Although some of the greatest anime are filled with iconic and rewatchable storylines, many are also clogged with filler episodes. Countless series are bloated by non-canon events either to make room for the source material to catch up or to pump out more content in the anime’s universe. So, how many filler episodes are in Hajime Isayama’s widely popular Attack on Titan?
All in all, Attack on Titan played out through four seasons and 89 episodes. Further, eight episodes dropped as Attack on Titan OADs (original animation DVD), a series that helped build the world and give deeper backstories to the likes of Levi. Let’s start with the show proper.
Anime Filler List is the anime community’s main encyclopedia for sharing not only the number of filler episodes in series, but also which episodes are canon, non-canon, and mixed. Well, according to the website, Attack on Titan is an anime with no full-filler episodes.
All of them are sourced from the manga and propel the dark and complex story forward. A handful of episodes contain some filler to round them out. Regardless, Attack on Titan’s main crop of episodes is revered as a no-filler anime. When fans watched it, they had to pay close attention because the episodes were packed with mind-bending revelations and tragic deaths — it was all gas, no brakes.
This is likely a pillar of why Attack on Titan is so beloved. There was so much to sink our teeth into every episode, and we weren’t wasting time on silly and non-relevant storylines like in Naruto/Naruto Shippuden and Bleach.
Attack on Titan’s OADs was mostly no filler as well. But, according to Anime Filler List, episodes two and three — “The Sudden Visitor: The Torturous Curse of Youth” and “Distress” — were fillers. For those who don’t remember, episode 2 follows Jean returning home and a cooking competition with Sasha, and episode 3 is about rivals Eren and Jean working together to save Christa from a group of thieves during their cadet training.
Episodes 4 and 5, No Regrets: Part 1 and Part 2, are mixed with canon and filler.
So, adding together all of the episodes of Attack on Titan, there are only two full filler episodes in the anime out of 97, or 2%. Let’s compare that to the other anime mentioned earlier.
Per the website, Naruto has a staggering 41% filler rate, which is bolstered by a nearly 100-episode run of non-canon content. Its predecessor, Naruto Shippuden, is around that as well, and Bleach sits even higher at 45% filler.
So, if someone is preparing for an Attack on Titan binge, they need to make sure they’re dialed in and their phone is in another room.