Talk:Erwin Smith

Erwin or Irvin
Most fantranslations in both anime and manga use Erwin. According to MAL, even Kodansha USA uses Erwin. Compared to that are there any indications that Irvin is correct?

NeoSuperior (talk) 15:34, August 25, 2013 (UTC)

Well, Irvin is the original fan translation. Plus, the latest Mangastream translation uses Irvin as well, though it's possible they have gotten it from here or whatever was our source back then, because their other translations strangely match ours, such as Scouting Legion. Either way, I personally wouldn't mind using Erwin though it's not for me to decide as my knowledge of Japanese romanization is very vague. We could also vote, I guess. 16:57, August 25, 2013 (UTC)


 * We're waiting for the official Blu-Ray/DVD release


 * Just wanna throw this in: link It's an interesting point of reference and while they're obviously not confirmed official names (barring Eren, Mikasa, Armin and Levi), it helps in giving us an idea on where Isayama may have gotten the names from in the first place and how they compare to the Kodansha translations. In that regard, the name Erwin is becoming even more likely to be the actual spelling given how the name literally means "army friend" in German (in which case, Isayama is already known to have borrowed German names and SNK itself is laden with German language in its OPs and promotional material). DementedP (talk) 19:25, September 10, 2013 (UTC)
 * I mostly got used to write "Irvin" because of this wiki, but for his name to be Irvin, the Katakana would have to be イルヴィン rather than エルヴィン. It's safe to assume that "Irvin" is incorrect, but I'm not taking the pain of renaming every link and/or mention of him, though. EDIT: A bot would do it in an instant, but admins don't seem to like coding.  h fc 2 X  20:47, September 10, 2013 (UTC)
 * So do we have consensus on this? I wouldn't mind going through the lengths to edit all of it as long as people are fine with it (I've already done the same for Levi anyway)--DementedP (talk) 05:34, September 11, 2013 (UTC)

Erm... It would've been nice if you had waited for an approval, as we have decided to wait till officially subbed Blu-Rays are out, but I guess since it's apparent that Irvin is completely wrong given the kanji, it's fine.

However, I'm not really trusting these tumblr blogs anymore. We've had the chance to see another 3 ones or so, and each of them had information that contradicted each other. For instance, this is the first time I see 'Hansi'. (And how the hell you can pronounce that the way it's pronounced in the anime is beyond me). We don't know where these tumblr people get their info from, we don't know of their level of Japanese. It will really help us if we stop throwing various sources claiming this and that without apparent proof at us, otherwise it will become way too complicated.

Not only that, translating itself is subjective, especially when it comes to Japanese. We may have multiple romanization and all of them may be correct in regards to kanji, but that doesn't mean we'll be changing them around, unless there's a further proof, i.e. Levi.

I'm slowly starting to think we should just follow Kodansha USA's translations. For the sake of consistency. And peace. /rant over 09:14, September 11, 2013 (UTC)


 * Oh no, I totally agree with you regarding Tumblr blogs/translations (I only pick ones that actually seem plausible and if they match certain details that I researched separately on my own), rather I think in this regard it made the most sense for Erwin/Irvin's case. The "Hansi" translation is a bit jarring but to be fair, I think the person is making a case of matching real-world names with the character names as opposed to saying that they're the actual names (which makes sense when you consider weird vocal translations like "Rivaille" back then which can only sound like the intended romaji if you account for French pronunciation). That said, I definitely agree that it's more than likely far off from Isayama's intended English translation and that's why I even said that it's more of an interesting point of reference (instead of saying "THESE ARE THE OFFICIAL TRANSLATIONS" or something like that). I do apologize for the abrupt change (sorry I couldn't help it as I had nothing else to do -__-') --DementedP (talk) 12:11, September 11, 2013 (UTC)


 * Why has it been changed from Irvin to Erwin nothing definite came out yet. Bythepowerofgreyskull (talk) 23:13, September 19, 2013‎ (UTC)
 * Why has it been changed from Irvin to Erwin nothing definite came out yet. Bythepowerofgreyskull (talk) 23:13, September 19, 2013‎ (UTC)


 * "Irvin" does not match the Japanease pronunciation well. "Erwin" fits the pronunciation much better. Actually something like "Elvin" would be possible as well, but I have not yet seen that name being used for him anywhere. NeoSuperior (talk) 22:54, September 19, 2013 (UTC)


 * Yes, even "Elvin" and "Ervin" are more likely correct translations than "Irvin", though given that "Erwin" has been the more widely-used translation (and not an incorrect one at that), we're sticking with that name for now until we get something more official.--DementedP (talk) 23:10, September 19, 2013 (UTC)

Role in Survey Corps as of Chapter 57
I am wondering what his current role in the Survey Corps is. Perhaps he only meant Hange is the next commander in line after he retires/dies, perhaps he is still part of the Survey Corps just not the Commander, or did he totally leave the survey Corps? PrelateZeratul (talk) 18:35, May 6, 2014 (UTC)
 * As the fan translation put it, it implies that Hange is currently the commander, but only Erwin and Hange are aware of it (maybe due to Erwin knowing about his impending death).  h fc 2 X  20:13, May 6, 2014 (UTC)
 * Should we consider him no longer a member of the Survey Corps (Adding Former Affiliation and all that), or should we wait for more information since there is little to go on. PrelateZeratul (talk) 20:47, May 6, 2014 (UTC)
 * I'm actually not sure if we should include him as a "former member" of the Survey Corps. I put him there, because I don't think he fits anywhere else. He can't be classed as a commander or a squad member. Maybe he stepped down to Squad Leader?  h fc 2 X  22:05, May 6, 2014 (UTC)

Men
This article uses "men" early-on to refer to the members of the Survey Corps. The Corps is however composed of male, female, and agender members and this is not appropriate. This should be edited to say the Erwin cares for his "soldiers" or something neutral of the like.

Missbritches (talk) 07:06, June 15, 2014 (UTC) Missbritches


 * The word "man" or the plural form "men" has multiple meanings, including "a human being" or in the plural case "multiple human beings" without regard to their gender/sex. So I don't really see a reason to change this. NeoSuperior (talk) 17:35, June 15, 2014 (UTC)


 * I think we all know that the Survey Corps is composed of more than just male characters, however as already pointed out the term "man" or "men" has multiple meanings and usage. It isn't inappropriate or grammatically incorrect, as it uses the word in the collective and abstract manner. Man, or men, as is a group of humans of various or undefined gender(s). It is commonly used when referring to subordinates of a military officer or commander, as we see here. (As for political discussions about word usage, I don't think a fan wiki is a good place for that kind of thing.) --Harostar (talk) 17:05, June 16, 2014 (UTC)

Medallion
And also, it's not a medallion, it's a bolo tie, a garment still popular in the American South. Change the article to say he's wearing a bolo tie like Nile and Dot's already say.

Missbritches (talk) 07:08, June 15, 2014 (UTC) Missbritches
 * Okay, wait right there. We are nobody's employees on this site, so I would like to ask you to stop giving people orders. If you want something changed, change it yourself.  h fc 2 X  19:43, June 16, 2014 (UTC)

'Former member' information incorrect
It appears as of chapter 63 he still has his bolo tie and is commanding the Survey Corps, Moblit still addresses him as commander, as well. I don't think it was a good move to begin with to edit his status after 57 as his statement to Hange has so far never become anything official and nothing has happened since. His other statement to Hange was also questionable, so I'm not sure if what he said is entirely reliable. But, he never left the Survey Corps, I think it would be best to change his status back to commander until the manga officially states he has stepped down, along with placing him back in the Survey Corps portal where he belongs.

Chicklet55 (talk) 00:42, November 8, 2014 (UTC)

As he gave Hange lead over the Survey Corps during the tension a few chapters back, only in the most recent chapter was he dropped of all charges. Once Crunchyroll releases the chapter in a few minutes it will be suitable for change. Gourgeist (talk) 00:48, November 8, 2014 (UTC)

Status
Should he be listed as deceased? I'm not saying its not possibl hes dead but with Levi having the serum, and his injury obviously being just his side, a place that is pretty easily non-fatal or at least not instantly fatal, long enough to receive the serum. Isayama could have easily given him a head wound like Marlo but he didn't. So i think we should hold off on deceased until we see the body.

He is not listed as deceased, that edit was reverted shortly after it was made. Until we see Erwin's corpse, or him not returning to the walls, he will be listed as unknown or alive. Also, please remember to sign your posts on talk pages with four ~ marks or the signature button.... and please remember to use a topic as I have placed above your sentence when starting a new discussion point. Talk pages aren't used much here any more, so I think people forget :P -- JinxTheFunhouse  ( talk ) 06:21, May 12, 2016 (UTC)

People killed
Concerning the casualties of the Female Titan arc, Annie Leonhardt is of course the first responsable for that. However, Erwin Smith bears some responsability too since he purposely didn't say to his own men that the female Titan was intelligent. Eren said in chapter 27 page 14 that "There had to be some who wouldn't have died if they'd known that the (Female) Titan was intelligent". The Survey Corp was fighting for a just cause, but to me, Erwin's military tactics are quite debatable from a purely military point of view. I mean: Why did Erwin take the risk to lose Eren (and thus not be able to plug future holes in the Walls) and his best fighters only to catch the Female Titan? Thus can I put a reference about what Eren said in the section "People killed."?

Also, concerning the Clash of Titan arc, Erwin used his own men as baits to have mindless Titans to attack Reiner. Thus, he bears some responsability about the 60 or so Survey Corps members who died to rescue Eren. Thus, can I put a reference about what Jean said about those 60 casualties in chapter 51 page 13 in the section "People killed"?Theend3 (talk) 22:55, October 8, 2017 (UTC)

They are soldiers, so they are prepared for these kind of situations. For Eren's rescue, Erwin was the leader, but they all know what happen when humans approach Titans. With or without Erwin's command, their motivation was to save Eren and they knew the risks. There's a moment where responsability ends. Dalmatia (talk) 10:58, November 13, 2017 (UTC)

Your personnal opinion seems different than mine. Erwin is the leader of the Survey Corps and nobody gave him orders to use his own men as baits. Also, Erwin is known for his suicidal military tactics (Sort of he used the same tactics in the Return to Shangashinah arc and the Female Titan arc.) and without his command, I strongly doubt his men would have accepted to be used as baits for Titans. Also, I'm not saying that all is his fault for the 60 or so soldiers who died to rescue Eren during Clash of Titans arc. I'm only saying that he must bear some responsability for his dangerous and questionnable military tactics during Clash of Titans arc. Thus, I think that it must be mentionned by a reference in the section "people killed". Also, I think that it is unfair not to mention the bloody consequences of Erwin's dangerous military tactics during Clash of Titans arc.Theend3 (talk) 18:44, November 14, 2017 (UTC)

The soldiers made their choice and weren't forced by anyone to do anything. Unlike with the Female Titan, there weren't any hidden informations, and the task was simple: rescue Eren from three intelligent Titans in a place where regular Titans were dominant. If you think of it, it's quite easy to figure out what can happen. Erwin may have the responsability of the Survey Corps, but soldiers can express themselves and make up their mind, as it was seen in Return to Shiganshina. Dalmatia (talk) 20:09, November 14, 2017 (UTC)

Well, I personnaly don't think that soldiers completely make their choice on a battlefield. But I respect your point of view and I won't change anything in the section "people killed".Theend3 (talk) 23:52, November 16, 2017 (UTC)