Mikasa Ackerman

Mikasa Ackerman (ミカサ・アッカーマン), formerly the best trainee among the 104th Trainees Squad and now a member of the Survey Corps.

Appearance
Mikasa is very fit and has chin-length black hair. Originally, she wore her hair long, but when Eren told her to cut it since it would be a hindrance during training, she did so in spite of Jean Kirstein telling her how beautiful it is just before that. Her height is average, she has light skin and black, calmly looking eyes.

As a soldier, Mikasa is often seen wearing the uniform consisting of a short light brown leather jacket with the badge of the Survey Corps on both shoulders, on the front left pocket and on the center of the back, a light-colored shirt, a dark brown sash around the waist covering the hips, white pants and dark brown knee-high leather boots. She is also seen waring a green cape with the symbol of the Survey Corps, often used during the legion's travels outside the Wall. A unique part of her attire is a black (red in the anime) scarf, which was given to her by Eren after saving her from the human traffickers. Because of that, it is very precious to her as she's almost never seen without it.

Personality
Mikasa is considerably more withdrawn after the murder of her parents; however, she still loves and cares deeply for her friends, especially Eren and Armin, seeing them as the last remnants of a family she cannot afford to lose. Her personality as a teenager is very much influenced and molded by Eren when as children they killed robbers who killed Mikasa's family, with Eren telling her that the world is a cruel place and she has to fight to survive - words that stayed with her till this very day and became the very drive for her to train herself to be one of the best soldiers ever seen.

Mikasa has a strong sense of right and wrong, but she is also very protective of Eren and does all she can to advise him to follow what she deems to be the right track. Despite that, she knows well that she cannot always sway Eren in his decisions, as such she made it a point to follow Eren to almost everywhere he goes and stick by whatever final decisions he makes, just so that she can be around to help him out when he is in trouble. She takes Eren's opinion so seriously that when he once said that her hair was too long, she immediately had it cut, even though Jean had just commented that it looked beautiful. Yet, for all her blind loyalty, Mikasa is also very level-headed. Her will is remarkably strong as she is seen to not lose her cool and being at a lost of what to do no matter how bleak the situations she is in seem to be, shown when even though it was believed that Eren was dead, she concentrated on keeping everyone else alive and not giving in to grief as many of her comrades are doing. Owing to her protectiveness of Eren, if he is ever in danger, Mikasa will stop at nothing to keep him safe, to the point of being willing to take on soldiers who try to execute Eren and relentlessly attacking the Female Titan when she captured Eren.

However, Mikasa also often blushes when Eren is involved, such as when Ian mentions he believes Eren is Mikasa's boyfriend during the reconquest of Trost, when Armin leaves her alone with Eren after capturing the Female Titan or, in more recent events, when she thanks Eren for everything he has done for her.

History
Mikasa and her mother were the last of their clan and the oriental race. Before her parents' death, she lived peacefully with them in the farmlands of Wall Maria. Mikasa underwent a painful scarring ritual from her mother, whom cut into her skin the mark of their oriental clan. Being the last of their race made them high value targets to human traffickers, who killed Mikasa's parents and kidnapped her when she was only 9 years old.

She was rescued by Eren who tricked and killed two of the slavers. He was then overwhelmed by the third trafficker and on the verge of being strangled. Desperately, Eren urged Mikasa to fight to win. Although she was initially frightened, she came to realize that "this world is a callous and merciless place" and dispatched the kidnapper who was trying to kill Eren. That was when she was given the scarf by Eren and accepted into his family. This event awakened the fighting instincts and perfect self-control that would later turn her into a formidable soldier. She lived with Eren's family in Wall Maria's Shiganshina District until it was destroyed by the Colossal Titan.

Fall of Shiganshina arc
Mikasa appears for the first time in year 845 somewhere inside Wall Maria. She is seen waking Eren up, telling him that they need to return to home. She is then surprised to see tears in his eyes. On their way home, they meet Hannes. Mikasa watches as Eren complains about the soldiers slacking off while on duty. Later, both Eren and Mikasa watch the return of the Survey Corps forces, witnessing yet another failure of their expedition. After returning home, Mikasa tells on Eren, telling his parents about his desire to join the Survey Corps. Annoyed, Eren leaves, with Mikasa following him. They save Armin, who is being beaten by local bullies and together discuss their desire to go outside the Walls.

At that moment, the three kids witness the sudden appearance of a Colossal Titan the breach the Wall's gate. Mikasa and Eren run back to their home to find it crushed and their mother trapped under the debris. In spite of their attempts, Mikasa and Eren are unable to free her and with the help of Hannes, they get away as they watch their mother getting eaten alive by a Titan. Mikasa and Eren then get on a ship just as the Armored Titan breaks through the inner gate, letting the Titans inside Wall Maria. This is when Mikasa witnesses Eren's vow to kill all the Titans. Once inside the safety of Wall Rose, Eren confronts a soldier from the Stationary Guard who manifests his annoyance for having to share their food with outsiders. Since this causes Eren to claim that he will retake Wall Maria with his own hands and insult Armin, Mikasa has to punch him to bring him back to his senses. She then declares that she will do everything to keep him alive.

104th Trainees Squad arc
After the events of the Wall Maria's destruction, the government's desperate attempt to reclaim the lands using the refugees leads into nothing but more casualties. This prompts Mikasa, Eren and Armin enroll into the army and they become members of the 104th Trainees Squad.

During their training, Mikasa helps Eren as much as she can as he initially fails to grasp the basics of the 3D Maneuver Gear. However, they manage to get through and Mikasa quickly proves her skills, being praised as one of the best trainees in the history. At one point, Mikasa asks Annie to teach her a move that she was teaching Eren, which eventually calls for a bet with the 104th Trainees Squad to see who is the stronger fighter. After the 104th Trainees Squad's graduation, she ends up ranked first.

Battle of Trost District arc
Before having the chance to fully apply in the Survey Corps so she can keep Eren safe, the Colossal Titan breaches Wall Rose the same way it did with Wall Maria. Much to her dismay, Mikasa is assigned to the rear guard to help fend off the Titans while the civilians escape into the safety of Wall Shina. Mikasa, before fulfilling her duty, makes Eren promise her not to do anything reckless.

Later on, as an abnormal Titan approaches the escaping civilians, Mikasa kills it, saving everyone. She then witnesses why the civilians are taking too long to escape: a cargo blocking the way. Mikasa asks the businessman to move the cargo so that the people would escape, but when he refuses, Mikasa threatens him, which scares the businessman. Seeing a mother and daughter being grateful to her, Mikasa for a moment is brought back to the time she lost her own parents and realizes that Eren is the only family she has. Thus, with the evacuation of Trost District citizens complete, she heads to the front guard in order to aid her comrades. However, the sole trainee survivors are low on gas, making them unable to scale the Wall while the supply team inside the headquarters has barricaded themselves in against the onslaught of multiple Titans. After hearing Eren's supposed death, Mikasa regroups the survivors and insults them, motivating them to break through the Titans assaulting the headquarters.

However, due to her not rationally thinking after hearing Eren's supposed death, she does not notice that she's running out of gas. As two Titans close in on her, she contemplates giving up and begins to remember her time with Eren, when suddenly, she remembers Eren yelling at her to fight, which gives her motivation. When Mikasa stands up to kill the Titan in front of her, another Titan comes running from behind and saves her. This Titan, which ignores Mikasa, gives Armin enough time to rescue Mikasa and they both continue heading to the supply HQ. As they watch this rogue Titan continue killing other Titans, they hatch a plan to lure it to the HQ and relieve the siege there. With its help, the trainees manage to successfully refill their gas tanks and have clear access to the Wall.

However, as they watch the rogue Titan dispose of the last Titans surrounding them, Eren appears out the nape of its neck. Overcome with relief that Eren is alive, Mikasa quickly rescues and embraces him and together, everyone leaves for the Wall. However, Jean along with Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt are ordered to hand Eren over to superior officers under the command of Kitts Verman and to treat the incident as something confidential. This, however, causes Mikasa and her friends to be accused of treason and find themselves surrounded by Captain Verman's men who are prompt to execute them. Mikasa attempts to defend Eren to point that she threatens the soldiers, but witnessing Eren's Titan form fighting in Trost District, Verman does not hesitate and orders a cannon to fire at Eren, in spite of the latter's claim that he is a human. Eren uses his power to defend himself, Mikasa and Armin and thinks of a plan to have Armin persuade the soldiers. After a tense standoff, they are saved when Commander Dot Pixis, head administrator of the southern region, intervenes. They are sent on a mission to stopper the breach in the Wall with a rock that only Eren in Titan form can lift.

As the mission commences and Eren goes into Titan form, he loses control, attacking Mikasa, and eventually knocks himself out. The elite team, lead by Ian Dietrich, Rico Brzenska and Mitabi Jarnach, designated to defend Eren as he carries the rock, quarrel among themselves about what to do next. Mikasa is on the verge of attacking them until Ian orders everyone to continue protecting Eren until he recovers. Thanks to Armin's intervention, Eren eventually snaps out of it and successfully places the rock down, albeit with many casualties. At that moment, they are saved by Levi as he kills the Titans approaching them.

The Female Titan arc
After the battle of Trost District is over, Eren is brought before a military tribunal to decide his future. Despite Mikasa's best efforts to defend him, she is forced to testify against Eren as his reckless actions have frightened many people in the courtroom. Some time later, Mikasa and everyone else have their 3D Maneuver Gear inspected in order to find out the culprit who killed the two captured Titans. Later on, Commander Erwin Smith comes to recruit new members for the Survey Corps which is scheduling an expedition within a few months. Many leave except for Mikasa, Reiner, Armin, Sasha, Krista, Connie, Jean, Bertholdt and a few others.

Mikasa is then seen to be a part of the 57th expedition. Shortly after leaving for Wall Maria, the Female Titan appears and defeats numerous Survey Corps members. The formation eventually reaches the Forest of Giant Trees, with Mikasa being stationed at its outskirts, making sure that no Titans enter the forest. Eventually, she attempts to approach Eren as she hears his roar in his Titan Form. Upon reaching Eren's location, she witnesses the Female Titan devouring Eren's human body. After overcoming the initial shock, Mikasa charges at the Female Titan, cutting it up in order to rescue Eren. However, she is unable to do so until she teams up with Levi. They manage to take Eren back and join the rest of the rest of the formation. While heading to the Walls, the formation is attacked by multiple Titans brought by a couple of rookie soldiers who disobeyed a direct order from Commander Erwin, and Mikasa must save the rookies who are caught by the Titans.

Following the Survey Corps's failure, Armin manages to convince Annie to help them out until they can gather evidence to prove to the King that the Walls need to be protected better. During that time, Mikasa takes a notice of the lack of diligence and honor in the Military Police. She prepares for battle when she gets fed up with Annie's games and excuses. She takes off her disguise and draws out out her sword to fight her, promising to "cut up the Female Titan one more time".

In the following battle, Mikasa learns that Eren in his Titan form isn't powerful enough to defeat Annie by himself. Being the strongest and most powerful soldier herself, she decides to take the fight to her. Despite being ordered to pull away by Hange, Mikasa manages to make it to Annie as she attempted to climb over Wall Sina to escape to the flat lands. Since Annie had already climbed more than half way towards the top of the Wall, Eren throws Mikasa upwards so she can catch up with the Female Titan, and cut off all her fingers. She then proceeds to push Annie off to fall to the ground. Annie is therefore captured, but encases herself in a crystal to avoid interrogation. However, it was far from over as Mikasa has just taken noticed of a Titan inside the Wall. As both the Survey Corps and Military Police take an encased Annie underground to detain her, Mikasa realizes the Titan hiding in Wall Sina is alive, but is too weak to move due to a lack of sunlight. Mikasa remains at Eren's bedside as Armin and Jean head down to a meeting involving Erwin and the Military Police.

Clash of the Titans arc
Following the supposed breach of Wall Rose, Mikasa, Eren and the other members of the Survey Corps come to rescue Reiner and the others from the other Titans. She is among the others who learns of Krista's real name being Historia. After they reach the top of the Wall, Mikasa is outraged when she overhears Reiner confessing that he and Bertolt were the Titans responsible for the attack on Wall Maria and wanted Eren to join them. She takes them by surprise, attacking them with her swords and tells Eren to run. However, she fails to kill them as Reiner stops her from doing so, transforming afterwards and attempting to kidnap Eren. While Eren transforms, and engages in battle with Reiner, Mikasa faces her own troubles and regrets for not cutting off both his and Bertholdt's heads when she had the chance. During the fight with Reiner, she sees Eren in trouble and tries to fight him off. However due to the thickness of the armor, Mikasa has a hard time slicing the nape of Reiner's neck. Eventually, Armin sees a weak link in Reiner's line of defense in which his armor is breaking and gives Mikasa extra blades to replace her own. Taking advantage of the information, she cuts him at the back of the knee caps. However, Bertolt manages to save Reiner thanks to his abilities of the Colossal Titan, knocking out most of the soldiers in the process.

Later, Mikasa along with Hange and others from the Survey Corps are injured from the heat blast from Berthold's Titan from. While Armin helps them recover, he gives Mikasa the news that she was dreading to hear: Eren along with Ymir was kidnapped by both Reiner and Bertholdt. Taking the scarf that he gave her, Mikasa covers her face with it and asks why Eren always runs off on them like that. She feels like she has failed in keeping her adoptive mother's promise in always protecting him and weeps. As Armin tries to console her, Hannes arrives to give out rations to the Legion. It was him who reminds her that despite him running off the way he does and often losing fights, he never gives up on them. Even thought the odds are stacked against him and he is unwilling to admit it, Hannes always knew that Eren relied on both Mikasa and Armin when he needed them. His words and his assistance reinvigorated them and are more determined to rescue Eren. Mikasa lowers her scarf and begins eating.

She spearheads the attack on the traitors, aggressively chasing them down as they attempt to flee from the Forest of Giant Trees. Realizing that armor was protecting Reiner's joints this time, she instead targets Ymir and slashes into her face. Afterwards, she attempts to kill Bertholdt, who escapes by hiding between the Armored Titan's throat and his hands. Changing targets again, she prepares to try to kill Ymir and is only stopped when Krista intervenes. However, she is unmoved by Krista's words and threatens to kill anyone that gets in her way. Her cold expression and statement that she has no mercy or compassion to spare forces Krista and Ymir to back down, allowing her to focus on trying to find a way to take down the traitors.

Jean and Connie try to speak to Bertolt and coax him into surrendering, but Mikasa coldly states that their reasons don't matter. She calls Reiner and Bertolt a "plague upon humanity" and advises the others not to show mercy. This causes Bertolt to yell at her, first stating that they never wanted to kill anyone and admitting to having cared for the others in the 104th. She is visibly shocked by this outburst, enough that it snaps her out of her murderous rage. Mikasa asks them to give Eren back, but her request is rebuffed as he claims it has to be done. Before the group can argue further, Hannes shouts a warning to them that a huge group of Titans are being lead straight towards them by Erwin Smith.

Mikasa retreats, but it is not long before Erwin orders them to attack one more time, claiming this to be the key moment for humanity's survival. However, he gets grabbed by a Titan and in spite of their initial shock, the soldiers, along with Mikasa, follow Erwin's orders and continue advancing. Mikasa eventually reaches her target, but has to be saved by Jean from the grasp of a Titan. Finally, Erwin frees Eren and Mikasa catches him, however, Reiner begins throwing Titans at the soldiers in an attempt to stop them and Eren and Mikasa find themselves facing a Titan they remember from 5 years ago, the Titan that ate their mother.

Believing that it will be their final moments after seeing Hannes being eaten, Mikasa tells Eren that she wants to thank him for being together with him, for teaching her how to live, and for giving and wrapping the muffler on her which she always wears. As she moves closer to Eren, he turned away to face the Smiling Titan and vowed to Mikasa that he will wrap the muffler around her as many times as he needs to. Mikasa and Eren both escaped with the others as Eren unknowingly awakens his power to control other Titans, and orders them to attack the Smiling Titan, Reiner and Berthold.

Abilities
Owing to the need to protect her adoptive brother who often runs off looking for trouble, Mikasa had honed herself to be a talented fighter at a very young age, often throwing boys bigger than her with ease, gaining her reputation. An example of this is when Armin was being bullied and Eren came to his rescue. The boys were preparing to take Eren on when they saw Mikasa behind him and promptly ran away, even though the bullies had superior numbers. She is strong to lift Eren off the ground without effort.

While she was still training, Keith even denoted that Mikasa's performance is exemplary in every subject, and that she is truly a genius. Combined with her prodigious skill in 3D Maneuver Gear, she can easily take down Titans with speed and efficiency. This has lead to her being mentioned as a military genius many times and "worth a hundred ordinary soldiers". With such prodigious skills coupled with her own remarkable will, she displays lethality against Titans rarely seen among soldiers, recruits or veterans alike. This has been proven true when she took Annie in her Titan form, who had killed numerous experienced veterans with ease before, and survived.

Relationships

 * Mr and Mrs Ackerman - Mikasa shared a loving bond with her biological parents, and was happy with the simple life they shared. She practised embroidery with her mother, who among other things taught her to stitch the patterns of her clan's symbol, encouraging her to pass on this style of embroidery to her own children. Being one of the last Orientals (Asians) from her clan, Mrs Ackerman also had Mikasa undergo a painful scarring ritual that bore their clan's mark. Mr Ackerman was a kind father to Mikasa, and she was very relaxed around him. She was not shy of asking either parent anything she did not know, and trusted them completely. The day a trio of kidnappers attacked and killed her parents in front of her, Mikasa lost all hope and believed her world had gone cold until Eren's father decided adopted her.
 * Grisha Yeager - Though he initially hoped Mikasa would get along with Eren as a friend, in the end Grisha adopted Mikasa after the brutal murder of her parents. He treated her kindly and treated her as his own daughter, and for that Mikasa respected and gratefully relied on him as her father figure.
 * Carla Yeager - Carla was Mikasa's adoptive mother. Much like her husband and son, she treated Mikasa as a family member and took care of her. The two seemed to have an implicit understanding between them when it came to keeping Eren out of trouble. Carla urged Mikasa to look out for reckless brother and give him help when he needed it, During the Titans' assault on their hometown, she desperately tried to lift the roof beam preventing Carla from running away from the danger. Despite Carla's pleas, she tearfully refused to leave her, and could not bring herself to watch as a Titan eventually killed and ate her.
 * Eren Yeager - Mikasa considers Eren to be her 'family', since she was adopted into his home. She always wears a scarf, given by Eren to her, as a token of her memories with him. From the time he saved her life and accepted her as his sister, Eren has been a great source of strength and comfort for her. Because he is the only family she has left, she will go to any lengths to ensure his safety, and vows to follow him wherever he may go, stating her only wish is to remain by his side. This often results in Eren becoming annoyed whenever she becomes too protective, and telling her not to treat him like her 'baby brother'. Due to the intensity of her devotion to him, several characters, from Ian to Jean and even Levi, are confused about the nature of their relationship. Interestingly, Mikasa only ever blushes when Eren is involved. Examples of this include her embarrassed flush when Ian mistook him for her sweetheart during the reconquest of Trost;   Armin leaving her alone with Eren after capturing the Female Titan;  and,  when she believed she was about to die, thanked Eren for everything he has done for her.
 * Armin Arlert - Mikasa is a close friend of Armin's, essentially because Eren is his friend. She frequently helped Eren fend off the older boys who bullied him when they were children. Mikasa recognizes Armin's ability to reason out the best solution and come up with the best strategy during dire situations, is faithful to him and trusts him deeply, as shown when she refuses to leave him behind to his death during the battle of Trost. She encourages him to have more confidence in himself whenever he doubts or criticizes himself. Her faith in him, along with Eren's, are responsible for Armin's boost in confidence from the time he attempted to convince a hostile brigade of soldiers of Eren's value as a military weapon.
 * Annie Leonhart - Their relationship is implied to be some sort of rivalry. It's hinted that Annie doesn't like Mikasa for the simple fact that she may be a stronger hand-to-hand combatant, and that Mikasa resents Annie's constant rough treatment of Eren whilst teaching him her techniques. Their animosity deepens when Annie was found to be the Female Titan, and was responsible for the deaths of countless soldiers and Eren's attempted kidnapping. Things came to a peak as Mikasa became fed up with Annie's games and called her out as the Female Titan that had attacked them. With that exposed, Mikasa stopped Annie from escaping by cutting off her fingers and forcing her to fall off of the wall.
 * Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover- Little is known about their friendship. However, Mikasa realizes that she hesitated and was unable to finish them off when they were revealed as the Armored Titan and Colossal Titan. She agonizes over this failure, recognizing that she should have been able to kill them with her level of skill. When she finally caught up to them, she flew into a murderous rage, threatening Ymir and even Krista when they came between her and the traitors. Calling them a "plague upon humanity", and stating that there is no reason to care what their reasons and motivations might be, she also encouraged the others to kill them without mercy. However, her rampage was stalled by Bertolt's emotional confession.
 * Jean Kirstein - Her primary interactions with him relate to his rivalry with Eren, and it is unclear whether she is even aware of his affections for her. When he grimly admoished Eren for attacking her, Mikasa felt Jean was attempting to discredit Eren, and quickly became defensive on his behalf. It is implied that he continues to harbor feelings for Mikasa, as he lost his composure when he saw a Titan had grabbed her, and furiously attacked it head-on in order to save her.
 * Levi - Their relationship began in a negative fashion, as she witnessed him beat Eren during a military trial. She once swore to make him pay for his abuse, and lashed out at him when the Female Titan managed to kidnap Eren after slaughtering Levi's squad. Regardless, he expresses an understanding of her and is wounded saving her life -- while temporarily sidelined, he repeatedly offers her advice, and she herself agonises over causing his injury. It is unknown if she still bears a grudge against him.
 * Hannes - It's implied that Mikasa was grateful towards Hannes for rescueing her and Eren from being killed by the Titan that ate their mother. Despite admitting to his cowardice in front of her, she did not resent him for failing to rescue Carla, and she valued him as one of the few people left with whom she shared memories of more peaceful times. Hannes comforted her when she was depressed over losing her adoptive brother, and also encouraged Mikasa not to give up, which snapped her out of her grief. When she was seriously injured, Hannes defended both her and Eren from the Smiling Titan, only to lose his life in the end. Retreating on horseback the safety of Wall Rose, Mikasa appeared to be in anguish over his loss, and still grieves for Hannes with Eren and Armin.

Trivia

 * Misaka-Chara_Design.pnga is a Malagasy word meaning "resolve", while "Ackerman" is a German surname meaning "farmer".
 * Mikasa ranked third in the characters popularity poll.
 * The name Mikasa has several significant links in Japanese culture:
 * The Mikasa was a unique pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and served as a flagship during the Russo-Japanese War.
 * Mount Mikasa in Nara, Japan. An annual festival involves burning the dead grass on the mountain.
 * The princely house of Mikasa-no-miya, a branch of the Imperial family in Japan.
 * In a Volume 11 sideart Isayama portrayed several characters transformed into Titans. Mikasa took the form of a masculine, heavily muscled Titan.

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