Connie Springer

Connie Springer (コニー・スプリンガー), the stock character in the series, was a member of the 104th Trainees Squad. On graduation, he joined the Survey Corps.

Appearance
Connie is one of the shorter characters in the series, standing only two centimeters shorter than Levi. He normally wears the trainee squad uniform, but with additions from the Survey Corps, of which he is a member. He has gold eyes and very short hair, almost completely bald.

Personality
Connie is very emotional and outgoing. Even in the worst scenario, he always tries to get everyone pumped. Connie is keen on battle and doesn't shy away for the chance to take on Titans.

104th Trainees Squad arc
He is one of the recruits in the 104th Trainees Squad, usually practicing using the 3D Maneuver Gear or playing around with Sasha Blouse.

Battle of Trost District arc
Connie is one of the trainees in Trost District when the Colossal Titan breaches the wall. He is usually looking out for the others, as with the appearance of Eren Yeager's Titan Form, came to check on Armin and Mikasa in the ensuing battle. He is often seen carrying Armin while gliding with his 3D Maneuver Gear. He, Armin and Mikasa burst through a window immediately after Eren strikes two Titans, explaining to Jean Kirstein that the Titan attacks other Titans and ignores humans. He later joins Armin's plan to break into the supply room and replenish their supply. He is one of the best fighters in the group, and so is one of the seven 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.

The Female Titan 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 Blouse, Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, Krista Lenz and Ymir.

Clash of the Titans arc
Later on, Connie is part of a group of Survey Corps members under investigation by Mike Zacharius under suspicion of being an accomplice to Annie. However, when Titans mysteriously appear within Wall Rose, Mike sends them to warn the surrounding villages. Because Connie's home village of Ragako is in the Titans' wake, he receives permission to join to the group headed in that direction. They find the village seemingly deserted, with no bodies but also no sign that the people fled. In the ruins of his house, Connie finds an immobile Titan that reminds him of his mother. As night falls, Connie and his group take refuge in Castle Utgard, which subsequently comes under siege by Titans.

During the siege, he is attacked by a smaller Titan and rescued by Reiner, who is injured in the process. He expresses frustration that Reiner has always protected him, and promises that someday he will repay him in turn. Like the others, he is shocked when Ymir reveals herself to be a Titan -- though he quickly nicknames her "Ugly" and gives her a hard time. After the squad lead by Hange rescues them, Connie joins the efforts to continue investigating Wall Rose for damage. When a battle breaks out between the soldiers and the Armored Titan and Colossal Titan, he is assigned to tend to the wounded. He begs one of the officers to save Reiner and Bertholdt, fearing them missing and injured, and unaware that they are the Titans being fought.

In the aftermath of the battle, Connie joins the rescue party. However, he states he cannot believe Reiner and Bertolt are their enemies, and is determined to hear it from them himself. When the team finally arrives in the forest, he is one of those that encounters Ymir's Titan form and identifies her for the others. When she fails to respond to questions, he kicks her in the head and again calls her "Ugly". He is shocked when Ymir suddenly attacks, kidnapping Krista and fleeing to rejoin Reiner and Bertholdt.

Eventually, he is finally able to catch up to the traitors and uses his gear to climb onto Reiner's shoulder. Together with Jean, he confronts Bertolt (and Reiner) concerning the friendship they shared in the past and their lies. He mentions that the members of the 104th Trainees Squad had once promised to survive, and grow old together while reminiscing over drinks. This, along with Jean's words, finally reach Bertolt and cause him to break down. But before the group can react to Bertholdt's confession of their betrayal, as well as their genuine affection for them, Hannes shouts to warn them that Erwin Smith is leading a massive horde of Titans directly towards them.

He is forced to retreat, and watches in horror as his former friends charge straight into the horde of Titans. When Erwin orders a second charge, he follows the others back into battle. He later appears elsewhere on the battlefield, using the chaos to retrieve Krista. When she protests that he should leave her behind and declares that Ymir will be killed if she doesn't go with the traitors, he refuses. He wonders whether Ymir's claims are the truth, and points out to her that Ymir is never serious unless it is for her sake. Stating that even an idiot like him can tell how bad things are, he advises her (and Ymir, following them in Titan form) to retreat for now since otherwise they'll all be killed. However, before they can rejoin the main forces, the Armored Titan begins hurling other Titans to block the soldiers' escape.

Abilities
Connie's abilities made him in the top 10 of the graduated trainees. He is said to be "slow on the uptake but makes very sharp turns."

Relationships

 * Sasha Blouse - Connie and Sasha are close friends, often getting into mischief together and providing much of the comic relief of the series.
 * Reiner Braun - Connie greatly admires Reiner, and looks up to him as a big brother. The two were often seen together during their trainee days, and Connie notes that Reiner has protected him on multiple occasions. As such, he's shocked when Reiner's true identity is revealed and stated he wouldn't believe it until he could confront the traitors face to face. Having done so, it's unclear how he feels or if he's even had time to process everything.
 * Ymir - Their relationship is often tense, and they are prone to taking verbal shots at one another. Most of their interactions devolve into arguments, so it would seem at first that they hate one another. However, though he often calls her names and seems to hate her, when the others write Ymir off as an enemy....he recognizes that her actions are motivated by her love for Krista.
 * Eren Yeager - Although Connie is not yet aware of it, he is in same plight as Eren; both lost their hometowns, families and have nowhere to return to.
 * Beast Titan - This mysterious Titan is responsible for the destruction of Ragako and the transformation of Connie's family and friends into Titans. Connie swears vengeance against the creature, stating firmly that he will never forgive those responsible and that next time, they have to kill it.

Trivia

 * Connie-Chara_Design.pnge's name may have multiple meanings, either from the Celtic name "Connor", meaning "son of the wolf", or "Constantia", meaning "conviction". "Springer" is Danish for "knight", "leaper", and "dolphin".
 * In a sideart for Volume 11, several characters were given examples of what they would look like as Titans. Connie's form was a rather small Titan with little to no distinguishable features.

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