Eren Yeager

Eren Yeager (エレン・イェーガー) is the main protagonist of the manga and anime series. He is the only son of Grisha and Kalura Yeager, adoptive brother of Mikasa Ackerman, and best friend of Armin Arlert. He hails from the fallen Shiganshina District, a town located to the southern part the outermost Wall, Maria. He is a former member of 104th Trainee Squad and currently serves the Military as a member of the Survey Corps.

He holds a personal vendetta against all Titans, and his dream is to purge them from the Earth and explore the world beyond the Walls. He is also a Titan Shifter, and uses his abilities to aid in Humanity's fight against the rule of the Titans.

Human Form
Eren, seemingly of Germanic heritage, is a young man of average height and build. He has a fairly long, yet rounded face, and sizeable, expressive grey eyes (teal-green in the anime). His eyebrows are sparse and often furrowed, making him seem troubled or annoyed. His hair is short and black (dark brown in the anime), with his bangs falling naturally into a middle-parted curtain-type style. His complexion also seems somewhat more tan in comparison to other characters.

He is first seen wearing regular townsfolk attire, which consisted of brown trousers, a green shirt with string tassels at the collar, a moss green coat (maroon in the anime), and simple brown shoes. A few years before the beginning of the story, he also wore a dark grey scarf (red in the anime), which he gave to Mikasa the day they met. As a teenager, he is often seen in the typical Survey Corps uniform when training. His casual attire consists of a long beige shirt (identical to that which he wore on his first appearance) worn with a maroon sash about his waist, brown trousers and brown shoes. He always keeps the key given to him by his father dangling around his neck on a string.

Titan Form
As a Titan Eren's appearance changes quite drastically, yet there are a few qualities that make him recognizable. Along with a massive increase in height (to about 15 m), his hair grows long enough to graze his shoulders, with his eyes becoming deeper-set and narrowed in contrast to their normally wide and unobstructed appearance. His tongue, nose, and ears become more prominent and elongated. He also lacks lips and flesh about his cheeks, exposing all his teeth and bestowing him with a particularly menacing appearance. Compared to the majority of other Titans, Eren's Titan form is well-proportioned and seems much more physically fit, sporting well-defined lean muscle in lieu of a potbellied or emaciated appearance.

Personality
Eren is best described as hardheaded, passionate and impulsive, which are both attributes of his strong determination to protect mankind and eventually leave the walls. As a young child, he was so intent on joining the Survey Corps that he argued with and shouted at his mother, referring to the people in the village as "silly" and compared them to complacent livestock.

As a child, Eren cared deeply for Armin, his best and only friend before he met Mikasa, and most importantly his family, risking harm and even death in order to help them. This quality was most often demonstrated in the form of Eren taking on the larger boys who would bully Armin without hesitation; and more tragically when he desperately attempted to lift the rubble crushing his mother during the Titan's assault in Shiganshina. In contrast, Eren is also capable of displaying very violent behavior in the defense of people he does not even know. This is highlighted when he brutally slaughtered two of the human traffickers who captured Mikasa in order to rescue her, despite the fact that they were total strangers at the time. Since witnessing his mother's gruesome demise and losing contact with his father, his fierce protectiveness to those he has left has only intensified.

Eren has a number of defining traits that date back to his childhood. He came to share his friend Armin's awe of the the lands beyond the Walls after the latter showed him a book depicting the wonders of the outside world; and decided to see it all for himself. This led him to develop a scornful attitude to anyone content to live and die within the Wall's confines without ever setting foot outside. This very contempt may have been the reason he did not easily make friends with his peers. He resented both the Walls that "caged" them in like cattle, and the Titans that had driven humanity to erect them in the first place. As a result of this, he greatly admired the soldiers of the Survey Corps, regarding them as "heroes", and wishing to join their ranks as soon as he became eligible for enrollment. He easily took offense when anyone spoke badly of the Legion, and his determination to join caused friction between himself and his mother, as well as to Mikasa.

Eren had a marked lack of self-restraint that often led him into trouble, causing both his friends and family to worry over him. His limited self-control extended to his temper, and as a result it was short at best and murderous at the very worst. When sufficiently provoked, his anger could drive him into a frenzy, accompanied by horrific levels of violence. Like many children, he tended to view the world in terms of black-and-white; having great compassion for humanity and its plight, but deeming those individuals who deny others their freedom as worthless scum unfit to be left alive. He also had the habit of thinking with his heart rather than his head, even in situations where his own life was in danger.

His characteristic qualities have become more highly pronounced since his mother's death. He now focuses his destructive rage at the Titans, and holds a virulent hatred for them. Fueled by vengeance, he vows to personally wipe every single one of them off the face of the earth and restore mankind to its rightful place. Though he feels great remorse for quarreling with his mother till the very end, he still continues to go against her wishes by seeking entry to the Survey Corps. So strong is his desire to exterminate the Titans, he was plunged into despair when it seemed he could not even master the basics of the 3D Maneuver Gear during training, when his failure was in fact due to faulty equipment. He is not afraid to voice his intentions of leaving the Walls to eliminate the Titans, and is so concentrated in his hatred that he seems not to fear them at all; earning him the nickname "Suicidal Bastard" from the other Trainees.

He possesses great amounts of perseverance, fortitude, and a vigorous determination; managing to graduate fifth in his class despite his lack of natural talent, refusing to give up on his goal to exterminate the Titans even after being dismembered and eaten alive, and fighting the 14-15 m tall Smiling Titan while unarmed and in his human form. He greatly appreciates and/or admires his comrades, and will swiftly fly into a rage if one of them is injured or killed in front of him. He prizes human life, but his personal sense of justice dictates that anyone who steals away the freedom and dreams of others deserves to die. As the identities of the Titan Shifters are revealed, his disbelief quickly gives way to a burning desire to deal each a slow, agonizing death for their crimes. Though his ordeals since the Assault of Trost have taught him to conduct himself a bit more carefully, Eren still tends to behave quite rashly, and speaks his mind even when he knows he should not. This has put him in grave danger on numerous occasions, and he often finds himself having to be rescued.

Whilst assuming his Titan form, Eren seems to become more savage, bloodthirsty, and all-round uncontrollable. Though he is able to consciously control his Titan body after the Battle of Trost, he can very easily become caught up in the pleasure of slaughtering his enemies, indulging in thoughts so brutal he gives the impression of being insane.

Year 844
When Eren was nine years old, he saved Mikasa Ackerman from being sold into slavery by human traffickers. On a visit to the Ackermans' home, he and his father discovered both parents murdered and their daughter missing. Fearing the worst, Dr. Yeager instructed Eren to stay within the house while he fetched the police. However Eren, wanting to rescue the missing girl as soon as possible, managed to track the kidnappers' trail to a small cabin in the forest behind the house.

Opening the door to the room Mikasa was being held captive, he found her laying on the floor with two of the kidnappers keeping watch. Feigning distress and lying that he was lost, he got them to drop their guard enough to offer to guide him home. As one of them closed in to pat his head, Eren slit his throat with a small knife he had hidden behind his back and quickly ducked back out of the room. As the second man went after him with an ax, Eren charged him with a makeshift spear fashioned from a broom and a larger knife, piercing his opponent in the shoulder. Once he was down, Eren untied the knife and proceeded to stab him to death in a wild frenzy.

As he was untying Mikasa in the aftermath, he was caught off-guard by a third kidnapper, who proceeded to furiously strangle him. Unable to bring herself to commit murder even after picking up the knife, Mikasa was desperately reminded by Eren that they would both be killed if she did not fight back and try to win. As Eren began to lose consciousness, Mikasa realized just how cruel life truly was. This epiphany combined with the trauma she had been put through caused the subconscious limiters on her strength to momentarily shatter. With superhuman power, she broke the knife's handle and lunged forward, splintering the floorboards as she went and killing her victim with a single strike through the heart.

When his father returned, Eren was angrily scolded by him for being so reckless with his life. While Eren was sorry for upsetting his father, he expressed no remorse whatsoever for killing the kidnappers. Afterward, Mikasa said that she was cold, and Eren gave her the scarf from his own neck out of concern for her. Once Dr. Yeager invited Mikasa to live with their family from then on, Eren accepted her with no hesitation, gently tugging on her sleeve and shyly insisting that they go back home.

Fall of Shiganshina arc
In year 845, with the invasion of Wall Maria after the Colossal Titan makes a path, Eren discovered the horrors of the life he is living that sets the motion for his future. Seeing the destruction of his town, mindless Titans slaughtering humans, and his own mother being eaten alive as he was helpless to save her, Eren remarks that the life humans live is controlled entirely at the mercy of the Titans and humans are nothing more than cattle. Being dragged away by a local Stationary Guard, Hannes, Eren swears to kill every single Titan in existence with tears of frustration and hatred.

104th Trainees Squad arc
After the fall of Wall Maria, Eren, Mikasa and Armin briefly stayed in the “landfill” working on a farm before reaching the proper age to enroll in the military. Here they spent approximately four years in training, Eren placed fifth in his class upon graduation.

Battle of Trost District arc


Upon graduation, before Eren is able to formally apply for a position in the Survey Corps, the Colossal Titan appeared the same as it did the day of the fall of wall Maria. Eren attempts to destroy it, but it vanishes in a puff of smoke after having broken the gate open.

In response to the crisis, the new recruits are scrambled and split into squads in charge of spreading to and defending different parts of the city. Eren is grouped with Armin. Upon seeing his comrades killed, Eren leaps into battle after a Titan, only to have his leg bitten off below the knee, incapacitating him. The rest of his group attacks and dies as a result. Just as Armin is about to get eaten, Eren manages to pull his friend out of the bearded Titan's mouth, effectively switching places with him. Eren is swallowed, his left arm being severed as the Titan shut its mouth. It is later revealed that in the stomach of the bearded Titan, Eren’s desperation and drive to exterminate all Titans triggered his first transformation into a Titan, bursting from the bearded Titan and proceeding to wreak havoc on all the Titans he could get his hands on. In the process he unwarily saves the mourning Mikasa’s life and is baited by a team of his classmates to help fend off a procession of Titans from a storage headquarters for the compressed gas used to power their 3D movement gear.

As the Titans seem to overwhelm him and Mikasa’s group is about to intervene, a certain Titan that killed one of Eren’s team members appears and Eren’s rage powers him to throw off the percussion and destroy the Titan. As soon as the massacre is over, Eren falls to the ground and his human form emerges from the back of his Titan form’s neck (with both lost limbs back) to the shock of all the onlookers. He is retrieved by an overwhelmed Mikasa. Upon his awakening, Eren seems to only have a faint dream-like memory of his time as a Titan and finds himself cornered by the military with only Mikasa and Armin as his support. The military intends to kill Eren, thinking him an enemy. A cannon is fired at the three of them and Eren grabs onto his two friends and bites his own hand, wounding himself and partially transforming into a Titan, blocking the cannon ball before emerging from the skeleton. Eren allows Armin to try and talk them out of their tight spot with limited success until Commander Dot Pixis intervenes.

A plan is made for Eren to use his Titan form to move a huge boulder they had planned to use to reseal the gate to prevent Titans from further entering, but were unable to move it. Eren is assigned to a team including Mikasa to defend him while he carries the boulder. Upon his transformation to execute the plan, though, he attacks Mikasa, who tries to communicate with him to snap out of it, unsuccessfully. Eren ends up wounding himself and his body fails to regenerate, the mission is declared a failure. Despite this, the leader of the group, with some non-verbal convincing by Mikasa, decides they must stay and guard Eren. Armin arrives on the scene and convinces Mikasa to go help fend off the Titans while he tries to get through to Eren. Eventually he is able to do so, and Eren moves the stone and is able to plug the hole in the wall at the sacrifice of the rest of the team members (with the exception of Rico, Armin and Mikasa). They are saved from the desperate situation after Eren’s transformation back to human by Levi.

Eren again woke up, this time in a dungeon prison cell chained. Levi was there and upon hearing his motive to kill Titans says he’ll accept him on the team. Eren was left there for a time before he was escorted by Survey Corps members to the court room where he was tried with one side calling for his decision and execution and the opposing side, the Survey Corps, arguing to use his power to their advantage in scouting missions. After an outburst by Eren, Levi beats him accrediting his dominance over Eren’s threat and it is decided his fate will be decided after a “test” mission with the Survey Corps.

The Female Titan arc
Eren, along with some of his old classmates who also joined the Survey Corps, train for a month, learning long distance communication formation, before they had to depart outside Wall Rose to the ruin in the region once protected by Wall Maria. Eren along with most of the group were not told the goal of the operation but were simply expected to follow orders. Eventually, a deviant “intelligent” Titan known as the “Female Titan” caught up with Eren’s team and pursued them into a huge forest. Upon it’s closer approach and the death of some comrades from behind as Eren and his team simply keep running, Eren is tempted to use his Titan power and save his comrades and fight the Female Titan. Levi allows this choice, but Eren eventually decides to trust in his team, sacrificing the last remaining member of the rear guard. The Female Titan, suspected to be the same as Eren and merely a “human in Titan skin,” nearly captured Eren before being ambushed and captured herself. Eren and the rest of his team excluding Levi ride out of the forest firm in the belief that the Titan was captured and her human self apprehended. This is proved false as the unidentifiable human form of the Female Titan kills one of the team members before re-transforming into a Titan. The remaining three team members tell Eren to go on while they kill the Female Titan. Eren wishes to stay and fight with them, but again, is convinced otherwise and retreats. The three are promptly slaughtered and a regretful Eren transformed into a Titan and engaged the Female Titan.

He ultimately loses the fight and his human self was captured by the Female Titan. Mikasa arrived on the scene in time to observe this and pursued to retrieve him, closely followed by Levi. The two teamed up to retrieve Eren, leaving the Female Titan alive and whilst they departed back to wall Rose, the mission failed and many soldiers lost. Eren is shocked when Annie Leonhart smiled the same way the Female Titan did when she unhooded Armin. Eren is later realizes that Annie is the female Titan. When he tried to go into Titan form by injuring himself, he couldn't do it because of his shock and his mind was clouded. Going back to a meeting room, Eren apologized to Levi for disobeying orders to fight off the Female Titan. If he hadn't done so, they wouldn't gotten in the predicament they're in. When Mikasa and Armin prepare themselves to take on Annie by themselves, Eren eventually overcame his shock and transformed into his Titan form and helps capturing her.

Clash of the Titans arc
When Wall Rose is supposedly breached, Eren is among one of the teams within the area. He made his way to Castle Utgard under squad leader Hange Zoë in order to use it as surveillance building. Eren and the rest of the the Scouts arrive just in time to save Reiner and co, Eren kills a 7m type Titan and celebrates his first kill as a Scout. On their way back home, Reiner starts acting weird around Eren and Eren starts to panic. It is then that Mikasa realizes who Reiner and Bertolt are and proceeds to try and kill them. Reiner transforms into the Armored Titan and kidnaps Eren. Eren calls Reiner "A fucking traitor" and shifts into his Titan form. He and Reiner then engage in battle at first Reiner had the advantage, but Eren using his martial skills was able to pin Reiner and was ripping Reiner's neck off. Berthold proceeds to body slam both Eren and Reiner. In the midst of the chaos Eren is kidnapped. Eren and Ymir are taken to the Forest of Giant Trees by Reiner and Berthold. He attempts to transform into his Titan form in spite of losing his arms, but Ymir wisely tells him not to as she too is also healing from losing both her arms. While she questions Reiner and Berthold about the Ape Titan they're after, Eren broods in silence as Reiner reveals that Humanity has no hope in fighting against the Titans. He and Berthold offer both him and Ymir a chance to join them in order to protect their loved ones. As she considers joining them, Eren furiously refuses and blames both Reiner and Berthold for causing him a lot of grief. He trusted them and they betrayed his trust by breaching his home and killing his mother. When he discovers that Ymir is considering joining Reiner and Berhold, Eren tried vainly to talk her out of it.

Eren later tried to deceive Reiner in believing that he can't resist but immediately attacked Reiner while he was within reach, but Reiner easily subdued him. He was later seen bound up and was strapped around the back of Bertolt who is being carried by Reiner in his Armored Titan Form.

Meanwhile the Survey Corps with some of the military officers was able to catch up to them to rescue him. Mikasa attacked Ymir in trying to rescue him. While she and the other trainees were trying to talk Reiner and Bertolt to surrender Eren, a large group of Titans lead by Erwin (he made himself as bait to chase him) goes right to them. The group is forced to briefly retreat and watch as the Armored Titan is overwhelmed by the Titans. Erwin orders the group to head into battle, stating that humanity has no future if Eren is lost. Eren was later rescued after Armin distracted Bertolt and was wounded by Erwin, releasing his strap on Eren who landed to Mikasa.

As Mikasa sprints Eren away, the Smiling Titan suddenly appeared. Hannes tried to save Eren and Mikasa but was eaten himself. Eren howls in disbelief stating that nothing has changed from when he faced the Smiling Titan for the first time, as he was unable to save his mother back then, and now he lost Hannes. Mikasa then states to him that this is not true. Believing that it will be their final moments after seeing Hannes being eaten, Mikasa tells Eren (while blushing) that she wants to thank him for being together with him, 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 (most probably to kiss him), Eren 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 used his powers as a Coordinate to control other Titans to attack the Smiling Titan and Reiner and Berthold.

Martial Arts
Originally, Eren's only noteworthy trait was his natural physical strength. As he grew and joined the 104th squad, he trained extensively in hand-to-hand combat. After additional training with Reiner and Annie, Eren's prowess and skillset diversified, including the use of punches, throws, grappling and submission locks. He had the best scores for hand-to-hand combat of the entire 104th graduate squad. While hand-to-hand fighting would appear useless due to the massive physical differences between humans and Titans, these skills gave Eren a powerful edge when fighting other Titans in his own Titan form.

3D Maneuver Gear
At first, it is shown that Eren is not very skilled with the gear, he tried and tried countless times but kept tipping and smacking his head on the floor. People mocked him for this. Eren pleaded for help from everyone but the only advice they could give Eren was that he needed to clear his mind and focus. On his last attempt Eren did just that and stayed upright for a short period of time before tipping over and hitting his head. The commander told Tomas Wagner to swap equipment with Eren and for Eren to try again. Eren did so and balanced with ease. Commander then told Eren that his equipment was damaged and that it was a miracle that he managed to stay up right at all. He isn't shown using the gear much, but was able to hold his own with the Colossal Titan for a short period of time until the Titan disappeared. He was eventually able to slowly develop a respectable amount of skill with the use of the gear, even being capable of killing a Titan on his own not too long after joining the Scouting Corps.

Titan Shifting
After being swallowed by a Titan, Eren in his desperation awoke the ability to transform into a Titan himself. In this form, he is a 15m Titan, with shoulder-length black hair, pointed ears, a long nose, and a gaping, skeleton like maw lacking lips. Unlike most other Titans, Eren's Titan form is considerably more muscular and defined; making him much stronger than even similar sized Titans while his intelligence and military training, something regular Titans don't have, allow him to out-maneuver and dispatch entire groups of Titans with ease.

While initially, having little to no control over his actions, he managed to overcome this with extensive use of his transformations. His Titan form, combined with his growing experience and his hand-to-hand combat skills allowed him to kill over 20 Titans in his first transformation and later manage to overpower and nearly kill the Armored Titan.

His transformations are triggered through causing physical harm onto himself while having a clear goal in mind. He can also trigger partial manifestations. Even in his human form, Eren still has some Titan-related benefits such as their accelerated regenerative capabilities. The source of his powers have yet to be revealed fully but is suggested to be a result of the injections given to Eren by his father following the breach of Wall Maria and the death of Eren's mother. From his suppressed memories, Eren believes that the full truth of his Titan powers as well as a way to defeat the Titans once and for all is located in the basement beneath the ruins of his family home.

The Coordinate
Eren possesses a mysterious ability to control nearby Titans, causing them to relentlessly attack his chosen target. The first time he uses it is entirely by accident, causing nearby Titans to attack and devour the Smiling Titan. The second time was as much an accident, setting the same Titans upon the foreign Titan shifters while telling them to stay back. While it is shown that other Titan Shifters can sense the activation of his power, it is unknown whether it is possible to use it to influence or control other Titan Shifters.

The exact nature and limitations of this mysterious ability are yet unrevealed, but appear to have been the reason that Annie, Reiner, and Bertolt attempted to kidnap him, though both Reiner and Bertolt  were alarmed when he showed the ability to direct the Titans. It may be similar in nature to the Ape Titan's ability to command Titans, as both are being sought by the Shifters for an unknown purpose.

Relationships

 * Grisha Yeager - Grisha is Eren's father. It is shown that Grisha is caring towards Eren, as he scolded him sternly for confronting Mikasa's kidnappers alone. He also understands Eren's curiosity and will, as he listened calmly to his son's wish to see the outside world. He also seems to have belief in Eren, as he forcibly gave him an injection which is supposed to have given him Titan powers, telling him he must take control of them to save them all.


 * Kalura Yeager - Kalura was Eren's mother. Kalura cared for her son deeply, and scolded him for wanting to join the Survey Corps, as many people died outside the walls. Though he loved her very much, Eren never listened to her attempts to stop him from pursuing what he thought of as his dream. Her death gave birth to a violent hatred for all Titans within her son, and on more than one occasion he has regretted the fact that he refused to listen to her, and argued with her till the very end.


 * Hannes - Prior to the fall of Wall Maria, Eren was constantly frustrated by Hannes being a habitual drunkard in the line of duty. Despite not having saved Kalura from the hands of the Titan, Eren bears no ill will towards Hannes. Instead he looks upon him with respect and understanding. Eren was driven to utter despair as he witnessed Hannes being eaten alive by the very Titan that had previously devoured his mother. Though Eren did manage to avenge Hannes' death, he remains tormented by his loss, and is more determined than ever to make an atonement worthy of Hannes' sacrifice.


 * Armin Arlert - Armin is Eren's closest friend, who inspired him to dream of the world beyond the Walls, and in doing so became partially responsible for motivating him to join the Survey Corps. Other children often shunned them for their "heretical" ideas, and Eren (sometimes with Mikasa in tow) was constantly getting into scraps with the boys who bullied Armin. This established pattern continues into their teenage years, with Eren constantly saving Armin from danger, not caring if he himself is harmed in the process. This dynamic had for many years caused Armin to feel insecure about his own value and worth as a friend to Eren. However, Eren never had viewed Armin as the burden he had convinced himself he was. He has openly appreciated Armin's ability to reason out the best solution in dire situations, and it did not miss him that Armin's quick thinking had saved his and Mikasa's lives during the fall of their hometown. Eren has enough confidence in Armin to entrust him with his life if asked to do so, and will hold no resentment towards him if he does happen to fail.
 * Mikasa Ackerman - Mikasa is Eren's adoptive sister, whom he had risked his life to rescue from human traffickers as a child. Though his bond with her runs deep, Eren usually displays a very casual attitude with her. He usually tolerates her stubbornness and will not usually stop her from doing what she wants, but is not above calling her out on the rare occasions she does go overboard. On his part, he seems to harbor somewhat of an inferiority complex towards Mikasa due to her outclassing him in strength and battle skill. This is further compounded by her desire to protect him at all times and to and keep him out of trouble, which he generally views as annoying. At times he feels so stifled by her protectiveness that he openly lashes out at her, telling her not treat him like her "little brother". However, he will do anything in his power to keep her from harm. Even as Mikasa, in what she believed to be their final hour, thanked Eren for all he had done for and given her, Eren reassured her that they would continue to be together, and that he would again wrap his old muffler round her neck as many times as he needed to.
 * Jean Kirstein - Jean is Eren's main rival, and his temperament is the very antithesis of Eren's. Where Eren is hotheaded, he is collected; and Jean is pessimistically pragmatic as Eren is idealistic. Jean believed anyone who wished to join the Survey Corps was a suicidal fool, while Eren regarded those who looked down on the people who wished to fight the Titans with contempt. Despite this, they did not seem to outright dislike each other after their first argument, apologizing and parting amicably. However, this friendliness was short-lived, as Jean developed feelings for Mikasa, whose closeness and devotion to Eren prompts him to become jealous. Eren does not seem to be aware of Jean's interest in Mikasa, and is often bewildered as well as angered by his bursts of hostility wherever she is concerned. Despite all this, Jean is able to put aside their differences after realising Eren's potential as Titan Shifter, and they have achieved a sort of uneasy truce wherein they squabble with each other less frequently.
 * Connie Springer - As members of the same trainee squad, Eren and Connie shared many experiences together and get on well with each other. In the early days of their training, Connie was among the trainees who eagerly questioned Eren about what he saw the day Shiganshina fell. Though he only enlisted in order to have a good reputation in his home village and initially wished to join the Military Police Brigade, he was so moved by Eren's passionate conviction to defeat the Titans that in the end he decided to join the Survey Corps instead. Though their backgrounds are different, the two now find themselves sharing the same plight; both having families and homes reduced to nothing but distant memories, and each carrying the burden of knowing his mother's cruel fate.
 * Annie Leonhart - Eren greatly admired Annie, and was trained in her unique fighting style during their years as trainees. He considered her to be a kind person beneath her cold exterior, and credited her with making him aware of the contradictions within the military system. However, he was eventually horrified to learn of her identity as the Female Titan. Even as Annie herself transformed in front of him, a part of Eren refused to believe her betrayal; and he became so conflicted that he was initially unable to summon the will to shift to his Titan form to fight her. Mikasa even went as far as to suggest that his hesitation was due to him harboring "special feelings of respect" for her. Even during their bout, he continued to wonder what kind of cause had driven her to kill so many people, and seemed to feel less anger towards her than he did for Bertolt or Reiner.


 * Reiner Braun - Eren once described Reiner as being like an older brother to him, and admired him as a "strong, capable guy". The two were shown to have trained together, and Reiner taught him the importance of the duty soldiers have to protect the weak. It can be said that he was the one Eren looked up to the most in his career as a soldier. However, Eren quickly came to despise Reiner upon learning of his true identity as the Armoured Titan, and now views him as a disgusting traitor with no right to live. He plans to slaughter him and his accomplice Bertolt Hoover in the slowest, most excruciating manner possible in repayment for all that they have done.
 * Bertolt Hoover - Though initially on good terms, Eren still had his reservations about Bertolt, and seemed to think of him as "taciturn". After his true identity as the Colossus Titan was revealed, Eren came to hate him and called him a "lackey", confronting him over his role in his mother's death. He was only further infuriated by Bertolt's cold response, and is now bent on making his death as miserable and painful as possible.
 * Marco Bodt - Eren had great respect for him, and recognised his tendency to think of the group before himself. He stated he would have liked to be on his squad, and considered him a good leader. Eren was visibly stricken and initially in disbelief upon learning of Marco's death.
 * Levi - As humanity's most formidable soldier and Eren's superior officer, Levi commands great respect and admiration from him. Eren bore no grudge against Levi for brutally beating him before the entire court during his trial, recognising that it had been a necessary measure to secure his life (though he did still flinch the next time Levi sat down next to him). Over time Eren came to trust him as a comrade, and required little persuasion to follow orders he did not personally agree with if they were sanctioned by Levi. On his part, Levi has exhibited care for Eren's safety and well-being, and offers whatever guidance is necessary to make Eren into a better soldier. Eren in turn is also aware of the vast gap of experience between them and strives to learn as much as he can from Levi, heeding his advice with little hesitation. During the thirty days he shared living space with Levi's squad, he also seems to have learned the standard of cleanliness Levi demands very well. A notable depiction of this is when he is shown fretting over the less-than-immaculate habits of his peers whilst cleaning the new squad base in anticipation of Levi's arrival.


 * Petra Ral - Among the members of the squad assigned to protect Eren, Petra seemed to be the one closest to him. She was among the least odd and the most friendly of the members, and Eren admired her not only for her skill, but for her open acknowledgement of him as a trusted comrade as well. Witnessing her demise at the hands of the Female-Form Titan was a devastating blow to him, and he remains remorseful of committing the error in judgement that resulted in her death.
 * Oluo Bozado - Despite his senior's somewhat obnoxious and boastful demeanour, Eren still respected Oluo as a top-tier soldier, even with his badmouthing when complimenting him. His violent death was perhaps the trigger event that caused Eren to finally shift to his Titan form to stop the Female-Form Titan in its tracks. Along with the other member's of Levi's special squad, his death still haunts Eren.
 * Eld Jinn & Gunther Schultz - Eren admired the two soldiers; both in their skills, serious attitude and devotion to humanity by facing the Titans. Their deaths partly fueled Eren's rampage against the Female-Form Titan, and he is still filled with regret over not choosing to fight while they were still alive.

Trivia

 * Eren-Chara_Design.png ranked second in the Characters Popularity Poll right after Levi
 * Eren is known for fighting with local bullies.
 * In a flashback, his father notes that he does not make friends easily.
 * The name Eren is of Cultural Ethnic Turkish origin. Its exact meaning and description is "He who progresses/has reached towards divine maturity and sacred wisdom". It can also be interpreted as a "saint" or "holy person". "Eren" could also stand for the German word "Ehre" (plural "Ehren"), which means honour.
 * Eren's surname, Yeager, is an Anglicised form of the name Jäger/Jaeger, common amongst German migrants in the USA. The name itself originates from the German and Scandinavian word Jäger, which means "hunter." It is officially romanised in English as Yeager, and put into kana as "Yēgā", most likely to guide both Japanese and English-speaking readers with pronunciation.
 * Eren Yeager sounds similar to the German word "Ehrenjäger", which means "titular hunter".
 * According to Armin Arlert, the 104th Trainee Squad nicknamed him "the suicidal bastard."
 * Hajime Isayama stated in a interview that he based Eren's Titan form off of the Japanese martial artist Yūshin Okami, paraphrasing it to be the "ideal physique of a middleweight mixed martial artist."
 * Feuerroter Pfeil und Bogen is Eren's theme song.
 * Due to Eren's Titan form lacking an official name, fans have given it the unofficial name of "Rogue Titan" based Eren's Titan form often having a rampaging streak to its behaviour.
 * Whilst lifting the giant boulder in his Titan form to block the breach in Wall Rose, Eren bore a striking resemblance to the Ancient Greek Titan, who supported the celestial sphere on his shoulders.

Quotes

 * (To Mikasa) "You have to fight! If you lose, you die. If you win, you live. If you don't fight you can't win!"
 * (To Hannes) "Even if we never leave the walls, we can stay alive as long as we eat and sleep. But that's just... living like livestock, isn't it?"
 * (About the Titans) "I'll purge this world of them... every single one of them."
 * (To himself as Shiganshina fell) Why [are things this way]? Because I am... because humans are weak? So weaklings can do nothing but cry?
 * (About Sasha) "The face she made when the instructor told her to run till she dropped was nowhere near as sad as when he said she wouldn't be getting any food."
 * (To himself upon passing the first training test) I did it! How's that, Mikasa? I can do this! I can fight the Titans! I don't need you coddling me any more!
 * (To Jean) "I... have a dream. To eliminate the Titans, leave the narrow confines of these walls, and explore the outside world."
 * (To Jean) "Remember our three years of training! We came close to death time and again in those three years. Some guys actually did die, more still deserted, or got dismissed. But we survived didn't we? We're going to survive today as well! You're going to live through today, and be headed for the interior come tomorrow!"
 * (To Mikasa) "Knock it off! Mankind is on the verge of total destruction! Who said you could decide to do whatever's convenient for you?"
 * (To Armin) "You told me about it... so I'm going... to the outside world."
 * (To himself about the Titans) "How did this come to be? Why do they rob from us? Our lives... even our dreams..."
 * (To Mikasa) "I'm neither your little brother nor your kid!"
 * From the moment we're born, all of us are free. Those who deny it, no matter how strong they are, have nothing to do with it. The fiery waters, or the lands of ice, it really doesn't matter which... those who've seen them have gained the greatest freedom in the world.
 * (To himself) A life spent for the sake of freedom isn't something to regret. However terrifying the world is, that terror has nothing to do with it! However cruel the world may be, that cruelty has nothing to do with it! 
 * (To Levi) "I want to enter the Survey Corps and beat the Titans to death, sir."
 * (To members of the prosecution during his trial) "What are you going to do if the ones with the strength don't fight for you?"
 * (To himself about Levi's Squad) Why did I choose to stand by and watch my comrades be killed? Wait... I know. It's because I wanted new comrades... sincere support... like I did when I was with them [the 104th training squad]. I've already had enough. I've had enough of being treated like a monster, of being left out. No more. That's why. I just wanted to believe that trusting my comrades is the right thing to do.

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