While the Attack on Titan anime does a good job of adapting the source material, in some cases, there was more nuance on the page than on the screen. On top of that, there is a larger world outside of the experiences of Eren Jaeger. The story has been further fleshed out through multiple light novel volumes and manga, most of which the anime has never acknowledged.
As the light novels still offer important story context, it would only improve the anime, but in many cases, it’s far too late. We have gone through the main manga and the spin-offs to bring you a list of important moments in the world of Attack on Titan that should’ve had a place in the anime adaptation.
Who Invented the ODM Gear
The Before the Fall spin-off started 70 years before the story of Eren Jaeger and the breach of the wall by the Colossal Titan occurred. In this story, a man named Angel Aaltonen crafts defensive weaponry for the military but has never seen a Titan and has no idea what the enemy looks like outside of descriptions.
After Titan worshippers let one into the Shiganshina District, Angel knew it was his mission to create a way to kill one of the monsters considered immortal due to their regenerative abilities. This first prototype of the ODM Gear was called the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.
Considering this one piece of gear’s importance to the whole series, it’s weird that the anime never mentions Angel Aaltonen.
The First Titan Killed Was Mostly by Accident
Despite Angel’s desire to make a weapon for Titan-slaying, he first needed to gather information on their weaknesses. After the one from the Shiganshina District rampage had proven vulnerable to a sword made from the Iron Bamboo material, Angel rode out with the Survey Corps to capture a Titan.
As expected from a group of soldiers with no way to take down a Titan, the Survey Corps was decimated on this expedition. However, Angel’s best friend Solm (Solum in the manga) sacrificed himself for Angel to escape by setting off grenades at a Titan’s neck and killing it, giving the first hint at a weakness.
The Attack on Titan anime starts with the people in the walls already knowing how to take the Titans down, but a history lesson would’ve been a cool flashback.
A Titan Worshipping Cult Was Once a Thing
Presumably, those who lost loved ones from the Survey Corps to Titans were so traumatized that they turned to worship the Titans. This is somewhat understandable, as the Titans were a massive unknown. No one besides the Survey Corps had ever seen one, so the general populace created their own mental image of them.
Between the most every member being wiped out by the Titan that got into Shiganshina and most of the members being arrested later for other insane behavior, the cult died off rather quickly. Still, it’s weird to know that once happened, and there’s just no trace of it by the time Attack on Titan starts.
The civilization in the walls seemed so normal when the main story began, so it would’ve added to the story to show that it wasn’t always so mundane (except for the Survey Corps expeditions still being wiped out).