The wildly popular anime "Attack on Titan" has just begun. With a new series underway, the plot is only getting more exciting. While Attack on Titan is known for its many plot twists, new mysteries are being revealed one after another. In this article, we'll introduce the "Founding Titan" that appears in the series. It's said to be able to control all Titans, but what kind of abilities does it possess? Read on for more details!
Important Keyword! What is the Founding Titan?
The Founding Titan is one of the "Nine Titans" that appear in the series, and is the pinnacle of all Titans. Ymir Fritz's Titan transformation ability also falls into this category.
What abilities does it have?
The Founding Titan is the so-called ancestor of all Titans. While there are various types of Titans, it is the pinnacle of them all.
Its abilities include the ability to control Titans and alter memories. However, these abilities are only available to members of the royal family. Furthermore, even members of the royal family cannot unleash their true power due to the first King Reiss's "Vow of Non-Aggression." Of course, it had been passed down through the royal family for generations, but in 845 it was stolen by Grisha Yeager. Incidentally, Grisha is the father of the protagonist, Eren.
Who are the currently confirmed successors?
The power of the Founding Titan was stolen by Grisha at some point, but how was it inherited? Specifically, it was passed down from Ymir Fritz → Fritz II ~ Fritz X44 → Karl Fritz X45 (the first King Reiss) → Reiss II ~ Uri's father → Uri Reiss → Frieda Reiss → Grisha Yeager → Eren Yeager, and is currently inherited by the protagonist, Eren.
What are the Nine Titans? Including the Founding Titan!
From here, we'll take a closer look at the "Nine Titans," who play an important role in the story.
Ymir's History
The story takes place approximately 1,850 years before the events of the story. Ymir Fritz made a pact with the Devil of the Earth and gained the power of a Titan. After her death, Ymir divided her Titan power into nine parts and shared them with her descendants. These divided powers are known as "Titan transformation abilities." It has been revealed that only a maximum of nine people possess this ability. While there are many Titans outside the walls, and they come in a wide variety (including aberrant species), these are mindless Titans known as "Pure Titans," and do not possess the ability to transform into Titans.
What is Ymir's Curse?
Only the Eldians, descendants of Ymir, can inherit the "Nine Titans." In the story, these people are also known as "Ymir's People." Incidentally, inheritors of the "Nine Titans" have a lifespan of 13 years from the time of inheritance. The price of obtaining immense power is a set lifespan. This comes from the death of Ymir Fritz, the founder of the Titan family, 13 years after making the contract. This is known as the "Curse of Ymir." The inheritance method is by allowing oneself to be eaten. However, if one dies before this, the Titan transformation ability is randomly passed on to a newborn child of Ymir's People. Furthermore, the "Curse of Ymir" means that characters who inherit Titan abilities, such as Eren and Armin, die 13 years after inheriting them, meaning that they don't live very long.
What are the specific differences between Titans and Pure Titans?
The differences between the Pure Titans, who appear frequently throughout the series, and the Nine Titans are that they retain the intelligence they possessed before transforming into Titans and possess unique abilities not found in Pure Titans. Incidentally, the Attack Titan does not possess the latter ability. In other words, the Nine Titans are generally stronger than the Pure Titans.
Introducing the Nine Titans One by One!
From here, we'll introduce the Nine Titans in detail, one by one. While there's still much information about some Titans, let's go through them in order.
The Founding Titan
The Founding Titan, the focus of this article, is the most powerful of the Nine Titans and the leader of all Titans. It has the ability to control all of Ymir's people and the Titans derived from them, but only the direct descendants of Ymir Fritz can unleash its power. This would be what we would call the Reiss family today. They ruled the Eldian Empire for many years, but 100 years ago, the 145th king, King Fritz, abandoned his duties and secluded himself behind three walls on the northern territory of Paradis Island. (These three walls are the so-called Wall Maria, Rose, and Sheena walls.) The Reiss family took over from there, but Grisha attacked the Reiss family and devoured Frieda, the current heir, and stole her powers. He then had Eren eat him, inheriting the powers and bringing it to the present day.
Attack on Titan
This Titan is also the title of the series. Of the nine Titans, it's the only one, aside from the Founding Titan, to have escaped Marley's clutches. While it lacks unique abilities like the other Titans, the current Titan, Eren, gained the ability to harden his body after drinking a bottle of "Armor" possessed by Rod Reiss.
The Titan has been passed down from Eren Kruger to Grisha and then to Eren, and according to Kruger, it's "a Titan that has always fought for freedom." Furthermore, successors tend to choose "those with a strong desire for freedom" as their successor. It's clear that Eren was the perfect fit. After the fall of Eldia, the powers of the Founding Titan were passed down in secret among the remaining resistance on the continent. However, Kruger passed the powers of the Founding Titan to Grisha in order to steal them. After fulfilling his role, Grisha entrusted the Attack Titan to Eren along with the Founding Titan.
Colossal Titan
This Titan is the signature Titan of "Attack on Titan." He has appeared since the first episode, but his true identity is actually Bertholdt, a fellow member of the Scout Corps. This Titan also fell into the hands of Marley. His enormous size overwhelms most mindless Titans and allows him to emit hot air from his entire body. He invaded the walls as a "Warrior of Marley," but was ultimately defeated. Bertholdt was consumed by Armin, who had transformed into a Titan, and his powers were stolen. This means that Armin is now the heir to the "Colossal Titan."
Armored Titan
The heir to the title is Reiner Braun. He has the ability to stiffen his entire body. He too has fallen into the hands of Marley.
Female Titan
This Titan fell into the hands of Marley. It has the power to summon Titans and the ability to stiffen others. It is currently inherited by Annie.
Beast Titan
This Titan fell into the hands of Marley. It has the appearance of a giant monkey with long arms. Another notable feature is its ability to speak fluently even in Titan form. Incidentally, Mike Zacharias of the Scout Regiment was consumed by the Beast Titan, and his 3D Maneuver Gear was taken during the process. The current successor is Zeke Yeager.
Jaw Titan
This Titan fell into the hands of Marley, but went missing just before the story began. As its name suggests, its jaw is distinctive and extremely hard. It's said to be even harder than its hardening ability. Its successors are Marcel Galliard, Ymir, and Porco Galliard.
Cart Titan
This Titan fell into the hands of Marley. Its ability to walk on all fours gives it a high activation speed. Incidentally, the people within the walls call it the "Four-Legged Titan." The current successor is Peek.
War Hammer Titan
This is another Titan that fell into the hands of Marley. While it possesses the ability to harden, what distinguishes it from the Armored Titan is its ability to create various weapons and even its own Titan body. It can use these in combat. This ability was originally possessed by the sister of Willy Tybur, head of the Tybur family, an aristocratic family of the former Eldian Empire, but has now been passed down to Eren Yeager.
What is the "Coordinate"? How is it different from the Founding Titan?
The "Coordinate" appears as an important keyword in Attack on Titan. This also explains why Titans are gathering on Paradis Island. The "Coordinate" is actually a different name for the "Founding Titan."
Incidentally, the "Founding Titan" is what the Eldians call it, while the "Coordinate" is what the Marleyans call it. While it's been suggested that the distinction between the two terms is intentional, it's safe to assume that whenever the "Coordinate" appears, it refers to the "Founding Titan."
Who has the Coordinate?
Marley is convinced that the Coordinate is in Eldia. They're sending a large number of Titans to Paradis Island in order to seize it. Eldians have had their memories manipulated, and they believe that humans outside the walls are extinct. It's hard to imagine that the people of Marley are actually sending Titans into the world. And the current possessor of this "Coordinate" is our protagonist, Eren. Originally possessed by Eren's father, Grisha, it transformed Eren into a Titan and passed it on to his son, who then consumed his self-confidence. At the beginning of the story, Grisha gives Eren an injection, which had a significant meaning behind his Titan transformation. Eren finds himself in perilous situations many times throughout the story, all because he possesses the Coordinate.
What are Marley's true intentions in targeting the Founding Titan, the "Coordinate"?
As the story unfolds, the true motives of Marley become clear. Since the Coordinate is the ability to control Titans, it was thought that Marley was after that ability, but in fact, that's not all.
Titans are not the "strongest"
Throughout history, Fritz made a pact with the Devil of the Earth and used the power of the Titans to rule the entire earth. However, Marley subsequently seized seven of the nine Titans. Furthermore, by defeating Eldia in a war, Marley rose to become a powerful nation. However, as traditional war tactics began to become ineffective, Marley's enemies began to expand their modern military capabilities and even launch missile attacks. While Marley can control the Titans, they are merely used as tools to satisfy human desires and are not the strongest. It became necessary to quickly develop methods other than the Titans, specifically modern military equipment.
Marley Has Few Resources
Fossil fuels are essential for military development. However, this is not an easy task for Marley, a country with extremely limited resources. Amidst this, information arrives that Paradis Island is home to a vast amount of fossil fuels. Therefore, they decide to send a large number of Titans to take control of the island. Obtaining the coordinates is essential for control, and Marley is targeting them.
Marley's True Target: Fossil Fuel!
In other words, we learn that Marley doesn't just want the coordinates; their true target is fossil fuels. Stealing the coordinate is a prerequisite for this, leading to the story as it stands today.
Summary of the Founding Titan!
This concludes our summary of the Founding Titan, which appears in "Attack on Titan." While the world of Attack on Titan is incredibly deep, there are still many mysteries surrounding the Founding Titan, and various speculations are rife. With the new anime series currently airing and receiving rave reviews, we can only look forward to seeing even more of Eren and his friends' exploits. It'll be interesting to see how Eren and his teammates will fight.
Attack on Titan Related Products
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