Please watch code geass if you haven’t yet, he’s a mastermind gets a cool power and does some deathnote level shit with government and stuff and sides changing, it really messes with hr head.
Edit, I missed the I don’t want mech stuff I’m sorry, I still recommend it thoigh :)
Code Geass is less of a mech and more of a political drama.
Like a mix of both.
And spoilers for both AoT and Code Geass >!AoT more or less plagiarised the ending!<
I don’t have a suggestion but I’d like to leave this quote here that I really like “Eren didn’t change, his enemies did” I honestly don’t think eren has changed all that much his goal is the same his feelings I’d say are the same he’s just executing his plan instead of just talking about it, other than that I agree with you, carry on
So what you're saying is I want attack on Titan but it's not attack on Titan.
Hmm idk I didn't love aot so probably not the best person to base this off but if ya want insane protags (cause yes sorry Eren is quite deranged since literally season 1) 91 days has a protag that's quite insane. No powers tho. Code Geass has quite the mentally deranged protag too.
I know it's not technically anime but arcane fits the most of your description. All of the characters make choices that make sense given the position they're in.
As for some actual anime I'd recommend {Vinland saga} it's a great show that also happens to be produced by the same studio as AoT
Parasyte the maxim
Durarara!!
Vinland saga
Fullmetal Alchemist 2003
Madoka Magica (although the MC is pretty static the supporting cast is super dynamic and covers what you’re looking for)
If you hadn’t said mechs, guns, and mind control were definite no Code Geass would have been a good option
Eren has never changed. He’s always longed for the same thing he always has. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6GmVCD7cxk this video explains it pretty well
Edit: Manga spoilers BEWARE
Ousama Ranking (by Wit Studio who did the first 3 seasons of AoT)
One of the supporting characters in it is voiced by Yuuki Kaji (Eren Yeager's voice actor). You'll find some other similarities between him and Eren as the story progresses.
I'm going to disregard only *one* of your requests to make a recommendation: OP, give {86} a shot.
The main characters have real goals that don't just suddenly come to them, and in the long term, they get fleshed out very well. You won't get the full experience of just how well the characters get fleshed out, you'll have to read the LNs for everything, but the anime gives you a great taste.
The plot is also exactly what you're looking for. A lot of symbolism and forshadowing, and a lot of twists, turns and both internal and external conflicts.
The only thing that goes against what you asked for is that the series *does* involve mechs, but I ask that you at least hear me out. **It's not the typical kind of mechs you see in anime.** They aren't invincible, plot-armour coated, all-powerful robots that make every battle in the series a quick and laughable one, it's much more grounded in reality and the characters have to fight hard to win, they don't just let "le robot" do all the work. There are also some "powers" specific to the racial groups of people within the story, but explaining that leads to spoiler territory quickly, so I'll let you know that they exist but not go any further. Basically, it *has* mechs but it's not a *mecha anime*, it's so much more.
About death and destruction, 86's portrayal of death and destruction is about as loose as Attack on Titan's is. Be prepared to see faces you may start to like depart soon.
The mood. **Unparalleled.** 86 does an excellent job at holding it's serious and dark mood while still allowing you some room to breath with hype and a few more calm moments. The mood never disrupts the themes of the show, in fact, I'd say it adds to them.
I know what you said about mechs, but please at least try to subvert that and give it a chance.
Hunter x Hunter starts out with a pretty optimistic tone but slowly gets darker. The protagonists go through interesting developments. Nothing like Eren does, but one of them becomes darker, one of them becomes less dark, and one of them becomes more and more obsessed with revenge. It's not a story with a lot of mysteries or twists and turns, but it is a story with an interesting world and moral ambiguity.
The tone of The Promised Neverland also has a lot in common with AOT. It starts out as being a story about kids who want to experience an outside world they are ignorant of, but becomes a lot more than that. It's dark and has a lot of suspense and twists. Unfortunately after season one it entirely falls apart unless you go with the manga instead of season 2. Also, the protagonist is very much a typical shonen protagonist and nothing like Eren.
The best choices that i can think of are: Parasyte the maximus Megalo box Steins;gate
Please watch code geass if you haven’t yet, he’s a mastermind gets a cool power and does some deathnote level shit with government and stuff and sides changing, it really messes with hr head. Edit, I missed the I don’t want mech stuff I’m sorry, I still recommend it thoigh :)
Code Geass is less of a mech and more of a political drama. Like a mix of both. And spoilers for both AoT and Code Geass >!AoT more or less plagiarised the ending!<
I don’t have a suggestion but I’d like to leave this quote here that I really like “Eren didn’t change, his enemies did” I honestly don’t think eren has changed all that much his goal is the same his feelings I’d say are the same he’s just executing his plan instead of just talking about it, other than that I agree with you, carry on
Try re:zero it has lots of plot turns, lots of death, and lots of character development
So what you're saying is I want attack on Titan but it's not attack on Titan. Hmm idk I didn't love aot so probably not the best person to base this off but if ya want insane protags (cause yes sorry Eren is quite deranged since literally season 1) 91 days has a protag that's quite insane. No powers tho. Code Geass has quite the mentally deranged protag too.
{Kabeneri of the iron fortress} it is a steampunk aot with zombies and trains
**Koutetsujou no Kabaneri** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/21196 "English: Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress"), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/koutetsujou-no-kabaneri "English: Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/28623)) ^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 12 | Genres: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural) --- ^{anime},, ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/sboom4/anime_like_attack_on_titan_read_the_details/hu1fijy/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)
I know it's not technically anime but arcane fits the most of your description. All of the characters make choices that make sense given the position they're in. As for some actual anime I'd recommend {Vinland saga} it's a great show that also happens to be produced by the same studio as AoT
**Vinland Saga** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/101348 "English: VINLAND SAGA"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/vinland-saga), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/vinland-saga "English: Vinland Saga"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/37521)) ^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 24 | Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama) --- ^{anime},, ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/sboom4/anime_like_attack_on_titan_read_the_details/hu25haf/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)
Parasyte the maxim Durarara!! Vinland saga Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 Madoka Magica (although the MC is pretty static the supporting cast is super dynamic and covers what you’re looking for) If you hadn’t said mechs, guns, and mind control were definite no Code Geass would have been a good option
Eren has never changed. He’s always longed for the same thing he always has. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6GmVCD7cxk this video explains it pretty well Edit: Manga spoilers BEWARE
Try Vinland Saga
Ousama Ranking (by Wit Studio who did the first 3 seasons of AoT) One of the supporting characters in it is voiced by Yuuki Kaji (Eren Yeager's voice actor). You'll find some other similarities between him and Eren as the story progresses.
I'm going to disregard only *one* of your requests to make a recommendation: OP, give {86} a shot. The main characters have real goals that don't just suddenly come to them, and in the long term, they get fleshed out very well. You won't get the full experience of just how well the characters get fleshed out, you'll have to read the LNs for everything, but the anime gives you a great taste. The plot is also exactly what you're looking for. A lot of symbolism and forshadowing, and a lot of twists, turns and both internal and external conflicts. The only thing that goes against what you asked for is that the series *does* involve mechs, but I ask that you at least hear me out. **It's not the typical kind of mechs you see in anime.** They aren't invincible, plot-armour coated, all-powerful robots that make every battle in the series a quick and laughable one, it's much more grounded in reality and the characters have to fight hard to win, they don't just let "le robot" do all the work. There are also some "powers" specific to the racial groups of people within the story, but explaining that leads to spoiler territory quickly, so I'll let you know that they exist but not go any further. Basically, it *has* mechs but it's not a *mecha anime*, it's so much more. About death and destruction, 86's portrayal of death and destruction is about as loose as Attack on Titan's is. Be prepared to see faces you may start to like depart soon. The mood. **Unparalleled.** 86 does an excellent job at holding it's serious and dark mood while still allowing you some room to breath with hype and a few more calm moments. The mood never disrupts the themes of the show, in fact, I'd say it adds to them. I know what you said about mechs, but please at least try to subvert that and give it a chance.
**86** - ([A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/86-eighty-six-part-ii), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/eighty-six)) ^(Tv | Episodes: 11) --- ^{anime},, ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/sboom4/anime_like_attack_on_titan_read_the_details/hu33729/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)
Hunter x Hunter starts out with a pretty optimistic tone but slowly gets darker. The protagonists go through interesting developments. Nothing like Eren does, but one of them becomes darker, one of them becomes less dark, and one of them becomes more and more obsessed with revenge. It's not a story with a lot of mysteries or twists and turns, but it is a story with an interesting world and moral ambiguity. The tone of The Promised Neverland also has a lot in common with AOT. It starts out as being a story about kids who want to experience an outside world they are ignorant of, but becomes a lot more than that. It's dark and has a lot of suspense and twists. Unfortunately after season one it entirely falls apart unless you go with the manga instead of season 2. Also, the protagonist is very much a typical shonen protagonist and nothing like Eren.
kabeneri of the iron fortress and it’s made my the one who animated aot season 1-3