Anime as a medium has offered up some truly spectacular pieces of entertainment, with Attack on Titan being a standout example in this regard. The show's enrapturing setting and characters have become an instant hit among the fanbase, with the story of Attack on Titan taking some really wild turns and reaching a point where fans can't help but eagerly await the final few episodes to finally come out.Levi is one of the many standout characters in that show who has definitely endeared himself to the fanbase. His amazing skills coupled with a no-nonsense attitude have made him a very entertaining persona indeed. Of course, even Levi is susceptible to making some rather questionable decisions, with the following ones being the most egregious of the bunch.
7 Getting Manipulated By Erwin To Join The Survey Corps
Levi's backstory is explored in one of the anime's OVAs, where it's clearly mentioned that he had no intention of joining the Survey Corps. At that time, he preferred living his life to the beat of his own drum, which is something that still reflects in his attitude even now.
However, in his hunt for a life outside of the Underground, he decided to infiltrate the Survey Corps and steal some valuable documents. When things didn't go according to plan, it was a sincere talk with Erwin that convinced him to join humanity's cause. This might not be a mistake per se, but he definitely had to sacrifice his ideals and deal with some serious loss in his decision to join this branch of the military.
6 Letting His Friends Die
Before the events of Attack on Titan, Levi actually used to spend a rather carefree life with his two friends Furlan and Isabel. That being said, life in the Underground was pretty stifling after a while, and the trio decided to try and finesse the Survey Corps in a bit to get citizenship.
Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worst, and Furlan and Isabel became two of the many victims of Titans in the series. Their deaths shocked Levi to the very core, and he swore to fight against the Titans and always prove his strength against them.
5 Beating Eren Within An Inch Of His Life
In order to show the higher-ups that they won't be light on Eren, Levi decided to pull out all the stops in a brutal display that is still hard to watch at times. In front of the entire court, Levi beat up a helpless Eren who refrained from losing his cool and turning into a Titan.
While this beatdown was ultimately necessary to convince everyone that Eren could be a valuable pawn in humanity's fight against the Titans, the brutal manner in which Levi beat Eren down was certainly quite excessive. Most people could argue that he didn't need to cross a line to convince his superiors, although this is always going to be a contestable topic.
4 Watching Helplessly As His Squad Died
Given how Levi has accustomed himself to the death of the people around him, it's easy to assume that he has seen his fair share of traumatizing destruction at the hands of the Titans. It's a shame since this has led him to focus on the goal at hand and consider any human deaths to be necessary sacrifices.
This could be seen during the missing to weed out the Female Titan when Levi had to assume that nothing he do would objectively be the right thing and had to sacrifice some of his squadmates for Eren's sake. It's a harrowing moment that shows just how much Levi had to steel himself to protect one of humanity's most valuable assets.
3 Failing To Capture Zeke Yeager
The final assault on Shiganshina led to a ton of damages for the Survey Corps, with only a handful of members surviving this brutal assault. It was a rude awakening for the members, showing just how many losses they would've had to bear in their goal to reach the truth.
It didn't help that Levi also failed in his quest to abduct Zeke after being outsmarted by the Cart Titan. It was an unnecessary loss that made the sacrifices of all the new recruits mostly meaningless.
2 Choosing The Wrong Person To Become A Titan
This is easily one of the most controversial inclusions on this list. After all, Armin is definitely one of the smartest characters on the show, and having him alive would've obviously been a step in the right direction for humanity's struggle against the powers that held them back.
However, there's no denying the fact that Erwin's zeal and experience would've been a huge positive for humanity's fight as well. Ultimately, Levi let Erwin die to honor his wish to gain some peace, but his input would've been massive to expedite the fight of all the island's residents against the powers that be.
1 Being Helpless As His Squad Was Turned Into Titans
While trying to bring Zeke back to the Survey Corps, Levi fell right into the Beast Titan's trap and was forced to watch helplessly as his entire squad was turned into Titans. Of course, Levi wasn't fazed by this mistake in the slightest and completely annihilated the Titans who were once his squad members.
Following this, he promised to unleash new hell on Zeke for his atrocities. The show has yet to show how the stories of both these individuals pan out, and fans can't wait to see whether Levi will punish Zeke for everything he's done up till now.