, as horrors of a more twisted and grotesque nature lurk within the fringes of its war-addled world.