During its initial manga run and anime adaptation, Attack on Titan was colloquially dubbed “Japan’s The Walking Dead.” Not for the inclusion of zombies, but instead for its gore and unflinching treatment of its characters. For those unfamiliar with the massively popular title created by Hajime Isayama, no character ever truly felt safe in the world of Paradis and beyond the walls. Supporting characters, such as Levi’s squad, who were initially presented as integral, were slaughtered in a matter of minutes in Season 1, Episode 20, to establish the threat of the Female Titan. A precedent in the story’s stakes would always be set with a death. However, of the countless casualties in Attack on Titan, one stands out as being overlooked, much like the character himself.
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Commander Keith Shadis, who trained the main cast of characters early on in the series, is a self-proclaimed bystander. Upon initial glance, viewers would perceive his character and introduction as just a stepping stone for Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and the rest of the young recruits who would go on to mold the series with their decisive battles and important decisions. However, Isayama, who has become well-known for subverting expectations and making almost every coincidence and detail matter, would bring Shadis back in an emotionally resonant way.
Attack on Titan Recontextualizes Shadis’ Journey in Season 3
Keith Shadis first appeared in the premiere episode of Attack on Titan, though you couldn’t blame first-time viewers for not noticing or paying attention to him at the time. It isn’t until a two-year time skip after the wall is breached that viewers get a much more focused view of the character. Training the 104th Scout Regiment, Shadis initially seems like the stereotypical no-nonsense instructor whom the main characters quickly surpass in their journey to going outside the walls. Eren’s big moment with Shadis would come when, after failing the ODM gear test multiple times, he would eventually pass through sheer will.
To appreciate the profundity of Shadis’ death, one must revisit the eleventh episode in Attack on Titan’s third season, aptly titled Bystander. As Eren and the rest of the cast desperately try to understand who exactly their enemy is beyond the walls, Shadis makes a surprising return. Upon seeing him in one of his father’s memories from the day the first wall was breached, the 104th visit Shadis and question him about his relationship with Grisha. Here, we get to know Shadis on a much more intimate level.
“I’ll tell you a story that’s of no value whatsoever to humanity. The story of my past. As nothing but a bystander.” – Keith Shadis, Attack on Titan Season 3, Episode 11
From learning how he gave up command of the scout regiment to Erwin, to admiring Eren’s mother from afar, viewers learn of a “bystander” who unknowingly brought Grisha inside the walls after discovering him wandering in the forest. It’s all incredibly moving as viewers see a self-deprecating character acknowledging his place in the anime’s story, almost as if through a meta-contextual lens. It would also make his next appearance all the more tragic.
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Attack on Titan: The Final Season Gives Shadis One Last (Unnoticed) Accomplishment
The beauty of Attack on Titan is how newly added context enhances earlier moments of the series, making rewatches feel that much more rewarding. Much of the Final Season is filled with moral quandaries, as Eren’s knowledge of the future drives a wedge between him and his friends. Yeagerists loyal to Paradis enable him to accomplish the Rumbling to try and wipe out the rest of humanity, with the rest of the cast desperate to stop it. During this War for Paradis arc, Keith has an emotional moment in which his trainees beat him to a pulp to show loyalty to the Yeagerists, claiming his ways of training are outdated. Later, Shadis shows them his capability and newfound relevance after saving them from Titans created by the Yeagerists.
Shadis, for being a background player, is a surprisingly soulful character who evolves along with the series. Watching the former Commander of the Scout Regiment make impactful decisions throughout significant series milestones, with the main cast primarily unaware of his involvement, makes the world feel much more lived-in. Like a cog, a part of a bigger machine, Shadis does his part to reflect the larger struggle’s impact on Paradis’s everyday people, making his ultimate sacrifice hit that much harder.
Besides the emotional reveal in Season 3, Episode 11, that he tampered with Eren’s ODM gear to keep him from becoming a scout, Shadis would again make one last crucial decision in Season 4, Episode 27, titled Retrospective. The episode mainly revolves around Reiner, Annie, Mikasa, Jean, and others fighting off Yeagerists who don’t want them to stop the rumbling. Hope seems lost as more Yeagerist reinforcements are arriving by train, until an explosion derails their plans, and our heroes can take off to stop Eren.
Shadis’ Underrappreciated Role Makes His Death One of the Most Tragic in Attack on Titan
It isn’t until the final minutes of Retrospective that it’s revealed Shadis is the one who set off the explosion. Having seen his former cadets free Annie and go to try and stop the rumbling, Shadis became inspired by their selfless act to try and do his part. It’s a touching final selfless act from a character who is largely underappreciated by everyone else in the series, especially as he stays behind with Theo Magath to blow up a boat the Yeagerists plan to use to catch Armin and the others.
Magath and Shadis, who are clear parallels to each other on Marley and Paradis, reflect on how far their students have come. Like two kindred souls who would have been close comrades in another lifetime, Magath and Shadis are eerily calm as they prepare to blow themselves and the boat up to buy their friends just a bit more time. No longer a bystander, Shadis is told by Magath that he’ll be remembered as one of the saviors of humanity, before being asked his name. It’s a small detail that makes everything that much more tragic.
While Shadis’ sacrifice may not be known to everyone, the viewers’ understanding of such a minor character’s struggles with self-worth and his eventual sacrifice makes his death one of the most impactful in Attack on Titan.
