Top 10 The Expanse Books.

There are many different, highly praised sci-fi series out there, so many, in fact, that it is often difficult to decide which one to dive into next.
Sometimes, all you need is the right push at the right moment to get into another great series.
For me, the push to read James S.A Corey’s The Expanse was the reveal of the upcoming Osiris Reborn videogame by Owlcat Games.
I rocketed head-first into this spacefaring epic, ultimately finding the burn of the journey more than worth it.
And wouldn’t you know it?
The Expanse consists of ten books.
So, what better way for me to celebrate finishing this amazing story than to rank them from weakest to best?
Keep in mind before reading, this ranking will contain spoilers for the entire series, so only continue if you have read all of the books.
With that warning out of the way, here are my top ten books in The Expanse, starting with…

10. Book Three: Abaddon’s Gate.

The third book in The Expanse is the one I ultimately got the least enjoyment out of reading.
That is not to say the novel is completely without merit though.
Jim Holden remains an interesting protagonist, and his connection with the Protomolecule Miller is quite compelling, especially with how it leads to the Ring Gates opening.
It was Abaddon’s Gate which made me understand why this series was called The Expanse, with the doors to thousands of planets being opened.
For me, though, the best moment in this book was the death of Sam.
I found it to be an abrupt and disturbing moment, which left an impact.
Now we get into my negatives, most of which stem from the other point of view characters.
Bull and Ana make for fairly average POVS but they are nothing offensive.
The real problem emerges with the fourth and final POV character, Clarissa Mao.
Her whole shtick is that she wants to get revenge on Holden for locking her father away in the previous book.
The thing is, her father is a terrible person, who funded experimentation of an alien bioweapon which killed millions, including Clarissa’s own sister.
Not only that, but Clarissa intends to get revenge on Holden by framing him for a terrorist attack she commits, leading to many more deaths.
On paper, this makes Clarissa sound like a villain we could love to hate.
Unfortunately, she is supposed to be seen as redeemable.
This makes every single chapter we spend in her head insufferable to read through.
We have to suffer her murderous hypocrisy, all the while characters like Ana insist she can be saved.
Speaking of, this also makes the story predictable.
The moment Clarrisa joined Ashford’s coup, I knew the conflict would end with Ana convincing her to change sides, thus redeeming her.
Sure enough, that is what happened, removing a lot of the stakes since I could see where the story was going from a mile away.
Thankfully, Clarissa becomes tolerable in later books, but her introduction in Abaddon’s Gate was so unbearable to read through that it shot the book all the way to the bottom of this list.
Still, I would not say Abaddon’s Gate is a bad book.
It is just my least favorite in The Expanse.

9. Book Six: Babylon’s Ashes.

After loving Nemesis Games, I went into Babylon’s Ashes excited for the story to come.
Unfortunately, I finished the book rather underwhelmed.
For one thing, this was the first book in the Expanse to expand the POV chapters beyond four characters.
However, instead of expanding the story in interesting ways, it left the novel feeling bloated.
So often, Babylon’s Ashes cuts to a character we have never met before and then we never get their POV again, making it difficult to care.
Not only that, but the antagonists of this book, the Free Navy, are probably the most unthreatening force in The Expanse.
They were a threat in Nemesis Games, but it is made apparent from the beginning of Babylon’s Ashes that they do not really have a chance of succeeding at their long-term goals.
Their biggest success in this book is Fred Johnson’s death but, even then, they cannot claim that because he died of a stroke caused by overwork, rather than their attack.
Another disappointing thing was their defeat, since we had already seen the alien force disappearing ships at the end of the previous book.
All of that being said, there is still a lot I like about Babylon’s Ashes.
Although the amount of POV characters is annoying, some of them do have interesting chapters.
Along with that, the main POV characters are still good, with Holden’s standout moments coming when he attempts to bridge the gap between Earth, Mars and the Belt.
Some of the action is also pretty well written, and this is the book where Bobbie and Clarissa officially join the Rocinante (even if I was still not sold on Clarrisa).
Overall, Babylon’s Ashes is a fine book.
A lot of the action and character work is good but the sheer amount of POVs and the unthreatening antagonists hold it back.

8. Memory’s Legion.

When I realized that one of the books in The Expanse series was a collection of short stories, I was sure it would be at the bottom of my list.
After all, that is what happened when I ranked the First Law series.
Imagine my surprise when Memory’s Legion turned out to be so good I had to rank it at eighth.
Sure, there are some stories weaker than others, with my least favorite being the third story “Gods of Risk.”
The majority of tales told, however, are great, my favorites being “The Churn,” “Vital Abyss,” and “Strange Dogs.”
“The Churn” explores Amos’ dark past in Baltimore, expanding excellently on what we learned about him in Nemesis Games.
“Vital Abyss” reveals what happened to the sociopath scientists after Leviathan Wakes and even made me feel sorry for Cortázar because of what he was turned into.
As for “Strange Dogs,” it tells the tragic tale of how Cara and Xan were resurrected by Protomolecule technology, later leading to their experimentation.
Memory’s Legion even follows up on some characters who disappeared in the main story, like Erich and Filip, which was satisfying for me since I wondered what happened to them.
All in all, Memory’s Legion is a fantastic collection of short stories.
Most of them are great and add to the original storyline of The Expanse.

7. Book Two: Caliban’s War.

When I started reading the second book in The Expanse series, I was worried it would not live up to the first.
Even though I much preferred Leviathan Wakes, Caliban’s War is still a great follow-up.
Its opening action scene, with Bobbie’s squad being attacked by the Protomolocule hybrid, makes for a good first impression.
Despite this, I was still concerned when I learned the main storyline would revolve around the kidnapping of a little girl.
It just seemed too similar to the plotline from Leviathan Wakes.
Thankfully, Caliban’s War differentiates itself by introducing a bunch of interesting characters.
Prax’s search to find his daughter is compelling, especially with how it later ties into fabricated stories.
Even better are Avasarala and Bobbie.
They get their introductions in Caliban’s War, and they are some of the best female characters in the Expanse.
In particular, Avasarala is a highlight, with her constant sailor mouth delivering a lot of laughs.
The only thing keeping Caliban’s War from being higher on the list is an element in the climax.
Holden is aboard a ship infested with the Protomolecule and runs into the ship’s last survivor, who we have never met before.
He then learns someone has to self-destruct the ship to stop the alien weapon.
Luckily for him, the character we literally just met has become infected and volunteers to sacrifice himself.
It felt like the authors wrote themselves into a corner and, to avoid their main character dying, they abruptly introduced this random survivor, who is never mentioned again.
Otherwise, Caliban’s War is a fantastic follow up to Leviathan Wakes, introducing some of the best characters in the series.

6. Book Four: Cibola Burn.

It seems like a lot of people rank Cibola Burn quite low among the other Expanse books.
This is a shame because I consider it to be a pretty underrated entry.
The first half of the book is a fascinating exploration of conflict between colonizers and corporations, while the second half goes full-on disaster novel.
We see this from the eyes of various interesting characters, like Havelock and Basia, who had appeared previously in the series but are now elevated to POV characters.
We are also introduced to Elvi, who will be very important in the final two books.
Speaking of Elvi, though, she also presents the funniest moment in The Expanse for me, when she realizes she was not in love with Holden, she just needed to get laid.
As for Holden himself, we get the last of his connection with the Protomolocule Miller for a while, and his conflict with the antagonist Murty is a lot of fun.
Murty himself was the first antagonist in The Expanse I found truly interesting.
I perfectly understood his viewpoint, and why he saw himself as in the right.
The book even ends on an ominous note with Avasarala revealing that the expansion to different planets will be the death knell for Mars, perfectly setting up Nemesis Games.
Cibola Burn may be ranked low among a lot of The Expanse fans, but I really enjoy it for the characters and conflicts.

5. Book Nine: Leviathan Falls.

The final book in The Expanse series, I began Leviathan Falls with my fingers crossed that James S.A Corey could conclude the story well.
Thankfully, for the most part, they definitely achieved this, but I will get my small criticisms out of the way first.
For starters, the book did remind me of Babylon’s Ashes at times, with how it would occasionally switch to the POV of a character whose head we had never been in before.
However, this problem was nowhere near as prevalent as in that book.
Secondly, I did not really care for Tanaka as one of the main POVs for the final novel.
I am not sure why, but I just could not connect with her, even as an antagonist.
Finally, while I was enjoying Leviathan Falls, it felt for a while like the events occurring were not really leading up to this being the final book.
However, once we reached that endgame point, the story locked in, and I was riveted all the way to the finish line.
Leviathan Falls does a fantastic job of proving what is at stake.
Humanity faces the choice of either being forcibly incorporated into Duarte’s hive mind or being destroyed by the aliens who killed the Protomolecule.
Holden being Holden, finds a third option.
Following his final interaction with the Protomolecule Miller, along with his crew, he sacrifices himself to destroy the Ring Gates, separating various human colonies by light years.
Holden’s sendoff was very well done, although I do find it kind of funny that his last words were, “I don’t have a fucking clue.”
The epilogue then shows humanity millennia in the future, having developed its own means of interstellar travel.
And who should the expeditioner’s traveling to Earth meet but Amos, still very much alive and kicking, looking out for humanity, even after all of his old friends have died.
This ending felt perfectly fitting to me.
The only way for humanity to survive was to destroy the Ring Gates, and Holden’s sacrifice still meant humanity could connect thousands of years later.
Leviathan Falls is a worthy conclusion to this great series.

4. Book One: Leviathan Wakes.

Bit of a funny story before I get into my thoughts on Leviathan Wakes.
I happened to be reading this book in the same room as my parents, and they asked me what it was called.
For some reason, I stammered over my words and instead of saying Leviathan Wakes I said Leviathan Wanks.
So, yeah, that was embarrassing.
As for the first book in The Expanse, boy, did Leviathan Wakes make a first impression.
The portrayal of how humanity had gone on to colonize Mars and the Belt felt so real, as did the numerous cultures and rivalries that emerged.
These rivalries explode when Jim Holden’s ship is destroyed, starting a war which threatens the Earth, Mars, and the Belt.
At the same time Holden is searching for who killed his friends, a detective named Miller is searching for a missing woman with ties to a revolutionary organization, the OPA.
Both men are unaware that the mysteries they aim to solve are connected, and lead to a far more terrifying conspiracy, as Protogen plans to test the Protomolecule on a civilian population.
The events on Eros are horrifying to read and especially riveting through how Holden and Miller conflict in their values.
Miller is especially compelling, flaws and all, and he was by far my favorite character in this first book.
The way his story concludes, with him finally finding Julie and saving Earth with her, felt very fitting.
The quality of his character is so good that I got excited when he showed again at the end of Caliban’s War.
Leviathan Wakes was a fantastic start to The Expanse.
The cultures and conflicts it created felt real to me, as did the characters, especially Miller.
It would not be until Book Five where a novel in the series beat Leviathan Wakes in terms of quality, but I am getting ahead of myself.

3. Book Seven: Persepolis Rising.

Persepolis Rising has my favorite prologue of The Expanse.
It had me immediately invested in Laconia through the brutal depiction of the Pen, and the grand aspirations of the empire’s dictator, Winston Duarte.
A large part of the reason I love Persepolis Rising comes down to Laconia.
In my opinion, it is easily the most interesting setting James S.A Corey created, and makes for an excellent antagonist for our heroes to fight against.
This is nowhere clearer than with Singh, one of our POV characters.
He only appears in this book but is incredibly compelling, as a family man who is a key part in an authoritarian regime.
This system gradually grounds him down, until even he goes too far for its standards, and he is put to death in a shocking moment that tells the reader a lot about Laconia as a society.
Our other new POV character is Drummer, whose struggles against the Laconian Empire shows their might and threat level.
Like Singh, her arc is also fantastic, as she eventually comes to draw comparisons between her own actions and the authoritarian rule of her enemy.
And then there is Holden and the crew of the Rocinante, who have aged 30 years since we last saw them.
Clarissa is now considered family among the crew, and she dies is in this book to save Naomi.
I cannot deny her death is one of the best written in The Expanse, with it feeling like a gut punch, even though I still did not like her very much.
As for Holden, his heroics once again get him into trouble, since he ends the book captured by Laconia.
This leads to his first meeting with Duarte in the epilogue, which has one of the best lines in The Expanse, in my opinion.
“When you fight gods, you storm heaven,” Duarte says, in the final line of the book.
What an awesome line, although it is made funny in hindsight with how that turned out for Duarte.
Persepolis Rising is an excellent read.
It introduces the most threatening human force of The Expanse, has some of the best character arcs of the series, and has an awesome final line.
And the next book would somehow be even better.

2. Book Five: Nemesis Games.

Before Nemesis Games, I liked the crew of the Rocinante but I did not love them.
Well, that all changed with Book Five, where I was excited to see the three POVs aside from Holden’s were Amos, Naomi and Alex’s.
This excitement proved to be warranted because Nemesis Games not only made me appreciate these characters way more but it also turned out to be my second favorite books in the series.
The novel follows the Rocinante crew splitting up, where they each begin to uncover clues leading to a grand conspiracy.
We have Holden teaming up with Fred in probably my favorite depiction of their dynamic in the series.
Then there is Alex, who teams up with Bobbie, uncovering the Martian side of the conspiracy, leading to our first encounter with Winston Duarte.
We learn a whole lot about Naomi’s dark past, as she reunites with her former lover Marco and their son Filip.
Finally, there is Amos, who returns to Earth, reuniting with Clarissa, only for Marco and his Free Navy to shower Earth with asteroids, leading to a desperate attempt to escape the planet.
When I saw that Clarissa would be coming back, I immediately got nervous.
I was having such a good time with this book, and I did not want one of my least favorite characters to ruin it.
Thankfully, Clarissa is not as insufferable as she was in Abaddon’s Gate, and her and Amos witnessing the devastation of Earth was gripping.
The best of the four POVS in my opinion though is definitely Naomi’s.
Watching her struggle between her love for her son and her newfound family in the Rocinante’s crew made for a great arc, creating a lot of emotional moments.
And then there is the epilogue, which both sets up the eventual Laconian Empire and introduces us to the new threat of the aliens which killed off the Protomolecule’s creators.
Overall, Nemesis Games is excellent.
It made me love the Rocinante crew, has a compelling mystery, and sets up a lot of events in the endgame of the story.
The only reason it is not at number one is that some of the things it sets up proves to be rather underwhelming in Babylon’s Ashes.

1. Book Eight: Tiamat’s Wrath.

“Chrisjen Avasarala was dead.”
The opening line of Tiamat’s Wrath perfectly sets the tone, with a sendoff to one of The Expanse’s best characters and setting up a whole lot of sacrifice.
I loved the introduction of the Laconian Empire in Persepolis Rising, but their characterization truly shines in Tiamat’s Wrath.
We get to see how the Empire rules now that is has pretty much conquered the universe, in all of its authoritarian blemishes.
This perspective mostly comes through the POV of Teresa, Duarte’s daughter.
It is through her we get a fantastic look at what happens when a dictator with a cult of personality falls.
Those below him take charge in his stead, while attempting to maintain the perception that their dear leader is still pulling the strings, even as each strand gets cut no matter how hard they try.
Teresa is also an interesting character, especially due to her friendship with Amos, which actually leads to his unfortunate death… temporarily.
I say temporarily because this is where The Expanse introduces the concept of the alien technology resurrecting people.
Amos’ return is epic, although it does raise the question if this is actually Amos or a clone with his memories.
You be the judge of that.
While Amos’ death is temporary, Bobbie’s is tragically permanent.
That being said, her death is a victory because she sacrifices herself to destroy the Laconian Empire’s flagship, destroying their reputation as unstoppable.
Bobbie would have wanted to die fighting, and I cannot think of a better end for the character.
Along with a close look at how Laconia operates, we also get further insight into the Protomolecule via Elvi who makes her return, ending with her eventually realizing Holden’s grand plan.
The twist that he motivated Cortázar to try and kill Teresa, so that he would be executed, thus putting Elvi in charge of studying the Protomolecule was masterful, made even better by the fact that we rarely get Holden’s POV in this book.
I know it may seem strange, my favorite novel in the series being the one where the main character is mostly closed off from us.
But it all builds to this fantastic reveal, which ends with Holden, Teresa and the resurrected Amos escaping the planet.
There are just so many amazing moments in Tiamat’s Wrath.
From Naomi stepping up to lead the underground, to her reuniting with Alex on the Rocinante, to the battle around Laconia, it is all great.
With an in depth look at Laconia, gripping character moments and sacrifices, and an excellent twist, Tiamat’s Wrath is my favorite book in The Expanse.

So, there you have it.
My Top Ten The Expanse books.
But this is not where the series ends, because a video game is coming, and there is, of course, the TV show.
I will be watching the show soon, and I might review it season by season, or do another ranking when I finish.
It depends on how I ultimately view the series.
Either way, you can expect another post on The Expanse in the future.

Top 10 Attack on Titan Intros and Outros.

With Attack on Titan having finished its third season there have been ten intros and outros, and I have found many of these to be highly enjoyable to watch and listen to.
So, I have decided to count them down from the weakest to the best.
In order to rank them, I took things like song, visuals, and symbolism into account.
Now, let’s start the countdown.

10. Shoukei to Shikabane no Michi by Linked Horizon – Season Three Second Intro.

It is a shame that I consider “Shoukei to Shiabane no Michi” to be the weakest Attack on Titan intro because it comes during the best arc of the series.
The big reason I think this can be narrowed down to one word: Spoilers.
This outro is jam packed with them, spoiling many events that happen in the arc.
Erwin’s suicide charge, the thunder spear attack, Armin being horrifically burned before becoming the Colossal Titan.
If you look carefully enough you can be spoiled about all these things in the intro.
It feels like they could not bother to make a symbolic intro like the previous ones so just opted for a spoiler one to draw people in.
Not only this, but the intro also reuses some images from previous ones like “Guren no Yumiya” and has some pretty bad CGI with the Colossal Titan.
It also does not match with the arc once the fighting stops and the basement reveal begins.
So, that means there are three episodes where the intro plays and it does not mix with the story.
I will give “Shoukei to Shiabane no Michi” props though because the song itself is great, as expected of Linked Horizon, and its usage of slow motion is well done.
Also, while I did not like the majority of images in the opening, the final shots of the places from Armin’s book and the basement are magnificent and highlight what the characters are fighting for very clearly.
However, the intro’s positives are definitely outweighed by its negatives, making “Shoukei to Shiabane no Michi” the weakest of all the intros and outros.

9. Yuugure no Tori by Shinsei Kamattechan – Season Two Outro.

Like “Shoukei to Shiabane no Michi”, the reason I believe “Yuugure no Tori” is the weakest outro of Attack on Titan is because of spoilers.
The visuals of this outro actually shows the origins of the Titans a season before it was revealed.
Thankfully, I did not know what these visuals meant when I first saw them so the twist still worked for me.
But “Yuugure no Tori” still gives so many hints that some people may be able to guess what is being foreshadowing.
More than this, there are some visuals in this outro that we have not seen in the story yet so there is still more for it to spoil.
Aside from this, though, “Yuugure no Tori” is a great outro, bringing the creep levels to new heights.
The images are incredibly disturbing with their unique art style and gory imagery.
Then there is the song itself, which is purposefully distorted to bring across a feeling of unease.
The lyrics speak of choosing a clan, which may be another spoiler but we will have to wait and see.
In any case, “Yuugure no Tori” may deliver too much information but it is still good at making the audience feel unease and dread.

8. Name of Love by Cinema Staff – Season Three Second Outro.

When I first heard “Name of Love” I was not a big fan of it.
I did not hate it but I still felt that the outro showed a lack of effort through its imagery, just like its intro counterpart “Shoukei to Shiabane no Michi.”
However, after watching it again, I have actually come to appreciate it more.
Sure, the images are a little too simple, but they still succeed in their aim of conveying to the audience how much the characters have changed from their training days in season one.
When you compare the characters from the end of the Return to Shiganshina arc to how they appear in the outro, it is clear they are massively different from when we first met them.
Eren has gone from wanting to kill all Titans to understanding their suffering, Armin has become confident in himself and his plans, and Mikasa has learned she does not need to keep watching over Eren.
Then there are characters like Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie who used to be friends with them but are now deadly enemies.
The outro does a fantastic job at establishing these differences.
Not only this but the song “Name of Love” is also amazing.
I have found myself listening to it more and more as time goes on.
It is just a shame that the images of the outro are too simple.
They get the message across but are not anything special.

7. Utsukushiki Zankoku na Sekai by Yoko Hikasa – Season One First Outro.

Honestly, I never paid much attention to Attack on Titan‘s first outro, “Utsukushiki Zankoku na Sekai”, when I first started watching the anime.
After rewatching it for this list, though, I wished I had because it is certainly a great one.
The big thing that immediately catches your attention about the outro is its art style.
The almost painting-like shots, with the fade in movement, presents Mikasa’s journey from child to teenager in the cruel world she lives in brilliantly.
“Utsukushiki Zankoku na Sekai” begins in space, oddly enough, before it pans down to Mikasa on earth running toward, or most likely away, from something.
However, even if she is running, she cannot escape the cruelty of the world as illustrated by her running into a field of knives.
The look on her face when she realizes what she has run into and stops is palpable, with her finally deciding to face the cruel world with her own knife in hand.
From here, Mikasa grows into her teenage years and a brilliant burst of color emerges, different from the childlike innocence of the black and white, seen beforehand.
The outro ends with Mikasa seeing Eren, the one who made her realise she has to fight to survive, and walking towards him with the birds that have so often come to represent freedom in Attack on Titan flying overhead.
The first of the anime’s outros, “Utsukushiki Zankoku na Sekai” does a great job presenting the kind of symbolism that would be seen in future outros, which you will be seeing further down the list.

6. Shinzou wo Sasageyo by Linked Horizon – Season Two Intro.

“Sasageyo! Sasageyo! Shinzou o Sasageyo!”
Try not to get these lyrics stuck in your head after hearing this song and you will find it is impossible.
The intro for Attack on Titan‘s second season, “Shinzou wo Sasageyo” is a song that sings of sacrifice with plenty of amazing visuals that get the viewer hyped for the season.
Probably the best moment of this comes with those central lyrics I mentioned, which translate to “Offer up! Offer up! Offer up your hearts!”, accompanied by the visuals of the scouts going up against the Colossal and Armoured Titans.
This moment does a fantastic job of hyping the viewer up for an episode every time they watch it.
The intro is also great when it comes to individual character moments, highlighting the importance that some of them like Ymir and Historia have in the season.
Before rewatching it, I honestly thought “Shinzou wo Sasageyo” would be higher on the list than six but, when I went back to watch it, I saw that there are some things that hold it back.
One of these things is that some of the visuals, although great, are very confusing, like the shot where the Beast Titan is seen running with dinosaurs and whales.
The first time I saw this, it made me concerned that Attack on Titan was actually going to jump the shark by featuring these things.
Thankfully, it just turned out to be some kind of symbolism but, along with this, I also felt like a lot of the symbolism was inferior to that see in the other intros and outros further down the list.
Still, “Shinzou wo Sasageyo” is a fantastic opening with music that is sure to get stuck in your head.

5. Red Swan by YOSHIKI feat. Hyde – Season Three First Intro.

When I first started watching Attack on Titan season three, I was not a fan of its intro “Red Swan.”
Being the only intro song not done by Linked Horizon, I felt the song and the visuals of it were good but did not fit the series.
However, as the Uprising arc went on, I began to see how this is the perfect intro for the first half of season three.
A harmonious and reflective intro, but one that hides the darker side of the story, “Red Swan” is very symbolic.
There are so many amazing visuals, like a younger Eren running into his older self, and Erwin looking through a window at himself as a boy with his father, which shows how his past consumes him.
But my favourite visual of all has to be when the lyrics begin to ask questions about truth and belief (core themes of the arc) while we see a hand with a bloody cut over Armin.
This is almost certainly a representation of a Titan user cutting themselves to transform, symbolizing Armin becoming the Colossal Titan in the next arc.
“Red Swan” is just an amazing intro, with its reflective song, and great symbolism for characters like Erwin, Kenny and Armin.
It has really grown on me sine I first watched it.

4. Akatsuki no Requiem by Linked Horizon – Season Three First Outro.

While it took me a while to warm up to “Red Swan”, I took an instant liking to season three’s first outro “Akatsuki no Requiem.”
Much like “Utsukushiki Zankoku na Sekai”, Akatsuki no Requiem has a unique art style to it that draws the viewers in.
Its representation of Historia’s backstory is both moving and symbolic, with representations of the abuse she suffered, and of those who tried to make her life better.
The abuse can be seen in the symbolism from when a rock is thrown at Historia, causing her to sink beneath the waves overlooking the fence that keeps her trapped on her farm.
This is accompanied by the telling line, “those who cast stone, and those who they strike. Between them lies fences difficult to overcome.”
As for the hope, this comes in the outro’s most moving shot where Historia sees a young Ymir transform into adulthood before reaching out to her with a smile.
However, this hope vanishes when Historia’s hand passes through Ymir’s as if she is a ghost, symbolizing her tragic fate.
As a fan of the two’s relationship I greatly appreciated this moment.
There is also plenty of foreshadowing to the Grisha reveal and Frieda Reiss, which is well done.
Above all else, though, the song for this outro is just amazing.
Not to mention the incredible teaser for the second half of season three that was inserted halfway through this outro the final time it was played.
“Akatsuki no Requiem” is one of Attack on Titan‘s best outros and perfectly reflects the backstory and character arc of Historia in the Uprising arc.

3. Guren no Yumiya by Linked Horizon – Season One First Intro.

Admit it, you thought this was going to be number one.
In all seriousness, though, Attack on Titan‘s very first opening “Guren no Yumiya” is one of the most iconic anime intros out there, and for good reason.
Almost every anime fan would recognize “Guren no Yumiya” if they heard it, with its bombastic music and epic visuals.
It does an amazing job at hyping up the viewers for the war and slaughter to come in the series.
The dark symbolism of this intro is apparent right from its first few seconds where the very title of Attack on Titan is surrounded by chains, symbolizing how the people of the walls are essentially enslaved by their lack of knowledge about the outside world.
The lyrics work well with this symbolism, being equally dark as they speak about how praying will not save anyone.
There are also numerous stunning shots like the introductory one for Eren, Mikasa and Armin, and the long tracking shot of the cadets flying above Trost, until Eren strikes a Titan from above with the explosive line, “Jaeger!”
This intro just has so many fantastic moments.
As for why it is not higher, or even at number one where a lot of other people would place it, this is because I just like the intro and outro I placed as numbers one and two better with their fantastic use of symbolism, music and visuals.
Still, “Guren no Yumiya” is an iconic intro that gets you hyped for the series every time you watch it.

2. Jiyuu no Tsuba by Linked Horizon – Season One Second Intro.

One of the most underrated intros in Attack on Titan, “Jiyuu no Tsuba” is one that deserves a lot more credit.
It had a difficult job following up the excellent “Guren no Yumiya” and, in my opinion, it more than succeeded.
The intro sounds more like a national anthem than any other one in Attack on Titan, and it has amazing visuals and symbolism to boot.
The big character introduction shot, for example, does a brilliant job of foreshadowing the reveals that Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt will betray the Scouts.
Then there is the shot of Armin standing in blood rain before he focuses on a single thing, represented by a candle, showing how his mind works.
Even Hange losing her eye two seasons later is foreshadowed.
Another thing I have to mention about this intro is the credits.
The way they are implemented into the visuals just draws your eyes to them to the point that they actually look like they are part of the environment.
It really is impressive.
All of this is accompanied by another great Linked Horizon song that gets you rooting for the scouts.
“Jiyuu no Tsuba” is the best opening of Attack on Titan and I honestly considered putting it at number one, but its outro actually managed to top it.

1. Great Escape by Cinema Staff – Season One Second Outro.

Its funny how my favourite arc of Attack on Titan has the weakest intro and outro, in my opinion, while one of the weaker arcs, the Female Titan arc, has the best two of the series.
First there is “Jiyuu no Tsuba”, and now my favourite of all the Attack on Titan intros and outros “Great Escape” by Cinema Staff.
I really enjoyed this outro the first time I heard it, but came to love it immeasurably when I rewatched it after seeing season two.
This outro contains so much amazing symbolism in both its lyrics and visuals right from its opening lines.
After seeing a seed fall down a wall we then get a panning shot of all the cadets turned scout characters we will see.
The shot is accompanied by the lyrics, “Let’s say I’m not who I say I am, can you say then whether you are you?”
This line has so much symbolic meaning with many of the characters suiting it.
It could be referencing Reiner with his split personality that leaves him unsure of who he really is, or it could be referencing Historia who is hiding her true self because she is suicidal and wants to be remembered as a hero.
However, it is not just the lyrics that have massive symbolic value but the visuals as well.
When this line is said. and the shot pans, the characters are shown to be on two different sides of a wall.
Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Sasha, Jean and Connie are on one side while Reiner, Annie, Bertholdt, Ymir and Historia are on the other.
The significance of this?
Everyone on Eren’s side of the wall is being true to themselves while everyone on Reiner’ side is hiding something.
Once all of these secrets are revealed in season two it makes “Great Escape” an amazing rewatch.
With plenty of great action shots to go along with these symbolic lyrics and visuals, and also another interesting art style, it makes the outro worth viewing multiple times after each season to see if something new will be uncovered.
It is for all of these reasons that the second outro of season one of Attack on Titan “Great Escape” is my favourite out of all the intros and outros in the entire series.