Kenny Ackermann (Anime)

Kenny Ackermann (ケニー・アッカーマン) is the captain (隊長) of the Anti-Personnel Control Squad in the Military Police Regiment. Kenny is a former serial killer who would slit his victims' throats, considered by some to be an urban legend known as Kenny the Ripper (切り裂きケニー). He raised Levi Ackermann and taught the latter as a child how to survive.

Appearance
Kenny has shoulder-length brown hair, a thin beard along his jawline, and gray eyes. He is a very tall and slim man who appears to be well-built. He has the appearance of a middle-aged man with wrinkles around his eyes, which are small and piercing. He wears a simple white shirt and black pants, along with a fedora hat.

When he was younger, Kenny had a more defined face and much fewer wrinkles. He did not have a beard but he still had dark sideburns. Also, his hair seemed to be slightly longer. He used to wear a long coat, dark trousers and shoes, a white button shirt and another hat.

Personality
Despite his previous life as a serial killer, Kenny appears to be a rather jovial man. Even in the midst of battle, Kenny has no trouble remaining cheerful, seemingly taking pleasure in taunting his adversaries. He has also proven to be rather animated in how he behaves, yelling and making a scene when he corners Levi in a tavern, and throwing furniture to try to provoke Levi. Despite this, he can seemingly control himself when he needs to, being able to sneak up on his targets without them noticing him.

Kenny has also proven himself to be very cold, showing no emotion when he kills his prey. He also seems to hold very little emotional attachment to those close to him, having no qualms with trying kill Levi, despite having raised the man as a child.

History
At some unspecified point, either before or after becoming a serial killer, Levi recalls Kenny saying he felt a sudden inexplicable surge of power and with it he knew "exactly what to do."

Kenny made a name for himself as a mass murderer, infamous for having managed to kill over 100 members of the Military Police Regiment.

One day, after having killed some MPs who were snooping around his grandfather's house, Kenny went to visit his grandfather. He informs his grandfather that he has learned of a branch of their family that is living in Shiganshina District, but notes that they are living in poverty due to interference by the MPs in their area. Reminding his grandfather that their family used to serve the king, he demanded to know why they are now being treated the way that they are. His grandfather explained that the king fears their family, because they are immune to his power which allows him to alter the memories of the Walls' people and control them and that they faced persecution because they, along with the Oriental clan, chose to turn their backs on the king's ideology.

Kenny also informed his grandfather that he had managed to find his sister, Kuchel, working in a brothel in the Underground. He was unhappy to learn that had been impregnated by one of her clients and intended to keep the child, and sullenly mused that there was no dream worth living in the world that they did.

He lived with Levi for a while when Levi was young. While they were living together, Kenny taught a number of battle tactics, including the strategy of always flanking one's opponent and attacking them from behind. After some time, Kenny abandoned Levi for unknown reasons.

At some point, Kenny joined the Military Police, rising to the rank of Captain.

The Fall of Shiganshina arc
In the year 845, days after the fall of Wall Maria, Kenny arrives with a group of soldiers at Historia Reiss' home. He grabs Historia's mother and asks Rod Reiss if she and Historia are related to him. Rod Reiss denies it and Kenny slits Alma's throat. He approaches Historia to kill her too, but Rod Reiss orders him to stop and saves her life, giving her the new name "Christa Lenz" to live by.

The Uprising arc
Tasked with bringing Eren Jaeger and Historia Reiss to Rod Reiss, Kenny and Caven begin staking out the cottage that Levi's squad is staying in, and the experiments conducted on Eren's Titan form.

The two watch as Military Police unsuccessfully attempt to raid the cottage and detain its occupants, with Kenny commenting that Levi was able to mobilize his subordinates fast enough to avoid capture because of his training.

Kenny follows Levi's squad to Trost District, where he employs the help of Dimo Reeves and the Reeves Company to kidnap Eren and Historia. Although the locals kidnap decoys, Kenny sees through the ruse and tracks down the real Eren and Historia. Seeing that Levi is keeping watch over the covered wagon that Eren and Historia are in from afar, Kenny flanks Levi and his companion Nifa in order to kill them. Although he is successful in killing Nifa, Levi anticipates Kenny's flanking maneuver and manages to survive his attack.

As Kenny's subordinates kill another of Levi's companions, Kenny jovially insults Levi's small stature as he reloads his guns and uses his ODM gear to get another clear shot. Levi manages to escape, dodging Kenny's gunshots as he flees. Kenny's squad pursues Levi, eventually forcing him to take shelter in a nearby tavern.

Kenny follows Levi into the tavern, but is not able to find him. Concluding that Levi is not there, he is caught off guard when Levi begins to talk to him from under the counter. Levi expresses amazement at Kenny's working with the Military Police, but Kenny brushes him off, claiming that he would not understand such adult matters. Kenny continues to taunt Levi, criticizing his decision to join the Scout Regiment and throwing chairs over the bar to antagonize him. As he tries to get closer to Levi, Levi shoots him with the tavern owner's gun. Kenny manages to block the bullet with a chair, saving his life, but is knocked out of the tavern by the force of the impact.

As Levi makes his escape, Caven  comes to check on Kenny. Kenny notes Levi's growth since they last parted, and laments that his dream is slipping away from him. Having personally given up the pursuit of Levi, Kenny delivers Eren and Historia to Rod Reiss.

Learning that Reeves has double crossed the Military Police and sided with the Scout Regiment, Kenny tracks down Reeves and, under the cover of night, kills him. Caven is concerned that he did not attempt to find out Levi's location from Reeves, but Kenny assures her that Levi will eventually come to them. A day later, he would oversee members from the Scout Regiment being arrested while reminding Caven that Levi will show up on his own eventually.

In the cavern under the Reiss Chapel, Kenny listens on as Rod helps Historia unlock her memories of her sister Frieda, and Eren his memories of his father's last moments. As Historia absorbs the information, Kenny reveals himself, and informs Rod that the military has switched sides, overthrown the puppet king, and taken over with Dhalis Zachary in charge. He encourages them to hurry, as they are almost certainly being pursued. Rod orders Kenny to take his squad and guard the entrance to the chapel, as he can only move forward once the Anti-Personnel Control Squad leaves. Clearly displeased, Kenny tips his hat and departs. As he leaves, he recalls one of the last conversations he had with his grandfather.

Kenny arrives at the mouth of the cavern to find his squad engaged with Levi's, arriving just in time to save Caven from Levi. Like in their previous encounter, Kenny tries to flank Levi, but this time Levi is ready to counter him. Kenny begins firing at platforms stationed throughout the cavern, distracting Levi with the debris created in order to get in close and attack him with his knife. As Levi tries to get out of range Kenny fires at him again, but Levi uses a pouch of gasoline to block the blast, creating an explosion. Levi uses the cover provided by the explosion to get in close with his swords, and although Kenny is able to block the majority of Levi's strike with his knife, he is still dealt a sizable cut to his midsection. Kenny and his squad retreat farther into the cavern, with Kenny firing off one last shot at Levi as he flees.

Kenny returns just in time to hear Rod reveal to Historia that the Founding Titan's power can only be fully realized by a member of the Reiss family. He asks Rod to confirm what he just said about only a Reiss being able to obtain the Titan's power, which he does. Having planned to become a Titan himself and steal Eren's power, Kenny becomes visibly distraught as he realizes that his plan is pointless.

Growing angry, he lifts Rod into the air by the collar and begins to threaten him, upset that Rod knew his intentions and strung him along. Rod replies that he is grateful but also that he was unaware why his brother ever took "a dog like you" off the streets. Kenny interrupts him and says that if he insults Uri once more, he will blast Rod's face in half. Historia knocks Kenny's gun away, demanding that he let go of her father. Kenny reminds her that Rod is trying to turn her into a monster who will eat Eren, but Historia replies that she will do it if it is her mission, adding that there is nothing sad about saving humanity. Kenny reminds her what Rod did to her; that her birth was a tragedy and only conceived because Rod wanted to feel good with a servant. Kenny does not believe the notion that Rod saved Historia out of love and claims that he only did it because Grisha killed the rest of his children and he needed Historia's blood, which is why the Order of the Walls had been keeping an eye on her.

Kenny begins shoving a knife down Rod's throat as he claims that Rod did not want to turn himself into a Titan and so used his family. Kenny claims that Rod covered up the theft of the Founding Titan's power in order to keep the Reiss family in power, and did not start talking until after Eren saved Trost District, which was only after innumerable sacrifices. Kenny concludes that Rod only cares about protecting himself and not his family, humanity, and especially not Historia. To Kenny's surprise, Rod is able to pull the knife out of his throat and tells Historia that Kenny is wrong. He admits that he has not told Historia some things but does reveal that he can not become a Titan himself for an unspecified reason.

Kenny releases Rod, and Rod tells him that he is free to leave and should go live a long life. Kenny sullenly remarks that Rod's suggestion would not be very fun, before ascending the stairs towards Eren, telling him to turn into a Titan, to the horror of the two Reisses. Kenny says that both Historia and Eren can become Titans and fight to the death, with peace returning if Historia wins and nothing changing if Eren wins. He slices Eren's forehead to help him transform, and asks Rod if he can truly call dying of natural causes living.

Kenny uses his ODM gear to pull himself up to a safe distance while remarking to himself that he should get away from what is about to happen. However, Kenny gets very surprised when Historia hesitates to inject the serum. He even starts laughing after Historia rejects the serum, harms her father and tries to release Eren, cheering the two for making things far more interesting. However, when Rod transforms himself into a Titan, Kenny gets dragged by Rod's heat and sheer size, cursing Rod for becoming a Titan. As Kenny tries to escape using his ODM gear, he sees his squad coming towards him. He tries to warn them to stay away, but is only able to watch as they are crushed under the falling debris.

While his squad is crushed in the falling debris from the cavern, Kenny manages to survive and escape. However, he is heavily injured in the process, receiving severe burns all over his body from Rod's transformation. As he exits the remains of the cavern, Kenny slowly makes his way to a nearby tree, where he takes off his armor and collapses. As he rests, he recalls the day that he abandoned Levi as a child, but his reminiscing is interrupted by the arrival of Levi himself. Levi observes that Kenny's injuries have left him on the verge of death, and Kenny responds by smugly revealing that he has a Titan injection, which could allow him to save himself.

Relationships

 * Levi Ackermann - Kenny trained Levi when they were younger, and they even lived together. He appeared to have some respect for Levi since he called him "his pride" and though he respected Levi, his dream appeared to be killing him. The meaning behind their similar last names implies a familiar relationship, however Levi was unaware of his last name until he was told by a soldier, though he was not surprised by him being an Ackermann.


 * Rod Reiss - Though initially Kenny seemed to be loyal to Rod, being a sort of "right-hand man" for him, it was later revealed that he does not like him at all, believing that he is a coward that only cares about himself, and only obeyed him because he wanted to steal the Founding Titan from him. When Rod revealed that the Founding Titan would be useless if it were not used by a member of the Reiss bloodline, Kenny showed his true colors and did not hesitate to insult and threaten Rod.


 * Historia Reiss - Kenny killed her mother, Alma, without hesitation and was going to kill Historia had Rod not intervened. Years later, he insulted her when he captured her and Eren, saying that in the five years since he last saw her, she has barely grown. However, he appeared to pity her, as he tried to tell her that Rod was going to make her turn into a Titan and eat Eren and told her that Rod was a liar and a coward.

People killed

 * Alma
 * Nifa
 * Dimo Reeves
 * Over 100 members of the Military Police Regiment

Failed attempts

 * Levi Ackermann

Trivia

 * Hajime Isayama has stated that Kenny's character was partially inspired by the character Trevor Philips from.

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Kenny Ackermann (Anime)