Conny Springer (Anime)

"It's all over...my hometown.... It's gone forever."

- Conny laments for his hometown

Conny Springer (コニー・スプリンガー) a graduate of 104th Cadet Corps, he was ranked 8th out of the top 10. He is a member of the Scout Regiment.

Appearance
Conny is one of the shorter characters in the series, standing two centimeters shorter than Levi. He has a slim build, with bright hazel eyes, and his head is distinctively kept shaved. Conny is typically dressed in standard military garb, and will don the Scout Regiment cape when on missions.

His casual attire consists of a simple long-sleeve white shirt and shin-length brown slacks.

Personality
Conny can be best described as outgoing and impetuous. He has an easy time expressing his opinions, and enjoys flaunting his skills, especially during his days as a cadet. Despite being in the military, Conny starts off as rather unfocused, and enjoys goofing around and messing with his friends, but can also be a bit dense at times.

Humanity's Comeback arc
Conny signs up as a new recruit in the 104th Cadet Corps with hopes of eventually joining the Military Police Brigade. His entry into the military is a clumsy one, and he winds up getting the military's salute wrong on the first day.

Later that day, Conny joins his fellow cadets in watching Sasha Braus complete her punishment for eating during initiation. After learning that Eren Jaeger is from Shiganshina District, he joins the other cadets in questioning Eren about his first-hand experiences with Titans.

During his Omni-directional mobility gear training, Conny proves to be adept, and is one of the first people Eren asks for advice on how to operate it. Conny proves to be of no help, claiming that he is just naturally talented.

Like many of his fellow cadets, Conny gradually begins to slack off during training exercises that will not go towards helping him graduate in the top 10. However, after witnessing Eren thoroughly best Jean Kirschtein during a physical confrontation thanks to his training, Conny begins taking his training seriously as well.

For the remainder of his training, Conny can be seen practicing using ODM gear, which he is particularly proficient in, as well as messing with his fellow recruits, or goofing around with Sasha, whom he becomes fast friends with.

Distress
In the year 848, the 104th Cadet Corps is given a wilderness exercise, Conny is assigned to Marco Bodt's group. Later that night a group of thieves ambushed and steal their omni-directional mobility gear they also take Christa Lenz hostage. The group devises a plan to rescue Christa and get back the omni-directional mobility gear, Conny helps bring down the tree to prevent the thieves from taking the widest road. The group successfully rescues Christa and reacquires their omni-directional mobility gear.

A Sudden Visitor: The Torturous Curse of Adolescence
In the year 849, the 104th Cadet Corps head to Trost District for a Titan invasion drill. Conny states that he has never been in a walled city before, and Sasha Braus mentions that there are all sorts of tasty things here. Hearing this, Jean Kirschtein mocks Conny and Sasha for their comments.

During the drill, Jean has his Titan kill credit stolen by Conny, Sasha and Reiner Braun. Afterwards, Jean accuses Conny and Sasha of cheating. Jean then insults Sasha by calling her Potato Girl, to which Conny tells Jean to apologize at once. When Jean challenges them to a fight, Commander Pyxis intervenes, telling them to settle the score in the kitchen. He announces a cooking competition between Jean and Sasha, with the winner determined by himself as the judge.

Conny and Reiner elect to help Sasha in the cooking competition, and agree to aid her in hunting down the colossal boar living in the woods outside of Trost. Their team finds the boar before the team that Jean assembles, and kill it so that its meat can be used in Sasha's dish.

The Struggle for Trost arc
Conny graduates ranked 8th among the 104th Cadet Corps. Afterwards, Eren and Jean get into a fight over Eren's decision to join the Scout Regiment and Jean's decision to join the Military Police. Eren's passionate words in favor of the Scout Regiment during the altercation inspire Conny to consider joining the corps himself.

The following day, he is assigned to the same team as Eren and is sent to clean the cannons mounted along to the top of Wall Rose in Trost District. As they are cleaning, Conny reveals his intent to join the Scout Regiment, although he insists that Eren's words had nothing to do with the decision. Sasha arrives with meat that she has stolen from the officers' lounge, and although Conny insists that she return it, the squad is eventually convinced to partake.

Hopeful of the future, the group return to cleaning and repairing the cannons only to be stopped by the sudden appearance of the Colossal Titan. Taken by surprise, the entire group are blown from the Wall by a powerful wave of steam.

During the ensuing battle, he and his squad discover a catatonic Armin Arlelt, and try to question him about what happened to his squad. When Armin is unresponsive, Ymir suggests simply leaving him, leading to a heated argument between her and Conny, which Christa has to break up. Conny tries again to snap Armin out of his stupor, but Armin ignores him and departs to join the rear guard, and Conny's squad begins to advance toward the front.

Joining the front lines, Conny is among the cadets that are left stranded in the middle of Trost, low on gas, but unable to reach the Titan-infested headquarters to resupply. Conny suggests making a last ditch effort to break into the headquarters, as they are going to die anyway if they do nothing, but Jean points out that they have no one to take charge and lead them.

When Mikasa takes charge, Conny joins the cadets in making an attack on the headquarters. During the attack, Mikasa's equipment runs out of gas, and she is left stranded. Conny goes with Armin to retrieve her, warning them that they need to move before Titans arrive. They are shocked at the sight of an abnormal Titan fighting off approaching Titans, but Conny insists that it is just an abnormal and that they should avoid it. Mikasa trades equipment with Armin, and at Armin's suggestion, she and Conny kill the Titans surrounding the abnormal and lead it to the headquarters.

Successfully reaching the headquarters, Conny takes part in Armin's plan to clear out the smaller Titans inside of the building. He is among the seven cadets assigned to take down a Titan in the supply room with one strike. While he fails to kill his target with his first blow, he is rescued by Annie Leonhart. Upon resupplying, he and the other cadets leave the headquarters immediately.

He and his fellow cadets are placed on standby, and Conny takes the opportunity to tell his fellow soldiers about how he and the others managed to resupply. He is surprised to hear that Mikasa has not returned yet, but when he asks Jean what happened to her, Jean claims he was ordered not to tell.

Eve of the Counterattack arc
As ordered, in the aftermath of the battle of Trost District, he reports his omni-directional mobility gear to the Military Police Brigade for inspection as a part of the investigation over the deaths of the two captured Titans, presumed to be have been killed by a soldier using vertical maneuvering equipment. Despite his fears in facing the Titans in combat again, he volunteers to become a member of the Scout Regiment.

The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission arc
He is one of the soldiers perched on top of one of the Giant Trees, waiting for word from Levi's Squad with the others. He is seen returning from the failed 57th Expedition along with the others, and is later seen in the field riding a horse along with Sasha Braus, Reiner Braun, Bertholdt Hoover, Christa Lenz and Ymir.

Clash of the Titans arc
Conny is again seen with a group of Scout Regiment recruits being investigated by Miche Zacharius under suspicion of being one of Annie's accomplices. However, when Titans suddenly appear within Wall Rose, Miche sends them in groups to warn the surrounding villages.

Since Conny's village, Ragako, is in the path of the Titans, he receives permission to join the group heading in that direction. They find the village deserted, but there are no dead bodies and no sign that anybody has fled. Atop the ruins of his house, Conny finds an immobile Titan bearing some resemblance to his mother. The Titan welcomes him home, to his disbelief. He tries to tell the group but is quickly dismissed by Reiner, who tells him to focus on the mission. After the sun sets, Conny and the rest of his group take refuge in Utgard Castle, an abandoned structure, which eventually falls under attack by Titans which are mysteriously active at night.

During the siege, Conny is attacked by a smaller Titan, but Reiner rescues him, injuring his arm in the process. Conny expresses frustration at the fact that Reiner has always saved him, and promises to repay him back sometime in the future. Like all the others, he is shocked to see Ymir turn into a Titan, noting that while Eren at first had no idea of his Titan powers, Ymir seems to have been fully conscious of it the whole time. After Hange and her squad rescue them, Conny joins the group in returning to Wall Rose.

When a battle breaks out and the Armored and Colossal Titans appear, Conny is busy tending to the wounded and does not immediately understand what has happened. He fears for Bertholdt and Reiner, who he thinks are missing, unaware that they are the enemies being fought.

After the battle, Conny is in shock after being told that Reiner and Bertholdt are the Armored and Colossal Titans respectively. He joins the rescue mission to save Eren, but refuses to believe the claims about Reiner and Bertholdt until he hears it straight from their mouths. When the team finally makes it to the forest, where Hange suspects Reiner and Bertholdt are recuperating, he is among those who identify Ymir in her Titan form. He is confused and agitated at the fact that Ymir does not answer any questions. When Historia arrives, Ymir "eats" her and escapes. The soldiers follow them to the edge of the forest, but are unable to catch her before and Reiner transforms back into the Armored Titan and Ymir jumps on his shoulder to escape.

He catches up to the traitors and uses his omni-directional mobility gear to climb on to Reiner's shoulder. Together with Jean, Sasha, Mikasa and Armin, he confronts Bertholdt and Reiner, asking if they were ever true friends. He begins to reminisce about their time in the 104th Cadet Corps, and this, along with Jean's own questions, causes Bertholdt to have an emotional breakdown. Bertholdt says he considered them "true comrades," but before the group can react to his confession, Hannes warns them that Erwin Smith is leading a horde of Titans straight at them and the 104th jumps clear of the incoming onslaught. Conny is forced to watch in horror as his former friends charge straight into the horde of Titans. When Reiner is immobilized by the sheer number of Titans, Erwin orders the soldiers to attack and retrieve Eren. Conny follows the others into battle.

He later appears elsewhere on the battlefield, using the chaos to retrieve Historia. When she protests that he should leave her and that Ymir is going to be killed if she does not go with the traitors, Conny demands she rethink things. He asks if Ymir's claims are true, and states that even an idiot could figure out that Ymir only gets serious for Historia's sake. He advises them to follow him and retreat for now, or else they will all be killed. However, before they can escape, the Armored Titan begins throwing Titans at them.

As the battle gets worse, Conny begins fighting Titans alongside Historia, Ymir, and Sasha. In the middle of the chaos, a newly freed Eren punches a smiling Titan in a fit of rage, triggering something that causes all the other mindless Titans to devour it. When Reiner tries pursuing him, Eren screams at him and Bertholdt, telling them to get away, or he will kill them. The Titan horde then charges at the two. Erwin calls for a full retreat and when Ymir hesitates, Conny urges her to come along. Instead, she apologizes to Historia and heads back to help Reiner and Bertholdt. Before Historia can follow, Conny takes the reins of her horse and forces her to join the retreat.

Back at Trost District, Conny and Hange visit Levi, Erwin and Dot Pyxis. Hange theorizes that the recent Titans originated from Conny's village, and that Titans may very well be humans. Conny is there to confirm their findings, and he attends while holding his parents' portrait.

The Uprising arc
Some time later, Conny is selected to be a member of the new Squad Levi assigned to safeguard Eren and Historia in an isolated forest cabin.

Conny and his squad mates spend their time alternating between acting as lookouts on the perimeter of the cabin, and doing various chores. While he is helping with chores, Conny overhears Eren lamenting his lack of progress in hardening his Titan's skin means that they will not be able to reseal Wall Maria any time soon. Conny claims that all he cares about is getting his revenge against the Beast Titan, before excusing himself to go act as a lookout, frustrated with himself for getting caught up in his anger.

The squad receives a message from Erwin warning them that the government is freezing all Scout activity outside the Walls and is demanding that Eren and Historia be handed over. Levi and Hange abandon the cabin with their squads, and Conny goes with Levi and his squad to Trost District where they hope to avoid the Military Police. There, a carriage comes crashing through and seemingly kidnaps Eren and Historia, though the kidnapped victims are actually Jean and Armin in disguise. The squad pursues the kidnappers to their hideout, where Conny serves as a lookout while his squad mates subdue the kidnappers.

Shortly after, Conny and the others hear the sound of gunshots and go to investigate. They spot the wagon carrying an unconscious Eren and Historia with Levi in pursuit. To Conny's shock, there is another soldier tailing Levi, who aims a gun at his captain. Levi kills the soldier and orders his squad to chase the wagon and kill their opponents, given the chance.

Following the battle, Dimo Reeves agrees to help Levi's squad and tricks two Military Policemen of the First Interior Squad to come with him to a remote cabin, where Conny and other members of Levi Squad take them hostage at gunpoint. Conny and the rest of the squad listen uncomfortably to the screams as Levi and Hange conduct their interrogation. When the two are through, Jean and the others are informed that Eren and Historia are likely being held near Rod Reiss.

After the Scout Regiment is accused of trying to monopolize Eren's Titan powers, the government begins arresting all members of the organization. Conny and the rest of Squad Levi avoid being captured, and camp out in the woods outside of Stohess. After Marlo and Hitch have led them to a nearby MP checkpoint, Conny, with Sasha and Jean, charges at the MP checkpoint in a carriage, breaking down the roadblocks they have erected.

After crippling most of the personnel in the outpost, Levi and his squad escape with a hostage. They interrogate him about Eren and Historia's location while Conny watches nearby, but he claims not to know anything. Before they can question their hostage further, they hear people approaching on foot. Conny, along with his squad immediately prepares for battle, with Conny lying prone in the grass with his rifle. To the entire squad's delight, it is Hange, who informs them that the Scout Regiment has been exonerated, and that they have a lead on Eren and Historia's whereabouts.

Conny participates in the attack on the cavern beneath the Reiss Chapel, firing signal flares to provide cover for Levi and Mikasa, before joining the fight with his ODM gear. However, they are unable to reach Eren and Historia in time, and are unable to stop Rod Reiss from using the Titan serum to turn himself into a Titan. Conny helps Jean and Levi unchain Eren, but is left trapped with his squad, with no way of escaping the collapsing cavern. With no other alternative, Conny and the rest of the squad watches as Eren attempts to save them, crushing a bottle labeled "Armor" in his mouth as he transforms into his Titan form.

Having survived thanks to Eren's new hardening ability, Conny starts looking for an exit, which he finds in the form of a hole in the roof of the cavern. After helping his teammates out of the cavern, Conny and the rest of Squad Levi follow Rod's Titan form to the Orvud District, where they plan to fight the now transformed Rod Reiss. As they arrive in the district, Levi takes the opportunity to brief Historia on Erwin's plan to install her as queen, and despite the squad's protests at her being forced into such a position, Historia agrees.

Once Rod's Titan arrives at the Wall, members of Squad Levi douse themselves in water to endure the extreme heat from the steam. Eren uses his Titan form to blow Rod's head apart with gunpowder-filled barrels, and Conny and his comrades use ODM gear to cut the flying pieces of Rod's head in order to destroy his nape and kill him.

After Historia is crowned as the new queen, Conny and Squad Levi accompany her as she goes to find Levi so she can punch him. The squad tries to talk her down, but she punches the captain as soon as she sees him. Expecting Levi to retaliate, the squad is surprised when he reacts by smiling and thanking them.

Abilities
Conny's abilities put him in the top 10 of the graduated cadets. He is said to be "slow on the uptake but makes very sharp turns." Conny's combat skills are shown to be more or less average, and he has yet to be shown successfully slaying a Titan.

Relationships

 * Sasha Braus - Conny and Sasha are very close friends. Even though they often get into trouble together and provide much of the comic relief of the series, they care for and protect each other when the situation calls for it.
 * Reiner Braun - Conny greatly admires Reiner, and looks up to him as a big brother. The two were often seen together during their cadet days, and Conny notes that Reiner has protected him on multiple occasions. After realizing that he is one of the traitors, he begins to grow resentment at this, but also disbelief.
 * Ymir - Their relationship is often tense, and they are prone to taking verbal shots at one another. Most of their interactions devolve into arguments, Ymir generally looking down on Conny, and Conny having no patience for Ymir's tactlessness.
 * Eren Jaeger - Conny and Eren are on good terms. Conny initially found amusement in Eren's difficulty as a cadet, but their relationship eventually turns friendly, and Conny is later inspired to join the Scout Regiment partially because of Eren.

People killed

 * One member of the Anti-Personnel Control Squad

Trivia

 * Conny's name may have multiple meanings, either from the Celtic name "Connor," meaning "son of the wolf," or "Constantia," meaning "conviction." "Springer" is German for "knight," "leaper," and "dolphin."
 * Conny cuts his own hair.