Attack on Titan Watch Order: Complete Guide for 2026
Attack on Titan is 87 episodes across 4 seasons plus two feature-length finale specials. It is one of the most straightforward anime to watch in order — no complicated split cours, no decades of backlog — and it is completely finished. This guide tells you exactly what to watch, what to skip, and in what order.
The Short Answer
Watch this, in this order:
- Season 1 (episodes 1–25)
- Season 2 (episodes 26–37)
- Optional: Lost Girls OVA (after Season 2)
- Season 3 Part 1 (episodes 38–49)
- Season 3 Part 2 (episodes 50–59)
- Season 4 Part 1 / The Final Season (episodes 60–75)
- Season 4 Part 2 (episodes 76–87)
- The Final Chapters Special 1 (feature-length episode)
- The Final Chapters Special 2 (feature-length finale)
Total: 87 episodes + 2 specials. Roughly 37 hours. Completely finished.
Season 1 (2013) — Episodes 1–25
Studio: Wit Studio. Director: Tetsuro Araki.
The first season covers the Fall of Shiganshina and the 57th Expedition arc from Hajime Isayama's manga. Humanity lives behind enormous walls. Titans appear. Everything changes in episode 1.
This season has the most iconic moments of the early series — the wall breach, Eren's first transformation, the Female Titan arc. The animation from Wit Studio set a new standard for action anime in 2013 and holds up well today.
Do not skip any episodes. The pacing is tight — 25 episodes with almost no filler. Every episode advances the story.
The season ends on a cliffhanger that leads directly into Season 2. Do not look up what happens next.
Season 2 (2017) — Episodes 26–37
Studio: Wit Studio. Director: Masashi Koizuka.
Only 12 episodes, but some of the most efficient storytelling in the series. The Beast Titan appears. The truth about the walls begins to surface. Episode 31 contains one of the greatest twists in anime.
Season 2 was delayed four years after Season 1 — fans waited from 2013 to 2017. Watching it now you get it immediately.
Watch all 12 episodes. No filler. No padding.
OVAs — What to Watch and What to Skip
Attack on Titan has several OVA series. None are required to follow the main story, but some add meaningful backstory.
Lost Girls (2017) — 2 episodes — RECOMMENDED Covers Mikasa's backstory in more depth than the main series and gives Annie a dedicated episode exploring her past. Watch this after Season 2 and before Season 3. It fits naturally there.
Ilse's Notebook (2013) — 1 episode — OPTIONAL A short standalone story about a Survey Corps expedition. Fine on its own, has minor relevance to later lore. Watch or skip freely.
A Sudden Visitor (2014) — 1 episode — SKIP Pure comedy OVA. No story relevance. Only worth watching if you want a lighthearted break.
Distress (2014) — 1 episode — SKIP Another comedy OVA. Skip unless you want everything.
No Regrets (2014) — 2 episodes — OPTIONAL Levi's backstory before joining the Survey Corps. Interesting character history but the manga prequel covers it better. Watch after Season 2 if you want more Levi.
Bad Girl (2015) — 1 episode — SKIP Brief story from Annie's perspective. Skip it.
The Recap Films — SKIP Crimson Bow and Arrow, Wings of Freedom, and Roar of Awakening are compilation films that condense seasons into movie format. They cut scenes, reorder events, and add minor additional footage. They are not a good way to watch the series for the first time. Skip all three.
Season 3 Part 1 (2018) — Episodes 38–49
Studio: Wit Studio. Director: Masashi Koizuka.
The show changes direction here. Less Titan action, more political intrigue — the Royal Government arc and the Uprising arc. Fans debating whether this section is slow are wrong. The groundwork laid here pays off enormously in Part 2 and Season 4.
Kenny Ackerman appears. The truth about the king is revealed. Levi gets his best episodes of the entire series.
Watch all 12 episodes.
Season 3 Part 2 (2019) — Episodes 50–59
Studio: Wit Studio. Director: Masashi Koizuka.
Ten episodes. The return to Shiganshina. The battle in episode 54 — titled Thunder Spears — is the single best-animated episode Wit Studio ever produced. The revelations in the basement at episode 55 recontextualize everything that came before.
This is the peak of Wit Studio's run on the series. The answer to the question the show has been asking since episode 1 is here.
Watch every episode without skipping a second.
Season 4 Part 1 — The Final Season (2020–2021) — Episodes 60–75
Studio: MAPPA. Director: Yuichiro Hayashi.
The studio changed from Wit Studio to MAPPA for the final season, and the visual style shifts noticeably. The story jumps forward four years and opens in a completely different location with characters you don't recognise. This is intentional — stay with it.
MAPPA's use of CG for Titan movement divided fans on release. By episode 64, most viewers stopped noticing. The action sequences — particularly the attack on Liberio in episode 64 — are among the best in the series.
16 episodes. Watch all of them.
Season 4 Part 2 (2022) — Episodes 76–87
Studio: MAPPA. Director: Yuichiro Hayashi.
12 episodes covering the Marley arc's conclusion and the beginning of the Rumbling. The story moves faster here than anywhere else in the series. Character alignments shift. Allegiances that seemed permanent collapse.
Episode 80 (From You, 2000 Years Ago) is the most ambitious single episode of the series — MAPPA produced a visual style completely different from the rest of the show for one episode. It is extraordinary.
Watch all 12 episodes.
The Final Chapters Special 1 (2023)
A feature-length episode (approximately 60 minutes) covering the Rumbling's global consequences. Released March 2023 on Crunchyroll. The full-scale horror of what Eren set in motion is shown here without restraint.
Watch it immediately after Season 4 Part 2.
The Final Chapters Special 2 (2023)
The finale. Released November 2023. Approximately 85 minutes. The series ends here.
Whatever you feel about the ending — and fans are divided — you will want to have watched everything else before this. Do not look up anything about it. The debate about the ending is better experienced after watching than read about beforehand.
Complete Watch Order Summary
| What | Episodes | Notes | |---|---|---| | Season 1 | Ep 1–25 | All essential | | Season 2 | Ep 26–37 | All essential | | Lost Girls OVA | 2 eps | After Season 2, recommended | | Season 3 Part 1 | Ep 38–49 | All essential | | Season 3 Part 2 | Ep 50–59 | Series peak | | Season 4 Part 1 | Ep 60–75 | All essential | | Season 4 Part 2 | Ep 76–87 | All essential | | Final Chapters Special 1 | ~60 min | Required | | Final Chapters Special 2 | ~85 min | The ending |
Where to Watch Attack on Titan in 2026
- Crunchyroll — complete library, sub and dub, all OVAs, free tier available
- Netflix — available in most regions, select seasons only
Crunchyroll has everything including the OVAs and both finale specials. Start there.
Should You Read the Manga Instead?
The manga ended in April 2021 with chapter 139. If you have already watched the anime, reading the manga gives you extra panels and a slightly different ending sequence — but the story is the same.
If you want to experience the story for the first time, watch the anime. The sound design, the music by Hiroyuki Sawano, and the Titan battle choreography are core to why Attack on Titan hits as hard as it does. Reading it first loses that.
Attack on Titan is the rare anime that maintains quality across its entire run. Season 1 is excellent. Season 4 is excellent. The middle seasons are excellent. It earns every hour you give it.
For more essential anime to add to your list, read our best anime of all time ranking — Attack on Titan places in the top five. If you want something to watch after finishing it, our anime like Attack on Titan guide has ten series that scratch the same itch.
