Eren Yeager

Eren Yeager (エレン・イェーガー) is the main protagonist of Attack on Titan. Eren is the son of Grisha and the late Kalura Yeager. He was born in the Shiganshina District, a town located on the southern part of the outermost Wall, which was destroyed by Titans during the fall of Wall Maria. His best friends are his childhood companion, Armin Arlert, and his adoptive sister, Mikasa Ackerman.

He holds a personal vendetta against all Titans for destroying his home and devouring his mother, and his goal is to kill every last one of them and explore the world beyond the Walls. He graduated at 5th as one of the top ten soldiers of the 104th Trainees Squad and currently serves as a member of the Survey Corps. He is later discovered to be a Titan Shifter, and uses his abilities to aid in humanity's fight against the rule of the Titans. He is also said to possess something known as "The Coordinate" to the Titan Shifters that infiltrated the Walls.

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 sizable, 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. Along with a massive increase in height (to about 15 m), his hair grows long enough to graze his shoulders, with his tongue and ears becoming elongated. His facial features also undergo a transformation. Along with a prominent, hooked nose, his eyes are deeply set within their sockets, and his mouth takes on an unusual jagged shape unsuited for intelligible speech. He also lacks lips and flesh about his cheeks, exposing all his teeth.

Compared to the majority of other Titans, Eren's Titan form is well-proportioned and seemingly more physically fit, sporting well-defined lean muscle in lieu of the more common 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 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 out 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 selflessness, 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, taking on the Colossal Titan and attempting to fight the 14-15 meter tall Smiling Titan while 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
"I exterminated some dangerous beasts. Beasts like that just happen to look like people sometimes!"

- Eren commenting about Mikasa's kidnappers

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 where Mikasa was being held captive, he found her laying on the floor with two of the kidnappers keeping watch. Feigning distress and saying that he was lost, he got them to drop their guard. As one of them closed in to pat his head, Eren slit his throat with a 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, piercing him in the shoulder. Once he was down, Eren proceeded to stab him to death in a wild frenzy while Mikasa looked on in horror.

As Eren untied her in the aftermath, he was caught off-guard by the third kidnapper, who proceeded to strangle him. Mikasa picked up the knife Eren used, but balked at the thought of using it to kill someone. Eren urged her to fight back, warning her that they would both be killed if she did nothing. As Eren began to lose consciousness, Mikasa finally lost all inhibition and lunged at their attacker, stabbing him through the heart and killing him instantly.

When Dr Yeager eventually returned with the police in tow, he took Eren aside scolded him angrily for his reckless behaviour. While Eren was genuinely sorry for upsetting his father, he expressed no remorse whatsoever for killing the kidnappers. When Mikasa remarked that she was cold, Eren gave her the scarf from his own neck; and when Dr. Yeager invited Mikasa to live with their family from then on, Eren accepted her with no hesitation, tugging on her sleeve and shyly insisting that they return home.

Fall of Shiganshina arc
In the year 845, Eren lives with his adoptive sister Mikasa, mother Kalura, and father Grisha in Shiganshina District. After waking up from a nightmare interrupted by Mikasa, they stroll through the city and Eren expresses anger in being kept like cattle within the Walls, and reveals his intentions in joining the Survey Corps. Mikasa scolds him, not taking his words seriously, and later reveals what he said to their parents. Eren berates Mikasa for revealing this, but Kalura is frightened, shocked and angered, expressing that the Survey Corps has a high body count, and that she won't let him join. She asks him why he wants to and he says that he wants to visit the outside world one day and is tired of living within the Walls like cattle. She begs her husband Grisha to talk some sense into his son, but Grisha says that nothing can surpass a human's curiosity. Grisha says that he will be leaving for a few days on a trip and that when he comes back, he'll show Eren what he has hidden in the basement. Enthralled, Eren joins his mother and Mikasa in waving him off. Kalura reminds him that she will not allow him to join the Survey Corps, and they exchange a heated but short lived argument before he bolts off. Kalura turns to Mikasa and begs her to look after him.

Eren, attempting to scare off bullies harassing their neighborhood friend Armin Arlert, initially believes he's the one who scared them away when in fact it was Mikasa. He offers Armin a hand but Armin rejects, expressing discontent with his abilities to protect himself and admits he is weak. The three stroll through Shiganshina and settle by the riverbank, where Eren reveals his intentions in joining the Survey Corps to Armin. Armin asks how telling his parents went, and Eren says not well. Armin then contemplates who really believes staying in the Walls will protect them forever, and that they could be breached at any time.

Suddenly lightning strikes and the ground shakes. The civilians gather around the center of town and look up in wonder at the sight of a giant hand. Eren catches up with Armin and Mikasa and they all gawk in horror at the sight. The massive Titan kicks a hole through Wall Maria. This forces Eren and Mikasa to search through the panic-stricken town to find their own home. Eren repeats to himself that his home will be there like it always has been, and when they reach the corner, his mother is trapped beneath the rubble and is helpless to arise. She says that the rubble crushed her legs and she can't move, but Eren retorts back that he will carry her then, and she yells at him, saying he never listens to her. A Titan is approaching the leveled house, targeting Kalura. The Garrison member, Hannes, arrives right in time, and Kalura begs that he takes the kids and run. Wanting to repay Dr. Yeager for all he has helped the village with, Hannes attempts to kill the Titan and save Kalura as well, but the massive height and frightening appearance of the Titan forces him to take Eren and Mikasa and leave Kalura behind. As Hannes carries the two on his shoulders and runs the other way, Kalura begs for her children to survive and silently weeps for their return, however it is too late. Eren witnesses as the Titan lifts Kalura up, breaks her back, and eats her alive.

As the evacuation of Shiganshina is underway, Eren, Mikasa and Hannes arrive in an alley and Eren starts attacking Hannes, crying and asking why he didn't save her. Hannes says that the reason Eren couldn't save her was because he lacked the strength, and Hannes himself lacked the courage.

Hannes leaves Eren and Mikasa on the boat leaving the Titan-infested city. There, Eren and Mikasa witness an Armored Titan destroy the back gate of Shiganshina. Eren, Armin and Mikasa are forced to depart on the boat as Eren realizes that he can never return home, and vows to kill every Titan in existence.

104th Trainees Squad arc
After the fall of Wall Maria, Eren, Mikasa and Armin briefly stayed in a landfill working on a farm before reaching the proper age to enroll in the military. After these five years, they begin their first day on the training grounds as instructor Keith Shadis grills them all on whether or not they will be Titan food. Eren restores his vow to kill all Titans, and that next time around, they will be the ones who will be devoured.

Before training, Eren draws a crowd of trainees at dinnertime and upon questioning, describes the appearance of the Colossal and Armored Titans. He becomes sick as he remembers his mother being eaten at which point Marco suggests they no longer question Eren about things he would rather not bring back. However, Eren simply attributes this to eagerness to begin his training and kill all the Titans with the Survey Corps. Jean Kirstein interrupts Eren and mocks his decision. Eren does not appreciate Jean's desire to join the Military Police simply to live in the Interior Walls and the two prepare to fight each other. The bell signaling the end of dinner rings breaking the tension and the two drop their disagreement with each other. The next day, the trainees begin practicing with the  3D Maneuver Gear. Eren utterly fails to keep himself steady and takes extra tutoring from Armin and Mikasa. He knocks himself out and at dinner, other trainees mock his performance especially after his pledge to kill all Titans. Back at the dorm, Connie and Jean do not offer any suggestions and Eren visits Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover for help. Although they are reluctant at first, the group exchange their stories of how they first encountered the Titans. The three exchange tips and later, depart as friends.

Eren is back at the practice rigging as Shadis lets him try to balance himself on the 3DMG one last time before he will be shipped to the landfills. At first, it appears Eren can maintain his balance and his peers begin cheering, but just as quickly, Eren flips upside down. Shadis has him put back on the ground and after a few moments of contemplation, has Eren switch equipment with Thomas Wagner. Eren easily keeps his balance and Shadis reveals his gear was defective, impressing everyone as Eren could keep his balance, even for a while, with the broken equipment. Shadis mentally notes to Eren's father, Grisha Yeager, that his son is finally becoming a soldier.

In the year 848, two years before graduation, Eren accompanies the other trainees on a wilderness hunt to sustain themselves in times of peace, where he and Jean continually get at each others throats. During this trip, Krista Lenz is kidnapped by thieves and Eren assists is rescuing her, helping lead to the criminals' arrest. He is also seen with Marco as they contemplate on which military branch they will join.

In 850, Eren graduates in the top 10 of the 104th Trainees Squad, along with Mikasa, Reiner, Connie, Sasha, Krista, Armin, Ymir, Jean and a few others. After graduation, he is assigned to clean the cannons atop Wall Rose with Sasha, Connie and a few others. There they witness the return of the Colossal Titan, who has not been seen in the last five years, and Eren is forced to face the Titan in combat as his fellow trainees can all but look on in horror.

Battle of Trost District arc
The Colossal Titan has appeared for the first time in five years, and the trainees are powerless to do anything, however Eren attempts to kill it. Despite getting close enough to the Titan to nearly slice the nape of its neck, it vanishes into thin air and the soldiers are forced to create a Colossal Titan contingency plan, placing Eren and his squad in the middle guard of Trost, which the Titan itself has breached.

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 Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear.

As the Titans seem to overwhelm him and Mikasa’s group is about to intervene, the Titan that killed Thomas appears and Eren’s rage powers him to throw off the percussion and kill 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, under the command of Kitts Woerman, 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 and orders Woerman to stand down.

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, by reminding Eren that they wanted to see the world together, causing Eren to remember how he wanted to join the Survey Corps, and destroy all the Titans. 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 un-hooded Armin. Eren 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 makes his way to Castle Utgard under squad leader Hange Zoë in order to use it as a surveillance building. Eren and the rest of 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 in human form. On their way back home, Reiner starts acting weird 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 has the advantage, but Eren uses his martial arts skills to pin Reiner and begin ripping his neck off. Bertolt proceeds to body slam both Eren and Reiner and in the midst of the chaos Eren is kidnapped.

Eren and Ymir are taken to the Forest of Giant Trees by Reiner and Bertolt. 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 Bertolt about the Beast Titan they're after, Eren broods in silence as Reiner reveals that Humanity has no hope in fighting against the Titans. He and Bertolt 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 Bertolt 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 Bertolt, 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, as well as Reiner and Bertolt.

The Uprising arc
After Eren drives away Reiner and Bertolt, he and the unified military group return to Wall Maria. Eren expresses regret to a soldier, who forgive him. He then notices Erwin Smith has lost consciousness, and yells his name in concern. Eren solemnly looks around and asks how many people had to die in order to save him. Jean calculates that of the original 100, only 40 are left, and of those only half can walk. While Jean points out that many of the top Survey Corps members were decimated, Armin notices the oddity that the Titans ignored them on the way back. Armin, along with Jean and Connie, theorize that Eren is the reason for this, asking if he made the Titans attack the Armored Titan. While Eren claims to not remember, Jean tells him that whether or not all those sacrifices are for nothing is solely up to him. Eren finds it odd to be lectured by Eren, but after Jean reminds them that he saved Mikasa, Eren tells Jean he is right and vows to do whatever he can. They are then approached by Historia, who, after correcting them about her real name, proposes heading towards the wall. Levi notifies a recovering Erwin that his new squsd is composed of Sasha, Connie, Historia, Eren, Jean, Mikasa, and Armin. Far away from any civilization, Eren is reminded of the original Levi Squad as his new team bickers among themselves.

Levi begins a meeting with his squad, Hange, Nifa, Keiji, Moblit Berner, and a goggled member of Hange's squad. After he scolds them for their lax cleaning job, he announces their plan to retake Wall Maria and then shifts to Armin to describe the plan. His idea is to transport Eren there, who would transform into his Titan form and then use the same hardening ability as the Female Titan to seal the wall; a process he believes would only take one day. Levi asks Hange if she can experiment with Eren and she responds that it will be difficult due to the heightened Military Police presence in the walls, but that they have no other choice. While she would love to begin now, she explains that Pastor Nick has died, and she believes the Military Police are responsible. Since the Military Police are willing to use soldiers to kill their enemies, Hange concludes that exposing Eren would be disastrous. While Hange and Levi debate what to do, Armin worries that Nick may have given away information while being tortured. However, Levi concludes that this is unlikely since all of his nails were removed, and most people would talk after only a few. Levi presents the squad with two choices: take care of their enemies inside the walls, or retake Wall Maria. Hange chooses both, the same option Erwin would likely have chosen. Connie explains to Eren that he barely understood the meeting and that Ymir was laughing when she explained that the Beast Titan was responsible for transforming the people in Connie's village. He calls her awful, but Historia corrects him by explaining that Ymir deceived Connie to protect his fragile state of mind. Eren notices how different she is acting, much colder and solitary. Historia begins to tell the tale of her life. She grew up on a farm doing work and never interacting with her mother, who only read books. She was never allowed outside the ranch. After reading about parents who love their children, she embraced her mother who responded by throwing her off and exclaiming that she wished Historia was dead. Her father eventually showed up and told her she would be living with him from now on. However, as they were about to leave, they were surrounded by a group of mysterious looking individuals. Their apparent leader, Kenny Ackerman, questioned if Historia and her mother had any relation to Lod Reiss. Kenny killed her mother, despite Lod Reiss denying any relationship to them. As he approached Historia, Lod Reiss proposed an alternate solution. In which she would join the military under a new identity. Her new name became Krista Lenz, and she was never to speak about what happened there.

During an experiment to test Eren's hardening abilities, a severed Titan form of Eren falls to the ground, forcing Mikasa and Hange to remove Eren's body from the Titan. A day later, Eren finally wakes up. He doesn't seem to remember anything from the experiment and is upset to find out that there were no signs of the hardening ability. Hange explains that since Eren transformed without being able to employ the hardening ability, they decided to run intelligence and endurance tests. However, after one hour of simple test concerning movement, speech, and writing. Eren suddenly, after writing something about his father, became unable to perform the tasks and eventually left his Titan body. After thirty minutes of rest, he transformed again. However, this time his Titan form was only 13 m tall, contrary to the usual 15 m, and couldn't perform any of the intelligence tests. For the third time, the Titan was only 10 m tall and was incomplete, with his human body being attached to it more firmly than before. Eren takes this news as a proof that the operation to retake Wall Maria cannot be performed at the moment. Levi states that the situation is quite 'shitty' and although Mikasa tries to argue, claiming that Eren did his best, Levi says that he isn't blaming Eren, but in spite of his effort, the situation is still the same. He describes living inside the Walls like garbage. Hange then attempts to translate Levi's words, saying that while they know that Eren cannot use the hardening ability, they at least learnt his Titan's limits and still need to continue fighting. Eren is upset with all the burden put on him, not being sure whether he can pull it off. He wonders why he thought of his father during the experiment, when suddenly, he recalls an image of a girl, but immediately forgets about her after seemingly getting a headache. Hange then states that they'll focus on finding out the information that only the Wallists and the Reiss family seem to have access to. Meanwhile, Levi's Squad receives their orders from Erwin and they eventually reach the Trost District. After Levi is confronted by several villagers, Eren and Historia end up being kidnapped. However, it is revealed that the two kidnapped are Armin and Jean in disguise. Mikasa and Levi easily track the kidnappers' location and prepare to act, the latter ready for action with his foot injury feeling better. Meanwhile, back at Levi's hideout where Eren and Historia were, Historia wakes up with a jolt, her arm reaching out on the table, startling Eren awake as well. She comments that she felt like she had a very important dream, but can't remember it. Rubbing his eyes, Eren mentions that often happens to him. Shocked that it's almost sunset, Eren wonders aloud if their opponent is truly the Reebs Corporation. Sliding into the chair opposite Historia, Eren looks away and apologizes for failing to harden, forcing the Survey Corps into the current strategy. Historia asks why he's apologizing to her; confused, Eren mentions Historia's wish to help Ymir as soon as possible. Historia suggests her feelings have changed, that "help" isn't the correct word. She acknowledges that Ymir's choices were her own, and that all Historia has left now is her family she knows nothing about - leaving her wondering if she's even able to handle such responsibility. Eren asks her what she wants to do. After a brief pause, Historia tells him that she envies him, always knowing exactly what he wants to do, much like their comrades in the Survey Corps. Now that Ymir is gone, Historia no longer knows who she is (figuratively) or what she wants, referring to her past life as Krista Lenz. Eren flippantly replies that he had no clue when taking action; looking around at the state of their world, if he did nothing those he cared about would be eaten and lost. In that sense, there's nothing else to do besides act. Bluntly, Eren suggests Historia should worry about Armin taking her place, rather than her own woes. She apologizes, describing Krista in terms similar to how the older woman described a "lady" and noting Krista would have been concerned immediately. Historia Reiss, however, wasn't loved, didn't wish to be born into her life, and is empty - like a character in a book, Krista and girls like her are nothing but fiction. The real Historia is empty and has lost hope. Eren looks Historia in her eyes and waves away that comment; he had always disliked Krista, seeing her as phony - but Historia is normal, a "stupidly honest, regular person."

The Reebs Company men go to make sure their captured Eren and Krista are the real ones, but are ambushed by Levi and some others. Levi takes the president of the company to sit on the wall, they talk, and Levi convinces him to help, and says he'll give them Eren and Krista under three conditions.

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 skill set 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 tripping 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 Thomas 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
During the first Battle of Trost, Eren was swallowed whole by a Titan, and inside the stomach-like cavity saw other fellow recruits lying dead. This sight combined with intense feelings of desperation and his drive to exterminate all Titans awoke his ability to transform into the Rogue Titan. 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. A transformation takes a heavy toll on Eren’s body and requires large amounts of stamina. As a result, he has displayed several symptoms when he over-exerts himself such as a nosebleed, pale skin, and labored breathing. In some cases, Eren is rendered unconscious for a short period of time after a Titan transformation.

Initially, Eren has no control over his actions when he first transforms into a Titan, and is unable to remember any actions that occurred during the first Battle of Trost. He is in a “dream-like state” and fails to remember how to transform in the first place. However, Eren recalls fragmented memories of his father by seeing the key to the basement of his old home, and is able to successfully transform to protect Armin and Mikasa from certain death. It has been shown that with more transformations, Eren retains more of is intelligence being able to form rational thoughts. At the beginning, during the second Battle of Trost, Eren in his Titan form attacks Mikasa but ultimately plugs the hole in Wall Sina after Armin forces him to wake up. 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. . Despite this, Eren is still prone to thinking brutal thoughts often giving others the impression that he has gone insane when he is slaughtering enemies as seen in his second fight with Annie Leonhart.

Eren, like all other Titan Shifters, must physically harm himself in order to transform into his Titan form. However, feelings of confusion or lack of remembering with memory can inhibit his ability to transform as shown when he cannot transform at first to confront Annie Leonhart. Within Titan transformations, he has displayed the ability to partially transform as shown when he protected Mikasa and Armin from a cannonball by forming the upper torso skeleton complete with a skeleton, arms, and a skull with some muscle tissue. The source of his powers have yet to be revealed. 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.


 * Regeneration: Eren’s Titan form has demonstrated the ability to automatically heal any injury sustained in battle and also to regenerate entire limbs. Unlike Annie Leonhart, Eren has not shown the advanced ability to focus regeneration to one wounded area of his Titan form. His healing factor was fast enough to heal an entire lost hand in mere seconds to an entire arm in minutes. This ability is useful to Eren as when he fights he often loses entire limbs in his Titan form. While in his human state, Eren can also regenerate entire lost limbs as seen after he lost his arm and leg to a Titan he regrew them. When captured by Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover in the Forest of Giant Trees, Eren was seen regenerating his lost arms after he lost a fight in his Titan form.


 * Enhanced Strength: As a result of Eren’s Titan form being much more muscular than other Titans he is much stronger in terms of physical strength. During his 1st transformation, Eren was able to decapitate a 15m Titan with a punch, and kill a 7m Titan with little effort. With both arms lost, he was also strong enough to bite the neck of a large abnormal Titan that ate Thomas, and lift it up above his head. With enough force, Eren was able to throw the abnormal into another Titan hard enough to knock them both into a building. Against the Female Titan in the Forest of Giant Trees, Eren’s Titan form had enough physical force to leave large craters in the ground, as well as lift the Female Titan into the air with a punch. Ultimately, Eren’s greatest display of strength was when he lifted a giant boulder albeit with difficultly, carry it across a large distance, and slam it down to seal the hole in Wall Rose producing a large shock wave.


 * Enhanced Endurance: Perhaps the Rogue Titan’s most famous trait of all is its ability to maintain levels of activity for an extended period of time. Eren’s first transformation carried on long enough to incapacitate 20 Titans in total. In battle, even after receiving massive amounts of damage from the Female Titan, Eren can carry on fighting despite the handicaps he suffers. He was also able to fight against the Armored Titan for a period of time and gain the upper hand. Eren’s endurance in his Titan form was enough to allow him to sustain the effort of hoisting a huge rock on his back, carry it a large distance, and seal the hole in Wall Rose shortly before collapsing.


 * Transformation: During the final battle with the Female Titan in the anime, Eren is left heavily wounded, and experiences enough psychotic feelings with his drive to kill all Titans fully unleashed. In addition, Eren’s Titan eyes emanate a bright light blue. It appears this is a temporary transformation as it only triggered by intense emotion and wears off once Eren fully controls himself again. Despite the short time limit, strength, speed, and other physical attributes are boosted to higher limits than in Eren’s normal Titan form. With this new found power, Eren was able to quickly catch up to the Female Titan despite her having a head-start, and him missing a leg from their previous encounter. His boosted strength also allowed him to decapitate the Female Titan with one punch.

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. The source of this mysterious power is yet to be revealed.

Relationships

 * Grisha Yeager - Much like his late wife, Grisha is shown to be a very caring parent towards Eren, greatly concerned with his personal development and general well-being. He understands his son's personality very well, and though he will reprimand Eren when he steps out of line, he is more likely to simply listen to and guide him. Eren seemed to appreciate Grisha for this, and as a result was greatly frustrated and saddened by his sudden disappearance after Wall Maria fell. Upon remembering the mission his father left him before he vanished, Eren expressed anger and bitterness at the fact that Grisha had kept secrets from them, on top of abandoning himself and Mikasa. He also seems to hold to the belief that his father is still alive, at times pondering over his whereabouts and what he could be doing.
 * Kalura Yeager - Kalura cared for her son deeply and seemed to want the best for him. Not surprisingly, she was against the idea of Eren enlisting in the Survey Corps when he got older, as many people died outside the walls. Though Eren never listened to her warnings or advice and insisted on pursuing his dream, he loved her very much. During the fall of Shiganshina, he struggled in vain to rescue her from the rubble of their demolished home despite being surrounded by Titans and wanting to run away from the danger. Unfortunately, he was ultimately forced to watch a Titan devour her as he was hauled to safety. Her brutal demise and his own powerlessness to prevent it severely traumatized Eren. In his grief, he expressed remorse for continuing to disobey and argue with her in their last moments together, and her loss fueled his virulent hatred of all Titans.
 * 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 him, instead looking upon him with respect and understanding. Eren was driven to the brink despair as he witnessed Hannes being eaten alive by the Smiling Titan, and he remains tormented by his loss despite managing to avenge him. In memory of Hannes and his sacrifice, Eren has become more determined than ever to discover the about the Titans and punish any guilty parties.
 * 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). During their childhood, they were snubbed by other children as well as adults for their "heretical" ideas. Armin himself was frequently targeted by bullies, whom Eren (sometimes with Mikasa in tow) would constantly try to fend off. This pattern would continue into their teenage years, with Eren leaping into action to save Armin from danger, not caring if he himself is harmed in the process; the most memorable occasion being the day Eren (sans his left leg) snatched Armin from a Titan's jaws and got swallowed in his place (losing his left arm in the process). Despite Armin considering himself as burdensome, Eren greatly appreciates his quick-wittiness and brilliant judgement (it also did not miss him that Armin's quick thinking had saved his and Mikasa's lives in 845). Eren's confidence in Armin is so great that he will entrust him with his life with no hesitation if asked to do so.
 * Mikasa Ackerman - Eren has a complex relationship with his foster sister. He often displays a brusque, casual attitude with her, which belies their deep bond and care for each other. While Mikasa is more open with showing concern for him, Eren only does so when she is injured or in distress. Despite his blunt exterior, he is always looking out for her, and will not hesitate to comfort or reassure her when he senses that she needs him to. He would even go as far as to call himself a monster to ensure that she would not be targeted by the prosecution. Like typical siblings, they do not always agree, but Eren will usually not stop Mikasa from doing what she wants, so long as it is within reason. He also seems to harbor somewhat of an inferiority complex towards her, due to her outstripping him in both strength and battle skill. This is further compounded by her desire to constantly keep tabs on him and keep him out of trouble - a habit he generally views as annoying. At times he feels so stifled by her protectiveness that he openly lash out at her, telling her not treat him like her "little brother". Despite this, he will attack anyone and anything that threatens Mikasa, even meeting a punch from a 14 m class Titan bare-handed simply to protect her.
 * Jean Kirstein - As Eren's main rival, 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 wanted to fight the Titans with contempt. Initially, they were able to resolve their differences in a civil manner despite starting off on the wrong foot. However, this friendliness was short-lived, as Jean became jealous when he saw how familiar Eren was with Mikasa. A fierce rivalry soon budded between them, with the two constantly provoking each other and getting into fistfights. In addition to insulting Jean to his face, Eren also seems to be fond of saying Jean has a "horse-face" behind his back. In the wake of the Battle of Trost however, Eren and Jean seem to have set their differences aside and stopped antagonizing each other. Though they still quarrel as much as before, their animosity has noticeably lessened.
 * 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 the Titans' invasion in 845. Though he only enlisted in order to have a good reputation in his home village and initially wished to join the Military Police Brigade, Connie 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 a similar plight. Both their families and homes are reduced to little more than memories, and each carries the burden of 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 accept her betrayal; and he became so conflicted that he was initially unable to summon the will to fight her (Mikasa even went so far as to suggest that his hesitation was due to him harboring "special feelings" for her). Even as he went toe-to-toe with Annie, he continued to brood over what had driven her to slaughter their comrades, and displayed far less anger and contempt 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 eventually came to despise Reiner upon learning of his true identity as the Armoured Titan, and now views him as a disgusting traitor who has no right to be alive. He plans to slaughter him along with 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 Colossal Titan was revealed, Eren came to hate him as well, furiously 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 Bott - Eren had great respect for him, and recognized his tendency to think of the group before himself. He also stated he would have liked to be on his squad, and considered him a good leader. Upon learning of Marco's death, Eren was initially in a state of disbelief, and was visibly stricken when Jean reaffirmed that the news was true.
 * Levi Ackerman - 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, recognizing 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). Aware of the vast gap in experience between them, Eren strives to learn as much as he can from Levi, heeding his advice with little hesitation and trusting his judgement. 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 diligently cleaning his new squad's base (and fretting over the somewhat slovenly habits of his peers) in anticipation of Levi's arrival.
 * Hange Zoë - When Eren first met Hange, he was put off by her obsession with him, finding it creepy. After learning about her work on Sawney and Bean, however, and her reason for being so obsessed with Titans and change (which he could relate to), he became one of the first people to be interested in Hange's work and was saddened by the deaths of the Titan test subjects (although he still finds her weird, especially after she kept him up the entirety of one night).
 * 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 eccentric and most friendly of the members, and Eren admired her not only for her skill, but for her open acceptance of him as a comrade as well. Witnessing her demise at the hands of the Female Titan was a devastating blow to him, and he remains remorseful of making the decision that led to her death.
 * Oluo Bozado - Of all the members of Levi's squad, Oluo gave Eren the toughest time, often badmouthing and blustering at him. Despite his senior's somewhat obnoxious and boastful demeanour, Eren still respected Oluo as a top-tier soldier. His violent death was perhaps the trigger event that caused Eren to finally shift to his Titan form to stop the Female 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 Titan, and he is still filled with regret over not choosing to fight while they were still alive.
 * Historia Reiss/Krista Lenz - Eren did not initially interact with Historia very much, and had in fact secretly disliked her because he felt she was phony. Once her true identity was revealed and her demeanor began to change however, Eren began to see her as more "honest" and warmed up to her.

Trivia

 * Eren-Chara Design.png ranked second in the Characters Popularity Poll, right after Levi Ackerman.
 * Eren was known for fighting with local bullies before Shiganshina fell.
 * In a flashback, his father notes that he does not make friends easily.
 * That said, he was immediately open to the idea of Mikasa living with them, and also risked his own life for her, before they had even met. He also shows that he cares for her right from the start, when he gives her his scarf, even taking the liberty of putting it on her himself.
 * The scarf could be a reference to the "Red string of fate" which in Japanese folklore represents an unbreakable connection between soulmates.
 * 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 honor.
 * 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."
 * 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" (死に急ぎ野郎).
 * When speaking about Titans, instead of using "-tai", the counter term for large creatures, Eren often uses "-hiki" the counter for small animals; which signifies his deep contempt for the Titans.
 * Hajime Isayama stated in an 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. The song alludes to his name multiple times.
 * Because Eren's Titan form lacks an official name, fans have unofficially dubbed it the "Rogue Titan", due to its aberrant  behavior.
 * 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 on his shoulders.
 * The above is appropriate as Atlas was very strong and also because, according to this Greek myth site, Atlas' name can translate to "suffers" or "endures". This speaks to Eren's hardships from the Titans and his enduring attitude to exterminate the Titans.
 * Eren is one of the Attack on Titan characters that were made into Nendoroid figures, along with Mikasa, Levi, and the Colossal Titan.
 * Eren's Titan form has, a third eyelid possessed by predatory species such as sharks, birds of prey, and reptiles. It is unknown if he possesses them in the manga, but he can be observed blinking them several times in the 8th episode of the anime. It is unknown whether this trait is unique to him or possessed by other Titans, as no other cases have been seen.
 * In the game Age of Gunslingers Online, a special Titan Mode was made as a tribute to the series. It features Eln, an NPC modeled after Eren and voiced by Yūki Kaji. A trailer of this mode can be viewed here. There is also a special skin for the Dual Pistol class available for purchase.
 * An interview with Isayama's editor in Otomedia's October 2013 issue revealed Isayama originally intended for Eren to have known all along that he was a Titan, but scratched the idea.

Quotes

 * (To Mikasa) "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 she heard she wouldn't be getting any supper."
 * (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 ruin! 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 had when I was with them [the 104th training squad]. I've already had enough. I've had enough of being treated like a monster and 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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