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 Section 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 first appears during the 57th Expedition with Christa Lenz's unit. Christa is initially worked up about the Titans who have started climbing the trees at the edge of the Forest of Giant Trees, to which Nanaba calmly replies that if they use their equipment to climb further up, it will all be fine. She moves away to another branch and tries to assure the worried Christa that they only have to hold out a little longer, most likely referring to the capturing of the Female Titan.

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, the Titans begin to sprint and start to catch up to the soldiers and their horses. Miche realizes this and takes charge to divert their focus and separates from the group so that they may escape. Watching him go, Nanaba breaks off into one of the four teams as they split up and leave.

Nanaba's squad 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 they did not have omni-directional mobility gear, meaning the only ones able to directly engage the Titans were 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.

Relationships

 * Unnamed father - Although Nanaba's father was never shown, she appeared to have an extremely toxic relationship with him. Despite the fact that she was a functional and capable soldier, in her final moments Nanaba hallucinated about her father and the horrors she endured with him. Their relationship was so unstable, that the fear she felt regarding her father was strong enough that it outshined being eaten by a swarm of Titans, as seen during her death.

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.
 * 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.