Armin Arlert (Junior High Manga)

Armin Arlert (アルミン・アルレルト) is a 1st year Attack Junior High School student.

Appearance
Armin usually wears either the first year school uniform, or a white button up shirt and dark pants. He also goes everywhere with something covering his head; initially it was his futon from home, although Armin has recently been seen also with either a sheet or sweater tied around his head.

Personality
Very shy and timid, Armin usually spent this time studying role-playing games, and learning about fantasy worlds. He also has a very active imagination and imagines the futon he wears (which he named Bigbee) as a magical cloak. Armin claimed to Eren and Mikasa that if he does not have it, he becomes ill. He is also one of the brightest students in his class, willing to help others understand difficult subjects like math.

Story
After letting down his team in a dodge ball tournament during their last year of elementary school, Armin remained home for a long time; he told his grandfather to not let anyone see him and stayed locked up in his room.

After several days, the entire class has noticed Armin has yet to show up for school. Hearing that a mandatory dodge ball tournament will be held the following day, both Eren and Mikasa arrive to his house to convince him to come. Armin steadfastly refuses to and does not believe Eren's claims of honesty, believing it to be part of a prank. Mikasa convinces him to let them inside and they find Armin wrapped up in a futon. He again refuses to and recalls the events from the previous dodge ball game he was part of. After some prompting from Mikasa, however, he then changes his mind and agrees to go to school the next day and take part in the tournament.

The following day, Armin does come to school, surprising the teacher and all the other students. Still wrapped in his futon, Armin takes part in the tournament with the others; he notes that since Eren has not shown up, Mikasa's performance has dropped roughly 30%. He mentions this to Jean, who is bewildered by it. Despite this and several other setbacks, Class 4 advances to the next round. Armin yells out for Eren sleeping in and soon after, Armin's futon is stolen by Mikasa, who wraps herself in it. Annie, one of their next round opponents, comes over and asks where Eren is; Armin claims Eren's been in the restroom all day. Mikasa's negative aura is beginning to be felt by the others and Armin proposes disguising Jean as Eren due to them looking similar; this fails when Mikasa notes she cannot sense Eren's ki and remains depressed. Fortunately, Eren eventually makes it back in time and Armin quickly reclaims his futon from Mikasa. As the match gets underway, Armin is eliminated by Annie but their side are able to win the match.

Along with the rest of his classmates, Armin decides to join the Survey Club and is assigned to be in the 'Wall Beautification Club' as well. During a trip to Wall Rose, Armin witnesses the challenge between the Survey Club and the Student Council; when Jean disputes his loss to Hitch, Armin notes that it still counts as a win despite the unconventional means. He hears about an upcoming dance and, wanting to go with someone he trusted, begged Eren to pair up with him. Only after he insists that he is not good at this kind of situation does Eren finally relent. He later defuses a brewing situation between Mikasa and Annie, not realizing they both had plans to invite Eren to the same dance event.