Nanaba (Anime)

"We never managed to uncover the Titans' secrets or figure out what they are. And now the day has come. Humanity...has lost."

- Nanaba to Miche Zacharius

Nanaba (ナナバ) was a veteran member of the Scout Regiment in Squad Miche.

Appearance
Nanaba was a small woman of average build for her height. She had blue eyes and short blonde hair, which was parted slightly to the right with short bangs and an undercut. When out of combat, she typically was calm and collected in her expressions, but could show a fighting attitude during battle and moments of dire circumstance. Nanaba dressed in standard Scout Regiment uniform with a gray v-neck and donned the traditional green cape when on expeditions.

Personality
Nanaba was a calm person, often being quiet and rarely speaking unless spoken to. She was not above ordering fresh Scout Regiment recruits and was able to assume leadership duties. In the face of adversity, Nanaba remained calm and directed the 104th recruits to their assignment during Wall Rose's breach. However, she was shown to briefly lose her confidence in humanity's survival and was disheartened by the Titan invasion. Although, she was able to quickly regain her composure and begin the mission of evacuating and spreading the news of the invasion while directing the recruits.

The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission arc
Nanaba participates in the 57th Exterior Scouting Mission with Christa Lenz's unit. During the mission, the scouts are ordered to take up positions at the edge of a Forest of Giant Trees. Christa is initially worked up about the Titans which have started climbing the trees that they are positioned in, but Nanaba calmly points out that they can use their ODM gear to climb further up if the Titans get too close. She moves away to another branch and tries to assure the worried Christa that they only have to hold out a little longer.

Clash of the Titans arc
During the assault on Stohess District, several of the 104th Cadet Corps recruits are kept at an outpost in Wall Rose under suspicions of a Titan spy being among them. They are under the watch of Miche Zacharius and a number of Scout Regiment soldiers including Nanaba until further notice. During this time, Miche smells and later sees Titans coming from the southern side of Wall Rose and realizes that there must be a breach in the Wall somewhere. Upon seeing this, Nanaba informs the 104th of the situation and orders them to mount their horses quickly without gear as they are pressed for time. Afterward, she returns to Miche on the rooftop and expresses feelings of despair for the dwindling hope of humanity's survival given the current situation and their limited knowledge of the Titans. However, Miche disagrees with her and tells her that they have only lost once they stop fighting.

This prompts Nanaba to regather her courage and move out with the 104th and other soldiers so that they can evacuate and inform citizens, giving words of encouragement to them and expressing humanity's dire need for their strength and bravery. During their escape, Miche separates from the group to lead nearby Titans away, and Nanaba breaks off into one of the four teams as they split up and leave.

Nanaba's team searches Wall Rose for a breach but runs into Gelgar's squad coming from the opposite direction without finding anything. As night falls, the two groups take refuge in Utgard Castle.

Utgard Castle soon comes under attack from numerous Titans capable of moving during the night. Since the recruits had been under suspicions do not have omni-directional mobility gear, the only ones able to directly engage the Titans are Nanaba, Gelgar, Henning, and Lynne. However, Henning and Lynne are soon killed by a projectile thrown by the Beast Titan, who summons another horde of Titans to attack the castle. Nanaba angrily notes how it seems as though it has only been toying with them the entire time.

With no other options, Nanaba continues to fight with Gelgar until their supply of blades and gas is completely exhausted. Injured, Gelgar falls from the tower and is caught by a Titan. Nanaba rushes to save him, and kills the Titan holding him, but runs out of both gas and blades and is left at the mercy of the Titans. Both are then ripped apart by several Titans, while their inferiors can only watch in horror.

Return to Shiganshina arc
As Erwin Smith contemplates his role as Commander of the Scout Regiment and the lies he has told his comrades, he envisions himself standing atop a mountain of corpses of the soldiers he sent to their deaths. In his mind, Nanaba lies with Miche and Gelgar at the top of the corpse mountain, staring back at him.

During the Battle of Shiganshina, as Erwin Smith begins to lament the dwindling hopes of his dream, Nanaba stands among the many fallen Scout Regiment comrades in Erwin's mind, wanting to know if their deaths had meaning.

Relationships

 * Unnamed father - Although Nanaba's father was never shown, she appeared to have a toxic relationship with him. Their relationship was so unstable, that the fear she felt regarding her father was strong enough that it overrode being eaten by a swarm of Titans, as seen during her death.
 * Gelgar - Nanaba and Gelgar were shown to be good comrades and worked well as a team.

Trivia

 * According to Eld Gin, she was one of the few senior members from before the fall of Wall Maria, alongside Hange, Levi, Miche, and Erwin.
 * Isayama has stated that of all of the people Miche Zacharius sniffed, Nanaba smelled the best, possessing a "fruity smell."
 * Isayama has stated that her hairstyle looked like a bunch of bananas so he named her "Nanaba."
 * Nanaba's abusive relationship with her father, alluded to during her death, was not shown or mentioned in the manga, but was revised into the anime on Isayama's suggestion.

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Nanaba (Anime)