Kuklo

Kuklo Munsell (キュクロ・マンセル) is the main protagonist of the Attack on Titan prequel Before the Fall. He is the son of Heath and Elena Munsell and miraculously survived when his heavily pregnant mother was swallowed whole by a Titan.

Appearance
In the light novels; Kuklo has pale skin, a slim build, and an average height. His eyes are dull brown, the same as his hair, which is shoulder length. Kuklo has numerous scars caused by Xavi Inocencio. One of them damaged his right eye, leaving it practically useless.

The manga depicts him as having reddish-brown hair with matching eyes. So far he is only fitted with a rag that barely goes past his hips and chains to keep him restrained, but later wore civilian clothing and military uniform.

Personality
Kuklo, at first, showed little to no knowledge of being able to speak, only repeating words people have mentioned in front of him. Despite showing a little bit of willpower, he was completely submissive to his captors, complying to their commands. When Sharle begins to teach him, he learns quickly and can converse with her easily. It seems that he is kind (only to Sharle so far) and curious about the outside world. In the manga, Kuklo shows a unique spatial awareness of his surroundings as he reveals to Sharle about the things he experienced before being bought into the Inocencio household. While feeling the fear and hostility from the civilians, he also noticed other feelings from seeing two parents comforting their son. At first, he did not know what those other feelings mean until Sharle taught him about the world, and from there, Kuklo gained resolve to love the people of this world.

The Titan's Son arc
After the death of her husband, a Squad Leader in the Survey Corps during an expedition, Elena Munsell becomes a member of a cult that worships Titans. While heavily pregnant, she leads a mob responsible for opening the gates and was devoured by the Titan that entered. Her corpse is discovered in a ball of Titan vomit, and two members of the Survey Corps cut her open after witnessing movement. Inside, they discover her infant son had miraculously survived. Dubbed "The Titan's Son," Kuklo is hated and feared by the people within the Walls and forced to wander the streets. He is eventually caught and raised in captivity, and is kept alongside many exotic animals. Later, Kuklo is sold to Dario Inocencio in order for his son, Xavi, to practice abusing him in preparation for joining the military and building up Xavi's confidence for any potential conflict with real Titans. During the next several years, he is continuously beaten by Xavi and ridiculed by those brought to look at him by Dario. One night, he sees Dario's daughter Sharle, who has come to his cell with a knife to try and kill him. To her surprise, Kuklo grabs the knife and aims it at his chest, wishing for her to kill him. This makes Sharle realize he is not the child of a Titan but a human like her and the two form a friendship, with her teaching him how to speak, read, write, and about the history of the world they live in. He spends several years enduring this abuse until he decides to escape with Sharle. The night before they plan to escape, the Inocencio estate is attacked by members of the Titan Cult in an attempt to rescue him (and ultimately appoint him as their new leader.) As one of the cultists attempts to free Kuklo, he notices that there is blood on the sword. Afraid that it is from Sharle, he demands to know who he killed. Amazed that he can talk, the cultist says it is from one of the guards. He goes on to state that the family that kept him chained up is being given an appropriate punishment; this causes Kuklo to break free from his chains and overpowers him. Afraid for Sharle's safety, he runs into the main house and looks for her. As he passes the corpses of numerous guards, he comes across Dario's dead body in the master bedroom. At that moment, both Sharle and Xavi arrive and see their father dead as well. In a fit of rage, Xavi blames Kuklo for the attack on his family and the death of his father; he then attacks Kuklo with a sword and permanently damages the latter's right eye before Kuklo is able to subdue him. With nothing left for either of them there, both Kuklo and Sharle escape and make their way to Shiganshina District.

Shiganshina arc
After arriving in Shiganshina District, Kuklo recalls that this was his home. One day after receiving surgery on his eye, Kuklo wakes up from a nightmare and then gets up. When Sharle comes back from getting food, she advises him not to overdo it since he is still recovering from surgery and goes to change his bandages. Kuklo says he is fine, and that the bleeding has lessened. As she tends to Kuklo, Sharle apologizes for her brother scarring him and tells him that Xavi has joined the Training Corps; Sharle also mentions that the Military Police are looking for both of them in connection with the attack on her family. Determined to see a Titan to finally figure out whether or not he is, in fact, a child of one, Kuklo overhears about the first expedition planned by the Survey Corps to go outside the Wall in fifteen years. The next day Kuklo sees Wall Maria for the first time and is marveled at how big it is, remembering how Sharle told him about the Titan she saw two years ago. He notices several members of the Military Police approaching and leads Sharle away to avoid getting noticed. Kuklo sees his opportunity the next day and resolves to sneak outside the Wall aboard a horse-drawn carriage that contains the supplies for the Survey Corps expedition. Sharle gives Kuklo a haircut and, to protect himself, she gives him the knife from when they first met. Kuklo thanks her and leaves, promising Sharle that he will return soon.

During the expedition, Kuklo accidentally fires off a green flare, revealing his presence to the Survey Corps. He gets out of his hiding place in the wagon and demands to see the captain; the soldiers do not respond so Kuklo decides to find the captain on his own. After being caught and brought before Carlo Pikale, Kuklo tells him that the reason he stowed away was so he could find a Titan. Unaware of Kuklo's true identity, Carlo asks him why he wishes to see a Titan so badly; Kuklo merely restates that he was looking to see a Titan for no real reason. Carlo is about to ask him his name, but Kuklo hears the approaching footsteps of a Titan; Carlo looks through binoculars and sees the Titan approaching, which is revealed to be the same one Sharle saw from atop Wall Maria in the past.

Kuklo looks at the Titan and proudly proclaims that he is indeed a human. Carlo tells him to run while ordering the Survey Corps to fall back to Wall Maria. With the Titan tailing them, he looks around for weapons and finds a rifle. He grabs it but sees several Survey Corps members charge the attacking Titan and slash its legs with sword blades; this does nothing to stop its charge. Kuklo prepares to set off a wagon full of gunpowder but he gets sent flying. Instead of being crushed by the Titan chasing them, the Titan picks him and another soldier up and raises the two to its mouth, preparing to eat them. Moments before he is eaten, Kuklo remembers Sharle and the weapon she gave him; he drops the rifle and as a final effort to escape the Titan, Kuklo stabs the Titan in the eye. Howling in pain and rage, the Titan throws Kuklo up into the air. Hurtling towards the ground, Kuklo drives his knife into the Titan's skin to lessen his fall. Kuklo still lands painfully, but is able to get back up on his feet to avoid the Titan's attacks. Carlo arrives and commends him for his bravery, picking Kuklo up atop his horse. Kuklo and Carlo escape, but hear the screams of the soldiers behind them. As soon as the Titan has eradicated all its surrounding soldiers, it charges for Kuklo and Carlo. Carlo commands the squads to fend off the Titan, but their chances of success are slowly deteriorating. Kuklo points to the explosives in the detached cart. Despite the cart being crushed, the explosives are still intact. Kuklo is insistent on proving that his plan will work. Trusting his judgment, Carlo allows his plan to proceed.

Carlo orders the remaining soldiers to retreat to Shiganshina. With them gone, he and Kuklo ride back to the cart wreckage and dodge the Titan's blow right behind them by jumping over the cart; this gives Kuklo the opportunity to detonate the explosives. The Titan's burning flesh starts to regenerate, but Kuklo and Carlo waste no time retreating to Shiganshina. The Garrison spot the Titan from on top of the Wall but still are able to get the doors open in time for both Kuklo and Carlo. Before Kuklo can get off the horse, he is courted by several Military Police Brigade officers and their commander, Gloria Bernhart. Gloria demands Carlo hand over Kuklo, listing the number of suspiciously alleged crimes that Kuklo has said to have committed and notifying that Kuklo is the infamous "Titan's son." Kuklo watches Sharle in the crowd but is unable to protest. Before leaving Kuklo in Gloria's hands, Carlo asks for his name. Kuklo answers and discreetly entrusts Carlo with Sharle's knife which aided him in the battle against the Titan outside the Walls. Afterward, Kuklo is escorted away.

Subsequent to his arrest, Kuklo sits alone in his cell and is distressed; he worries for Sharle's safety and frantically starts trying to dig his way out. Another prisoner across the hallway interrupts Kuklo, saying that he will get beaten if caught trying to escape again. The prisoner notes how young Kuklo looks and says to escape, you need to be smart. He reveals himself to be Cardina Baumeister. This shocks Kuklo, as he notes that a Baumeister was meant to be Sharle's betrothed. They exchange introductions, and Kuklo finds out that some prisoners being held have not committed any notable crimes. Cardina for example, had been involved in political disputes and got arrested by higher-ups just to be reprimanded. Cardina explains to him that in two weeks time, they are to be deported from inside the Walls and fed to the Titans to pay for their crimes. Despite his punishment, Cardina has other plans. He plans to go to Naraka, a rumored city of exiles in the North; he theorizes that since the Titans seems to come from the South, the most likely place for the city would be to the North. If it does not exist, Cardina suggests building Naraka themselves, causing Kuklo to call him crazy. Cardina says that since Kuklo is 'pretty stupid,' he is the only one who would possibly believe the story. Despite not knowing if Cardina is either praising or insulting him, Kuklo realizes that this is the most opportune chance to escape and agrees to help. He mentions he still has business within the walls and makes the most of his last two weeks in the dungeons by conserving his energy. Kuklo and the other prisoners are bound and gagged inside the wagon. As Kuklo tries to undo his bindings, a figure wearing the uniform of the Military Police sneaks into the wagon and tucks Sharle's knife behind Kuklo's binds. When the wagon starts moving, Kuklo frantically saws at his binds and frees everyone else on board, then follows Cardina after he jumps off the wagon. Kuklo looks behind and is surprised to see they are the only two that left the wagon. Cardina reckons that this is because the other prisoners have already given up on survival and grimly notes they are already over a kilometer outside the Walls. Nevertheless, the pair decide to run towards Shiganshina. Kuklo is asked where he got the knife from and jokingly asks if he is going to save them with it. After pausing to let Cardina catch up, Kuklo suddenly hears the footsteps of several nearby Titans.

From behind them, the pair see the wagon overtaken and the other prisoners are eaten by a horde of Titans. Kuklo suggests they run to the west side of Wall Maria, and points to a light being shone atop Wall Maria from that side. Cardina puts his faith into Kuklo, who secretly worries that there might be nothing there. Contrary to his qualms, Kuklo finds a Military Police officer on top of the Wall shining said light. Kuklo immediately recognizes the soldier as the same man who gave him the knife. The soldier throws them down a line down the Wall and Kuklo runs to it, however, he discovers that Cardina is about to be picked up by the Titan chasing them. Kuklo runs back to help Cardina, disregarding the soldier's advice to leave Cardina behind. Instead of eating Cardina, the Titan picks him up and throws him to the side. Kuklo instructs Cardina to climb up the Wall using the rope while he buys them time. Kuklo uses only the knife to defend himself against the Titan and holds his ground. Despite this, the Titan eventually traps him and he is unable to move his arms within its grip. Only through the intervention of Cardina hitting the Titan with a small boulder does Kuklo manage to escape. Kuklo and Cardina proceed to attack together but are overwhelmed and forced to retreat once more. They make a run for it, but are suddenly cut off by a large Titan tossing smaller ones towards them. Kuklo instructs Cardina to use him as a step to leap over the incoming Titan and run to the line while he temporarily subdues incoming Titans using the knife. The two approach the line and both are surprised to see that the line tossed to them was not a rope but a cable. Puzzled, the soldier yells to them that it is a cable and to grab onto it; the soldier is able to pull them up the Wall using a machine. When Kuklo and Cardina reach the top of Wall Maria, they thank the soldier, who pulls down his hood and reveals himself to be Jorge Pikale - the first human being who defeated a Titan.

Visit to the Industrial City arc
The next morning, Kuklo and Cardina ride Jorge's wagon to safety. Jorge addresses how he needed to take advantage of their exile in order to keep them under his custody, while being filed "deceased" on their records, although it had been a last-minute rescue. To Kuklo's surprise, Cardina reveals that he had been Jorge's pupil while a trainee. As Kuklo hears about Cardina's parents pressuring him to become a member of the Military Police, Kuklo recalls back to his years as a slave that Dario had done the same thing with Xavi. He expresses his surprise at the thought of Cardina being an MP, something shared by the latter. Cardina then adds that Kuklo would make a great soldier, as Kuklo received praise from both Jorge and his son - the current commander of the Survey Corps, making him seem really like the Titan's son. Kuklo is a little taken aback at how Cardina knew his identity the whole time: Cardina revealed that Xavi was a trainee in the same class as him and, due to how often he bragged about cutting out the eye of 'The Titan Child', deduced that he was talking about Kuklo. While Xavi's mention brings Sharle up to mind, Kuklo is concerned on her whereabouts. He finally asks Jorge where he is taking them, and he replies that they are going to the Industrial City within Wall Rose. Jorge informs Kuklo that Sharle is there as well and being taken care of by his friend living in the city; Kuklo realizes that Sharle must have seen him give the knife to Carlo, who passed it on to Jorge. Jorge mentions that he also needs to return the machine he used to save them back to his friend. When Kuklo and Cardina ask what it is called, they are told that the machine does not sport a name at the moment; Jorge and the other soldiers just identify it as "The Device." Kuklo also learns from Cardina that the same device Jorge used also aided him in his battle against a Titan fifteen years ago, where he gained notoriety as being the first human who was successful in killing a Titan. When Kuklo inquires about why it is not being used by the Survey Corps, he learns that it can only move up or down, rendering it useless against Titans who can move in every direction.

Kuklo, Cardina, and Jorge soon arrive at Wall Rose. As they pass through the main gate, Kuklo notices the presence of numerous guards along the top of the gate. After finally arriving at the Industrial City, he spots even more troops; he informs Jorge of this and learns that the city is where all the weapons and equipment the military uses is produced. As Kuklo asks Jorge about where his friend is, he hears someone call his name; he turns around and sees Sharle. Sharle longingly hugs Kuklo and they make their way to Sharle's temporary abode in a factory. Kuklo notices different machines all throughout the workshop, including what appears to be another copy of the device Jorge used on the Wall. He is led into the office belonging to one of the city's foremen, revealing to be Xenophon Harkimo. Xenophon calls Kuklo by his infamous nickname, "Titan's son," but Kuklo introduces himself properly. Xenophon curiously asks for Kuklo and Cardina to show him their arms, noting that the two of them have good potential as fighters. Xenophon adds that the Survey Corps are short on men, and suggests that both should consider joining the Survey Corps. Sharle interrupts and insists that Kuklo not join, but Kuklo disagrees and states that he does not mind; in fact, he requests to become a soldier and expresses a specific desire to learn how to use the "Device".

Kuklo is having dinner and sees Sharle leave the table. Concerned, Kuklo follows her and walks in on her attempting to destroy the "Device" in Xenophon's office. He apologizes to Sharle for making her wait as long as she did for him to return. While Sharle feels bad for him not scolding her, Kuklo embraces a now-crying Sharle. When things have toned down, Sharle asks Kuklo why he would still want to join the Survey Corps despite the hardships he has been through. Kuklo simply grins at Sharle and replies that he "loves the people of this world." He explains how he found that people have deep emotions that he would like to know more about. As such, he thanks Sharle for teaching him about the world. Kuklo admits to Sharle that he bears no hatred towards Dario or Xavi. He mentions to Sharle that, despite her assumptions, her father did care for her since he had made the knife to protect her, and which saved his own life while outside the Walls. Kuklo declares that he must ensure that Titans are eliminated as they are stopping him from achieving true freedom. He also predicts that someday, Titans will finally breach through the Walls. This alarms Sharle, along with Xenophon, Jorge, and Cardina who were listening in the background.

The next morning, Jorge offers to show Kuklo and Cardina the iron bamboo. They first have a stroll around town, where Kuklo stares in awe at the size of the main factory furnace. Soon a Military Police carriage arrives and Sharle holds Kuklo's hand to offer her comfort. Xenophon gives Kuklo and Cardina aliases for the Military Police to ensure their safety. They meet Jentsch Dafner, the commander of the Military Police who grants them access to the primary grove and welcomes them with a salute. He says if there are any issues to come see him and then leaves in a carriage, with both Kuklo and Cardina expressing relief that they were not recognized. Kuklo participates in a walk in the outskirts of town to reach the iron bamboo. Once passing through the main gates, they continue on through the forest. Kuklo eventually reaches a clearing, where he is surrounded by iron bamboo. He notes how beautiful it is and goes to touch one, surprised to discover that it feels just like steel. He learns that Sharle's knife was crafted from iron bamboo, which is how he managed to deal damage to a Titan. When asked about why it is not used by all the soldiers, Kuklo learns that the grove they are at is the only place where it naturally grows and they are trying to learn how the bamboo absorbs the iron. Jorge tells everyone the story of the capture of a Titan fifteen years ago, with the supervision of Angel. Kuklo promises to Jorge that he will carry on Angel's determination and join the Survey Corps along with Cardina when he is able to; until then, he pledges to spend time practicing with the Device. Later that night, Sharle brings some tea to their room; Cardina comes up with an excuse to leave so they can be alone. Sharle mentions that Kuklo acted strangely at the mention of the Titan who ate his mother; Kuklo states that he was not sure how to react due to never knowing his mother. Sharle hugs him and says that she will be his family.

Relationships

 * Sharle Inocencio - The daughter of Dario Inocencio and younger sister of Xavi Inocencio. She initially decides she is going to kill him. But after meeting him, she is surprised to find Kuklo to be different from the Titans she had seen and begins to question Kuklo about his personal information. Because of this, she starts teaching him about the world within the Walls and what little they know about Titans. Kuklo is shown to be kind towards Sharle and the two formed a strong friendship with one another during their time spent together. When Kuklo stated that he was going to escape he asked Sharle to follow him, which she tearfully agreed to. While living in both Shiganshina and the Industrial City, she expresses a desire for Kuklo to escape from the moniker of "Titan's son" that has plagued him his entire life and to be able to have a normal life. When Sharle expresses her worries about Kuklo joining the army, he tells Sharle that she taught him to love "the people of this world" and merely wants to protect them.
 * Xavi Inocencio - After Kuklo was purchased by Xavi's father Dario, he was given to Xavi as a gift. Xavi regularly beat and abused Kuklo in an effort to become stronger. He would also bring friends to Kuklo's cell, where he would boast about besting the son of a Titan. After Kuklo was freed by the Titan Cult and bested Xavi in combat, Xavi developed an intense loathing for him, and began going to great lengths to exact revenge upon him, including lying to the Military and claiming that Kuklo kidnapped Sharle and arranged for the murder of Dario. Despite all of this, however, Kuklo has revealed to Sharle that he holds no ill contempt towards her older brother, as Xavi used only his hands when beating Kuklo, rather than weapons, and always allowed Kuklo to resist or fight back. Overall, Kuklo knows that he was being treated as a tool, but also knows that deep down, Xavi only did what he did out of desperation to become stronger.
 * Dario Inocencio - They have very few interactions with each other, mainly because Kuklo was bought and kept in the basement specifically for Xavi's training against Titans. Kuklo has revealed that he holds no ill contempt towards Dario and felt that being imprisoned in the household was better than living out in the streets as a sideshow. Kuklo also believed that deep down, Dario loved Xavi and Sharle as his children and did what was best for them.
 * Elena Munsell - Due to being eaten by a Titan before he was born, Kuklo did not have a chance to see or bond with his mother. Her death (and his unexpected survival) are what led to him being labeled as "The Titan's Child."
 * Heath Munsell - His birth father who died before he was born. His death being the reason for Elena's drastic decision.
 * Cardina Baumeister - Though Kuklo was initially distrusting of Cardina, the two quickly developed a bond while imprisoned together. Kuklo has shown himself to be very loyal to Cardina, going so far as to risk his life several times while outside the Walls in order to save Cardina.

Trivia

 * In Ancient Greek, Kuklo is derived from the word Kuklōps, meaning . This is fitting, given the fact that Kuklo currently only has one working eye, his right eye having been damaged by Xavi.

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