Mikasa Ackerman

Mikasa Ackerman (ミカサ・アッカーマン) is the adopted sister of Eren Yeager, and the main female protagonist of the series. She lived with the Yeager family for approximately a year before the fall of Wall Maria. Though she desires only to live a peaceful life with Eren and Armin Arlert, Mikasa chose to follow them both into the military, where she would become the best soldier among the 104th Trainees Squad, and later join the Survey Corps.

Appearance
Mikasa is physically fit and has chin-length black hair. Originally, she wore her hair long, but cut it short at Eren's suggestion, despite Jean considering her hair to be beautiful. Mikasa is of Asian heritage, with an average height, pale skin and calm, black eyes. In the anime however, her eye color is not consistent and often varies depending on the light and surroundings. Her body has been depicted as extremely well-toned, with little, if any, in the way of body fat and muscles lined throughout her arms, legs, and abs. Mikasa also has a small scar below her right eye, which she received after Eren (in his Titan Form) unknowingly attempted to kill her.

As a soldier, Mikasa is often seen wearing the uniform consisting of a short, light-brown jacket with the badge of the Survey Corps on both shoulders, on the front left pocket, and on the center of the back, a white shirt, a dark brown sash around the waist covering the hips, white pants and dark brown knee-high leather boots. She is also seen wearing a green cape with the symbol of the Survey Corps after entering the faction. A unique part of her attire is a black (dark red in the anime) scarf, which was given to her by Eren after saving her from the human traffickers. Because of that, it is very precious to her as she is almost never seen without it.

Personality
A few years before the storyline, Mikasa appeared to be cheerful, outgoing, yet unusually perceptive child. She became aware of the harshness of nature at an early age, witnessing the manner in which predators would hunt and kill weaker prey. However, her innocence allowed her to push these thoughts to the back of her mind, and she continued to live happily with her parents. This illusory peace was shattered when a band of criminals brutally murdered her parents before her very eyes, in a failed kidnapping attempt targeting Mikasa and her mother, as well as when she witnessed Eren Yeager kill two of the criminals in an attempt to rescue her. As the last of the kidnappers was strangling Eren to death for killing his friends, she could no longer ignore the cruelty that defined the world she lived in. As a result, Mikasa lost all inhibition and hesitation, and killed the assailant in a desperate act of self-preservation.

Though she is considerably more withdrawn after the murder of her parents, she still loves and cares deeply for her friends, especially Eren and Armin, seeing them as the last remnants of a family she cannot afford to lose. Her personality as a teenager is very much influenced and molded by Eren, who told her she stood no chance of survival if she did not fight for it . His words continue to stay with her, and her mind automatically recalls them to spur her on when she is close to death. Her determination to protect Eren as much as possible may also have contributed greatly to her phenomenal skills as a soldier. Though she is among the best of the best, she remains humble and refrains from putting on airs or displaying arrogance.

Mikasa has a strong sense of right and wrong, but she is also very protective of Eren and does all she can to advise him to follow what she deems to be the right track. Despite that, she knows well that she cannot always sway Eren in his decisions and makes a point to follow Eren to almost everywhere he goes and stick by whatever final decisions he makes, just so that she can be around to help him out when he is in trouble. The sole reason she enlisted in the military and joined the Survey Corps after her graduation was to keep an eye on Eren, despite the fact that she truly wished to live out the rest of her days in relative peace within the Walls alongside him. She also takes Eren's opinion seriously, so much so that when he once said that her hair was too long, she immediately had it cut, even though Jean had just commented that it looked beautiful.

Yet for all her blind loyalty, Mikasa is quite stoic and level-headed. Her will is remarkably strong, and she is rarely seen to lose her cool or be at a loss of what to do, no matter how bleak a situation seems to be. Even when she believed Eren to be dead, outwardly she managed to remain so calm that only Armin could tell that she was battling with the pain of losing her brother. However, she is not completely immune to the effects of her emotions. Her strong feelings for Eren, particularly when he is in harm's way, does at times cloud her judgement - sometimes at the expense of other peoples' well-being. A notable example is the occasion she briefly gave into her grief over Eren's apparent demise and lost the will to live - forgetting her responsibility for the lives of the soldiers she had taken upon herself to lead in the process.

When it was discovered that Eren was in fact alive and well during the Battle of Trost, Mikasa's cool facade broke, and she openly wept in relief while clinging to his body. Since that experience, her protectiveness of Eren has become more pronounced. Mikasa will now stop at nothing to keep him safe, to the point of being willing to kill anyone who threatens his life and developing vengeful grudges towards those who harm him. She relentlessly attacked the Female Titan in a murderous fury as it attempted to abduct Eren, and later assaulted Reiner and Bertolt with her blades for trying to do the same. When she discovered that the two had managed to make off with Eren and had gotten a five hour headstart while she was knocked unconscious, Mikasa was disconsolate and began to cry at the thought of once again losing Eren. However, even when Mikasa gives in to her sadness, it does not take much to snap her out of it, as she never truly gives up all hope.

Mikasa also has a habit of blushing or expressing embarrassment when others make certain assumptions about her relationship with Eren. Her face flushed when Ian mistook Eren for her sweetheart during the reconquest of Trost District, and also when she told Armin she wished to remain behind with Eren while he and Jean left his room after capturing the Female Titan.

Despite the independence and strength Mikasa has gained, Eren still remains a great source of comfort and reassurance to her. She cherishes the scarf he gave her on the day they met, constantly wearing it unless the weather is too warm, and nuzzles her nose to it whenever she is upset. She is thankful to him for coming into her life, saving her from a horrible fate, and teaching her how to keep on living. She is willing to face death if it is for his sake, and is also able to smile and accept it, as long as she is beside him.

History
Mikasa was born to a Caucasian father and Asian mother. Before her parents' death, she lived peacefully with them in the farmlands of Wall Maria. In the manga, Mikasa underwent a painful scarring ritual from her mother, whom cut into her skin the mark of their Asian clan, while in the anime and visual novel, was taught an Asian style embroidery. Being the last of their race made them high value targets to human traffickers, who killed Mikasa's parents and attempted to kidnap her for the purpose of selling her as a slave to the people in the Capitol, when she was only nine years old.

She was rescued by Eren, who tricked and killed two of the slavers. He was then overwhelmed by the third trafficker and was on the verge of being strangled. Desperately, Eren urged Mikasa to fight to win. Although she was initially frightened, she came to realize that, "This world is a callous and merciless place," dispatching the kidnapper who was trying to kill Eren. When Eren's father arrived with members of the Military Police Brigade, she was given the scarf by Eren and accepted into his family. This event awakened the fighting instincts and perfect self-control that would later turn her into a formidable soldier. She lived with Eren's family in Wall Maria's Shiganshina District until it was destroyed by the Colossal Titan.

Fall of Shiganshina arc
Mikasa appears for the first time in year 845 somewhere inside Wall Maria. She is seen waking Eren up, telling him that they need to return to home. She is surprised to see tears in his eyes and asks why he was crying. On their way home, they meet Hannes. Mikasa watches as Eren complains about the soldiers slacking off while on duty. Later, both Eren and Mikasa watch the return of the Survey Corps forces, witnessing yet another failure of their expedition. After returning home, Mikasa tells on Eren, revealing to his parents his desire to join the Survey Corps. Annoyed, Eren leaves, with Mikasa following him. They save Armin, who is being beaten by local bullies and together discuss their desire to go outside the Walls.

At that moment, the three kids witness the sudden appearance of a Colossal Titan that breaches the Wall's gate. Mikasa and Eren run back to their home to find it crushed and their mother trapped under the debris. In spite of their attempts, Mikasa and Eren are unable to free her, Hannes rescuing them as a Titan devours their mother. Mikasa and Eren are placed on a ship just as the Armored Titan breaks through the inner gate, letting the Titans inside Wall Maria, witnessing Eren's vow to kill all the Titans as they are transported to safety. Once inside the safety of Wall Rose, Eren confronts a soldier from the Garrison who manifests his annoyance for having to share their food with outsiders. The short beating the soldiers give Eren cause him to claim that he will retake Wall Maria with his own hands and insult Armin for his doubt, Mikasa punching him to bring him back to his senses. She then declares that she will do everything to keep him alive, forcing him to eat the rations he had previously discarded out of anger.

104th Trainees Squad arc
After the events of the Wall Maria's destruction, the government's desperate attempt to reclaim the lands using the refugees leads to nothing but more casualties. This prompts Mikasa, Eren and Armin enroll with the army and become members of the 104th Trainees Squad.

During their training, Mikasa helps Eren as much as she can as he initially fails to grasp the basics of the Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear. They manage to pass the qualifying tests, Mikasa quickly proving her skills and is praised as one of the best trainees in military history. At one point, Mikasa asks Annie Leonhart, a fellow trainee with exceptional skill, to teach her a self-defense technique that she was teaching Eren, which eventually calls for a bet with the 104th Trainees Squad to see who is the stronger fighter. At the 104th Trainees Squad's graduation, she is ranked first in the class.

Battle of Trost District arc
Before having the chance to fully apply in the Survey Corps so she can keep Eren safe, the Colossal Titan breaches Wall Rose the same way it did with Wall Maria. Much to her dismay, Mikasa is assigned to the rear guard to help fend off the Titans while the civilians escape into the safety of Wall Sina. Before fulfilling her duty, she makes Eren promise her not to do anything reckless.

Later on, as an abnormal Titan approaches the escaping civilians who are blocked at the gate. Mikasa kills it, saving everyone. She then witnesses why the civilians are taking too long to escape; an overloaded cargo cart is blocking the way. Mikasa asks the businessman to move the cart so that the people could escape, but when he refuses, she has to resort threatening him after knocking his guards unconscious, which scares the man enough to relent and move his goods. Seeing a mother and daughter show their gratitude for saving them, Mikasa flashes back to the time she lost her own parents and realizes that Eren is the only family she has left. Thus, with the evacuation of Trost District citizens complete, she heads to the front guard in order to aid her comrades. However, the sole trainee survivors are low on gas, making them unable to scale the Wall while the supply team inside the headquarters has barricaded themselves in against the onslaught of multiple Titans. After hearing of Eren's supposed death from Armin, Mikasa regroups the survivors and insults them, saying she will break through the Titans assaulting the headquarters.

Because of her grief over Eren's death, she fights irrationally and does not notice that she is running out of gas. As two Titans close in on her, she contemplates giving up and begins to remember her time with Eren, recalling Eren's cries of fighting back against her kidnappers, which gives her motivation to fight once more. When Mikasa stands up to kill the Titan in front of her, another Titan comes running from behind and saves her. This Titan, which ignores Mikasa, gives Armin enough time to rescue Mikasa and they both continue heading to the supply HQ. As they watch this rogue Titan continue killing other Titans, they hatch a plan to lure it to the HQ and relieve the siege there. With its help, the trainees manage to successfully refill their gas tanks and have clear access to the Wall.

However, as they watch the rogue Titan dispose of the last Titans surrounding them, Eren appears out the nape of its neck. Overcome with relief that Eren is alive, Mikasa quickly rescues and embraces him, everyone leaving for the Wall. However, Jean, along with Annie, Reiner, and Bertolt are ordered to hand Eren over to superior officers under the command of Kitts Woerman and to treat the incident as something confidential. Their refusal to do so causes Mikasa and her friends to be accused of treason and find themselves surrounded by Captain Woerman's men, who are prompt to execute them. Mikasa attempts to defend Eren by drawing her blades and threatening to kill anyone who would try to harm Eren, but witnessing Eren's Titan form fighting in Trost District, Woerman does not hesitate and orders a cannon to fire at them in spite of the latter's claim that he is a human. Eren uses his power to block the cannonball and tries to think of a plan of escape. He proposes that they either try to flee over the walls and escape into the Titan territory or have attempt Armin persuade the soldiers to spare them, leaving him to choose. Armin tries his best to convince the soldiers that Eren's Titan abilities could help to save humanity, but realizes the commander is far too scared to think rationally. Before the order can be given to fire upon them once more, they are saved when Commander Dot Pixis, head administrator of the southern region, intervenes. They are sent on a mission to plug the breach in the Wall with a rock that only Eren in Titan form can lift.

As the mission commences and Eren goes into Titan form, he loses control, attacking Mikasa, and eventually knocking himself out. The elite team, lead by Ian Dietrich, Rico Brzenska and Mitabi Jarnach, designated to defend Eren as he carries the rock quarrel among themselves about what to do next. Mikasa is on the verge of attacking them until Ian orders everyone to continue protecting Eren until he recovers. Thanks to Armin's intervention, Eren eventually regains his senses and successfully places the rock down, albeit with many casualties. At that moment, they are saved by Levi as he kills the Titans approaching them.

The Female Titan arc
After the battle of Trost District is over, Eren is brought before a military tribunal to decide his future. Despite Mikasa's best efforts to defend him, she is forced to testify against Eren as his reckless actions have frightened many people in the courtroom. Some time later, Mikasa and everyone else have their 3D Maneuver Gear inspected in order to find out the culprit who killed the two captured Titans. Later on, Commander Erwin Smith comes to recruit new members for the Survey Corps which is scheduling an expedition within a few months. Many leave except for Mikasa, Reiner, Armin, Sasha, Krista, Connie, Jean, Bertolt and a few others.

Mikasa is then seen to be a part of the 57th expedition. Shortly after leaving for Wall Maria, the Female Titan appears and defeats numerous Survey Corps members. The formation eventually reaches the Forest of Giant Trees, with Mikasa being stationed at its outskirts, making sure that no Titans enter the forest. Eventually, she attempts to approach Eren as she hears his roar in his Titan Form. Upon reaching Eren's location, she witnesses the Female Titan devouring Eren's human body. After overcoming the initial shock, Mikasa charges at the Female Titan, cutting it up in order to rescue Eren. However, she is unable to do so until she teams up with Levi. They manage to take Eren back and join the rest of the rest of the formation. While heading to the Walls, the formation is attacked by multiple Titans brought by a couple of rookie soldiers who disobeyed a direct order from Commander Erwin, and Mikasa must save the rookies who are caught by the Titans.

Following the Survey Corps's failure, Armin manages to convince Annie to help them out until they can gather evidence to prove to the King that the Walls need to be protected better. During that time, Mikasa takes a notice of the lack of diligence and honor in the Military Police. She prepares for battle when she gets fed up with Annie's games and excuses. She takes off her disguise and draws out out her sword to fight her, promising to "cut up the Female Titan one more time".

In the following battle, Mikasa learns that Eren in his Titan form isn't powerful enough to defeat Annie by himself. Being the strongest and most powerful soldier herself, she decides to take the fight to her. Despite being ordered to pull away by Hange, Mikasa manages to make it to Annie as she attempted to climb over Wall Sina to escape to the flat lands. Since Annie had already climbed more than half way towards the top of the Wall, Eren throws Mikasa upwards so she can catch up with the Female Titan, and cut off all her fingers. She then proceeds to push Annie off to fall to the ground. Annie is therefore captured, but encases herself in a crystal to avoid interrogation. However, it was far from over as Mikasa has just taken noticed of a Titan inside the Wall. As both the Survey Corps and Military Police take an encased Annie underground to detain her, Mikasa realizes the Titan hiding in Wall Sina is alive, but is too weak to move due to a lack of sunlight. Mikasa remains at Eren's bedside as Armin and Jean head down to a meeting involving Erwin and the Military Police.

Clash of the Titans arc
Following the supposed breach of Wall Rose, Mikasa, Eren and the other members of the Survey Corps come to rescue Reiner and the others from the other Titans. She is among the others who learns of Krista's real name being Historia. After they reach the top of the Wall, Mikasa is outraged when she overhears Reiner confessing that he and Bertolt were the Titans responsible for the attack on Wall Maria and wanted Eren to join them. She takes them by surprise, attacking them with her swords and tells Eren to run. However, she fails to kill them as Reiner stops her from doing so, transforming afterwards and attempting to kidnap Eren. While Eren transforms, and engages in battle with Reiner, Mikasa faces her own troubles and regrets for not cutting off both his and Bertolt's heads when she had the chance. During the fight with Reiner, she sees Eren in trouble and tries to fight him off. However due to the thickness of the armor, Mikasa has a hard time slicing the nape of Reiner's neck. Eventually, Armin sees a weak link in Reiner's line of defense in which his armor is breaking and gives Mikasa extra blades to replace her own. Taking advantage of the information, she cuts him at the back of the knee caps. However, Bertolt manages to save Reiner thanks to his abilities of the Colossal Titan, knocking out most of the soldiers in the process.

Later, Mikasa along with Hange and others from the Survey Corps are injured from the heat blast from Bertolt's Titan from. While Armin helps them recover, he gives Mikasa the news that she was dreading to hear: Eren along with Ymir was kidnapped by both Reiner and Bertolt. Taking the scarf that he gave her, Mikasa covers her face with it and asks why Eren always runs off on them like that. She feels like she has failed in keeping her adoptive mother's promise in always protecting him and weeps. As Armin tries to console her, Hannes arrives to give out rations to the Legion. It was him who reminds her that despite him running off the way he does and often losing fights, he never gives up on them. Even thought the odds are stacked against him and he is unwilling to admit it, Hannes always knew that Eren relied on both Mikasa and Armin when he needed them. His words and his assistance reinvigorated them and are more determined to rescue Eren. Mikasa lowers her scarf and begins eating.

She spearheads the attack on the traitors, aggressively chasing them down as they attempt to flee from the Forest of Giant Trees. Realizing that armor was protecting Reiner's joints this time, she instead targets Ymir and slashes into her face. Afterwards, she attempts to kill Bertolt, who escapes by hiding between the Armored Titan's throat and his hands. Changing targets again, she prepares to try to kill Ymir and is only stopped when Krista intervenes. However, she is unmoved by Krista's words and threatens to kill anyone that gets in her way. Her cold expression and statement that she has no mercy or compassion to spare forces Krista and Ymir to back down, allowing her to focus on trying to find a way to take down the traitors.

Jean and Connie try to speak to Bertolt and coax him into surrendering, but Mikasa coldly states that their reasons don't matter. She calls Reiner and Bertolt a "plague upon humanity" and advises the others not to show mercy. This causes Bertolt to yell at her, first stating that they never wanted to kill anyone and admitting to having cared for the others in the 104th. She is visibly shocked by this outburst, enough that it snaps her out of her murderous rage. Mikasa asks them to give Eren back, but her request is rebuffed as he claims it has to be done. Before the group can argue further, Hannes shouts a warning to them that a huge group of Titans are being lead straight towards them by Erwin Smith.

Mikasa retreats, but it is not long before Erwin orders them to attack one more time, claiming this to be the key moment for humanity's survival. However, he gets grabbed by a Titan and in spite of their initial shock, the soldiers, along with Mikasa, follow Erwin's orders and continue advancing. Mikasa eventually reaches her target, but has to be saved by Jean from the grasp of a Titan. Finally, Erwin frees Eren and Mikasa catches him, however, Reiner begins throwing Titans at the soldiers in an attempt to stop them and Eren and Mikasa find themselves facing a Titan they remember from 5 years ago, the Titan that ate their mother.

Believing that it will be their final moments after seeing Hannes being eaten, Mikasa tells Eren that she wants to thank him for being together with her, for teaching her how to live, and for giving and wrapping the muffler on her which she always wears. As she moves closer to Eren, he turned away to face the Smiling Titan and vowed to Mikasa that he will wrap the muffler around her as many times as he needs to. Mikasa and Eren both escaped with the others as Eren unknowingly awakens his power to control other Titans, and orders them to attack the Smiling Titan, Reiner and Bertolt.

The Uprising arc
Mikasa and the unified Military group arrive back at Wall Rose and are greeted by the Garrison, led by Rico Brzenska. The Garrison focuses on the wounded first and are in disbelief as they realize just how high the casualties were. Eren places Mikasa on a stretcher and apologizes before she cuts him off and tells him that it is ok. Eren notices that Erwin has lost consciousness and yells his name in concern. As the Garrison finally makes sense of the situation they take the wounded away on carts, including Mikasa. Over the course of a week Mikasa has recovered from her fractured ribs while Levi made her a member of the new Special Operations Squad along with Jean, Connie, Sasha, Armin, Historia, and Eren. The squad have relocated to a remote cabin in the woods. Mikasa and Historia come back from gathering wood and brushes off concern about her from Armin by replying that her body is getting dull. As Jean and Eren comically argue about spying on Mikasa doing sit-ups, Sasha remarks that somehow this experience feels like being trainees again. Armin wonders why they of all people were chosen for Levi and Sasha counters that perhaps they are exceptional. As Eren observes Armin catching Sasha stealing bread he thinks back to his days with the old Special Operations Squad.

Levi summons his squad along with Nifa, Keiji, Moblit Berner, Hange, and a goggled member of her squad to a meeting. After commenting on their poor cleaning job he reveals that their main objective of retaking Wall Maria has not changed. Levi considers this objectives more important than anything, even the lives of the people at the meeting. He calls on Armin to explain his theory on sealing the wall. Armin elaborates that since the walls are made of Titans it would require less than a days work if they could use a hardened Titans' body. Armin is pessimistic about the plan but Levi reassures him that it all rests on Eren, who is willing to try. Levi asks Hange to prepare an experiment for Eren to which she replies that it is her duty until she dies. She also believes that retaking the wall is the most important objective and therefore wants to quickly study Eren's hardening abilities, along with his potential to control Titans. She does however want Eren to keep a low profile and explains this decision by saying that Pastor Nick is dead, much to the shock of those present. She tells them that he was found dead this morning and she highly suspects that he was murdered. She tells the story of how her and Moblit arrived at the scene and after seeing Nick's corpse were stopped by two First Interior Squad Military Police members. She observed the knuckles of the leader, Djel Sanes, and concluded that he likely killed Pastor Nick. She is extremely worried that the First Interior squad was used and blames herself for his death. As Armin wonders why they tortured Pastor Nick, Levi explains that the probably wanted information about Eren and Historia. Hange is worried that Nick gave away their location but Levi finds this doubtful since he had all his fingernails ripped out, and most people would take after only having one removed. Levi offers Hange the choice of dealing with this interior business or going to seal wall Maria. Hange responds that she intends to do both and rationalizes this by saying it is the same option Erwin would choose. As the meeting concludes, Connie tells Eren that he didn't understand half of what was said. He is angry at Ymir for laughing about the Beast Titan transforming the people of Connie's village into Titans. Historia rebuffs his comments by claiming that Ymir was trying to protect his damaged mind. At another meeting with Levi's squad Historia tells the truth about her life. She was born on a farm in Wall Sina to noble Rod Reiss and spent most of her time doing chores. Her mother was always reading books and would occasionally go to the city dressed well, implying that she was a prostitute. After she learned to read and write, Historia noticed how lonely she was due to the fact that no one ever spoke to her and she never left the farm. She once embraced her mother but was violently thrown off and heard her mother say that she wished she had the courage to kill Historia. Then, several days after Wall Maria fell Rod Reiss came to the farm with her mother and after introducing himself as her father, said that she would be living with him from now on. The trio was then surrounded by the First Interior Squad who captured Historia's mother and asked Rod Reiss if he had any connection to these two people. Both him and her mother denied any relation so one member placed her mother on the ground and put a knife to her throat. As she wished that Historia had never been born she had her throat slit and is killed. As the same man approached Historia to kill her, Rod Reiss told her that Krista Lenz was her new name and she was never allowed to talk about what happened here.

Mikasa and the rest of Levi's squad are all observing Hange's experiment on Eren. During his first transformation Hange realizes that he is unable to harden his skin like The Female Titan. She then decides to run intelligence tests, which went well except that Eren can't talk due to the wrong mouth structure. One hour after transforming while Eren is writing about his father he suddenly exits his Titan form, and then, after resting 30 minutes he transforms again. This second Titan is only 13 m as opposed to Eren's usual 15 m and is unable to follow commands. The third transformations is only 10 m tall and is missing flesh, along with Eren being fused with it much harder than before. As Hange shouts that he is the hope of humanity, Levi notices the defects before Mikasa jump down to cut Eren out. Levi ponders about discipling her for acting on her own but decides against it since they are clearly done with the tests. As Hange pulls Eren from his Titan she notices how hot it is and his deformed state. As she seemingly cares more about the experiment and documenting Eren, Mikasa shows extreme concern and asks where Hange's humanity is. Mikasa finally cuts Eren out and Hange apologizes while officially ending the experiment. While Jean confirms his suspicion that Eren couldn't do this, Levi orders Historia to sit with Eren who is unconscious and being consoled by Mikasa and Hange. Hange is worried as she is sure that the smoke from the Titan's body will notify anyone near. One day later, Eren awakes from his sleep and since he can't remember anything about the experiment he is filled in by Hange. Levi harshly blames Eren for there current situation and over Mikasa's defence, he admits that while he is mean complaining is part of the process. As Levi begins to elaborate about the walls being awful and their being true freedom outside, Hange interrupts and concludes that they learned Eren can't harden along with other information which makes this experiment a success. As Eren appears to be having a headache Mikasa tells him not to push himself due to his weak state. Hange then moves on and says the only option left is to investigate the Wall Cult. She is curious why the King doesn't have access to this information but rather the Reiss family does. She ends this bedside meeting by saying that Erwin has gone to the capital and will surely learn something. Later, Levi burns Erwin's orders after having his squad read them. They leave just as men come to burn their hideout with Levi coyly remarking that they are underestimating him. As they arrive in Trost and notice it's destroyed state, several citizens come up to Levi and accuse the Survey Corps of not doing enough. They angrily wonder why Levi gets to eat while they starve. After starting a fight a cart comes rushing through and kidnaps Jean and Armin, who are disguised as Eren and Historia. Mikasa and the others trail them to a warehouse and after she inquires about Levi's injured ankle, he replies that he can move it and that is good enough.

As the kidnappers apparent boss confirms with his men that they are Eren and Krista, he enters the room and decides to start by stripping them of everything they have. In mid-sentence Mikasa appears from behind a crate and cracks one of the kidnappers in the head with his knee while at the same time Levi throws one to the ground. Mikasa then tackles their leader as Jean and Armin escape from their ropes and use them to tie up the three men. After confirming with Connie that there are no more, the leader pulls a gun out but is stopped thanks to an arrow from Sasha. Levi begins his interrogation by asking the leader what his role is and he falsely claims to just be the chauffeur. Mikasa recognizes him as Dimo Reeves, the president of a merchant company who was blocking the escape from Trost district after it was breached. As Dimo begrudgingly admits who he is Levi decides to take him somewhere else to talk. At that moment Armin is fixing a gag on one of the men who acts very perverted, which results in Jean taking over due to Armin's nervousness. On top of the wall Levi asks where they are and Dimo calls Trost him home town while also admitting that he loves this place. Levi notices the irony that while this place was humanity's first win against the titans, only Eren in his titan form could achieve this; humanity can't compete with titans. Levi continues his lecture about the importance of Eren and how horrible it would be if he was taken away, but is cut off by Dimo who claims to be too old for a sermon. Levi then inquires about Dimo's negotiation with the First Interior Squad, but learns that Dimo is only following orders. Dimo goes on to say that due to this failure his company, men, and even himself will all be destroyed. He calls the First Interior Squad total morons for picking a fight with the Survey Corps and notes that Mikasa alone was strong enough to take out himself and all his men. Levi agrees but asks if Dimo is going to let himself be killed by those morons and he replies that they have absolute authority, so yes. Dimo refuses to fight because then even more of his men will die but Levi notes that they will die either way. He further elaborates that Trost is on the verge of collapse but still there are people here thanks to the Reeves company. Without Reeves company the town will certainly die which Dimo blames on Levi for not handing over Eren and Krista. Shockingly, Levi agrees to that very thing much to the objection of everyone present, especially Mikasa. Levi stipulates three conditions for this agreement: Reeves company joins the Survey Corps against the government, they trust them fully, and they must give the Survey Corps preference on luxury goods. Sasha blurts out that she loves these conditions even though Mikasa is visibly worried. Dimo chuckles that while Levi is pretty greedy he likes him. He agrees to the deal by shaking Levi's hand. Reeves lures Djel Sanes and his partner Ralph into the arms of the Survey Corps by telling them he has Eren and Krista. Mikasa and the rest of Levi's squad relocate to a remote cabin where Sanes is now being tortured himself, by Levi and Hange.

Mikasa and the rest of Levi's squad, minus the captain, sit around a table and hear the tortured screams of Djel Sanes in the basement. Jean laments that he expected to fight Titans when he joined the Survey Corps, not humans. As he wonders why they are staining their hands in this manner, Eren responds that the only other alternative is for humanity to die to the titans. Since Erwin's goal is to overthrow the government, Eren concludes that this is just the beginning. Jean notes that failure will almost certainly led to execution. Armin theorizes that since they are trying to change a 100 year old system their best chance of success would be to get the populace on their side. His idea is to create some sort of tragedy and then blame it on the government. This plan draws considerable worry from everyone present so Armin nervously stutters that he was just kidding. Jean asks if Armin was corrupted due to the pervert at the warehouse and Mikasa says that she doesn't remember raising him this way. Armin continues that they have to kill their current enemies because they have different ideas. He concludes by depressingly announcing that they are not good guys anymore.

Abilities
Owing to the need to protect her adoptive brother who often runs off looking for trouble, Mikasa had honed herself to be a talented fighter at a very young age, often throwing boys bigger than her with ease, gaining her reputation. An example of this is when Armin was being bullied and Eren came to his rescue. The boys were preparing to take Eren on when they saw Mikasa behind him and promptly ran away, even though the bullies had superior numbers. She is strong enough to lift Eren off the ground without effort.

While she was still training, Keith even noted that Mikasa's performance is exemplary in every subject, and that she is truly a genius. Combined with her prodigious skill in 3D Maneuver Gear, she can easily take down Titans with speed and efficiency. This has lead to her being mentioned as a military genius many times and "worth a hundred ordinary soldiers." With such prodigious skills coupled with her own remarkable will, she displays lethal force against Titans rarely seen among soldiers, recruits or veterans alike. This has been proven true when she took Annie in her Titan form, who had killed numerous experienced veterans with ease before, and survived.

Relationships

 * Mr. and Mrs. Ackerman - Mikasa shared a loving bond with her biological parents, and was happy with the simple life they shared. Being one of the last members of an Asian clan, Mrs Ackerman had Mikasa undergo a scarring ritual involving the engraving of their clan's mark on her right forearm. She praised Mikasa for receiving the mark without making a fuss and encouraged her to carry on the legacy with her own children. Mr Ackerman was a kind father to Mikasa, and she was very relaxed around him. She was not shy of asking either parent anything she did not know, and trusted them completely. The day a trio of kidnappers attacked and killed her parents in front of her, Mikasa lost all hope and believed her world had gone cold until Eren's father decided to adopt her.
 * Grisha Yeager - Though he initially hoped Mikasa would get along with Eren as a friend, in the end Grisha took in Mikasa after the brutal murder of her parents. He treated her kindly as if she were his own daughter, and for that Mikasa respected and gratefully relied on him as her father figure.
 * Kalura Yeager - Kalura took care of Mikasa during her stay in the Yeager household. Much like her husband and son, she treated Mikasa as a family member and took care of her. The two seemed to have an implicit understanding between them when it came to keeping Eren out of trouble. Kalura urged Mikasa to look out for her reckless brother and give him help when he needed it. During the Titans' assault on their hometown, she desperately tried to lift the roof beam preventing Kalura from running away from the danger. Despite Kalura's pleas, she tearfully refused to leave her, and could not bring herself to watch as a Titan eventually killed and ate her.
 * Eren Yeager - Mikasa considers Eren to be her 'family', since she was adopted into his home. She always wears a scarf, given to her by Eren, as a token of her memories with him. From the time he saved her life and accepted her into his home, Eren has been a great source of strength and comfort for her. Because he is the only 'family' she has left, she will go to any lengths to ensure his safety, and vows to follow him wherever he may go, stating her only wish is to remain by his side. This often results in Eren becoming annoyed whenever she becomes too protective, and telling her not to treat him like her 'baby brother'. Due to the intensity of her devotion to him, several characters, from Ian to Jean and even Levi, are confused about the nature of their relationship. Interestingly, Mikasa only ever blushes when Eren is involved. Examples of this include her embarrassed flush when Ian mistook him for her sweetheart during the reconquest of Trost;   Armin leaving her alone with Eren after capturing the Female Titan;  and,  when she believed she was about to die, thanked Eren for everything he has done for her.
 * Armin Arlert - Mikasa is a close friend of Armin's, essentially because Eren is his friend. She frequently helped Eren fend off the older boys who bullied him when they were children. Mikasa recognizes Armin's ability to reason out the best solution and come up with the best strategy during dire situations, is faithful to him and trusts him deeply, as shown when she refuses to leave him behind to his death during the Battle of Trost. She encourages him to have more confidence in himself whenever he doubts or criticizes himself. Her faith in him, along with Eren's, are responsible for Armin's boost in confidence from the time he attempted to convince a hostile brigade of soldiers of Eren's value as a military weapon.
 * Annie Leonhart - Their relationship is implied to be some sort of rivalry. It's hinted that Annie doesn't like Mikasa for the simple fact that she may be a stronger hand-to-hand combatant, and that Mikasa resents Annie's constant rough treatment of Eren whilst teaching him her techniques. Their animosity deepens when Annie was found to be the Female Titan, and was responsible for the deaths of countless soldiers and Eren's attempted kidnapping. Things came to a peak as Mikasa became fed up with Annie's games and called her out as the Female Titan that had attacked them. With that exposed, Mikasa stopped Annie from escaping by cutting off her fingers and forcing her to fall off of the wall.
 * Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover- Little is known about their friendship. However, Mikasa realizes that she hesitated and was unable to finish them off when they were revealed as the Armored Titan and Colossal Titan. She agonizes over this failure, recognizing that she should have been able to kill them with her level of skill. When she finally caught up to them, she flew into a murderous rage, threatening Ymir and even Krista when they came between her and the traitors. Calling them a "plague upon humanity", and stating that there is no reason to care what their reasons and motivations might be, she also encouraged the others to kill them without mercy. However, her rampage was stalled by Bertolt's emotional confession.
 * Jean Kirstein - Her primary interactions with him relate to his rivalry with Eren, and it is unclear whether she is even aware of his affections for her. When he grimly admonished Eren for attacking her, Mikasa felt Jean was attempting to discredit Eren, and quickly became defensive on his behalf. It is implied that he continues to harbor feelings for Mikasa, as he lost his composure when he saw a Titan had grabbed her, and furiously attacked it head-on in order to save her.
 * Levi Ackerman - Their relationship began in a negative fashion, as she witnessed him beat Eren during a military trial. She once swore to make him pay for his abuse, and lashed out at him when the Female Titan managed to kidnap Eren after slaughtering Levi's squad. Regardless, he expresses an understanding of her and is wounded saving her life -- while temporarily sidelined, he repeatedly offers her advice, and she herself agonizes over causing his injury. It is unknown if she still bears a grudge against him, though she eventually comes to accept his leadership. They both share the last name Ackerman, although their relationship is unknown.
 * Hannes - It's implied that Mikasa was grateful towards Hannes for rescuing her and Eren from being killed by the Titan that ate their mother. Despite admitting to his cowardice in front of her, she did not resent him for failing to rescue Kalura, and she valued him as one of the few people left with whom she shared memories of more peaceful times. Hannes comforted her when she was depressed over losing her adoptive brother, and also encouraged Mikasa not to give up, which snapped her out of her grief. When she was seriously injured, Hannes defended both her and Eren from the Smiling Titan, only to lose his life in the end. Retreating on horseback the safety of Wall Rose, Mikasa appeared to be in anguish over his loss, and still grieves for Hannes with Eren and Armin.

Trivia

 * Misaka-Chara_Design.pnga's surname is derived from the German name "Ackermann" meaning "fieldman".
 * Mikasa ranked third in the Characters Popularity Poll.
 * According to an interview with Isayama, Mikasa will opt to not wear her scarf if it is too hot out.
 * Her scarf may be a reference to the "Red string of fate", which in Japanese folklore represents an unbreakable connection between soulmates or lovers.
 * The name Mikasa has several significant links in Japanese culture:
 * The name Mikasa, literally meaning "three bamboo hats", was a unique pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and served as a flagship during the Russo-Japanese War. The manga's author, Hajime Isayama, supposedly named Mikasa after this vessel due to his belief that series' with female characters named after famous warships come to be successful.
 * Mount Mikasa in Nara, Japan. An annual festival involves burning the dead grass on the mountain.
 * The princely house of Mikasa-no-miya, a branch of the Imperial family in Japan.
 * Mikasa is also a Malagasy word meaning "resolve".
 * In a Volume 11 sideart Isayama portrayed several characters transformed into Titans. Mikasa took the form of a masculine, heavily muscled Titan.
 * Mikasa is one of the Attack on Titan characters who were made into Nendoroid figures, along with Eren, Levi, and the Colossal Titan. A Nendoroid playset of the Attack on Titan setting was also made.
 * In the game Age of Gunslingers Online, a special Titan Mode was made as a tribute to the series. It features Elsa, an NPC modeled after Mikasa and voiced by Yui Ishikawa. A trailer of this mode can be viewed here. A special skin for the Blade Class is also available for purchase.

Quotes
"Only the victors are allowed to live. This world is merciless like that."

- Mikasa to Eren

"Take a deep breath. This isn't the time to be emotional."

- Mikasa to Armin

"I'm strong. Stronger than all of you. Extremely strong. I can kill all of those Titans there. Even if I'm alone."

- Mikasa

"That's enough. I can't listen to anymore of this. It's pointless. I'll tear you apart again, Female Titan!"

- Mikasa to Annie

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