Keith Shadis

Keith Shadis (キース・シャーディス) is the head instructor of the 104th Trainees Squad. He is in charge of their training and evaluation to become soldiers. He is a former Commander of the Survey Corps and was in command when Wall Maria fell in 845.

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

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

Personality
Keith deliberately presents himself as imposing, strict and frightening, and because of this, the trainees of the 104th Squad remain wary of misbehaving around him. He shouts and commands at the top of his voice, putting the trainees into submission and fear.

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

However, Keith also shows signs of a weaker side. Upon having to reveal the death of one of his soldiers to a mother, he breaks down and cries. He even admits that his command has been a failure and he has accomplished nothing but get people killed.

During his years as commander of the Survey Corps, Keith was shown to dedicate his life to humanity, and despised the idea of letting his soldiers die in vain. His resolve was not unshakable, however, as he was hesitant to cross lines that Erwin Smith could.

History
In 844, one year prior to the fall of Wall Maria, Keith served as commander of the Survey Corps, and during this time, the Corps was in danger of losing funding for expeditions. Though dejected by the news, Keith could only accept the impending collapse of his regiment, but an intervention by the ambitious Erwin Smith would see the Survey Corps saved. Keith expressed shock that Erwin found a way to sway the political field, realizing the frightening potential and genius that Erwin possessed.

At some point in time, Keith would cross paths with Levi. After being able to talk down to his other comrades and being unable to talk down nor "headbutt" down Levi, he would note that he didn't need to meld him anymore and from that point onward, people with "that look" within their eyes did not have to go through the Rite of Passage.

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

He is next seen two years later, having left his command and now serving as an Instructor of the 104th Trainees Squad. He goes around intimidating and frightening trainee after trainee, asking them their names and place of origin. Other Instructors note this as "rite of passage", meant to break recruits down so that they can become stronger. He ignores a few trainees like Eren, Mikasa, Annie, Bertolt and Reiner as he is able to read, from their faces, the terror they had undergone. He roughly turns Armin around with his hand, asking the third line to turn around and watch him as he proceeds. After hearing that Jean wanted to join the Military Police Brigade, he gives him a head butt, making him fall down. He attacks Marco telling him how he would be a very good servant for the King. When Connie performs the salute with his left hand, he picks him up, holds his head and stretches his eyes and asks him if his heart was on the right side. He sees Sasha Blouse eating a potato and walks over to her demanding to know the reason she was eating it at a time like that. When offered a piece of the potato, Keith asks her either to skip lunch or do rounds until she was on the verge of death. She accepts the latter.

Next day, Keith supervises and instructs the trainees regarding the basic aptitude test, which involved swinging upright with ropes tied to their waists. If they failed at it, they would be sent back to the landfills. When Eren Yeager was unable to perform the stunt, he commands him to keep his upper body up. Eren still wasn't able to pull it off, so he gave him a second chance the next day.

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

Later, he supervises and instructs the trainees regarding further training involving horse riding, hand-to-hand combat, 3D maneuvering etc. He is seen commanding and critcizing Armin for his lack of stamina and observes as Reiner helps Armin to carry his load and soon enough, Armin refuses to be helped and proceeds confidently. He keenly observes the characters of each of his trainees and analyses the strengths of the squad.

He notes the following regarding some of his Trainees:
 * Armin Arlert: Subpar physical strength by a soldier's standards, but allegedly a genius at theory and strategy.
 * Reiner Braun: Strong-willed with a solid constitution. Adept at gaining trust of his comrades.
 * Annie Leonhart: Strikes with perfect penetration angle and her blows carve in deep into the target. Solitary type and solidarity doesn't come to her easily.
 * Bertolt Hoover: Highly proficient in various hand-to-hand combat styles and has great potential. But lacks in self-confidence and tends to leave it to others when it comes to showing assertiveness.
 * Jean Kirstein: Highly competent and skilled at the three dimensional gear and good at assessing his situation at any given time, but is too prompt to unsheathe his sword and can spark conflict with his team members.
 * Connie Springer: Good balance and good at making sharp turns, but slow in assessing the situation and his grasp of strategy is often less than perfect.
 * Sasha Blouse: Lightning fast with uncanny intuition. Good at unconventional practices, which makes her unfit for group operations.
 * Mikasa Ackerman: A prodigy who excels even in the most difficult courses. An unprecedented genius deserving nothing short of top grades. One of the very best in history.
 * Eren Yeager: No outstanding talent apart from his excellent close combat skills. He steadily improved his grades with outstanding effort and sense of purpose.

Trivia

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

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Keith Shadis