Uri Reiss

"I want to create a paradise for the surviving, waning remnants of humanity."

- Uri Reiss to Kenny Ackerman

Uri Reiss (ウーリ・レイス) was the younger brother of Rod Reiss and the uncle of Historia Reiss. He was the true king of the Walls for some time until the year 842 and was Kenny Ackerman's best friend. He inherited the Founding Titan from his father, and passed it along with the crown to his niece, Frieda Reiss.

Appearance
He was a frail man who usually wore a simple light colored robe. He had neck length, thin, light hair. He also had light, weary eyes; with a calm, wise beyond his years type of expression. After inheriting the Founding Titan, Uri's eyes would change between their normal light color to a dark, vacant look, which meant he was bound by the will of the First King. Like his elder brother, he was also rather short.

Personality
Despite his upbringing and his responsibilities, he was a humble man. He refused to hold a grudge against Kenny, despite the latter's rudeness and repeated attempts to attack him; believing that because of the Reiss family, the Ackerman's hate was justified. He even went so far as to bow down to Kenny and formally apologize.

He was also a very calm man. He did not show any signal of pain when Kenny hurt him with a knife and he did not hesitate when Kenny aimed him with a pistol.

Even though he could not rid the world of Titans as he originally wanted, he truly cared about everyone. He wanted to make a paradise for the remaining members of humanity, believing not far in the future that their world would fall.

History
Uri was the younger brother of Rod Reiss and the second son of his and Rod's father. As their father was the inheritor of the Founding Titan, the "invincible power" that could stop the terror of the Titans once and for all, Uri and Rod pleaded with him to free humanity from their encagement, but he always refused to do so or to explain why he would not.

Sometime later, Uri volunteered to be the next Founding Titan with the full intention to use it to stop the Titans, and according to Rod, he requested him to pray; as the amount of power the Founding Titan would give him would effectively make him a god.

However, after Uri inherited the power of the Titans and memories of the world from their father by eating him in the succession ritual of the Reiss family, Rod could tell by his eyes that he had inherited that same ideology; just like his father and all the other kings before them, Uri refused to either stop the Titans and to tell everyone the lost memories of mankind.

After Uri inherited the Founding Titan, Kenny Ackerman discovered that Uri was the true king, and tracked him down and tried to kill him. However, he was stopped by Uri, who caught him on his Titan form. Kenny did not give up after this, even throwing Uri his knife and pointing his gun at him. However, even after this and the fact that Rod insisted that Kenny had to die, Uri spared his life. He said that as an Ackerman, he deserved to point his knife at him, due to the persecution that the monarchy had plotted against them.

After this, Uri, with the knife still stuck in his arm, bowed before Kenny and apologized because of the persecution of his family and his frustrated attempt to create a paradise within the Walls. This heavily surprised Kenny, who wondered how a powerful being like him could bow before someone like himself.

From that point on, Kenny was not only his bodyguard, but also a close friend, and Uri ceased the attack on the Ackerman bloodline. The two spent much time together talking, with Uri even telling him that his power will be inherited by Rod's children and that the world will be in ruin not long into the future.

Sometime after this, Uri was chained hand and foot underneath the Reiss Chapel as his successor, Frieda, sobbed and injected herself with the Titan syringe. The rest of his family witnessed his death. He smiled as Frieda transformed into a Pure Titan and ate his upper body, inheriting his position, the power of the Titans, memories of the world, and will of the First King.

Legacy
Many years later, as Rod is trying to convince Historia to eat Eren and become the next Founding Titan, he tells her about Uri, their unsuccessful attempts to convince their father to stop the Titans, and how Uri had requested him to pray before receiving the Founding Titan. Rod prays to Historia in the same fashion, but she does not believe his story and throws him to the floor, calling him a liar.

Later, as Kenny is at death's door, he begins recounting earlier memories in his life; with a majority of them consisting of Uri, from the day they met until his death during the Reiss succession ritual. Kenny thinks that he wanted to see things like Uri saw them, from a vantage point. He then tells Levi that every person that he had met in his life was a slave for something, even Uri, a slave of his dreams.

Abilities
He appeared to be quite an intelligent man, surmising from his encounter with Kenny that he was of the Ackerman bloodline. Though he is never shown fighting, he was able to block a knife that was aimed at his throat with his arm.

Power of the Titans
Though his full Titan form is never shown, he possessed the same regular abilities as Titans and others with the power of the Titans.
 * Founding Titan: Because of his royal blood, Uri had the full abilities of the Founding Titan and could manipulate the memories of Subjects of Ymir. Rod calls this the "invincible power."
 * Regeneration: Like all Titans, he possessed healing abilities. He was able to heal from a knife launched by Kenny that pierced his left arm.
 * Enhanced Strength: This power has been shown while he was partially transformed. Even during a partial transformation, he had enough strength to hold Kenny effortlessly.
 * Partial Transformation: Similar to Ymir, he was seen holding Kenny in his Titan form's fist while almost completely outside of his Titan body, with only his right hand merged. While doing this he could talk and move both of his bodies without any problem.

Relationships

 * Kenny Ackerman - Even when Kenny tried to kill him, Uri understood that his hatred was reasonable because he was an Ackerman and his family had been hunted and eliminated. Uri even apologized to him, which made Kenny come to appreciate his new friend. They used to spend time talking, to the point that Uri told him that his power would soon be inherited by some of Rod's children.
 * Rod and Uri's father - His father was the previous Founding Titan. Along with Rod, the two brothers would constantly beg him to release humanity from their encagement, but he always refused, never stating the reason why. While Rod was once locked behind bars for this, this never appeared to have occurred with Uri. When it came time for the power and position to be passed to a son, Uri volunteered, asking Rod to pray.
 * Frieda Reiss - Though not much interaction was seen between the two, it can be assumed that Uri cared about Frieda, which is shown when he smiled as he was about to be eaten by his niece. During the succession ceremony, Frieda shook and cried, as she did not want to eat him.
 * Rod Reiss - Before Uri inherited the Founding Titan, Uri shared the opinion with Rod that the Titans should be stopped. They tried to convince their father to change his opinion and eliminate the Titans, but it was futile. When Uri inherited the Founding Titan, he asked Rod to pray for him.

People killed

 * Rod and Uri's father (as a Pure Titan)

Trivia

 * At tall, Uri was the shortest adult male character in the series.
 * Uri's name is Hebrew in origin meaning "my light," "my flame," or "illumination."
 * During Uri's conversation with Kenny Ackerman by a lake, ducks can be seen in the background. Then when Uri says "Kenny...not long in the future, this world...will be ruined," the panel focuses in on the ducks. In Japanese, "duck" (カモ) or "good duck" (いいカモ) can mean "easy target" (similar to the English idiom "sitting duck"). This is appropriate because Karl Fritz erased the memories of the Eldians inside the Walls and made a vow renouncing war which prevents them from using the Founding Titan to defend themselves. He knew that the rest of the world will attack them eventually, and that his temporary paradise inside the Walls will some day end, but he accepted it if it ever happens. He made them all "sitting ducks," blissfully unaware and helpless of their incoming destruction.

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