Hugo Stehler

Hugo Stehler (フーゴ・シュティラー) is a recruit of the Survey Corps.

Appearance
Hugo is a tall young man with light to medium brown hair that is slicked back and scraggly at the ends. He has a long nose and small eyes that always appear to be closed. Hugo wears a white shirt underneath the traditional uniform of the Training Corps.

Personality
Hugo is, for the most part, a quiet and reserved individual. He usually keeps to himself and ends up surprising his friends when he does speak; notable examples include when Kuklo was able to escape detection by the Military Police and when Hugo voices his agreement to tracking down a saboteur lurking within the training grounds. Like his friends and fellow squad mates, Hugo shows an interest in joining the Survey Corps but does not explicitly reveal his motivations for wanting to join.

Restoration of the Survey Corps arc
Hugo is with his friends as they perform a training exercise and come across Kuklo's unconscious and injured body. They take him to a cabin they found within a nearby forest. After the course of a week, Hugo hears from Rosa that the teen is awake, and they go see him. As the other recruits mention their reasons for wanting to join the Survey Corps, Hugo stays silent but nods in agreement with Felix's desire to see the world beyond the walls. Along with his friends, Hugo swears that he will do his best to prove to famed hero Jorge Pikale and his son Carlo, the current head of the Corps, that they are worthy of joining.

Roughly two weeks pass, and both Hugo and Felix inform Jorge that Kuklo wants to see him. They return to the cabin and find Kai, Rosa and Ivo being threatened by two members of the Military Police. After Jorge settles the issue, Hugo is amazed to see Kuklo hiding up in a tree and using his device to get down. Believing that Kuklo jumped up there, Hugo asks how he was able to escape being seen and hears how the device is used. Like Ivo, Hugo shows interest in being able to learn how to use the device. Hugo is among those who volunteer to attend the special training regimen with his friends; he shows much improvement over the first month of training, and they are moved to the next phase of training that involves balancing.

While many recruits fail the initial test (including Rosa, Kai and Felix), Hugo is able to pass the initial test along with Ivo and three others. Hugo's resolve is tested along with the other trainees after being taken to the Walls and witnessing Titans for the very first time; despite this, Hugo vows to stay in the training program along with Ivo. Along with both Ivo and Kurz, Hugo is given a set of vertical maneuvering equipment and is taken to a nearby forest to test it. Hugo goes to use it and while aiming, misses the intended target and is dragged along the ground for quite a long distance. After the second aptitude testing, Hugo is glad to see both Rosa and Kai pass but silently agrees that they should not celebrate until Felix is able to join them too. He applauds with the other trainees after seeing Rosa effortlessly use the vertical maneuvering equipment in the forest area. Eventually, Felix is able to pass the final aptitude test and join them in the training area.

After Rosa is knocked unconscious due to her equipment being sabotaged, Hugo voices his agreement with Kai's plan to sneak out and watch over the maintenance area. He is surprised along with everyone else when Rosa returns the next day for training. That evening, Hugo helps boost Kai to see into the maintenance area after Felix spots movement but the group is spotted by Kuklo.