Keith Sadies (Anime)

"Just like all the other missions...we achieved nothing at all! My incompetence has done nothing but needlessly send soldiers to their deaths! We haven't found anything about them!"

- Keith breaks down to Moses' mother

Keith Sadies (キース・シャーディス) is the head commandant (教官) of the 104th Cadet Corps. He is in charge of their training and evaluation to become soldiers. He is the former Commander of the Scout Regiment, being the direct predecessor of the current Commander, Erwin Smith.

Appearance
Keith is a tall and intimidating man. He is bald, with a slightly tan complexion and prominent wrinkles on his forehead. His most notable features are dark circles around his eyes which make him appear more imposing and frightening.

During his years as a Scout Regiment commander, Keith had a head of short brown hair, a gentler face, and a slightly lighter skin complexion.

The stress of being a member of the Scout Regiment has taken a huge toll on Keith. Within the span of a few years, he lost all of his hair and gained dark circles around his eyes indicating that his experiences have tormented him to a certain degree.

Personality
As a commandant, Keith deliberately presents himself as imposing, strict and frightening, and because of this most of the cadets from the 104th Cadet Corps remain wary of misbehaving around him. He shouts and commands at the top of his voice, putting the cadets into submission and fear.

He is observant and has the ability to discern the character traits of other people by their expressions, mannerisms, actions and abilities, as shown when he gives a character analysis of some of the cadets of the 104th Cadet Corps.

A Choice with No Regrets: Part Two
Commander Keith Sadies holds a meeting with the section commanders of the Scout Regiment, where Flagon expresses disapproval over Keith's decision to train Levi, Furlan Church, and Isabel Magnolia. Flagon argues that it would be bad for morale if trained soldiers are treated in the same manner as criminals. Erwin vouches for their skills and Keith supports his assessment, adding that Erwin's new formation will also help them avoid Titans and reduce their losses. Keith agrees that their new recruits lack discipline, but believes they should be able to learn quickly enough.

He then introduces Levi, Isabel, and Furlan to the members of the Scout Regiment and assigns them to Flagon's squad, despite the latter's objection.

On a carriage ride back to headquarters, Keith informs Erwin that the delayed budget for the next expedition has been approved. An assembly member, Nicholas Lovof, suddenly switched his vote. Noting Erwin's lack of surprise, Keith asks if he has done something underhanded to cause this. Erwin informs him he has evidence that Lovof favors a company that supplies the Military Police and wishes to reallocate the Scout Regiment's funding to them.

As Keith leaves the carriage, he inquiries about Erwin's plans, and Erwin requests that he not ask any further questions. Keith refrains, but notes that Erwin is placing himself in a precarious position, a position that Erwin finds necessary and defends by placing the future of humanity on it. Taken aback, Keith regards those words as Erwin leaves.

The Fall of Shiganshina arc
In the year 845, the Scout Regiment returns through Shiganshina District after a failed expedition outside the Walls. Keith's surviving troops trudge through the town in defeat, most injured, and are observed from a distance by a young Eren and Mikasa. The mother of one of his fallen soldiers comes to him to inquire about her son. He presents the elderly woman with what little remains of him, only but an arm. Horrified and in tears, she asks him if he served well and aided humanity's cause even in the least bit, forcing him to break down as well and admit that all their missions have ended in failure and that he has nothing to show for all the deaths under his command.

Humanity's Comeback arc
He is next seen two years later, having left his command and now serving as a commandant of the 104th Cadet Corps. He goes around intimidating and frightening cadet after cadet, asking them their names and place of origin. Other commandants note this as "rite of passage," meant to break cadets down so that they can become stronger. He ignores a few cadets like Eren, Mikasa, Annie, Bertholdt, and Reiner as he is able to read, from their faces, the terror they had undergone. He roughly turns Armin around with his hand, asking the third line to turn around and watch him as he proceeds. After hearing that Jean wanted to join the Military Police, he gives him a head butt, making him fall down. He attacks Marco telling him how he would be a very good servant for the King. When Conny performs the salute with his left hand, he picks him up, holds his head and stretches his eyes and asks him if his heart was on the right side.

He sees Sasha Braus eating a potato and walks over to her demanding to know the reason she was eating it at a time like that. When offered a piece of the potato, Keith orders her either to skip lunch or do laps until she was on the verge of death. She accepts the latter.

Next day, Keith supervises and instructs the cadets regarding the basic aptitude test, which involved swinging upright with ropes tied to their waists. If they failed at it, they would be sent to work in fields. When Eren was unable to balance himself correctly, he commands him to keep his upper body up. Eren still was not able to pull it off, so he gave him a second chance the next day.

On the next day, Eren was momentarily able to remain upright, after which he swings over upside down and hits his head. Keith claims to notice that something is off and presumes that Eren's equipment might be faulty, asking Thomas Wagner to switch belts with Eren. Eren is easily able to pull it off after that and he praises him for having managed as he did even with a broken belt. Keith muses that Grisha's son has finally become a soldier.

Later, he supervises and instructs the cadets regarding further training involving horse riding, hand-to-hand combat, mobility gear, etc. He is seen commanding and criticizing Armin for his lack of stamina and observes as Reiner helps Armin to carry his load and soon enough, Armin refuses to be helped and proceeds confidently. He keenly observes the characters of each of his cadets and analyses the strengths of the squad.

He notes the following regarding some of his cadets:
 * Reiner Braun - Stalwart in both mind and body, and well-respected by his comrades.
 * Armin Arlelt - Although lacking in physical strength, his aptitude in the classroom is extraordinary.
 * Annie Leonhart - Her slice attacks are absolutely flawless, but her reclusive tendencies make her a poor fit for coordinated efforts.
 * Bertholdt Hoover - He possesses remarkable potential, but lacks aggressiveness.
 * Jean Kirschtein - Top-class omni-directional mobility. But his volatile personality tends to cause friction with others.
 * Conny Springer - He excels at executing quick turns, but is also a bit dim-witted.
 * Sasha Braus - She has unconventionally good intuition, but also demonstrates poor teamwork as a result.
 * Mikasa Ackermann - Completely proficient in every area. It's apt to say she's an unmatched, unprecedented genius.
 * Eren Jaeger - He has no real specialties, but he's improved his grades with his unparalleled effort. And he possesses twice the sense of purpose than anyone else.

Distress
In the year 848, Keith sends two groups of cadets on a wilderness exercise to teach them to sustain themselves in times of peace. After the mission, Armin delivers him a report of their run-in with a group of thieves during the exercise. When asked by Armin if he thinks they were right to pursue the thieves rather than return to report them, Keith simply tells him that the right choice was whatever was the most important to them.

A Sudden Visitor: The Torturous Curse of Adolescence
In the year 849, Keith has the cadets participate in a mock defense drill in Trost District. When Dot Pyxis puts together a cooking contest so that two of the cadets can settle their differences peacefully, Keith serves as an announcer for the contest.

Trivia

 * According to Hajime Isayama, he remains single because he does not believe he deserves happiness after so many soldiers died under his command.