Attack on Titan: Who Is the Whale Titan? Opening Explained!

Attack on Titan is undoubtedly one of the most popular contemporary manga and anime series. Hajime Isayama’s series focused on the fight between humans, and the monstrous Titans has become a true modern classic with a large fandom from all over the world. And while Attack on Titan raises many interesting questions, we have decided to focus on just one in today’s article, and that is – is there a Whale Titan in the series? You will find out the answer to that question in this article.

A Whale Titan does not exist in the Attack on Titan series. The question is related to an opening of the anime where the Beast Titan is seen accompanied by numerous large animals on a destructive rampage, among them a couple of whales. Now, this is either just symbolic in terms of the anime’s opening or is another form that the Beast Titan can take based on its owner, but it is not a standalone Whale Titan.

The rest of this article will provide you with more details on the whales seen in the opening of the Attack on Titan anime. You’re going to find out everything you need to know about the whales and their connection to the Beast Titan, as well as whether any whale-like Titans have appeared in manga and anime. We have gathered all the necessary information for you in one place.

Who is the Whale Titan in Attack on Titan?

Before we continue, take a look at this video:

This was one of the openings for the Attack on Titan, and late on in the opening video, the ape-like Beast Titan can be seen accompanied by other giant animals, all of them on a destructive rampage, seemingly led by the Beast Titan. Among them are dinosaurs, an elephant, two whales, and other large animals, and they are seen wiping out the humans in front of them. This was preceded by several scenes showing various animals, mostly smaller ones.

Now, since the Beast Titan led these animals, many assumed that they were other Titans and that there is a Whale Titan. Still, we have to state clearly that there is no Whale Titan in the series and that the whale in the opening was either a real whale or some other form of an already-known Titan.

But, since anime intros are often symbolic and cannot be considered overly revealing in terms of the lore, there might be nothing to it, as the manga never contained any such scene. Be that as it may, we will explain the two theories surrounding the whale from the intro, but allow us first to tell you something about the Beast Titan as they are connected to him.

The Beast Titan is one of the most famous of the Nine Titans, and he is known for being the only one that actually resembles a real animal and that can speak normally. He is seventeen meters tall and first appeared on the Wall Rose. His appearance resembles a great ape’s with a fur-covered body, elongated limbs, and a primate-like face. He possesses full control of his intelligence and locution to speak, allowing him to lead large groups of pure Titans and the ability to operate perfectly well at night. At the same time, other Titans lose mobility without sunlight.

This titan also possesses the ability to transform human beings into controllable and specialized pure titans for different tasks through the ingestion of their marrow, such as the gluttonous titan and the high-altitude titans, as well as the ability to move freely, during the night, due to the light of the moon. He is interested in the 3D maneuvering gear as he delicately strips Mike of his gear to study it before allowing his fellow Titans to devour the soldier. The Beast Titan uses his primate build to scale the wall and throw objects with great power and speed. He can harden his body like other Titan Shifters to either attack or defend, which explains how he could easily injure the Armored Titan.

As we have said, the Beast Titan is closely related to both theories surrounding the enigmatic “Whale Titan,” which does not exist. This is why we needed to give you at least a brief description of the Beast Titan, as understanding it will make it easier for us to explain the “Whale Titan.” As we have said, there are two theories – one, that the whale in the opening is just a symbolic representation, and two, that it was actually a form of the Beast Titan that has never been seen. Allow us to elaborate.

Based on the first theory, which seems like a likely one given that anime intros aren’t really plot-related but are just separate works of art that enrich the overall anime experience, as well as the fact that no such scene was seen in the manga, the whale is just a symbolic representation of the destructive powers of the Titans. Namely, the whale is a large animal, and while it is not a predator in the same sense as sharks or killer whales, it is large, and no one really wants to cross paths with it because it has enormous destructive potential, although it is not destructive.

Seeing how the whale was led by the Beast Titan, alongside other large animals like a dinosaur, an elephant, and a giraffe, on a rampage that saw them wipe out the humans, it could be that the whale was a symbolic representation of the Beast Titan’s animalistic traits and nothing more. It was just a bunch of randomly picked gigantic animals that symbolized the Beast Titan’s animalistic and destructive traits, but it had no further lore-related implications. It is important to note that no such scene was seen in the manga, so we think there is nothing more to this scene.

But the second theory wants us to think otherwise. Namely, there is a running theory. However, that hasn’t been officially confirmed (or denied, for that matter) that the Beast Titan is not necessarily ape-like and that it just takes the form of a giant apex predator. Sure, a whale is not a predator, but it is a giant, and it can be quite dangerous. Based on the fact that illustrations of giant horses have been seen in the series, some fans have begun to speculate that the Beast Titan can take on different forms, including a whale. This would mean that the whales from the intro are just different iterations of the Beast Titan.

Now, we do know that the Beast Titan takes on various animalistic traits and that these traits can change based on the owner of the Titan, but how much he can change is debatable, especially because we do not know that it can change its species completely. The Beast Titan, albeit ape-like, has some human traits, while the whales and other animals in the intro had no human traits whatsoever. This is why this theory seems to be unlikely, although it is well-constructed.